Sports

July 26, 2016 - Tryouts for the East Texas Boom 12U tournament team will be held at 5pm on Saturday, July 30, 2016 at the Center Softball Complex just off County Road 1000 in Center, Texas.

East Texas (ETX) Boom practices about twice a week and participates in 1 to 2 tournaments per month. Players and their families will be expected to participate in fundraisers or pay. For more information, please email ETXBoom@gmail.com or send text to 817-757-9708.

July 25, 2016 - Tryouts for the East Texas Boom 12U tournament team will be held at 5pm on Saturday, July 30th. Tryouts will be held at the Center Softball Complex just off CR 1000 in Center, TX. ETX Boom practices are about twice a week and participates in 1 to 2 tournaments per month. Players and their families will be expected to participate in fundraisers or pay. For more information please email ETXBoom@gmail.com or send text to 817-757-9708. 

July 21, 2016 (Order Form) - Center 12 and under Mayors at State Champions and raising funds for their World Series trip to Mississippi with a BBQ Fundraiser on Wednesday, July 27, 2016 from 11am until 1pm on the downtown Center square. 

Enjoy BBQ chicken, potato salad, baked beans, dessert and bottled water for $8 per plate pre-sale. Delivery or pickup is available. Payment at time of order. Order deadline is 5pm Monday, July 25th. Orders can be emailed to j32mitchell@netzero.com or faxed to 936-598-5032.

All proceeds go to fund the World Series Tournament in Mississippi in August of 2016. All donations are accepted and greatly appreciated. Donations can also be mailed to: Center Youth Baseball, P.O. Box 991, Center, Texas 75935.

July 22, 2016 - Several 7th and 8th grade football players enjoying a late summer football camp. Getting ready for "Rider Football" in the Fall.

Also, will be hosting our "Saddle Up" Rider football camp for incoming 9th graders on Monday-Wednesday, July 25-27 from 8am-10am at Roughrider Stadium!

July 18, 2016 - The Center Roughriders and Shelbyville Dragons 13-14 year old baseball teams each lost their tournament debuts at the Dixie League Elimination Tournament which started last Saturday at Center Roughrider Ballpark.

Center lost Saturday night in a six inning game which lasted nearly three hour and ended with the game being shortened by the ten-run-rule when Kilgore rallied for four runs to take a 15-5 win.

Kilgore had jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the first inning and had ballooned their advantage to 10-3 by the end of the fourth frame. Center pulled to within 11-5 by the end of the sixth inning but Kilgore's rally enforced the Mercy-Rule. Center next plays the loser of Sunday's Huntington vs Sulphur Springs game in a 5:30 p.m. game to be played on Monday.

Shelbyville lost to Panola County earlier Saturday in a closer contest but they rebounded in a big way when they defeated the Hawkins Hawks in their second round game on Sunday. The Dragons beat the Hawks 12-0 to advance to play Hudson at 3 p.m. on Monday.

In the first inning of Sunday's game Shelbyville gained a 3-0 lead and extended it steadily with two more runs in each the third and fourth innings, which gave them a 7-0 advantage. The fourth inning was highlighted by a Colby Parker triple which careened off the center field wall. Teammate Cole Ferguson struck out the side in the fourth frame to set the Hawks down 1-2-3 in the inning. He then fielded a grounder to start the fifth stanza and then struck out the next two Hawks to retire the Hawks without a runner as well.

Scores by Zack Clark, Jaylon Brinson, Ferguson, Parker Sam Jones helped the Dragons employ the ten-run-mercy-rule to shorten the game by one inning.

Ten  teams are competing in the 13-14 year old division. Besides Center, and Shelbyville, are Panola County, Kilgore, Hawkins, Huntington, Hudson, Sulphur Springs, Marshall and Henderson.

There is another 13 year old Dixie Elimination Tournament happening in Center at the same time which consists solely of teams from Henderson and Panola.

July 14, 2016 - August 1st will mark the first day for non-contact practices for high school football teams in Texas. Teams will begin contact practices no sooner than August 5th. Texas teams can conduct their first scrimmages starting August 12th.

All five Shelby County teams will be taking the field soon to prepare their players bodies and game plans to compete in both district, and non-district, competition.

The Center Roughriders will compete in District 9 4A. Head Football Coach Barry Bowman will be taking the ‘Riders to the field for his second season after the team posted a much improved 10-3 season. CHS went to the regional semifinals last season but lost to the Gilmer Buckeyes by a 36-21 score.

This season Center will move from Division II classification up to Division I. Their new conference opponents will be Carthage, Kilgore, Henderson, Bullard, Chapel Hill and Palestine.

The ‘Riders will face Kirbyville for their first scrimmage. Other non-conference games will include Rusk, Gilmer, Gladewater and Diboll.

CHS is projected by Dave Campbell’s Texas Football Magazine to place fourth in the district behind Carthage, Kilgore and Henderson.
 
The Joaquin Rams will be competing in Division I District 11 2A. They will be taking the field for the second season under Head Football Coach Wade Lawson. Joaquin went 5-5 last season and went 1-4 in conference play.

The Rams will face Alto, Shelbyville, San Augustine, Price Carlisle and Cushing in district action. They are projected to finish fifth by DCTF, behind Alto, Shelbyville, San Augustine and Carlisle.
 
The Shelbyville Dragons will compete in Division I District 11 2A and are projected to place second. This will be Head Coach Jason Fergusons third season at SHS. Last season SHS went 12-1 and were 5-0 in district play. The Dragons fell to Lovelady by a 14-7 score in the regional playoffs. Their 2016 district competitors will include Alto, San Augustine, Joaquin, Carlisle and Cushing. They are picked to finish second, behind Alto, by Dave Campbell’s Magazine.
 
The Tenaha Tigers will compete in Division II District 11 2A. Head Coach Craig Horn will start his second season with the Tigers. Tenaha is projected to finish first in the conference which includes Grapeland, Timpson, Overton, Mount Enterprise and Wortham. The Tigers went 8-6 last year and were 4-0 in league play. They suffered a 33-16 loss to Muenster last year at the state quarterfinals. The Tigers first scrimmage will be at Maud on Aug. 12. Their other non-district opponents will be Joaquin, Kerens, Dallas Gateway, Clarksville and West Sabine.
 
The Timpson Bears will welcome new Head Football Coach Kerry Therwanger. Timpson went 2-8 last season and went 2-2 in Div. II District 11 2A play. They lost 27-0 to Iola High School in the first round of the 2015 playoffs. They are picked to finish third this season behind Tenaha and Grapeland. Other conference opponents include Overton, Mount Enterprise and Wortham.

July 14, 2016 - Roughrider Football Camp will be held July 21st and 22nd from 8:00am to 10:00am. Camp is for incoming 7th and 8th graders. Cost will be $25/students and will be held at the Roughrider Stadium. The camp will give these young men a great jump on fundamentals, teamwork, and Roughrider Football for the upcoming season. Send registration to and make checks payable to: 

Roughrider Athletics
Attn: Barry Bowman
550 Roughrider Drive
Center, Texas 75935

Contact Coach Bowman for questions at 936-598-6173 ext.2206. T-Shirts will be given to each Participant. If you register after July 14th, please register at camp. 

July 14, 2016 - Rider "Saddle Up" Football Camp will be held from July 25th to 27th from 8:00am to 10:00am. Camp is designated specifically for incoming 2016 - 2017 Freshmen, cost is $30 per student and will be held at Roughrider Stadium. The camp will give these young men a great jump on fundamentals, teamwork, and Roughrider Football for the upcoming season, as well as, expectations of our Program. Send registration to and make checks payable to: Roughrider Athletics Attn: Barry Bowman 550 Roughrider Drive Center, Texas 75935 

Contact Coach Bowman for questions at 936-598-6173 ext.2206. You can pick up Registration forms at the Athletic Office, located at the high school campus or downloaded from the CISD website. 

July 14, 2016 - Two-a-Day practices for High School Football and Volleyball for incoming 9th - 12th graders start August 1st in the morning (exact time to be announced).

Center 12U All Stars 2016 (Picked from the best of Center Youth Baseball 2016 League teams) Coaches: Jason Mitchell, Joe Gutierrez and Jacob Mitchell. Team: Jase Bird, Collin Jones, Gabriel Robellar, Blaze Melancon, Caden Solomon, Levi Rodriguez, Jordan Turner, Colton Snider, Chandler Jones, Makel Johnson, Jake Hanson, Garren Dubea.

July 12, 2016 - This team has played a total of 28 games together and has a 28-0 record. They went undefeated in District play in Center, TX on June 26th.  

This past weekend they swept the State Tournament in Athens, TX beating Tyler Co in the Championship game 16-5 to become the 2016 Texas Majors State Champs.  

Center ended the State Tournament racking up a total of 64 runs scored and giving up only 16 runs, with 11 home-runs and 3 Grand Slams.  

They will be headed to Laurel, MS on August 6th to play in the Dixie Youth World Series representing the state of Texas.

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