5 Vikings earn MVP trophies at camp

Members of the Northwest football team walked away with well-deserved hardware after attending the Stump Mitchell Football Camp in Macon, Ga., during the last week in June.
Nine Vikings— (RB/DB Julius Bratton, OL Brandon Choate, DB Michael Daniels, QB Jason Davis, FB/DE Carl Hanns, DB Carlos Hanns, RB/DB Xavier Jenkins and TE/DE Zach Taylor) — attended the former NFL running back's camp.
Mitchell played for the St. Louis/Arizona Cardinals for nine years before retiring in 1989.
Mitchell, who also excelled as a kick returner, is the Cardinals' all-time leader for combined yards with 11,988, and ranks second all-time in rushing with 4,649 yards.
After working hard in the summer heat, five Vikings walked away with nine of the MVP trophies awarded. - NFL Football -
Davis was honored with the second highest award, being named the camp's offensive MVP.
"It's an awesome honor," Davis said. "I didn't think I got anything. But then they called my name. It was just a phenomenal experience."
Bratton came away with the running back MVP award.
"I just prepared for the drills and the things we were going to work on," Bratton said. "All that preparation just paid off. The camp was exciting. We learned something new every day, and you don't always get that. We did a lot of two-a-days, and everything was interesting."
Jenkins took home the defensive back MVP trophy.
"There were a whole bunch of good defensive backs at the camp," Jenkins said. "There was a lot of competition. Really, there were so many good defensive backs there, that I didn't think I was going to get the award. I was really shocked I got it."
"I was so shocked, that when they called my name, I almost forgot what my name was."
Choate was the MVP of the offensive linemen.
"It was a big honor," Choate said. "Basically, all you had to do was follow what the coaches said. As long as you followed directions, you were good. They weren't worried about you being perfect, as long as you showed you were working hard."
Carl Hanns was chosen the defensive line MVP. Carlos Hanns, Daniels and Taylor all received certificates for attending.
Along with the eight from Northwest, 42 other athletes went through instructions from Mitchell, Seattle's Zerick Rollins, Arizona's Deke Pollard, Indianapolis' Ricky Thomas, Otis Flowers from the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff and Earl Davis from Morgan State University in Baltimore.
"It was definitely nice to learn from Mr. Mitchell and to be around a person of his status," Bratton said. "It was great learning from someone like Mr. Mitchell, because he was a running back in the NFL and is now a running back coach in the NFL."
Said Jenkins: "Since they were mostly NFL coaches, you can put a lot of trust in them and can take the information you learned to heart. They were in the big leagues and know what it was like. It was a really good experience to learn from a coach like that."
Davis said the camp helped him become a better quarterback.
"The one-on-one with coaches was the best," Davis said. "I learned a lot about three-step drops and five-step drops. They taught me and helped read defenses better. I feel like I'm a lot better at that now." - NFL Football -
And for Choate, the camp gave him a foundation to help him after he hopefully becomes a football coach.
"The camp was laid out well and was well organized," Choate said. "For me, it helped me learn how to lay out a practice (for a football team). I didn't go to get noticed as an athlete. I just wanted to see how to lay out a practice (for a football team). Going to the camp will help lay out my practices when I become a coach."
BURKHART, JEWETT IN MIDSTATE ALL-STAR TILT:Rossview softball coach Phil Burkhart and third baseman Chaning Jewett will be a part of the 2005 Middle Tennessee Softball Coaches Association All-Star Game on Tuesday at 4 p.m. at Trevecca Nazarene University.
Burkhart will be the head coach of the Red Team, which Jewett will also play for.
The setup will be a little different than most all-star games. - NFL Football -
Participants from Class AAA schools are split into two teams, Red and Black, while Class A/AA athletes will play for the White Team.
All three teams will square off against each other.
Rossview's Ashley Elrod was slated to participate, but she will be in a traveling team tournament in California. - NFL Football -
Other players of note participating are Dickson County's Ashley Myatt and Creekwood's Katie Murphy and Teal Wall.
MUSIC CITY RUNNERS:Former Rossview state champion Lynette Rives, current Rossview runner Tiffany Rives and current Kenwood runner Brandi Williams participated in a USATF Tennessee Association meet at the University of Tennessee, June 28-July 3 for the Music City track club. - NFL Football -
Lynette Rives helped her 4x800M relay team take first in the young women's division.
Lynette Rives also took third in 400M dash and was part of Music City's 4x100M and 4x400M relay teams.
Williams helped her 4x400M relay team take sixth in the young women's division.
Tiffany Rives took third on her 4x800M Relay team in the intermediate girls division.

By JAMES D. HORNE The Leaf-Chronicle