After a review into an incident at J.Z. George High School, the Mississippi High School Athletics Association has ruled that the Choctaw County Lady Chargers can continue with district play after a melee broke out at the very end of the Choctaw County v. JZ George girl’s game.
Friday, Jan. 26, a fight that occurred between the Lady Chargers and the Lady Jaguars in North Carrollton at the last minute of the game has resulted in a two-game suspension for a Lady Charger and the end of the season for the Lady Jaguars.
The MHSAA handed down the ruling Monday after reviewing the incident. As for J.Z. George, the girls’ team has been placed on restrictive probation for a year from Jan. 30, 2023, to Jan. 30, 2024. The Lady Jags will be allowed to play out their season, but all district games played will result in an automatic loss and they will automatically finish last in next year’s season.
Next season, the Chargers and Lady Chargers move to Region 3, District 4 where they will face Aberdeen, East Webster, Nettleton, and Mooreville.
In a video, a Lady Jag player is seen holding the ball, which she throws and then proceeds to attempt to hit a Lady Charger player. The Lady Charger player then returned the lick and the two began fighting.
As people are breaking it up, a woman is seen running out of the Jaguars side of the bleachers and grabs the Lady Charger player by the ponytail and proceeds to throw her by her hair, while punching her.
People are then seen rushing out of the stands, while others are attempting to break the melee up.
This decision puts the race for the number one spot back up for grabs as the Lady Chargers are now tied with the Lady Wolverines and the Lady Wildcats for number one. Each team has one district loss, given by the other team.
In district play, the Lady Wildcats and the Lady Chargers are tied at 4-1 and the Wolverines sit at 5-1, however; their loss, handed to them by the Lady Chargers knocks them out of the number one seed.
Tuesday, the Chargers finished their matchup against the J.Z. George High Jaguars, in which the Chargers defeated the Jags 72 to 50 at the Cobb.
However, it wasn’t a normal basketball game. Very few were in attendance, and several Choctaw County sheriff deputies were very visible at the Tuesday night matchup with a nearly empty visitor stand and a home side that was scarcely filled.
That didn’t stop the Chargers from dominating against the Jags as they ran the court. The Jags kept holding, attempting to make it a game but after the second half, it was back to being all Charger play.
The Chargers are now number three in the district as both teams enter play in the district tournament. The tournament will begin on Feb. 6 in Calhoun City.
