West girls aim to keep up dominance; boys to even series

A new cast of local seniors will try their hands at a familiar challenge this April as East meets West once more in the sixth annual Freedom All Star Classic.

This year’s contests, which are set for 11 a.m. (girls) and 1 p.m. (boys) at Gulf Coast Community College, will once again feature a who’s who of local senior basketball players from the Daily News coverage area (Okaloosa, Walton and Santa Rosa counties) lace it up against their counterparts from the readership area of the Panama City News Herald (Bay, Washington, Holmes, Gulf, Liberty, Calhoun, Franklin and Jackson counties) with the ultimate reward - bragging rights - on the line.

This year’s West boys’ team will feature a distinct Niceville flavor as Eagles’ coach Jerome Strutchen will serve as the team’s head coach and will look to see four players from this year’s final four team: Kody Williams, John Deloach, Kirk Perry and Steve Dyson, on his bench.

The West boys roster also features one of Walton’s all-time leading scorers (Alex Newkirk), one of the area’s most dynamic players (Paxton’s Demetrius Moore) as well as one of the key cogs in Baker’s run to a regional final appearance in guard Chad Donley.

Raymond Johnson (Choctawhatchee), James Towery (Walton), Jeremy Delfoss (Navarre), Keyshawn Thomas (Crestview) and Chris Pickett (Crestview) are also in the fold. Paxton coach Jeff Bradley will join Strutchen on the West bench.

“I’m honored to be a part of it,” Donley said. “Every time I go out to play, I go out to win, I hate losing. I’m pretty sure my (classic) teammates are going to feel the same way, we’re just going to try to go out and get a win.”

The West girls’ team, led by Choctawhatchee coach Don Brown, features a pair of Indians in tow in Branita Malone and Francheska Bowman.

Reigning Daily News small school Player of the Year, Erin Walker (Paxton) will also headline the West team alongside fellow Bobcat, Aubrey Anderson. Sharome Strutchen and Emily Dutton of Niceville, Fort Walton Beach’s Lakeryl Ingram and Shakira Mitchell, Crestview’s Monique Thurman and Jodi Montalvo and South Walton’s Jamie Delaney and Julie Williamson round out this year’s West squad as it looks to win for the fifth time in the classic’s six-year history.

“For me and one of my teammates to be picked out of all the girls in the area to play in the all star game, that feels really good,” Bowman said. “It’s exciting to have the opportunity to experience different teammates and to play with different people from different schools.”

South Walton’s Tiffany Snider and Crestview’s Autumn Rogers were each originally selected to take part in this year’s event but, due to extenuating circumstances, could not participate in the classic.