Cianne
02-01-2006, 08:31 PM
I guess I could have put this in the Alabama section seeing as how that's where Townsend spent his collegiate years or in the Ole Miss section seeing as how South Panola might well be their own personal Hargrave.
http://clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060201/COL0504/602010338
Super Tradition
Townsend proud of South Panola roots
By Rick Cleveland
rcleveland@clarionledger.com
DETROIT — When ABC lets the Pittsburgh Steelers defensive starters introduce themselves early in Sunday's Super Bowl, listen for Batesville's Deshea Townsend.
You'll hear this: "Deshea Townsend, cornerback, University of South Panola."
"I just recorded it a few minutes ago," Townsend said Tuesday morning during the Super Bowl Media Day interviews. "I had to give my high school its props."
Twelve years ago last December, Townsend, then a quarterback, led South Panola to a 42-28 victory over Warren Central in one of the most memorable of all Mississippi Class 5A championship games.
"I've still got the DVD of the highlights of that season, and I show it all the time," Townsend. "In the NFL, players are always talking about their high school days, bragging and comparing notes. I tell people, well we were 15 and 0. Top that!"
And Townsend still keeps up with his old high school in Batesville - not that he really has to check every Saturday morning to see if they won the night before.
As Townsend puts it, "South Panola always wins."
The Tigers currently own a 45-game winning streak.
"I'm proud that I helped build a tradition and it just keeps growing," Townsend said. "Every year when I go home somebody tells me that it looks like we've got the best ninth-grade class we've ever had. They said it again this year. There's no end in sight."
Shutting them down
Lately, Townsend and the Steelers have been on a South Panola-like roll. Since struggling to a 7-5 start, the Steelers have become a juggernaut. They have beaten the AFC's top three seeds in the playoffs, all on the road. They have won seven straight games by an average margin of 18 points.
No, they haven't won 45 straight, but seven in a row in today's NFL is quite the feat. And the Steelers' defense has led the charge. Over those seven games, the Steelers have held three teams without a touchdown and given up about 11 points per game. Townsend, the former high school quarterback, is a key cornerback who sometimes covers and other times blitzes.
"That's the thing about our defense, you never know who's blitzing but somebody usually is," Townsend said.
Indeed, Townsend enters the the Super Bowl with a most unusual stat for a cornerback. This season, he has recorded more sacks (three) than interceptions (two).
On Sunday, you can look for Townsend to spend most of the afternoon covering one of two receivers: Bobby Engram and Joe Jurevicius. And don't try telling Townsend, as one reporter did Tuesday, that Seattle's receiving corps consists of a bunch of NFL unknowns.
"We know all about them," Townsend said. "They're household names in our houses. They're good, really good - good enough to cause problems for anybody in the NFL.
"And (Matt) Hasselbeck, their quarterback, is so efficient. He gets the ball to the open guy, whether it's a wide receiver, a tight end or a running back. He seems to always find the right guy."
Nevertheless, the Steelers' defensive plan, Townsend said, remains essentially the same as always.
In three words: Stop the run.
"Our whole deal is to make them one-dimensional, make them have to throw," Townsend said.
Star QB back then
Twelve years ago, Townsend rushed for 84 yards to help South Panola win the state championship game. He would go on to become a defensive star at both Alabama and with the Steelers, but he didn't play a down of defense in the state championship.
"I was strictly a quarterback, a running quarterback," he said, and then he grinned. "At South Panola, we didn't have to throw."
Bruce Arians, now the Steelers wide receivers coach and then Mississippi State's offensive coordinator, tried to recruit Townsend to State - and almost got him.
"We didn't know where he'd play; we just knew he would play," Arians said. "We wanted him badly."
Townsend narrowed his choices to State and Alabama and then chose Alabama.
"Alabama had won the national championship in 1992," Townsend said. "I think that's what swayed me."
So after playing for Willis Wright at South Panola, he played for Gene Stallings at Bama and then Bill Cowher in Pittsburgh.
"Three great coaches, every one of them," Townsend said. "I've been very fortunate."
A flashy, 155-pound high school quarterback has become a hard-hitting, 190-pound cornerback who relishes the memory of the 155-pound state champion quarterback.
And how would a Super Bowl victory compare to that state championship 12 years ago?
"Ask me Monday," Townsend answered, flashing a grin. "I sure hope I can let you know then."
http://clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060201/COL0504/602010338
Super Tradition
Townsend proud of South Panola roots
By Rick Cleveland
rcleveland@clarionledger.com
DETROIT — When ABC lets the Pittsburgh Steelers defensive starters introduce themselves early in Sunday's Super Bowl, listen for Batesville's Deshea Townsend.
You'll hear this: "Deshea Townsend, cornerback, University of South Panola."
"I just recorded it a few minutes ago," Townsend said Tuesday morning during the Super Bowl Media Day interviews. "I had to give my high school its props."
Twelve years ago last December, Townsend, then a quarterback, led South Panola to a 42-28 victory over Warren Central in one of the most memorable of all Mississippi Class 5A championship games.
"I've still got the DVD of the highlights of that season, and I show it all the time," Townsend. "In the NFL, players are always talking about their high school days, bragging and comparing notes. I tell people, well we were 15 and 0. Top that!"
And Townsend still keeps up with his old high school in Batesville - not that he really has to check every Saturday morning to see if they won the night before.
As Townsend puts it, "South Panola always wins."
The Tigers currently own a 45-game winning streak.
"I'm proud that I helped build a tradition and it just keeps growing," Townsend said. "Every year when I go home somebody tells me that it looks like we've got the best ninth-grade class we've ever had. They said it again this year. There's no end in sight."
Shutting them down
Lately, Townsend and the Steelers have been on a South Panola-like roll. Since struggling to a 7-5 start, the Steelers have become a juggernaut. They have beaten the AFC's top three seeds in the playoffs, all on the road. They have won seven straight games by an average margin of 18 points.
No, they haven't won 45 straight, but seven in a row in today's NFL is quite the feat. And the Steelers' defense has led the charge. Over those seven games, the Steelers have held three teams without a touchdown and given up about 11 points per game. Townsend, the former high school quarterback, is a key cornerback who sometimes covers and other times blitzes.
"That's the thing about our defense, you never know who's blitzing but somebody usually is," Townsend said.
Indeed, Townsend enters the the Super Bowl with a most unusual stat for a cornerback. This season, he has recorded more sacks (three) than interceptions (two).
On Sunday, you can look for Townsend to spend most of the afternoon covering one of two receivers: Bobby Engram and Joe Jurevicius. And don't try telling Townsend, as one reporter did Tuesday, that Seattle's receiving corps consists of a bunch of NFL unknowns.
"We know all about them," Townsend said. "They're household names in our houses. They're good, really good - good enough to cause problems for anybody in the NFL.
"And (Matt) Hasselbeck, their quarterback, is so efficient. He gets the ball to the open guy, whether it's a wide receiver, a tight end or a running back. He seems to always find the right guy."
Nevertheless, the Steelers' defensive plan, Townsend said, remains essentially the same as always.
In three words: Stop the run.
"Our whole deal is to make them one-dimensional, make them have to throw," Townsend said.
Star QB back then
Twelve years ago, Townsend rushed for 84 yards to help South Panola win the state championship game. He would go on to become a defensive star at both Alabama and with the Steelers, but he didn't play a down of defense in the state championship.
"I was strictly a quarterback, a running quarterback," he said, and then he grinned. "At South Panola, we didn't have to throw."
Bruce Arians, now the Steelers wide receivers coach and then Mississippi State's offensive coordinator, tried to recruit Townsend to State - and almost got him.
"We didn't know where he'd play; we just knew he would play," Arians said. "We wanted him badly."
Townsend narrowed his choices to State and Alabama and then chose Alabama.
"Alabama had won the national championship in 1992," Townsend said. "I think that's what swayed me."
So after playing for Willis Wright at South Panola, he played for Gene Stallings at Bama and then Bill Cowher in Pittsburgh.
"Three great coaches, every one of them," Townsend said. "I've been very fortunate."
A flashy, 155-pound high school quarterback has become a hard-hitting, 190-pound cornerback who relishes the memory of the 155-pound state champion quarterback.
And how would a Super Bowl victory compare to that state championship 12 years ago?
"Ask me Monday," Townsend answered, flashing a grin. "I sure hope I can let you know then."