NATCHEZ &045; Gill Morris and Mitch Ashmore have a lot of respect for each other and their ballclubs.

Seeing them talk for just a few minutes made that obvious.

&uot;I’m proud to share it with you,&uot; Morris told Ashmore.

&uot;It&uot; is The Natchez Democrat All-Metro Coach of the Year award, which the two share this year.

That respect is certainly deserved. Morris led his Adams Christian team to the MPSA Class AA State Championship series only to fall to Simpson Academy. Ashmore coached Huntington within a win of the Class A State Championship against Tunica.

Of course, neither coach had the season they did without some strong players. Both teams are losing five seniors and will rely heavily on the few veterans coming back.

&uot;We had my seniors and they really played well. They were a group that I could depend on,&uot; Ashmore said. &uot;At the first of the year I told them, ‘I’ll stick with you no matter what you do as long as you play defense.’ They did that.&uot;

Morris also depended heavily on his seniors.

&uot;We had five seniors and two four-year lettermen and three three-year lettermen,&uot; Morris said. &uot;That’s the most I’ve ever lost in one year. Some younger guys will have to step up, but I think we’ve got a good nucleus coming back.&uot;

One of the players Morris will have back is Timmy Foster. Foster, the All-Metro Player of the Year. The pitcher/first baseman was the MPSA 3-AA Co-Player of the Year after batting .562 and going 10-2 with a 2.69 earned run average.

Foster, a junior, still thinks he can do better.

&uot;Some people say it was a good season, but I think it could have been better,&uot; Foster said. &uot;There’s little things I’m working on, like taking ground balls and hitting the opposite way.&uot;

Foster also plays football and basketball for the Rebels and is in the midst of playing summer baseball for the Adams County Rebels and a traveling team out of Jackson. He doesn’t take much of break between sports, but Foster said he likes it that way.

&uot;If I did have a break, I’d probably just sit around and get lazy,&uot; Foster said.

Foster didn’t get much of chance to get lazy this season with the Rebels as they went deep into the playoffs.

Both Adams Christian and Huntington fell one win short of a state title, but these teams operated in different ways.

The Rebels used the longball with startling effectiveness. Foster hit 12 home runs and teammate and All-Metro first team pick David Trisler hit 11, leading the way for a team that aimed for the fences.

Huntington, in contrast, relied on strong defense, the pitching of Trey Brasher and Jacob Bonnette and situational hitting. The Hounds had to steal bases and move runners over to be successful, a style of baseball Ashmore likes.

&uot;We were a good ballclub, but not a power ballclub. We had to rely on all phases of game to win,&uot; Ashmore said. &uot;We got beat by power in the last series. Sometimes power works and sometimes it doesn’t.&uot;

And Morris can attest to that. He said his team was too up and down this year and couldn’t maintain a high level of play at all times, despite an abundance of talent.

&uot;We were a little too streaky, sometimes even within games,&uot; Morris said. &uot;We would have a couple good innings and get a lead and then let a team come back on us.&uot;

Huntington’s level of success this year came as a surprise to many, including Ashmore.

&uot;When we started, our goal was to get in the playoffs,&uot; Ashmore said. &uot;Once we got in we saw we were better than that goal. Things started rolling for us. The kids responded well to what we were trying to teach them. It was a wonderful things for our seniors and the boys coming back to be able to experience that.&uot;

Adams Christian, on the other hand, was coming off a runner-up finish in 2004 in Class AAA. The Rebels fell to Jackson Prep in the championship series that year and had nearly everyone back. Falling to Simpson in the championship series this year must have felt like dj vu.

&uot;It’s more disappointing this year because I thought we were better than Simpson,&uot; Morris said. &uot;Last year I thought Jackson was better.&uot;

But just making the trip to the final series was a treat for Morris, who almost didn’t come back this season. After last season, he handed in his resignation and had planned to concentrate more on his work in the classroom. But a few months later he couldn’t resist the lure of the diamond and another year coaching.

&uot;I was burnt out even though we were having success,&uot; Morris said. &uot;But one thing led to another and I was back out here. At that time, I thought it was best, but when I came back it felt right. It’s not like I hated the game or the kids or anything, I just had a few things to work out. This season has definitely been a reward for me and the kids and the program.&uot;

Morris credits much of his coaching philosophy to Buddy Wade, the first Natchez Democrat All-Metro Coach of the Year in 1987 at South Natchez High. Wade was also instrumental in the career of Ashmore. Morris coached with Wade and works with him now &045; Wade is an administrator at ACCS &045; and Ashmore was a star player on Wade’s South Natchez teams in the ’80s.

&uot;We both benefited from the Buddy Wade philosophy of baseball. A lot of things I have are the direct result of Buddy Wade and Mitch played for Wade as well,&uot; Morris said.

&uot;When I played for coach Wade in high school, we bunted the ball and did situational hitting,&uot; Ashmore said. &uot;He is a greater man than he is a baseball coach. He taught us a lot about baseball and more about other things.&uot;