Italy ISD

No. 25 Palmer, No. 15 Italy open camp, Aug. 1

Headlining the kickoff of area preseason football teams is No. 25 Palmer, who break into Dave Campbell’s Football Texas ranking for the first time.

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New-look Olde Gold in 4-team fight

Don’t look now, but rebuilding Italy is looking dangerous again. A year after reaching the Regional Semi-Finals in baseball, HC Gary Brown opened this season with only three returning starters.

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Horn, Italy part ways

Head football coach and athletic director Craig Horn and Italy High School have gone their separate ways, according to reports.

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Frontline powers Italy in 5-set win

In the season debut for both teams, Italy proved its mettle when they overcame a crushing second set pounding, to trim Blooming Grove, 3-2, in a high drama, five-match battle. Going toe-for-toe under the Coliseum Dome, the BG Lions won the second, 25-9, before the hosts eventually regrouped to claim the rubber-match, 15-11 fifth to begin the new season.

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Reason behind lockdown at Italy schools deemed a hoax

The Italy Police Department was made aware of a possible threat today toward an individual who had a child in the elementary school. The threat was investigated and determined to be a hoax.

"In our best effort to protect the children and staff of the school district we locked the schools down and placed extra officers at all schools until it was determined that the threat was not viable," read a statement from the Italy P.D.

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Italy holds on, ousts Rio Vista, 28-21

Powered by three ball-carriers combining for 325 yards and three touchdowns, Italy built a 28-7 lead and staved off a pair of late scores by Rio Vista (7-4) to win, 28-21, last Friday in Waco.

It was the second consecutive contest where the Golden Knights eclipsed 300-yards on the turf. They had 355 the previous week in a rout of Marlin. HC Craig Horn’s troops were so efficient moving the ball against Rio Vista that they attempted only four passes. The district champions have equaled the nine wins they achieved in 2012 when they won the crown under HC Hank Hollywood.

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Italy (8-1) stifles Marlin, 61-6, earn title

Playing as a team on a mission, Italy (8-1) pounded second place Marlin (4-4) by a 61-6 count to win the District 8-2A championship, their first since Hank Hollywood coached them to a 9-5 record in 2012.

The Gladiators, who have won five games in a row, left no doubt about the outcome. Junior RB Jaiden Barr ran for three early touchdowns and Italy held the visitors to 57 yards on 48 plays. Barr led a 355-yard ground attack with 157 on just 12 carries.

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Olde Gold sinks Pirates, 46-0

Italy crashed visiting Chilton, 46-0, last week, shipwrecking the visiting Pirates behind a dominating defense, then made them walk the plank with a punishing rushing attack.

Senior OLB Andrew Celis scooped up a fumble and scored from 18-yards out to set the tempo early in the first quarter. The Gladiators defensive unit was unrelenting, forcing six turnovers, allowing just six first downs and 104 yards. When Chilton, who were 7-5 a year ago, faced a third down, they were successful in converting only 3-of-15 attempts.

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Italy schools off to a good start

Italy / Don Clingenpeel

“Italy I.S.D. kicked off the beginning of the 2020-2021 school year this past Tuesday. Considering the current circumstances, the main hiccups we encountered were typical first-day in regard to school issues.