Newspaper Page Text
BASKETBALL
MCHS vs. Telfair Co.
Sat. 4:00 p.m. (A)
RTCA vs. Bulloch Aca.
Fri. 6:00 p.m. (A)
TCHS vs. Swainsboro, Tattnall Co.
Fri. 7:00 p.m. (A); Sat. 7:00 p.m. (A)
VHS vs. Woodville
Fri. 6:00 p.m. (A) NO FANS - LISTEN TO ON 98Q
Wheeler vs. Hawkinsvill, Johnson Co.
Fri. 6:00 p.m. (H); Sat. 6:00 p.m. (A)
Treutlen OFF
January 6,2021
®lft Aiuianre
Section B
Loran
Indians Host Christmas Classic
Photo by Mike Branch
Ira Clements holds off a Mount De Sales defender before getting a shot off during
the first half of the game.
Smith
Phil
Neikro
The box score of Phil Niekro’s ex
traordinary career has intrigued and
astonished baseball aficionados for
years, but that doesn’t reflect his great
love for the outdoors or the humility
which characterized his life—his abil
ity to walk with
kings and never
lose the com
mon touch.
I saw Phil
pitch many
times with the
Braves. There
were pre and
post-game in
terviews when I
would listen to
him talk pitch
ing. The mas
ter of the knuckleball had difficulty
explaining what made his knuckler
“do what it did.” It was like the naive
country boy from the sticks who could
not fathom how a thermos bottle kept
your coffee hot in the winter and your
tea cold in the summer. “How do it
know?” he asked in exasperation.
It was the same with Niekro’s
knuckler. Even he didn’t know where
it was going. He couldn’t explain why
his knuckler would seem to explode in
front of a batter, going straight up or
straight down. He remembered bat
ters who swung at pitches that wound
up hitting them. “I have seen batters
swing at pitches that actually went be
hind them,” he said.
For years, I fly fished with Phil
in the spring on the Chattahoochee.
While he has always been an avid an
gler, dating back to his growing up
days in Lansing, Ohio, he had never
fly-fished. I introduced him to Jimmy
Harris, owner of Unicoi Outfitters in
Helen, and Jimmy introduced Phil to
fly-fishing. “I’m hooked,” Phil grinned
after his first outing on the Chatta
hoochee.
Niekro was as baffled about the
sport of fly-fishing as major league hit
ters were about his fluttering knuck
leball. “It has always amazed me how
those trout see those tiny flies,” he
would say. “You fly fish with such a
small hook and you are overwhelmed
when you land a fly in the stream.
The trout sees it and suddenly strikes
your fly. I keep asking myself, ‘How do
those trout in that swift moving water
see those tiny flies?”’
Phil never got over what he con
sidered a phenomenon, same as it was
with hitters and his knuckleball, which
he said would often break two and
one-half feet. A Hall-of-Famer, who
pitched 24 years in the Big Leagues
and retired at age 48, Phil Niekro, ev
erybody agrees, could pitch. He could
also fish. When it came to storytell
ing, he was, perhaps, the best. What
a raconteur! His ability to weave a
yarn ranked him with the elite. It was
fun hearing him lay out a story even
an oldie that he had told before. Like
the joke he would pull on a waitress by
initiating a conversation with, “What
is your name?” She responds, “Mary
Ann.” “Can I call you Mary Ann?” With
a generous smile she says, “Certainly.”
Phil then would deadpan, “What’s
your number?” A round of laughs ac
companied every round of drinks.
Following an afternoon on the
river, he would hold court at the
Holiday Inn Express in Helen, which
caused our fishing party to put off din-
Please see Loran page 2B
By Mike Branch
Sports Editor
sports 7 advance@gmail. com
The Vidalia High School Indians
basketball teams hosted the Paul Thig
pen Christmas Classic last week with
games on Monday through Wednes
day. There were several teams in atten
dance over the three-day event. On the
first day the Lady Indians faced
Wilkinson County while the boys took
on Mount De Sales. On Tuesday the
girls fell to Tattnall County while the
boys won over Jefferson County. On
the final day the Lady Indians lost to
Veterans High while the boys dropped
a game to Wilkinson County.
Girls vs. Wilkinson
The Lady Indians got a big game
from Treyunna Roundtree on their
way to the win. In the first period Vi
dalia was up by just one, 13-12, and
then by halftime they were trailing 24-
23.
In the third period VHS outscored
Wilkinson 18-4 to pull out to a 41-28
lead. VHS took the win 53-34.
Roundtree led VHS with 24 points.
Boys vs. De Sales
Vidalia took an early 6-0 lead after
a basket by Ty Dailey. VHS led 10-3
with five minutes to play in the first.
De Sales closed the lead to 10-8, but a
By Mike Branch
Sports Editor
sports 7 advance@gmail. com
The Montgomery County High
School and Toombs County High
School basketball teams played on
Wednesday of last week and split their
games. The Lady Eagles got the win
in the girls game while the Bulldogs
came out on top in the boys matchup.
Girls
The Lady Eagles were on top 14-5
by the end of the first and led 26-12 at
halftime. It was a 47-17 lead for
MCHS by the end of the third period
and they outscored TCHS 21-5 in
that period. Montgomery took the
win 53-31.
MCHS was led by Makyla Bell
with 18 points, Marley Bell added 15
points. For Toombs KayKay Mobley
scored 13 points and Aniyah Mckin-
non posted 11.
Boys
In the boys game the Eagles
scored first on a basket by Jamari
Mincey. Dreon Jackson extended that
lead to 4-0 before Toombs made it
4-2 after a basket by DJ Mckinney.
Montgomery extended their lead to
10-2 with 4:30 left in the first period.
Brantley Upshaw got another bas
ket to fall for the Bulldogs, and then a
The 20th edition of the Sweet Onion
Cheer Classic presented by the Paul Thig
pen Automotive Group will be held this
Saturday at Parsons-Reid Gymnasium on
the campus of Vidalia High School.
The event will feature the defending
2AA State Champion Vidalia Indians and
has become one of the premier competi
tions across the state. It will also feature
12 High School and 12 Middle School
teams who will compete for the title. In
addition to the Vidalia squad, the defend
ing AAA Champion, Pierce County, will
be on hand Saturday and Vidalia Cheer
Coach Ann Michele Toole say’s that this
year’s event, held under some different
guidelines, should be a classic.
“We have some outstanding teams
that will be here to compete Saturday, and
I am so thankful that we have the oppor-
basket by Bryson Whited made it 12-8
with 3:45 on the clock.
Dailey got another shot to fall for a
14-8 lead, and then Whited hit a
jumper for an 18-8 lead with 2:30 to
go. At the end of the first period VHS
led 20-13.
In the second, baskets by Ira Cle
ments and Matt Hill gave the Indians a
fast-break for TCHS by Dominic Ea
son closed it to 10-6. It was 12-9 with
two minutes to go in the first and at
the end of the first it was 13-9 with
Montgomery on top.
In the second the Eagles pushed
the lead to 18-9 with 6:40 on the
tunity to host the event once again, even
if we have had to make some changes. We
have instituted a set of guidelines that
outline specific details that will ensure
that we are taking all the necessary pre
cautions to help ensure the safety of our
teams and fans.”
The event, which will also feature the
J.R. Trippe Middle School team and
Toombs County, will get underway Sat
urday at 9:00 a.m. with two Middle
School sessions, followed by two High
School sessions beginning at 12:30 p.m.
Tickets to the event are limited and must
be purchased in advance.
There will be no tickets sold at the
door. Tickets may be purchased by going
to the Vidalia Athletic Website at vida-
haathletics.com/event-tickets.
25-13 lead. De Sales closed it to 27-20
with just over four minutes to go in the
first half, and by the buzzer the Indians
led 30-22.
The Indians continued to play well
in the second half of the game as they
came away with the win, 61-46.
clock, but a three-pointer by Julian
Mann for TCHS made it 18-12. With
five minutes to go it was 20-17 as
Toombs was closing in on the Eagles.
It was 20-19 with just over three
Please see Bball page 3B
Toombs
Hosting
Memorial
Tournament
By Mike Branch
Sports Editor
sports 7 advance@gmail.com
The Toombs County High School
Bulldogs wrestling team will be hosting
their Annual Sweet Onion Memorial
Classic Wrestling Tournament on Fri
day and Saturday of this week.
On Friday wrestling will begin at
5:00 p.m. and on Saturday they will start
at 9:00 a.m. This is a big event every
year with close to 20 teams in atten
dance.
By Loran Smith
Please see VHS page 2B
TCHS And MCHS Split
Photo by Mike Branch
Julian Mann cuts through the lane for the Bulldogs as they fight their way back into
the game in the first half against Montgomery County.
VHS Cheer Classic Saturday