Newspaper Page Text
February 10,2021
®l|e Aiuiante
BASKETBALL
MCHS vs. Wheeler Co., Wilcox Co., Treutlen
Wed. 6:00 p.m. (H, Boys); Thur. 6:00 p.m. (H, Girls); Fri. 6:00 p.m. (H)
RTCA vs. Twiggs Aca.
Fri. 6:00 p.m. (A)
TCHS vs. Woodville-Tompkins
Fri. 5:00 p.m. (A)
VHS vs. Jeff Davis
Fri. 6:00 p.m. (A)
Wheeler vs. Montgomery Co.
Wed. 6:00 p.m. (A, Boys)
Treutlen vs. Wilcox Co., Montgomery Co.
Wed. 6:00 p.m. (A); Fri. 6:00 p.m. (A)
Section B
Loran
Smith
The
G.O.A.T.
Now that Tom Brady has won a sev
enth Super Bowl ring, we, and he, of
course, will hear
for the rest of his
career that he is
the greatest of all
time, or GOAT, a
nice thing to ap
preciate unless
you are Tyrann
Mathieu, Kansas
City defensive
back. He gets in
Brady’s face and
then wants to cas
tigate him for the
“competitor’s reaction” that ensued.
Sportsmanship and etiquette will
always be in short supply in professional
sports. Unfortunately, that syndrome
trickles down to the college—even high
school ranks.
When people come with the GOAT
sobriquet, I take pause and say, would it
not be more appropriate to suggest that
these multi-award winning icons are the
“most accomplished of all-time.” While
Nick Saban’s stunning record, gives him
the enviable GOAT status in the opinion
of many observers, I often think about Bo
Schembechler of Michigan, who is ap
preciated by those who knew him, and
the many who played for him, as a truly
great coach. Bo won Rose Bowls, Big Ten
Titles, coached countless superstars, but
he never won a national championship.
If you concede, and most insiders
agree, that it should be tougher to win
a national title today than ever in col
lege football history, a view with which I
agree, then that heightens the case on be
half of Saban. Those who know him best
would likely agree that he has to be the
greatest recruiter of all time. Even with
saying that, there flashes front and cen
ter the notion that there likely are some
wizened ole timers in Tuscaloosa who are
Bear Bryant advocates and are not ready
to label Saban the GOAT over the Bear.
Comparing today with yesteryear is
not an exact science. From what I have
been exposed to over the years, there
seems to be a consensus that Ted Wil
liams, if not the greatest hitter ever (with
five of his prime years in the military),
there is no doubt about his being the
greatest of his era. He never won a World
Series ring. Joe DiMaggio won nine.
What if the left-handed Williams had
played for the Yankees with that inviting
350-foot right field porch in old Yankee
Stadium? Like the Babe? What if Wil
liams or DiMaggio had been stuck with
the lowly St. Louis Browns and never got
out of mediocrity bondage? That brings
to mind where would Brady be with all
this ring business if he had been drafted
by a downtrodden team? Such as the
Browns, Jaguars and Lions, three of the
poorest performing teams in the last 15
years? What would his career have be
come without Bill Belichick?
And that remarkable supporting
cast? Put him with a MOR team, such as
Tampa Bay and look what he meant to
the Bucs! That should be taken into ac
count, but it will always be the view here
that there is no GOAT without a TEAM.
Georgia may not have been the most
talented team in the country in 1980, but
if you take into context the pure meaning
of team, nobody had what the Bulldogs
had in that unforgettable year. Remem
ber what that supreme master of slogans,
Erk Russell, came up with: BIG TEAM,
little me?
By Loran Smith
Please see Loran page 10B
TCHS Wins 8th Straight Area
Photo by Mike Branch
Chandler Lynn (back) battled his way to his fourth straight Area Championship,
The Toombs County High School
wrestling team continued their streak of
Area Traditional wrestling titles on Fri
day as they hosted the Area Tourna
ment. The Matdogs captured their 8th
straight Area title by putting 11 wrestlers
in the finals and having 4 Area Champi
ons.
Emmett Booker won the 1201b title
with a fall over Omarion Oglesby of Vi-
dalia in the finals. Sophomore Gibson
Wood (I32lbs) won his 2nd straight
Area title with a fall over Deante Terrell
of Vidalia in round one and a fall over
Nick White of East Laurens in the finals.
Junior Jacob Edwards won the 1521b
class with a fall over Zacheus Strickland
of East Laurens, and a 7-1 over Chandler
Corbett of Vidalia in the finals. Senior
Chandler Lynn won his 4th straight Area
title by defeating Trevon Waller of
Swainsboro by fall and by fall over Cyler
Bloodworth of Washington County in
the finals.
Other placers for Toombs were:
(I061bs) Kameron Clark 2nd, Samuel
Register (I13lbs) 2nd, Jesus Martinez
(I261bs) 2nd, (I321bs) Blake Hall 2nd,
Brannon Tatum (I38lbs) 3rd place, Alex
Gordy (I601bs) 4th, Tank Morris
(I821bs) 2nd, Treyvone Harris (I951bs)
2nd, and Brock Nobles (2201bs) 2nd.
Coach Sam Sapp had this to say
about the team’s performance at the Area
Traditional Tournament, “I was ex
tremely proud of how our guys wrestled
in the tournament and their preparation
leading up to the tournament. We were
not happy with our showing in the Area
and State Duals so we challenged our
kids to raise their level, and that’s just
what they did. We are one of the young
est teams we’ve had in a while here, and
that’s exciting. I am proud of our Senior
leadership, they have stepped up here
late and really challenged our younger
wrestlers. I can’t wait to watch these guys
on the big stage at the State Tourna
ment.”
Indians Sending 10 To State
The Class 2A Area 2 Traditional
Wrestling Tournament was held Fri
day at Toombs County High School
and the Vidalia Indians had a great day
qualifying 10 wrestlers for the GHSA
Traditional State Tournament which
started Tuesday in Macon.
Those qualifying were: 113lbs Ty-
kee Fields (3rd place), 1201bs Omar
ion Ogelsby (2nd place), 1261bs Ja-
varius Worthen (1st place), 132lbs
Deante Terrell (3rd place), 145lbs
Hunter Manning (1st place), 1521bs
Chandler Corbett (2nd place), 1601bs
Damien Townsel (2nd place), 182lbs
Dawson Campbell (1st place), 195lbs
Tom Godbee (1st place), and 285lbs
Jaylin Burns (1st place).
Photo by Mike Branch
Damien Townsel wrestles in the first round of the Area Traditional at Toombs County
High School.
Crusaders Pick Up Two Wins
By Mike Branch
Sports Editor
sports 7 advance@gmail. com
The Robert Toombs Christian
Academy girls played one game last week
as they fell in a close one to Alleluia
Community on Saturday. The boys
picked up two wins over Memorial Day
on Tuesday and then against First Pres
byterian Christian Academy on Friday.
Girls vs. Alleluia
The Lady Crusaders played their
first game since January 25, and they
played a good game, but came up just
short. RTCA fell to the Augusta school
38-34.
Boys vs. Memorial
Memorial took the early lead with a
three pointer, but a three by Justin
Walker and then a basket from Tyler
Bugs put RTCA on top 5-3. Memorial
took the lead back 7-5 with just over four
minutes to play in the first. They led
13-5 with 2:57 left in the first. By the end
of the first RTCA was down 17-9 to Me
morial.
Early in the second Clayton Mead
ows hit a three-pointer, and then MK
McBride added a three from the corner
as RTCA closed the lead to 21-15 with
6:10 in the half. McBride closed it to 21-
18, and then Walker made it 23-20 with
just over five minutes to go in the first
half.
RTCA took the lead on a fast-break
3QMBS
tmm
Photo by Mike Branch
Tyler Buggs goes up and over a Memorial Day defender for a basket in the first half
of their contest last week at RTCA.
basket by Jashaun Powell, 24-23. Mead
ows added another three, and it was 29-
25 after a basket in the paint by Buggs.
Memorial cme back and took the lead,
31-29 with just over one minute to go in
the half. RTCA was not able to get any
thing else to fall before the buzzer, and
that was the score at the end of the first
half.
In the third RTCA went on a run
and took the lead. They were up 55-47,
and led 57-47 at the end of the third pe-
Please see RTCA page 10B