About The Advance. (Vidalia, Ga.) 2003-current | View Entire Issue (June 9, 2021)
All-Star District Tournaments Begin This Week At Purlin Park and In Effingham June 9, 2021 ®lft Aihiante Section B the SCOUTING REPORT UGA Getting Richer Via The Portal Kirby Smart and his minions at the University of Georgia must be doing something right. Georgia and Smart struck it rich last week through the “transfer portal.” Welcome to the future of college football, where the football teams that reside „ , , „ in places like By John Conner A i , _ Athens and Tus caloosa are ap- poaching Billionaire status. Athens struck paydirt when they picked up two transfers. Arik Gilbert, formerly a tight end at LSU, may be the answer to replacing injured UGA wide receiver George Pickins. How can a guy that lined up at tight end replace Pickens? Gilbert isn’t your typical bruiser tight end. He’s 6’5”, 250 pounds of match-up mayhem and speed for any defensive back in the SEC. And Gilbert, who has run a 4.3, saw an opportunity at Georgia when Pickins was injured. I honestly think that Pick ens will be back at some time during this season, and I think that at some time during the 2021 season, we’ll see both Gilbert and Pickins on the field at the same time. Talk about match-up nightmares. The Bulldogs also picked up a trans fer from Clemson. In Derion Kendrick, the Bulldogs have definitely picked up a 6’0” 190-pound ball-hawking corner- back. If you watch Kendrick’s hi-lites, whether it’s intercepting a pass against Miami or returning a scoop-and-score against Virginia Tech, you’ll certainly understand why Georgia should be ex cited to get him. Add Kendrick to Tykee Smith, a transfer from West Virginia who’ll at least see some time at nickel back, star, and safety, and the defensive backfield, which returns a lot of youthful talent, suddenly looks like a strength. If you add J.T. Daniels, the starting Bulldog QB, you’ll see that there will be a lot of production coming from trans fers this fall in Athens. The Bulldogs did lose Alabama transfer Brandon Turnage, who proba bly backed out because of Kendrick’s appearance on campus. It’s hard to believe that the college football season is basically only three months away from kickoff. Remember, the Georgia Bulldogs will kick off their season against Clemson on Saturday, September 4, at 7:30 p.m. Surprising Hawks Squeak By Philly In Game 1 The fourth quarter wasn’t pretty, but the first three were beautiful in At lanta’s 128-124 victory over the Phila delphia 76ers. Again, it was Trey Young leading the way with 35 points and 10 assists. The fact that the team almost blew that lead when Philadelphia started pressuring the young Hawks late in the fouth quar ter doesn’t mean much now. The Hawks are ahead 1-0 in the Eastern semifinals. This was Atlanta’s third straight road win in the playoffs. The winner of this series will take on the winner of the Milwaukee Bucks and Brooklyn Nets series. Brooklyn, a team bolstered by free agent James Harden, won the opener in that series 115-107. Photo by Mike Branch (L to R, Front): Koen Fountain, Jacob Collins, Austin Quintero, Carlos Diaz, Cayden Marshall, Peyton Williamson; (Middle): Kase Sikes, Remington Braddock, RJ Phillips, Brody Plutcheson, Cameron Brown, Carmelo Ricks, Jackson Gooden; (Back): Coaches Jesus Quintero, Matt Wiggins, and Clint Sikes. Lyons 10U Boys Win Tournament By Mike Branch Sports Editor sports 7 advance@gmail. com The 10U Boys Baseball division played last week as part of the 58th An nual Lyons Youth Tournament, with Ly ons battling back through the losers' bracket to claim the title. Lyons had a bye in the first round of the tournament, and in the second round they took on Evans County. Lyons had no issues in that game as they took the win, 15-4. Lyons dropped their next game to Metter in a close one. Metter came out on top 5-4, which sent Lyons down into the losers' bracket. In the losers' bracket Lyons rolled over Long County, 13-4, and then won 16-8 over Appling County. That win moved Lyons into the semifinals, and into a rematch with Metter. This time the local guys came out on top as they won the game 8-5. Championship Game 1 That set up Lyons and Reidsville to play for the title. In the first game Reids ville was the home team as they came out of the winners' bracket. Lyons took the lead 2-0 in the top of the first inning, but Reidsville tied the game at 2-2 in the bottom of the first. The teams were tied at 4-4 after the second inning, but in the third Reids ville took the lead 9-8 over Lyons. Lyons went back ahead 10-9 in the top of the fifth inning, and then held in the bottom half of the frame to lead 10-9 going to the final inning. Lyons added three more runs in the top of the sixth inning to push their lead to 13-9. Reidsville did plate a run in the bottom of the inning, but Lyons held on to win the game 13-10. That forced a Game 2. Game 2 In Game 2, Lyons was the home team. Neither team scored a run in the first inning, but in the second Lyons jumped ahead with four runs to lead the game 4-0. Reidsville closed that lead to 4-3 in the top of the third inning, and then kept Lyons off the board in the bot tom of the frame. Reidsville tied the game at 4-4 in the top of the fourth inning, but in the bot tom half Lyons got the bats going and plated three more runs to lead 7-4. Lyons added two more in the fifth inning, and then in the top of the sixth got several good defensive plays on their way to a 9-4 victory, and the Champion ship. Ty Dailey Earns Award By Mike Branch Sports Editor sports 7 advance@gmail.com Vidalia High School’s Ty Dailey has been recognized as one of Geor gia’s “Most Positive Athletes.” The award is given by Positive Athlete Georgia, an organization started by former UGA Football star and Super Bowl XL MVP Hines Ward. Positive Athlete Georgia is a move ment created to promote the benefits of “positivity” to young athletes in the communities throughout the state of Georgia with a goal of shaping the fu tures of young athletes for life skills beyond athletic competition. Dailey, who was honored for Base ball in the Southeast GA Region, was Please see Dailey page 2B Photo by Mike Branch Dailey puts a charge into a ball for the VHS Indians baseball team during this past season. VHS Indians Hire New Volleyball Coach Vidalia High School is proud to announce the hiring of Brooke Cam eron as their Girls Head Varsity Vol leyball Coach. Cameron, who replaces Sandi Calloway, who has taken a job in Dalton, will begin her duties immedi ately, as tryouts for the 2021 team will be held June 9 and 10 from Noon - 2:00 p.m. in the old gym. Cameron, a graduate of USC Ai ken, is the wife of Vidalia Head Foot ball Coach Jason Cameron and previ ously served as girls head Volleyball, Basketball, and Soccer Coach at Fox Creek High School in South Carolina. Cameron also has served as an assis tant Basketball and Volleyball coach for Cliffside Park High School in Cliff- side Park, NJ, as well as head middle school Soccer and Volleyball Coach at Coastal Middle School in Savannah. "I am very excited about becoming Vidalia High School's next Volleyball coach," said Cameron. "For such a new program it has seen much success un der the leadership of Coach Callaway. Please see VHS page 11B Brooke Cameron
