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FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS
MCHS vs. Hawkinsville i :30 in Mt. Vernon All game broadcasts streamed live at
www.southeastgeorgiatoday.com
RTCA VS. Piedmont Aca. 7:30 in Lyons
Listen to on NewsTalk 970 AM 105.3 FM - WVOP
TCHS VS. Pelham 7:30 in Lyons
Listen to on 100.9 FM WLYU
VHS VS. Richmond Co. Aca. 7:30 in Augusta
Listen to on 97.7 FM WTCQ
Treutlen vs. Johnson Co. 7 30 in Wrightsviiie
Listen to on 101.7 FMWYUM
VHA VS. Covenant Aca. 7:30 in Macon
Wheeler vs. Dooly Co. 7:30 in Vienna
September 15,2021
®lft Afiuanre
Section B
Loran
Smith
Season
Underway
Last Saturday, I took a walk from my
campus address to Sanford Stadium
which got me in the mood for a game
which brought about pre-game con
cerns. UAB has
had such success
in Conference
USA that I was a
worried man
singing a worried
song.
Maybe that is
because of a con
servative nature.
Maybe it was
the doomsaying
of Vince Dooley
over the years.
Mainly it was a familiarity with a histo
ry of the past, seeing favored teams bite
the dust, but also the awareness that it
doesn’t matter the oddsmakers take, you
may be looking for trouble when you
don’t respect your opponent.
I watched J. T. Daniels on the side
line during practice—in full pad rega
lia. He looked the same as he always
looked—as if he could step on the field
and hum a deep ball 50 yards on target to
a fleeting receiver.
When he did not experience prac
tice field rehearsal, it signaled that he
would likely not see any game day action.
The overview was that the Bulldogs, after
winning that all important game against
Clemson in Charlotte, could be expected
to suffer something of a letdown. Addi
tionally, the hue and cry, had a common
refrain: “What’s wrong with the of
fense?”
I thought about all that as I watched
the tailgaters, humbled by the opportu
nity to be back in full swing—tasty de
lights, refreshing libations, fight music
and little kids playing touch football on
the grass, bringing about this offering:
What an uplifting piece of Americana!
Old grads at the Georgia Center, week
end respite for the Georgia football
team, recalling great games of the past;
renewing of friendships and socializing
with thankful fervor.
It was, gratefully, business as usual.
It is only natural that the fan base
frets about the offense although Stet
son Bennett with his homerun balls put
the crowd at ease. You don’t want your
offense to peak early. You want to give
backup players playing time and you
want to see the offensive unit grow.
Two things we know: One, the of-
Please see Loran page 2B
By Loran Smith
Arkansas
Fayetteville, AR, 4:00 p.m.
SEC Network
Clemson
Clemson, SC, 3:30 p.m.
ABC
South Carolina
Athens, 7:00 p.m.
ESPN
By Mike Branch
Sports Editor
sports 7 advance@gmaii. com
The #1 ranked Vidalia High
School softball team got some re
demption on Tuesday of last week as
they got a win over the #2 ranked Jeff
Davis, who had won the teams' first
meeting. They then won over East
Laurens on Thursday night to im
prove their Region record to 5-1. On
Saturday they traveled to Georgia
College to take on Jones County and
West Laurens. The Indians fell in
both of those nonregion games,
vs. JD
Tymber Harris was in the circle
for the Indians and had a good outing
as she had eight strikeouts and gave
up just one run.
In the top of the first inning the
Yellow Jackets had a runner on, but
she was thrown out at second trying
to steal by VHS catcher Tori Wright
for the third out of the inning.
In the bottom of the first the Indi
ans loaded up the bases with two outs
when Madison Starr walked. But a
strikeout ended the VHS threat and
sent the game to the second inning
still 0-0.
Harris led off the second with a
single. Lydia Smith came in to run for
her and was moved over to second on
a bunt, but a lined shot by Rileigh
Robinson to third base, and Smith
was doubled up at second to end the
inning.
In the top of the fourth inning the
Yellow Jackets finally broke through
with a run, albeit a bit controversial.
Photo by Carroll Williams
Emma Vinson fired over to first base for an out as the VHS Indians took on Jeff Davis
in a big Region matchup.
They got it started with their first
base hit of the game, a double to the
fence. An error put another runner on
base, and then a single into right field
led to a run. Jesslyn Collins fielded
the ball and came up firing to home.
Wright caught the throw and dove to
her left to tag the runner, which the
home plate umpire called out. The JD
coaches asked for an appeal to the
base umpire, and the call was re
versed, giving the Yellow Jackets the
first run of the game.
In the bottom of the fourth in
ning Starr led off with a triple, but the
next two VHS batters got out. Emma
Please see VHS page 3B
Toombs
Wins Over
Berrien
The Heritage backfield gets the play and sets up against Covington Academy last
Friday night on the road.
VHA Football Moves To 4-0
Friday, the Vidalia
Heritage Academy Eagles
traveled up to Covington
as they were looking to
pick up their first Region
win of the season.
The Eagles started
off well, won the toss,
drove the ball down and
scored on the opening
drive with a run by Josiah
Smith. The Eagles De
fense showed up as well
and shut down the Cov
ington Bulldogs on their
opening drive and forced
a punt.
The Eagles looked
good all night as they
went into halftime up 22-
12. They did not let off
the gas in the second half,
as they put up another 44
unanswered points.
VHA had a great
night as they hung 66
points on the Bulldogs.
The final score was Ea
gles 66-12. This moves
the Eagles to 4-0, and 1-0
in Region play.
Head Coach Seth
Sitzman had this to say
about the game, “This
was a good football team
we played. Their boys
were very big and ath
letic. I am proud of how
the Eagles stepped up in
the second half and con
tinued to play football. It
was rewarding to see a
few players step up this
week and fill some spots
due to injuries and com
pete. We have to buckle
down this week and pre
pare to play another good
football team in Macon.”
VHA will be on the
road again this week as
they travel to Macon to
take on Covenant Acad
emy on Friday at 7:30
p.m.
The Toombs County High School
football team picked up a win over the
Rebels of Berrien County on Saturday
of last week.
Berrien took the early lead with a
passing touchdown in the second
quarter of the game. They tacked on
the PAT to lead 7-0 over the Bulldogs.
Late in the first half, with less than
a minute to go, Toombs tied the game
on a 14-yard pass from Gavin Hall to
Cam Robinson. Carlos Brown added
the extra point to make it 7-7 heading
to halftime.
After a scoreless third, Toombs
got on the board again in the fourth
Please see TCHS page 6B
SOFTBALL
MCHS vs. Johnson Co.
Thur. 5:30 p.m. (A)
RTCA vs. Pinewood
Thur. 5:30 p.m. (A)
TCHS vs. E. Laurens, Bryan Co.
Thur. 6:00 p.m. (A); Fri. 4:30 p.m. (H)
VHS vs. Swainsboro, E. Laurens
Thur. 6:00 p.m. (A); Fri. 5:00 p.m. (A)
Treutlen vs. Wilcox Co.
Thur. 5:00 p.m. (H)
Wheeler vs. Hawkinsville, Portal
Thur. 5:30 p.m. (A); Sat. 10:00 a.m. (H)
By Mike Branch
Sports Editor
sports 7 advance@gmail.com
mm
9/16 -XC ©Toombs
9/16 - Volleyball @ Wayne Co.
9/16 - Softball @ Swainsboro
9/17 - Football vs. Richmond Aca,
^9/17 Softball @ ECI
|jeer @ Pepperell Class!
- Softball @Toomb:
lleyball @ McIntosh'
m.
9/22 - Softball vs. W. Laurens
9/22 - TeacherTrainin
BE A PART OF SOMETHING GREAT
JRTrigge SD Meadows
9/20 - Softball vs. E. Laurens
9/21 - Softball @ Dodge Co.
9/21 - Teacher Training
grj
W JD Dickerson
W 9/17-Selling tattoos
f for Football Friday
iui i uuluuii i iiuciji
rfc. ^