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BASKETBALL
MCHS OFF
RTCA vs. Piedmont Aca.
Wed. 3:00 p.m. (A, Girls)
TCHS OFF
VHS vs. Tattnall Co.(Girls), Metter(Boys)
Wed. 6:30 p.m. (H) - Paul Thigpen Christmas Classic
Wheeler vs. Dublin
Wed. 6:00 p.m. (H)
Treutlen vs. Dooly Co.
Sat. 6:00 p.m. (A)
December 29,2021
®l|e Aiuance
Section B
Loran A Look Back At 2021
Smith
Orange
Bowl
In the Sixties, the Orange Bowl be
came the preferred holiday attraction for
most college football teams except for
those in the Pac
Ten and the Big
Ten.
The Rose Bowl
annually matched
the winners of
those conferences
at Pasadena, a de
lightful California
garden spot. How
ever, the rest of
the teams in those
two leagues were
not allowed, for a long period of time, to
accept other bowl invitations. The South
eastern Conference and other conferenc
es had no such restrictions. With the pre
ponderance of bowl games originating in
Southern locales, owing to more favorable
weather, you will find many of the bowl
records belonging to SEC teams.
Beaches, bikinis, palm trees waving
in golden sunshine—what was there not
to like about Miami? The Orange Bowl,
for a spell, became the best promoters, the
best bowl organization.
The passing of time has caused the
name and memory of Earnie Seiler to fade
away, but anyone with a connection to the
Orange Bowl’s past, would be eager to tell
you about the man who became known
as the “Mad Genius.” He ran the Orange
Bowl for nearly a half century and created
what many felt was, “The Greatest Show
on Earth,” with his parades and halftime
extravaganzas.
A vignette from the lore of the Mad
Genius had to do with the 1961 halftime
show, which featured Nero and the Ro
man circus. It involved two lions, which
had been trained to roar on cue. With
out the roar, the show would be a failure.
Earnie took no chances. He laid copper
wire along the bottom of the cages and at
tached a battery. When it was time for the
lions to roar, Earnie had arranged for two
charged wires to connect at just the right
time. The lions gave an Academy Award
winning roar.
He organized halftime sensations
which enhanced ratings and came up with
the idea of kicking off the game at night
as the Orange Bowl became the last game
to be played on New Year’s Day, replacing
the Rose Bowl, which had enjoyed that
long time status.
Owing to a long-time friendship with
John Underwood, a senior editor at Sports
Illustrated, I was given the assignment of
putting together a book on the Orange
Bowl’s first fifty years: Fifty Years on the
Fifty. I will always be indebted to Under
wood for this opportunity, which took me
to several campuses and addresses across
the country, researching the past with for
mer players and coaches.
Please see Loran page 9B
Michigan
Orange Bowl
Miami, Dec. 31 7:30 p.m.
ESPN
By Loran Smith
Photo by Mike Branch
Jashaun Powell scored 53 points in the final two games of the season as he stepped
up for the Crusaders during their State Runner-up run,
By Mike Branch
Sports Editor
sports 7 advance@gmaii. com
What a year 2021 was. After losing en
tire seasons the prior year due to COVID,
sports were back in full force. Teams from
around the area earned Region and State
Championships during this big year back
from the pandemic. These are some of the
top stories from 2021 in chronological or
der.
Wrestling
VHS
It was a big year for both Vidalia and
Toombs County High Schools in wrestling.
VHS claimed the Area Duals Champion
ship on January 15. That sent them through
to the State Meet where they had their high
est finish in school history, taking fourth
place.
They fell in a close match at State to the
State Runner-up Dade County, and lost to
Lovett School, but got a win over Lamar
County on the way to the fourth-place fin
ish. Javarius Worthen, Tom Godbee, and
Jaylin Bums all were undefeated in the meet.
VHS also qualified 10 wrestlers for
State at the Area Traditional Tournament.
Of those 10, three of them earned State
Championships. Hunter Manning at 145
lbs., Godbee at 195 lbs., and Burns at 285
lbs. It was the first State Championships for
the Indians since 1999. Dawson Campbell
also wrestled for a Championship but fell
short taking second place at 182 lbs. God
bee capped his career with the title and his
second in a row. He also finished his career
at VHS with a school record 220 wins, in
cluding a senior year at 44-1. He signed to
wrestle for the Black Nights of West Point.
TCHS
The Bulldogs of Toombs County also
had a good season as they claimed their 8th
straight Area Traditional Championship.
They had four wrestlers earn Area Champi
onships; Emmett Booker at 120 lbs., Gibson
Wood at 132 lbs., Jacob Edwards at 152 lbs.,
and Chandler Lynn won his fourth straight
title.
RTCA Basketball
Robert Toombs Christian Academy
took first and second in the Region Tourna
ment in basketball. The Lady Crusaders
won over Twiggs Academy for the Region
Championship. The boys Region Champi
onship was a matchup of the #1 and #2
ranked teams in the state in AA in the GISA.
RTCA was also missing senior point guard
Justin Walker, who was out with a broken
hand.
The girls won their game over Twiggs
69-16. In the boys game it was tied at 59-59
with just 30 seconds to play, but Memorial
got a couple of late shots to fall and took the
win 64-59.
In the State Playoffs the girls fell in the
first round, but the boys went on a run with
Please see Review page 2B
Indians Split With Warriors
Photo by Mike Branch
Siricco Jones drills a three-pointer early in the Indians' contest against Tattnall County
last week at home,
By Mike Branch
Sports Editor
sports 7 advance@gmail.com
The Vidalia High School basketball
teams hosted the Warriors of Tattnall
Couny last Tuesday. The Lady Indians
fell in their contest, but the boys pulled
out a close win over a very good Warrior
team.
Girls
It was a tough game for the Lady In
dians as they faced offwith a good Tattnall
County team. The Lady Warriors were on
top 18-6 at the end of the first period, and
they pushed that lead to 34-18 by half
time.
In the second half of the game Tattnall
led 56-23 at the end of the third, and they
went on to win the game 59-33.
VHS was led by Corianna Warner
with 10 points, and Hannah Nichols
added 8 points in the loss.
Boys
It was a wild start to this contest as
the Indians jumped out to a big lead on
the Warriors, only to see them come
storming back. Ty Dailey put the first
points on the board and put VHS up 3-0;
then Bryson Whited added a runner in
the lane for a 5-0 lead. Siricco Jones
drilled a three-pointer for an 8-0 lead, and
then Whited made it 10-0 with 4:50 left
in the first period.
Tattnall finally got on the board as
they tipped in a rebound with 4:40 on the
clock. Dailey hit two threes in a row as
the Indians built up a 16-2 lead, and then
the VHS defense caused a 10-second
Please see VHS page 9B
