Newspaper Page Text
September 7,2022
®l|e Aiuiante
FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS
MCHS at Wheeler Co. 7:30 in Alamo
RTCA VS. Briarwood 7:30 in Lyons
Listen to on NewsTalk 970 AM 105.3 FM - WVOP
TCHS at Jefferson Co. 7:30 in Louisville
Listen to on 100.9 FM WLYU
VHS at West Laurens 7:30 in Dexter
Listen to on 97.7 FM WTCQ
Treutlen OFF
Listen toon 101.7 FM WYUM
VHA at Baker County 7:30 in Newton
All game broadcasts streamed live at
www.southeastgeorgiatoday.com
tcbbroadcasting.com
Wheeler vs. Montgomery Co. 7:30 in Alamo
Section B
Loran
VHS Rolls Over Pinewood
Photo by John W. Conner
Vidalia linebackers were all over Pinewood running backs in last Friday's 56-16 win
over the Pinewood Patriots.
Smith
Tarkenton
As Stetson Bennett IV’s quarter
back reputation seems to be emerging
from the Rod
ney Dangerfield
no respect syn
drome— with
mention of the
Heisman tro
phy falling la
tently on his
ears—another
quarterback of
his dimensions
has lined up
solidly against
those who hold
the view that
the Baron of Blackshear should forget
about the notion that he might not be
playing football on Sunday in the fall
2023.
I have been given to saying that
Stet’s dream of playing for the glory to
‘ol Georgia for some time has been the
fulfilling of a longtime goal but watching
him maneuver about the behemoths of
his world as he leads his team to victory
has also had me deep into wonderment
about the next level.
That is not a concern of his now.
He still loves playing for the school he
has adored since he was in short pants,
engaging in touch games at Herty Field
on North campus where UGA’s football
beginnings began.
Another quarterback of note who
was wont to dream about greatness in
his precocious college years, is one who
didn’t do badly himself—Fran Tarken
ton. On Sunday morning following Or
egon, my phone rang, and I heard this
preachment from No. 10, who at one
time held all the passing records in the
NFL: most yards, most attempts, most
completions, most touchdowns and
most yards rushing by a quarterback.
His NFL records stood for 17 years.
“Let me tell you,” Tarkenton began,
“Stetson Bennett will be playing on Sun
day next fall. Somebody will draff him
because he has ‘the chip.’ (More about
that later). And it won’t be in the late
rounds. Somebody will draff him in the
first two or three rounds, and somebody
is going to get a winner.
“I don’t care how tall he is. I don’t
care how well he does on any those stu
pid tests. The kid knows how to make
plays. He’s got quick feet, and that is im
portant, but what I like about him is his
brain.”
Anyone with the beneficiary of a
long-time relationship with Fran would
easily conclude that this Hall of Fame
quarterback sees a lot of himself in Stet
son. Tarkenton was castigated for not
being fast enough, not big enough, but
he outsmarted everybody. He had quick
feet, too, and he also had the chip. He
could master a defense as well as any
quarterback who has ever played the
game.
I have heard him say over and over
that the best way to win in football is to
run the ball and stop the run. You have
heard that as often as Kirby Smart and
Bill Belichick or any coach who has ever
had a piece of chalk in his hands. No
body appreciates football fundamentals
more than Tarkenton.
As a head shaking aside, Tarkenton
was castigated for not being a classic
strong armed QB who could hum it 70
yards. He could manage that distance
until his high school coach made him
participate in “tackle to the ground”
drills which resulted in a dislocated
shoulder from which he never fully re
covered until he got a titanium replace
ment long after NFL retirement.
Please see Loran page 3B
Courtesy of VHS
The Vidalia High School Indians
football team scored three times in the
first quarter on Friday night to run out
to a 22-0 lead and built on that momen
tum the rest of the game as they domi
nated the Pinewood Patriots 56-16 at
Buck Cravey Field. The win by the In
dians gave them their first 3-0 start
since 2018, as they racked up 548 yards
in total offense, including 322 yards on
the ground. The Indians were led by
junior Antonio Barron, who combined
for 233 yards and ended the night with
four touchdowns.
Vidalia wasted little time getting on
the board, scoring their first touch
down just 2:48 into the game when
Barron hit Kaleb Bennett on a 30-yard
strike to give the Indians a 7-0 lead fol
lowing Adam Crutchfield's PAT.
The Indian defense, which played
strong all night long, allowing Pine
wood just 134 total yards, got the ball
back for the offense a short time later.
This time, it was the ground game that
gave Vidalia points as Sophomore A.J.
McLendon went in from 11-yards out
to make it 14-0 following Crutchfield's
kick with 5:17 to go in the opening
quarter.
But Vidalia was not through. Get
ting the ball back with just over 2-min-
utes to go in the first quarter, Barron
threw his second touchdown pass of
the night, hitting junior wide receiver
By Mike Branch
Sports Editor
sports 7 advance@gmail. com
The Eagles football team of Mont
gomery County High School was at
Taylor County last Friday night and
picked up the win over the Vikings. It
was a tough battle for the Eagles, but
they pulled it through in the second
half of the game for the win.
Neither team got much going in the
first half of the game as they exchanged
several punts. In the second quarter of
By Joey Drew
Saturday, September 3, Pro Wrestler
Scotty Bullwinkle teamed up with Legacy
Performance Center's Joey Drew and the
nonprofit organization, Healing a Heart
Ministry's Connie Smith, to put on a free
Pro Wrestling Promotion for the commu
nity. Audience members were asked to
bring canned goods and nonperishable
items for donation to help less fortunate
Toombs County families during tough
financial times due to rising inflation
costs.
Each Professional wrestler in atten
dance gave amazing performances to help
raise money for the community. Close to
$1,000 in food and money was raised for
Toombs County residences through do
nations taken in from the show.
Scotty Bullwinkle, owner of Explo
sive Pro Wrestling and longtime Toombs
County resident, stated he wanted to give
something back to the community that he
loves, and which has been so good to him.
After he came up with the idea of a free
wrestling promotion, he reached out to
Healing a Heart Ministry and Legacy Per
formance Center Owner and Pro Wres
tler Joey Drew aka, "BOLO," for the loca
tion and date of the event.
Drew said, “When Scotty reached
out to me, I knew the event was going to
be amazing and a great help to the com
munity. Scotty Bullwinkle is known all
over the nation for his pro wrestling pro
motions and as a performer. I was more
Carson Ricks on a 14-yard hook up for
Rick's first varsity touchdown. Vidalia
then put the ball in McLendon's hands,
who scored on a 2-point conversion to
give the Indians a 22-0 lead with 1:08
to go in the quarter.
Vidalia scored three more times in
the 2nd quarter, including a 1-yard run
by Ahmelion Jones and Barron's first of
two rushing touchdowns, a 54-yard run
to make it 35-0. Vidalia's only hiccup in
the first half came with 23-seconds to
go in the half when Jackson Berry's pass
intended for AJ McClendon was inter
cepted by Pinewood's Walker Todd for
the game the Vikings got on the board
first as they pinned the Eagles deep.
They came away with a safety to take a
2-0 lead over MCHS.
MCHS wasted no time in the sec
ond half of the game to take the lead
over the Vikings. The eagles scored on
a rushing touchdown with still over 10
minutes on the clock. With the extra
point MCHS was on top 7-2. Later in
the third quarter the Eagles added to
that lead as they went ahead 14-2 over
Taylor.
than happy to provide the location for the
event and perform in the show.”
Bullwinkle stated he plans to pro-
a touchdown making it 35-8 following
a successful two-point conversion.
But the Indians answered right
back, as Barron raced down the Indi
ans' sideline for a 45-yard touchdown
with just 9-seconds to go in the quarter,
to make the score 42-8 at the half.
The second half saw a lot of young
Indians get some quality playing time,
as the Indians got two more touch
downs in the 3rd quarter, a Trey Adams
1-yard run to make it 49-8, and a Berry
to Bennett throw and catch for 59-yards
Early in the fourth quarter Taylor
added a touchdown to close the lead to
14-8, but that was all they could do
against the Eagle defense. MCHS took
the win by that score.
Cameron Wallace led the Eagles
with 107 yards rushing along with both
of the team’s touchdowns. Tristan Bell
added 33 yards passing.
This week the Eagle will make the
trip over to Alamo to face off with rival
Wheeler County. The game will kickoff
at 7:30 p.m.
mote more benefit shows in the future to
further help local residences during trou
bling times.
Please see VHS page 3B
MCHS Wins Over Taylor
Wrestling For A Cause
(L to R): Wrestling Promoter Scotty Bullwinkle, Healing a Heart Ministry's Connie Smith,
and Legacy Performance Center's Joey Drew.