Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

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.