Newspaper Page Text
BASKETBALL
Vidalia, Toombs, & Montgomery
@VHS for Paul Thigpen Christmas Classic
Tues., Wed., & Thurs.
MCHS vs. E. Laurens
Fri. 6:00 p.m. (H)
RTCA vs. Piedmont Aca., Brentwood
Wed. 3:00 p.m. (A); Thur. 6:00 p.m. (A) (©Brentwood Tournament
Wheeler vs. Bleckley Co.
Thur. 4:00 p.m. (A)
Treutlen vs. Hancock Central, Jenkins Co.
Thur. 6:00 p.m. (A); Fri. 6:00 p.m. (A)
December 28,2022
®tjt Aiuanre
Section B
Loran
Smith
A Look Back At Sports In 2022
By Mike Branch
Sports Editor
sports 7 advance@gmail.com
Contributions from Local High
Schools and Coaches
Stetson's
Hometown
HOBOKEN - Georgia High
way 15 passes uneventfully through this
crossroads junction which is eleven
miles east of
Blackshear
which may
change its name
to Bennettville,
any day now, in
honor of UGA
quarterback
Stetson Ben
nett.
I have made
a stop here,
on the way to
Blackshear, be
cause I heard
that Hoboken is the “Sacred Harp Capi
tal of the World.” For years I have passed
through this junction on the way to
Florida and have never paid it any atten
tion. It was just another intersection in
a pulp wooding and agribusiness com
munity
Back in the spring, I had lunch with
Stetson at the local Circle K station
which is also a restaurant and conve
nience store. I had stopped here in the
past but only for a Coke and a pack of
Lance’s peanut butter crackers.
Stetson drove me here in his dusty
pickup truck which allowed for conver
sation about his life growing up in Black
shear and playing sports on the back lot
of his family’s pharmacy in Nahunta.
I have always been addicted to small
towns across the country While there
are countless locales throughout Geor
gia, with which I am familiar, there are
many throughout the country which
are similarly fascinating and remind one
that the simple life may be the best one
of all. It is a “live and let live,” way of life
where extravagance is not available. Not
even desired by the local constituency
The Internet suggests that Hoboken
may have gotten its name from Hobo
ken, New Jersey Why would a town in
South Georgia choose the hometown
of Frank Sinatra with which to identify
itself?
Hoboken is the sacred harp capital
of the world. (Wonder if Stetson is aware
of that?”) Singing acapella dates back
150 years and has attracted network
television. Four miles out of Hoboken
in Twin Parks, two bluegrass conven
tions are held each year where blue grass
aficionados from all over gather in their
RV’s and pop-ups to swoon to bluegrass
music. Looks like everybody in Hobo
ken has the urge to sing something or
other.
By Loran Smith
Please see Loran page 2B
Buffalo
Montgomery, AL.
Camellia Bowl, 12:00 p.m.
Dec. 27, ESPN
Season Over
Ohio State
Atlanta, CFP Semifinals
Peach Bowl, 8:00 p.m.
Dec. 31, ESPN
Photo by Mike Branch
Vidalia High School's "Comeback Kid," Kevin Cox reacts after getting the final out in
Game 3 to claim the State Championship for the Indians.
It was a big year for local sports in
2022. From Area and Region Champi
onships to State Titles, local athletes
showed that they are some of the best
in the state. These are some of the top
stories from 2022 in chronological or
der.
Wrestling
VHS
It was a big year for both Vidalia
and Toombs County high school in
wrestling. The Vidalia High School
wrestlers claimed the Area Dual
Championship with a 4-0 run in the
tournament. They had four wrestlers
go undefeated on the day, Gabriel
Hightower, Tommy Walker, Javarius
Worthen, and Hunter Manning.
At the State Traditional Tourna
ment, the Indians sent seven wrestlers
and two alternates to Macon. Three
Indians placed in the State Champion
ships with Hunter Manning earning
his second straight State Champion
ship.
Manning wrestled at 160lbs. for
VHS. He didn’t have to wrestle until
the quarterfinals and in that first match
he won by an 8-1 decision. In the
semifinals Manning defeated Brady
Guild of Union County by a major de
cision, 14-5. Then in the finals of the
tournament Manning beat Corbin
Davenport of Fannin County by a 7-1
decision to win the State Champion
ship.
TCHS
Toombs County High School
hosted the Area 2 Traditional Wresting
Tournament and came away as the
Area Champions with six individual
champions.
Kameron Clark, Samuel Register,
Davin Johnson, Tank Morris, Wil
Watts, and Brock Nobles all won Area
Titles for the Bulldogs.
Basketball
RTCA
It was also a good year for local
basketball teams. RTCA had the big
gest year for local teams as they came
away as the GISA State Runner-up for
the second year in a row.
In the Region Tournament the
Crusaders picked up an easy win over
First Preparatory Christian Academy
by the score of 70-39 to advance to the
Championship Game.
In the Title Game RTCA took on
Twiggs Academy and rolled to the ti
tle. RTCA won the game 65-30 over
the Trojans.
The Lady Crusaders also won the
Region Championship in a game
against Twiggs Academy. RTCA
jumped out to a big lead in the first
quarter and rolled to a 55-13 win.
The Crusader boys finished as the
State Runner-up for the second year in
Photo by Mike Branch
RTCA's MK McBride goes up for layup
during the Final 4 game against Terrell
Academy.
a row to the Lions of Solid Rock Acad
emy. The Crusaders won a big game in
the Final 4 against Terrell Academy
where they had to make a late come
back, but in the Championship Game
the Lions were just too much with
their size, including two players over
seven foot tall.
RTCA played hard all game but
were outmanned by the height of the
Lions. With six players over 6’5” in
cluding two over 7’ tall, the Crusaders
had a lot to deal with in this game.
RTCA kept playing hard, but just
did not have an answer. The final score
of the game was 85-53 with Solid Rock
taking the Championship.
VHS
The Indians ofVidalia High School
won the Region Championship. The
#5 ranked Indians defeated Jeff Davis
and Woodville-Tompkins in the Re
gion 2AA Tournament held at VHS to
claim the title. Woodville closed the
title game to 54-46 with just a few
minutes to go but VHS held them of to
take the win, 56-48.
VHS made it to the Elite 8 before
falling to Northeast of Macon by the
score of 67-53.
MCHS
The Lady Eagles of Montgomery
County High School had one of the
best year’s in school history as they
only had two losses in the regular sea
son and finished the year with a record
of 25-3, and a trip to the Elite 8.
The Lady Eagles were ranked as
the #1 team in the state, and they
showed why as they brought home the
Region Championship with wins over
Wilcox County and Dublin in the Re
gion Tournament.
MCHS won over Wilcox by the
score of 74-25 and then beat Dublin
46-26 to claim the Region Title.
In the first round of the playoffs
MCHS defeated Brooks County 63-26
and then won over Trion in the second
Please see Review page 2B
BPC In New Orleans
Lyons Rec. Dept.
Offering Esports
Lyons Recreation De
partment has joined forces
with GGLeagues, an online
esports gaming company,
to bring in a new program
that offers players a safe
and fun way to participate
in a community activity
from home. Esports is a
rapidly growing competi
tion venue around the
world. While we are not
going worldwide, we are
going statewide by partici
pating in the Eastern Es
ports Rec League through
GGLeagues.
We are excited to be of
fering this great new op
portunity to the area. Not
only will the esports expe
rience provide players with
a safe alternative to getting
together in person, it also
provides a great opportu
nity to compete in an envi
ronment for those that may
not be able to or choose
not to play in traditional
sports.
“GGLeagues is excited
to be partnering with Ly
ons Recreation Depart
ment to bring esports to
their community. Esports
continues to grow, and it's
communities like Lyons
Rec who are at the fore
front of bringing esports to
recreational gamers. We are
thrilled to be empowering
our partners to provide
fun, safe esports competi
tions for players of all skills
and ages.” Says Erich Bao,
CEO of GGLeagues.
Winter 2023 Season
Leagues
(January through March)
Games that we are of-
Please see LRD page 8B
Courtesy of BPC
The Brewton-Parker
College Barons basketball
teams were in New Orleans
last week to face Loyola. It
was a tough trip for BPC as
they dropped both games to
the Wolfpack.
Women
Brewton-Parker women’s
basketball traveled to New
Orleans to take on No.
9-ranked Loyola (La.) on
Monday afternoon. The Lady
Barons (9-5, 2-4 SSAC)
struggled against a tough
Wolf Pack (11-0, 5-0 SSAC)
in a 94-59 defeat on the road.
“Loyola has been the
class of our league for a long
time,” Head Coach Steve Ed
wards said. “We have been
fortunate enough to compete
and beat them a few times. I
believe this is the strongest
group we’ve faced.
“We are not in the same
class as Loyola right now,”
Edwards mentioned. “We
have a long way to go before
we can beat them. This break
will be good for us to become
healthy and whole. We look
forward to getting back to
work after the break.”
The Wolf Pack started
out hot with a 7-0 lead in the
first five minutes of play.
Madison Evans scored the
first bucket for the Lady Bar
ons before Loyola answered
with a 6-0 run to lead by 11
points with 2:27 on the clock.
Brewton-Parker struggled to
find the basket, scoring just
eight points in the quarter
while the Wolf Pack finished
with 21. Evans led the way for
BPC with six points followed
by Drexelle Ward with two
points.
The Lady Barons pro
duced their best scoring ef
fort of the game in the second
period, producing 21 points.
Please see BPC page 8B