Newspaper Page Text
August 16, 2023
®l|e Aiuiante
FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS
MCHS OFF
RTCA VS. Pinewood 7:30 Thur. in Lyons
Listen to on NewsTolk 970 AM 105.3 FM - WVOP
TCHS at Long Co. 6:30 Fri. in Ludowici
Listen to on 100.9 FM WLYU
VHS at S. Effingham 7:30 Fri. in Guytoi
Listen to on 97.7 FM WTCQ
VHA OFF
Homecoming will be rescheduled
Wheeler at GA Military 7:30 Fri. in Milledgeville
Treutlen at Jenkins Co. 7:30 Fri. in Millen All game broadcasts streamed live at
Listen to on 101.7 FM WYUM www.southeastgeorgiatoday.com
tcbbroadcasting.com
Section B
Indian's Cross Country Place
2nd At Peach State Preview
The VHS boys cross country team took second place at the Peach State Preview.
Loran
Smith
Dell
McGee
Few people have figured as
prominently in Georgia’s ascent to
the summit of
college football
as Dell McGee,
the Bulldogs’
run game coor
dinator and
running backs
coach.
A man who
takes compel
ling pride in his
work, Dell has
tutored a slew
of outstanding
running backs
in his time in Athens, and he’s built
a reputation as a stellar recruiter. But
he’s done so in a low-key style that
neither seeks nor attracts attention.
Dell is a very private man who be
longs to the fraternity of men whose
action speaks louder than words. Yet
no one relates to high school football
prospects more effectively than this
man. He communicates with them
as if he were their favorite uncle. He
builds instant rapport and a bond that
feels as secure as Fort Knox.
Once Dell connects with a pros
pect, you can pretty much apply the
modus operandi of the Royal Mount
ed Police. “He always gets his man.”
Among those he has recruited and/
or coached are Sony Michel, Nick
Chubb, and D ’Andre Swift, as well as
NFL draftees from the championship
team, James Cook and Zamir White.
Born in Columbus, Ga., Dell
moved with his family to Alameda,
Calif., when he was three years old.
They returned to Columbus when he
was in grade school.
He was soon excelling at all ath
letic activities. He was good enough
at Kendrick High School to get the
attention of Coach Pat Dye’s staff at
Auburn, and he signed with the Ti
gers. When Dye retired after the 1992
season, Dell finished out his playing
career with the Tigers, enjoying first-
team status as a nickel back.
A memorable moment for Dell
came in the Iron Bowl against Ala
bama in 1993. His fourth-quarter in
terception of quarterback Jay Barker
helped preserve a 22-14 Auburn vic
tory. Beating Alabama is always cause
for celebration on the Plains, but
this win capped an undefeated, 11-0
season and extended what became a
20-game win streak for the Tigers of
coach Terry Bowden.
Dell enjoyed a brief professional
career that included stints with the
Arizona Cardinals, the Rhein Fire of
NFL Europe, the Detroit Lions and
the XFL. He began a coaching career
in the high school ranks, highlighted
by seven successful years at Carver in
his hometown. All seven of his Tiger
teams won 10 or more games, includ
ing a 15-0 campaign for the state AAA
championship in 2007.
Today, he looks back on his time
with Dye, a former Georgia All-Amer
ican, as an invaluable learning experi
ence. “Coach Dye taught me to be a
man,” Dell says. “He made you aware
that little things can be very impor
tant, that you should never complain
about hard work and that everything
should be black and white—no gray
area.
“He was a down-to-earth guy
Please see Loran page 6B
Courtesy of VHS
The Vidalia Indians opened their
2023 Cross Country season with a
great showing in the Peach State Pre
view Invitational, held Saturday in
Hazlehurst.
Junior Georgia Meredith placed
2nd in the girl’s division with an out
standing run, while Andrew Hodges
placed 3rd on the boy’s side. “As al
ways it was a great day to be an In
dian,” said Vidalia Cross Country
Coach Mandy Godbee. “These run
ners have battled the heat for weeks
and came well prepared to race. They
always seem to amaze me with
their mental and physical toughness as
well as their gritty competitiveness.”
Other Indians showing well in the
boy’s division were Jude Owen, who
placed 7th, and Chamlee Evans, who
finished 10th. Rounding out the top 5
Vidalia finishers were Cash
Driggers finishing 16th, and Liam
MacGregor, who placed 23rd, which
Courtesy of TCHS
On Friday night, the Toombs
County High School Bulldogs football
team headed to Savannah to take on
back to back, class AAAA State Cham
pions, the Benedictine Cadets, in a
highly-anticipated preseason clash. An
unexpected lightning delay set the
game back by two hours.
Once the weather cleared, the JV
teams for both schools faced off, with
the Cadets JV taking a 7-0 lead after
the first quarter. The spotlight then
helped the Indians finish in 2nd place
out of 16 teams, just behind Glynn
Academy.
Freshmen Sadie Siegmund and Ju
dith Hussey had exceptional races for
the Lady Indians as they competed in
their first high school race.
shifted to the varsity squads, who bat
tled fiercely for two quarters. The
Bulldog offense showcased their dy
namic mix of passing and running
plays, as junior QB TJ Stanley consis
tently delivered accurate throws.
Equally commendable was the Bull
dog defense, which effectively neutral
ized Luke Kromanhoak, the #3 ranked
QB nationally for the 2024 class and a
Florida State commit. Their “Red Bul
let Defense” proved to be a thorn in
Kromanhoak’s side throughout the
evening.
The Bulldogs also made waves on
Both teams will next run on Satur
day, August 26, when they travel to
Whitesburg for the Bob Blastow Early
Bird Invitational. “I am so excited to
watch this team exceed
throughout the season!” Godbee said.
special teams. Placekicker Braylan Di
etrich showed off his leg with two
solid field goals, measuring 49 and 25
yards respectively.
The Varsity scrimmage concluded
with a nail-biting score of 14-13 in fa
vor of Benedictine. Nevertheless, the
Bulldogs’ robust performance paints
an optimistic picture for the upcoming
season. Their 2023 regular-season
campaign kicks off this Friday at Long
County High School, a rematch of last
season’s game in which Toombs tri
umphed with a decisive 21-0 victory.
Lady Eagles Start Off 2-0
By Mike Branch
Sports Editor
sports 7 advance@gmail.com
The Lady Eagles soft-
ball team from Montgomery
County High School has
gotten off to a 2-0 start this
season. Last week they got
their second win as they
rolled over Washington
County on Thursday at
home.
It was all MCHS as they
got out to an early lead and
went on to take the win.
MCHS scored four runs in
the bottom of the first in
ning and then added two
more in the second inning
to lead 6-0.
Washington scored two
in the top of the third in
ning, but the Eagles an
swered in the bottom of the
frame with to more to lead
8-2. MCHS plated one in
the fourth inning and one in
the fifth inning.
Washington did score
one in the top of the fifth,
and then added a run in the
sixth and another in the sev
enth inning, but MCHS got
the win, 10-5.
The Eagles were led by
Marley Bell and Miracle
Nobles, each with two RBI's
in the game. Bell also go the
win in the circle for MCHS
and recorded 14 strikeouts
Photo Courtesy of MCHS
Marley Bell had 14 strikouts in
the circle for the Lady Eagles
against Washington County.
in the game.
This week MCHS took
on Treutlen on Monday af
ter presstime. On Wednes
day the Eagles will host East
Laurens at 5:30 p.m., and
Dublin will come to town
on Thursday at 5:30 p.m.
SOFTBALL
MCHS vs. E. Laurens, Dublin
Wed. 5:30 p.m. (H), Thur. 5:30 p.m. (H)
RTCA OFF
TCHS vs. Long Co., Tattnall Co.,
W. Laurens, S. Effingham, Harlem
Wed. 6:00 p.m. (H); Thur. 5:00 p.m. (A); Fri. 6:00 p.m. (H); Sat. 9:00 a.m. & 3:00 p.m. (H)
VHS vs. W. Laurens, Bacon Co.
Sat. 9:00 a.m. (H); Sat. 3:00 p.m. (H)
Treutlen OFF
Wheeler vs. Wilcox Co.
Thur. 5:30 p.m. (H)
VHA vs. DEA
Thur. 5:30 p.m. (A)
By Loran Smith
Impressive Showing By Bulldogs