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BASKETBALL
VHS vs. Toombs
Fri. 6:00 p.m. (A)
RTCA vs. Memorial Day
Fri. 6:00 p.m. (A)
MCHS vs. ECI
Fri. 6:00 p.m. (H)
Treutlen vs. Hawkinsville
Fri. 6:00 p.m. (A)
January 17, 2024
®lft Aiuiante
Section B
Loran
Smith
Sportsmanship
As the seconds evaporated from the
scoreboard clock in the Mercedes Dome
in Atlanta a little more than a month ago,
I watched Kirby Smart, bitterly disap
pointed, stride across the playing field
with measured alacrity to congratulate
Alabama’s Nick Saban on victory
Already, even while nearing the en
trance to the Bulldog locker room, I was
hearing fans talk about “getting robbed.”
They saw that the television crew failed to
replay an Alabama pass reception which
appeared to have been dropped but
ruled a catch. A
former network
announcer sent
a text my way,
“You guys got
screwed.”
What
did Kirby do?
He took the
high road which
he always does.
That was the way
it was in 2017
when Tyler Sim
mons blocked a
‘Bama punt and the Big Ten officiating
crew flagged him for being offsides. The
crew later admitted they had missed the
call.
By Loran Smith
The following Monday, following
the heartbreaking loss, I flew with Kirby
to Charlotte for a trophy presentation by
the American Football Coaches Asso
ciation. On the way up he was lament
ing the outcome of the play. He and the
coaches had underscored with the great
est emphasis with Simmons that the op
portunity was there, but he simply could
not be offsides.
Kirby’s position today is the same as
it was a half dozen years ago. The game
was over. The score would never change.
No amount of carping or evidence will
ever change it.
Ole timers in Tuscaloosa may claim
that Pat Hodgson’s knees were on the
ground in Sanford Stadium in 1965 on
the heralded flea-flicker play that led to
the classic upset of Alabama between the
hedges on national television.
The Georgia position on that call
was that the rule said that for any catch
to be legal there had to be “possession
and control.” Conclusion was that if the
ball had fallen to the turf, it would have
been an incomplete pass.
One of the most controversial rul
ings in SEC history came in the 1966
Florida-Florida State game when a Sem
inole pass receiver named Lane Fenner
caught a touchdown pass that would
have won the game, but an official ruled
Fenner was out of bounds.
After the game, FSU partisans pro
duced still photos that confirmed Fenner
was well in bounds. Did Bill Peterson,
the Seminole coach ever howl and gripe!
He carried those still photos about in his
brief case and took great delight in show
ing you how his team was done in by a
dastardly i official, who “blew the call.”
It is still talked about in Tallahassee to
day, but the score has never changed. It
remains in the record books as a Florida
victory.
Taking the high road is the smart
thing to do, which is a Kirby mantra.
You don’t replay games. It is interest
ing that with all the clamoring for a re
play system—and that when we got it
in place—that we can’t get the kinks
worked out. Why do the officials not err
on the side of caution more often. My
view is that as long as we have the hu
man element involved, we will continue
to have these controversies.
Please see Loran page 3B
Barons Fly Past Skyhawhs
In 79-50 Road Victory
Courtesy of BPC
Brewton-Parker Men’s Basketball pro
gram traveled to West Point, Ga., to take on
Point (Ga.) for a Southern States Athletic
Conference matchup.
The Barons (6-10, 2-6 SSAC) downed
the Skyhawks (6-10, 0-8 SSAC) convinc
ingly with a 79-50 road victory.
How It Happened | First Half
The Barons busted the doors open with
an 11-0 run in the first six minutes led by
Lance Smith with eight points, capping the
run off with a shot from deep at the 14:13
mark. Point responded with a run of their
own, scoring 10 unanswered over the next
three minutes to cut the deficit to just one.
A trey from Zailan Blue moved BPC into
a four-point lead with 11:10 on the clock,
but the Skyhawks leveled the game less than
60 seconds later for a 14-14 score. Brewton-
Parker shifted back into a double-figured
lead over the following three minutes with
nine points coming from beyond the arc to
lead 25-14.
After moving to a 14-point deficit with
4:10 to play, Point fought its way back into a
single-digit deficit with a 10-5 stretch in the
final moments, but the Barons capped the
half with a trey from Smith for a 35-26 lead
at the break.
Please see Barons Fly page 3B
Lance Smith scored a season-high 34 points while snagging a team-leading
seven rebounds and dishing out four assists as well, followed by Burroughs
with 13 points.
MatDawgs Take 4 th in Brunswick
Courtesy of Toombs
County High School
The first competi
tion of the New Year
for the MatDawgs had
them traveling to
Brunswick High
School to compete in
the Port City Nigel
Hamilton Memorial
Tournament. The tour
nament is an annual
tournament held in
honor of Nigel Hamil
ton. Nigel was a stand
out wrestler under now
Brunswick head coach
Tommy Bartolotta
while coaching at
Glynn Academy and
then transferred to
Camden County.
The MatDawgs
were able to secure a
4th place finish as a
team, placing 11 of the
14 wrestlers entered
into the top 5. The top
3 teams at the tourna
ment were powerhouse
Camden County in
first place, Glynn Acad
emy in second place,
and Richmond Hill in
third place. “I knew
with the teams attend
ing that we would have
some battles. These
teams are some of the
best in the state and I
was proud of our team
for the fight they had.”,
said Coach Allen of the
tournament.
The MatDawgs
head to Vidalia on Fri
day, January 12, 2024
for the Area Duals.
This will be in the old
Vidalia gym and wres
tling begins at 3:30 pm.
Come out and support
the MatDawgs as they
begin their journey to
the State Dual Champi
onships!
Individual Results:
113 - Jahir Lopez
placed 5th
132 - Dylan Vetter
placed 5th
138 - Tyson Brant
ley placed 4th
144 - Dabvn Wad-
ley placed 4th
150 - Slade Lan
drum placed 6th
157 - Michale Jones
placed 4th
165 - Gailan Wilds
placed 4th
165 - Alex Otero
placed 5th
175 - Levi Worth
placed 5th
190 - Hayden Roy
placed 5th
285 - Brock Nobles
placed 2nd
Lady Barons Compete
At Tornado Open
Courtesy of BPC
Elora Waterman fell in a 10-0 tech fall to Schreiner (Texas) but returned to pick up a fall
in 2:14 against Emmanuel (Ga.), Waterman finished the tournament taking a 10-0 tech
fall to take a fourth-place finish,
Brewton-Parker Women’s Wrestling
competed at the Tornado Open hosted
by NCAA Division II King (Tenn.) on
Sunday.
Jorie Richardson highlights the
Lady Barons’ lineup as she captured
third place in the 136-pound weight
class. Richardson started the day with a
10-0 tech fall over Huntingdon (Ala.),
followed by a 9-2 decision loss to Life
(Ga.) in round two. Richardson
bounced back from the loss with a 6-2
decision win over Mount Olive (N.C.),
and a 10-7 decision win over another
member of the Huntingdon team to
secure third place.
In the 101-pound division, Elora
Waterman took a fourth-place finish.
Waterman started the day with a 4:29
pin against Mount Olive, before pick-
Please see Tornado page 2B