Newspaper Page Text
— www.MainStreetNewsSports.com —
October 29, 2008
Barrow Journal
Chris Bridges, Sports Editor
770-867-6397, phone
678-425-1435, FAX
cbridges@barrowjournal.com
New voice
arrives for
local sports
T he sports section you
are currently holding in
your hands is something
I hope will become a habit for you
each week.
For with this edition, Barrow
County has a new player on the
sports scene. I guess you could
call it a new contender to use an
old boxing analogy.
I think you will like our
approach to
sports cover
age. I’m not a
“Johnny Come
Lately” when it
comes to cover
ing local sports.
I’ve been at it
a long time.
Professionally,
I’ve covered
sports since 1993
although I’ve
been on the side
lines, in gyms and at local fields
even longer than that.
I have a strong understanding
of what an important learning
tool high school, middle school
and recreation sports can be when
used right. I also understand what
local coaches go through when it
comes to directing their programs.
When you follow high school
sports as closely as I have, for as
long as I have, you see up close
the work coaches put in, the hours
they are away from their families
and the overall little reward they
receive financially for it. What I
hope to do is help you understand
that overall process.
It will also be our role to fol
low both high schools and docu
ment what their student-athletes
accomplish. We have no prefer
ence for one school over the other.
We want both schools to succeed
equally. I’ve previously worked at
a newspaper where I covered four
high schools so having two major
schools to follow is nothing new
for me.
Sports coverage is something
we will take seriously at our
paper. We realize having a top
notch sports section is important
to readers in a community like
Winder and all of Barrow County.
We will do our best to provide you
with that each week. From keep
ing you informed on the progress
of our local teams to keeping in
touch with former local standouts
to in depth features, we hope to
offer something for all readers
within our sports pages. What you
see in our debut issue this week is
a good example of what you will
see on a regular basis.
Already the feedback we have
received has been strong. It’s a
great sign to have such a positive
reaction from the community —
sports and otherwise — before
you even have your first edition
roll off the press. Hopefully, this
premier issue will only encourage
you to support this product more.
I welcome your suggestions for
this paper’s sports section. If you
know of a former local athlete
who is now competing at the col
legiate level, please let me know
about him or her. If you have an
idea for a sports related feature, I
would love to hear about.
In the meantime, I look forward
to seeing you on the sidelines
during the remainder of football
season and at winter sports when
those campaigns begin in coming
weeks.
It is an exciting time for Barrow
County sports and we are proud
to be here to document it. We
hope you will eventually get to
the point where you consider us
your No. 1 source for sports news
in Winder and Barrow County for
that is our ultimate goal.
chris
bridges
First & Ten
Chris Bridges is sports editor of
the Barrow Journal. E-mail com
ments about this column to cbridg-
es @ barrowjburned. com.
THE LEGACY CONTINUES
LOCAL TIES
Phil Jones, who spent more than a decade coaching at Winder-Barrow High School, started
the football program at Shorter College in Rome. Photos courtesy of Shorter College SIO
Winder-Barrow
coaching icon...
BY CHRIS BRIDGES
t has been more than 12
years since Phil Jones
last coached a football
game in Barrow County, but
the time that has elapsed has
not taken away any of the love
the longtime gridiron mentor
has for the Winder-Barrow
High School community.
Jones stepped down as the
Bulldoggs" head coach in the
summer of 1997 to begin a
new chapter in his career as
he moved to coaching at the
collegiate level. From stops
at the University of Georgia
to SMU to Gardner-Webb to
his current home at Shorter
College, where he started a
football program, Jones still
has a big spot in his heart for
Winder and Barrow County.
“What a tremendous experi
ence my family had in Winder
and Barrow County,” Jones
said earlier this month. “It was
an incredible place to live. We
treasured every minute of it.
All the relationships we made
and all the youngsters we had a
chance to work with are some
thing we will never forget.”
Jones and his wife Janie’s
two children graduated from
WBHS, adding to the special
meaning of their former home.
“It was simply a great fam
ily experience for us,” Jones
said. “We still stay in touch
with so many people. It was
a tough decision for us to
leave at the time. God works
in mysterious ways so often.”
see Coach on page 4B
FOOTBALL
Wildcats
return
home
BY CHRIS BRIDGES
Despite last week’s disappoint
ing loss to Heritage, the playoffs
remain a strong possibility for the
Apalachee High School Wildcats.
Coach Shane Davis’ team is now
5-3 overall and will host Madison
County in an important Region
8-AAAA contest this week. While
the Red Raiders enter the game at
2-6, Davis said his team cannot
overlook them.
“They have been competi
tive against some teams who are
competing for the postseason,”
the Apalachee coach said. “They
lost to Loganville late and played
Heritage to a 7-0 game. Madison
County has played well lately by
simplifying their offense.”
The Wildcat defense will look to
keep the team’s option in check.
“Their quarterback also has the
ability to run the spread so we
have to be prepared for that,” Davis
said.
See Wildcats on page 4B
‘Doggs
venture
to Athens
BY CHRIS BRIDGES
When the Winder-Barrow High
School football team travels to
Clarke Central Friday, Bulldogg
head coach Ben Worley said it will
be important for his team to start
the game playing well.
“It seems we have been ‘wide-
eyed’ when the games begins,”
Corley said earlier this week as
he and his coaches began pre
paring for the contest against the
Gladiators. “We have to get past
that. We have to believe we can do
well. To start playing well halfway
through the first quarter is too long
to wait.”
Corley is referring to last Friday’s
home game against Salem in which
his team fell behind 21-0 before the
first quarter was half over. The final
score ended up being 21-0 but the
early hole proved to be too much to
climb out of.
WBHS will face Clarke Central
on the road this week at 7:30 p.m.
See WB football on page 4B
Friday Night Lights:
•Apalachee hosts Madison
County, 7:30 p.m.
•Winder-Barrow @ Clarke
Central, 7:30 p.m.
MIDDLE SCHOOL FOOTBALL
~w
RUNNING TO A TITLE
Westside Middle School’s Zay Henry rushed for one of his six
touchdowns in the league championship game against West
Jackson Middle School. Photo by Lyrt Sengupta
Balanced attack leads
Huskies to league title
BY CHRIS BRIDGES
When one reviews the cham
pionship season enjoyed by the
Westside Middle School football
team, perhaps one stat stands
above all others.
The Huskies outscored their
opponents 196-43 this fall. At any
level of football, that is typically
going to equal success. It certainly
did for coach Paul DeFoor’s team
in 2008.
“We had an outstanding year,”
the coach said. “Going into the
year, the coaches and I did not
know what to expect. The South
Region that we play in is very
tough.”
An early 8-0 win against
Malcolm Bridge Middle School
helped give Westside the confi
dence it needed for its title run.
Defense played a large role in
the standout season as the Huskies
did not allow but 20 points in their
first five contests.
“We had a group of layers that
were willing to work and sweat in
practice,” DeFoor said. “They just
had great leadership and the right
attitudes all year.”
The only blemish on the record
for Westside could easily have an
asterisk by it.
see Title on page SB