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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2008 BARROW JOURNAL PAGE 5B APALACHEE FOOTBALL 2008 LOOKING FOR YARDAGE The Apalachee High School backs had to battle the Heritage defense and the ele ments last Friday night. Missed chances cost Wildcats WINDER-BARROW FOOTBALL 2008 Slow start hurts Doggs in loss T ■-i. IN THE TRENCHES Winder-Barrow High School’s Matt Harmon (71) deliv ers a block against a Salem defender last Friday night. Photo by Jessica Brown BY CHRIS BRIDGES Too many missed oppor tunities proved costly for the Apalachee High School foot ball team last week. The Wildcats (5-3 over all) dropped a 20-0 decision to Heritage on the road in Conyers and could only won der what might have been when the final buzzer sound ed. Two missed chances inside the Patriot 5-yard line hurt Apalachee including one as the first half expired. “The score could have been 14-14 at half,” Wildcat coach Shane Davis said. “Even if it is 14-7, the game has a com pletely different outlook. We just didn’t get it done. We’ve have some special teams mis- cues the last couple of weeks and haven’t played as well defensively.” Three turnovers, including two late in the fourth quarter when Apalachee was attempt ing to catch up, also played Region Roundup 8-AAAA Standings Team Reaion/Overall Loganville 7-1 Clarke Central 7-1 Apalachee 5-3 Salem 5-3 Cedar Shoals 5-4 Hab. Central 5-4 Heritage 4-4 Rockdale County 4-4 Madison County 2-6 Winder-Barrow 1-7 Monroe Area 0-8 a role. Davis credited Heritage for earning the win saying the Patriots have had some tough losses and are probably better than their 4-4 record indi cates. “They have some good athletes who play hard,” the Wildcat coach said. Apalachee took the game’s opening series but was forced to punt. At this point, fans got to see a call which is rarely seen, an illegal punt. The Wildcats punted the football off the ground and the snap was dropped and Heritage took over the 25-yard line. The Patriots then recovered an onside kick. Apalachee’s defense would hold, how ever. After the Wildcats were forced to punt. Heritage moved in front 14-0. Apalachee would move inside the Patriot 5-yard line twice in the second quarter but could not punch the foot ball across the goal line either time. That changed the momen tum of the contest. The Wildcats will look to get back on track in the region this Friday when they host Madison County. See a preview story of that contest in today’s sports sec tion. BY CHRIS BRIDGES If you take away the first five minutes of last week’s game between Winder-Barrow High School and Salem High School, you would have a draw. Unfortunately for the Bulldoggs, those first five minutes count as much as the remaining 43. In the end, the visiting Seminoles (5-3 overall) recorded a 21-0 win and remained in contention for one of the playoff spots from Region 8-AAAA while Winder-Barrow (1-7) contin ues to build with its overall young squad. “We weren’t ready early,” said Bulldogg head coach Ben Corley. “I need to take the blame for that. By the time we focused in and started to play well we were too far behind. We have to come out of the gate ready.” Salem took the opening kickoff and marched 63 yards in just four plays for an early 7-0 lead. After the Bulldoggs were forced to go three and out, the Seminoles struck again on a 54-yard run. An interception by the Salem defense put the Seminoles back in business and a third score at the 7:19 mark of the first quarter. While it appeared the contest was going to be a complete runaway, Winder- Barrow regrouped and would hold Salem scoreless the remainder of the way. The Bulldoggs’ best scor ing drive of the first half came on their fourth possession which eventually resulted in a missed 38-yard field goal. Winder-Barrow had several key plays on the drive includ ing passes from Greg Dixon to Terrell Evans and a run by Tyler Coleman. After the Seminoles' fast start, the Winder-Barrow defense forced three consecu tive punts. Salem then missed a field goal at the end of the first half. While his team was able to keep the game relatively close, Corley still has con cerns about falling behind so quickly. “We have had problems coming out one side of the football or the other,” the coach said. “We don’t need to take so long to adjust to the speed of the game.” Despite the loss, Corley did see some positive things from his squad. “We don’t have any ‘give up’ in us,” he said. “We play hard the entire game. We’ve done that each week. It is a credit to our players for doing that. If we can get off to a quick start it would help us tremendously.” Overall, Winder-Barrow is a young team with 11 seniors. “They are all good kids and good players,” Corley said of the seniors. “We just don’t have that many of them. Our junior class is also small. However, I don’t want to use that as a crutch. We have played eight games now. It’s time to start growing up.” The coach said Salem had one of the better defenses his team has faced this fall. “We were playing a strong defense and we were also bat tling the elements,” Corley said. “Of course, they were playing in the same weather we were.” i n> Dear Citizens of Barrow County We are only a few days away from casting our votes in what may prove to be the most important election in our lives. With this in mind, I would like to take the opportunity to express to you how important it is that you exercise your right to vote November 4th. If elected Sheriff of Barrow County, I want to ensure the citizens of this community receive quality law enforcement service that is delivered professionally and ethically. I want the citizens of Barrow County to know I believe integrity is the foundation of the law enforcement profession, and I want the citizens to know under my leadership the Barrow County Sheriffs Office will operate with the highest standards of professional ethics. I believe that leaders who possess vision and have the right people working toward their goals will achieve anything they want to achieve. I believe that what the Sheriff s Office needs now, more than anything else, is the right kind of leadership. I hope that the citizens agree with me that common sense is what is needed in the leadership positions of our county’s government. I hope the citizens have come to understand that I am interested in being Sheriff because I believe that I have the skills, experience, education, common sense, and most of all, the desire, to see that Barrow County continues to be a great place to live and work, to educate our children, to open a business, and to visit friends and family. It is with this that I come to you as the Republican candidate for Sheriff of Barrow County. If elected I intend to work hard to find solutions to the problems we face in Barrow County. I will meet the problems head-on and overcome those challenges, one by one along side the employees at the Barrow County Sheriffs Office. While I hope that I will have your support during my campaign for Sheriff, it is even more important to me that you go out on November 4th and cast your vote for your chosen candidates. Together, we will make a difference! Thank you again for your continued support and votes. Jud Smith Paid for by the candidate. < ' » Jud Smith