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Barrow Journal Chris Bridges, Sports Editor 770-867-6397, phone 678-425-1435, FAX cbridges @barrowjoumal.com Lady Bulldoggs capture 8th at state meet Final game gives ‘Doggs hope for ‘09 A dmittedly, few people probably expected the Winder-Barrow High School football team to put up much of a fight Friday night when the Loganville Red Devils paid a visit to W. Clair Harris Stadium. Afterall, the Red Devils were set to clinch the Region 8-AAAA title while the host Bulldoggs were entering the game 1-8 and, in theory, had little to play for except for pride. Someone forgot to tell coach Ben Corley’s squad, however, that they were simply supposed to roll over and play dead. The game was still close late in the second half and the heav ily Red Devils struggled to put the underdog home team away. All Winder-Barrow needed was a break here or there and the game would have entered the upset alert stage. Unfortunately for the home team, that one needed break never materialized and Loganville left town with a 19-7 win. Still, one had to be impressed with how Corley’s team played. In less than desirable playing conditions, the Bulldoggs stood toe-to-toe with the best the region had to offer last Friday and sur prised everyone in attendance on a drenched night. For the first- year head coach, the performance against one of the region’s elite was hopefully a sign of things to come down the road. “The kids played hard, like they have all year,” Corley said. “We have never had any quit in us.” The 2008 season was one of transition for the Winder-Barrow football team. A completely new offense was installed and while the overall defensive scheme was the same, only two starters returned from the year before. With the transition season now complete, Corley and his coach ing staff should see some vast improvements when the team takes the field for the first game of the 2009 season. The returning players will have more experi ence, the offensive scheme will not be as unfamiliar and hopefully some of the breaks will begin going the Bulldoggs’ way. Ironically, some of those signs were beginning to show last week against Loganville. Winder- Barrow’s defense showed how far it had advanced by limiting the Red Devils to 19 points. Yes, the weather conditions were less than desirable, but those who use that argument always seem to forget that both teams play in rainy con ditions, not just one. Offseason work is set to begin immediately for the returning players. As Corley said Monday morning, “the weight room is never closed.” Football, even at the high school level, is a year around sport today. You don’t just show up in August and begin practicing and hope to be success ful. You will never win games that way. Good times are ahead for the Winder-Barrow High School football program. It will take hard work, dedication and patience on everyone’s part. However, I’ve been around enough high school football programs to know the beginning of success when I see it. What is taking place within the Bulldogg program is just that. Good times are indeed ahead. It’s going to be fun to chronicle these upcoming times. Chris Bridges is sports editor of the Barrow Journal. E-mail comments about this column to cbridges @ barrowjournal. com. STATE CROSS COUNTRY BY CHRIS BRIDGES The trip to Carrollton Saturday was a successful one for the Winder- Barrow High School Lady Bulldogg cross country team. The Winder-Barrow varsity girls placed eighth overall at the Class AAAA state meet paced by a sixth place indiviual effort by Amanda Cope. Completing the course in 19:52.23, Cope helped the Lady Bulldoggs finish eighth among 32 Class AAAA schools competing. Rebecca Gregory was the second Winder-Barrow runner to finish the state course as she was 53rd overall in BY CHRIS BRIDGES The first season at Apalachee High School for Shane Davis ended with a 1-9 campaign. That first year was not an indica tion of the success which was about to come. During the next three cam paigns the Wildcats have qualified for the state playoffs and this fall have already established a new record for most wins in a season with seven. For Davis, several factors have been keys in pushing the Apalachee pro gram, which is still young overall, to its current level. “First, we have been blessed with good football players,” Davis said Sunday night after spending the weekend preparing for this Friday’s state playoff opener against Rome. “I’m not going to say it’s just because we’ve outworked people. We have 21:58.59. Teammate Kayla Estes was 57th in 22:07.58. Other top runners for the WBHS varsity girls included Marie Lyle (66, 22:18,89), Nicole Webb (98, 23:17.64), Lauren Barrea (102, 23:23.31) and Melissa Sommer (129, 24:16.68). The WBHS varsity boys took 21st overall as a team and were paced by the performance of Josh Timms who completed the state course in 18:22.95. Timms was 66th overall in Carrollton Saturday. Luis Jimenez was 76th in 18:34.16 for the Bulldoggs. had some great talent.” Credit also goes to the Apalachee coaching staff, the head coach said. “We have an unbelievable group of coaches who love our kids,” Davis said. “It doesn’t matter if it’s on the practice field or on Friday nights. The kids know they are cared about.” Another step in building the success of the program has been getting the players to accept the fact that football is a year around process. “It doesn’t start Aug. 1,” Davis said. “We are a football program not a football team. We have had success with our weight program and we feed off that success and the intensity that comes with that. Our goal is to be pound per pound stronger than any team we play each game.” see Coach on page 2B By the numbers: Amanda Cope (1 9:52.23) and Josh Timms (1 8:22.95) paced WBHS at state. Other top runners for Winder- Barrow included Ryan Weathers (120, 18:59.89), Jake Hester (127, 19:03.69), Brandon Knock (129, 19:04.62), Charles Peppers (166, 19:40.76) and Cary Hughes (173, 19:50.95). The WBHS teams qualified for state during their performance last month at the Region 8-AAAA meet in Conyers. The Lady Bulldoggs were region runner-up while the Bulldoggs were third. Cope was the top runner for the WBHS girls at the recent region meet in 20:24.96 followed by Rebecca Gregory in 22:00.24. At region for the WBHS boys. Josh Timms completed the region race in 18:12.27. Teammate Luis Jimenez was the next Bulldogg to complete the race in 18:34.50. Melissa Weinke coaches the cross country program for WBHS. CLASS AAAA STATE PLAYOFFS: APALACHEE @ ROME. FRIDAY 8 P.M. Ready for the Wolves Wildcats qualify for postseason for third straight year Coming up: GAME: Apalachee @ Rome BY CHRIS BRIDGES F or the Apalachee High School football team, two words sum it all up: “playoff time.” The Wildcats are still practicing this week after week 10 of the regular season. It’s the goal of every high school football team in the state. For the third consecutive season, coach Shane Davis’ team is among this elite group. For the opening round, Apalachee draws the Rome High School Wolves on the road. Kickoff this Friday is set for 8 p.m. against the 8-2 oppo nent from Region 7-AAAA. “It’s great to still be playing,” Davis said, as preparations began for the opening round. “We know this will be a tough one. Our kids have to realize it’s playoff time now.” Winning last Friday against Salem was key for Apalachee because it was a victory on the road, Davis said, something his team will have to do this Friday. “We won some big games on the road last year, but we really hadn’t done that this season until we defeated Salem,” the coach said. “That’s why I was glad to see us get that win with so much on the line.” The victory against Salem locked up the No. 3 seed from the region for the Wildcats. A loss could have opened all sorts of scenarios as to who would have finished third and fourth. Loganville and Clarke Central earned the No. 1 and No. 2 spots while Cedar Shoals ended up with the fourth seed from 8-AAAA. Breaking down Rome, Davis said the Wolves are a good team who run the Wing-T on offense and line up in the 4-4 scheme defensively. “They are run oriented, running more than 80 percent of the time,” he said. “They have three quality running backs and a very athletic quarterback. They have a big bruising fullback as well. Defensively, they are big up front. They have two inside linebacks who can run WHAT: Opening round of Class AAAA state playoffs WHEN: Friday at 8 p.m., WIMO RUNNING TO THE PLAYOFFS Apalachee’s John Ansley, making a big run against Salem last week, will help lead the Wildcats into the Class AAAA state playoffs this Friday against Rome. It is the third consecutive trip to the postseason for Apalachee. Photo by Lyn Sengupta to the football. They are a very physical foot ball team.” While some coaches argue the merit of playing at home or on the road, Davis is quick to point out Rome will have an advantage being on their home turf. “I would rather be at home, no doubt about it,” Apalachee’s coach said. “They are going to have the edge there. When you are on a bus for two hours it puts you at a disadvantage. You don’t feel the same when you get there. That’s why it is called ‘home field advantage.’ They earned the right to play this game at home. That’s why regular season games mean so much.” Rome head coach Sid Fritts said the two teams mirror each other in several ways. “We are similiar in many ways, both offen sively and defensively,” said Fritts, who like Davis is in his fourth season with his team. see Preview on page 2B Davis finds winning formula quickly at Apalachee COACHING SUCCESS Now in his fourth season as Apalachee’s head coach, Shane Davis has guided the Wildcats to the state playoffs for the third consecutive season. Photo by Chris Bridges chris bridges First & Ten