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Wednesday,
October 24, 2007
Softball
Lady Hawks
To face East Coweta
in Columbus Thursday
BY BRANDON REED
The Mill Creek Lady Hawks
rolled on through post-season
play last week, winning three
games and advancing to the Elite
Eight in the state, which will
be held starting Thursday in
Columbus.
The Lady Hawks first took aim
at Harrison on Friday, defeating
the Hoyas with a convincing 7-4
victory. Morgan Bullock was the
winning pitcher. Amberlie Saxton
went 3-4, Hannah Graham went
2-4 with 3 RBIs, Allie Millonig
had 2 hits, Alex Rogers had
two hits, and catcher Stephanie
Konkle made some big saves for
Mill Creek at the plate.
“I felt like we were a little
flat when we started that game,”
said head softball coach Kelly
Murdock. “We started to string
a few hits and bunts together,
and were able to push some
runs across, which was huge.
Ultimately, we ended up winning,
I think, because we were able to
do the little things.”
The Lady Hawks moved on
Friday night to race a very tough
Brookwood team. Despite hav
ing two players, Amberlie Saxton
and Devon Dawson, on the side
lines due to injuries, Mill Creek
was able to pull out a 2-0 win
over the Broncos.
Bullock again picked up the win
on the mound. Devin Dossman
picked up a hit, a run, and an
RBI. Saxton hit a home run,
Allie Millonig got a hit, and
Cynthia Parkhurst made a big
defensive play at first.
“Brookwood gave us every
thing we could ask for, that’s
for sure,” Murdock said. “We
had two injuries, and two of my
girls were unable to play in that
game. But that had little bearing,
because Brookwood really swung
the bats well.
“I was happy with our defense
in that game. We were able to
scratch some runs across early
and hang on.”
On Saturday, Mill Creek’s final
roadblock was Milton. But a qual
ity performance from the mound
by Bullock, along with hard work
at the plate, gave the Lady Hawks
what they needed to record a 2-0
victory over the Eagles, and send
Mill Creek to the Elite Eight.
Bullock pitched a I-hit shutout,
while hitting a double and scor
ing a run at the plate. Lauren
Stimis drove in a run, Brittany
McDade reached base three
times, and Ashleigh Hughes got
a bunt single.
“I felt great about that game,”
Murdock said. “Morgan Bullock
threw one of her best games of
the year. She gave up one hit,
no walks. We executed a couple
of times to push a couple of runs
across, and shut down a very
good hitting team.”
Murdock says she’s excited for
her and her team to be heading to
the Elite Eight this weekend.
“I feel like we have some unfin
ished business. I hope that we
come out ready to play.”
Mill Creek’s first matchup
will come at noon on Thursday,
against the East Coweta Indians.
head for the Elite Eight
LADY HAWKS READY TO PLAY
Teammates confer before a recent matchup. The Lady Hawks went undefeated against Harrison, Brookwood, and Milton to earn their
way into the Elite Eight playoffs, beginning Thursday in Columbus. They’ll start play against East Coweta at noon.
Photo by Brandon Reed
“I think East Coweta will be a
big challenge for us,” Murdock
said. “We know nothing about
them, except that they are always
competitive. I think we’ll just
have to get out there and play
Hawks softball.”
Murdock said her team would
not make any changes in their
approach going into Thursday.
“We just need to focus on the
fundamentals, the things that
have gotten us here so far,” she
said. “We’re not going to make
any big changes, because we’ve
been successful. Really, we’re
just going to try to get hot. We’ll
hit a lot, try to get our bats going,
and see if we can’t go down there
and win it.”
Football
Hawks to visit Peachtree Ridge Frl
LOOKING, LOOKING
Mill Creek quarterback Zach Landis looks for a hole in the defense at a recent game. Landis went
21-35, passing for 215 yards on the night. Photo by Brandon Reed
Mill Creek drops to Blue Devils, 24-10
BY BRANDON REED
The Mill Creek Hawks went into Friday night’s
final home game on a four-game winning streak, and
had hoped to make it five.
But the Norcross Blue Devils were looking to keep
their number of losses at one, and did that with a vic
tory over the Hawks, winning 24-10.
Despite the loss, head football coach Shannon
Jarvis said his kids played extremely well.
“Offensively, we had 338 total yards to their 238,”
Jarvis said. “We out gained them by 100 yards.
Probably the most impressive thing our kids did on
offense was that we had 5 drives of 10 plays or more.
Norcross has a very good defense, and we kept the
ball away from them.
“We didn’t convert on two of those drives, and
we didn’t put points on the board, so you can’t be
completely happy with what we did, but we played
the game we needed to win, other than a couple of
break downs in special teams, and then their players
making a couple of big plays to score.”
But the loss is now an afterthought, as Jarvis and
his team look towards Friday night, and a match
up with another strong team, as they’ll travel to
Suwanee to face the Peachtree Ridge Lions.
Playing Out
The Hawks started Friday night’s game with a
14-yard drive, ending in a turnover to Norcross
on downs. Five plays later, the tough Blue Devil
offense drew first blood, ending with a 10-yard
touchdown pass.
Norcross would score again early in the second
quarter, going up 14-0 after seven plays.
Mill Creek threatened just before halftime, but
was denied by an interception in the end zone.
After the half, Norcross added to their lead with
a field goal, to go up 17-0. The Hawks were look
ing for momentum, and started to build it up with
a 32-yard field goal by Baxter Smith to get on the
board. But Norcross came back to score another
touchdown on a 36-yard pass, putting the Blue
Devils up 24-3.
In the fourth quarter, the Hawks continued to play
their game, and it paid off with a 5-yard run by
Lenny Brooks for Mill Creek’s lone touchdown of
the night, setting up the final score of 24-10.
“I think the whole game can be summarized in
the first series,” Jarvis said. “We had the ball for 13
plays, and moved the ball down the field, and had a
turnover on downs. They had it for five plays and
scored seven points. That’s just kind of the game
they had. They had a couple of big plays there, and
scored, and we just weren’t converting long drives
into points. That’s where we fell short.
“But it was a clean game, and I thought our kids
played well. To the credit of our kids, Norcross had
to play their best game of the year, and they did.”
Looking At The Numbers
Ed Russ led the team in receiving, with 114 yards
on nine catches. Julian Jones led in rushing, with 38
yards on nine carries. Zach Landis passed for 215
yards, with 21 completions on 35 attempts. Collin
Stuart led the team defensively, with 9 tackles,
including 8 assists. Noah Hanley had 3 punts for 80
yards, and Baxter Smith went 1 for 1 on PATs and
field goals.
“Zach (Landis) played well for us, except for the
first four or five plays, but overall he played a good
game,” Jarvis said. “Up front, Darius Jackson played
a very good game for us with our offensive line.
Defensively, Colin Stuart had another big night.”
Jarvis said he was pleased with how his kids stood
up to the challenge of the Norcross team.
“This was a big game, with a lot of implications
See FOOTBALL on page 2B