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Contact the sports department: Phone: 706-367-5233 Fax: 706-367-9355 brandon@mainstreetnews.com IB 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