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Houston /©aUg TJmmtal
The Home Journal’s
SANDLOT
ON DECK
Major League Baseball
Today
■ Atlanta at Florida, 6:05
p.m., Turner South
High school
Softball
Today
■ Northside at Up the Creek
tourney at Sandy Creek,
teams and times to be deter
mined
■ Houston County at Jordan
tourney in Columbus, teams
and times to be determined
■ Perry at Diamond Classic
in Griffin, teams and times to
be determined
High school
Football
Today
■ Northside versus Perry
scrimmage, 7:30 p.m.,
McConnell-Talbert Stadium
BRAVES CORNER
BRAVES 5, NATIONALS 0
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The
Atlanta Braves found their way
Thursday afternoon, and in the
process found another arm for the
starting rotation.
Oscar Villarreal - remember
that name - gave the Braves
a much-needed jolt when the
team needed it most, working
five scoreless innings in a 5-0
victory over Washington at RFK
Memorial Stadium.
A reliever for all but one game
of his three-year career, Villarreal
made his second start in a critical
game that kept Atlanta’s wild card
hopes alive. His five innings were
a career-high, but the way he kept
the Nationals on their heals was
exactly what the Braves needed
to salvage a four-game split -- and
to head into an increasingly impor
tant three-game series tonight at
Florida with some momentum.
The shutout was only the sec
ond of the year for Atlanta - the
last coming April 15.
Brian McCann homered in the
second inning to put the Braves
out front 1-0, then Atlanta added
three more runs in the fifth.
Villarreal was lifted after five
innings. He gave up one single
and didn't allow a Washington
base runner past first.
At 9-1 with a 4.13 ERA, Cox
may have found a long-term solu
tion, not a quick fix.
While Atlanta only had seven
hits, they made them count. Three
of them were two-out hits that
resulted in four runs scored.
- By Don Coble
Morris News Service
IN BRIEF
Rec volleyball signups
set; cheerleaders needed
The Warner Robins Recreation
Department has begun registra
tion for volleyball. Registration
is open from 8 a.m.-5 p.m.,
and is open to girls and boys
13-18. The age control date is
Aug. 31.
A birth certificate is required
upon registration unless it is cur
rently on file. Participants must
also have the required fee at the
time of registration.
Registration fees are as fol
lows: $25 for city of Warner
Robins residents, SSO for coun
ty residents and SBS for out of
county residents. Call 929-1916
for more information.
Warner Robins chamber
to hold Playday Classic
The Warner Robins Chamber
of Commerce will hold the
Playday Classic 2006 Sept.
14, at The Landings Golf Club.
Registration deadline is Sept. 7.
Tee times available at 8 a.m.
and 1:30 p.m.
The registration fee of SBS
includes greens fees, a cart,
breakfast or lunch and admis
sion to the Celebration & Food
Festival.
Prizes include a set of tires,
a Nissan truck from Jeff Smith
Nissan, a SIO,OOO CD from
Sun Mark Bank and a Rolex watch
from Satterfield & Dempsey
Jewelers.
For information, call 328-
7745.
SATURDAY,
AUGUST 19, 2006
J J§jL ‘
■ .7. / ft
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Journal/Matthew Brown
Jacobi Rodrigues (10) is getting a feel for what it’s like to be on the receiving end of a
thrown football at Northside’s preseason practices. Rodrigues was the starting quar
terback when the Eagles played for the state championship last season.
NS weighs QB options
By MA TTHEW BROWN
Journal Staff Writer
There’s a possibility that a
change in the starting quar
terback position is about to
take place at another county
high school.
Marques Ivory, who saw a
fair amount of playing time
under center as a sophomore
for Northside High during
its run to the 2005 AAAA
state championship game, is
the first Eagle one might
see running the offense at
the start of practice. Jacobi
Rodrigues, a senior who is
the incumbent at that posi
tion, is instead flanking out
wide along with several other
vT ;:
ENI/Gary Harmon
Warner Robins defenders wrap up a Peach County defender during the two teams’
scrimmage Thursday at McConnell-Talbert Stadium.
WR making up for lost time
Wright airs it out in Peach County scrimmage
By MATTHEW BROWN
Journal Sports Writer
With Parkview and
Northside leading off the
Warner Robins 2006 foot
ball schedule, it was only fit
ting that the Demons play a
championship-caliber school
in a preseason scrimmage
situation.
Mark Wright Jr. returned
to a full-speed game atmo
sphere after losing most of
the 2005 season to an injury.
Sports
"That's off and an. Hopefully it will work
out that Marques can step hi there and
play it and Jacobi can go out and play
wide receiver. Certain things have to be
done... than what our hopes are."
- Northside head coach Conrad Nix, on the Eagles’quarterback shuffle
veteran targets in Conrad
Nix’s multiple scheme.
Thatdoesn’tmean, though,
that Rodrigues doesn’t take
any snaps. In fact he often
does later in practice. Nix
hasn’t declared one or the
other the absolute starter,
but does recognize the ben
His 39-yard touchdown pass
to Laureal Richardson in the
fourth quarter keyed a 24-14
win for the Demons against
defending Class AAA state
champion Peach County
High at McConnell-Talbert
Stadium Thursday.
“It’s good to be back,”
said Wright as the closing
seconds ticked off the game
clock.
Head coach Bryan Way
said afterwards Peach
County was just the type
efits of having both of these
athletes on the field at the
same time.
“That’s off and on,” said
Nix about the quarterback
shuffle. “Hopefully it will
work out that Marques can
step in there and play it
See WEIGHS, page jB
of opponent Warner Robins
needed to gauge where the
team is after a lesser num
ber of practices than usual
in mid-August. Without
having a camp setting this
year, Warner Robins lost 10
possible practices, and Way
said some areas, such as the
running game, are behind
in their development at this
stage in the preseason.
Hence the little air
show Wright orchestrated
See TIME, page iB
Patterson, Clarke lead
PY past Hawklnsville
By MATTHEW BROWN
Journal Sports Writer
With shortstop Marla
Patterson leading the way,
Perry High
School did
one better
in its home
run total
to earn
i.
its second
straight
home win
at the start
of the 2006
HU
PERRY
PeiTy 18,
Hawkinsville 8
softball season.
Patterson hit two home
runs for a total of five runs
batted in while pitcher
Jenna Clarke also went
deep to give Perry an 18-8
five-inning triumph against
Hawkinsville.
Patterson was 4-for-4
overall at the plate with a
pair of singles mixed in to
her hitting spree. Ashton
Jones drove in two runs
on two hits, one being a
double, Ashley Craddock
'Downtown' Matthew Brown:
Ift nil abnut the nicknames
One of the best
parts about being
in this sports
writing and column-writ
ing position, other than the
free passes into all the ball
games ...
I always
love going
up to an
athletic
director
and say
ing, “Hey,
you know
they
charged
me double
my usual
Matthew Brown
HDJ Sports Writer
price to get in.” It’s actu
ally taken some a minute
or so to realize double of
nothing is still nothing.
Sorry, had to digress.
One of the best things
to do in sports journalism,
something that has gone
on since the dawn of the
sports civilization, is to cre
ate nicknames for various
athletes.
Like one time there was
a high school baseball play
er in Wayne County during
my time in Jesup. He had
Riley, company face uphill
battle in Ga-Fla matchup
Special to the Journal
Mary Riley of Perry and
Eastman’s Christy Cheek,
playing for Georgia in the
opening round Thursday of
the 26th annual Georgia-
Florida Women’s Team
Matches, could only man
age a half point by halving
the back nine with Mary
Jane Hiestand of Naples
and Winter Park’s Julie
Garner. Hiestand and
Garner went on to close
out their match 3 and 1.
Overall, Florida jumped
out to an early 9 1/2-8 1/2
lead on Georgia after the
Toombs, Ward to contend in qualilier
Special to the Journal
Thomas Toombs of Perry
and Willis Ward of Warner
Robins are among the 139
players listed to contend
in a sectional qualifier for
the 2006 USGA Senior
Amateur Championship
Monday at Barnsley
Gardens in Adairsville.
SECTION
B
had three hits and Jessica
Wright, both coming in the
same inning.
Clarke pitched the first
three innings against the
Hawkinsville offense with
no runs and only one hit
allowed with two PWalks
and six strikeouts.
The Panther offense
gave Clarke an 11-0 lead
after two innings. All 11 of
those runs scored on two
out hits, Clarke herself
getting things started with
a three-run first-inning
home run that hit the flag
pole in dead center field.
Eight Perry batters
reached base with two outs
in the home second. Laura
Thompson, the starting
catcher, and Wright were
on base with hits when the
second out was recorded.
Erica Smith tripled both
runners home on a ball hit
over a too-shallow-playing
right fielder.
See LEAD, page SB
pretty good pull power to
left field. Since the baseball
stadium was fairly close to
the football stadium, some
times his homers would
reach - or at least it looked
like they reached - the
football bleachers.
So, I think, why. npt
call him “Bleacher jpHr
Sounded like soiflefhing
out of one of those oldie
songs.
In Americus, we had
a football receiver at
Americus High whom some
of the scouting gurus rated
as the No. 1 prospect in
the entire country. Since
the uniforms were blue
and white, and this player
could make some heroic
plays, I decided to deem
him “Captain Americus.”
You have to be a life-long
fan of comic-book charac
ters to understand that
one.
This player actually went
on to play for a Mississippi
junior college team that had
blue as its main color and
nicknamed the Rangers.
So I couldn’t help
See BROWN, page SB
first round of the event
being held at Southern
Dunes Golf and Country
Club in Haines City, Fla.,
Thursday-Friday (results
in Tuesday’s Houston Daily
Journal for Friday).
Georgia will need to tally
19 of a possible 36 points
in Friday’s singles matches
to come from behind and
claim victory.
The opening round
consisted of six four-ball
matches in a Nassau for
mat, which awards one
point to the winner of
See BA TTLE, page 2B
Toombs, Ward and the
field will be contending
over 18 holes and for eight
spots and two alternate
positions in the champion
ship.
The championship
the 52nd USGA Senior
Amateur Championship
will be held at
See QUALIFIER, page 8B