Newspaper Page Text
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THURSDAY,
OCTOBER 19, 2006
The Home Journal’s
SANDLOT
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SCOREBOARD
High school
Volleyball
Wednesday
■ Area finals at Union Grove:
Union Grove 25, Houston County
14; Union Grove 25, Houston
County 18; Union Grove 25,
Houston County 15. Union Grove
secures top seed for state tour
nament, Lady Bears will enter
as No. 2. For more, see Friday's
Houston Daily Journal.
ON DECK
High school
Softball
Friday
■ GHSA state Sectionals at
Southern Pines Softball Complex
in Dublin: Houston County ver
sus Paulding, 4 p.m.; Warner
Robins versus Hiram, 6 p.m.
Saturday
■ GHSA state Sectionals at
Southern Pines Softball Complex
in Dublin: Houston County and
Warner Robins - to be deter
mined.
High school
Cross country
Saturday
■ Westfield at GISA state tour
nament at Georgia Children's
Home in Macon, 9 a.m.
High school
Football
Today
■ Tift County at Houston County,
7:30 p.m.
Friday
■ Westfield at Deerfield-Windsor.
8 p.m.
■ Peach County at Perry, 7:30
p.m.
■ Upson-Lee at Northside, 7:30
p.m.
Saturday
■ Coffee at Warner Robins, 7:30
p.m.
IN BRIEF
WR Rec to begin
basketball registration
The Warner Robins Recreation
Department will begin basketball
registration Saturday.
It will be held from 8 a.m.-1
p.m. at the department's office
off Watson Blvd. Participants
must be at least 5 by Dec. 31
in order to participate in the bas
ketball program. Fees are as fol
lows: $25 for city residents, SSO
for county residents and SBS for
out of county residents.
Registration will continue until
filled, during regular business
hours. 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-
Friday. In addition, coaches are
also needed. Call 929-1916 for
more information.
Goggin to play 100 holes
of golf for charity
Landings Golf Club PGA
Professional Bill Goggin will be
playing 100 holes of golf in one
day Monday to benefit the new
women and children’s homeless
shelter in Warner Robins.
Call 923-5222 Ext. 4 or e-mail
him at Bill@goggingolf.com to
make a pledge.
Habitat to hold softball
tourney fund-raiser
The Houston County Habitat
for Humanity will hold a softball
tournament Nov. 6, proceeds
of which are to go toward the
Houston County Habitat for
Humanity. The cost is S3OO per
team - teams must have at least
nine people with a maximum of
15. Trophies will be awarded
and the first pitch is slated to be
thrown at 9 a.m. Call 218-5545
or e-mail kcripe@flintemc.com
for more information.
Landings offers several
golf opportunities
The Landings Golf Learning
Center is currently offer
ing Junior Super Saturdays:
October Group Lessons. The
cost is $lO per visit with no
signup necessary. The course
is also making signups for its
Winter Golf Program.
The cost is $250 up front. The
program runs from November
through February 2007, There is
a limited signup. Contact Goggin
at 923-5222 Ext. 4 for more.
Lady Bears, Demoaettes prep for sectionals
By MATTHEW BROWN
Journal Sports Writer
A stage is being set for a battle
of high school softball suprema
cy between two Georgia counties
Friday at Dublin’s Southern Pines
complex.
OK, there’s a lot more on the
line than whether softball is better
in Houston County or in Paulding
County. It is the opening round
of the GHSA Class AAAAA south
softball sectionals, and it just so
happens that both Houston County
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ENI/Gary Harmon
Perry Horseshoe Pitcher’s Club member Chuck Poole warms up for the Georgia Horseshoe Pitcher’s Association
state singles tournament Saturday at Rozar Park in Perry.
Local pitchers win state titles
Gibbs overall women’s champion; Thompson, Collier best in their class
By DON MONCRIEF
Journal Sports Editor
The Perry Horseshoe
Pitcher’s Club hosted the
Georgia Horseshoe Pitching
Association state singles
tournament this past week
end at Rozar Park in Perry.
During that time, 74 pitch
ers from around the state
competed in one of 15 classes
for a chance to be the best.
Newly ranked HoCo faces former No. 1 in Tift
By MATTHEW BROWN
Journal Sports Writer
McConnell-Talbert
Stadium will see its busi
est football
weekend of
the regular
season with
three games
on three
nights in a
row.
It’s going
to start
Jfe
Tift County at
Houston County,
today, 7:30 p.m.
with an important game in
Region 1-AAAAA and end
with an important game in
Region 1-AAAAA.
The focus of tonight’s
action is the Houston County
High Bears, enjoying a state
ranking - they are 10th -
for the first time in 2006,
against the Tift County High
Blue Devils, once the No. 1
ranked team in the classifi
cation. Tift, however, fell out
of the ranks of the unbeaten
as well as consideration for
the top spot after a 23-20
region loss last weekend to
Coffee County High.
This is the second week
in a row Doug Johnson and
the Bears are paired with a
former No. 1.
Last weekend Houston
turned back the challenge
Sports
At A Glance
What: GHSA sectionals softball
tourney
When: Friday - Houston County
versus Paulding, 4 p.m.; Warner
Robins versus Hiram, 6 p.m.
Where: Southern Pines Softball
Complex in Dublin
representatives must defeat teams
from Paulding to avoid needing a
four-game odyssey on Saturday to
advance to Columbus.
Not: “When the smoke
cleared” but rather, “when
the mud had been scraped
from the shoes,” three Perry
club members had achieved
just that - the title of
“best.”
In fact one, Mary Ann
Gibbs, earned the honor
of being best of all the
women. She competed in
the Championship Flight
of Colquitt County High to
improve to 2-1 in 1-AAAAA.
Johnson knows now is not
the time to get comfortable
with his team’s position
because
Tift is bringing at least
one player ranked as the
state’s best at his position.
That would be wide receiv
er Israel Troupe, a multi
sport Blue Devil star who
has committed to play foot
ball for the University of
Georgia. Tift also has the
region’s No. 2 rusher.
“Troupe’s an outstanding
player,” said Johnson. “They
have some other receivers
who are pretty good. They
have a big offensive tackle
who is 6-5, 320. Up front
they are pretty big and pret
ty quick, and their second
ary’s good. They have a lot
of athletes and the leading
defense in the region. It was
a great defense last year that
brought 10 starters back, so
you know they’ll be good
again.”
In the Colquitt game,
Houston had to scheme for
an offense that wouldn’t use
any running backs, stay in
the shotgun and basically
play in a hurry-up mode all
game long. Tift County is
At 4 p.m. Friday, Region 1-AAAAA
champion Houston County High
plays Paulding County High, the
fourth-place team from Region 4-
AAAAA. At 6 p.m. Warner Robins
High, which finished runner-up to
the Bears, takes its turn on the field
with a game against Hiram High,
the No. .3 seed of 4-AAAAA also
located in Paulding County.
The sectional tournament is set
up to where winners of the first
game on Friday stays in Dublin for
winners bracket games at 8 that
evening. First-round losers don’t
and finished with a perfect
5-0 record. She also con
nected for 115 ringers out of
184 horseshoes thrown for
a ringer percentage of 62.50
percent.
The other Perry win
ners were Rick Thompson
and Jan Collier. Thompson
competed in the C Class for
men and finished with a 7-
1 record. He had 94 ring
4
JI
til .4
ENI/Gary Hannon
The Bears prepare for the kickoff against Colquitt County this past Friday at McConnell-
Talbert Stadium. They will host Tift County today.
also one that will spread the
field with the football, but
tries more than the Packers
to establish the run.
“They are in the shotgun
most of the time, but they do
run the football more out of
ers out of 385 thrown for
a 24.42 ringer percentage.
Collier operated from within
the B Class for women. She
went 5-1 and scored 55 ring
ers out of 304 for a percent
age of 18.09.
Several other Perry club
members came close to win
ning a title. Dave McKim,
from the Championship
See PITCHERS, page 148
it,” said Johnson. “Colquitt
didn’t try to run much at all.
I think they had 12 yards.
They were going to throw
it.”
The Blue Devils had won
five in a row, capping the
play again until Saturday, but will
have to win four in a row that day to
qualify for the final 8.
The two teams that win three in a
row will advance to the state finals
in Columbus. Two others will make
it through the losers bracket.
For Houston County and Warner
Robins, it all starts with that first
game against teams that - at least
at the start of the week - little was
known about.
Bears head coach Cristi Griffin
said she has heard that the
See SECTIONALS, page iB
Local golfers
in contention
in St. Simons
From staff reports
A handful of local golf
ers teed off Tuesday
against a laVge field - in
fact their numbers helped
make it a large field - in
the first day of competi
tion at the 21st annual
Georgia Women’s Team
Championship being
held through Wednesday
(results pending for the
last day) at The Hampton
Club in St. Simons
Island.
Of those, one has a
share of the lead and at
least a couple of others
are certainly within strik
ing distance.
For starters, Mary
Riley of Perry is fourth in
the Championship Flight
- the highest bracket.
She shot a 77 and is only
three strokes away from
the leader, Belinda Marsh
of Alpharetta, who shot
74.
In Flight No. 1, Sandy
Lee of Perry is tied for
the lead. She shot a 71
the first day and along
with Gwen Young of
Cochran have a six-stroke
lead over the rest of the
field.
Jean Davis of Kathleen
is also in that flight but
has considerable ground
to make up. She is 10th
after a first round of 84.
Lori Soles of Perry is in
Flight No. 2, as is Sissi
Gann of Kathleen. Both
shot an 80 the first day
and both are currently
tied for fourth.
Both are also only
See GOLFERS, page iB
streak off with a 10-7 dou
ble overtime win against
Valdosta. Against Coffee, the
only touchdown Tift had in
the first half was on a 91-
yard kickoff return.
See RANKED, page iB
SECTION
B