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Moustmi Bailtj Jjmmutl THURSDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2006 The Home Journal’s SANDLOT ■it# iw niw 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 M ■* t - .tjv >4 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