Newspaper Page Text
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TUESDAY,
OCTOBER 24, 2006
The Home Journal’s
SANDLOT
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ON DECK
Youth
Football
Today
■ Playoffs for the Optimist Bowl
(top four teams in the Mighty
Mites. Mite and Midget leagues
advance) teams and times to be
determined.
High school
Cross country
Thursday
■ Houston County
Championship, 5 p.m., field
behind Pearl Stephens
Elementary School.
High school
Softball
Thursday
■ GHSA Elite Eight at Columbus
(softball complex): Warner
Robins versus Woodstock, 4
p.m.; Houston County versus
Peachtree Ridge. 4 p.m.
Friday
■ GHSA Final Four at Columbus
(softball complex): Warner
Robins and Houston County, to
be determined
Friday
■ GHSA Finals at Columbus
(softball complex): Warner
Robins and Houston County, to
be determined
High school
Football
Friday
■ Warner Robins at Tift County,
7:30 p.m.
■ Pinewood at Westfield. 8 p.m.
■ Southwest at Perry, 7:30 p.m.
High school
Volleyball
Saturday
■ Houston County at state tour
nament at Berkmar (versus to be
determined), 9 a.m.
IN BRIEF
WR Rec to begin
basketball registration
The Warner Robins Recreation
Department has begun basket
ball registration.
Registration will continue at
their office on Watson Blvd.
- until all ages ages/teams are
filled - during regular business
hours, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-
Friday.
Participants must be at least
5 by Dec. 31 in order to partici
pate in the basketball program.
Fees are as follows: $25 for city
residents, SSO for county resi
dents and SBS for out of county
residents.
In addition, coaches are also
needed. Call 929-1916 for more
information.
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.
Waterford to hold Junior
Golf Clinic
Waterford Golf Course will
hold a Junior Golf Clinic Nov.
20-21. Times are: 10-11:15 for
ages 5-10; 11:45 a.m.-1 p.m. for
those ages 11 and up. The cost
is SSO which includes lunch for
both day, prizes and more. Visit
the course to sign up.
Elite Eight
HoCo, Warner Robins each earn advance
By MATTHEW BROWN
Journal Sports Writer
Scoring runs is nice, but
keeping the opposition from
scoring is a sure-fire way
to guaran
tee victory in
softball.
With only
two runs
allowed in
three games,
Warner
Robins
High’s
Demonettes
advanced to
the GHSA
Class AAAAA
Elite Eight
tournament
in Columbus
for the first
time as a
I*
DEMONS
GHSA Sectionals
Game 1 -
Warner Robins
4, Union Grove
0;
Game 2 -
Warner Robins
11, Hiram 0;
Game 3 -
Warner Robins
3, Newnan 2
fastpitch program. Amber
Conlon and Kristen Graham
both pitched shutouts
in Friday’s action of the
south sectionals at Dublin’s
Southern Pines complex,
then Warner Robins made
a 3-0 lead on Newnan High
hold for a 3-2 win in the win
ners bracket final.
Graham pitched a com
plete game against Newnan
with 10 strikeouts and
no walks. She had five of
her whiffs in the first two
innings. The 3-0 lead went
down to 3-2 in the bottom of
the sixth when the Cougars
used a Demonette error and
a triple for the first runs
against Warner Robins all
weekend.
Newnan, with an infield
hit, had the tying run on
base with two outs in the
seventh, but Graham ended
it with a strikeout.
All of the Demonette
offense occurred in the
bottom of the third. With
one out, the top of the bat
ting order, infielder Katie
Farinelli, reached on an
error. Lauren Graham laid
down a bunt, which Newnan
also mishandled.
For the second time in as
many plate appearances,
Kristen Graham worked a
walk, this time loading the
bases. Amber Conlon, who
doubled her first time up,
broke the 0-0 deadlock by
grounding out to second.
The big hit came from
Sam Snipes.
The lefthander sent a drive
to shallow center, where the
Cougar outfielder made a
diving attempt for it, but the
ball went in and out of the
glove. Two runs that would
loom large later in the game
See DEMONETTES, page zB
Demons strike late to rally past Coffee
By JOE SERSEY
Journal Correspondent
Warner Robins scored 21
points in 35 seconds in the
fourth quar
ter to come
from behind
to defeat
Coffee
County 24-7
in 1-AAAAA
football
Saturday
Warner Robins
24, Coffee 7
night at McConnell-Talbert
Stadium.
“I’ve never been a part
of anything like that,” said
Warner Robins head coach
Bryan Way, “at least not two
touchdowns in 20 seconds.”
Midway through the fourth
quarter, Warner Robins
trailed Coffee County 7-3.
With six minutes and 46
seconds left in the game,
Demons quarterback Mark
Wright Jr. hit Antwan
Hamilton for a 17-yard
touchdown. David Clark
kicked the extra point that
Sports
■>
-
__ j
1 1
.Journal Matthew Brown
Bears shortstop Kourtney Thomas reacts to a strike called during Saturday’s state sec
tional game against Tift County.
Avoiding each others toes was/is tough
By MATTHEW BROWN
Journal Sports Writer
Warner Robins High
and Houston County High
could have faced each other
in a battle for one spot in
the GHSA Class AAAAA
Elite Eight softball tour
nament this weekend in
Columbus.
It didn’t work out that
way, and the top two clubs
from Region 1-AAAAA
both wound up qualifying
for the Columbus finals for
the first time as fastpitch
programs.
Now, their paths are set
up to cross again should
put Warner Robins up 10-7.
On Coffee’s first play
after the subsequent kick
off, Warner Robins defen
sive lineman Justin Cowart
picked off an attempted
screen pass and ran 38 yards
for the touchdown. Clark
kicked another point after
to make the score 17-7 with
6:30 left.
“He turned to throw and I
jumped up,” said Cowart. “I
didn’t know I had the ball,
but then I started running.”
Another kick off and Coffee
lined up again, still very much
in the game. Quarterback
Daniel Anderson was hit in
the backfield and fumbled.
Warner Robins linebacker
Thomas Bruce scooped up
the loose ball and ran 18
yards for another Demons
touchdown with 6:11 on the
clock. Clark’s kick made the
score 24-7.
“Our kids hung in there,”
Way said. “They never
quit.”
See RALLY, page jB
the Demonettes and the
Bears have a similar result
in their respective opening
match-ups Thursday, both
of which begin at 4 p.m.
Warner Robins, which
went 3-0 in the south
sectionals, is paired up
with Woodstock (Region 5-
AAAAA), the team ranked
No. 1 in the state in the
last coaches poll of the
regular season. Woodstock,
which hosted the 5A
northern sectional, lost a
winners bracket final to
Peachtree Ridge 1-0 then
beat Harrison 5-2 in a los
ers bracket final.
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ENI/Gary Harmon
Warner Robins’ Dewayne Jackson looks for running room in the team’s win over Tift
County Saturday at McConnell-Talbert Stadium.
Houston County High,
which won three elimi
nation games in a row
Saturday in the south
sectionals to qualify, gets
Peachtree Ridge (Region 7-
AAAAA) first in Columbus.
This represents a game
between the only two teams
to beat Warner Robins all
season.
If both the Demonettes
and Bears win, they would
face each other later
Thursday at 6 p.m. If both
county teams lose, they
would face each other, but
not until 11 a.m. Friday in
an elimination game.
SECTION
B
By MA TTHE W BRO WN
Journal Sports Writer
It was truly a weekend for
school history to be made
for Houston County High
fastpitch soft
ball. Most
important of
all the accom
plishments
was the 8-4
eight-inning
win against
Newnan High
that put the
Bears in the
GHSA Class
AAAAA Elite
Eight for the
first time as a
fastpitch pro
gram.
The game
with Newnan,
a losers
bracket final
and the third
game on
Saturday for
s
§ ------
BEARS
GHSA Sectionals
Game 1
- Houston
County 10,
Paulding 0;
Game 2
- Luella 5,
Houston
County 0:
Game 3
- Houston
County 3, Tift
County 0
Game 4
- Houston
County 8,
Newnan 4
Houston County, went from
smooth sailing through five
innings for the Bears to one
inning of disaster to a furi
ous rally in the first extra
frame.
“I can’t say enough about
their guts,” said head coach
Cristi Griffin. “They stayed
with it. I can’t say enough
about their heart. They put
it all out there. They didn’t
want to end the season
yet.”
The 2006 season does
continue for the Bears in
Columbus on Thursday. To
get there, Houston County
had to win three in a row
on Saturday at Southern
Pines complex in Dublin.
The Bears opened the south
sectional Friday with a five
inning win over Paulding
County, but were shut out
later that night by Luella.
Griffin had to do some line
up tinkering going to Dublin
as her main pitcher, Chelsea
Burroughs, was unable to do
extensive work due to injury.
The coach turned to little
used freshman, Brianna
Hancock, who gave her the
win over Paulding Friday
then back-to-back wins
Saturday against Hiram and
Tift County.
With the Elite Eight on the
line against Newnan, Griffin
went to regular third base
man Kaitlyn Carriker. She
pitched all eight innings and
had a shutout going through
five innings. When the game
went to the eighth, Carriker
made the biggest noise with
her bat, belting a two-run
See LADY BEARS, page zB