Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

Mousitm TUESDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2006 The Home Journal’s SANDLOT mm T^^TTPflinY 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. ' * : -'* * *'* ’ JBF JPr •-. WMB* ji a Ik ft I /y/ ff\ v^|n . #iftC.•. 9L * i n^ a x> > . . ■k > i j i , Myjyfl i a ., «E9P v “Iw** anßirff \'^ r ; - ~~ •,.•■*»•••• -fe J 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