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Houston Baity HJountal THURSDAY, DECEMBER 21,2006 The Home Journal’s SANDLOT "nif wto nwff ON DECK High school basketball Chick-fil-A Bear Brawl at Houston County Today ■ Campbell girls versus Perry, 7 p.m. ■ North Clayton girls (bye in first round) versus winner Peach County versus Houston County, 4 p.m. ■ Hiram boys versus Perry, 5:30 p.m. ■ Westside boys versus Warner Robins, 8:30 p.m. ■ Boys losers game 1 and 2 versus each other, 2:30 p.m. Friday ■ Winner between Hawkinsville versus Warner Robins girls ver sus winner Campbell versus Perry, 7 p.m. ■ Girls losers game 1 and 2 versus each other, 1 p.m. ■ Girls losers game 3 and 4 versus each other, 4 p.m. ■ Winner between Hiram ver sus Perry boys versus winner Westside versus Warner Robins, 5:30 p.m. ■ Winner between Hawkinsville versus Northside boys versus winner Peach County versus Houston County, 8:30 p.m. ■ Boys losers game 4 and 5 versus each other, 2:30 p.m. Saturday ■ Girls final, teams to be deter mined. 7 p.m. ■ Girls loser game 7 versus win ner of game 5 (for third place), 4 p.m. ■ Girls loser game 5 versus winner game 6 (for fifth place). 1 p.m. ■ Boys final, teams to be deter mined. 8:30 p.m. ■ Boys game 11, teams to be determined (for third place), 5:30 p.m. ■ Boys game 3 winner versus game 6 winner (for fifth place), 2:30 p.m. ■ Boys game 3 loser versus game 6 loser (for seventh place), 11:30 a.m. IN BRIEF Red Cross to hold inagural bowling tourney TThe Houston-Middle Georgia Chapter of the American Red Cross will hold its inaugural “Roll into the New Year'' Bowling Tournament Jan. 20, 2007. The tournament will be held at the Gold Cup Bowling Center on Russell Parkway and will start at 10 a.m. and last until 1 p.m. According to a release from the American Red Cross, “Everyone is encouraged to participate regardless of bowl ing experience, as this will be a scratch tournament.’’ The entry fee is $l5O for a six-person team. It includes pizza and soda. Registration will be available on the day of the tournament. Visit www.middlegeorgiared cross.org for a registration form or call 923-6332 to sponsor the tournament. Winter Players Pass available for golfers A Winter Players Pass is now available for purchase at three northern state park golf loca tions. It’s valid for play at Arrowhead Pointe at Lake Richard B. Russell in Elberton, The Creek at Hard Labor in Rutledge and Highland Walk at Victoria Bryant in Royston. The card provides the holder with unlimited green fees at the three courses for three months and costs SIOO. The pass is available in lim ited quantities and for a limited time. It’s valid from December until February 2007. The pass can be purchased at any of the participating courses, online at www.GeorgiaGolf.com or by calling 1-800-982-3691. .... in -life,, nn in Jr x ?■ he h , ..—.—,i ~, ENI/Gary Harmon Westfield’s Keenan Malone works under pressure against Tattnall defenders during the Hornets’ game against the Trojans Tuesday at home. Tattnall beats Westfield By MATTHEW BROWN Journal Sports Writer Brett Layson, just over two weeks removed from leading Tattnall Square to a state football championship as the quarter back, had 19 points on the Westfield basketball court to spark the Trojans to a 58-34 win against the Hornets. Westfield’s defense held the Trojans to just five points in the first quarter, but then it was the Hornet offense that Tattnall 58. Westfield 34 sputtered the rest of the con test. Westfield had just four points in the sec ond period while missing lay-up after lay-up. Nash Murph had 15 points from the center position to lead the home team. Point guard Keenan Malone had seven points while Steven Peake came off the bench to score six. Malone in fact scored Westfield’s first points pg|' MW j /jtflkJL-M /" ' '"Ht ENI/Gary Harmon Lady Hornet Daryl Ann Thompson goes for a steal or jump ball. Defensive effort not enough for Lady Hornets By MATTHEW BROWN Journal Sports Writer Westfield girls basketball coach Jeff Eubanks could have given his young Lady Hornets high marks for getting on the offensive boards and forcing turnovers Tuesday in their home contest against Tattnall Square. But scoring points counts the most in team sports, and Westfield was unable to turn most of their hustle plays into scoring. As a result, Tattnall LadyTh>jans63, Lady Hornets 35 Square cruised to a 63-35 win in Perry. The Lady Trojans, with advantages in size Sports of the game over two and a half minutes into the action. He would also score off a steal in the opening period. Late in the quarter, Murph popped in a turn around jumper and sank a long 3-pointer on a possession the Hornets fought hard to main tain. On the defensive end, Westfield blocked two Tattnall shots and stood on top 11-5 going into the second period. But while the Hornets were having problems scoring on the inside, the Trojans hit two 3- pointers in the first three minutes of the sec ond. The next thing Westfield knew, it was a tied game, then Tattnall Square surged ahead for good. The visitors stuck back a missed foul shot and had another basket on a fourth chance attempt. The Trojan lead at halftime was 22-15. Despite Murph’s six points early in the second half, Tattnall Square ran out to a 10-point lead. Murph added a pair of steals See BEA TS, page zB and experience, overcame strong defensive efforts by Mason Moreland and Haley Way by throwing the long inbound passes to get 1-on-l or even 2-on-l situations. Westfield was as close as five, 10-5, in the first quarter when Daryl Ann Thompson stole one of those outlets. Way got an offensive rebound to Moreland for a long jumper. But Tattnall Square, with two 3-pointers, ended the first quarter on a 10-0 run (20-5). Way continued to play a strong game added steals and offensive rebounds to her totals. Westfield could only capitalize on a few of these chances, though. Hanna Jones made a steal with an assist to Mallory Eubanks See EFFORT, page zB GBGA finalizes 2007 schedule Special to the Journal The Georgia State Golf Association has unveiled its competi tions schedule for the 2007 season. The slate of events includes 18 statewide competitions, 18 qualifying rounds for two state champion ships, three interstate matches, an intrastate competition and 17 qualifying rounds for USGA national champi onships. The GSGA’s lon gest-running event, the Georgia Amateur Championship, takes place at Ansley Golf Club’s Settindown Creek Course in Roswell, July 12-15, 2007. Now in its 86th year, the Amateur is making its first appearance at Settindown Creek. The championship was first contested at Atlanta’s Capital City Club in 1916 where it was won by 14-year-old Robert T. “Bobby” Jones, Jr. Qualifying rounds for the 2007 Amateur Championship will be held at 12 sites across the state from June 4- 25. The 26th annual Georgia Mid-Amateur Championship revisits the Country Club of Columbus for the first time since 1998. The 2007 event is scheduled for May 18-20, 2007. Qualifying rounds for the Mid-Amateur will be held at six locations statewide from April 9- 23, 2007. Two GSGA women’s Nobody wins when things end in a tie I find it extremely interesting that during the regular high school football sea son, none of the games were allowed to end in ties but for the most important game of the season, the title game, the Georgia High School Association refuses to allow any tiebreaking procedure. Fortunately for Houston County read ers, Northside had the good sense to put a whipping on Marist to make the GHSA policy a moot point. Peach County also had the foresight to win convincingly rather than end with what is basically a no-decision. A tie in a champion ship game is like win ning an all expenses paid vacation to Iran. Mixed emotions run rampant. I can go through the rest of my life knowing I won something, but I’m not sure I want to brag about it. It could be compared to waking up one morn ing to find out Terrell Owens married my sis ter. I could boast about having a famous athlete "Mostly, I believe If teams can't win the game in regulation, they deserve the tie. But Americans, including me, want a clear-cut winner." SECTION B championships will cele brate their 10th anniver saries in 2007. Both the Georgia Women’s Match Play Championship and GSGA Senior Women’s Championship began in 1998. The Women’s Match Play takes place April 11-13, 2007, at Sunset Hills Country Club in Carrollton, the only host site in the history of the event. The Senior Women’s Championship returns to Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain for the second-straight year, Aug. 20-21, 2007. GSGA is once again offering three events specifically for senior men (age 55 and above). The fourth annual Senior Tournament takes place at Eagle’s Landing Country Club in Stockbridge, May 7- 9, 2007. This is the only GSGA competition to not only feature Stableford scor ing, but also a Super Senior Division for play ers age 65 and older. The Ford Plantation in Richmond Hill will host its first GSGA competition when it holds the Georgia Senior Championship, Aug. 29-31, 2007. The Senior Four-Ball Championship, the sea son’s final competition, takes place Nov. 14-16, 2007, at Jekyll Island Golf Resort. The 42nd annu al Georgia Junior Championship, tradi tionally a showcase of the state’s top junior See GSGA, page zB Joe Sersey Journal Correspondent in my fam ily but then I ’ d have to admit who he was and have to hear for the rest of my life, “Couldn’t she have married Osama bin Laden?” Mostly, I believe if teams can’t win the game in regulation, they deserve the tie. But Americans, includ ing me, want a clear-cut winner. I point the finger at GHSA. The individuals who set policy fail to show any consistency. Why have tiebreak ers during the regular season just to change the policy for a champi onship. For sure there wouldn’t have been any ties in the playoffs, so why have one for the championship game. Imagine the Super Bowl with the Atlanta Falcons in attendance. They bought tick ets because that’s the See SERSEY, page iB