Newspaper Page Text
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SATURDAY,
JANUARY 13, 2007
The Home Journal’s
SANDLOT
ON DECK
High school
basketball
Today
■ Perry at Northside, 6 p.m.
High school
wrestling
Today
■ Perry at Area Duals at Henry
County
■ Northside at Area Duals at
Upson-Lee, 10 a.m.
High school
swimming
Today
■ Houston County and Perry at
Panther Wolfpack Invitational in
Augusta, time to be determined.
IN BRIEF
Warner Robins rec to hold
track, field signups
The Warner Robins
Recreation Department will be
holding registration for the 2007
track and field program Jan.
29 and will continue until the
league is full.
This program is limited
to the first 100 participants.
Registration will be taken at the
recreation department located
at 800 Watson Boulevard, on
Monday - Friday between the
hours of 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.
This program is for boys and
girls ages 7-14 year's old. The
age control date is Dec. 31,
2007.
A birth certificate is required
upon registration unless it is
already on file.
Participants must also pay
the required fee at the time
of registration. Fees are as
follows: City residents - $25,
county residents - SSO, out
of county SBS. The track and
field program consist of sprint
ing, distinct running, relay's, the
softball throw, the standing long
jump, the running long jump and
the shot put. For more informa
tion call 929-1916.
Also, baseball and softball
registration starts Feb. 24.
Westfield association to
hold basketball games
The Westfield, Beechwood,
Baker Alumni Association is
sponsoring its annual alumni
basketball games to be held Feb.
10 in the Westfield Gymnasium.
The girls' game will begin at 5:30
p.m. and the guys' game will fol
low immediately. The entry fee
this year is sls.
Wayne Morris Ford will pro
vide the T-shirts for the players.
The proceeds will benefit the
Perry Animal Shelter. Alumni
interested in playing should
contact stolleson@westfieldsch
ools.net or 987-0547 to sign up.
Red Cross to hold
inagural bowling tourney
The Houston-Middle Georgia
Chapter of the American Red
Cross will hold its inaugural
“Roll into the New Year” Bowling
Tournament Jan. 20.
The tournament will be held
at the Gold Cup Bowling Center
on Russell Parkway and runs
from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. 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.middlegeorgiaredcross.org
for a registration form or call
923-6332 for more.
YMCA extends
membership offer
The YMCA has extended its
membership sign-up offer until
Jan. 31. Typically, a family
membership consists of an SBS
joiner’s fee plus the first month
of S4B. Under the promotion,
you pay SBS.
WRALL to temporarily
waive late fee
The Warner Robins American
Little League will be holding reg
istration today at its sports com
plex. The $25 late registration
fee has been waived until the
day following this registration,
said league President Roman
Jones.
All-Houston County
By DON MONCRIEF/
MATTHEW BROWN/
JOE SERSEY
Journal Sports Staff
Following is the Houston
Daily Journal’s All-Houston
County football team for
2006:
Coach of the Year
Conrad Nix, Northside
Offensive Player of the
Year
Eric O’Neal,
Houston County
Defensive Player of the
Year
Deonta Jordan,
Northside
First Team
OFFENSE
Lee Hops,
Warner Robins
Robert Luciano,
Warner Robins
Jeremy Grant,
Warner Robins
Dylan Thompson,
Houston County
D.J. Dodson,
Houston County
Ben Collins,
Houston County
Martez King,
Houston County
Marques Ivory,
Northside
Tijuan Green,
Northside
Jacobi Rodriguez,
Northside
Nick Bass,
Northside
Jerome Bibbins,
Northside
Robert Crawford,
Northside
Johnnie Farms,
Perry
Second team
OFFENSE
Mark Wright Jr.,
Warner Robins
Dewayne Jackson,
Warner Robins
Antwan Hamilton,
Warner Robins
Rob Bailey,
Warner Robins
Reggie Smith,
Houston County
Jimmy Bailey,
Houston County
Brett Moore,
Northside
Casey Hayward,
Perry
Kenny Davis,
Perry
Akeen Felder,
Perry
Zach Young,
Westfield
First team
DEFENSE
Thomas Bruce,
Warner Robins
Brian Buford,
Warner Robins
Roderick Rose,
Warner Robins
Tim Green,
Warner Robins
Laron Scott,
Warner Robins
Xavier Johnson,
Warner Robins
Dexter Holman,
Houston County
Roddy Nixon,
Houston County
Here’s a vote to get 2008 under way now
Can we go ahead and start 2008?
This 2007 year is already get
ting weirder and weirder.
Did something significant happen
on Monday? Couldn’t tell. Hey, sour
grapes don’t taste so bad as long as
you know how to ferment them.
But aside from disgustingly attired
football teams celebrating some great
victory, there are too many other
things happening that make me won
der what kind of world I’m living in.
A professional football coach actu
ally had kind things to say to the
sports media. That’s how Bill Cowher
Sports
I mm§ JF
y *,’l
ENI/Gary Harmon
The Eagles take to the field en route to a state title.
Princeton Dean,
Houston County
Isaac Wilson,
Northside
Mitchell Bell,
Northside
Kanorris Davis,
Perry
Robby Taylor,
Perry
Ryan Campbell,
Westfield
Second team
DEFENSE
Justin Cowart,
Warner Robins
Anthony Harris,
Houston County
Chris Prewett,
Houston County
Dedrick Early,
Houston, County
Josh Nelson.
Houston County
Wes Johnson,
Houston County
Damon Lopez,
Northside
Marcus Hill,
Northside
Mario Armstrong,
Northside
Charles McKenzie,
Northside
Tony Davis,
Perry
Stephen Calhoun,
Perry
First team
Special teams
David Clark,
Warner Robins
Offensive Player of the
Year
Eric O’Neal
School: Houston County
Year: Senior
Position: Running back
Impact: He had 236
rushes for 1,488 yards and
24 touchdowns. He aver
aged 6.3 yards per carry and
124 yards per game. He also
caught nine passes for 109
yards and one touchdown
and returned seven kicks
for 186 yards - the longest
being 45 yards. He contrib
Matthew Brown
Journal Sports Writer
was covering Bob Knight’s ears.
That should be seen as a refreshing
change from the norm. Then you have
to realize he won’t have to deal with
uted 144 rushing points and
six receiving.
“Eric was our ‘go to man’
on offense,” said Houston
County head football coach
Doug Johnson. “When
we needed a first down or
touchdown he had the ball.”
Other: He was named
the Region 1-AAAAA
Offensive Player of the Year.
He was also named to the
All-Middle Georgia First
Team and was also selected
to play in the Georgia
Athletic Coach’s Association
All-Star game.
Coach’s corner: “He
is one of the best running
backs I have seen in high
school. Eric faced much
adversity in 2005 having to
miss the last three games
due to an illness. He worked
extremely hard to get him
self into the best shape he
could. “It paid off for him
and our football team. He is
a good leader and has great
work ethic on and off the
field.”
Defensive Player of the
Year
Deonta Jordan
School: Northside
Year: Senior
Position: Linebacker
Impact: He recorded 141
tackles (team leader).
He also had 44 rushes
for 256 yards and 11 touch
downs. He averaged 5.8
yards per carry, 18.5 per
game.
Other: He was the AAAA
All State Defensive Player
of the Year and selected
to the All-Middle Georgia
First Team. He was also
the team’s Ironman winner
and team captain. He was
also selected to play in the
Georgia Athletic Coach’s
Association All-Star game.
First team
Offense
Lee Hops
School: Warner Robins
Year: Senior
concluded his resig
nation press confer
ence as Pittsburgh
Steelers head man.
He said he enjoyed
working with those
people, understood
what kind of job
they had to do and
felt they treated him
fairly.
I hope somebody
Position: Tackle
Impact: He had an 80
percent blocking grade for
the year.
Other: He was the
team’s Player of the Week
for the Colquitt game. Had
a 1300 SAT. “He’s a great
student,” Warner Robins
head football coach Bryan
Way said.
Robert Luciano
School: Warner Robins
Year: Senior
Position: Center
Impact: He had an 85
percent blocking grade
for the year. “(He is) an
outstanding blocker,” Way
said. “(A) hard-nosed foot
ball player. (An) emotional
leader on offense.”
Other: He was named
to the Region 1-AAAAA
First Team. He was a three
year starter, team captain
and the team’s Player of
the Week for the Parkview
game. He was also selected
to play in the Georgia
Athletic Coach’s Association
All-Star game.
Jeremy Grant
School: Warner Robins
Year: Senior
Position: Fullback
Impact: He had 148
rushes for 706 yards and
seven touchdowns. He also
caught seven passes for 50
yards. “(He is a) very tough
inside runner with good
strength and quickness,”
Way said. “He was instru
mental in (our) comeback
win in Valdosta with more
than 100 yards rushing in
the second half.”
Other: He was the team’s
Player of the Week for the
Northside, Valdosta and
Norcross games.
Dylan Thompson
School: Houston County
Year: Senior
Position: Tackle
Impact: He had a 75
percent grade for the year.
those types again for at least a year.
Last year ESPN spent hours upon
hours analyzing Kenny Rogers’ fin
gers as he was pitching for the Detroit
Tigers in the World Series. Now, the
T.V experts break down frame-by
frame the post-game hug between Bill
Bellichick and Eric Mangini after the
New England Patriots beat the New
York Jets in an NFL playoff game.
Bill Bellichick. You are either in this
man’s circle or he wants nothing to
do with you. It doesn’t even matter if
you were in his circle for a significant
See BROWN, page 5 B
PAGE 7A
His highest grade was 85
percent and came against
Newnan High in the first
round of the playoffs. Led
the offensive line with 10
pancake blocks.
“Dylan has come a along
way since entering the
program here at Houston
County High,” Johnson
said. “He was our ‘go to
guy’ when we needed yards
on short-yardage downs.
He was a leader on the filed
and off. He loves football
and will be missed.”
Other: He was named
the Offensive Lineman of
the Week 14 times during
the 2006 season. He was
named to the Region 1-
AAAAA First Team, the All-
Middle Georgia First Team
and the All-State team.
Coach’s corner: “Dylan
has also been a delight to
coach and watch grow up in
our program. He is a two
year starter who has been
consistent all year and will
be missed.”
D. J. Dodson
School: Houston County
Year: Senior
Position: Running back
Impact: He had 175
rushes for 865 yards and
three touchdowns. He aver
aged 4.9 per carry and 72.1
per game.
Coach’s comer: “D.J.
did a great job taking pres
sure off of our other backs
and really finished off his
career with a strong senior
season. He is a good blocker
and a solid running back in
our system.”
Ben Collins
School: Houston County
Year: Senior
Position: Tight end
Impact: He had a 75
percent grade for the year.
His highest grade was 91
percent and came against
Newnan High in the first
round of the playoff.
See COUNTY, page 8A
Entries open for
GS6A tourney
Special to the Journal
Entries are now being
accepted for the 19th
Annual Georgia Four-
Ball Tournament, which
takes place March 23-25
at River Pointe Golf Club
and Stonebridge Golf and
Country Club in Albany.
This event is open to two
man teams of male ama
teur golfers of all ages who
See TOURNEY, page