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FRIDAY,
FEBRUARY 2, 2007
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Making the rounds?
Wrestling teams vie to be county champions
By DON MONCRIEF
Journal Sports Editor
There was a time when
Northside owned the coun
ty’s wrestling trophy.
Depending on who you
talked to, the Eagles had
held that six-foot gold-fin
ished and wood prize any
where from six-to-nine years
running.
That was before Perry
High School took it away.
Since, it has gone to Houston
County and this past year to
Warner Robins.
Is it time for it to come full
circle then?
Northside would of course
hope so but that will be easi
er said than done, said Eagles
coach Dusty Dykes.
“The other teams in this
county have really improved, ”
he said. Right now, Dykes
and Houston County head
coach Heath Burch said
Warner Robins, which will
host the meet today at 5 p.m.
at Rumble Academy (next to
the high school), has to be
the favorite.
“They are last year’s cham-
Norttaside girls, hoys sweep Senior Night matchups
By DON MONCRIEF
Journal Sports Editor
Tuesday turned out to be an espe
cially memorable Senior Night for both
of Northside’s basketball squads.
The Lady Eagles won 65-29 while the
Eagles came out with a 69-62 win. Both
were against Region 48-AAAA oppo
nent Upson-Lee.
Northside’s girls improved to 21-1
overall and 9-1 in the division with the
win. The Eagles upped their record to
9-10 and 5-5. The Knights fell to 15-9,
5-6 while their counterparts rest at 3-16
and 0-9, respectively.
The game for the Lady Eagles started
out close - it was 6-all midway through
the first - but as can be figured, didn’t
stay that way.
By the end of one, Northside led 17-9.
By the end of the second, it was 34-14.
The Lady Knights did their best work
in the second half midway-to-the-end
of the third quarter. It was during that
stretch they outscored the Lady Eagles
8-2. All that did, however, was get the
lead inside 30 points for the first time
in a long time and make it 48-22 with
eight minutes left to play.
The Lady Eagles then outscored
Upson-Lee 17-7 in the final quarter.
At A Glance
What: Houston County wrestling champi
onship
When: Today, 5 p.m.
Where: Rumble Academy (next to Warner
Robins High School
Other: Demons are defending champions
pions and of the two times
we have faced them this year
we have not been successful
on either attempt,” Dykes
said. “However, we have not
had our full lineups in either
match. This weekend we
hope to have all wrestlers
feeling well and free from
injury. We are going to work
Brittany Holder was the top scorer
for Northside and one of only two - all
but one of the nine who took to the
court scored - in double digits. Holder
finished with 16 while fellow senior
Janay Wilson had 14. Leah Daniely and
Tai Brown had eight, Josie Toliver six,
Arnishka Nelson five, Brittine Anderson
four and Tamara Wright and Karissa
Lewis one each.
The boys’ matchup was considerably
more contested.
In fact, Northside led - thanks to
senior Marquis Evans who had a hot
hand throughout; 21 points incuding
four treys - then trailed in the first, 14-
10, at the break.
The Eagles took the lead again with
about five minutes left before the half
but Upson-Lee rallied and took it back
inside the minute mark. It led after two
quarters, 25-22.
Northside - here we go again - took
the lead once more in the third.
Then the two swapped it a couple of
times. Finally, with the clock nearing
three minutes left and the score knot
ted at 33, Northside went on an 6-0
run. Then it outscored the Knights 8-6
to the buzzer - three of those coming
on a long-distance shot from Evans less
than a second before the horn sounded
Sports
hard this week at practice
and hopefully bring the tro
phy back to Northside.”
As far as Burch, in addi
tion to giving the Demons an
edge “right now,” he added
Northside would be tough
- specifically because they
have their football players,
he said.
He also added Perry would
come in ready to compete.
For the Bears, “Our guys
know what it is going to take
and I know they will give it
all they have,” he said. “I am
looking forward to Friday.”
And speaking of the
Panthers - Warner Robins
head wrestling coach Skip
Johnston was the only one
unable to be reached for com
ment - head coach Randy
Mizell would never throw in
the towel but he is taking
what he views as a realistic
approach (or, perhaps a psy
chological one).
“I think it will be a dog
fight between the other three
schools,” he said. “We have a
very young team going into
the county championship.
“For our team to have a
shot, we’re going to need our
underclassmen 125,135,140,
145, 152, and 285 (all but the
last freshmen, and the last a
sophomore) to step up and
win their matches.
“We’re going to need a com
plete effort from the entire
team - all 13 of them - to
have a shot at this thing.”
- for a 47-39 lead heading into the final
eight minutes.
The Eagles, after a 7-0 run early in
the fourth, threatened to put it away,
but Upson-Lee countered with a 6-0
run. Still, Northside’s lead with less
than five minutes remaining was 56-
47. A trey from the Knights’ top scorer,
Keldrick Traylor who had 20, cut it to
three. A pair of Eagle turnovers enabled
Upson-Lee to cut it to a basket later,
56-54, but with plenty of time - about
three minutes showing - left.
Senior Mitchell Bell, who had 12 on
the night - all in the second half - then
went to the line and made one-of-two.
After Kevyn Cooper’s second 3-pointer
- all 10 of his points and both his treys
came in the second half - Bell went
back to the line and made two more.
That put Northside up 61-54 with
just over two minutes left to play.
He scored again later, as did Kenya
Ward - his only two of the night, as
did senior Charles McKenzie, who had
nine, and Evans. Together, they helped
the Eagles outscore the Knights 8-5 to
the wire.
Jacobi Rodriguez, who had a 3-pointer
in the first, finished with seven points,
Delvyn Mitchell and Terry Rogers two
each.
WR boys fall by one
point; Demonettes poR
By DON MONCRIEF
Journal Sports Editor
Free throws may very
well have been the story
in the Warner Robins boys
basketball team’s 54-53 loss
at Tift County Tuesday.
That would be, in the
case of the Demons, a lack
of free throw opportuni
ties.
In fact, said a bewildered
head coach Chip Malone,
Warner Robins didn’t get
to the line once in the first
half and only once in the
second.
And even that one, he
added, only came when
Kenny Willis was “ham
mered” while attempting a
3-pointer.
It didn’t get them the
win but it was pretty big
at the time, Malone also
added. In hitting all three
from the charity stripe,
it tied the game late. The
Blue Devils went back on
top giving Warner Robins
the final shot of the night.
It wouldn’t go in.
“We didn’t play good in
the first quarter,” Malone
said in regard to how the
game went. “They jumped
out on us. We didn’t shoot
extremely well all night but
we did better after that.
“It was (just) tough,”
he said. “It was tough on
the road going down there.
And it’s goig to be tough
from now on.
“We have one home game
left (Saturday - Senior Night
- versus Valdosta). The rest
are on the road (including
Friday at Colquitt County).
We’ve just got to pick up
Entries open for event
Special to the Journal
Entries are now being
accepted for the 26th annu
al Georgia Mid-Amateur
Championship, which takes
place May 18-20 at Country
Club of Columbus.
This event is open to male
amateur golfers age 25 and
older as of the first day of
the event, who are GSGA
members and Georgia resi
dents.
The format of the event
is 54 holes stroke play. The
field will be cut to the low
70 and ties after 36 holes.
Last year, Mark Strickland
of Woodstock sank a one
foot birdie putt on the final
hole to avoid a playoff and
capture the championship
HoCo wrestlers take 2 of 3
From staff reports
Perhaps just in time for
the Houston County wres
tling championship (today),
the Bears turned in “one of
the best matches we have
wrestled all year,” said
head coach Heath Burch.
He was referring to the
team taking to the road
Tuesday and literally
destroying both Bacon
County and Berrien.
Houston County beat the
Panther grapplers tall to Baldwin
From staff reports
Perry, in its last tuneup
before the county champi
onship, traveled to Baldwin
Tuesday.
If momentum be the
game, the Panthers found
now as they lost to the
Braves 43-21.
Perry fell at 103, 125,
130, 135, 140, 145, 152 and
189 pounds.
PAGE 7A
our itensity level and try to
stay on top.”
Staying on top now means
being tied with Tift County
- before, the Demons were
in sole possession of the
lead - in Region 1-AAAAA.
Both are 6-2.
WARNER ROBMS girls 54, TIFT
COUNTV 38
As far as the Demonettes,
they were a team that
shared the wealth in
their win. Seven play
ers in all - Cherie White,
Symone Wilkerson, Kittery
Maine, Tiandra Billings,
Deanna LeShoure, Victoria
Rushing and Antoinette
Howell - scored at least
one point. Four - White
with 17, Wilkerson, Maine
and Billings with 10 - net
ted double digits. LeShoure
had 2, Rushing 4 and
Howell 1.
Wilkerson also had
six assists while Maine
recorded another double
double with 12 rebounds,
while White had nine
rebounds.
The Demonettes led 15-
13 after one, 23-15 at the
half and 37-23 after three.
Of significance said head
coach Tom Mobley said
was the job Billings and
LeShoure did on Clemson
committed 6-foot-2 forward
Lindsay Welker.
She finished with eight
points, one via a field goal
and the rest at the line - all
in the second half.
“(They) defended her
well all night in a diamond
and one defense,” Mobley
said.
by a single stroke over
Baxley’s Adam Thomas
and McDonough’s Dave
Womack.
Eighteen-hole qualifying
rounds for the champion
ship runs from April 9-23 at
six sites located throughout
the state.
Qualified players may
enter online at the GSGA
website at www.gsga.org
by clicking the Online
Registration quick link.
Paper entries are available
by request and may also be
downloaded as a PDF file
via the website. The dead
line for entries is March 14
at 5 p.m.
Call 770-955-4272 or 800-
949-4742, or via email at
info@gsga.org for more.
first 66-12 and the second
66-18.
The only problem, if it
can be said there was one,
was it was also edged out
by Turner County 40-39.
In regard to that - and
the overall performance
in general - Burch said:
“We had a lot of guys step
up but we need a whole
team effort. “We will need
it Friday.”
The Bears’ record cur
rently stands at 19-12.
Panther winners includ
ed: Drew Benefield at 119
pounds, who won by fall
and William Kersey at 152
pounds, who won with a
minor decision.
Also, Jon Beale at 215
won as did heavyweight
(285 pounds) Jonathan
Clowers. In an extra match
at 285 pounds, Perry’s Ryan
Black won with a fall.