Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL Lady Eagles (all twice But rebound to take down Jackson From staff reports Northside hosted Jonesboro, ranked seventh in the state, and Houston County Tuesday. Scores for the Lady Bears were unknown, although head coach Tony Jones did say the girls beat the Lady Eagles but fell to Jonesboro, “we split when we did not have (to),” he said, in regard to the latter. As far as Northside, it lost to Jonesboro 2-0, falling 25-12 in the first game and 25-15 in the second. Against Houston County, the Lady Eagles also fell 2-0 but by closer scores - at least in game one. Northside fell 25-19 and 25- 14. Thursday was a much better story for the Lady Eagles as they hosted Jackson in a best-three out-of-five match and won a thrilling 3-2 victory. Northside took the first game 25-9 and the second 25-12. But Jackson came back to win the third 25-18 and the fourth 25-20. That set up a showdown in Game 5, which the Lady Eagles won 25-14. “Playing the No. 7th-ranked JOHNSON From page iB University,” he said. “I thought I was going there. Coach Bobby Ross came into The Citadel as a late hire. He went around still recruit ing and saw film on me and came here and talked to me and my dad. My dad was real impressed with him. My dad is a guy that when he said something he meant it. He said ‘I think we ought to go over there.’ “I was talking at the time about Troy and really thought maybe I wanted to go to Troy instead of The Citadel because it’s military. But it ended up being the best thing for me. I had two pretty good friends when I got there, and that made it a lot easier.” Johnson even joined The Citadel’s baseball team in his senior year. NOTHING BUT COACHING While in college, Johnson’s heart stayed in Warner Robins because of the peo ple who influenced him as a football player. “I’ve been real lucky because I’ve been around a lot of good people,” said Johnson. “Coach Gann coached me. Coach Orgel was the head coach then. Coach Davis, who ends up hiring me later, was assis tant coach then. They were all good people and I felt like I wanted to be a part of that if I could get a chance to. “I’ve always loved athlet ics. I’d played football and baseball all my life. I knew I wanted to be in coaching and was lucky when I got out (of college) to come home and do it. I actually inter viewed at a couple of other spots when the Northside job came open.” Johnson followed his brief stint with the Eagles with a decade back on staff at his alma mater. He was part of the Demons staff that won state championships in 1981 and 1988 under Robert Davis. There was also a finals appearance in 1985. “We had a couple of others that got to the semifinals and got beat out in some close games,” said Johnson. “I remember the ’B2 year we got beat out by Valdosta 14- 7 in the semifinals and they ended up winning it. We were real lucky as a coaching staff to have a lot of really good players. Coach Davis had a good system in. “Back then the coaching fraternity was a lot differ ent than it is now. When I retired this year we ended up with 39 coaches (at Houston County High) total. When I started coaching we had five period that did everything. There were no assistants or anything like that (in other sports). You coached it all. was a real close-knit group. It was like that for a long time in coaching. G H team in Jonesboro and a top 10 team in Houston County Tuesday helped prepare and motivate us for our game Thursday,” said Northside head coach Jessica White. “I was pleased how we came out strong the first two sets. We came out focused and ready to play and I could see that com petitive drive in the girls’ eyes. Playing strong competition only make you strong and I saw the benefits of that yesterday.” The third and fourth sets, she added, “we lost our focus and had several unforced errors. We bounced back in the last set to win the match. We are improving and building a program.” “I saw a picture the other day of the staff at Northside with me and Danny (Carpenter) on it, and I counted five or six people who were coaches.” So Johnson held the moni ker of ‘head coach’ long before he took his last job at Houston County High. At Northside, he led track and field and cross country. He succeeded David Carpenter as head baseball coach at Warner Robins High after serving as wrestling coach. He was also Demons golf coach. BUILDING BEABS ATHLETICS Back in the early 19905, the “controversial” decision arrived to add a third high school in Warner Robins called Houston County High. Johnson remembers the resistance to a new school from an athletic standpoint even though it made sense in terms of the high growth in the community. The real challenge, he said, came from convincing the aspiring student-ath letes who maybe had visions of being Eagles or Demons to be a part of the new pro gram. “When they built this school, Warner Robins and Northside were having a lot of success (in football),” said Johnson. “Kids didn’t want to leave there athletically. Here we were starting out here, and we were like a nobody. Nobody knew who we were. We were going to be in a smaller classification. Players didn’t want to come here.” It started with the first group of sophomores, and it was his job to sell the school to them. He said it was a good group that would later advance to the state semifi nals as seniors. “That kind of put us over the hump,” said Johnson. “We are a new school, but we can play good football. I think if we got started and had a bunch of losing sea sons ...” That got Johnson to think ing about Lowndes High and how it had to compete with the powerful tradition of Valdosta High. His research came up with eight straight losing years at Lowndes to start off before it took off into becoming a state power itself. There was another factor working against Johnson at Houston County and that was the lack of alumni. Johnson speculated that a 1 -800-DQNATE-CARS HA Heritage 1-800-DQNATE-CARS n*»<»-zm Tuesday Match 1 - Jonesboro 25, Northside 12; Jonesboro 25, Northside 15 Match 2 - HoCo 25, Northside 19; HoCo 25, Northside 14 Thursday Match 1 - Northside 25, Jackson 9; Northside 25, Jackson 12; Jackson 25, NS 18; Jackson 25, Northside 20; Lady Eagles 25, Jackson 14 today the oldest alumnus for Houston is 30. He said the school should start seeing the benefits of its graduates getting to the point where they are running local busi nesses and can give back. It may have been hard to convince the football play ers to be a part of the new school, but it wasn’t had for the county to find interested applicants for the new job. Johnson said several people from all over wanted to work in Houston County with its athletic tradition. “I applied for it, went through the interview pro cess and (Ms. Neal) ended up hiring me,” said Johnson. “I hope I didn’t disappoint her. I never dreamed that it would be 16 years. “Our record is pretty good. We have a winning record, and that’s important to me. But we played tough people. We played as tough a sched ule as anyone around.” Even in those early years, Johnson said Houston County played solid oppo nents, more so than they probably needed to. He said it was all about bringing in money to the program that started about $120,000 in debt. “It took us four years just to get even,” said Johnson. “I had to play people that, if I had money, I probably wouldn’t have played them. But I knew they would bring in people to watch the game. “I had assistant coaches getting on me all the time about our schedules, But I used to tell our kids that if you play a good team and play hard, that’s a lot better than beating somebody 45-6, because in those games most kids don’t get fired up, and I’m not sure you get better when you do that.” In the last decade, foot ball players have gone from Houston County High to Southern California, Purdue, Georgia, the Air Force Academy and other college programs of all lev els. But one of Johnson’s first post-retirement calls came from a former Bear who went into the Marines. “I’ve enjoyed all of them,” said Johnson. “On the com puter I checked all the kids we have out there right now - Brandon King at Purdue, Kyle Moore at Southern Cal, Gaines Burnette at Furman, at Wofford Josh Collier had a great weekend, Eric O’Neal played at Coastal Carolina - I checked every one of them, tried to keep up with them. • The donation Is tax deductible. • Pick-up is free. • We take care of all the paperwork. SPORTS Museum plans for golf invitational Special to the Journal The 18th Annual Museum of Aviation Foundation Georgia Invitational Golf Tournament will be held Sept. 27-28 at the Pine Oaks Golf Club on Robins Air Force Base. The two-day tournament, accord ing to a release, is the largest golf outing in Middle Georgia each year and is made up of three separate rounds with separate prizes for each round. Since 1990, the Georgia Invitation Golf Tournament has raised a total of more than $3.6 million for the Museum of Aviation - one of the largest education-focused avia tion museums in the country. The value of this year’s Taylor-Made golf equipment and other prizes is more than $30,000. Foursomes will compete in a “scramble” handi capped format. Tee times are noon on Thursday and 8 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. on Friday. Separate prizes are given for each round. U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss is the Honorary Chairman of this year’s tournament. Honorary Co-Chairmen are Sen. Johnny Isakson and U.S. Congressmen Jack Kingston and Jim Marshall. Former U.S. Sen. Sam Nunn, who helped initiate the event, serves as Nick Riley at Troy State. That’s been fun, too. “One of the things that’s really helped me is that the academics here have been real good. So when a recruit er comes here, normally our grades are in good shape. All they have to then is figure out if he’s good enough to play for us.” MANY MOBE THANKS Johnson reiterated how fortunate he felt to first coach at Northside with Nix and Danny Carpenter, and then get the break at Warner Robins under Davis. He worked with Stan Gann and Richard Fendley. He would later work with the current Demons head coach Bryan Way. Rewards of up to S I,OOO - Remain Anonymous! 5318:1 r* frebi j' the Honorary National Chairman. Eddie Wiggins is chairing the plan ning committee which is soliciting volunteer “ambassadors” to assist golfers. Golfers receive a commem orative golf shirt, a Thursday night traditional “Plantation Supper,” luncheon buffets, and a barbecue awards dinner on Friday evening. Additional surprises and gifts are also planned. More than 60 businesses and individuals annually sign up as sponsors for the fund-raiser. “The overwhelming support for this tournament from all over America is outstanding,” said Pat Bartness, President and Chief Operating Officer of the Foundation. “These efforts assure that the Museum of Aviation will continue to be one of the best aviation Museums in America and an institution of excel lence to honor the men and women of our armed forces.” Sponsorship rates and benefits are: SIO,OOO Super Sponsor benefits: ■ Super Sponsor Reception open only to Super Sponsors and guests. ■ Traditional Plantation Supper for eight players plus eight guests. ■ Eight rounds of golf to be played in any of the three rounds. ■ Georgia Invitational golf shirts and golf balls. JL MACON REGIONAL JgpiMKfmPMna Help solve A Crime 742-2330 • 1-877-68 CRIME (27463) 'wßk 6. : gxzs?y. M * £%g§f' -;# ' -' v:: ’ 9B& f f Dennis Jay Scruggs Wanted for bench warrants from Supe rior Court for failure to appear on original charges of aggra vated assault and false imprisonment LKA; 110 block of Blackberry Circle, Kathleen Regina L. Russ Wanted for failure to ap pear, forgery, attempt ing to obtain dangerous drugs by forgery LKA: 100 block of Eagle Trace, Centerville II Derrick Lamorris Tookes Wanted for deposit account fraud (3x), forgery and violation of probation from Magistrate Court LKA: 100 block of Wilmington Drive, Warner Robins Randy Royce Stokeling Wanted for aggra vated assault LKA; 1200 block of Lev erette Road, Warner Robins Lisa Ann Bennett Wanted for financial transaction card fraud LKA: 100 block of Dora Lane, Bonaire Jennifer Lynne Wilson Wanted for two bench warrants from Supe rior Court for failure to appear LKA: 900 block of Chapel Ridge Drive, Perry IF YOU DON’T LIKE SEEING YOUR PICTURE ON THIS PAGE, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2007 ♦ “Coach Waters was a big help when we started (at Houston),” said Johnson. “He did a lot for me. Steve Allen started here with me. Kevin Wall, who is a defen sive coach at Warner Robins, started as my defensive coordinator and did a tre mendous job. And Tommy Seward, I hired him from Tifton and he worked six years here. He was a really good person for me to be around.” And then there’s the cur rent staff, which was mostly his staff for the last few years on the job. That includes Collins, a former head coach at Perry High School, Denny Maddox, Chip Stuart, Chris McCook, Lee Pope, Heath Burch and Bob Daughtry. “Joe Sumrall started all of this,” said Johnson. “Before Daniel R. Shapley Wanted for aggravat ed assault LKA: 800 block of Hwy 247 S., Kathleen Chiroy Benjamin Washington Wanted for theft by taking LKA: 800 block of Oak Ave nue, Warner Robins King Edward Cannon Jr. Wanted for aggra vated stalking, bench warrant .LKA: 700 block of Loop Road, Vidalia ■ Appropriate signage and recog- . nition on the Super Sponsor board. I ■ Many other gifts included in 4 golfers’ “shopping bags”. ■ Traditional Plantation Supper for four players plus four guests. ■ Four rounds of golf to be played in any of the three rounds. ■ Georgia Invitational golf shirts - and golf balls. ■ Appropriate signage and recog- j nition on the Tournament Sponsor; board. ■ Many other gifts included in - golfers’ “shopping bags”. win)n Hole Sponsor benefits: ■ Traditional Plantation Supper for two players plus two guests. ■ Two rounds of golf to be played . in any of the three rounds. ■ Georgia Invitational golf shirts and golf balls. ■ Appropriate signage and recog- * nition on the Hole Sponsor board. ■ Many other gifts included in golfers’ “shopping bags”. The single player fee is $250. Sponsors, players and volun teers can sign up by calling 478-923-6600 or emailing june. lowe@museumofaviation.org or marylynn.harrison@museumofavi ation.org. he got here I know Warner Robins was pretty dismal. When we moved here from Mobile, (my dad) was look ing to move in Perry because the football was better down there at the time. He felt that at Warner Robins they weren’t even trying. They were 0-10 and 1-9. “Instead, we moved here because he heard they were going to get a new coach, and it ended up being coach Sumrall. It’s been a real good group of coaches. Plus all the people in the commu nity you get to know through coaching is good, too. I have a lot of close friends in this community that have done a lot of things for me, this school, Warner Robins and Northside. They support athletes. It’s a great town for young kids.” James Earl Spann Wanted for bench war rant from Superior Court LKA: 400 block of Virginia Dare Drive, Warner Robins Charlotte Singletary Wanted for violatioh of probation from Su perior Court LKA: 1200 block of Laura Avenue, Warner Robins Jabre Antwan Williams Wanted for criminal damage to property, false report of crime LKA: 1200 block of Creekwood Drive, Perry Hugh Allen West 111 Wanted for theft by tak ing, burglary and an ar rest order from Superior Court LKA: 100 block of Sunset Drive, Warner Robins Lamar Andy Chatfield Wanted for violation of probation from Superior Court LKA: 100 block of Vicki Drive, Warner Rob ins Korachee Dewaun Chastain Wanted for violation of probation from Superior Court LKA: 1000 block of King Boulevard, Perry 3B 152763