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m —|msjcitball n ■ jnk Whnu ■ w it 1 Ts"s\ /jp^X ■ JKJk mOm * I ■ JUm ■- ! SL**** HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL Ragin gets the call as Perry hosts Raiders By MATTHEW BROWN Journal Sports Writer Unlike last Thursday in Macon, Perry High School quarterback Dar d r a Ragin knows for certain when he will take the field to run the Panther offense on Friday against West sophomore West Laurens at Perry, Friday, 7:30 p.m. Laurens High. Perry head coach Andy Scott said Monday that senior Casey Hayward will not play Friday against the Raiders from Dublin in the Region 4- AAA south sub-region game taking place at Herb St. John Stadium. The good news for the Panther 2007 season is that Hayward is not finished by any means. “Right now, it’s not quite as serious as we had thought,” said Scott Monday about a shoulder injury Hayward suf fered one play into Thursday’s 26-8 loss to Central-Macon. “He’s got a third-degree sprain or separation of his shoulder, but it’s a situation where he can play probably within 10 days, so hopefully mj? Ha .. ■ ' ' ENI/Gary Harmon Perry Head Coach Andy Scott instructs from the sidelines in the Panthers’ loss to Central Thursday. Perry will gun for its first region win when it hosts West Laurens Friday. CALENDAR High school volleyball Thursday ■ Newton and Coffee at Houston County (Senior Night for the Lady Bears), 5 p.m. High school football Friday ■ First Presbyterian Day at Westfield, 8 p.m. ■ Baldwin at Northside, 7:30 p.m. ■ West Laurens at Perry, 7:30 p.m. ■ Houston County at Colquitt, 7:30 p.m. Saturday ■ Valdosta at Warner Robins, 7:30 p.m. High school softball Friday-Saturday ■ GISA AAA tournament in Dublin, to be determined ■ GHSA AAA, AAAA, AAAAA tournaments, to be deter- we will have him if not next week the week after.” Hayward was participat ing in Monday’s practice in full uniform, but he wasn’t involved in contact drills. Instead, Ragin led the first team offense as he did the previous Thursday once Hayward became unavail able. Perry lost that game after giving up four sec ond-half touchdowns to the Chargers, but Ragin did get his first varsity touchdown pass of the season by hitting Trey Smith from four yards out in the fourth quarter. “I thought Dardra did a great job,” said Scott. “Other than the turnovers (two lost fumbles and one intercep tion), I thought he played well. We had 334 yards of offense but only eight points. Turnovers were a big key there. “He’s going to be a great one.” It’s not the first time Scott has started a sophomore at quarterback. In his first season as Perry head coach he placed Hayward, a 10th grader at that time, as the starter. “I don’t know if anybody is ready to handle high school football as a sopho- mined IN BRIEF Bear boosters to hold golf tourney The HCHS Bear Boosters will be holding its annual Fall Scramble Oct. 20 at Waterford Golf Club. The format is a four-player scramble, and the cost is S2OO per team. Sponsorships are available. Call 957-1867 or e-mail HoCoßoosters@cox.net for more info, or visit the website www.golfdigestplanner.com/1614-HoCoßoosters/. Basketball signups for WR Rec set The Warner Robins Recreation Department will begin registration for its 2008 Youth Basketball Program Oct. 27. The program is for boys ages 5-17 and girls ages 5-12. The registration fee is $25 for city, SSO for county and SBS for out of county residents. A birth certificate is required. more, but we sure have a boatload of sophomores play ing,” said Scott, referring to the remainder of his regular starting lineup. What Ragin, Scott and the rest of the Panthers need on Friday is a win to not only halt a two-game losing skid but to also pull even in the sub-region. Perry, 2-3 overall, is in a six-team sub-region and has four games left that count in the standings that determine who will be in the state-tournament play-in round on Nov. 9. In West Laurens, the Panthers take on a club they beat 42-6 last year in Dublin and one that last week was routed by Peach County. “We’re trying to handle a lot of issues we’re having,” said Scott. “Defensively, espe cially, of making sure we do what we’re supposed to do. “West Laurens (3-2) is an excellent football team. They were convinced they were going to beat Peach County. I know they will come in here ready to play. “We got caught in a situ ation this year where we’re getting everybody’s ‘A’ game. We’re not catching any breaks. We have to make our own breaks. We haven’t done that thus far.” In the Central game, the Chargers had success with an option style offense. Three of their four touchdowns came on dive plays of more than 30 yards. Scott said West Laurens will run a similar type of offense, one once used by Georgia Southern University. “We have to make sure we take the dive, quarterback and the pitch,” said Scott. “That’s something we didn’t do well against Central. “Defensively, they’re a 4-3 team, big, strong. We have to be ready.” It’s the Panther defense that may have more to prove on Friday. After shutting out Jackson High in the second half, Perry gave up a near record number of passing yards in a 38-29 loss at home to Henry County. Then it was Central using that ground game to dominate the second half last Thursday. Perry is thin when it comes to seniors on defense, a unit led by two Davises named Kanorris and Tony. Kanorris Davis blocked a punt that led to a safety and Tony Davis sacked the quarterback in the Central game. “That’s no excuse, though,” said Scott. “Our job as coach es is to win football games. That’s our responsibility regardless of who is out there. We have to get them ready to play and we as defensive coaches strive to get better.” On the web: Don’t forget to check out HHINEWS.COM FOR LOCAL FOOTBALL STORIES SHORTLY AFTER GAME COMPLETION Northside, Baldwin a battle of unbeatens By MATTHEW BROWN Journal Sports Writer If anyone thought, going into the 2007 season, that this would be a major Baldwin at Northside, 7:30 p.m., Friday most likely did not live in Milledgeville. Yes, Baldwin lost a quar terback, Patrick Spears, who guided the team all the way to the 2005 semifinals in the Georgia Dome as a junior. Yes, gone are Darius Marshall (to Marshall University) and his back-to-back seasons of rushing for more than 2,000 yards. Yes, there is no 6-4 receiver named Wayne Bonner out there to catch passes. But don’t tell Northside High head coach Conrad Nix about losing great seniors. It happens at his school each and every year, and the Eagles continue to contend for state cham pionships. He also knows Baldwin has a coach in place in Jess Hicks who keeps the Braves compet ing at a high level. Lady Bears, Demonettes sweep - finish league 1-2 and prep for region tourney By MATTHEW BROWN Journal Sports Writer The Houston County High Bears jumped up to the No. 2 seed for the upcoming Region 1-AAAAA softball tour nament by winning two road contests in Lowndes County on Saturday. Coach Angela Crawford and her club received a bonus gift for the weekend’s success: an automatic bid to the Class AAAAA state south sectionals. When softball teams from Houston County got set to face their Lowndes County counterparts this season, one thing was sure to be a constant: rain. This past weekend was no exception. With the two counties more than two hours apart in travel distance, the four Little League teams to be recognized Special to the Journal The Georgia Sports Hall of Fame, according to a release, will welcome three Little League world cham-. pionship teams to Macon Saturday. The Little League World Series is held annually in Williamsport, Pa., the For more info call 929-1916. YMCA to tee off inaugural event The Houston County YMCA will hold an inaugural golf tournament Nov. 9 at International City Golf Course. The venue is a scramble format featuring four-person teams. Lunch is slated for noon with a shotgun start beginning at 1 p.m. The entry fee is SSO per person, which includes greens fee, cart, range balls, lunch and refreshments. There will also be door, team, close up and long drive prizes, along with a complimentary gift bag. Hole, drink cart and range sponsorship is available. Call 922-2566 or e-mail fitness@hocoymca.org to sign up. AFA to host Thank-a-Vet Run The Air Force Association Carl Vinson Memorial Chapter and POW/MIA Memorial Committee will host the "I don't remember playing them before when they were undefeated. They are well-schooled. We are going to have to be focused and have a sense of purpose and urgency." - Northside I lead Football Coach Conrad Nix rebuilding year for Baldwin High foot ball, he or she proba bly wasn’t alone. But those folks also Nix and his staff saw that in person last Thursday as they scouted Baldwin’s game against Westside in Macon in what was a bat tle of top 10 clubs in Class AAAA. Baldwin came out on top in triple overtime to set up a battle of unbeat ens on Friday between 6-0 Northside and those Braves who are looking to take first place in the Region 4-AAAA south sub region. “It was a back-and-forth defensive game through regulation,” said Nix about tfie Baldwin-Westside bat tle. “Both of them did pret ty well. (Baldwin) is a good football team, no question about it.” Yes, Baldwin is good even without the recogniz able names. “We lost a lot of guys, too,” said Nix. “People lose a lot of guys every year. A school our size and their release reads. The teams, whose victories span 25 years, are the only teams from Georgia ever to have appeared in Williamsport, and each appearance has resulted in a World Championship. The Warner Robins American Little League team defeated Japan WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2007 ♦ schools in the region scheduled one road trip to play the two region games. In this case, both Houston County and Warner Robins High used Oct. 5-6 to play at Valdosta and Lowndes with two games scheduled for Friday, Oct. 5, and two more on Oct. 6. But as was the case, on separate week ends, when both Valdosta and Lowndes visited Houston to play two games, rain fell on Friday, forcing everyone to play two games on Saturday. The Houston Bears first played Lowndes, a team that won at the Bear Den on Sept. 15. But with Brianna Hancock pitching a one-hit shutout, Houston County avenged that loss with a 2-0 victory. See S WEEP, page 4B “The down and dirry ” seventh annual Thank-a-Vet Run Nov. 10 at the Museum of Aviation at Robins Air Force Base. The run will begin at 8:30 a.m. Check-in time for the SK/one-mile run/walk begins at 7:15 a.m. The pre-registration fee of sls covers an event T-shirt and refreshments. On-site registration is S2O. A picture identification card is required. Interested persons may register on-line at the AFA Web site, http://cv-afa. org/. Proceeds will be dedicated to POW/MIA Memorial Monument, which will be erected at the Museum of Aviation. To date, SIIO,OOOO has been raised toward the construction cost of approximately $130,000. Sponsors of the event will be recognized and have an area to display materials. Companies or individuals inter ested in sponsoring the race may contact David Cowles at 478-955-0568 or 327-3476. size are going to have a relative good number of seniors. It’s just guys who work hard and want to do good, have a goal and work to attain that goal. They are showing they want to compete for it all. “It’s going to be a good high school football game, one that you would antici pate this time of the year.” Northside has for sure been a thorn in Baldwin’s side the last two years. It was the Eagles that beat the Braves in the Dome in 2005, and last year Baldwin’s only regular season loss was at home to Northside. Baldwin’s new quarter back is a transfer, Wayne Williams. The Braves’ defense does return its top tackier in lineback er Coricq Hawkins and a cornerbdck, Jadarius Brown, who had three See BA TTLE, page 8B in the 2007 champion ship game to capture this year’s title. In 2006 the Columbus Northern Little League team beat Japan for the championship, and in 1983 the East Marietta National team defeated the Dominican Republic to win Georgia’s first See TEAMS, page 4B 3B