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♦ WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2007 4D DEFENSE From page iD line. Although the Eagles couldn’t punch the ball in, Pike gave the Eagles a three point lift with a 23 yard field goal to put Northside up 16-0. Evans managed only one first down during its next possession, but it was negated by Northside’s Eric Fields. He sacked Evans quarterback Kevin Millward for a 14-yard loss and into another punt formation. With less than three min utes left in the third quar ter, the Eagles took the ball from their 42 and using the shuttle pass to great effect, began a six-play drive that culminated with Scott’s three-yard touchdown run five seconds into the fourth quarter. After Pike’s extra point, the Eagles led 19-0. As much as the Knights’ passing game was success ful in the first half, that’s how low it fell in the sec ond. Millward managed only three completions in the second half and was sacked once and knocked down PERRY From page iD was able to do in mov ing the football came in the passing game. They had 100 yards in the air by intermis sion but only 28 in the sec ond half. But in the area of turn overs, that’s where the Perry defense made the big differ ence with a fumble recovery for a touchdown by lineman Kered Whitest. The Panthers had one other fumble recov ery plus another pass inter ception by Hayward at free safety. Perry led 7-0 at the end of the first quarter on Hayward’s two-yard touch down run on an option keep er at 3:06. It was a period marred by nine enforced penalties, seven of five yards or less. Worth gave the Panthers a starting spot on its own 33 after a botched punt of only three yards. Brandon Golden, on third down, used big Johnnie Farms’ created hole for a 12-yard run up the middle prior to the Hayward touchdown. Perry once again used strategy in the kickoff game as Ray Guin kept the foot ball on the ground. With all the bounces, Perry recov- GOLDEN From page iD better. “There was a lot of block ing in that type of offense. But it was effective.” Golden’s sophomore year (2005) was also Scott’s first year as Perry’s head coach. The rookie coach inserted both Golden and another sophomore named Casey Hayward into the starting lineup, and the Panthers began a run of appearances in the state playoffs. Golden did get his opportunities to carry the football, getting somewhere between 300 and 400 yards. But that offense revolved around West -a senior - and Davis. The following year Davis was back as a senior along with Hayward and Golden with Davis being the featured back. Golden did see his carries increase as a junior, but still had that pri mary role as a blocker. Now, it’s 2007 and the top two Perry rushers as Hayward at quarterback and Jacorey Lane, a junior, at MUSEUM From page iD are, according to the release, guaranteed a quality color ful long-sleeve shirt on race day. The start time for the marathon and half mara thon is 8 a.m. The 5K run/ walk will start at 8:15 a.m. A relay team consists of four people, with each team member running a specific leg of the marathon (six to seven miles). A mixed team requires at least one member of each WJm |#®| ML,, a*..' Sa * - ■■— ■ - —' * ■' Contributed/Avery Sports Photography Northside quarterback Joe Scott prepares to let one sail in the Eagles’ state tourna ment win over Evans Friday in McConnell-Talbert Stadium in Warner Robins. more than a punch-drunk fighter. After another Evans exer cise in futility, going for a first down on 4th and 10, the Eagles once again started with excellent field position ered on the Ram 30. But due to penalties and a sack by the Worth defense, the Panthers punted away with J.R. Lasseter finding the cor ner on the 7. At the end of the quarter, Garrett Stokeling and Tony Davis made Worth pay for one of numerous hobbled exchanges. Forced to punt from the 5, the Rams again set Perry in good position on the 38. Golden had four carries in a row up to the 9, but Perry got no closer and missed a field goal try. Rams quarter back Sam Youngblood was still having trouble holding on to the football, and this time the fumble cost him six points. Whitest recovered and only had 20 yards to score at 7:39 until the half. Bill Freeman made his second straight PAT kick for the 14-0 lead. The penalties were gone, only to be replaced by lengthy discussion, one again caused by a break down in the Worth punting game. Perry had a block, and in the ensuing scramble a Worth player was running out with the football. There were some laterals involved, one deemed illegal, with the first result being Panther possession on the running back. The constant has been that bond between quarterback and fullback. Golden said he never wor ried about being the fea tured back for the Panther offense. His focus instead is on winning and taking on his appointed role. He said his he always felt his hard work would lead to running chances, but he also knew Hayward’s running was also important to his team’s suc cess. “I like to play beside (Hayward),” said Golden about his life-long friend. “I take a lot of my classes with him. We all go out and do what we need to do, sit down and look at video everyday after practice. “I’ve been playing with Casey since we were in rec reation on the Stallions play ing for coach Tony (Holder). That’s been a long time. “Our fathers used to tell us a lot that we were going to be good. Things have turned out good.” For the season, Golden has 693 rushing yards and 146 receiving yards to go with six total touchdowns. Hayward sex. Separate forms from all four team members and full payment must be sent together in the same enve lope. Race packets may be picked up at the Museum of Aviation Century of Flight Hangar on race day only between 6:30-7:30 a.m. A picture ID is required at registration/check-in. Award ceremonies start Jan. 19, 2008 at 9:30 a.m. in the Museum’s Century of Flight Hangar. Entry fees are SBO for a relay team, S4O for the from their 48. With many of the N orthside starters taking a sabbatical on the sidelines, the Eagles still pushed the ball to with in range for Pike’s second field goal of the game. He hit Next up: North Hall High For the third playoff game in a row, Perry will see the wing-T offense from an opponent trying to stop this hot Panther streak that has reached seven straight wins. Only this time, Perry has to take its show on the road to face North Hall High, the undefeated Region 7-AAA champions. The North Hall Trojans average 47.5 points and 421 yards per game on offense. For the season, they have 63 rushing touchdowns with three players with double figure trips to the end zone. Hunter Wolf averages 106.6 yards per game, Bobby Epps has 18 touchdowns and quarterback Fabian Jackson had 14 touchdowns running and 13 more pass ing with a 59.7 completion percentage. The Trojan defense allows just 9.25 points a contest and is led by lineman 22. Worth’s sidelines argued that a Perry player estab lished possession after the block but then fumbled, prompting the return by the Rams. The officials eventually agreed and awarded the visi tors a new drive from the 22. However, after a halfback option pass to the Perry 43, Worth lost another fumble to the home club on the 38. has 1,185 yards on the ground and Lane has 965. Golden said that group that does all of the after-practice work includes Lane and the rest of the offensive unit. It involves gathering together at the home of offensive coor dinator Chad Alligood every Thursday before a game. “We just fellowship,” said Golden. “We eat a lot. Then we play a game on his TV Coach will talk about past things that have happened to him, and we talk about each other.” Golden credited Alligood for designing and instituting Perry’s spread offense. He said the coach also assured him there was an important place there for a player of his skills. “At first I was questioning it,” said Golden. “I just had to trust my coach. He knew what he was doing. At first I thought it was going to be all passing from the way it looked. We looked at video from the offense it was based off of, and I liked the way it looked. In that formation I just have to run the ball hard. marathon, S3O for the half marathon and $lB for the 5K run/walk. A $5 surcharge applies for registrations after Jan. 14, 2008. To register or for more information call Race Director John Hunter at 478-953-5335 (evening) ore mail him at hunterjh(«cox. net. For museum and race information call June Lowe or Mary Lynn Harrison at 478-923-6600 or e-mail her at marylynn.harrison@mu seumofaviation.org. SPORTS a 29-yarder with 3:14 left in the game. Down 26-0, the Knights tried running the ball for two plays and throwing it twice more, before giving way to Northside’s offense Hayward’s interception thwarted the next Ram drive on the Panther 38. With one more chance in the half, Worth County completed three passes in a row up to the Perry 2-yard line. A player wearing No. 54 would catch a ball in the end zone but must not have report ed as an eligible receiver, thus bringing a flag and no points. Whitest made another key “Executing the plays is a major part of the offense. If you don’t execute, it’s not going to work. We all have to execute: the running backs, offensive line, receivers.” The main purpose of high school athletics is personal improvement of the student athlete. Golden said he is big ger, faster and stronger than his sophomore days, and it comes from weight training, running and his second high school sport of choice: wres tling. “I like being a wrestler,” said Golden. “At first, I didn’t like it. But my daddy kept encouraging me and told me not to quit. I turned out to be pretty good.” Michael Golden is Brandon’s father. “Ever since I was little, playing football, he got me started when I was 4 or 5 years old,” said Brandon. “He encouraged me to do what I got to do, run the ball hard. He tells me everything I do wrong but also moti vates me.” Now comes the next big step and the Panthers with an appearance in the quar- GAYTON From page iD this weekend in regard to a review by officials, his oppo nent had been “red flagged” for his last two bench press es, but was “accidentally given credit for it by the scorekeeper.” “The good news for me and my supporters is that there was no tie, and I won the event.” Gayton’s second-place fin ish in the 165-pound Masters 111 Equipped Division still stands. « mm Contributed/Avery Sports Photography A Northside defender wraps up an Evans ball carrier. with 1:36 left to play. Northside ran the clock Jackson Griffeth and his 15 tackles for a loss, seven on the quarterback. “They will be one of the best teams we’ve faced all year,” said Perry head coach Andy Scott. “The longer we go in the playoffs, the better the competition gets. We have to be up to the task.” Perry’s defense more than handled the wing attacks from LaGrange in the first round and Worth County in the second round. In those two wins, the Panthers not only won the battle of turnovers, but also turned two takeaways directly into points with touchdown returns. “If you look at any ball game, normally it’s the team that makes the fewest mis takes that wins,” said Scott, who’s only seen one offensive turnover the last two weeks. “We've been fortunate to be able to make plays." play after the foul stopping Arthur Blackmon on the 7 with six seconds left. Lineman Jacavesia Hayward, who did not play against LaGrange, opened the second half throwing Blackmon for a five-yard loss. Linebacker Kanorris Davis had consecutive stops on the line of scrimmage on another third-quarter series. Perry’s offense drove terfinals. The season includ ed the first win against Peach County High in 18 years and not one but two wins in the playoffs so far. “We’re making a lot of his tory with this team,” said Golden. “I like the way it’s going right now. I feel player to player we’re better than (North Hall). We just have to hit them in the mouth.” A win in Gainesville would mean Perry’s first trip to the Georgia Dome for the state semifinals, and yet another win would mean a state cham pionship shot. Golden for one would rather be playing in those televised games from Atlanta than just watching his peers from other parts of the state get the honor. Hg| . JE wmk -w jBF j • 24 Hour Access • Personal Training • no Contracts 1030 Ball Street (Downtown Perry) W 987-8516 000545X0 HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL out and walked away from there. inside the Worth 30 once in the third only to lose the ball on a fumble. Later in the quarter, on fourth down from his own 41, Lasseter had a punt roll all the way to the Ram 11 <4B yards). That play set up the same field-position situation the Panthers enjoyed in the first period as Worth had to punt back to its 38. Jacorey Lane started the fourth quarter with a first down run to the 25. Trey Smith’s catch set up Ist and-goal on the 6. Hayward, rolled to his left on second down and hit Cody Mahler for the touchdown at 9:25. Freeman’s PAT made it 21- 0. Perry’s fourth quarter on defense included a sack of Youngblood by Tony Davis and two more short-yardage stops by Kanorris Davis. At 1:51 remaining, Hayward converted a 3rd and-14 as Akeen Felder caught a ball over the mid dle for a 53-yard touchdown. That gave Felder three catches overall for 72 yards. Worth’s lone score came as it made Perry redo the kickoff after two kicks went out of bounds. The Rams returned the third try up to the 7, and from there, Buster Jackson scored. “It’s right there in front of us,” he said. “I’ve always wanted to go (to the Dome). We just have to take it and go with it. “(The championship) is one of our ultimate goals, the last goal on our sheet.” When the season is over, Golden will once again hit the wrestling mats and continue work towards graduation and a possible athletic col lege scholarship. He has had communication with Middle Tennessee, which would give the younger Panthers anoth er chance to gain inspiration from his work ethic. “It teaches those young kids the importance of hard work and perseverance,” said Scott. in TIME TO SHAPE un Join for the months of October & November and get DECEMBER FREEI* ‘New members only. • Free Weights • Treadmills • Family Plan Available • Online Personal Training