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HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL
FPD Holiday Classic
Lady Hornets roll to
fourth-straight win
By MATTHEW BROWN
Journal Sports Writer
There’s nothing like an overtime loss to
get a winning streak going ... at least that’s
the way Jeff Eubanks and the Westfield girls
basketball squad sees it.
After coming close to knocking off GISA
power Stratford in overtime on Dec. 20, the
Lady Hornets are now riding a four-game
winning streak to improve to 6-6 in the 2007
portion of the current season. Three of the
four wins came in the First Presbyterian
Day Holiday Classic in Macon Thursday
through Saturday.
Security Bank of Jones County Holiday Classic
NS girls earn ttird
Demonettes beat Lady Panthers; Perry boys roll
past Warner Robins in consolation match-ups
By MATTHEW BROWN
Journal Sports Writer
Even with a bizarre last
10 seconds of the game (the
final 2.1 never actually run
ning off the scoreboard clock
and coach Casaundra Wilson
upset over a blocking foul on
her team with six seconds
left and her team up by one
... until she realized it was
a non-shooting foul and her
team had three fouls to give)
the Northside High Lady
Eagles took home third place
in the 2007 Security Bank
of Gray Holiday Classic 54-
53 over Jonesboro High,
a potential postseason foe
for the Lady Eagles from
the north sub-region of 4-
AAAA.
Senior forward Josie
Toliver made the game-win
ning shot in the paint with
20 seconds to go. Jonesboro
had come back from a signif-
p ||l|
Journal Matthew Brown
Perry High’s Kim Burgess
stands in the free-throw
rebounding position in
the team’s game against
Warner Robins Saturday.
She finished the match-up
with nine shots and nine
rebounds.
Eagles drop 2 at J.B. Hawkins venue; Bears win Powerade opener
By MATTHW BROWN
Journal Sports Writer
Despite Kenya Ward’s 24 points and 21
rebounds, the Northside boys basketball
team fell in the opening round of the J.B.
Hawkins Invitational at Crawford County
High Friday. The Eagles were playing
Central High of Macon tight for three quar
ters before the Chargers charged away with
an 88-69 win.
Westfield had no trouble completing the
perfect run through the FPD event in a 60-
10 victory against Mt. Vernon Presbyterian.
Eubanks’ team went 28-for-36 at the foul line
and had a balanced scoring effort that saw
all players on the roster produce points.
Sheldon Hiley led the way with 11 points
while Darryl Ann Thompson had 10. Hanna
Jones added nine and Mallory Eubanks
eight.
The Lady Hornets won all three
games in Macon by double figures with
the first two victories coming against
See WIN, page 6B
- 1 'V fir S ' :
W
Journal/Matthew Brown
Warner Robins’ Stephen Edwards looks for an open
teammate as the Demons battle Perry High Saturday at
Jones County High School.
icant first-half deficit - and
saw 6-4 sophomore Simone
Johnson’s stick-back put
them ahead 53-52 with 45
seconds left - but only got
one more try off before the
game held at Jones County
High School finally ended.
Northside led 52-51 at
1:02 when Ladarria Clark
made a steal and assist to
Toliver. It was another steal
and assist - this time by
Leah Daniely to Tai Brown
- at 1:20 that pulled the
Lady Eagles within one of
the Lady Cardinals, 51-50.
All of this occurred after
Jonesboro scored six points
in a row when Northside
missed the front end of a
one-and-one, had a shot
blocked from the perimeter
and couldn’t come up with a
sure takeaway on the floor.
Jonesboro went into the
fourth quarter leading 42-
39, but Daniely brought
Northside to two points, 45-
Northside came back Saturday with anoth
er close-fought contest in Roberta only to
fall to Spalding High 81-79. Dejuan Mitchell
had 13 points, Demario Black 14 and James
Hagan 15.
At the Powerade Classic hosted by North
Gwinnett High School in Suwanee, the
Houston County High boys earned a 68-61
victory against Ringgold High. Geo Stotts
paced the Bears with 18 points.
43, by scoring off a turnover.
Clark hit a 3-pointer for the
lead at 46-45 before the Lady
Cardinals went on the afore
mentioned 6-0 run.
Brown had a total of 21
points and Toliver 10 in
the post. Guards Daniely
and Clark combined for 15.
Northside’s girls were the
defending champions of this
event at Jones County High,
but lost in the second round
this year to Carrollton.
Brown was too much for
the Lady Cardinals in the
first quarter with all of her
scoring, rebounding, and a
transition assist to Clark
in the opening quarter.
Northside opened with a 14-
0 run. Brittnie Henderson,
senior guard, was one of five
Lady Eagles with four points
in the quarter, which ended
at 22-8.
The Jonesboro press,
not to mention the
See THIRD, page 6B
*
All-Houston County
football
Coach of the Year
■ Conrad Nix, Northside
Offensive Player of the
Year
■ Tijuan Green, Northside
Defensive Player of the
Year
■ Kanorris Davis, Perry
All-Around Player of the
Year
■ Casey Hayward, Perry
First Team Defense
■ Jordan Sanders, Warner
Robins
■ Shawn Monos, Warner Robins
■ Thomas Bruce, Warner Robins
■ Rico Hendricks, Houston
County
■ Abry Jones, Northside
■ Eric Fields, Northside
■ Leslie Jordan, Northside
■ Anthony Taylor, Northside
■ Tony Davis, Perry
■ Jacavey Hayward. Perry
First Team Offense
■ Robbie Bailey, Warner Robins
■ Craig Presley, Houston County
■ Marques Ivory, Northside
■ Nick Bass, Northside
■ Vashawn Oats, Northside
■ Jerome Bibbins, Warner Robins
* Johnnie Farms, Perry
■ Joel Revis, Westfield
Special Teams
P David Clark, Warner Robins
a Devon Pike, Northside
a J-R. Lasseter, Perry
Second Team Defense
a Josh Palmer, Warner Robins
P Cody Dorman, Warner Robins
a Chris Prewett, Houston County
P Dexter Anderson, Houston
County
a K.J. Morton, Northside
a Darius Ivey, Northside
a Brandon Smith, Perry
a Kaderius Felder, Perry
a Jarrod Taylor, Westfield
a Matt Mcßride, Westfield
Second Team Offense
a Rashad Wynes, Warner Robins
a W.J. McAllister, Warner Robins
a Bryan Gibson, Houston County
a Jeff Thompson, Houston
County
a Ricky Williams, Houston County
a Evan Arthur, Northside
a Jordan Dooley, Northside
a Jacorey Lane, Perry
a Trey Smith, Perry
a Akeen Felder, Perry *
a Jay Golden, Perry
Honorable Mention
a W.J. Mcallister, Warner Robins
a Darius Hudson, Warner Robins
a Joe Scott, Northside
Offensive Player of the Year
Tijuan Green
School: Northside
Year: Senior
Position: Running back
Impact: Rushed for 2,035
yards on 278 carries and scored
29 touchdowns. Also caught 23
passes for 331 yards and three
touchdowns. Led the Eagles to
back-to-back state championships
at the Class AAAA level.
Other: Was named to the All-
State First Team.
Defensive Player of the Year
Kanorris Davis
School: Perry
Year: Senior
Position: Linebacker
Impact: Recorded 121 tack
les, which included six for loss and
three sacks. He also had five fum
ble recoveries and three blocked
kicks. Helped lead the team to
the Elite Eight of the state playoffs
- the highest any Panther football
team has ever gone.
“(He) plays the game the way
it is supposed to be played,” said
Perry Head Coach Andy Scott,
“wide open all the time.”
Other: Named to the All-State
Team this year and last.
Coach’s corner: The best
player I have ever coached.”
All-Around Player of the
Year
Casey Hayward
School: Perry
Year: Senior
iCUiii
Compiled by
DON MONCRIEF/
MATTHEW BROWN
Position: Quarterback/defen
sive back.
Impact: Rushed for 1,284
yards on 214 carries and had 18
touchdowns. Passed for 1,300
yards (95 completions, 165
attempts) with 18 touchdowns.
Helped lead the team to the Elite
Eight of the state playoffs - the
highest any Panther football team
has ever gone.
He also was the first player in
the history of Perry, Scott said,
to rush and pass for more than
1,000. “(He’s) a true playmaker,"
Scott said. "Casey had a great
year and really helped put this
football program on the map. He
will be missed."
On defense, he recorded 28
tackles. He also had six pass
breakups, recovered on fumble
and had four interceptions - three
he returned for touchdowns.
“(He's) a great athlete that has
a nose for the ball," added Scott.
"(He played corner and free safe
ty for us and was a key to our
improvement on defense in the
playoffs.”
Other: He was named to the
All-State First Team.
First Team Defense
Jordan Sanders
School: Warner Robins
Year: Senior
Position: Linebacker
Impact: Recorded 104 tackles,
including 69 solo and 35 assists.
That also included seven tackles
for loss, two sacks, two tipped
passes and two blocked kicks. In
addition, he had one interception.
“Jordan was the heart and
soul of our team,” said Warner
Robins Head Coach Bryan Way.
“He played hard every play, every
game, and displayed great leader
ship."
Way added he was an “out
standing special teams player due
to “great hustle. “He was moved
to linebacker from defensive end
after the second game,” Way said,
“and made tremendous improve
ment each game.”
Other: Was named to the
Region 1-AAAAA First Team.
Shawn Monos
School: Warner Robins
Year: Senior
Position: Defensive back
Impact: Recorded 47 tack
les, which included one for loss.
He also had six pass breakups
and seven interceptions, one for a
touchdown.
“Shawn did an outstanding job
in his first year as a starter,” Way
said. “During the year he played
every position in the secondary,
which speaks a lot of his intel
ligence and versatility."
Other: Was named to the
Region 1 -AAAAA First Team.
Rico Hendricks
School: Houston County
Year: Senior
Position: Free safety
Impact: Recorded 50 solo
tackles and had 30 assists - sec
ond on the team in tackles. He
also had three interceptions.
“Rico was second on the team
in tackles but probably first in ‘big
hits,'” said Houston County Head
Coach George Collins.
Other: Had four years perfect
attendance and a 92 GPA.
Coach’s corner: “Rico played
the majority of the season with a
broken hand and was forced to
wear a cast when he played. He
never missed a beat at practice
or games. A fun player to watch,
Rico is a player who is not afraid
to come up and hit people.”
Abry Jones
School: Northside
Year: Junior
Position: Defensive lineman
Impact: Recorded 76 tackles,
including 12 sacks, eight tackles
for loss and eight batted passes.
Helped lead the Eagles to back-to
back state championships.
Other: Was named to the All-
State First Team. Has received
offers from Florida, Florida State,
Miami and Clemson.
Eric Fields
School: Northside
Yean Junior
Position: Linebacker
Impact: Recorded 86 tackles,
including seven sacks, six tackles
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 2, 2008 ♦
for loss and two blocked kicks.
Helped lead the Eagles to back-to
back state championships.
Other: Was an Honorable
Mention on the Atlanta Journal
Constitution's All-State Team.
Leslie Jordan
School: Northside
Yean Senior
Position: Defensive back
Impact: Recorded 53 tackles,
which included two interceptions.
Helped lead the Eagles to back-to
back state championships.
Anthony Taylor
School: Northside
Year: Senior
Position: Defensive lineman
Impact: Recorded 62 tackles,
including 13 sacks and five tackles
for loss. Helped lead the Eagles
to back-to-back state champion
ships.
Tony Davis
School: Perry
Year: Senior
Position: Defensive tackle
Impact: Recorded 64 tackles,
which included 15 for loss and
eight sacks. Also had two fumble
recoveries and one blocked kick.
Helped lead the team to the Elite
Eight of the state playoffs - the
highest any Panther football team
has ever gone.
“(He is a) great defensive line
man who is able to get great lever
age on the offensive lineman,"
Scott said. “(He) plays with great
effort and is a true playmaker."
Jacavay Hayward
School: Perry
Year: Senior
Position: Defensive tackle
Impact: Recorded 45 tackles,
which included four for loss and
four sacks. He also had a fumble
recovery. Helped lead the team to
the Elite Eight of the state playoffs
- the highest any Panther football
team has ever gone.
"Jacavey and Tony were the
best bookend tackles in the
region,” Scott said. “(They) had a
great senior year and will be hard
to replace.”
First Team Offense
Robbie Bailey
School: Warner Robins
Year: Senior
Position: Offensive lineman
Impact: Finished year with an
84 percent blocking grade.
"Robbie displayed great leader
ship and toughness by playing the
first half of the season with a frac
tured bone in his ankle that he hurt
on the second play of the season,”
said Warner Robins Head Coach
Bryan Way. “He is an outstanding
run blocker and we ran behind
him the large majority of the time
... Very hard worker in everything
he does.
Other: Was named to the
Region 1-AAAAA Second Team,
was an preseason All-State nomi
nee and Academic All-State per
former.
Craig Presley
School: Houston County
Year: Junior
Position: Receiver
Impact: Had more than 1,100
all-purpose yards. Averaged 9.25
yards per punt return, 20.2 yards
per kickoff return, 18.2 yards per
catch and 6.4 yards per rush. He
had 36 receptions for 637 yards.
Other: Voted the team’s Most
Outstanding Receiver and was
named to the All-Region Team
and the AJC All-State team for
AAAAA.
Coach’s corner: “Craig
became our go to guy on offense,"
said Collins. “He is an outstanding
athlete that we worked hard to
create ways to get the football. He
made numerous big plays for us
and has taken on the role of leader
on the field.”
Marques Ivory
School: Northside
Year: Senior
Position: Quarterback
Impact: Completed 76 of 125
pass attempts for 1,404 yards
- that while missing five games
due to injury - and 11 touchdowns.
Had a quarterback rating of 179.4.
Also rushed for 117 yards on 45
yards and scored one touchdown.
Helped lead the Eagles to back-to
back state championships at the
Class AAAA level.
Othen Was named the 2006
AAAA Piayer of the Year and to
the
See TEAM, page iB
1B