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HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL
SANDLOT
"The down and dirty"
IN BRIEF
Perry HS coaches to
host basketball camp
Perry High School varsity
coaches Brett Hardy and Qreg
Nix will host a basketball camp
for those girls and boys In grades
three-seventh June 16-20, from 9
a.m.-noon daily, at the school.
The cost is S6O which includes
the Instruction - fundamentals
and there will be daily competition
contests - as well as an event
unique T-shirt and a basketball.
Call Hardy at 988-6298, Ext,
21058 or 988-0969 or e-mail him
at bhardy@hcbe.net to sign up or
for more.
Fast-pitch camp to be
held at Northslde HS
Northside High School will host
the “Soaring With Eagles” fast
pitch softball camp June 16-20
at the school. It will be for ages
4-13 and run from 9 a.m.-noon
each day.
The cost is S6O with instruc
tion in hitting, bunting, base run
ning, sliding/diving, hit and run,
pitching/catching and more being
offered.
Contact Mitch Horton at
397-0977 or via e-mail at
mhorton@hcbe.net for more.
Youth soccer camp to
be held at PHS
The Perry High School soccer
coaches and team will host a
Youth Soccer Camp June 9-10
from 8 a.m.-noon each day.
The fee is $35 with lunch pro
vided and event T-shirt included
with pre-registration.
Both boys and girls in age
groups ÜB-Ul4 are welcome to
attend. Registration forms are
available on the PHS Soccer
website at www.phssoccer.us or
call Dawn Griger at 218-0815
or Jackie Lampley at 987-2981.
Those interested are asked to
please reserve their spot by June
1.
That sounds great! Here's the
info.
Houston County HS to
host basketball camp
Houston County High School’s
basketball coaches will hold a
basketball camp for girls and
boys grades three-eighth June
9-12 (third-fifth graders 9-11 a.m.)
and (sixth-eighth graders 11 a.m.-
1 p.m.) at the school.
The focus, according to Bears
basketball coach Jody Dean will
be: “working on basketball skill
development.” The cost is $55
per child and S4O for each addi
tional child if registered by Friday
or S6O per child and $45 for each
additional child if regestered after
that day.
Contact Dean by email at
jdean@hcbe.net or 988-6340 or
Stephen Walls at swalls@hcbe.
net or 335-3632 for more.
Robins AFB youth
center to hold camps
The Robins Youth Sports
Program will host Harlem Legend's
Shoot for the Stars Basketball
Camp June 9-13. It will be con
ducted by Michael Douglas, for
mer Harlem Globetrotter and is
open to players ages 7-10 and
11-14. The camp fee will be $65
per player.
The organization will also host
British Soccer Camp July 28-
Aug. 1. It will be conducted by
Challenger Sports and is open to
players ages 3-4, 5-9, 10-16. The
camp fee is S6O for ages 3-4 and
SB3 for ages 1 -16.
Call Ronald Hayes at 926-
2110/3276836 or come by Youth
Center to register or get more
information.
HCHS coaches to host
fast-pitch camp
The Lady Bears fast-pitch soft
ball camp will be held June 4-6
from 9 a.m.-noon each day.
It is open to those ages 6-10.
The cost is SSO per child or S6O
after June 3.
Sill development will be taught
by coaches and college players
and include instruction on: Hitting/
bunting/slapping, pitching, catch
ing, infield and outfield. There will
also be contests on Friday.
Call Angela Crawford at 478-
988-6339 (at the school), 478-
960-9028 (cell) or e-mail her at
acrawford@hcbe.net.
Perry HS coaches to
offer football camp
Perry High School Head
Football Coach Andy Scott and
his varsity coaching staff and
players will again host their
annual football camp. It will be
held June 4-6 in Herb St. John
Stadium from 9 a.m.-noon daily.
At the camp, you can learn fun
damentals and skills.
The camp will be broken down
into two groups, the first con
sisting of third, fourth and fifth
graders and the second being
made up of sixth, seventh and
eighth graders. The cost is S4O,
which includes lunch and an
See IN BRIEF, page 4B
Demons put sub-. 500 year behind
SPRING FOOTBALL REPORT: Warner Robins
By MA TTHEW BROWN
Journal Sports Writer
Even with the caliber of
the competition in Region
1-AAAAA football, a 3-7
record is still unacceptable
for those who love Warner
Robins High.
Guess what? The league is
getting even stronger with
not one, but two defending
state champions. And that
newcomer is the one school
the Demons crave to beat
the most.
So for the past two weeks,
it’s been spring football
time with the obvious goal
of turning around Warner
Robins’ first sub-,500 sea
son since 1966. This is a
program that, from 1968 to
2006, averaged (not includ
ing ties) a 10-2 record per
season.
“Of course nobody’s sat
isfied with how last year
went,” said head coach
Bryan Way after Tuesday’s
Panthers want best to be even better
SPRING FOOTBALL REPORT: Perry
By MA TTHEW BROWN
Journal Sports Writer
Coming off arguably the
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ENL'Gary Harmon
Panther Johnnie Farms cools off during Perry’s spring practice at the school Tuesday.
Albritton tor Hornets, Thompson for Boors shin with Sooth Georgia College
By MATTHEW BROWN
Journal Sports Writer
When Scott Sims welcomes 12
new players to his South Georgia
College baseball program in Douglas
next school year, two of them are
bringing ties to the Houston County
area and some remarkable and spe
cial stories of how they rose to the
level of a college athlete.
First, there’s Tony Albritton, a
pitcher/infielder from Westfield.
Sims got Albritton’s signature on his
college papers Tuesday and plans to
use the right-hander on the mound
and give him the opportunity to
work in the outfield.
“He’s a good athlete with a good
arm,” said Sims. “Some good days
SPORTS
session. “The kids really
worked hard in the off-sea
son as they always do. I
think our kids understand
that 3-7 is not acceptable,
and we are improving.
“We have some guys who
are stepping up. We just
have to be more consis
tent. That’s the difference
between winning and losing.
In the league we play in,
you have to play every play
because everybody you play
is going to be good.
“You have to be disciplined,
fundamental. Those are the
things we’re concentrating
on ... things we’ve always
talked about, but placing
a little more emphasis on
them.”
In addition to those foot
ball fundamentals, the
Warner Robins coaches are
using the spring to look
at a more varied, multiple
approach to the offense.
See DEMONS, page lB
banner year for football
at Perry High School, the
mindset of Panther coach
es isn’t so much on pick
are ahead of him. We will depend
on him to step up to the next level.
He has a good breaking ball and
has plus arm strength, so he has a
chance to be a quality pitcher on the
next level.”
Sims couldn’t help but notice that
good pitching seems to come from
the Westfield program, not just with
Albritton but with Darton signee
Matt Weaver, future Florida Gator
Jeff Barfield and Bubba Blalock of
Kennesaw State.
But most important to Sims is
that Albritton is a “quality kid.” He
says the same thing for Houston
County High infielder/pitcher Chris
Thompson, who had his own sign
ing ceremony in the Bears’ Den on
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ing up where things left off
in 2007. With two weeks to
work at what’s called spring
football, head coach Andy
Scott has one major theme
on his mind: Get back to the
basics.
“We lost a great deal
Wednesday.
“We’ve signed him as a hitter,”
said Sims. “I like the way he swings
the bat. I don’t know if we’ll use him
at shortstop, second base, third base
or the outfield. He’s just a good ath
lete who has a chance to really hit.”
Albritton played five years of var
sity baseball for former Westfield
head coach Billy Sellers. It all started
as an eighth-grader when he threw
against Southland in the GISA AAA
state championship series. Sellers
used Albritton at every position on
the baseball diamond, including
catcher during the 2007 season.
Sellers said the All-State vote is
May 27, and he expects Albritton to
make the list for a fourth time.
of players,” said Scott on
Monday, the first day of the
second spring week. “We’re
trying to make sure fun
damentally we’re doing
what we’re supposed to do.
Making sure we understand
responsibilities.
SECTION: B
SATURDAY, MAY 24, 2008
“I thought last week was
really good. I’ve been really
proud of Dardra Ragin and
him picking up where Casey
(Hayward) left off. At the
same time we have a lot of
questions to be answered.”
Hayward leaves the Perry
program after some record
setting performances at
quarterback to become a
defensive back at Vanderbilt.
Tony Davis, Kanorris Davis
and Akeen Felder are other
seniors who are bound for
college football. They were
the cornerstones of a Class
AAA quarterfinal team.
To make even more strides
in the 2008 season, Scott
will lean a class of rising
seniors led by a few high
on the college-recruiting list.
The leader by far is offen
sive guard Johnnie Farms,
and he is joined by veteran
receiver Trey Smith and
running back Jacorey Lane,
who got his first taste as a
starter back in his freshman
year of 2005.
“I really feel blessed about
our offensive line,” said Scott.
“With Farms and Jonathan
Clowers, Clint Kirk and A.J.
Foster, those four guys com
ing back have solidified our
offensive line.”
Clowers is actually a trans
fer from the defensive line
in the 2007 campaign. Scott
said he’s played offense
before, so him with Farms
gives Perry a formidable left
side.
The time between the
junior and senior sea
sons for a major prospect
like Farms are every bit as
loaded as the time after a
senior year. Farms spent
the first few months of 2008
attending what’s known as
See BETTER, page 2B
“He has the work ethic. He’s dedi
cated. It’s always ‘yes, sir’ or ‘no,
sir,”’ said Sellers.
When the coach needed some
body to catch for the injured Jarrod
Taylor in 2007, Sellers approached
Albritton knowing it’s something
he hadn’t done in quite a few years.
The response he got, without any
hesitation: “Give me the stuff.”
In five years with the Hornets,
Albritton amassed 94 hits - 10 home
runs - with 66 runs batted in, 56
runs scored and a .357 average. On
the mound, he won 17 games, threw
173 1/3 innings and struck out 176.
Sellers said it was always good to
have a pitcher who could average
See SIGN, page iB
Running
backs
practice
running
through
the defen
sive line -
with little
success
apparently
- Monday
during the
Demons’
spring
workout
at the
school.
ENI/Gary
Harmon