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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 30, 2020 BARROW NEWS-JOURNAL PAGE IB FOOTBALL Former long-time Winder-Barrow coach Jones dies By Scott Thompson sthompson@barrownewsjournal.com Phil Jones, the former Winder-Barrow High School head football coach who guided the Bulldoggs to one of their longest-sus tained runs of success and led the team on a historic state semifinal run in 1993. died Saturday, Dec. 26. He was 74. Jones passed away in hos pice care after a prolonged illness, surrounded by fami ly, according to a Facebook post from his daughter. Connie. “Earth lost a great man to day, but the angels in heav en are singing!” Connie Jones wrote. “We will miss him deeply but we are hap py he's whole, healed and at peace. Mom and I were right with him when he took his last breath — we are so grateful for that gift! Dad, we know you're watching over us, along with all your friends, fellow coaches and your beloved players! We love you more than words could ever say, and you will live forever in our minds and hearts.” Jones, a native of Thom- aston. coached football for 47 seasons and was a head coach at Jeff Davis, Fitz gerald and Dooly Coun ty prior to taking over the Winder-Barrow program in 1984. In 13 seasons with the Bulldoggs, Jones went 81-58-2 — including a 10-1 mark and undefeated reg ular season in 1989 and a 11-3 finish in 1993, when the Bulldoggs advanced to the GHSA Class 3A semifi nals before losing to Thom- asville. It remains the deep est playoff run in program history. Jones left Winder-Barrow after the 1996 season and joined the college ranks in 1998, coaching for three years at Georgia under Jim Donnan. He then had stints at Southern Methodist and Gardner-Webb before start ing the program at Shorter University in Rome. Jones went 54-65 in 12 seasons before his retirement fol lowing the 2015 season. His most successful cam paign was in 2008 when the Hawks finished with nine wins and qualified for the NAIA playoffs. Jones was 159-107-4 in 25 seasons as a high school head coach: his most suc cessful year came in 1983 when he led Dooly County to a 14-1 mark and a state runner-up finish. Jones was welcomed back to Winder in 2017 as the grand marshal of the high school’s annual homecom ing parade. Ironically that season, the Bulldoggs had their most successful season in more than 20 years, fin ishing 9-3 and winning their first playoff game since that 1993 season under Jones. “Our Bulldogg hearts are heavy over the loss of our former coach, Phil Jones,” members of the WBHS Touchdown Club wrote in a Twitter post Saturday. “Coach Jones and (wife, Janie) made a difference in the lives of countless students at WBHS and our community is better Photo by Scott Thompson Former Winder-Barrow head football coach Phil Jones, pictured with his wife Janie, was the school’s homecoming parade grand marshal in October 2017. Jones, who spent 13 seasons with the Bulldoggs (1984-1996) and coached for 47 seasons between the high school and college ranks, died Saturday, Dec. 26. He was 74. because of the love they was the utmost example and we are blessed to have poured over everyone. He of what 'GG' is all about, called him‘our coach.’” FOOTBALL Submitted photo From left, Chandler Cavoretto, Chad Norwood and Logan Garmon represented Bethlehem Chris tian Academy in the Gatlinburg All-American Bowl earlier this month. Trio of BCA players perform well in all-star game A trio of Bethlehem Christian Academy football players turned in solid performances earlier this month in the Gatlinburg All-American Bowl in Gat linburg, Tennessee, an annual all-star showcase for private school and homeschool players. Junior defensive lineman Logan Garmon had a pair of sacks and three total tackles, and junior linebacker Chandler Cavoretto had two tackles for a loss, as both players earned honorable mention nods for Defensive MVP. Senior Chad Norwood had an interception, two tackles and a tackle for loss on defense and six carries on the offensive side. Garmon, Cavoretto and Norwood all helped Team Stars secure a 17-10 win. The three Knights “were selected due to excellent performances during their regular season and they did not disappoint,” Andrew Capps, the bowl direc tor, said. “Chandler Cavoretto is a sideline-to-sideline linebacker with exceptional cover skills and a knack for being around the ball. His tackles for loss contin uously put the opposing offense in difficult down and distance situations all game. Chad Norwood saw time on both sides of the ball at running back and line backer. He is another sideline-to-sideline linebacker that showed off his cover skills by hauling in a huge interception for his team and added important carries on the offensive side of the ball. Logan Garmon was part of a Stars defensive line that was disruptive all game. He had 2 sacks, and none were bigger than his tone-setting sack coming out of halftime that put the opposing team in an impossible third-and long-situ ation. “Congratulations to Chandler. Chad and Logan! They proved why they deserve to be called All Amer icans.” A year of triumphs...and heartbreak Photo by Scott Thompson Winder-Barrow’s J.C. Green (24) celebrates a touchdown with teammates Logan Thayer (5) and Chandler Max well during a 34-27 win over Apalachee in the annual “Battle of Barrow” on Sept. 4, which opened both teams’ season. Recapping the top local sports From the disruptions to many teams' seasons caused by the coronavirus pandemic, to numerous team and in dividual achievements, it was another eventful sports year in Barrow County. Here are the top local sports stories of 2020, in rough chronological order. FOUR WRESTLERS WIN AREA TITLES Three Winder-Barrow wrestlers and one from Apalachee captured first place in their respective weight classes Feb. 1 in the GHSA Area 8-AAAAAA tournament. Winder-Barrow seniors Rosseau O Asu Abang (195 pounds) and Nate Al len (182) repeated as area champions in their respective weight classes and had little trouble doing so. going 2-0 on the day at Lanier High School. Asu Abang pinned Dacula’s Gianni Arau jo and Habersham Central’s Tanner Wade, while Allen pinned Habersham Central’s Ashton Parks and Dacula's Komlan Akoussan. Mason Bell went 3-0 on the day to win the title at 106 pounds for Wind er-Barrow. After pinning Apalachee's Owen Mabry in the quarterfinals, he won a 7-5 decision over Dacula's Si- maj Best and pinned Lanier’s Chris Wheeler in the finals. Meanwhile, Apalachee was led by Isaiah Skinner, who won the area ti tle at 126 pounds. Skinner defeated Lanier’s Weston Ward 6-1 and then beat Gainesville's Brian Le 8-2. Five Bulldoggs and three Wildcats wound up qualifying for the boys' state tour nament, while Sam Hauff qualified for the Apalachee girls. Hauff went 4-2 and finished fifth in her weight class at the state tournament, becoming the first female wrestler in program histo ry to earn a state medal. Apalachee’s Hunter Noblett also went 4-2 at state to finish fifth at 160 pounds. Winder-Barrow was led at state by Chas Ferm. who finished sixth. WBHS BOYS HOOPS MAKES RETURN TO STATE After a two-season hiatus, the Wind er-Barrow boys’ basketball team re turned to the state playoffs, finishing 17-12 in its first year under Travis Mc Daniel. The Bulldoggs clinched a playoff berth with come-from-behind, 77-68 overtime win against Habersham Cen tral on Feb. 6 in the first round of the Region 8-AAAAAA tournament at Gainesville High School. Senior guard Tyreek Perkins scored 22 points after halftime to fuel the comeback by the Bulldoggs, who trailed by 15 points with 11 minutes left in regulation. The Bulldoggs lost to Gainesville in the tournament semifinals, dropped the third-place game to Lanier and then fell at fourth-ranked South Cobb in the first round of the state tourna ment. BCA BOYS REACH ELITE EIGHT A year after reaching the GISA Class AAA quarterfinals, the Beth lehem Christian Academy boys’ bas ketball team again experienced some stories of 2020 Photo by Scott Thompson Apalachee beat Winder-Barrow 2- 1 at home on March 13, to move ahead of the Bulldoggs in first place in the Region 8-AAAAAA standings. The match turned out to be the final local spring sports contest of the year before the coronavirus pan demic led to the cancellation of the remainder of. the season. postseason success and reached the Elite Eight before losing for a second straight year to eventual state champi on Heritage School 69-49 in the quar terfinals at Tattnall Square Academy in Macon on Feb. 22. After senior guard Ray Peevy's 3- pointer put BCA (12-16) ahead 5-2 with 5:58 left in the first quarter, the Hawks got hot and went on a 13-0 to grab control. The Knights never got any closer than nine points the rest of the way, and Heritage stretched its advantage to as many as 29 points midway through the final period. See Sports, page 2B