Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 2B
BARROW NEWS-JOURNAL
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2021
Softball
continued from IB
“We’re battling hard, but we're really
young, starting or playing four or five
freshmen every night and just learning
on the fly,” Bailey said. “We’re seeing
some great things; it’s just been a really
tough year so far. COVID hit us from a
team perspective and knocked us out for
a week, and, between quarantines and
injuries, we haven’t been at a full 100
percent for a game yet. It’s a daily chal
lenge of who will be in there and who
we have to find to step up.
“Really, every game for us is coming
down to whether we can execute at the
right time, at the most crucial moment.
We’ve got to get over the learning curve,
but the good part of softball is we can
see and identify key moments in each
game and find ways to get better.”
With 12 region games left, Apalachee
sat in fifth place in the region stand
ings — 1.5 games behind fourth-place
Jackson County — at the end of play
Tuesday night with a key doubleheader
at first-place Eastside coming up Thurs
day, Sept. 16. And despite the setbacks
so far, Bailey still likes his team, espe
cially as the younger players get more
time under their belt. The Wildcats still
have a strong trio intact up the middle
defensively and in the middle of the
lineup with sophomore standout center
fielder Wilier, junior shortstop Tiyara
Wingfield and junior second base-
man Morgan Reynolds. Freshman first
baseman Madison Maney, who had a
key RBI single in the first game of the
Jackson County doubleheader and then
homered twice in the second game, has
emerged as a key force in the lineup,
while Bailey has been encouraged by
the strides that Matherly, Sapp and Wili
er have made in the circle.
"There’s a lot of softball left in front
of us,” Bailey said. “Our goal is to keep
getting better every day. We’ve got a
great group of girls who work hard
and have a great attitude and are fun to
coach.
"We’re playing everybody in this re
gion three times, so with COVID linger
ing and weather, you’re always going to
be tested with your schedule and depth.
It's always going to be a challenge to
stay healthy, but we've got to make sure
we're peaking at the right time.”
BULLDOGGS FIGHTING
FOR PLAYOFF SPOT
Winder-Barrow (9-7, 4-4 Region
8-AAAAAA) has found itself on similar
footing as Apalachee, as the Bulldoggs
stood in fourth place in the region with
10 region games left at the end of play
Tuesday. But the Bulldoggs picked up
a massive road region victory Tuesday
at Dacula, winning 10-2 in six innings
on the strength of nine runs over their
final two plate appearances — including
a six-run fifth that flipped the game up
side down.
Sophomore Rylie Beddingfield went
the distance in the circle — allowing
just the two unearned runs on five hits
while striking out four — and added a
triple and three RBIs at the plate to help
her cause. Marissa Metz drove in four
runs, including three on a bases-clear-
ing, go-ahead double in the fifth that
followed Dayton Power’s RBI double
and made it a 5-2 game.
The Bulldoggs, too, have had an up
and down run — a 2-0 start, followed
by a five-game losing skid, followed by
five wins in a row and now a 1-2 run in
recent play, though Bulldoggs coach
Jordan Najafi said she saw much im
provement in a 1-0 home loss to Buford
on Monday, less than a week after they
were trounced by the Wolves 10-2. And
then Monday’s rout over the Falcons
avenged a 7-6 home loss on Aug. 26.
“The thing we’ve got to focus on
moving forward is bringing the ener
gy and intensity every inning of every
game,” Najafi said ahead of Tuesday’s
game at Dacula. “(The earlier five-game
losing streak) could’ve been a five-game
win streak if we’d stayed focused and
up the entire time. That’s something that
I’m really proud of them for improving
on in the past week — staying tuned
in and playing hard and for each oth
er the entire seven innings. If we keep
showing up like we did (Monday night)
against Buford, we’re going to win a lot
of games moving forward."
Pitching may ultimately be what
could carry Winder-Barrow through
the back stretch of the schedule into
the postseason. Sophomore Emily Hall
allowed just the one first-inning run
Monday in the complete-game loss to
Buford, and that performance came on
the heels of Beddingfield’s two-hit shut
out in a 5-0 region victory at Habersham
Central on Sept. 9.
"We are definitely getting strong
pitching performances from our entire
staff, which is awesome,” Najafi said.
“Emily and Rylie are both still sopho
mores, so that really excites me to see
them grow even more over the next two
years. It makes us stronger as a team
to be able to throw three different peo
ple (junior Alyssa Logston being the
third), especially with the jam-packed
schedule we have remaining this year.
We’re not pigeon-holed to one ace like
so many teams are. I think the biggest
impact our pitching has had is the
mentality on the mound: when we get
ahead in the count, we're striking bat
ters out and forcing weak contact the
vast majority of the time."
Now Najafi hopes to see the team
put it all together between the pitch
ing and an offense that has Power and
Beddingfield hitting over .400 and
Abby Polk, Kendal Miller and Metz
hitting over .300 but has been stymied
at times by inconsistency, according
to the coach. Tuesday, they took a step
in the right direction.
“We’ve struggled a little more than
I’d like to see,” Najafi said. “(But)
with the aggressive and powerful
hitters we have in the lineup, we’ve
seen a marked improvement in our
approach at the plate the past two or
three weeks.”
Winder-Barrow was scheduled to
host Collins Hill in a non-region game
Wednesday, Sept. 15, and then jump
back into region play Thursday with a
6 p.m. home game against Lanier.
Football continued from IB
And Lane has good reason
for the confidence in his team,
which kept its record unblem
ished last week even though it
had to work a little harder in a
28-27 come-from-behind victory
at Augusta Prep.
Quarterback Ben Reed’s 49-
yard touchdown run in the fourth
quarter gave BCA the lead, and a
missed extra point by the Cava
liers late proved to be the differ
ence.
The Knights, who entered the
final quarter trailing 21-14, tied
the game when Reed found Ty
Whiting in the end zone for a
6-yard touchdown and then took
the lead on Reed’s run. The Cav
aliers (1-1) scored on a 12-yard
touchdown run to pull within
28-27, but the missed extra point
kept BCA on top.
Reed finished 6-of-8 passing
for 51 yards and the touchdown
and added 104 rushing yards
and a score on 10 carries. Joshua
Adams ran for 156 yards on 18
carries and scored on runs of 12
and 57 yards.
“I was proud of the kids’ effort
and thought they were resilient,”
Lane said. “It was the first time
really that we found ourselves
behind, and we were able to
fight back and get a win against
a talented team. I think the better
team won, though I’m not sure
we played better overall. We
made a couple mistakes early in
the first quarter that they ended
up taking advantage of, but they
played really hard. For us, I think
it put it in perspective that to be
a complete team, we have to be
prepared every week to play.
And maybe this brought us back
to reality (after a 56-0 thrash
ing of Cross Keys the previous
week) that we need to have our
minds right."
BCA will again lean on its big
three offensive playmakers in
Reed, who has completed 68%
of his passes and thrown for
438 yards and four touchdowns
while adding three scores on
the ground, Adams (415 rush
ing yards at 6.6 a carry and five
touchdowns to go along with
three receiving touchdowns)
and Whiting, who has three
touchdown receptions. And the
Knights’ defense will look to
stifle a SWGA offense with big-
play capabilities.
“They had to rebuild their
whole backfield but their skill
guys are playing really well,”
Lane said. “We do need to get
our minds right because it is a
long trip, but I think our coaches
have done a good job preparing
our kids each week. I don’t think
anything has surprised them yet,
and we’re focusing on our oppo
nent and finishing up this road
trip against probably the tough
est team we've seen.
“We’ll be excited to finally
play at home next week, but right
now our attention is focused on
this Friday. We don’t care where
we play; we’re just thankful to
have the opportunity to play ev
ery Friday night. This is a top-ti
er GISA team and it'll be a good
measuring stick to see where we
are."
CEDAR SHOALS
AT WINDER-BARROW
It’ll be homecoming at W.
Clair Harris Stadium on Fri-
Considering
((TM*R) )) buying or
selling?
770-867-9026
www.maynardrealty.com
day night when Winder-Barrow
plays host to Cedar Shoals, and
Bulldoggs coach Ed Dudley
hopes the atmosphere will give
his team an extra burst of energy
as it looks to snap a two-game
skid and even its record at 2-2.
But there’s also an extra sense
of urgency around the Bulldoggs
as this will be their final non-re
gion contest before they open
GHSA Region 8-AAAAAA
play next week at Habersham
Central.
“It’ll be a barnburner, I guar
antee you," said Dudley, whose
Bulldoggs lost a 49-43 overtime
classic to the Jaguars in the same
stadium two years ago. “It’s al
ways a really good matchup, and
we’ll have our hands full with
them. Hopefully we’ll play with
a lot of enthusiasm.”
Cedar Shoals (0-1), which
lost its season opener to Oconee
County 27-19 on Aug. 27, has
seen its early schedule affected
by COVID-19, which caused the
postponement of its county rival
ry game with Clarke Central and
the cancellation of a game last
week with St. Pius X. The Jag
uars themselves will be getting
their final tune-up before they
open 8-AAAA play next week.
“They’ve got a really good
team with an explosive offense
and great athletes,” Dudley said,
pointing to Jaguars senior run
ning back Jerdavian Colbert,
who rushed for 133 yards on 16
carries and a touchdown in the
Oconee County game, and junior
quarterback Mandrell Glenn.
“And they’ve got a big, athletic,
tough defense as usual.”
The Bulldoggs will hope to
solve some issues on offense
that have kept them at bay during
losses against Eastside (20-8) on
Aug. 27 and Glynn Academy
(35-14) on Sept. 3.
"There have been a lot of
takeaways, but the main thing is
we have to play much closer to
mistake-free and be able to move
the ball in the first half, which we
haven’t done well,” Dudley said,
referencing the Glynn Acade
my game where the Bulldoggs
found themselves in a disastrous
35-0 hole at halftime. “I feel like
(after the bye week last week)
we’ve got a better handle on the
things we do well and don’t well
and what can help us. We’ve
been racking our brains to try to
improve in certain areas.
“You just can’t have the
amount of unforced errors and
pre-snap penalties we’re having.
We’ve got to play better and give
ourselves an opportunity to win
the game in the second half.”
APALACHEE AT
CLARKE CENTRAL
Apalachee (0-3) and defend
ing Region 8-AAAAA champi
on Clarke Central (0-2) will both
be in search of their first win
when the two sides tangle at Bil
ly Henderson Stadium in Athens
on Friday night and open up re
gion play against each other.
After a bye week following
the 0-3 start, Apalachee coach
Tony Lotti said earlier this
week he was hopeful and antic
ipating that he’ll finally have the
full roster at his disposal after
COVID-related quarantines have
limited the Wildcats in three
non-region games.
“We’ve shown a good ability
to fight on despite our circum
stances,” said Lotti, whose team
is coming off a 29-17 home loss
to Madison County on Sept. 3
and gave up well over 300 rush
ing yards against a triple-option
offense without the benefit of
having their starting inside and
outside linebackers due to quar
antines. “I think we've learned
or been reminded how important
everyone on the team is to the
overall mission. There are no
excuses, but it is nice to maybe
have everyone back. We’ve got
to continue to improve, and good
things can happen.”
The Gladiators have faced
a rigorous schedule out of the
gate with losses to defending 6A
champion Buford (16-3), which
is off to another 3-0 start, and
Oconee County, (21-2) which
has reached the AAA finals in
back-to-back years and is also
unbeaten at 3-0.
Facing two tough defenses,
the Gladiators have struggled to
generate much offense, but Lot
ti and the Wildcats are aware of
the dual threat that quarterback
Lucian Anderson poses and the
abilities of senior running back
Will Richardson.
“They did lose some kids from
last year, but they have some ex
plosive playmakers and are big
upfront,” Lotti said. “We’ve got
to be able to play disciplined
football and not do things that
are going to cost us.”
That mentality extends over
to the offensive side of the ball,
where the Wildcats will be
challenged by a strong Clarke
Central defense. Senior run
ning back Colby Sikes has been
Apalachee’s go-to guy with 313
rushing yards at 8.9 yards a carry
and two touchdowns through the
first three games. The Wildcats
also hope to have sophomore
running back Prince Tate who
provides breakaway capability,
but Lotti said he will be a game
time decision after taking a hard
hit and having to leave the Madi
son County game early.
Apalachee’s quarterback sit
uation remains fluid with senior
Isaiah Skinner and sophomore
Howard Holloway continuing to
battle it out in practice for play
ing time. Skinner got the starting
nod and went the distance in the
Madison County game.
“We’re basically letting the
two complete and whoever has
the better week is going to get
the call,” Lotti said. “We don’t
change our offense up much. It’s
good experience for (Holloway
and Skinner). They’re both com
peting well and are getting better.
“Overall, we’re still trying
to settle in and having to play
some young kids. Going over
there Friday night, we can’t help
Clarke Central. They don’t need
our help, and we need to go play
a good, hard, clean game to have
a chance to win. It’ll be a great
environment in a place with a lot
of tradition, and it’ll be good for
our kids to experience.”
SOCIAL SECURITY
DISABILITY
Applications & Appeals
We Do All The Hard Work!
Hynes & Associates LLC
Disability Advocates
Call 678-935-3923 • SSIHelp.org
>
BBB.
17 Years Experience • No Fee Unless Approved
$500
Ticket 0f s 2ff° Or More. Valid with coupon Mon.-Thurs. only.
5 00 0FF
La Hacienda Commerce
173 Steven B. Tanger Blvd.
706-335-7458
La Hacienda Braselton
5391 Highway 53
706-654-0070
The Original Mexican Restaurant! Not affiliated with any other restaurant.
September 15, 2021 ~ Crossword Puzzle
ACROSS
1.
Colony insect
4.
Side dish
8.
Make watertight
12.
Cow sound
13.
Mexican food item
14.
Mama’s spouse
15.
Manufacturer
17.
Minerals
18.
Squid’s fluid
19.
Reprimands
21.
Fragrance
24.
Fake
25.
Long time periods
26.
Face part
27.
Baseball stick
30.
Fellow
31.
Run away to marry
32.
Frozen block
33.
Winter virus
34.
Tubs
35.
Slips up
36.
Horned mammal,
for short
38.
Military-school student
39.
Slowpokes
41.
Lobster
42.
Monarch
43.
Sugar syrup
48.
Foot unit
49.
Fruit beverages
50.
Astound
51.
Summer shirts
52.
In an orderly
condition
53.
Grass moisture
DOWN
1. European peak
2. Word with neither
3. “Tea for ”
4. Trick
5. Deficiency
6. Service point
7. Adores
8. Utensil
9. Worm-getter
10. Copied
11. Miss
16. Uproars
20. Traffic barrier
21. -esteem
22. Type of mine
23. Stamina
24. Picture
26. Scottish family
member
28. Cropland measure
29. Experiment
31. Mischievous
35. Sups
37. Tide and seas
38. Shoreline
39. Comedy act
40. On cloud
41. Petition
44. Lyric verse
45. Dispirited
46. Mother sheep
47. Replace a button
1
2
3
1
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
,3
’ 4
15
16
18
■
19
20
21
22
23
■
24
25
■
26
1
”
28
29
30
1
31
32
33
34
■
35
36
37
■
38
39
40
■
41
42
1
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
1
50
51
52
53
Average Monthly Cost For:
Cable TV Subscription $55
Cell Phone $65
Internet Service $55
Electricity $130
Automobile Fuel $160
Health Insurance $245
Subscription to this NEWSPAPER s 3.75
For just $45 per year (or just over $3.75 per month) you can
get a lull year’s subscription to the BARROW NEWS-
JOURNAL. That’s 52 full issues and also includes access to
j our e-edition online. Sometimes you get what you pay for - and
sometimes, you get much more.
Subscribe Online at barrownewsjournal.com