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Barrow News-Journal
Award-winning local sports coverage
Wednesday, October 27, 2021
Phone: 706-367-5233
Fax: 706-367-8056
sthompson@barrownewsjournal.com
Section B
★★★★
CROSS COUNTRY
Winder-Barrow boys repeat as region champions
The Winder-Barrow boys’ cross country
team didn’t have any of the top-three in
dividual finishers, but the Bulldoggs" key
strength — the ability to run in a close pack
and keep their overall team score low —
shined through Saturday, Oct. 23, as they
successfully defended their GHSA Region
8-AAAAAA crown at their home course be
hind Russell Middle School.
The Bulldoggs had three top-10 finish
ers and five runners among the top 16 and
wound up with 43 team points. 16 ahead of
runner-up Dacula (59), as they won their
second straight region title. Daniel Laird led
the way for Winder-Barrow, finishing fourth
overall with a time of 16:54. His teammate,
Christopher Rubio came in right after him
in fifth place (16:56), Brian Gaddy had one
of his strongest performances of the year
(17:07) to finish seventh, and Kyle Kehoe
(17:21) and Noah Boyd (17:30) finished
11th and 16th, respectively.
Laird came in just three seconds behind
Dacula’s Hayden Squires, while Shiloh,
which finished third in the team standings,
had the top two individual runners in Nathan
Solomon (16:32) and Andy Salgado (16:44).
The Winder-Barrow boys — Laird, Ru
bio. Gaddy, Kehoe and Boyd, along with
Erik Rodriguez and Isaac Sanders — will
next compete Nov. 6 in the Class 6A state
championship meet at Carrollton High
School, starting at 8 a.m.
In the girls’ race Saturday, Winder-Bar
row finished third overall (67 points), with
junior Matilee Rogers’ runner-up perfor
mance leading the way. Rogers (20:51)
came in behind only Habersham Central’s
Audrey Hotard (19:32). while Lady Bull-
dogg teammate Rebecca Nicholson finished
fifth overall (22:00). Winder-Barrow’s scor
ing was rounded out by Victoria Guzman
in 12th place (22:33), Marisol Vaca (23:37)
and Brianna Boyle (25:04).
Buford was the girls’ team champion with
42 points, followed by Dacula in second
place (62).
Rogers, Nicholson, Guzman, Vaca, Boyle
and Danica Bell are slated to represent
Winder-Barrow in the girls’ state meet,
which is scheduled to begin at 8:45 a.m.
Nov. 6.
WBHS Athletics Twitter
The Winder-Barrow boys’ cross country team repeated as GHSA Region 8-AAAAAA
champions Saturday, Oct. 23, on its home course.
FOOTBALL WEEK 11 PREVIEW
Photo by Scott Thompson
The Apalachee defense has been strong the last two weeks in helping the Wildcats inch closer to ending a 12-year
postseason drought. The Wildcats travel to Loganville on Friday, Oct. 29, for a key GHSA Region 8-AAAAA battle.
Apalachee set up for potentially special
night with playoff berth in sights
Photo courtesy of Doug Bower
Aidan Thompson and Winder-Barrow will look for an
other productive night on offense Friday as the Bull
doggs take on top-ranked Buford, which has shut out
its last four opponents.
By Scott Thompson
sthompson@barrownewsjoumal.com
Apalachee’s upcoming
game set for Friday, Oct.
29. at Loganville, presents a
situation that Tony Lotti, his
coaching staff and players
have been working toward
since he took over the pro
gram in 2018.
The goal all along has
been for the team to get
over the hump and end a
state playoff drought that
stretches back to 2009, and,
on the back of a strong sec
ond half, the Wildcats are
in a position to do that as
soon as this week. A win
over the Red Devils on Fri
day, coupled with a Jackson
County loss to Greenbrier,
would clinch a postseason
berth, and wins in their final
two regular-season games
against Loganville and
Jackson County next week
would give them a chance to
finish second in GHSA Re
gion 8-AAAAA and host a
first-round playoff game.
But, before they get ahead
of themselves, Lotti knows
the team still has challenges
to overcome, starting with
this week’s matchup against
a desperate Loganville
squad in need of a win to
stay alive in the postseason
hunt.
“It’s going to be a real
tough hurdle to go over, and
our guys know that,” Lotti
said. ‘‘We’ve put ourselves
in a good position here, but
it’s going to be important
that we play well. (Logan
ville is) really talented, with
a lot of good skill players,
and they’re big up front. It’ll
be a tall task.”
Apalachee (3-5, 3-2 re
gion) has put itself in the
position Lotti is referencing
by winning three of its last
four games, including the
last two where the Wildcats
have outscored their oppo
nents 77-7 and dominated
offensively. defensively
and on special teams. The
team’s Wing-T offense has
hit its stride with seniors
Colby Sikes and Jeff Rob
erts and sophomore Prince
Tate making for a reliable
trio for quarterback Isa
iah Skinner, a threat to run
himself, to distribute the
ball to. And the defense has
been lockdown the last two
weeks, smothering oppo
nents and giving the offense
a short field to work with
and take advantage of.
Meanwhile, Loganville
(3-5, 2-3) has mostly been
going in the opposite di
rection of late, losing its
last three games to slip on
the brink of elimination,
though they are coming off
a near upset of the region’s
top team, Clarke Central.
Senior running back Av
ery Hamilton (749 rushing
yards at 6.9 a carry and sev
en touchdowns) has been
the team’s main source of
offense, while quarterback
Cooper Kennedy, also an
all-region safety from last
year, is a dual-threat.
On top of the talent they
still have on paper. Logan
ville’s back being against
the proverbial wall is what
Lotti believes makes the
Red Devils a really dan
gerous opponent this week
for his team, which is still
searching for its first road
victory this year.
‘‘It’s important that we
try to get over that (winless
road record) this week,”
Lotti said. “And they’ll have
that extra motivation, too.
It’s kind of like each week
where we’re going to have
to stop the run and defend
the pass and play disci
plined. I fully expect them
to try to keep us off balance
and hit us quick for some
big plays. For us, we’ve got
to stay consistent and clean
and not do anything to play
into their hands.”
BUFORD AT
WINDER-BARROW
For most programs in
Georgia, going up against
a juggernaut like defend
ing 6A champion Buford
(which won the 5A crown
in 2019 and is vying for its
13th state title in 21 sea
sons) gives them a chance
to evaluate and gauge where
See Football, page 3B
Georgia and the
business of being No. 1
This business of being the No. 1-ranked team in the
country is nothing to be nervous about. It is where you
want to be, so embrace it and deal with it.
When he arrived as the Bulldogs’ head coach, Kirby
Smart didn’t make any bold predictions or lay out a
time table for elite rankings and national champion
ships. He is too smart for that, but he immediately set
about developing a program, that starting in the spring
each year, aspires to reach the ultimate status of No. 1
by the conclusion of the first fortnight of the new year.
Rehashing games lost is an exercise in futility, but
the blocked punt versus Alabama in the 2017 national
championship game was called wrong (Tyler Sim
mons was not offsides, which the officials later admit
ted); otherwise a title would have come about already.
That is but a part of the game we play.
Winning a championship usually comes down to
focus and attitude.
To begin with, there is no ques
tion that the longer a team totes
the No. 1 ranking, the heavier it
gets. Pratfalls are commonplace
with teams that become giddy
with success. (In 1985, Florida
was the No. 1 ranked school in
the country, but lost to Georgia.
24-3).
Kirby watched how Alabama
embraced No. 1 and dealt with
it which is what must be done
if you want prolonged success.
To be in the hunt annually, you
have to hang around No. 1. It is a fact that while Jack
Nicklaus has won more major golf tournaments, 18,
than any professional golfer, he also was runner-up in
majors 19 times. The more you are in contention, the
more likely you have a chance to claim victory.
Anyone with any proximity to the current Bulldog
head coach, can tell you how exceptional he is across
the board — a no-stone-unturned practitioner. He is a
driven man but is not ego driven. There is a big differ
ence. He says the right things, never allowing for any
fallout to harm his team.
Dizzy Dean, the colorful St. Louis Cardinal pitch
er always said that, “It’s not bragging if you can do
it.” Steve Spurrier, former Gator coach, was given to
denigrating his opponents. He got away with it a lot
of times, but you never saw anybody give him any
sportsmanship awards. Furthermore, the “Spurrier
way” has always reeked of a lack of class.
I’ve heard Kirby evaluate a player or situation can
didly in private, but he would never say anything
about a kid or an opponent that could come back to
haunt him. When Jamie Newman chose not to play
for the Bulldogs after transferring to Georgia in 2019,
Kirby supported his decision and said he would al
ways consider the quarterback “a Bulldog.”
Who knows? Jamie Newman might have a cous
in or a nephew whom Georgia might want to recruit.
His high school coach will remember how the Bull
dog head coach treated his quarterback. High school
coaches across the board will remember that treat
ment. too.
During Alabama’s dominant era of during the mid
dle of the decade of 2010, I would always see Nick
Saban at a function of the Georgia Athletic Coaches
Association in February.
Congratulate him and he would politely say thanks
and immediately take to the stump addressing the
challenge of the next season.
Obviously, I am not an Alabama fan when it comes
to SEC football but that was Saban being Saban —
always thinking ahead. Don’t drink to past success.
Worry about the next game, the next season. After all,
in the coaching business, champagne often turns into
hemlock.
Kirby Smart is of the same ilk. He likes his team
being No. 1, but he is working overtime to maintain a
championship focus.
See Smith, page 3B