Newspaper Page Text
thesylvaniatimes.com
The Sylvania Times
Wednesday, February 2, 2022 - Page 7
SPORTS
Around
the horn
Athletic Department
Burton Kemp
busy time is upon us
Within the athletic
department at Screven
County High School the
spring sports schedule is far
and away the busiest of all.
There is baseball and soccer
and tennis and track. Maybe
golf? Right now both winter
sports have two more weeks
and, for basketball, maybe
more. Soccer has started.
Tennis starts next week on
the eighth and baseball has
a scrimmage with South
Effingham on that same
date, regular season opener
on the 15th. Hey I am going
to try, coach’s help required,
to keep up with the middle
school as well.
See the drift? Do you have
your SCHS All-Sports pass
ready to go? Are the powers
that be at the brand new,
ever-improving, Sylvania
Times ready to go as well?
Am I ready to go again? We
all better be because none of
it is going to stop for any of
us.
And now. Around the Horn
Up at Liberty University
in what has to be a cold
Lynchburg VA Kara Canetto
is collecting the honors
before the season starts.
In a preseason vote Kara
was voted the Atlantic
Sun Conference (ASUN)
Preseason Player of the Year.
One of our own she was a
First Team All-Conference
selection after last season
as she had the second
highest batting average in
the conference (.385) and
led the league with 75 hits
that included 25 multi hit
games. Earlier she was also
ranked as the 93rd player in
ExtralnningSoftball’s Extra
Elite 100. No other player in
the ASUN made the list.
I say that they don’t
mean anything but here I
go again. Last week the
basketball Lady Gamecocks
were ranked fourth (AJC),
fourth (Maxpreps), and fifth
(Sandy’s Spiel). While they
the polls don’t have anything
to do with anything, the reality
is this, 10-1 SCHS has to beat
only 4-6 Jenkins County and
1-8 Metter to be guaranteed a
bye in the region tournament
until the semifinals. That
means an automatic trip to the
state tournament. To gain the
number one seed they must
beat 8-1 Claxton on February
8. SCHS won 46-23 on
December 14. Bryan County,
who split with SCHS but
has lost twice to Claxton, is
ranked fifth, fifth, and second
in the same three polls.
Speaking of rankings
(was anyone?), whether
meaningless or not, how
often have two SCHS Lady
Gamecock teams been ranked
at the same time? Not often. I
just mentioned the basketball
rankings; well soccer debuted
at number eight in the
Eurosports top ten. They will
no doubt be ranked in the
Maxpreps poll when it comes
out but the computer needs at
least five games to produce a
ranking. There are no longer
tennis rankings but back
during the 2004-05 and 2005-
06 seasons there were. Back
then both the girls’ basketball
and girls’ tennis teams were
always ranked. Remember
tennis spent most of the 2004
season ranked number one.
While things are going
great for Stephanie Davis’
basketball Lady Gamecocks
things are going more of the
opposite for Arthur Davis and
his Gamecocks. The 2021-22
started on a very high note
with a 3 -1 region record. Then
came grades and the loss of
several key players (no more
Covid gimmes), including
two starters. Heading into
last week’s ECI game another
starter was out for a no-no
at school. All the remaining
players did was go out and
beat ECI with the starting
five playing the entire game.
Davis’ remaining troops are
showing as much or more
heart than any team in recent
memory!
Sometimes kids get a bad
rap. Older folks love to say,
when I was a kid we didn’t...
Over better than four decades
at SCHS I can say this, parents
have changed a lot more than
kids. There is much more
enabling. Anyway the boys
basketball team at SCMS
showed its class last week
when they honored Head
Coach Matt Williams and
his family after a tournament
win. Rachael Williams, the
wife of Matt, has recently
been diagnosed with breast
cancer and begun treatment.
“This has been very touching
and appreciated,” said
Rachael. This team did right.
See you at some game
some time soon. Email me:
burtonsylvaniatimes@gmail.
com
Junior Luke McFarland reacts after his pin of Montgomery County’s Ethan Price in the championship
of the 225 weight class in the Area 3 A Traditional Tournament at the Harold Lee Scott Gymnasium
Saturday. The win for McFarland was the 100th of his career making him just the twelfth Gamecock to
accomplish the feat. His career record is 100-30. (photo by Nikki McFarland)
WRESTLING CLAIMS
FOURTH STRAIGHT AREA
TRADITIONAL TITLE
Three weeks after winning
their third straight area duals
title, the SCHS Gamecock
wrestlers of Griffen Greene
claimed their fourth
consecutive area traditional
tournament Saturday. The
Area 3A tournament was
held in the Harold Lee Scott
Gymnasium and when all
was said and done, 12 of
the team’s 14 wrestlers
are headed to the Class A
sectionals in Brunswick on
February 4-5.
Ten schools sent wrestlers to
the traditionally (individually)
bracketed tournament. SCHS
totaled 227 points to take
the trophy with runner-up
Montgomery County having
193 and Dublin 187. Others
participating were Bryan
County, Calvary Day, Metter,
Treutlen County, MCA, ECI,
and Savannah Christian.
Greene’s team was the only
one with entrants in every
(14) weight class.
“The team race was a lot
closer than a lot of fans
realized,” said Greene, “ft
really came down to the end
with us and Montgomery
County. When Ed Lee got his
pin at 195 things were sealed.
All wrestlers who finish
fourth or higher in their
respective weight classes
qualify for the state sectionals.
SCHS claimed a pair of titles
Saturday along with seven
runners-up, a third, and two
Recreation
Department News
DISTRICT
BASKETBALL
The Screven County Recre-
J ation Department will host the
iG.R.P.A. First District 12U
| Boys Tournament February 15-
j 17 at the SCRD gym.
The Screven County All-
1 Stars will play their first game
| on Tuesday, February 15 at
i7:15p.m. against Jefferson
i County.
Other Screven County All-
j Stars will be competing in
i District the same week. The 8U
[ Boys will be playing in Claxton
! February 18-21, the 12U Girls
i will be in Claxton February
119-21, and the 10U Boys will
| be in Jefferson County February
117-19.
All tournament brackets can
: found at screvenrec.com.
fourths out of the 14 weight
classes. Leading the way
were the pair of champions in
juniors Ed Lee (195) and Luke
McFarland (220). Number
one seed Lee pinned number
two seed Jarvis Wiggins of
Dublin while number two
seeded McF arland pinned
number one seeded Ethan
Price of Montgomery.
The win for McFarland was
the 100th of his career against
30 losses. He also won an
area title in 2020 at 195. He
was unable to participate
in last season’s traditional
tournament.
Taking silver for SCHS were
Sam Robbins (120), Hayden
Skinner (126), Ryder Rankin
(126), Timothy Frank (138),
Carson Ellis (145), David
McFarland (152), and Jemiah
Stewart (285). Robbins,
Rankin, Ellis, and Stewart
were each seeded second and
lost to the number one seed.
Skinner and Frank were third
seeds and lost to number one,
while David McFarland was
seeded one and lost to number
two (who had originally been
seeded one).
Also qualifying for state
were Vasquez Lonon (170)
with a third and Bella Maust
(106) and Justin Pearce (113)
with fourths. Lonon had won
back to back area titles at
160 with David McFarland
(138), Stewart (285), Pearce
(106), and Robbins (113)
SPRING SPORTS REGISTRATION
The Recreation Department will be taking registration for youth spring
sports February 7-25 at the SCRD office or online at screvenrec.com.
*Baseball (ages 7-17) Cost: $43
* Softball (ages 7-17) Cost: $43
*T-Ball (ages 4-5) & Coach Pitch (age 6) Cost $38
Tryouts will be held March 1-3.
The age control date to determine league: child’s age on 9/1/2022
having also been runners-
up last season. Pearce was
also mnner up at 106 in
2020. Maust, along with
Lynnlie Rountree, will
actually wrestle in the girls’
bracket in Brunswick. From
the sectionals the top six
finishers will advance to
the state finals in Macon
February 10-12.
“Having nine in the finals
was great,” continued
Greene. “We knew that
Montgomery County and
Calvary had kids in the
finals who are very good
and placed at state last year.
We were just looking t o
wrestle against them and
hold our own.”
Freshman Kody Cochran
(160), who entered the
lineup only at the time of
the area duals, was seeded
eighth in the tournaments
largest bracket and won
more matches than any
Rooster (3) only to finish
sixth.
Season long records
for the dozen headed to
Brunswick show Maust
at 22-20, Pearce at 23-21,
Robbins at 14-24, Skinner
at 20-14, Rankin at 26-19,
Frank at 28-10, Ellis at 35-
13, David McFarland at 32-
14, Lonon at 27-16, Lee at
20-13, Luke McFarland at
33-9, and Stewart at 28-19.
Bureau District
Market Hog Show
2022
Georgia Farm Bureau
District 7
Market I log Show
February 5, 2(122 | 11:00am
Portai High School Agriculture Center
2724A IS-R0, Portal, GA 20450
Gamecock Shay Sasser (in white) battles with a Treutlen County defender in the Lady Gamecocks’ 5-1 win over the
Lady Vikings in the SCHS season opener in Soperton on January 25. Sasser scored a goal in each of the team’s first
two games last week, (photo by Jamie Warren)
LADY GAMECOCK SOCCER
SPLITS OPENING CONTESTS
The SCHS Lady Gamecock soccer team of Terry Markovcic fell in its home opener in the
frigid temperatures of last Friday by a 3-2 margin to the East Laurens Lady Falcons. Their
season opener went better on January 25 when the team whipped Treutlen County 5-1 in
Soperton.
Upcoming on the schedule Markovcic’s troops will go to Metter on February 8 for their first
Region 3 A contest and travel to Johnson County on February 11. The JoCo game represents
the last nonregion game until March 8. The trip to Wrightsville was originally scheduled for
February lbut the home and home dates were switched and the Trojans came to Sylvania on
that date.
Friday’s contest against East Laurens was worthy of post season play. It pitted the defending
Region 2AA champion, ninth ranked in AA, Lady Falcons against the defending Region 3 A
champion, eighth ranked in A, Lady Gamecocks. Anyone late missed the SCHS offense. Shay
Sasser boomed in a long kick at the 37:50 mark of the first half and :26 later (37:24) Mazlin
Blessing boomed in another. Both came from well outside of the box.
For nearly the first twenty minutes the home team was dominate but afterwards the superior
speed of the visitors took over. ELHS pulled within one at 17:36 before intermission. Quickly
in the second half the game was knotted at 37:39. The Lady Falcons took the lead at 20:08
and the scoring was done. SCHS managed only nine shots, seven in the final 77 minutes. Julia
Dews had four saves. The loss for the Lady Gamecocks was the first regular season home loss
since February 11, 2019 and a 3-2 penalty kick loss to Harlem in a contest that eventually
decided the Region 4AA title.
A sluggish start in their season opener saw the Lady Gamecocks fall behind homestanding
Treutlen County 1-0 early in the first half. The Lady Vikings had played a match the previous
day. Once their jitters ended SCHS went about its business. Freshman Kaylin Long tied the
game at the 26:13 mark on an assist from Madison Powell who was playing her first game at
midfielder. Powell scored herself with under ten to go giving the Red and White a 2-1 halftime
lead.
A pair of quick goals to open the second half raised the count to 4-1 and the outcome was no
longer in doubt. Emma Jones nailed one with Powell netting another assist and Sasser scored
with an assist from Long. Rhianna Boddiford pierced the net for the final goal to reach the
final score of 5-1.
