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The Sylvania Times
Wednesday, August 30, 2023 - Page 1
SPORTS®
SECTION
B
SOFTBALL GETS WALKOFF WIN
OVER METTER IN REGION OPENER
After giving up a three run
lead in the sixth, the SCHS
Lady Gamecocks of Christie
Kemp scored a walk off win
with a run in the bottom of the
eighth to take a 5-4 August 24
win over visiting Metter in
what was the Region 3-A D1
opener for the Red and White.
The win enabled the team a
split of the week’s games as
they fell badly to AAA A SEB
on August 22. This week the
team went to Savannah to face
AAA Calvary Day yesterday
while they go to Evans to
face the AAAAAA Lady
Knights tomorrow. Portal will
be here on September 6 and
defending region champion
Bryan County will be here on
September 7. SCHS stood at
4-5 after last week.
Spotting Metter a 1 -0
lead in the first the Lady
Gamecock pushed three
across in the third when the
inning started with Lauren
McMillian being hit and
Anna Kate Withrow singling.
Both scored on a Cheyenne
Heath double with Heath later
scoring on a sacrifice fly from
Julia Dews. They padded the
lead in the fifth when Dews
singled sharply to right and
went all the way around
when the ball skidded past the
fielder into the comer. The
visiting Lady Tigers tied the
game in the sixth with five
infield errors by SCHS.
The Lady Gamecocks left
the bases loaded in the home
half of the sixth and both
teams left a runner at second
in the seventh. MHS went
three up and three down in
their turn in the eighth. For
the Red and White, Withrow
lead off by beating out a
ground ball to short. Heath
then put the ball in front of
the plate with the catcher
throwing high to first and
Withrow scoring from first.
Tamia Pierce (3-3, 1.14) went
the distance allowing but five
hits. Heath, Williams, and
Withrow had two hits each as
SCHS had ten hits.
SEB came to town on the
22 nd and left with what
turned out to be a very
easy win. On their way to a
seeming 8-0 ran mled four
inning win. SCHS used two
infield errors to score a ran
in the fourth, forcing a fifth.
SEB scored ten in the fifth
and the final was 18-2. SCHS
had seven hits with Heath
picking up two. Dews was the
starting pitcher and the first of
four hurlers.
Last week’s original
region opener in Claxton was
moved to September 25 when
Claxton Coach Becky Francis
said she had five possible
cases of Covid on her team.
The request to move came
the evening of a 16-9 win at
MCA and prior to a 19-2 win
over Portal on August 24.
Freshman Anna Kate Withrow comes sliding in with Metter's sixth inning pinch runner Kari Walker (3)
the winning run in last Thursday’s tension filled 5-4, 8 is clearly out as neither of her feet are on the base
inning, region win over visiting Metter. Withrow scored as SCHS third baseman Dailey Williams applies the
from first when Lady Tiger catcher Abbi Hall overthrew tag. Walker was called safe and later scored in the
first on Cheyenne Heath's bunt (photo by Ginny Atchley) three run Metter sixth (photo by Ginny Athcley)
BACON COUNTY FRIES
GAMECOCKS IN OPENER
With a game already
under their belt, visiting
Bacon County’s Raiders
fried the homestanding
Screven County
Gamecocks by a 30-7
margin at Kelly Memorial
Stadium last Friday
night. With it being the
opener for a team that
started ten underclassmen
on offense and nine on
defense, the Roosters
physically showed their
game inexperience. SCHS
will now travel to Augusta
to face the AA Westside
Patriots this Friday at 7:30.
After entering the
second quarter holding to
a 7-6 lead, the Gamecocks’
accumulated but 56
offensive yards over the
final three stanzas. A 49-
yard gallop by sophomore
fullback Kashard Prescott
moved the Red and White
to the Bacon ten yard line
late in that first quarter and
paved the way for junior
Miyon Fulcher’s two yard
plunge with just :20 on the
clock. Junior Luke Hynds
added the PAT, despite
pressure from up the
middle, to make the score
exactly as the final score
from Alma last season.
Clinging to a 13-7 lead in
the waning seconds of the
first half. Bacon completed
a fourth and eight pass to
the SCHS three yard line
and was able to “clock it”
with just :03 remaining.
Isaiah Robinson’s 20 yard
field goal as time expired
left the Gamecocks down
by two scores.
Though they punted on
their initial possession of
the second half, the Raiders
realistically put the game
out of reached with a 66-
yard, seven-play, drive
that culminated with a
25 yard scoring toss with
2:28 showing on the third
quarter clock. The last, best,
chance for the Gamecocks
came at the 7:35 mark
of the final stanza when
junior defensive end
Rodney Beckwith stripped
Bacon QB Knox Ledbetter
of the ball with Prescott
recovering at the Bacon 29.
Four plays later BCHS had
the ball at their own 34 and
began their final scoring
drive.
The teams traded scores
in the opening period as
Bacon drove 82 yards in
ten plays with their opening
possession and made it look
easy. The final 22 came on
a scoring toss. Robinson
missed the PAT. SCHS
came right back, starting at
its own 36 after a 17 yard
Ryan Bames kick return.
Following a three yard pick
up by freshman Abram
Hilton, Prescott’s 49 yard
run, which accounted for
nearly 40% of the SCHS
total yardage for the game,
set the team up at the
BCHS ten. Four plays later
Fulcher went in. In addition
to being the leading rusher,
Prescott was also the
leading tackier with from
his linebacker position.
The two starting seniors
on defense, both playing
safety, were the second
leading tacklers with four
each. They are TaCorey
Grant and Dre Flowers. For
Bacon the win over SCHS
was their first in five tries.
In Friday night's season opener with Bacon County, the student section of Kelly Memorial Stadium turned out for
Neon Night (photo by Donetta Priest)
Kashard Prescott breaks
loose on a 49 yard run to
set up the lone touchdown
for the Gamecocks last
week. The sophomore was
also the leading tackier on
the night (photo by Dana
Doss)
AROUND
THE
HORN
LOOKING FOR
IMPROVEMENT THIS WEEK,
FUTURE OPPONENTS, AND
NWA LEGENDS
Burton Kemp
Unless otherwise noted
all articles in Sports are
written
by Burton Kemp
I have always heard
that a team makes its
most improvement of the
season from its first game
to its second game. That is
traditionally why an open
date on the first week of
the season is taboo. That
taboo was thrust upon us
a couple of weeks ago. If
GSIC had come, which
would have been almost
like an open date, it would
have given all of our young
kids a chance under the
Friday Night Lights. That
counts for something. Our
opponents Bacon County
came to Kelly Memorial
having won just two of
their previous 21 games,
but they had a lot more
veterans than we did and
they also had a game under
their belt.
It has been all over the
place in this sports page for
weeks, we have a young
team. We can basically
have no junior varsity
this year because so many
would-be JV kids are
starting on the varsity. That
is not a put down on anyone
playing. In spots where
there should be seniors
there are sophomores and
juniors. Ten starters on
offense and nine on defense
were underclassmen.
They never quit and they
avoided the penalty and
turnover (for the most part)
mistakes, but the physical
nature of a Friday night
brought a sense of reality to
them. Hopefully this week
will make a difference. By
now they have watched the
film of Friday’s game (The
eye in the sky does not lie)
and know what they need
to know to maintain blocks
wrap up to make tackles.
It is definitely not time for
the Wait Til Next Year cry.
one game does not make a
season.
How did our opponents
do last week? Next week
we have Portal (44-0 over
Twiggs Academy last
week), who will come here
at 3-0 after they pound on
Robert Toombs Academy
tomorrow night. They will
be one of the most fired-up
teams ever to come to Kelly
Memorial Stadium. Jenkins
County is 2-0 now and will
host us at 4-0 on September
15. They upset Johnson
County 28-26 last week
and have East Laurens this
week and Cross Creek next
week. The Eagles are now
tenth in the state. They
are ranked by the AJC for
the first time since 1999.
Warren County is 2-0 and
has Johnson County this
week. South Effingham did
not play. Our region foes
show that Bryan County
is 2-0 and will be 3-0 after
Wheeler County this week.
Savannah High lost their
17th in a row. Claxton is
0-2 and Metter beat ECI to
go to 1-1.
If you read many of my
columns you know that I
love to throw in the Raiders
whenever possible. I also
like to throw in “wrasling”
whenever possible,
especially the old NWA or
WCW, never this modem
Vince McMahon WWE
crap. Well, here it goes.
Last week there were a
couple of noteworthy
deaths. Number one was
one of the greatest bad
guys of all time in Terry
Funk. He was 79 and
once held the NWA World
Heavyweight title, as did
his brother Dory Funk,
Jr. I can hear him now,
“Dusty Rhodes you dirty
egg sucking dog.” Another
death last week was a guy
I never heard of named
Bray Wyatt (Windham
Rotunda). He was a WWE
guy and only 36. The
reason I mention him is his
family. His granddaddy
was Blackjack Mulligan
(Robert Windham) and
his uncles were Barry
(an NWA Heavyweight
champion and later member
of the Four Horsemen) and
Kendall Windham. His
father was Mike Rotunda,
also a professional
“wrastler.”
Finally, college football
comes to us full time this
weekend. Yes, some big
names like Notre Dame
(really?) and USC played
this past Saturday. But
this week UGA and GSU
and, for in-state political
correctness sake, GA Tech
open. UGA has FCS UT-
Martin and GSU has FCS
Citadel. There needs to
be no trouble for either.
Tech, for whatever reason,
opens with an ACC contest
against Louisville Friday in
Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
It is the AFLAC kickoff
classic. Last year they
opened with Clemson and
would not allow the second
deck of the stadium to be
open for fear the game
would be like a Clemson
home game. Pitiful. Tech
can’t get people to buy their
tickets. I wonder if they
are doing that this week.
Where are all the Tech
grads with all that money?
Youngstown State plays
tomorrow night against
Valparaiso on ESPN+. Our
own Michael Boyd has
his redshirt behind him.
Hopefully he is on the
depth chart.