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The Sylvania Times
Wednesday, December 13, 2023 - Page 5
GAMECOCKS ROUT CLAXTON IN
REGION CONTEST, STAND AT 2-3
Watching visiting Jenkins County pull away in the second half, the SCHS Gamecock
basketball team of Nick Clifton slipped to 2-3 on the season with a 58-36 loss to the Eagles
but they remain 1-1 in region play after a 62-39 win over Claxton Friday night in the Harold
Lee Scott Gymnasium. Region play opened in Savannah on December 5 with a 75-53 loss.
A return trip to Millen this Friday to face Jenkins County and a trip to Brooklet on Saturday
for AAAA SEB will end the 2023 portion of the schedule. Bryan County will host the Red
and White on January 5.
After losing their region opener the Gamecocks came roaring back in their second home
contest of the season with an easy 62-39 win over another region foe, Claxton. The game
started out close as SCHS led but 10-8 after one but the Red and White stretched the lead
to 26-17 at the half and pulled away with a 26-8 advantage in the third stanza. Six different
players scored in the third when the team pulled away. Kashard Prescott, who finished with
a team-high 19 and eight in the quarter, Brennen Fountain had six in the eight minutes and
DeMarko Ward five. Jayden Adams had 13 points and five rebounds. Prescott was possibly
lost for the season with a second half knee injury.
Their region opener in Savannah on December 5 did not go so well for the Gamecocks as
they fell behind 17-6 after a quarter and never got closer. Adams had the biggest game of
his career thus far for the Gamecocks with 20 points and nine rebounds. Ladarius Hopkins
hit for three second half treys and finished with nine points. Lavez Roper had five rebounds.
A combined 34 turnovers committed by a combined ten different players devastated the
Rooster effort.
A 12-7 second quarter advantage Saturday night left the Gamecocks trailing 21-20 with
thoughts of a big upset of Jenkins County’s Eagles. JCHS came in with a four-game winning
streak against SCHS. Things went sour in the third stanza and got worse in the fourth. The
bigger and stronger Blue and White outscored the youthful Gamecocks 37-16 in the second
half leading to a final score of 58-36. Ward led the Gamecocks with 12 and was the lone
scorer (there were eight) with double figures. Adams, Ward, and Rodney Beckwith had
seven rebounds each.
THE ONE YEAR REIGN OF
HEAD FOOTBALL
COACH BUDDY BENNETT
SCHS ATHLETIC HISTORY 1965-66
SCMS CAGE TEAMS
CONTINUE
EXCELLENT PLAY
Richard G. “Buddy” Bennett took the
reigns of the football program and the
athletic department at SCHS in June
of 1966. An All-State quarterback at
Jesup High School in 1954 he went on
to quarterback the Gamecocks of USC,
leading the ACC in rushing his senior
season there. After a brief stint with
the Hamilton Tiger Cats of the CFL,
he was an assistant coach at both Jesup
and Waycross High Schools before
becoming the Assistant Freshman
Coach at South Carolina. It was from
that job he resigned to take over at
SCHS. He became the fifth different
head coach for the Gamecocks in as
many seasons. Like Jack Harper, he
was assisted by three past or future head
coaches at SCHS - Fontaine Brewton,
Darrell Smith, and Donald Toole.
For the first time in years the
Gamecocks did not leave town for
football camp, instead they began a
“tradition” of having camp on campus
while staying in the SCHS gym. Pat
Fagan broke that string with a camp at
the old Annie Daniels School in 1975.
Sandy Hershey took the team to Erskine
College in 1983 to get the team out of
the county. In 1965 Presbyterian ended
their tradition of hosting high school
football teams for weeklong August
camps and according to Bennett, none
other were available. Two-a-days
started at SCHS on August 9 with camp
beginning the 16th. Players stayed at
school Monday-Friday that week with
bunks provided. Only 35 attended.
The 125 member Athletic Booster
Club was led by president Stanley
Waters, vice president L. C. Oliver,
and secretary-treasurer SCHS Principal
T. Hoyt Chambers. One year directors
were Joe Smith, A. A. Mooney, and
Bill Tyre. Two year directors were Fred
Newton, Jr., Colbert Hawkins, Hubert
Bazemore, and T. W. Lee.
After a 2-7-1 season in 1964,
Bennett’s season started in less than
stellar fashion as well. Losses to
Groves 33-6, Bradwell Institute 33-
0, and Statesboro 34-2 began the first
month. Back to back road wins ensued
over Perry (13-0) and Cochran (50-
19). The aftermath of the Perry win
provided some players with a story to
repeat. After the game there was bus
trouble. Players who could find rides
back to Sylvania, did. fifteen players
could not and had to stay overnight in
Perry. It was already a “different” type
of game as it was played on Monday
night. The field in Bleckley County
was apparently unplayable on Lriday
and Saturday. The Cochran players and
coaching staff were on hand to watch. In
Cochran SCHS put on a rare display of
speed with six scoring plays of greater
than 60 yards. Bubba Timms scored on
an 85 yard run and caught a 70 yard
pass from Randy Lacienski. Donnie
Oliver had a 60 yard interception return
and a 60 yard run, both for a score. Rick
Newton had a scoring run of 65 yards,
finally Lacienski returned a kickoff 85
yards for a score.
following the Cochran game began
the second half of the season. On
October 15 (a 13-0 loss to Swainsboro)
the SCHS football stadium was
dedicated as Kelly Memorial Stadium.
Major General Walter B. Richardson,
Commander of fort Gordon, made
the dedicatory address. Locals Carl
Atwell, Boykin Stuart, Bob McBride,
and Ralph Beard were the color guard.
Then were a 9-6 win over Effingham
County, a 6-0 Homecoming loss to
Washington County, another 9-6 win,
this one over Appling County, and,
finally, the seemingly annual blowout
loss (45-0) to Thomson.
The pair of 9-6 wins in Springfield
and Baxley require further explanation.
Both were won in dramatic fashion on
last second field goals by senior kicker/
quarterback Mike Landrum. Against
ECHS the game was 0-0 after three
until Bubba Timms scored on a 52 yard
fumble return. With the game tied at 6-6
Mike Smith returned a fumble 30 yards
to set up a field goal. With eight seconds
left Landrum “from a 30 degree angle”
hit a 22 yard field goal of which Chuck
Taylor in his Screven County News
column “Sports Whirl” said “They’re
still looking for that ball.”
In Baxley a Randy Lacienski 10 yard
run tied the game at 6-6 before SCHS
drove 64 yards in the very late fourth
quarter. With the Gamecocks on the
Pirate one and scrambling to run a final
play, Appling County inexplicably
called a time out with :05 remaining.
With time to get lined up, Landrum
made the 18 yard field goal and, as
Taylor wrote, “Appling fans started onto
the playing field and one of the biggest
donnybrooks we have ever witnessed
took place.” Taylor and Charles Bragg
were the WSYL announcers at that
time.
Listed as starters for the season
opener in Groves were ends Chip
Waters and Lawrence Blackburn/ Mike
Smith, tackles Bill Hawkins and Jimmy
Burke, guards Danny Sharpe and Larry
Anderson with Danny Bland/ Wayne
Lively at center. In the backfield
were quarterback Mike Landrum (co
captain), halfbacks Donnie Oliver
(co-captain) and wide-open for the
other halfback, and fullback Bubba
Timms (co-captain). Others listed in
the earliest preseason publication were
Russell King, Terrell Jenkins, Littleton
Black, Jack King, Gene Marsh, Randy
Lacienski, John Litzner, Craig Tyre,
Rick Newton, Harris Sutton, Ted Evans,
Richard Smith, Ted Lariscy, Grady
Smoak, Don Aaron, Carroll Jenkins,
Gary Hill, Bill Graham, Carroll Burke,
and Bill Mobley.
Lootball cheerleaders were Krista
Lane, Deborah Pye, Becky Robinson
(Co-Captain), Rosalyn Kirkendohl
(Captain), Margaret Thompson,
Debra Blalock, Trudy Counts, Janet
Sheppard, and Shirley Lreeman. Most
of the group, along with basketball
cheerleader Jan Tucker, attended the
cheer camp at Rock Eagle in July.
They were taught “techniques of
leading cheers, the promotion of good
sportsmanship among spectators, and
good will between schools.” Lrom
nearly 100 groups they placed second
in excellence.
At the combined football-basketball
banquet in March Bubba Timms was
named Most Valuable Back and was
given the “Headhunter’s Award.” It
was also announced that Timms had
been named Honorable Mention All
State by the Atlanta Journal. Jimmy
Burke was the Outstanding Lineman.
Mike Landrum received the Clutch
Player Award as well as two game
balls. Mike Smith was Best Downfield
Blocker as well as the recipient of the
Red Moncrief Award for outstanding
scholastic achievement. The guest
speaker was South Carolina Head
football Coach and Athletic Director
Marvin Bass. Timms went on to an
outstanding career at East Tennessee
State. In the 1969 Grantland Rice Bowl
he was a linebacker on a defense that
sacked Louisiana Tech quarterback
Terry Bradshaw 12 times for 140
yards in losses. He was pictured in
nationwide newspapers with a solo
sack of Bradshaw. ETSU won the game
34-14.
With both teams standing at 5-1 and 2-0 in region play with just one more game before
holidays, the SCMS cage teams are each off to great starts. The teams host Portal this
afternoon and will not be in action again until January 4 when Metter will be at SCMS for
a region contest. An originally scheduled game with Metter (this past Monday) has been
moved to January 18.
While the girls opened with a loss to nonregion William James, they have won five
straight as they defeated Langston Chapel 28-26 and region foe Jenkins County 32-23.
Against LCMS A’Chanti Middleton had 11 and Reagan Evans had six. In the region win
Mica Shipes had 14 and Middleton 13.
On December 6 the Roosters saw their four game win streak end in a 50-29 win over
nonregion Langston Chapel but then started a new won with an east 57-24 win over
homestanding Jenkins County. In the loss Cleve Mingle had 11 points. Cam Carter 10 points
and six rebounds, and Percy Flowers nine rebounds. The rebound against JCMS saw Quincy
Thomas with 20 points along with Mingle’s 11. Carter had six rebounds.
Mike Landrum
1965 Football Co-Captain
1965 Football Co-Captain
Arthur "Bubba" Timms
1965 Football Co-Captain
Honorable Mention All State
Donnie Oliver
The 1965 Football Cheerleaders were: (bottom) Margaret Thompson and Shirley Freeman;
(middle) Krista Lane and Trudy Counts; (back) Debra Blalock, Rosalyn Kirkendohl
(Captain), Becky Robinson (Co-Captain), Deborah Pye, and Janet Sheppard.
