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The Upson Beacon
Thursday,
December 2, 2021
Page 1B
Observations
From a
Football Weekend
Well, I spent another Saturday watching
college football, at least when I wasn’t haul
ing Christmas decorations up from the base
ment or helping decorate the house. Yeah, I
know who won all the games and I’ve read
enough on Facebook to know how everyone
feels. Everyone has their own feelings, and
it just seems to me that very few want to rec
ognize the efforts of their opponents. Just
blame the refs!
As I watch football games, I tend to look
for things that are different from what I have
grown to expect. I saw a few of those things
on Saturday and, for the life of me (I don’t
know where that saying came from), I just
don’t understand. See if you can help me.
What do these large signs being held up
by student assistants on the sidelines mean?
Most of them are divided into four or six seg
ments and have rather strange pictures, car
icatures, or logos on them. On a card you
may find a picture of Donald Trump, a pic
ture of the Road Runner, the Nike swoosh,
and a picture of a Mountain Dew. I guess
that must mean something to somebody.
Not all teams use these message cards
but those that do seem to have several that
they use during the game. I would love for a
coach to explain just what these cards mean.
For the life of me (there I go again), I just
can’t figure out how these pictures and im
ages mesh to give a message to the team on
the field.
Another thing I noticed was that many of
the players’ pants don’t go all the way to, or
over, their knees. These pants look like
shorts, leaving their knees completely ex
posed.
Back in the day (another expression
here), the players’ pants not only came down
over their knees, but they wore knee pads to
protect their knees. With all the extra pro
tection that players are wearing these days,
it would seem that they would protect their
knees, especially with all of the artificial turf
that they play on.
Not so in many cases. Check out the
players’ pants when you view a game next
week.
My final observation of the weekend was
the face markings of the players. When some
players take their helmets off you may see all
kinds of black markings on their faces.
Again, back in the day (getting out of hand
huh?), eye black was worn to protect from
the sun’s glare and was a simple finger width
swipe under the eyes. Not these days.
I saw players with black on only one said
of the face going from their forehead down
to their chin, black over the bridge of the
nose, black swiped from under their eyes
back towards their ears, and even surround
ing their eyes. These decorations get even
more strange when the players begin to
sweat and this stuff runs all over their face.
Maybe players do this to look tough or to
give a Viking appearance. I’ll admit that
some of them look quite scary. Doesn’t make
them better players, just makes them look
frightful. I guess it gives them confidence.
You’ll have to ask these guys.
Oh well, another weekend of football.
Again, looking for the small things makes
the games more interesting. Give it a try!
Running Knights Bounce Back
Behind Alston’s Bigh-Scoring Week
Jacob Stewart/Upson Beacon
Keyston Smith pushes the ball down court and challenges his defender.
Jacob Stewart
Sports Editor
sports@upsonbeacon.com
After starting the season o-
2 on a road trip to Jackson
ville, Fla., Upson-Lee bounced
back, winning two non-region
games over Lamar County and
Taylor County. Kemarion Al
ston led the way with 26
points in both games and
Upson-Lee has momentum
heading into winter.
Upson-Lee defeated Lamar
County 58-49 in a game that
was closer than it should have
been. Upson-Lee trailed at
halftime, but Alston had
begun to heat up. He turned a
steal at halfcourt into a thun
derous dunk to get things
flowing in Upson-Lee’s direc
tion.
The Knights were in early
foul trouble as they started the
game in man-to-man and had
to switch to two-three, which
is a defense that Coach Chris
topher Owens had made a sta
ple in his short tenure at
Upson-Lee. The switch to zone
sparked Upson-Lee’s play and
helped the Knights jump out
to a lead.
Owens expressed, follow
ing the game, that the team’s
rotations were still unclear
and the coaching staff was
working to find what is best
for the team. Marcus Slaton
did not start the game but saw
increased minutes in the sec
ond half and made the best of
them by dominating the glass.
Alston flew through transi
tion all evening to post 26
points and take over the game
on both sides of the ball.
Although missing Zerek
Walker and TJ Searcy, the
Knights were able to win 58-
49 on the road in Lamar
County.
On Saturday, Upson-Lee
traveled to a packed gym in
Taylor County to face the Vik
ings and Nick Woodard.
Woodard, a 6’s” shooting
guard, is one of the most of
fensively talented players in
the area, and it showed as he
posted 32 points, including 20
in the first half.
Woodard’s 20 first-half
points kept the game tied at
27, but Upson-Lee made ad
justments to slow the star
down during the second half.
Owens switched to a zone
press, which did not allow the
Vikings to get into their half
court offense and allowed
Woodard to pick apart the de
fense. Upson-Lee jumped out
to a 45-34 lead after three
quarters and sailed to a 64-49
win.
Nemo Scott scored 11
points after going scoreless in
Lamar County. He showed
much more confidence in
transition and halfcourt of
fense. Slaton picked up a start
and posted 10 points, includ
ing two buckets in the final mi
nutes of the game, which put it
out of reach for Taylor County.
Upson-Lee limited turn
overs and stepped up its game
defensively to earn an impres
sive win in a harsh environ
ment against a solid team.
Alston’s 26-point evening
was capitalized by a flying,
put-back dunk at the end of
the game. His quickness and
athleticism have elevated him
into a massive role for the
Knights. He can change the
game on both sides of the bas
ketball.
Walker did play for the
Knights, scoring four points,
but Upson-Lee is still without
Searcy, who is on a week-to-
week basis. Expect Searcy’s
earliest potential return to be
Saturday, Dec. 4 against
Lamar County. The Knights’
ability to win without the 6’s”
center is an encouraging sign
for the team.
The Knights faced Pike
County at home on Tuesday,
Nov. 30 at 7:30 p.m. Results
were not available by press
time.
For a deeper dive into each
game, visit upsonbeacon.com.
lady Knights Struggle in Taylor County
Aziyah Perry pulls up for a mid-range jumper. Jac °b Stewart/Upson Beacon
Jacob Stewart
Sports Editor
sports@upsonbeacon.com
Coach Stephany Raines
and the Upson-Lee girls' bas
ketball team fell 45-32 on the
road to Taylor County in the
season opener. Upson-Lee
was largely unable to get much
going on offense and as result,
Upson-Lee lost its first regu
lar-season game since Jan. 31,
2020.
The game got out to a slug
gish start as the first quarter
ended with a 4-3 Taylor
County lead. The Lady Vikings
hit two consecutive three-
pointers to start the second
quarter and give Taylor
County some momentum on
offense.
Aziyah Perry responded
with three deep three-pointers
in the quarter to keep the Lady
Knights in touch. However,
with many of the Lady Knights
in early foul trouble, the Lady
Vikings pulled to a 22-14 lead
at halftime.
Taylor County was led in
scoring by center Jaliyah
Zackery. It was an obvious
gameplan to make sure the
ball was in her hands on al
most every possession. Upson-
Lee limited the star to just
Lady Knights Basketball, 2B
Thomaston-Upson Recreation Department Hosts Free Throw Contest
At the recent Free Throiv Contest, hosted by the Thomaston-Upson Recreation Department, several participants received aivards in various age groups:
5 & 6 Co-ed Contest: Dem'Mari Garmon (Runner-
Up) and A'Sharee Price (Winner)
12U Contest: Kytezion Ellerbee (Winner),
Kewon Davis (Runner-Up)
14U Contest: Christian Garner (Winner) and Tomelaki Sparks (Runner-Up)
Girls 8U and 10U Contest: De’Aja Skelton (8U Winner), Harmony Raines (8U Runner-Up),
London Price (10U Winner), and Nic'Kenzie Reviere (10U Runner-Up)