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Wednesday, February 13,2019
dawsonnews.com I DAWSON COUNTY NEWS I 5B
Spring teams ready for season openers
DCHS sports schedule
February 13 - February 19
Feb. 13
V Tennis at N. Forsyth
JV Tennis vs. Fumpkin County
Baseball vs. Chestatee
Feb. 14
5:55 p.m.
VG Soccer vs. Creekview
5:30 p.m.
VB Soccer vs. Creekview
Feb. 15
7 p.m.
VB Soccer at Murray County
Feb.18
V Tennis vs. Gilmer
7 p.m.
VG Soccer vs. W. Hall
5:30 p.m.
VB Soccer vs. W. Hall
Feb. 19
JV Tennis vs. N. Hall
7 p.m.
Baseball at Prince Ave
5:30 p.m.
By Bob Christian
bchristian@dawsonnews.com
The Dawson County
High School spring sports
season got underway this
week for the varsity and
junior varsity baseball,
golf, soccer, tennis and
track and field programs.
Baseball
After a week of tryouts
in early February and a
tough couple of weeks of
practice, the varsity base
ball team has begun to
take shape as they prepare
to start their season with a
home game against the
Chestatee War Eagles at
5:55 p.m. on Feb. 13.
After losing several
starters to graduation,
Head Coach Dwayne Sapp
is faced with the prospect
of a rebuilding year and his
outlook on the opening
game reflected his con
cerns for the team’s pros
pects in the 2019 season.
“It is a very young
group with not a lot of
varsity experience,” Sapp
said. “We are still trying
to find the right combina
tion of players that will
give us the best opportu
nity to compete with the
top teams in the region.”
Golf
Official tryouts for the
Dawson County golf
team began at the
Chattahoochee Country
Club on Feb. 11 after the
student athletes spent the
last two weeks putting
together paperwork and
working on their swing.
The West Hall
Invitational at Chateau
Elan on March 2 marks the
beginning of the season
and the Tigers are sched
uled for nine tournaments
in the month of March.
Soccer
The varsity soccer sea
son kicked off on Feb. 5 as
the Tigers hosted Forsyth
Central in the season
opener for both teams.
In the early game, the
Fady Tigers fell 3-0 to a
“very fast and athletic”
team, according to Head
Coach Chess Hamby.
“I think we played bet
ter than the score would
indicate,” Hamby
said. “We missed a few
scoring opportunities that
could have kept it close,
but I'm proud of the girls.”
The boys team fared a
little better in an evening
game with the Bulldogs as
they lost the season open
er by a final score of 3 -1.
Senior Ethan Cameron
accounted for the team’s
only point with a header
into the net late in the
second half.
“It was tough match
from the starting whistle.
Our defense and keeper
battled admirably the
entire game,” Head Coach
Patrick Muenchen said.
“We held them to 1-0 at
half but they were able to
put in two more before
we were able to answer.”
Track and Field
Over the last two
weeks, the track and field
team has been whittling
down a larger than usual
group of athletes into a
competitive roster as they
prepare to start their sea
son on March 2 with the
Eagle Invitational at East
Jackson High School.
“At this point, we do
have an overall roster,”
Assistant Coach Charles
Beusse said. “We are still
in the process of deciding
who will actually com
pete in each event.”
FROM 1B
Girls
was presented with a game ball
to acknowledge her having
scored 1,512 points in her
career.
Sticker surpassed Tarla
Tanner to claim the second slot
on the Fady Tigers’ all-time
highest scoring list. Sticker fin
ished the tournament with
1,564 career points and is clos
ing in on the school record of
1,604 points, a record held by
Sheyenne Seabolt.
The Fady Tigers then ran into
a brick wall defense from North
Hall on Feb. 8, which stopped
the Fady Tigers in their tracks
with a71-43 loss.
After the loss, Head Coach
Steve Sweat summed up the
disappointment felt by him and
the Fady Tigers.
“They played better than us,
bottom line,” Sweat said.
The team faced off against
Cherokee Bluff less than 24
hours later and leveraged that
heartbreak into one of their best
offensive performances of the
season. The Fady Tigers
opened the game with a 27-10
first quarter score, fueled large
ly by the interior play of junior
Marlie Townley.
Townley accounted for four
of her six rebounds and 8 of her
14 points to lead the Fady
Tigers both offensively and
defensively through the first
period, giving Sticker plenty of
time to fine tune her 3-point
shot as she found the net twice
from the arc to close out the
period.
Because of an earlier injury,
Cherokee Bluff played without
one of their key players, and
her absence showed as the
Fady Bears continued to strug
gle on offense during the sec
ond period.
Sticker, in addition to her hot
hand from the outside, aggres
sively challenged the Fady
Bears in the key to extend the
Fady Tigers’ lead to 46-21 as
the teams headed into the lock
er room.
Sticker continued to lead the
Fady Tigers’ charge after half
time as she scored from all over
the floor.
Sophomore Maddie Anglin
and freshman Ella Siuta added
to the tally with a 3-pointer
apiece and Dawson County
looked to have the game com
fortably in hand as they entered
the fourth period.
It took three periods for
Cherokee Bluff’s offense to
come together but the team
found its identity in the opening
minutes of the final period
when senior Chelsea Reece
came off the bench for the Fady
Bears and lead a 10-0 run to cut
Dawson County’s lead in half
with six minutes left on the
clock.
The final few minutes felt
like anybody’s game, but
Dawson County began to pull
away toward the end of the
period as Townley once again
went to work on the boards to
give the Fady Tigers the edge
and secure the win, 77-61.
In post-game ceremonies,
two members of the Fady
Tigers were honored by Region
7-AAA as junior Sophia
D’Oliveira was named a mem
ber of the All-Region team and
Sticker was honored as the
2018-19 Region Player of the
Year.
The win secured the Fady
Tigers a 20-win season as they
finished with an overall record
of 20-8 (9-3 regional) and a
berth as the third-seeded team
from Region 7-AAA in the
GHSA state tournament that
begins Feb. 15.
Sweat was obviously pleased
with his team’s performance,
but his thoughts had already
turned toward the challenges
his team faced in the upcoming
tournament as Dawson County
prepared to face the Region
6-AAA Coahulla Creek Colts
in the first round.
“We did play much better on
Saturday. Blessed to be back in
the state tournament,” Sweat
said. “We watched some game
film over the weekend. Now we
will start putting a plan together
to use against them for the
win.”
Above: Junior Marlie
Townley goes up and over a
Fannin County Rebel in the
opening game of the Region
7-AAA tournament Feb. 6.
Left: Senior Anna Lowe
fights for a rebound against
Fannin County.
Photos by Bob Christian
Dawson County News
FROM 1B
Daytona
Chase used to win his first race at Watkins
Glen,” Pirkle Jr. said. “It kind of completes
the set because the one on that far comer
came from the car Gober Sosebee used to
get all his wins, and the one up front is
from Bill Elliott’s car.”
For a true taste of racing history, the
Georgia Racing Hall of Fame is a must-see
location and visitors will soon be greeted
with a more visible and informative section
honoring the highlights of Dawsonville’s
new NASCAR hero, Chase Elliott, as the
museum moves dozens of trophies, plaques
and other pieces of memorabilia into dis
play cases in the entrance way and along
the exterior of the building.
“All of his stuff was kind of in the back
of the building and, after last season, we
wanted people to know we were proud of
Chase,” hall of fame president and curator
Gordon Pirkle said. Pirkle also owns the
Pool Room and is father to Pirkle Jr. “As
soon as I can get a car of his, I’ll have it out
there too.”
NASCAR’s history, and a good chunk of
the history of “The Great American Race,”
can be traced to the back roads of Dawson
County, and nobody knows that better than
Pirkle, who has been amassing his collec
tion for well over 40 years.
“I think you can trace 32 Daytona
wins to this tiny town,” Pirkle said. “A
lot of those were on the old Beach
Course, of course.”
As he went on to explain the connection
between Dawsonville and Daytona, Pirkle
made sure to point out a modified 1939
Ford, the No. 50 Cherokee used by
Dawson County’s Gober Sosebee to set the
qualifying record in the modified division
at the Daytona Beach Course in 1949.
“That’s a record that will never be beat
because they will never let anyone race on
the beach again,” Pirkle said.
He pointed across the museum to the Bill
Elliott’s famous 1987 Coors Thunderbird
and pointed out a similar distinction for the
more modem vehicle.
“That car set the speed record on the
track at Daytona at just over 210 miles per
hour,” Pirkle said. “That’s another record
that will never be beaten since they added
restrictor plates. Imagine that, two records
from the same course held by two guys
from the same town.”
Pirkle also spoke to the impressive
record built at Daytona by Chase Elliott in
his early career. He pointed out the younger
Elliott had won back-to-back poles in his
first two years, being the youngest driver to
win the pole at Daytona the first year, and
then coupled the second pole with a victory
in the Duel, making him only the third driv
er in history to accomplish the feat.
“He has always been on the edge of win
ning at Daytona,” Pirkle said. “It’s only a
matter of time until he does.”
Elliott finished his day in Daytona with a
sixth-place finish in the Advance Auto Parts
Clash, and will race again in the Gander
RV Duel at 9 p.m. Feb. 14.
WANTED
Soldier
A FUREVERHQME
Foxy Loxy
- DOB: 6/1/13
WEIGHT: 57 LBS
Soldier is a sweet and loving boy,
although he tends to want to be by your
side than any where else. He can be very
choosy with other dogs, therefore a
meet and greet would be highly
recommended. He walks fairly well on a
leash but could use some more
attention on pulling. Come see if this
boy is right for you.
DOB: 7/5/13
WEIGHT: 47lbs
Foxy Loxy is one of out sm artest and loyal
fur babies. She listens well and walks okay
on a leash. She is shy with new people, but
once she gets used to you and knows who
you are, she will be glued to your side. After
a nice walk she’ll sit right next to you while
taking in her surroundings. Although she
does great with people she does not get
along with other dogs at all. Don't let that
stop you from coming and saying hi. You may
just fall in love.
Fonn z^z ation Dawson County Humane Society
706-265-9160 | 633 Martin Road, Dawsonville
adjacent to the Rock Creek Sports Complex
Visit our RESALE SHOP & BOUTIQUE A " pl0 ““ ls
Wed. - Sat. 10 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. | 54 S. Lumpkin Campground Rd.
benefits the
Humane Society
AM Collision
Specialists
706-216-0992
103 Industrial Park Road,
Dawsonville
Bradley M. Maple
CPA, PC
706-216-2362
2390 Thompson Road
Suite 100 Dawsonville
Dawsonville
Veterinary
Hospital
706-265-8381
