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Wednesday, August 17,2022
dawsonnews.com I DAWSON COUNTY NEWS I 3B
SOFTBALL
Lady Tigers look for fresh start in region play
Sophomore Ace Cochran looks at a pitch during
the home game against Vidalia on Friday, Aug.12.
Photos by Rio White Dawson County News
Kirsten Butler winds up a pitch against Vidalia.
By Rio White
riowhite@dawsonnews.com
While this year’s
Dawson County softball
roster is markedly young
er than last season’s
senior-filled squad, both
teams faced similar early-
season growing pains.
Three road losses to
begin this season were
followed up by a pair of
home defeats — all
against non-region com
petition. The Lady Tigers
will now look to make a
fresh start to the season as
the first two region games
beckon this week.
Last weekend, Dawson
fell to Vidalia and North
Hall at home after a loss
at Lambert earlier in the
week. The next two
games include the region
opener at home against
West Hall on Tuesday,
Aug. 16 and and on the
road at Wesleyan on
Wednesday.
Though an 0-5 start to
the 2022 season is not
flattering on paper, the
2021 team began 0-9
before going 16-12 the
rest of the way en route to
a deep run in the state
playoffs.
Crucial to that playoff
run was an 11-10 record
within Region 7-3A —
good for fourth place in
the region and a spot in
the postseason.
Knowing that the roster
still needs time to devel
op, head coach Justin
Rickett is staying steady
and focusing on the fun
damentals.
“We’ve got to continue
to mature and make the
routine plays,” Rickett
said. “The kids are in
good spirits and try to
focus every day on getting
better.”
Defensively, the team is
looking to cut down on
errors to stay competitive
in games and decrease
opportunities for the
opposition to open up a
lead.
The defense is also
working on communica
tion, particularly when the
opposition is finding suc
cess. One player who has
shown an example of that
is freshman catcher Bryce
Greenwood, who has
shown an early sense of
vocal leadership.
On the offense, the
challenging early-season
foes have been tough on
the Dawson bats, but
Greenwood and recent
Blitz Sports Player of the
Week Micah Burruss have
given glimpses of what
the Lady Tigers offense
can potentially show.
In the small sample size
of the current season, both
players have four hits in
10 at-bats but have also
given strong plate appear
ances when not getting a
hit.
Just like on the defense,
Rickett believes that the
learning curve the offense
faces now will eventually
result in better perfor
mances down the road.
“We’ve seen really
good arms,” Rickett said.
“We just need more expe
rience and continue to get
those at-bats.”
The Lady Tigers will
wrap up this week’s slate
of games with non-region
matchups against Union
County and Bremen on
Saturday, Aug. 20.
FROM 1B
Elliott
race finish would gather 38 points —
three more than Elliott did with a fifth
position finish and eight stage points.
As a result, he ended the day still
needing just a few points in the next
race to officially finish at the top of the
points standings.
“We definitely got better in compari
son to our competitors toward the end,”
Elliott said. “Proud of our NAPA team
for fighting through everything today
and making the most of a tough
Saturday.”
Elliott responded to a disappointing
qualifying run on Saturday by quietly
moving up the board Sunday, eventual
ly reaching 11th position by the end of
Stage One.
He would comfortably run in the
back of the top-10 for most of Stage
Two, making two pit stops that were
handled efficiently by both Elliott and
the crew.
By avoiding any issues on pit road
and getting back onto the track without
any incidents, Elliott kept himself in
contention.
He would finish Stage Two in eighth
position and would gradually move into
the top-5 in the final stage of the race.
Elliott would find his best track posi
tion of the day with 35 laps remaining,
holding on to third position for around
17 laps before being passed
Christopher Bell and Denny Hamlin to
fall back to his eventual finishing posi
tion of fifth.
His finish secured a Cup Series
leading 16th top-10 finish and second-
best ninth top-5 finish.
FROM 1B
Horse
resulted in a locked jaw that required an
injection. Through their mutual trust, the
pair would achieve a winning time.
Verhoven credits her horse’s personal
ity and their resulting bond as important
factors in their shared success.
“The bond is truly important in barrel
races,” Verhoven said. “It helps them
come out of their shell and strive to what
they really are.”
Her mother Laurie expressed how
proud she was of her daughter’s growth
as a dedicated caregiver.
“She gets up every morning, she’s
here during the afternoon [and] takes
care of them at night,” Laurie Verhoven
said. “She pours her heart and soul into
it. If [the horses] aren’t feeling good,
she’s going to be the one that finds it
[out].”
The next big event that Lily and
Woodrow have will be the state-level
show in September back in Perry.
'She gets up every morning,
she's here during the after
noon [and] takes care of
them at night. She pours
her heart and soul into it. If
[the horses] aren't feeling
good, she's going to be the
one that finds it [out].'
Laurie Verhoven
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Photo courtesy of the National Barrel Horse Association
Verhoven receives her award for posting the fastest time at the event.
FROM 1B
Volleyball
11-1 run, resulting in a 22-25 first-set loss.
The Lady Bulldogs took that energy right
into the second set, with Dawson falling 12-25
for a match loss. For Porter, her team will
need to keep up a stronger — and louder —
line of communication to avoid second-set
momentum gaps such as that one.
“Without that energy, we all just get into our
own heads,” Porter said. “We have a history of
being able to gather back and make something
good happen once we spiral a little bit.”
That sense of resiliency would come after
the team’s most challenging match of the
night against the hosts.
The Lady Raiders were aggressive from the
beginning but Dawson kept within striking
distance before losing the first set 19-25.
Another tough second set resulted in a 15-25
loss and a second defeat of the night.
After a long wait, the Lady Tigers showed
their true potential in a two-set victory over
Lumpkin. With each point Dawson won, the
better the communication became and the
more momentum they established.
The culmination of the 25-12, 25-16 victory
was an emphatic block by Bishop that brought
the team’s volume to the loudest all night.
Porter mentioned that the sophomore will be
someone who will be asked to put in plenty of
varsity minutes this season.
Dawson followed up that opening slate with
a pair of matches against Gainesville and
Flowery Branch on Thursday, Aug. 11.
The Lady Tigers swept both of those teams
with two-set victories, bring their overall
record to 3-2 on the season.
This week, Dawson will have their home
openers and senior night recognition on
Tuesday, Aug. 16.
FROM 1B
Football
facet of the process to ensure
the team’s execution was at
the standard needed for the
regular season.
The offensive and defensive
focused on footwork and
explosion off the line — two
areas that will be especially
important in the non-region
schedule. Those linemen had
both one-on-one battles as
well as full sides facing one
another.
The many other assistant
coaches had their own small
groups of players focusing on
specialty drills that are meant
to maximize skill level.
In addition to the drills
becoming more intense, there
was also an increased empha
sis on vocal leadership
between players.
All of those elements shown
in recent practices are set to be
utilized against a Jackson
team on the rise.
The Panthers are coached
by four-time state champion
Rich McWhorter, who once
led Charlton County to three
straight state titles.
McWhorter arrived at
Jackson in 2019, inheriting a
3-7 team that needed a turn
around. His teams have
improved each year of his ten
ure, culminating in a state
playoff appearance last sea-
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Rio White Dawson County News
Offensive coordinator Andy LeBlanc (center), looks on as his new-look offense
gears up for the first game of the season.
Toward the end of a practice session, the offense and
defense line up against each other.
son.
Much like Dawson is
reshaping their offense after
the graduation of school
record-holding quarterback
Zach Holtzclaw, Jackson is
doing the same for running
back Trey Ransom.
Both of their main quarter
backs from last season also
graduated, meaning that there
will be an element of unpre
dictability from both teams.
The Panthers have not faced
a team in Dawson’s region
since 2019, when they defeat
ed Lumpkin County. But in
the past two seasons, Jackson
has gone up against Stephens
County, who the Tigers will
face later this season.
On both occasions, the
Panthers lost to the Region
8-3A Indians.
The Tigers will have one
more week of practices before
they square off against the
Panthers.
