About Dawson County news. (Dawsonville, Georgia) 2015-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 7, 2022)
Wednesday, September 7,2022 dawsonnews.com I DAWSON COUNTY NEWS I 3B VOLLEYBALL Lady Tigers finish 2nd at Coal Mountain Classic Rio White Dawson County News Abby Felkai prepares for a kill in Tuesday's match against Gilmer County. By Rio White riowhite@dawsonnews.com It’s been a busy past week for the Dawson County volleyball team, who played a dozen times in that span and have won 13 of its last 15 matches. Head coach Tanya Porter’s squad capped off a whirlwind week with a pair of region wins against Gilmer County and Lumpkin County on Tuesday, Aug. 30, improving their over all record to 16-5. “They have rallied around each other for the cause of us winning,” Porter said. “That’s been at the forefront of their minds and it has made all the difference in the world.” Before Tuesday, the Lady Tigers played a total of six matches in the Coal Mountain Classic on Saturday, Aug. 27, winning against a variety of opponents before falling short in the final against class 6A powerhouse North Forsyth. In that tournament, Dawson defeated 6A teams Grovetown and Creekview before winning a three-set thriller against 7A West Forsyth. After staving off region foes Lumpkin and White County, the Lady Tigers fell to host team North Forsyth, who was a state semifinalist last season. Prior to the Coal Mountain Classic, Dawson had won three of four matches during the week. All told, half of the dozen matches played were against teams in higher classifications — all part of Porter’s plan of having her team perform at their best. “We are competing at high levels against very good com petition,” Porter said. “I’m proud of how well we are responding.” The team’s high level of communication has given them versatility, with Abby Felkai and Megan Roche collecting points and Abby Clouser and Kirklyn Porter helping set up those kills. The matches against Gilmer and Lumpkin showed the team’s consistency — regard less of substitutions during the game. Dawson got out to a quick lead against Gilmer, taking the first set 25-7. Players such as Maggie Allen and Eva Bishop also helped contribute to that success as the team won the second set 25-13 to sweep the match. Against Lumpkin, the Lady Tigers faced a stiffer challenge but continued to display their teamwork, winning 25-12, 25-19. The close second set showed the team’s focus during a comeback attempt by Lumpkin, with Dawson’s players increas ing their volume with each point. “They did a really good job of paying attention to the game and executing the gameplan,” Porter said. “So far, we are matching up really well with even the best teams in our region. It’s exciting and gives us something to look forward to come postseason.” In addition to their 16-5 over all record, the Lady Tigers are currently undefeated in region play at 6-0. The team will take a short break before playing a pair of matches on Thursday, Sept. 8, against White County and Gilmer. Franklin, Tenn. reminds me of friends, a man named Timothy It had been a long day. Not a particularly tiring or stressful one. It was the kind of day where so much happened so quickly that, later you ask, “Did that happen yesterday? Or before?” We were in Nashville for the fourth time in weeks. This time, though, rather than being in downtown, we were in the enchanting town of Franklin. Franklin was a smidgen of a place when I first came to know her years ago. While she has now become famous as a hip place to live, then she was primarily built on antiques and ancient memo ries. It was the site of one of the bloodiest Civil War battles. Confederate General Hood lost six generals and the battle to the Union, and, essentially, the War. Many buildings from those years still stand. In the 20th century, the town became known primarily for one man: Every Sunday, before a NASCAR race - in the years when peo ple still cared stub bornly for stock car racing - the melodi ous voices or either Barney Hall or Eli Gold (now the incredible play-by- by announcer for the Alabama Crimson Tide; I adore him and his voice), would say, “Starting on the pole, ladies and gentlemen, please make welcome from Franklin, Tennessee - DARRELL WALTRIP!” The stands erupted in cheers and boos for there was no in- between when it came to DW. You loved him or hated him. I remember once that his wife, Stevie, my dear friend, began to weep softly over the hate. Driver Cale Yarborough’s wife, hugged Stevie and instructed, “Honey, don’t cry when they boo. Cry when they don’t. That means they care.” A few years ago, Tink and I sat with the Waltrips in a little steak house in downtown Franklin. Darrell, retired from rac ing, is a well-respected businessman with several car dealerships in town. He was giving Tink a history lesson on the battle and the build ings still standing. He pointed to the street that ran alongside the restaurant. “They say that blood ran like a creek down that street.” Years earlier, the Waltrips’ daughter married in a small Presbyterian church, so old, that during the war days, it had been converted into a hospital. I had joined them a few times for Sunday morning services. That night, I sat in the simple, beautiful service, lighted only by candles, and I thought of the lives that had been saved there - literally and spiritually. This leads to that recent day in Franklin. It was 9:30 p.m. and we were all ready to call it a day well- done. Our friend, Cindy, was tak ing us back to our hotel after din ner when, suddenly, she asked, “Have y’all got 15 extra min utes?” Out of courtesy only, we said, “Yes.” Franklin has a church on every comer. She took us to a 19th cen tury brick church called St. Paul’s Episcopal, decorated with marvel ous stained windows. It is unlocked 24 hours a day. We entered quietly. The altar was beautiful with one of the most stunning crosses I’ve ever seen. On the front bench, a man coughed in the darkness. Then his dog - a support animal - stretched noisily. We walked to the altar. Turning to leave, we saw the man who bore a striking resemblance to the photos of Jesus we often see. Except his dark, long hair was matted to his head and his face, deeply lined and calloused, held not a fragment of hope. “Do you mind if I pray with you?” I whispered. He didn’t look up. “Please.” I held his unwashed hand and prayed. “I’m Timothy,” he said at “Amen.” “One of the Apostle Paul’s favorites,” I replied. “My other name is James.” “My favorite book of the Bible.” He was dirty and “likkered up” a bit. He whispered, “I lost my son in 2005.” Then I knew how a man named after two Biblical giants had stumbled onto the wrong path, one that had also drawn his blood. Ronda Rich is the best-selling author of What Southern Women Know About Faith. Visit www. rondarich.com to sign up for her free weekly newsletter. RONDA RICH Columnist Photo courtesy of Ty Overmyer A close-up of Overmyer's trophy. FROM 1B Fishing secured his third win of the year at the recent event — battling adverse conditions along the way to earn over $7,000. “A lot of hard work went into this, and it really paid off,” Overmyer said to MLF after his win. “Knowing the lake really helped me a lot fishing in these tough conditions.” He was raised around Lake Lanier and is familiar with its features, crediting his passion for fishing to his father, who was a tour nament fisher in the 1980s and 90s. His successful weekend was assisted by co-angler John Duvall of Madison, Georgia. The pair were able to work in tandem to throw topwater baits and catch as much as they could. “It was a slow bite, but it was the right bite,” Overmyer said. “My co angler and I threw the top- water baits in tandem and it would trigger the fish to come up and eat. It helps when you’ve got someone else throwing one, too.” Overmyer is a longtime resident of Dawsonville, having played varsity bas ketball for DCHS before continuing in the sport at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College and Newberry College in South Carolina. Although he no longer plays basketball, Overmyer has been able to continue his competitive desire through bass fishing. With his win coming at the final regular-season event for the Bulldog Division, Overmyer is looking forward to his next event — at Lake Hartwell on Saturday, Sept. 17, for the Palmetto Trail. The championship for that trail will be at Lake Lanier in October. FROM 1B NASCAR The remainder of the race provided plenty of entertainment, which included Elliott’s Hendrick Motorsports teammates. Kyle Larson had an equally strange and resil ient night — at one point running four laps down over halfway through the race before grinding his way back to a 12th posi tion finish. William Byron, who had just one top-10 finish in the previous 18 races, had a bounce-back race by winning Stage One and finishing in eighth posi tion. One turning point of the 367-lap race came during a green-flag pit stop cycle with around 100 laps left, when Kevin Harvick’s car caught fire as he drove out of pit road. The resulting caution would shuffle the field and cause previous contenders to take longer to regain track position. But the most shocking turn of events came within the final 35 laps, when the two most dominant cars of the night suddenly had their nights end. The No. 19 of Martin Truex Jr and No. 18 of Kyle Busch combined to lead 203 laps of the race but were taken out in suc cession late in the race. Truex Jr faced a loss of power steering while Busch had a blown engine. Coming in from right behind those two to take the lead with 23 laps remaining was Erik Jones, who had quietly put up a solid night— finishing in eighth and ninth at the end of the first two stages. While Jones would eventually hold off a determined Denny Hamlin to win his third career Cup Series race, the Petty GMS driver’s victory would mark a special occasion for his No.43 car. The win by Jones marked exactly 55 years to the day since the last Darlington victory for the legendary No. 43, when Richard Petty won his sole Southern 500 in 1967. Elliott and the No. 9 team will look to rebound at Kansas Speedway in next Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400. The race is scheduled for a 3 p.m. start on the USA Network. Photo courtesy of Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images Chase Elliott spins after hitting the wall at the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway on Sunday, Sept. 4.
