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6A NOVEMBER 13, 1997 AUGUSTA FOCUS Despite record, Josey has future It’s been a long and frustrating football season for T.W. Josey’s first-year head football coach Tommy Macon and his entire staff. The reason for their frus tration is pretty clear. Thus far, the Eagles have posted a 2-7 over all record, heading into their sea son finale against the Thomson Bulldogs (5-4). It has been a long time since Josey won only twice in a season on the football scene. Macon, a dedicated 41-year-old coaching veteran, has definitely heard the jeers, the whispers con cerning the effectiveness of his Power-1 offensive scheme, and the murmurs regarding the present state of the program overall. Opin ions vary from fan to fan and booster to booster (to no great surprise), but to his credit, Ma con has taken all the personal assaults and criticisms about the program and his style of coaching in great stride. It hasn’t been easy, but Macon fully under stands the undercurrent that fu els all the second-guessing and fan displeasure. He’s been down this road before, not too long ago, in a little college town south of Augusta called Statesboro. Macon knows that all the com plaints emanating from the stands and local call-in sports shows hinge on winning. Yes, it’s true. Winning, according to some local football purists, solves all ills, pains and bellyaching by fans, boosters and alumni. Macon un derstands this mind-set all too well. Afterall, last season, hewas part of the football coaching staff at Georgia Southern that faced the wrath of another group of victory-starved Eagle fans dur ing a down year for a proud colle giate program. A program, by the way, that had established a year ly goal of winning not only confer ence championships, but nation al championships. Winning was Financial wealth is NOT a game of chance THE MONLY GAME Weekdays, 2 to 5 PM on 1480 AM PN /8/1 Wy, 1 Leplay "’gF AN R SIS i " T ‘ r Timeout with Tony (! part of who they were and what they are all about at Georgia Southern. Josey has had the same mentality for the last three sea sons. Erk Russell, the legendary coach who rekindled the GSU program in 'B2, had a lot to do with the high level of expectation from local fans and media alike. The same parallel exists at T.W. Josey. Departed head coach John Starr wanted Josey fans to ex pect (and sometimes demand) the best. Mediocrity would no longer be accepted for any member of the Eagle program. Playing with pride would be the rule, and not the exception. What many of the Josey fans have missed this sea son is that Starr’s philosophy is no different in nature than that of Tommy Macon. The spin may come at you in a different direc tion, with a touch more subtlety and calmness, but the core na ture of both men is definitely the same. Winning, the right way, and developing student-athletes to excel on the collegiate level are important to Macon, as was the case with John Starr. The main difference is that fans gave John Sports Focus Starr (and the entire program) far more support than has been afforded Macon. If you need proof of that claim, just check home attendance figures this season as compared to those of the past. The thousands of Josey faithful in the city of Augusta, and throughout the entire CSRA, must realize that winning is more involved than which team has the greater number of points on the scoreboard when the final horn sounds at Eagle stadium. Winning is also an attitude. A mentality that doesn’t allow for backbiting, bad attitudes and fin ger pointing. Examine, if you will, the prep football programs at Lin coln County, Washington Coun ty, Valdosta or Thomas County Central. These championship driven programs have suffered through down years without loy al fans giving up on the program, the players and especially the coaches. Why hasn’t this been true of the fans that have proudly worn green and glad in years past? In Lincolnton and Sanders ville, the fans aren’t motivated to fill the stands of their respective stadiums just to see their team win every Friday night, as much as they are overwhelmed by the tradition of each program. Red Devil fans get caught up in the emotion. The atmosphere that surrounds high school sports. It’s thesame casein Sandersville and Valdosta. Fansin thosecities have an innate pride in the local foot ball programs. Fans have a tre mendous amount of respect for the student-athletes who have dedicated so much of their life in the pursuit of excellence. Excel lence not solely for themselves, but for their classmates, neigh bors, church congregations and families. That’s the key factor that separates the true powerhouse prep football programs from the rest of the field. Tradition. It can't = be u:umnd danlopg must be n over time. Throughout triumph and tragedy; victory and celebra tion. Tradition evolves like a fine wine. It can’t be rushed, only cured and cared for. Despite posting a dismal 1-6 slate so far in region 3-AAA com petition, the once-feared Eagles still have the opportunity to get back on track in regards to their quest to build a Georgia prep foot ball powerhouse. The questions asto whether they have the heart to look deep within themselves and play with the passion of cham pions do remain. The great factor to remember is that Josey is a young team with a tremendous talent-base at the skill positions. If these young Eagles can stay together, work hard in the off season (both in the weight room and the classroom), the awesome job of building a football program with a proud tradition of excel lence can continue. The real ques tion is, will the once-faithful Jo sey fans give this head coach and these youthful players the sup port they need to be the very best in the Peach State once again? It wasn’t too long ago, so-called foot ball experts laughed when the thought of Josey securing a state championship in the 90s was broached in polite conversation. The laughing stopped in 1995 when Josey posted a perfect 15-0 record. It’s time to get back to the late business of building a pro gram with tradition for T.W. Jo sey. Thetrue Eaglefans are ready, willing and able to get the ball rolling this “Football Friday Night” during Homecoming 1997. Tony Cornish Jr. is a freelance sports columnist and host of Sports Talk Live with Tony C! aired weeknights at 10 p.m., ex clusively on WBEK-TV 67. | world Championship wrestling Presents SATURDAY A ‘ CTAAPT:] & K rccuonse W 7==O P N 2 ¥ "NOW! < AUGUSTA SRS .. v RICHMOND CO. TWERES.). S %1 SR | CIVIC CENTER J 7 2 "N . | FTOGIDTA R £ BAAL "“ i, LEX LUGER F=—7 ~ g N MWW R TAG TEAM MATCHI $P ™¢ o2B\ by S % NATURE BOY TA UMD SN & cum%gsuon CAN A Fi CURT HENNIG NS (N gy UG - - e TICKETS: $23, sl9, & sl3. e ' : T (hqrg(e & For More Info. Call 706-724-2400 AP S Sspaiy ' Tickets Available at the Civic Center Box Office Mon. Fri. 9am to Spm & All Z=BGEST Outlets. LT CARD IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE. <ot ® @ o fii Opportunities for Adoption HUMAN RESOURCES Tl i 4 Terrell, age seven, born August of = ' 1990, is a sweet boy who likes hugs and attention from adults. He attends kindergarten classes and takes medi cation to help with his ADHD. 3 Terrell enjoys going to church and coloring and drawing. A two-parent family is preferred. This will be a legal risk placement. \% My Turn Now, Inc. can be reached by calling 1-800-603-1322 or (404) 657-3479 ARSI RS ASINE SRR SR eR R LR e R AM G A S T AWATWL RT E H Q ; o ‘ 4 ? 1 fl)\ Demarco Lovett T.W. Josey High School Senior, Running Back/ Defensive Back 6’2”, 205 Ibs. Coach Macon’s Comments: Demarco played great defense against Lucy C. Laney helping to secure a 14-6 victory. He also scored the winning 21-yard TD Sponsored by: Augusta Focus, WFXA Foxie 103, 100 Black Men, and Publix