Newspaper Page Text
Page 15
Griffin Daily News Thursday, September 22, 1977
No. 1 ranked Valdosta forfeits 2 games
VALDOSTA, Ga. (AP) — Thomasville may feel the
shock when a stunned Valdosta high school football team
returns to the field Friday after forfeiting its first two
games.
The No. 1-ranked Wildcats revealed the forefeits
Wednesday, saying the team had fielded an ineligible
player.
Valdosta forfeited to Crisp County and Bainbridge. The
Wildcats, who hold a slim edge over Warner Robins in the
AAA rankings, play No. 10 Thomasville in one of the
region’s most bitter rivalries.
Valdosta Coach Nick Hyder was unavailable for
Prep preview
Forfeits change dimension of Thomasville-Valdosta
By BARBARA WASHINGTON
AP Prep Editor
The Thomasville-Valdosta high school football game, an
extraordinary matchup under normal conditions, takes on
an added dimension Friday after a bizarre week in which
Valdosta went from 2-0 for the year to 0-2.
The change in the Wildcats' season record came
Wednesday after officials at the school ranked No. 1 in
Class AAA for the past two weeks in an Associated Press
poll discovered and reported they had fielded a player
ineligible because he was over the age limit.
The error caused Valdosta to forfeit a 40-14 victory to
Crips County and a 50-13 triumph over Bainbridge.
“I’m sure they’ll use this to come out smoking Friday
night against us if they weren’t already fired up,” said
Thomasville Coach Jim Hughes, whose Bulldogs, 2-0 for
the season, are tied for 10th with Butler in AAA.
The ’Dogs, who went 7-3 last season after losing to
Valdosta, are without 27 starters, who graduated last
J Sports World
Ah An AP Sports Analysis
Fl By WILL GRIMSLEY
AP Special Correspondent
Buckeyes get nod
“Rod Gerald and Ron Springs are both on an upward
cycle and Ray Griffin is on a tripleplus,” the man said.
“That bodes well for Ohio State.”
“How about Oklahoma?” someone asked.
Click, click, click went the pocket computer.
“Not so hot,” the man replied. “Tom Lott, the team's
ace quarterback, is on the low side physically and
emotionally and at a very critical stage in the intellectual
category. Zac Henderson, the best defensive man, is down
in two of three cycles, up only emotionally.
“An analysis of the biorhythms definitely gives Ohio
State the edge in Saturday's big football game at Co
lumbus.”
It used to be that the old crystal ball was good enough to
forecast the outcome of football games. Tea leaves,
Chinese fortune cookies and plain old hunches were
adequate and, in a crunch, one could fall back on ancient
astrology.
No more. Now, with millions of dollars wagered weekly
on college and pro games, picking winners in football has
become more sophisticated. It is now strictly scientific.
NBC has come up with a machine that gobbles up
statistics and spits out projections quicker than you can
bat an eyelash. Others use intricate and exhaustive form
charts.
Campus spies and telephone checkups continue in wide
usage but the latest craze is a theory called biorhythms.
This is a brainchild of two 19th Century European scien
tists who concluded that the physical and emotional states
of human beings change rhythmically. Later the in
tellectual function was included.
Basically, the theory is that everyone has periods of ups
and downs —a veritable physical, emotional and in
tellectual roller coaster — that dictate performance
patterns.
It remained for Bernard Gittelson of New York, head of
Biorhythm Computers Inc., to computerize the biorhythm
charts and popularize the idea in a best-selling book,
“Biorythm — A Personal Science.”
Doping football games or other sports events is not Mr.
Gittelson’s bag. A number of industrial plants subscribe to
the charts to promote plant safety. There have been
airline pilots who won’t fly when the signs are bad and
reputable surgeons who won’t undertake a serious
operation without first consulting the computer.
The birthdate is plotted on a baseline. Physical,
emotional and intellectual cycles ascend and descend on
different time tables, determining “la, la h’s” and
“blahs.”
“You deal with so many players that it is necessary to
zero in on the key men,” Gittelson said. “For instance,
last week, the charts showed a downtrend for Joe Namath
of the Rams and a high emotional and intellectual plane
for Atlanta’s Scott Hunter in the game the Rams lost 17-7.
When Dallas beat Minnesota 16-10, Fran Tarkenton was
on the same low scale as when he lost the Super Bowl.”
Gittelson punches buttons on his pocket computer and
immediately comes up with the conclusion that the
Oakland Raiders will beat the Pittsburgh Steelers Sunday
in the battle of present and past Super Bowl champions.
“Ken Stabler is on a triple high,” he said of the Raiders’
quarterback. “That is rare for anybody since the cycles
do not normally follow the same timetables.
“On the other hand, the Steelers’ two key offensive men,
quarterbacc Terry Bradshaw and running back Franco
Harris, come up with negative charts.
“Bradshaw shows a low cycle physically and in
tellectually but high emotionally. Harris also should be
down in the first two categories and also up emotionally.”
Thus, on the biorhythm charts, it’s Ohio State and the
Oakland Raiders in the weekend’s big games. The next
question is: Has anyone checked the plane pilot to see if
it’s okay to make the trip?
comment Wednesday, but the school principal took the
blame for what happened.
“We sent in our football eligibility sheets and didn’t
catch it,” said principal Lloyd D. Mims. “They didn’t
even catch it at the state (Georgia High School
Association) office.
“But then, when we were sending in our basketball
eligibility forms, we caught it,” Mims added. “I am just
very sorry for the boys. If anybody is to blame, I am. It’s
just one of those things.”
Valdosta tight end Alvin Thomas was 19 in February.
GHSA rules say a player who is 19 prior to May 1 is
year. The Wildcats were 6-2 last season.
“We’ve done a good job of defending against Valdosta in
the past,” said Hughes. “But our problem has been in sus
taining any offensive threat.”
Jerry Marria, a 155-pound senior quarterback, and tail
back Roosevelt Andrews, who leads region lAAA in
rushing with 235 yards in two games, are the ’Dogs’ key
offensive weapons along with wingback Ronnie Reddish,
an outstanding receiver.
Should Valdosta survive the Bulldogs’ defense led by
end Mike Sharpe, guard Dwight Wilson and tackle Oscar
Morris the Wildcats’ offense will have little trouble get
ting points with quarterback Buck Belue, in his fourth
season as signal-caller for Valdosta.
Belue passed for two touchdowns and hit on 10 of 15 at
tempts for 131 yards in the first half of last week’s romp
over Bainbridge. He leads region lAAA in punting with a
39-yard average.
Senior running back Frank Council, tight end Alvin
Thomas, halfback William Gaskins and fullback Sam
Fletcher, who gained 96 yards in the Bainbridge game,
lend balance to Valdosta’s offensive attack.
The Wildcat defense relies on linebacker Robert
Baldwin, a 206-pound senior, cornerback Troy Thomas
and safety Allen Worthy.
In other top high school games this weekend, Central of
Thomasville visits Lowndes, Benedictine takes on Bruns
wick, Savannah hosts gstatesboro, Griffin spars with La-
Grange, Southwest DeKalb hosts Northside of Atlanta,
Packers cut Brockington
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) -
John Brockington insisted he
holds no grudges, but he
couldn’t disguise the hurt.
“Being waived like I was —
that’s kind of heavy, man. I
thought I would be traded, but
not waived,” said Brockington,
first player ever to rush for 1,-
000 yards in each of his first
three National Football League
seasons. He was unceremo
niously cut by the Green Bay
Packers Wednesday.
“No, I’m not bitter,” he said.
“But, yeah, my pride is hurt.
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But what can I do about it? I can
kick down the refrigerator or
kick down the door, but then
I’ve got to pay for the refrig
erator and get the door fixed,
and I’ve got a sore toe. I’ve still
got to exist, and I think I can
still play — in the right sit
uation.”
Brockington’s situation had
deteriorated with the Packers
over the last three seasons, and
he admitted the biggest factor
probably was his contract. He is
in the option season of a three
year, no-cut pact worth $150,000
ineligible for the upcoming athletic season.
“That’s sort of a shock,” said Ferrell Henry, head coach
at Crisp County, which fell 40-14 to Valdosta in the season
opener. “I don’t know how to react. They were off to a
great start with a great team. I’m certain it was unin
tentional.”
Crisp now has two victories in subregion lAAA-North to
lead Valdosta, which also forfeited its second game, a 50-
13 victory over Bainbridge.
“I’m dumbfounded,” said Bainbridge Coach Miller
Shealy. “It’s easy to make mistakes like they did. I’m not
Coffee invades Ware County, Manchester is at Peach
County, Lakeshore hosts Avondale, East Rome is at
Haralson County, Hogansville is at Bremen and Swain
sboro is at Dublin.
Hogansville, 2-1 for tthe season, will face a talented Bre
men squad, ranked second in Class B with a 4-0 mark,
which is led by quarterback Ricky Waddell and tailback
Tim BeU.
“The key to our success so far is that for the first three
ballgames, we had four backs averaging 60 yards a ball
game,” said Bremen Coach Homer Mathis.
He referred to Waddell, Clark Buffington, Phillip
Ricketts and Randy Barker. Waddell also has four touch
down passes so far this year.
Hogansville got two touchdowns from quarterback
Terry Rhodes in a 32-0 victory over Brookstone and a 32-
yard scoring run from halfback Tyrone Martin.
In other weekend games, Moultrie hosts Tift County,
Central of Macon is at Northside in Warner Robins, Josey
battles Laney, Newnan hosts Jonesboro, Lakeside is at
Briarcliff, Jenkins County takes on Screven County,
Dodge County hosts Vidalia, Americus travels to Auburn,
Ala., Dalton is at Ringgold and Early County visits Lee
County.
Other games feature Pelham at Brookstone, Reidsville
at Metter, West Point at Pacelli, Union County at
Buford, Appling County at Cairo, Gainesville at
Habersham Central, Putnam County at Hancock Central,
Pike at Lamar County, Rabun County at Franklin County,
to $250,000 a year.
Having failed to find a taker
in the trade market for a high
priced fullback whose produc
tion had slipped by almost two
thirds the past three years, the
Packers placed Brockington on
waivers Tuesday. He cleared
waivers, meaning no other NFL
club had claimed him.
If unclaimed by 3 p.m. today,
he becomes a free agent. And if
he does not sign with another
NFL team this year, the Pack
ers must pay his full salary for
the season, a club spokesman
said.
The former Ohio State star,
drafted by the Packers on the
first round in 1971, rushed for
1,105 yards and averaged 5.1
yards per carry as a rookie, ran
for 1,027 yards in 1972 as the
Packers won the NFC Central
Division title and amassed 1,114
yards in 1973.
However, his production
slipped to 883,434 and 406 yards
the past three seasons. He
carried 40 times for only 69
yards, a 1.7 average, during the
1977 exhibition season.
upset with Valdosta at all. I’m sorry it happened.”
Bill Fordham, GHSA executive director, whose office
didn’t spot the ineligible player on the football eligibility
forms, said Valdosta officials would notify the two schools
of the forfeitures.
“They are writing letters of forfeiture to the two
schools,” said Fordham. “Os course, none of this was done
intentionally. It was an oversight, clearly.”
Fordham said his office had studied Valdosta’s football
eligibility forms, mailed last June, and they seemed to be
in order. But basketball forms received by the GHSA four
days ago revealed that Thomas was ineligible.
Baker at Warner Robins and Sylvan at Harper.
Groves will be at Glynn Academy, Wayne County at
Jenkins, North Cobb at Marist, Chamblee at Tucker,
Effingham County at Southeast Bulloch, Marist at Coosa,
Mary Persons at Lithonia, George at Southwest of
Atlanta, Rockmart at Cedartown, Charlton County at
Berrien, Harlem at Wrens, Bowdon at Darlington and Jef
ferson at Commerce.
Niekro knuckles
Houston, 5-3
HOUSTON (AP) - Although
he lost his first seven decisions
this season, Atlanta’s Phil
Niekro never lost confidence in
his pitching ability.
‘We used a four-man rotation,
so I knew I’d get between 35 to
40 starts this season, ” said
Niekro after picking up his 20th
complete game of the season in
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Griffin Georgia
SEPTEMBER 24 &25
Saturday 9:00 A.M.-9:00 P.M.
Sunday 9:00 A.M.-3:00 P.M.
Admission SI.OO
Ladies and Law Enforcement Officers Free
Free Parking - Food on Premises
Interesting and llnusal Displays
for information contact
Allen Williams 228-9060
the Braves’ 5-3 victory over the
Houston Astros Wednesday
night.
“I managed to turn myself
around. I feel as good as I did
four or five years ago.”
Niekro, 16-18, scattered eight
hits and struck out 10 as Hous
ton lost for only the third time in
its last 16 home contests.