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Professional
Football
Strikes Out
Well, as expected, the National Foot
ball League Players’ Association went
on strike last week, an event that
threatened to send every armchair
quarterback across the nation into fits
of depression. Or so the players and
owners would have you think.
But the first weekend of the strike
came and went without as much as a
whimper from most football fans, who
simply found some other means to
entertain themselves on Sunday af
ternoon.
I, for one, survived the weekend
without pro football without as much as
a whimper, I felt no withdrawal symp
toms whatseover. Of course, being an
Atlanta fan, I may not have been as
adversely affected as fans in other
areas of the country, due largely to the
performance of the Falcons against the
Los Angeles Raiders in what very well
could end up being the last game of the
season for the Birds.
I did not even feel the urge to turn on
the CBS replay of last year’s Super
Bowl, pitting the San Francisco 49’ers
against the Cincinnati Bengals. In addi
tion to this bit of programming despera
tion, NBC went north of the border to
bring us the Canadian version of the
game, played on a field with a 60-yard
line and 12-men squads.
Obviously, television officials were
willing to try ANYTHING to fill the void
left by the cancellation of 12 weekend
games.
I, myself, relied on the Braves to pull
me through the afternoon deadness.
You remember the Braves, don’t you?
They ARE still in a fight for the pen
nant, tied with San Francisco one game
behind the Dodgers at the time of this
writing.
But even without the Braves’ pennant
chase, I don’t think I would have missed
the pigskin action too awful much. As a
matter of fact, I rather enjoyed the day
long respite from the sport.
After attending junior high and high
school games on Thursday and Friday,
and watching the innumerable college
games on the tube on Saturday (not to
mention the North Georgia Cougars’
semipro game Saturday night) I was
ready for a break from the gridiron.
Before long, however, I may come to
miss the Sunday afternoons I’ve grown
use to over the years, cussing and
discussing the Falcons as they race for
the Super Bowl or the division cellar,
depending on whether it’s an odd or
even-numbered year. This was sup
posed to be a good year, but...
My feelings on the strike are mixed.
Certainly there is a bit of resentment of
the players who are striking because
they earn a paltry SBO,OOO a year (on the
average) for playing four preseason
and 16 regular season games.
But SBO,OOO compared to the average
salaries of pro basketball and pro base
ball players IS a paltry sum, especially
when you consider that the average
length of a career in the NFL is less
than five years. Checking the high-level
of injuries suffered on the playing field
will indicate the risk involved on the
part of the player.
On the other hand, a football team is a
low-risk investment for some disgus
tingly rich owner, moreso than any of
the other professional sports. When was
the last time you can remember an
NFL franchise folding?
For that matter, how often do you
hear of an NFL franchise being sold?
The reason is that the owners recognize
a good tax shelter, oops, I mean busi
ness investment, when they see one.
Over 90 percent of all NFL games are
sellouts. Granted, a game may have
40,000 no-shows, but the owners don’t
reidly care if the fans show up or not
after they already have their money in
their pockets. But even before the first
game of the season is played, each and
every owner is guaranteed a profit
from the millions of television dollars
poured into the sport for the rights to
broadcast the games.
So the players are striking for a
bigger share of the football money.
Basically, anyway. And specifically,
they want a share of the TV mega
bucks. Naturally, the owners don’t
want to part with any of their precious
profits.
So comes the standoff. Whether the
players or the owners are the first ones
to feel the effects of the waiting game
will go a long way in determining the
outcome of the dispute. One major
difference between this strike and the
1981 strike of the professional baseball
players is that the owners do NOT have
strike insurance. Each game is a finan
cial loss for both the players and the
owners.
Bulldogs Are Outmanned By
Cedar Shoals In 48-12 Loss
By GREG LITTLE
Sports Writer
The powerful Cedar Shoals Jaguars
outmanned, outpowered and outran the
Forsyth County Bulldogs in Athens last
Friday night, exploding for three first
quarter touchdowns in rolling to a 48-12
victory, the first loss for the Bulldogs
this season.
Behind an offensive line that out
weighed the Bulldogs’ defensive front
by an average of more than twenty
pounds a man, Jaguar quarterback
Mike Brown and a corps of fleet-footed
backs kept a harried Bulldog defense
busy with a series of big yardage plays.
For the game, Cedar Shoals broke six
plays for gains of 20 yards or more.
Cedar Shoals wasted little time in
lighting up the scoreboard. The Jag
uars took the opening kickoff and
mounted a 10-play, 70-yard drive, high
lighted by the running of Brown who
scored the first of his three touchdowns
for the night on a 20-yard run at the 6:32
mark. Steve Crumley’s conversion kick
was true to give the Jaguars an early 7-
0 lead.
The Jaguars’second score of the first
quarter was set up by a 37-yard return
of a Kevin Fowler punt by Bernard
Roberts, giving Cedar Shoals first-and
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CORNERBACK LEE WILLIAMS RETURNS INTERCEPTION
...senior picked off two Cedar Shoals passes Friday night
Hunters Eye Opening Of Duck
By GENE LOVE
Senior Wildlife Biologist
Duck hunting is a favorite with
sportsmen for many reasons. Probably
foremost is the satisfaction of meeting
the challenge to the skills of the finest
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SHORTSTOP STACY BENNETT THROWS TO FIRST
...Lady Bulldogs swept into first place with two wins last week
goal at the Bulldogs’ eight-yard line.
One play later, Brown sneaked over for
the touchdown from three yards out.
Crumley, one of the state’s top kick
ers, drilled the conversion kick to push
the Jaguar lead to 14-0 with 3:56 left in
the quarter.
Cedar Shoals ended its first quarter
barrage some two minutes later when
running back Willie Haynes swept
around end and outraced Forsyth de
fenders to the endzone, speeding 75
yards for the score. Crumley’s kick
split the uprights to increase the Bull
dog deficit to 21-0.
But Cedar Shoals did not stop there.
Obviously seeking to improve their
current ranking of sixth in the state by
running up an impressive score for
pollsters, the Jaguars played their first
string players for all but the last offen
sive series of downs in the game.
In the second quarter, following a 57-
yard pass play to 6’4”, 210-lb. tight end
Demetrius Roach, Brown scored on a
14-yard sweep with 9:59 remaining in
the half. Again, Crumley’s kick was
good and gave Cedar Shoals a 28-0 lead.
Trailing by 28 points, the Bulldogs
went into their Run and Shoot offense
on their next possession and moved the
ball 80 yards for a touchdown. Mixing
wingshots and the pleasure of dining on
roast, wild duck.
Another is just being in the swamp
when the black of pre-dawn silently
shifts to the browns and silvers and
yields to the first light. The hunter
the run with the pass, the Bulldogs
moved down the field to the 16-yard
line, where quarterback Gary Cox fired
a touchdown pass to senior receiver
Clay Chalfant. Lee Williams’ point af
ter attempt was wide and the score
stood at 28-6 with 3:29 left before half
time.
The Jaguars retaliated with another
score of their own right before the half
ended. Again, Brown was the key
player in the drive, rushing three times
for 22 yards and completing a 32-yard
pass to Vincent Nowell. Haynes capped
the 61-yard drive with a one-yard touch
down dive with only 49 seconds on the
clock. Crumley’s kick made it 35-6 as
the half ended.
The Bulldogs took the second-half
kickoff and began another assault upon
the Cedar Shoals endzone. But an out
standing diving interception «f a Cox
pass by Brandon Parrott halted the
drive.
The Jaguars took advantage of the
break, moving the ball down to the
Bulldog eight. From there, Brown con
nected with Roach for a touchdown. But
the Bulldogs got a break of their own as
officials found the Jaguars guilty of
illegal motion and called the score
back.
On the next play, comerback Wil
liams intercepted Brown’s pass in the
endzone and returned the ball out to the
20-yard line.
The Bulldog offense again took over
the ball and began another 80-yard
drive toward paydirt.
Forsyth moved the ball down the field
to the Jaguar 30 before a sack of Cox
and a penalty put the Bullogs in the
unenviable position of needing 30 yards
for a first down. But on third down,
running back Chuck Tate made one of
the outstanding catches of the year,
outbattling two Jaguar defenders for a
Cox pass on the 20 to give the Bulldogs
the needed first down.
The Bulldogs moved the ball to the
two-yard line, where they faced a sec
ond-and-goal situtation. On the next
play, however, Cox was sacked for a 12-
yard loss.
But Chalfant pulled in his second
scoring pass of the night on the ensuing
play to close the score to 35-12. A two
point conversion attempt failed as a
heavy Jaguar rush forced an incom
plete pass.
Again, Cedar Shoals responded with
another score of its own. This time,
running back Danny Wise burst
through the line and outraced weary
Bulldog defenders 55 yards for the
touchdown.
A bad snap from center led to an
incomplete pass on the point after con
hears the first whistle of the wood duck
from somewhere in the faint light. The
whistle is answered by another and
another until the morning flight begins.
He knows that the larger ducks will
soon begin their flight but now, he
watches the unfolding of a new dawn,
different from the last one and none
that are soon forgot.
Georgia is one of the Atlantic Flyway
states where there is ample habitat and
food for wintering waterfowl. Food is
abundant, but food alone is not enough
to attract and hold ducks in Georgia.
Good duck hunting depends on the
abundance of high quality water hab
itat and one of the most valuable pro
viders of this habitat is the beaver.
Beavers have made a tremendous
comeback in our state in the past 25
years and hunting in areas other than
the coastal marshes depends heavily on
the beaver ponds where there are good
quantities of high quality food. The
major duck species on beaver ponds is
the wood duck and he is often joined by
mallards, teal, pintail, blacks and often
some of the diving ducks.
The man-made lakes, from large
Forsyth Girls Win
Way Into First Place
By GREG LITTLE
Sports Writer
Brenda Nix and Nancy Beaver led a
powerful offensive attack last Thurs
day as the Forsyth County Lady Bull
dogs swept a doubleheader from
Berkmar to increase their regular sea
son record to 9-1. The two wins gave the
Lady Bulldogs sole possession of first
place in Region 8-AAAA, as Parkview
fell into second place with a loss to
South Gwinnett, the team’s second loss
of the season.
Nix paced the Lady Bulldogs to a 12-0
triumph over Berkmar in the first
game, ripping three singles in four
plate appearances, driving in two runs
and scoring another.
THE FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS—WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 1982-
version attempt and, with 9:52 remain
ing, the score stood at 41-12.
Cedar Shoals took over the ball again
on the Bulldog 22 after Cox was called
for intentional grounding on a fourth
down passing attempt. Greg Huggs
scored the final Jaguar touchdown
from five yards out at the 4:42 mark.
Crumley’s point-after kick was good,
giving the Jaguars a 48-12 lead.
The Bulldogs mounted one last offen
sive attack, moving within striking
distance of the endzone on the running
of fullback Andy Fowler and a pass
interference call on the Jaguars. But a
halfback pass by Tate intended for
Chalfant was intercepted in the end
zone, ending the drive.
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HEAD COACH JIM COOPER WATCHES HIS TEAM IN ACTION
...Forsyth coach saw Bulldogs lose first game of the season
reservoirs to farm ponds, are havens
for ducks, especially the divers such as
scaup and ringneck. Scouting of these
lakes is necessary to locate the most
productive areas to hunt. In selecting
an area, it is always wise to hunt with a
native of the immediate area or with
someone who is very knowledgeable
about the pond or reservoir.
Georgia’s coastal marshes abound
with ducks, especially in the old rice
fields of the fresh and brackish straits
of the marshes. Most of these are about
eight miles from the sea and provide
the habitat for a wide variety of ducks
including the dabblers such as mal
lards, teal and pintail and often the
divers such as scaup, red-heads, can
vasbacks and ringnecks.
An example of this type of marsh, and
probably the the best duck hunting area
for the past 20 years, is the Altamaha
State Waterfowl Area near Darien on
the Altamaha delta.
Back in the late 18th century, this
area was converted from a river
swamp into a rich rice plantation. The
dikes are still there and water control
structures allow the old rice fields to be
Forsyth jumped out to a 1-0 lead in
the bottom of the first, then scored four
runs in the third and seven in the fifth
while Fonda Gravitt, backed by a solid
defense, shut out Berkmar.
Dawn Smallwood also had three sin
gles in the Lady Bulldogs’ 18-hit attack,
scoring twice and driving in one. Stacy
Bennett, Missy Freeman and Teresa
Keys each had two RBl’s in the game.
In the second game, Beaver led a 17-
hit effort by the Lady Bulldogs, singling
three times in four at-bats and scoring
after each of her hits, as Berkmar was
routed again, 11-2.
Forsyth scored once in the second
inning to take a 1-0 lead early. Then the
On the last play of the game, Wil
liams intercepted his second pass of the
night.
Forsyth County head coach Jim Coo
per said, “We played a superior ball
team. That’s all there is to it. They have
what it takes to be a state championship
team.
“I saw Cedar Shoals back several
years ago when (Jeff) Pybum was
quarterback. That’s supposed to have
been the best team they’ve ever had
they had seven athletes on that team
that received scholarships. But as far
as I’m concerned, the team they have
this year is superior to that team.
Continued on Page 2B
Season
flooded by high tides from the Alta
maha River. The fields are flooded with
about one foot of water and are ideal for
the puddle ducks who feed by floating
on the surface and bobbing for food.
The area contains 4,500 acres of flooded
fields and the entire waterfowl area
contains 20,000 acres including marsh
and river swamp that is open to duck
hunting.
Scattered throughout the area are 30
two-man duck blinds, each at least 300
yards from the next. Small boats are
provided to cross the 15-foot canals on
the inside of each dike.
In the pre-dawn, the hunter finds his
boat moored in the canal. It is equipped
with paddles, seat cushions and life
preservers so all the hunter needs to do
is to paddle across the canal and wade
out into the flooded field to await the
dawn. All the while he watches for the
signs of those things that make him an
avid duck hunter in the first place the
beauty of the first light of day and the
coming alive of the swamp creatures,
and the anticipation of getting his bag
limit.
Continued on Page 2B
Lady Bulldogs hit Berkmar with a
seven spot in the fourth to up the lead to
8-0. Berkmar broke a 12-inning
scoreless streak in the sixth, closing the
margin to 8-2. But the Lady Bulldogs
responded by scoring three in the top of
the seventh to make the final 11-2.
Rene Major singled twice in three at
bats to drive in two runs while Nix also
drove in two runs with a double. Karen
Waldroop went two-for-two with one
double, scoring two of the eleven runs.
The Lady Bulldogs will wind up their
region schedule this week with a dou
bleheader at South Gwinnett on Tues
day and a doubleheader against Cedar
Shoals at home on Thursday.
PAGE 1B