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RONNIE JACKSON WILL BE THE BULLDOGS’ NEW HEAD COACH
...after six years working with secondary as assistant
Wins In Final Games Boost
Confidence of Lady Bulldogs
By GREG LITTLE
Sport Writer
The Forsyth County Lady Bulldogs
opened play last week by losing on the
road to the South Gwinnett Lady
Comets on Tuesday, but then picked up
momentum for the upcoming 8-AAAA
Region Basketball Tournament by de
feating Clarke Central and Johnson in
their final home games of the regular
season.
On Tuesday, the Lady Bulldogs trav
eled to Snellville to play South Gwin
nett, hoping to avenge an earlier defeat
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JENNIFER TALLANT OUT JUMPS TEAMMATE FOR REBOUND
...Lady Bulldogs picked up momentum with wins in last two games
Dogs’ Swanger Claims
Region Wrestling Title
By GREG LITTLE
Sports Writer
Senior Jeff Swanger captured the
first-ever region title for a Forsyth
County wrestler on Saturday at the 8-
AAAA Region Wrestling Tournament,
as he led a Bulldog effort that saw
seven local wrestlers qualify for the
AAAA state meet in Marietta this week
end.
Joining Swanger at the state competi
tion will be senior Kerry Ward (138-lb.
runner-up), sophomore Mike Slaton
(167-lb. runner-up), sophomore Jeff
Lord (115-lb., fourth place), senior
Chris Clanton (132-lb., fourth place),
senior Ben Wofford (145-lb., fourth
place) and junior Scott Blackstone (175-
lb., fourth place).
Swanger’s road to his wrestling title
at the hands of the Lady Comets.
The first quarter of the contest ended
with Stacy Bennett dishing out assists
first to Jennifer Tallant and then to
Page Cash to give the Lady Bulldogs an
8-7 lead.
But South Gwinnett’s Denise Hindle
scored six of her game-high 17 points in
the second period to pace the Lady
Comets to a 17-12 halftime advantage.
The Lady Comets ran off a 12-1 scor
ing streak at the outset of the third
quarter and, with three minutes gone in
the period, the Lady Bulldogs found
was not an easy one, as he entered as
the third seed in his weight class. But in
his first match, he “upset” Johnson’s
Jimmy Jackson, the number two seed.
The week before, Swanger had wrestled
Jackson to an 18-18 standoff as Forsyth
faced Johnson in a dual meet.
But Swanger did not allow Jackson a
chance to go the distance this time,
pinning him in the first round. That
victory sent Swanger into the finals
against Parkview’s Stacy Chadwick, an
upset winner over top-seeded Mark
Little of Berkmar.
The championship match was a dra
matic one, and one in which both wres
tlers went down with injuries at the end
of the second period after having butted
heads in a ferocious collision. But
Swanger fought off the pain and light
Former Bulldog Assistant
Jackson Named Head Coach
By GREG LITTLE
Sports Writer
Ronnie Jackson, an assistant football
coach for the Forsyth County Bulldogs
the past six years, received unanimous
approval from the Forsyth County
Board of Education on Feb. 8, to be
come the Bulldogs’ new head football
coach, replacing Jim Cooper.
The head coach position had been
vacant since Cooper’s resignation on
Jan. 26.
Jackson was recommended to the
board by Superintendent B.M. “Bud”
Amsler, who approved the choice of
high choice of high school principal
Harold Hammontree and assistant
principals Rick Case and Dennis
Moore.
“We felt that Ronnie was the best
man for the job not just the best man
in the county, but the best man
period,” said Case, who is also the high
school’s athletic director.
“Ronnie has been in the program for
six years and he knows the situation
here as well as anyone. So there will be
no period of adjustment that you would
have if an outsider was brought in.
“He knows the strengths and weak
nesses of the program and we believe
he will be able to step in immediately
and continue the progress the program
has experience the past few years.
“He has always been a winner and we
feel he will continue to be a winner as
themselves looking up at a 29-13 deficit.
Forsyth never recovered from the
South Gwinnett run, never moving any
closer than 12 points the rest of the way,
and fell to the Lady Comets by a final of
53-37.
Forsyth’s Cash tied Hindle for the
game’s scoring honors, and Gay Abood,
South Gwinnett’s All-State foward, was
the only other player in double figures,
hitting for 16 points.
On Friday, the Lady Bulldogs got
back in the win column, despite the fact
they played without the services of
starter Karen Holbrook, who was out
with the flu.
Clarke Central’s Lady Gladiators
scored the game’s first three points,
and maintained that advantage by a 9-6
score at the end of the opening quarter.
Clarke Central’s lead reached 22-15
with 1:20 remaining in the first half, but
the Lady Bulldogs rallied to close their
deficit to a single basket before half
time as Fonda Gravitt scored on a
beautiful assist from Bennett and Cash
canned a 15-foot set shot with two
seconds left on the clock.
Forsyth outscored the Lady Gladia
tors 21-7 in the decisive third quarter,
turning their halftime deficit into a 41-
29 lead as substitute Chris Wood led the
way with six points in the period.
A Clarke Central rally in the final
stanza move the Lady Gladiators to
within five points with one minute left
to play, but Forsyth held off the charge
as Tallant hit three foul shots and Cash
hit two more to clinch the 52-42 victory.
Gravitt led all scorers with 14 points,
and Cash added 13 points, plus five
assists for the Lady Bulldogs. Tallant
finished with nine points and nine re
bounds. Cheryl Dunn paced Clarke Cen
tral with 13 points.
On Saturday, the Lady Bulldogs
faced the Johnson Lady Knights in a
game postponed from Jan. 21 because
of snow and ice.
After Johnson scored the game’s first
two points, the Lady Knights were held
scoreless for the next seven minutes,
and the Lady Bulldogs, who hit seven of
their first 10 shots from the field,
jumped to a 14-2 lead with less than a
minute remaining in the quarter. The
quarter ended with Forsyth holding a
16-4 advantage.
The Lady Knights held Forsyth to
five second-quarter points and cut the
headedness in the third period to record
an 11-8 decision and claim the region
title.
Before Saturday, the highest finish
for a Bulldog wrestler in the region
tournament was fourth place.
Both Ward and Slaton also bettered
that mark, advancing to the
championship round before being de
feated by the top seeds in their respec
tive weight classes.
Seeded second, Ward recorded a 15-2
superior decision over Berkmar oppo
nent Bart Biddy in the opening round, a
win that sent the Bulldog against top
seeded Jerry Hennebaul of Parkview in
the finals.
Hennebaul, the defending state
champion in the 138-lb. class, had faced
Continued on Page 2B
Forsyth’s head coach. He is popular
with the players and the students, and
that will make him a tremendous re
cruiter and motivator,” Case stated.
“I’m excited about it,” said Jackson
in an interview Friday. “This is really
what I want. I feel I am mentally
prepared to accept the responsibilities
and the challenge of the head coach’s
job.
“I’ve had the opportunity to take
head coaching jobs the past couple of
years,” Jackson said, noting an offer
from South Forsyth Junior High School
two years ago and Redbud High School
last year. “But the circumstances
weren’t what I was looking for.
“Now, I’m sorry to see Jim leaving
he’s responsible for my being here in
the first place. But I know he’s doing
what he feels is best.
“Now that I have this opportunity, I
want to make the best of it. I want to
give it my best shot and continue the
improvement the program has shown
in the past six years,” Jackson said.
Jackson comes from a football fam
ily, with several brothers and other
relatives who have played and coached
football.
After graduating from Alpharetta’s
Milton High School, Jackson attended
and played football for Gardner-Webb
College for one year. He then trans
fered to Jacksonville State University
in Alabama, where he played football
Lady Bulldogs lead to 21-15 by halftime.
Both teams went cold in the third quar
ter, however, scoring only four points
each to head into the final period with
Forsyth holding onto a 25-19 lead.
Johnson scored the first three points
of the fourth quarter to close to within
25-22. But Cash and Holbrook combined
to score the game’s next seven points
and pushed the Lady Bulldogs’ lead
back up to 10 points at 32-22. Forsyth
held on for a 39-27 victory, a win that
evened the Lady Bulldogs’ region re
cord at 7-7 (10-12 overall).
Gravitt again was the game’s leading
scorer with 12 points and also led the
Lady Bulldogs in rebounding with
eight. Annett Rogers scored 10 points to
lead the Lady Knights.
The two wins over the weekend gave
the Lady Bulldogs momentum as they
headed into Tuesday’s first-round re
gion tournament game with Newton
County, a team that defeated Forsyth
by 10-point margins in both meetings
during the regular season.
“We’re excited about the tourna
ment,” coach Doug Fields said on Mon
day. “The two wins this weekend
helped us mentally and emotionally.
“The girls are excited. They really
believe in themselves and think they
can beat Newton. They think they can
do it, and that means a lot.”
If Forsyth defeats Newton on Tues
day, the Lady Bulldogs would face the
winner of the Cedar Shoals-Johnson
game at 7 p.m. on Friday at Parkview.
Bulldogs Close Season
With Trio Of Losses
By GREG LITTLE
Sports Writer
The Forsyth County Bulldogs ended
their regular season play last week in
the throes of a frustrating 13-game
losing streak, a streak that pushed the
Bulldogs’ final region mark to 0-14 (3-19
overall).
That record sends the local team into
this week’s ft-AAAA Region Basketball
Tournament at Parkview as the num
ber eight seed, paired against top
seeded Newton County in their opening
round game Wednesday at 7 p.m.
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JEFF SWANGER (TOP) BATTLES OPPONENT STACY CHADWICK IN'REGION FINALS
...Swanger won the match, becoming Forsyth’s first region wrestling champion
THE FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS —WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 1983-
for three years while earning his under
graduate degree in Education (Health
and Physical Education).
From Jacksonville State, Jackson
attended Georgia State University,
where he obtained his master’s degree
in Education.
In 1971, Jackson accepted his first
teaching and coaching job, working as
an elementary school P.E. coordinator
in DeKalb County while also coaching
the eighth grade and junior varsity
football teams at Chamblee High
School.
Jackson began a career with the
semi-pro North Georgia Cougars in 1974
and as the team’s quarterback, guided
the team to the Georgia Football
League championship in 1980-81, being
named the league’s most valuable
player. Jackson played what he called
“his last game” for the Cougars in 1982.
Jackson came to Forsyth in 1977 as a
part of then new head coach Cooper’s
staff. In the past six years, Jackson has
worked with the Bulldogs’ defensive
backs and specialty teams.
“My most immediate goal as a head
coach will be to improve the commu
nications with the feeder programs at
the junior high schools. I’ve talked with
the junior high coaches about being
more a part of the high school program
and trying to have everything coordi
nated as much as possible. They have
all shown a willingness to help and
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RICH ANDERSON APPLIES DEFENSIVE PRESSURE
...Bulldogs closed regular season with three losses
On Tuesday, Feb. 8, the South Gwin
nett Comets hosted the Bulldogs and
dealt Forsyth a 73-54 setback. Greg
Boyd and Chris Blalock led the Comets
to an early 11-4 advantage over the
Bulldogs, a margin which they widened
to 20-9 by the end of the first quarter.
The South Gwinnett lead reached 24-
11 before the Bulldogs rallied to trim
their deficit to seven on Gary Cox’s
rebound and layup with 1:44 remaining
in the half. After the Comets scored the
next six points to reestablish their 13-
point lead, Keith Gravitt converted a
seem to be very enthusiastic,” Jackson
said.
“I think it’s vital for our program to
have a B-team squad year in and year
out, to keep that flow of talent and
experience constant.”
Since becoming head coach, Jackson
has been on a recruiting campaign,
hoping to attract this year’s junior high
players to the high school program and
hoping to get high school players who,
for one reason or another have quit
football, back out for the team.
When asked about spring football
practice, which begins Monday, Jack
son replied, “We’re going to spend the
spring learning personnel and going
through some basic drills and exer
cises. We’ll spend a lot of time on
fundamentals.”
Looking farther down the road, Jack
son said, “Long-range, I think what we
have to do here is to create a new
attitude about Forsyth football. We
need a positive attitude, not only on the
team and in the school, but in the
community. We have to have that in
order to build a winning tradition,”
Jackson said.
“I’ve already got some ideas, and so
do the other coaches, to implement to
try to create the positive thinking we
need.
“I’m going to do everything I can to
do to make this happen.”
three-point play and Larry Oldham
canned a 20-foot jump shot at the buzzer
to send Forsyth to the the locker rooms
trailing 34-26.
But South Gwinnett gradually wore
down the Forsyth team in the second
half, and opened up another 13-point
advantage in the third period as Ricky
Williams and Blalock each scored five
points.
The Bulldogs were unable to stage a
comeback in the final quarter and the
Comets recorded a 73-54 victory for the
Continued on Page 2B
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