Newspaper Page Text
Sports
Sunday, September 30, 1984
Lady Bulldogs clinch region playoff berth
By Greg Little
Th« Sunday Nawt
Senior outfielder Lisa Bennett’s
torrid bat paced Forsyth County to a
pair of doubleheader sweeps over
Berkmar and Johnson last week as
the Lady Bulldogs clinched a berth in
the 1964 Region 8-AAAA playoffs.
Bennett rapped 10 hits (three of
them homers ) in 14 at-bats during the
week’s play, and scored eight runs
while driving in six more as the Lady
Bulldogs upped their overall season
record to 11-3.
More importantly, Forsyth
stretched its region record to a per
fect 6-0 with two games remaining
against defending region champion
Parkview, and can finish no worse
than second in the 8-AAAA West Sub
region, thus having earned one of the
region's four playoff berths. A split
with Parkview in next Tuesday’s
doubleheader at Cumming City Park
would gamer a sub-region title for the
Lady Bulldogs.
Berkmar, who still had an outside
chance of making the playoffs head
ing into last Tuesday’s contests with
Forsyth, played well and made the
Lady Bulldogs work hard to earn a
pair of wins in Lilbum.
The opening game quickly devel
oped into a defensive struggle, re
maining scoreless through three
innings as both teams squandered
early scoring opportunities.
But in the fourth, the Lady Bulldogs
tallied an unearned run as sophomore
Gina Sutko led off with a walk and
raced to third (Hi a screaming line
drive by Christi Woodham that
scooted off the outfield grass and
pounded off the leftfielder’s chest,
literally knocking her to the ground.
Dana I>edbetter followed with a
grounder to third that rolled through
the wicket of the fielder’s legs, allow
ing Sutko to cross the plate with the
game's first run.
An inning later, Bennett smacked a
line drive over first base that rolled
all the way to the rightfield comer for
a two-out, two-run homer, and Sut
ko’s solo homer to lead off the sixth
powered the Lady Bulldogs to a 4-0
advantage which, with another un
earned run in the final inning, be
came a 5-0 victory.
College
Scoreboard
Georgia Tech 28
Clemson 21
Vanderbilt 30
Alabama 21
Auburn 29
Tennessee 10
LSU 23
USC 3
Florida 27
Mississippi St 12
Mississippi 19
Tulane 14
Maryland 38
Wake Forest 17
North Carolina 23
Kansas 17
Virginia 26
Virginia Tech 23
West Virginia 28
Pittsburgh 10
Syracuse 17
Nebraska 9
Oklahoma 24
Kansas St. 6
Arizona St. 28
Stanford 10
-BH ’vpt'
mPI W jHHPw
[Mlv v Jr JB.'.v.; . . |||i'
\Na\ * Mg r J
fj : ; J- kWL M'WzmmL. • ifnHr ■ijk • * H IS
■
Forsyth County Coach Johnny Tallant talks over strategy with Lady Bulldogs before game against Berkmar
The second game provided a stark
contrast to the opener, as a slugfest
developed with the lead changing six
times in an eventual 10-7 Lady Bull
dog win.
Four first-inning Berkmar hits re
sulted in a 2-0 Lady Patriot lead, but
in the bottom of the frame, an RBI
single by pitcher Dana Waters and a
two-run double off the bat of Deanna
Wood, both coming with two outs,
propelled Forsyth to a 3-2 advantage.
The Lady Patriots’ Mann boomed a
bases-loaded triple into the right cen
terfield gap to regain a 5-3 lead for
her team in the second, but was cut
Bulldogs rested during open week
By Greg Little
Th* Sunday Nawa
After breaking even with a 2-2 record in its
first four games, the Forsyth County Bulldogs
took advantage of their only open week of the
1964 season to rest its players and spend time
reviewing fundamentals.
“We wanted to give the players some time off
this week, so we only practiced three days.
“We had some people that had nagging injuries
that we wanted to get healed up before we play
our next game,” said Forsyth Head Coach
Ronnie Jackson, referring to the Bulldogs’
game next Friday against Lumpkin County in
Dahlonega.
“But the time we spent out on the practice
field was good time. We sprat the week work
ing on fundamentals and basics, something we
don’t normally have a lot of time to spend on
because we’re preparing for an opponent. We
don’t want the players to lose their edge and
sharpness during the off week,” Jackson said,
adding that the Bulldogs will return to their
normal routine of preparation for Lumpkin on
Monday.
Forsyth’s wins have come via a 3-0 defeat of
JV Bulldogs fall
to Berkmar rally
By Greg Little
Th* Sunday N*ws
Forsyth County’s junior varsity
Bulldogs used three Berkmar turn
overs and a big-play offense to jump
to a 20-7 halftime lead last Thursday,
but running back Shane Rinehart
spearheaded a second-half rally that
catapulted the Patriots to a 27-20
victory.
Rinehart gave a preview of what
was to come on the Patriots’first play
from scrimmage, taking a dive hand
off, breaking away from a couple of
would-be tacklers and racing 72 yards
for a touchdown that gave Berkmar
an early 7-0 advantage.
But the Bulldogs retaliated with a
score of their own just three plays
later as Robby Payne, a reserve
varsity quarterback moved down to
the junior varsity during Forsyth’s
open week, dumped a pass over the
middle to tight aid Eli Belich, who
rambled 71 yards for the touchdown.
Greg Hunter’s conversion kick,
however, missed wide to the left, and
the Patriots maintained a 7-6 advan
tage.
The lag play waked for the Bull
dogs again on their next possession,
as the local team again needed but
three plays to score the go-ahead
Forsyth County News
down trying to score on the next play,
an infield grounder which Sutko
fielded and fired to catcher Kim
Dixon for the tag.
A bases -loaded sacrifice fly by
Sutko and a Berkmar throwing error
allowed the Lady Bulldogs to tie the
score again in the bottom of the
frame, but once again the Lady Patri
ots responded by taking yet another
lead in the third, using a pair of hits
and a couple of unusual Forsyth er
rors to move ahead 8-5.
But Berkmar returned the favor in
the fourth as a pair of miscues devel
oped into a Forsyth run when Dixon’s
Loganville in the opener and a 13-7 overtime
victory over Etowah in their fourth game.
Sandwiched in between those wins were a
heartbreaking 23-22 defeat at the hands of
North Gwinnett and a 27-0 loss to Crestwood.
“It would have been nice to have won the
game with North Gwinnett and be 3-1 right
now, but we feel we have a record we can live
with. We knew heading into the season that
three of our toughest opponents were going to
come in our first three games, and Etowah is
not as bad as their record (0-3) indicates.
“We came back in that last game (against
Etowah) from the loss (to Crestwood) and
grabbed a hardfought victory that I think
shows a lot about the character of this team.
“It was a big win for us, and we’re excited
about the prospects of our next six games. I
think the players have realized that if they play
every game like they’re capable of playing
mentally and physically ready with the team
concept in mind we can win,” Jackson said,
noting that while his team cannot afford to look
past any opponent, Murray County (4-0) and
Dacula (3-1) appear to be the strongest tests for
the Bulldogs down the stretch.
Through their first four games, the Bulldogs
touchdown, in spite of a clipping
penalty that negated a 59-yard run by
halfback Todd Ballard to the Berk
mar 3.
On the play following the penalty,
Payne fooled the Patriot defenders
with an option keeper around the
right side and found clear sailing all
the way to the end zone for a 55-yard
touchdown run that gave the Bulldogs
a 12-7 lead with 2:42 still remaining in
the opening quarter.
Defensive back Scotty Wilson’s in
terception and return to the Berkmar
38 had the offense bade in business
just one play later, and this time the
Bulldogs ground out a nine-play scor
ing drive.
Halfback Richard Ingram picked
up 21 yards in the drive, which was
capped by Ballard's three-yard
touchdown run. Randy Nichelson
passed to Joe Young on die conver
sion to lengthen the Bulldogs’ lead to
20-7 midway through the second quar
ter.
Despite a pair of sacks of Berkmar
quarterback Jamie Caldwell (me by
Forsyth end Robbie Aickelin and
tackle Shannon Pruitt, and another
solo takedown by Aickelin), the Patri
ots punched their next possession into
See JAYVEE BULLDOGS, Page 3B
fielder’s choice groundout to short
stop scored Lisa Waldroop with the
tying run.
With two outs in the sixth, Bennett
laced her second home run of the
afternoon with a shot into the left
centerfield gap that gave the Lady
Bulldogs an 8-6 lead, a margin which
reached 10-6 as Linda Diggle, who
singled, and Sutko, who doubled, both
scored on a Berkmar throwing error.
Forsyth simply overwhelmed John
son on Thursday with a pair of easy
victories over the outmanned Lady
Knights.
Waters and Dixon teammed up on
are averaging 9.5 points and 184 yards of total
offense, while allowing their opposition an
average of 14.25 points and 208 yards. The
discrepancy in those totals, however, is due to
the lopsided loss to Crestwood instead of a
consistent edge by the Bulldogs’ opponents.
The Bulldogs’ rushing attack has accounted
for 574 of the 733-yard total, with senior half
back Alex Holbrooks leading the way with 282
yards and a 5.64-yard average per carry.
Running mate Paul Marks has totaled 129
yards, while quarterback Randy Chambers
and Larry Jenkins have added 69 and 63 yards,
respectively.
Jackson, however, noted that Forsyth’s pass
ing attack has not achieved the efficiency or
production hoped for before the season. Qua
rterback Randy Chambers has completed 29.1
percent of his passes for 146 yards and one
touchdown.
“We’ve been working on our passing game
this week in practice, and hope to be more
successful with it over our next six games.
We’ve not been hitting the receivers like we
should if we start doing that, our offense
should open up some.
\\\ s/w
\V I [ft 1
m .. ||k I
vv
talk,. it m 1
lrt ■■■— - mm
Bulldogs congratulate quarterback Robby Payne (14) after touchdown run
the mound to pitch Forsyth County’s
first-ever no-hitter in the opening
contest, limiting the Lady Knights to
but two base runners on a walk and
infield error.
Meanwhile, the Lady Bulldogs
were assaulting Johnson’s pitching
for 14 hits (by 12 different batters) in
a 12-0 five-inning victory.
Johnson snapped the Lady Bull
dogs’ 11-inning shutout streak with a
single run in seventh inning of the
second game, an 11-1 Forsyth victory
that saw the Lady Bulldogs pound out
18 hits (three each by Bennett and
Waters).
Defense keys
Forsyth team
onto success
By Greg Little
The Sunday News
Defense may not fill the stands with
an overflow crowd, but it sure does
win ball games, and while Forsyth
County’s offense has emerged as a
potent threat in recent games, the
Lady Bulldogs’ 11-3 overall record (8-
0 in Sub-region 8-AAAA West) has
been forged on a healthy supply of
solid defensive ability.
And with its blend of outstanding
team speed (especially in the out
field), sure gloves, strong arms and
game savvy, Forsyth has certainly
turned in more than its share of
spectacular plays.
A few immediately come to mind.
There was rightfielder Dana Led
better’s throw to the plate to nip a
North Gwinnett runner trying to
score on a sacrifice fly in the Lady
Bulldogs’ narrow 3-2 triumph on
opening day.
There was shortfielder Lisa Ben
nett’s diving catch of a sinking line
drive to rob Norcross of a run in a key
early-season matchup with the Lady
Devils.
There was second baseman Lisa
Waldroop ranging far to her right to
stab a line drive and take away a
Berkmar hit in last week’s 18-7 win.
And there was the fourth inning of
Forsyth’s win over perennial state
power Butler when, with the bases
loaded and the Lady Bulldogs’ 3-0
lead in jeopardy, Bennent fielded an
apparent single to center, threw onto
second for a force out on a play that
turned into a twin killing as Lisa
Waldroop alertly fired a throw home
to catch Butler trying to swipe an
extra run.
Later in the frame, shortstop Gina
Sutko flagged down a hard-hit
grounder up the middle and rifled
another shot to the plate in time to
catch another Butler runner aggres
sively (foolishly?) trying to score
from second.
See LADY BULLDOGS, Page 3B
“But in fairness to Randy, he’s not our
throwing quarterback. He’s back there be
cause he does a good job of handling the Veer.
You need a good mechanical quarterback with
the Veer.
“With four games (and three starts), Ran
dy’s now beginning to get the feel for the
position. He’s understanding the total concept
of the Veer more and more everyday and
should become even more effective,” Jackson
said.
After starting the season as a backup quar
terback/running back, Chambers took over the
starting signal-calling duties in the second
game, and Shawn Jackson, who started the
opener, moved into the defensive noseguard
position.
That was just one of the personnel changes
that have taken place in the Bulldogs’ first four
games. Against Etowah, senior Jack Search
was moved from center to right guard and
sophomore Ron Freeman took over snapping
chores. The move was made to free up juniors
Duane Shook and Glenn Sutko (starters on
defense who had also been splitting time at
right guard) to concentrate on defense.
m
B SECTION