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Randy Chambers veers to success as Forsyth’s QB
By Greg Little
Htmt Sport* EdHof
Some people call him “Crazy
Legs.” ids teammates usually call
him “Boo.” Most people stick to his
given name of Randy Chambers. His
coaches have tagged him “Winner.”
As Forsyth County’s quarterback,
Chambers is now settling into his
starting role after serving as a
backup the past two years, and the
relaxed confidence he now exudes
could mean trouble for the five re
maining opponents on the 1984 sched
ule.
Chambers was at his best last Fri
day against Lumpkin County, picking
up 60 yards and one touchdown on
only four rushes while completing 3-
of-6 passes for 54 yards and two
scores. And his feats came in just
slightly more than two quarters of
play, as the Bulldogs’ runaway 484)
victory relegated Chambers to the
sidelines during all but one play
that a 60-yard touchdown scamper
of the second half.
His performance was good enough
to warrant the Bulldogs’ Offensive
Player of the Week recognition, as
well as honorable mention in the
Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Prep
Honor Roll.
“Everything seems to be coming
together for Randy now,” said Coach
Jerry Hogan, the Bulldogs’ offensive
coordinator. “He still makes a few
mistakes on his (option) technique,
but you have to remember that he’s
only started four games.
“He's just now beginning to grasp
the total concept of the (Veer) offense
and everything’s starting to click for
him,” Hogan said of the 5-9, 168-
pound senior signal caller.
“He’s not big and he’s not real fast,
but he has exceptional quickness and
has the ability to make the split-sec
ond decision, something your quar
terback has to have when you’re
running an option-type offense. He’s
got a good attitude and has a good
head on his shoulders and that makes
him very coachable.
“But most of all, he’s a winner.
That’s something you can’t coach,”
Hogan said.
Ironically, it was that competitive
spirit and winning desire that almost
kept Chambers from playing quar
terback at all this year.
Heroes, highlights abundant in Dogs’ 48-0 romp
By Greg Little
Nwi Sport* Editor
Last Friday’s 48-0 romp over Lumpkin County still has
some Forsyth County Bulldog fans pinching themselves
to see if it was real or merely dreamed.
Certainly the victory was the kind of which dreams are
made, and while records are not available for verifica
tion, it is believed the 48-point victory margin is the
widest in Forsyth football history in fact, the 48-point
scoring outburst by the Bulldogs’ offense is also probably
of record-setting proportions.
“We’ve not scored that many points in a game since
I’ve been here;” said Bulldog Offensive Coordinator
Jerry Hogan, who is in his ninth year as a coach at
Forsyth.
Bullpups still
perfect after
14-0 triumph
ROSWELL Despite having to
field a patchwork offensive unit last
Saturday, Otwell’s ninth grade Bul
lpups managed to extend their season
record to 4-0 with a 140 shutout of
North Springs.
Four players, including the Bul
lpups’ starting tailback, tight end and
offensive tackle, were denied playing
time in Saturday’s contest for disci
plinary reasons, forcing Coach David
Coughlin to make personnel moves
that resulted in seven offensive play
ers filling new positions.
But despite early timing problems,
the pieced-together offense melded to
mount two long sewing drives, one in
the second quarter and another in the
fourth, that proved more than enough
for the win as the Bullpups’ dominat
ing defense allowed the Spartans to
penetrate its half of the field only
once.
Back Ricky Tanner was the work
horse for the Bullpups’ offense, grind
ing out yardage with a punishing
running effort that propelled Otwell
to its first score. Tanner lacked up the
touchdown with a 12-yard sweep
around right end that gave the Bul
lpups' a 6-0 halftime advantage.
The defense preserved that slim 6-0
lead through the third quarter, and in
the final period, the offense overcame
mistakes that had thwarted additio
nal scoring opportunities by again
mounting a long, ball-control touch
down drive.
Quarterback Billy Kemp, playing
in [dace of regular starter Ritchie
Wlrkle who was moved to tailback,
jeapped the march with a one-yard
quarterback sneak for the touchdown
that put the game out of reach. Matt
Standi scored on the two-point con
version run to give the Bullpups’their
final 144) margin.
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Quarterback Randy Chambers receives instructions from Coach Jerry Hogan (left) and Coach Ronnie Jackson on sideline
His sophomore year, he served as
backup to junior Gary Cox in then
Head Coach Jim Cooper’s pass
oriented Run-and-Shoot offense, and
last year played the role again behind
Cox and Shawn Jackson, who
emerged as the leading candidate for
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Ricky Tanner cuts upfield on Bullpups’ sweep
me job this year by starting the
Bulldogs’ final five games after Cox
went down with an injury.
“To tell you the truth, I was tired of
playing backup. I wanted to do what
was best for the team, but I wanted to
start somewhere either at quar
Indeed. In recent years, the Bulldogs have gone half a
season without that kind of production. And even this
year, with Coach Ronnie Jackson and his staff setting a
solid foundation for a successful program, the explosion
bested their scoreboard output in their four previous
games by 10 points.
“The Veer is a ball-control offense that carries big play
capability,” said Hogan. “You plug and plug and plug
and then boom you break one. That’s the way it’s
designed.
“Everything just seemed to be clicking for us against
Lumpkin.”
And the big play capability of the Bulldogs’ Veer was
never more in evidence than last Friday. Of Forsyth’s
seven straight scoring possessions, only one needed more
than eight plays to reach paydirt, and two of the “drives”
terback or somewhere else. I just
wanted to be out there playing, espe
cially because it was my senior year.
“I talked with Coach (Jackson)
about it, and in the spring I played
some at running back and started at
defensive back.
took only one big play. Four of the scoring plays covered
over 20 yards.
The victory featured a seemingly non-stop flow of
outstanding efforts and plays, and the second and third
quarters must have had fans feeling they were watching
a postseason highlights film.
• Paul Marks’ reception and determined run for an 18-
yard gain set up backfield partner Alex Holbrooks’ six
yard touchdown for the Bulldogs’ first score late in the
first quarter.
• With Lumpking threatening a scoring push of its own,
safety Chris Mitchell stood up halfback Chris Dyer after
a 16-yard run, allowing comerback Todd Milford to come
crashing in to force a fumble which linebacker Glenn
Sutko recovered on the Forsyth 37.
• Holbrooks turned a potentially disastrous play into a
Yellow Jackets unprepared
for rise to football glory
It was a perfect Saturday for a
stroll in the park or a ride down
some leaf-lined country lane.
Over 30,000 decided upon a day at
the park named Grant Field. The
temperature begged for
complacency even the zebras
jogged in shorts.
A snail patch of red and white
sat docile in its appointed section
of the gathering. Their heroes,
known as the Wolfpack from North
Carolina State, brought much
tradition but little in the way of
expectation into their own
sacrifice before undefeated
Georgia Tech. In three short
weeks, the Yellow Jackets had
gone from T-shirt quality to swank
country club attire.
Some of Tech’s alumni now
thought it proper to order press
members off the media’s
designated elevator. A trip to the
President’s box couldn’t wait for
those toiling the weekend.
Norman Arey, Tech’s Director
of Yellow Jacket clubs as well as
Assistant Athletic Director, had
seen fit to jab Athens’ University.
His comment left no room for
inference, so pointed was the
attack. Rare is it, he said, that a
four-year man at Georgia can be
associated with a college diploma.
Whether true or not, Arey had
apparently been lifted so high by
Tech’s 3-0 start that he forgot
Georgia’s athletic dominance over
his employer.
The walk was ready to begin.
The Ramblin’ Wreck rolled onto
artificial turf but somehow, the
gold and black behind it chose a
wrong turn. Missed was Cake
Walk. Chosen instead was
FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS—WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 10, 1984—1
“But (in the preseason) they gave
me the chance for quarterback again,
so I just worked hard to do the best I
could,” Chambers said.
The preseason pitted Chambers
and Jackson, best of friends on and
off the field, in competition for the
STRAUSS
Sports Writer
Memory Lane.
A touchdown preceded the
three-hour trip, giving Tech a 74)
lead which only enhanced the
frenzy of its following. Meanwhile,
the red and white continued in
their torpor.
But then the unexpected
happened. Tom Reed, head coach
of N.C. State, inserted Joe
Mclntosh into the fray. Mclntosh
hadn’t expected the summons
since he was still hobbled by a
pulled hamstring suffered three
weeks earlier.
And the walk had officially
begun. Recollections of 1983’s 3-8
disappointment became
translated into action. Robert
Lavette was no longer the best
back on the field as Mclntosh
began his onslaught which would
eventually render 137 yards and a
touchdown.
Tech quarterback John
Dewberry, heralded as a
transformed leader this year,
threw three interceptions in a
four-possession span. He threw
eight all of last year. Two of the
turnovers came inside the State
30, a third was reversed into a
sewing drive for the Wolfpack.
Having surrendered only two
turnovers in its first three games,
Tech allowed three in the first
half. A year ago, 25 turnovers
found their way into the
starting position. But Chambers
noted that the battle presented no
problems between the two.
“Off the field, we hardly even
talked about it. Nothing really
changed. And on the field, we both
wanted it real bad and worked real
hard, but at the same time we wanted
each other to do good too. We wanted
to win it, not get it because the other
one messed up,” Chambers said.
‘Chambers’ efforts paid off, though
not with an immediate start.
Jackson got the opening nod, but it
was Chambers who came in to spark
the Bulldogs to the only score of the
night, a Sean Tebor field goal that
stood up for a 3-0 victory.
Chambers was awarded the start
the next week against North Gwinnett
and has since shown no signs of
relinquishing the position.
“That game against Loganville
gave me some confidence. After I
saw that I really could do it, I worked
at it that much harder. I was as
nervous as I’ve ever been before (the
North Gwinnett game) but I sort of
calmed down after the game
started,” Chambers said.
And while the abdominal butterf
lies still flutter around before games,
Chambers has progressed to the point
that makes for a good option quar
terback with experience in four
starts and through repetition in prac
tice, the process of making his reads
and executing the Veer has become
one of reaction instead of thought.
“The whole offense has pulled to
gether and gotten better. Coach Jack
son and Coach Hogan have spent a lot
of time with me on my technique and
reads, and that’s helped me a lot,”
Chambers said, adding, with a smile,
that the glory of being in the quar
terback spotlight also means “getting
yelled at a lot when I mess up.”
Basically, the Veer option requires
a quarterback to make at least one,
and possibly two, reads of the oppos
ing defense. Taking the snap and
riding down the line of scrimmage, he
must first read the defensive end. If
he penetrates the backfield, the hand
off goes to the dive back for a run off
tackle. If instead he closes down the
dive back’s hole, he keeps the ball
and heads outside.
The second read, this one of the
Continued on Page 3B
score on the Bulldogs’ subsequent possession by scooping
up quarterback Randy Chambers’ backfield fumble,
emerging into the open from a pack of stunned defenders
and turning on the burners for a 58-yard touchdown
jaunt.
• Sean Tebor showcased his kicking ability all night by
booting three kickoffs into the end zone, one to the 4 and
another to the 5. His worst kick of the night was a squib
that still reached the 10. After Forsyth’s second touch
down, his kick to the 4 and Duane Shook’s hustling tackle
at the 3 pinned the Indians deep in their own territory,
and two plays later, Milford’s leaping interception
brought the Bulldogs’ offense back onto the field again.
• Forsyth needed but one play to score after the
Continued on Page 2B
Engineers’ offensive blueprint.
The defense, which had entered
the game ranked as the fifth
stingiest in the nation, suddenly
split at its seams. Asked if what he
had just faced was something out
of the ordinary, Mclntosh smiled,
stroked his chin, allowed for a
moment of silence and offered a
laugh.
He added that films had
revealed the defense as
predictable. By the end of the third
quarter, the game’s outcome was
likewise.
It had been none other than
Curry who had minimized his
team’s three victories. The first
came against Alabama, currently
1-4 and shopping for a new coach.
A second followed against The
Citadel, a Southern Conference
entry looked upon as instant
breakfast. A third win came over
Clemson, softened the week before
by that school up the road.
State was to be the beginning of
Curry’s much publicized crusade
for justice within the Atlantic
Coast Conference. Now, two days
after Tech’s conference opener,
the situation compares to last
year.
A journey to Charlottesville
awaits this week. Should Tech lose
to Virginia, one of its three
victories from last season, the
crusade will have lost its
freshness. The loss to State raised
some questions concerning either
preparation or talent.
How many of those questions
arise out of validity is one matter.
How many come about because of
a trip down Memory Lane is
entirely another.
PAGE 1B