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‘Ridiculous’ ninth grade setup stifling athletics
By Greg Little
Th» Sunday Hmm
“The lack of success in Forsyth County (High School)
football and basketball is directly related to the problems
that arise because of the ninth grade set up for athletics
that we have now.”
South Forsyth Coach Byron Orr states the problem
succinctly, with no hedging, getting directly to the root of
the primary problem that the county’s ninth grade
coaches feel is stifling high school athletics.
“We just do not have the numbers in the junior highs to
field three different ninth grade teams in football, and
even though the problem is not quite as severe in
basketball because you don’t need as many players, but
the situation is less than ideal there too," Orr stated.
Of course, this complaint is not a new one. Last
February, the majority of the junior high football and
basketball coaches banded together with the high school
coaches to present a resolution to the Forsyth County
Board of Education to consolidate the county’s ninth
graders for athletic purposes.
But the coaches failed to even garner enough support
from the board to bring the resolution to a vote. And thus
the aspect of the county’s athletic program that the
Sports
Sunday, October 14,1984
College
scoreboard
Georgia 18
Ole Miss 12
Alabama 6
Penn St. 0
Florida 43
Tennessee 30
Kentucky 17
Mississippi St. 13
South Carolina 45
Pittsburgh 21
Virginia Tech 27
Duke 0
Wake Forest 14
North Caroline 3
Maryland 44
N.C. St. 21
Air Force 21
Notre Dame 7
lowa 40
Purdue 3
Michigan 31
Northwestern 0
Michigan St. 13
Indiana 6
SMU 24
Baylor 20
Navy 31
Lehigh 14
Kansas St. 24
Kansas 7
' . . K '* .* ....
Washington 37
Stanford 15
Brigham Young 41
Wyoming 38
Colorado 23
lowa St. 21
’
Long Beach St. 24
Utah St. 22
Texas 15
Oklahoma 15
Citadel 34
W. Carolina 33
coaches feel to be she most responsible for recent failures
by the high school’s varsity program continued un
changed.
But the coaches’ opinions and the situations that have
created those opinions have also remained unchanged.
And now, even more than ever, they see the need to bring
the issue forth again.
“We have a good coaching staff up at the high school
now Ronnie (Jackson) is doing a good job with the
football team, and I think (Bulldog Coach) Doug (Fields)
and (Lady Bulldog Coach) Frank (Fowler) will do a good
job with the basketball teams. But with the way the ninth
grades are set up now, they’ve essentially been hired to
run their programs and then had their hands tied behind
their backs so they can’t,” said Jerry Cauley, Orr’s
coaching partner at South Forsyth.
“We’ve got the people at the high school to get the job
done there, but we’ve got to give them some help in the
junior highs. And we can’t effectively do that now. The
feeder system we have set up is unbelievable. It’s
ridiculous. It’s a joke. You just can’t build a competitive
program,” Cauley said.
The major problem is logistics —each of the three
ninth grade football teams in the county currently have
less than 20 healthy players to suit up for games. Games
against the likes of Gainesville, South Hall and North
Hall, all three feeders for schools of lower classification
Baynes-ful Murray team thomps Forsyth
By Greg Little
Th» Sunday Newt
CHATSWORTH Forsyth County
traveled up into the Blue Ridge Moun
tains last Friday hoping to spoil the
Murray County homecoming festivi
ties and ruin the Indians’ hopes for a
dream battle of undefeated teams
when they clash with archrival Dal
ton next week.
But instead of catching Murray
looking forward to next week’s an
nual grudge match, the Bulldogs ran
into a tribe of Indians on the warpath
to prove they are contenders, and not
pretenders, for the Class AAA rank
ings.
And with the aid of a mistake-prone
Forsyth squad, the Indians did a
pretty good job of that, taking advan
tage of the Bulldogs’ early offensive
woes to build a commanding 28-0 lead
that turned into a 47-14 rout as Mur
ray scored on seven of its eight pos
sessions.
“Turnovers will be the key to the
game,” said Forsyth Defensive Coor
dinator Pete McGinnis during the
pregame warmups. Head Coach Ron
nie Jackson echoed those sentiments,
stressing, “We have to play a mis
take-free ball game to win.”
They were and they didn’t.
While quarterback Patrick Baynes
directed the Indians to scores on their
first four possessions, the Bulldogs
repeatedly self-destructed in the
opening half. Murray defensive end
Brian Smith stepped in front of quar
terback Randy Chambers’ screen
pass for Alex Holbrooks for an inter
ception at the Forsyth 24 that set the
series of miscues in motion. Mon
strous linebacker Winston Masseng
ale recovered a pair of fumbled snaps
on the Bulldogs’ subsequent posses
sions, the second coming after For
syth had mounted its first scoring
threat by driving to the Murray 15.
With Forsyth trailing Chambers
was forced to leave the offensive
lineup with a dislocated jaw after his
second series, but junior backup
Robby Payne came on guide to a 13-
play, 41-yard march that primarily
relied on the running of Holbrooks
and Paul Marks.
A fourth-down quarterback sneak
by Payne garnered the Bulldogs a
first-and-10 at the 19, but on the
ensuing play a holding penalty forced
Forsyth back to the 33. Pass comple
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Bulldog senior co-captain Mike Slaton saw Forsyth’s hopes of an upset of undefeated Murray dashed early ;
tions to tight end Brett Shadburn and
Marks quickly moved the Bulldogs
back down to the 15, but a fumbled
exchange between Payne and center
Ron Freeman thwarted the scoring
opportunity.
Despite the mistakes and miscues,
Lady Luck did step in to give Forsyth
its share of luck during the contest
all of it bad.
Forsyth’s unending misfortune can
best be summarized in two series of
plays, one in each half.
Trailing 14-0, the Bulldogs were
forced to punt away their second
possession after Todd Sprouse’s sack
of Chambers, and Shawn Jackson
delivered a beauty of a kick that
traveled 49 yards and rolled dead on
file Murray 16. But the Indians were
found guilty of roughing Jackson and
the Bulldogs were awarded an auto
matic first down in spite of the fact
than Forsyth (which is Class AAAA) that field anywhere
from 45 to 55 player-squads.
“It’s no fun for the players or the coaches for that
matter to go out against a team like Gainesville
knowing that the chances of winning are slim and none,”
said Orr. “The constant beating our players are taking
this year certainly does nothing toward building a
winning attitude. It’s humiliating. It breeds losing in
their minds, and they carry that attitude with them to the
high school if they go at all.
“We have the talent in the county to build a winning
program. It’s not that our athletes are inferior to those on
the team’s we play. But our players are having to play
both ways, without much chance for a breather. And the
teams that have 40 or 50 players just wear us down as the
game goes along. They’re able to send fresh players out
on the field in the third and fourth quarters.
“We played Gainesville to a 0-0 tie until late in the first
half, when our players were fresh. But we ended up
getting beat 36-0,” Orr stated.
Otwell, which is currently undefeated with a 4-0 record
that includes wins over North Hall, Riverwood and North
Springs, might appear to counter Orr’s statement that
the county’s schools cannot compete against outside
competition. But Coach David Coughlin says not.
“We just have an exceptional group of athletes on this
team. Last year we were having the same problems
that the game’s officials marked off
the penalty’s yardage incorrectly.
Despite the vigorous protests of the
Forsyth coaching staff, the officials
(from the Carpet Capital Officials
Association) marked off 15 yards
from the spot of the infraction instead
of from the line of scrimmage, as it
should have been. Still, Forsyth found
itself the benefactor of an apparent
break (one of the few of the game)
with the ball on its own 40. But on the
Bulldogs’ very first play a bad ex
change between Chambers and Free
man became a Murray fumble
recovery.
And in the third quarter, after the
Bulldogs had cut a four-touchdown
halftime deficit to 28-6 with an 85-
yard drive capped by Marks’ two
yard touchdown dive, Lady Luck
again showed her green colors.
With Murray threatening to score
Lady Bulldogs toppled in
region playoff tournament
By Greg Little
Th> Sunday
SNELLVILLE One has to wonder what kind of jinx
hangs over Coach Johnny Tallant and his Forsyth County
Lady Bulldogs softball teams.
Despite placing no worse than second in the regular
season Region 8-AAAA race the past three years, the
Lady Bulldogs never managed to gain the finals of the
region’s postseason tournament.
After the division of the region into sub-regions this year,
Forsyth placed second in the West race to gain a berth in
the four-team region playoff tournament last Wednesday
at Brookwood. But again, the Lady Bulldogs found their
hopes of gaining their first-ever state tournament berth
snuffed, by losses to Brookwood and Central Gwinnett
that eliminated them from the region competition after
the first two rounds of play.
And the Lady Bulldogs indeed appeared jinxed in the
latter loss, as scoring opportunity after scoring opportu
nity passed by unanswered in an eventual 11-inning, 6-5
defeat.
After bong dealt a 4-1 loss by Sub-region 8-AAAA East
champ Brookwood in the opening round, the Lady
Bulldogs squared off against Central Gwinnett, who had
fallen 6-3 to Parkview, the regular season winner of the
West sub-region.
The Lady Knights jousted Forsyth immediately for
four runs in the top erf the first, surrounding a pair of
I aAv tfetllffno ortop® with frvir f>>n*)v Hits to take the
against teams from outside the county.
“You have to remember that we have the largest
enrollment of the junior highs, so we have a bigger ninth
grade to pull a team from. But we still have only 17 or 18
players every year. So we face the same problems that
the other schools in the county face.
“We don’t have enough players even to scrimmage in
practice. The only live action we ever see is in the games
we play. And because of that, it’s difficult to correct the
mistakes the players are making. That presents more
problems for the high school, because the ones that do
stay in the program get up there making mistakes that
we’re not able to correct because we can’t get in any good
practice time,” Coughlin said.
And that is the area where Orr feels the junior high
programs are lacking the most preparing the players
for when they reach the high school level.
“Winning at this level is important to an extent. You
want to buUd that winning attitude as early as possible.
But our biggest job is to prepare the players for when
they get to the junior varisty and varsity. Our goal should
be to send every kid that comes through our program up
to the high school to play.
“But this year, (junior varsity football Coach) Bob
(Mason) barely has enough to fill out a team,” Orr said
See 9th GRADE, Page 10A
with a first down on the Forsyth 15,
Baynes’ pass to the end zone was
tipped away by linebacker Glenn
Sutko. Unfortunately, it was tipped
away from teammate Todd Milford,
who appeared in perfect position for a
drive-ending interception.
On third-and-long, Baynes fumbled
for the second time on the drive, but
the ball again bounced Murray’s way,
spurting forward five yards to the six
with the Indians’ Smith recovering.
One play later, on fourth down, Dai
ley swept the left side for his second
touchdown of the night, giving Mur
ray a 35-6 advantage.
Murray’s offensive corps found
little trouble in reaching the end zone,
moving almost at will behind a Bay
neful attack that constantly kept a
confounded Bulldog defense at bay
with its varied land and aerial as
sault.
early command of the game.
Three of the Central Gwinnett hits were grounded or
lined safely up the middle, so Tallant changed to a five
player infield in the second frame, a strategy that held
the Lady Knights scoreless for the next nine innings.
Forsyth, meanwhile, slowly but surely pulled its way
back into contention, as the bats that had managed but
five hits off Brookwood awoke for a 13-hit assault.
A two-out bases-loaded double by Dana Waters scored
Lisa Barnett and Rene Major to cut the Central Gwinnett
lead in half in file third, and Christi Woodham’s bases
loaded sacrifice fly in the fifth pulled the Lady Bulldogs
to within one.
Still facing the one-run deficit, and elimination, the
Lady Bulldogs staged a dramatic seventh-inning rally as
Barnett and Major singled and, after Gina Sutko’s
sacrifice fly, Woodham was intentionally walked to load
the bases.
Waters then delivered a clutch single to left to tie the
score and Deanna Wood’s sacrifice fly to right lifted the
Lady Bulldogs to their first lead of the tournament.
Central Gwinnett refused to succumb to Forsyth’s!
apparent momentum, however, and in the bottom of the;
seventh, Rich’s bases-loaded sacrifice fly scored the
tying run just ahead of leftfielder Kathy Diggle’s strong
throw to the {date.
Dazzling defensive play, including three gems by Sutko
at third base, kept the Lady Bulldogs in the game during
See LADY BULLDOGS, Page lftvl
Baynes’ arm was the trigger that
detonated the first-half explosion, as
his 38-yard pass to favored receiver
Keith Swilling set up Tracey Dailey’s
three-yard run for the Indians’ first
score.
After scoring the second touchdown
himself on a four-yard option keeper,
Baynes’ first scoring pass came on a
well-timed screen that caught the
Bulldogs in a linebacker blitz. Roger
Rainey pulled in the pass in the left
flat and weaved his way through a
bevy of downfield blockers for a 36-
yard touchdown play.
And then, after the Bulldogs’ sec
ond fumble late in the half, the Indi
ans ate up chunks of yardage at a
time to cover 85 yards in but six
plays. A 43-yard pass to tight end
Clint Black highlighted the drive,
See BULLDOGS, Page 10A
9A