Newspaper Page Text
Sports
Wednesday, February 20,1985
f r w y aj f|
■r ppP^H
Mike Slaton works hold on Stone Mountain’s John Alford in opening round of Class AAAA State Tournament
Slaton gives Dogs first state placement
By Greg Little
Sports Editor
STONE MOUNTAIN The Forsyth County
Bulldogs gained their first ever placement in a
state wrestling tournament this past weekend
when senior Mike Slaton battled his way back
through the consolation round of the Class AAAA
Wrestling Championships to finish third in the 167-
lb division.
After finally succumbing to a weeklong illness
and dropping a quarterfinals decision to South
west Macon’s Tony Butler Friday night, Slaton
laid waste to two wrestlers Saturday afternoon to
gain the consolation finals.
Slaton pinned Ken Gholston, of LaGrange, and
Brad Jeffery, of Parkview, to earn the right to
meet Norcross junior Roger Rivas for the state’s
third place honors.
V.'., ~|j:;' y ' J||f|^flttto|S9ra||~
aL **Mt^
--* A Jp' WttSL Ml. jk M
||L^
'■& .. k :
'dmifti?. 532 r ' *£--3§f
-SBESg JB3jjl|
iHH^
s% iHnk
-y
Freshman quarterback hopeful Freddie Yarbrough
Slaton held decisions over Rivas in each of the
duo’s four previous meetings, the latest which had
occured in the semi-finals of the Area VI Wrestling
Tournament the weekend before. The Forsyth co
captain had recorded his first pin of Rivas to gain
the area championship match against Berkmar’s
Scott Romine, who defeated Slaton for the title.
Displaying the aggressive style that had charac
terized his march through the wrestlebacks, Sla
ton overcame an early 2-0 deficit and a first period
bloody nose to dominate the latter two periods and
claim a 14-6 decision.
Rivas pushed his point advantage to 4-1 early in
the second period with a quick near fall, but that
proved to be his last hurrah as Slaton broke loose
for an escape and then worked a takedown to tie
the score.
Slaton moved out on top with a late near fall in
the period and then iced his victory with three
Forsyth County News
Coach Jerry Hogan points out instructions to newcomer during Bulldogs’ initial day of spring practice
‘lnteresting’ spring
begins for Bulldogs
By Greg Little
Sports Editor
“It’s going to be a very interst
ing spring,” was the comment of
Forsyth County Coach Ronnie
Jackson before his Bulldogs ever
hit the field for Monday’s first
official spring football practice.
And it will be interesting to note
how the Bulldogs, both old and
new, respond to last season’s suc
cess, which resulted in Forsyth’s
winningest record (7-3) ever and
several record-breaking perfor
mances by the team and individ
ual players.
Already that success is begin
ning to pay dividends, as some 48
newcomers were out for Monday’s
initial workout along with 38 re
turning varsity and junior varsity
players.
“Having a winning season al
ways seems to bring more people
out. Everybody loves a winner and
they want to play for a winner,”
more near falls in the third stanza.
The triumph gave Slaton his longsought goal of a
state placement and pushed his season record to
29-3. Of the 29 wins, 21 came via pins and his only
losses were to eventual state champion Romine
(in the regular season and again in the Area VI
finals) and state runner-up Butler.
“This is a big boost for our program,” said
Forsyth Coach Richie Taylor. “It gives us a little
prestige to have someone place in the state tourna
ment. As far as I know, this is the first time
anyone from Forsyth has ever placed.”
Taylor noted the competitive nature that drove
Slaton through the wrestlebacks to the third place
finish.
“He was a totally different wrestler Saturday.
“He had been sick (on Friday) and he just ran
See TOURNAMENT Page 2B
said Jackson. “And our primary
objective is to keep last season’s
enthusiasm and attitude going,
and carry it right on through next
year.
“In addition to a good group of
ninth graders, we’ve got quite a
few high school people out that
didn’t play last year, and that’s
good to see.
“I think we’ve got a little more
size coming up with this group. We
don’t have anyone outstandingly
big, but we’ve got some frames
that carry the potential to grow
into good-sized players. But
really, at this point and time, it’s
too early to tell what we have out
talentwise,” Jackson said of his
newcomers.
After turning in their obligatory
running exercises, most of the
returning lettermen were freed
from the remainder of Monday’s
practice, while the rest of the
See FOOTBALL Page 2B
‘Mad’ Slaton
places third in
state tourney
By Greg Little
Sports Editor
STONE MOUNTAIN - Mike Slaton
was mad.
The Forsyth County senior had just
seen his hopes of a Class AAAA
wrestling title dashed by a quarterfi
nals defeat at the hands of Southwest
Macon’s Tony Butler.
In and of itself, that loss was
enough to impart a great deal of hurt
and disappointment upon the Bull
dogs’ co-captain, who was competing
in his third straight State Wrestling
Tournament. But to make matters
worse, he was forced to sit by and
watch as three of the four semi-final
slots in the 167-lb. classification were
filled by wrestlers from his own Area
VI.
Included among that trio were Nor
cross’ Roger Rivas and Parkview’s
Brad Jeffery, who had entered the
state competition as the third and
fourth place finishers from the pre
vious weekend’s Area VI Wrestling
Tournament, in which Slaton had
captured runner-up honors.
Scott Romine, the Berkmar wres
tler who was the prohibitive pre-tour
nament favorite to repeat as state
champion, joined Butler to round out
the semi-final quartet.
“It really made me mad. Every
body else from our area was in the
semis. I had beaten Butler, we would
have had all four,” Slaton said, un
derlining the strength of the area’s
wrestlers, which was showcased
throughout the state competition.
And were it not for a weeklong
illness that had prevented Slaton
from any wrestling action since the
area tournament, the sweep of the
semi-final slots may have materia
lized. But against Butler, in his third
match of the day last Friday, the
fatigue and lack of stamina that ac
companied the illness caught up with
him.
“I guess being sick affected me a
little, I thought I could beat Butler ,
but I was gassed out after the first
round. It was like I couldn’t move.
“I don’t know if I wanted it bad
'—— ST-" 1
Coach Pete McGinnis works with Michael Kent
enough,” Slaton regretfully stated.
Slaton’s characteristic driving de
sire did not take long to resurface, as
the senior suddenly became aware
that the tournament was his last
chance for glory in the Bulldogs’ red.
“I really didn’t realize until Friday
that every match could have been my
last one. And after I lost, I didn’t
know if I would get a chance (in the
wrestlebacks ) or not,” Slaton said.
That chance emerged Saturday
morning, when Butler advanced to
the finals with a victory over Jeffery,
a win that assured Slaton of an oppor
tunity to redeem himself. (In wres
tling tournaments, all wrestlers
defeated by the two finalists are
awarded berths in the consolation
round or wrestlebacks to battle
for third and fourth places.)
And Slaton set out for that redemp
tion with a vengeance.
“I took every match Saturday like
it was my last one. That got me fired
up. I didn’t want to go out remem
bering my last match as one I lost,”
Slaton said.
That certainly did not bode well for
the wrestlers destined to face Slaton
in the consolation round.
Ken Gholston, of LaGrange, was
the first to feel Slaton’s wrath, merci
fully falling victim to a first period
pin after the Forsyth grappler had
mounted a 10-2 advantage.
Next on the menu was Jeffery. The
Parkview wrestler fared a bit better,
lasting into the second round before
Slaton reaffirmed the area tourna
ment results with another pin, his
fourth of the competition and his 21st
of the year.
And finally there was Rivas, the
Norcross junior whom Slaton had
pinned in the area semi-finals. The
memory of that win, Slaton’s fourth
career victory over Rivas, presented
the potential for the Bulldog to pre
maturely visualize the donning of the
third place medal.
But Slaton would have no part of an
early celebration.
“I was more nervous about wres-
See SLATON Page 2B
1B