Newspaper Page Text
Sports
Sunday, September 29, 1985
mf
•ary
Tumiiap
Sports Editor
Turner
making
mistakes
On the tail end of this pathetic
season for the Atlanta Braves,
owner Ted Turner is making
noises that don’t make one feel
optimistic about the future the
team.
Despite agreement by
management of the club that free
agents Terry Forster and Claudell
Washington should not be re
signed for the 1986 season, Turner
has said he wants to keep the
players. Why?
Forster is 40 pounds overweight,
and has a bum left shoulder. He
made a fool out of himself this
summer by flaunting his fat, and
seeming generally disinterested in
baseball.
Now, at the end of the season,
Forster is faced with being turned
loose by the Braves and not being
wanted by other teams. He
professes he will get in shape. Its
funny what someone will do when
his back is to the wall.
I would ask team management
to remember two seasons ago
when Forster reported to spring
training, “in shape” at 210 pounds.
He went on to spend most of the
year on the bench with injuries.
The fact is that at 33 years old,
Forster has lost the ability to be a
stopper out of the bullpen. His
forte was always throwing heat
and saving the lead in the final
innings. His heat has gone now,
and he has not shown an ability to
be a setup man for the short
reliever. If he were in shape, then
he might be able to fulfill such a
role, but the Braves can’t afford to
wait around on a veteran who
promises to reform.
Claudell Washington is one 6f
the most physically gifted athletes
in the major leagues. He has
speed, and can hit for both
average and some power. He has
made some of the most
spectacular catches I have ever
seen. He also has a serious
attitude problem.
Washington makes the great
plays and botches the routine. He
hits when he feels like it and the
last couple of seasons he hasn’t
felt like it. Claudell Washington is
lackidasical and that is something
the Braves don’t need.
Turner needs to work on
rebuiling his team. Instead his
decision to keep reloading with the
same old spent cartridges seems
like it could mean more losing for
the suffering Atlanta fans.
Dale Murphy and Bob Homer
would be marvelous players to
build a team around. Everyone
who knows anything about
baseball has recognized that for
many years.
Soon, those two stars may be too
old to build around. Maybe the
Braves front office and Turner
don’t know anything about
baseball.
+++
With an open week, the Forsyth
County Bulldogs could be set to be
a fairly strong team over the
remainder of the season.
With the return of Robby Payne
to start consecutive games for the
first time this season and the
possible return of running back
Travis Harbin, the offense may be
healed sufficiently to start being
productive. The offensive line play
has improved a great deal.
The defense needs only to
remain at status quo to be a
contributing factor in a winning
season. The defensive unit of the
Bulldogs has been spectacular in
its performances for most of this
season.
A winning record is still in sight
for the Forsyth team if can regain
and maintain its health and keep
up a positive attitude.
+++
NBA fans will think they are
dreaming when they watch the
Washington Bullets play this
season. The Bulets have signed 7-7
center Manute 801. 801, a native of
the Sudan, in Africa played one
season at the University of
Bridgeport (Conn.) before turning
pro this year.
Observers have reported that
the skinny 80l can retrieve an
errant shot and stuff it into the
basket while standing flat-footed.
Don’t expect 80l to unseat
incumbent center Jeff Ruland, but
the tall man should play a great
deal as a late-game defensive
replacement. It seems he
averaged 11.2 blocked shots in the
United States Basketball League.
Dog vs. Cat fight is a standoff
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Matt Wright weaves through Otwell defense in 9th grade game
J V shuts out Riverside, 40-0
By Gary Tanner
The Sunday News
Before the start of Thursday’s ju
nior varsity game pitting Forsyth
County against Riverside Military
Academy, varsity head coach Ronnie
Jackson stared across the field at the
54-man Riverside squad and said, “If
it (the outcome of the game) was
based on numbers, we should give up
now.” He quickly added, “But the
game isn’t decided on numbers.”
The last statement proved pro
phetic, as the 16-man Bulldog team
went out and crushed Riverside 40-0.
With the win, Forsyth’s junior varsity
raised its record to 3-0, with three
games remaining on its schedule.
It didn’t take long after the kickoff
for the tone of the game to be set.
The Bulldogs kicked off to River
side, and stopped the Blue Devils on
three plays.
Kelly Whitmire started the Forsyth
scoring parade on the next play, as
Riverside punted the ball away. Whit
mire took the kick and returned it
from the Bulldogs 30-yard line, 70
yards for the touchdown. Freddy
Yarborough’s PAT kick failed and
the Bulldogs had a 6-0 lead with 8:25
remaining in the first quarter. The
missed kick turned out to be Yarbo
rough’s only failure of the day.
After again holding Riverside on its
next possession, the Bulldog offense
went to work for the first time in the
game.
Yarborough capped a steady drive
by taking the ball in himself on a 4-
yard run to the left to put the Bulldogs
on top 12-0. A try for a PAT kick
failed, leaving the Forsyth lead at 12.
Lady Dogs are set for showdown
■■■ -■ 3
jgy.
Sandi Baglay concentrates on making contact with ball
Forsyth County News
Early in the second quarter, the
Bulldogs were on the move agian.
Given good field position by a Whit
mire return, the Forsyth offense
mounted a drive down the field.
Yarborough capped the drive by
throwing a 7-yard touchdown strike to
running back Steve Sommers. Shawn
Hart kicked the PAT to make the
score 19-0 with 9:53 remaining in the
half.
After agin stopping the impotent
Blue Devil offense, the Bulldogs went
to work on offense.
This time, Yarborough dropped to
pass and found tight end Tommie
Francis free in the end zone for the
touchdown. On the play, Yarborough
rolled to the right and had several
seconds to look over the defense and
find Francis.
Hart again booted the PAT to raise
the Forsyth lead to 26-0.
Still unable to move the ball, River
side had to punt after their next
possession was stopped in three
plays.
Whitmire performed his magic
again; this time returning the kick 60
yards for a touchdown. Greg Hunter
had been the deep man on the play,
but Whitmire called off his teammate
and danced down the right sideline
for the score.
Hart again kicked the PAT to make
the score 33-0.
After the kickoff, Riverside started
its offensive possession on its own 25
yard line. On second down cor
nerback Scotty Wilson stepped in
front of a pass and returned it for a
touchdown. Hart was again true with
see ROUT page 2B
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By Gary Tanner
The Sunday News
County cousins from Otwell and
North Forsyth junior high schools
met in a football double header
played at the high school stadium,
Friday afternoon and fought to a
standoff with the North Wildcats win
ning the 7th and Bth grade game and
the Otwell Bullpups prevailing in the
9th grade contest.
In the 7th and Bth grade game
North blasted the Bullpups by a score
of 33-6.
Hank Gravitt made it a long day for
the Bullpups from the very begin
ning, as he took the opening kickoff of
the game and ran it back for a touch
down, giving the Wildcats a 6-0 lead
before barely ant time had ticked off
the clock. The try for an extra point
failed.
From that point for most of the first
Kelly Whitmire returned two punts for touchdowns in win
Team will face Parkview
for first in region
By Gary Tanner
The Sunday News
The Forsyth County Lady Bulldogs
assured themselves of at least a sec
ond place seed in the region tourna
ment by winning four region games
this week.
The Forsyth women hosted Berk
mar Tuesday in their last home
games of the season and swept a
double-header by scores of 8-1 in the
first game and 23-10 in the second.
On Thursday, the Forsyth team
travelled to Gainesville to take on
Johnson. Again they swept a double
header. The score in the first game
was 11-0 and 1W) in the second.
The perfect week extended a per
fect season for the Lady Bulldogs, as
they raised their record to 17-0 on the
year.
In the first game of the week on
Tuesday against Berkmar, the Lady
Patriots jumped out to an 1-0 lead in
the first inning.
That lead proved to be short-lived,
however, when the Lady Bulldogs
came back in the bottom half of the
inning to take the lead by scoring two
runs.
From there the Forsyth team shut
out Berkmar, while adding to then
lead with three runs in the third, one
more in the fifth and two in the sixth.
Deanna Wood drove in the winning
run in the first inning with a single,
giving pitcher Dana Waters all the
offense she would need. With the win
Waters raised her season reocrd to
Jr. High Roundup
half the game was a defensive strug
gle.
With 2:18 left in the first half with
the ball on their own 12 yard line, the
Bullpups went for a first down and
long. It was a play that would quickly
come back to haunt them.
On the fourth down play the Bul
lpups were thrown for a loss by a
blitzing Wildcat defense, and North
had the ball with a first down at the
Otwell five yard line.
North’s Jody Harbin scored on the
next play, when he took a pitchout
and sped down the right side for the
touchdown. After successfully trying
a two-point conversion the Wildcat
lead stood at 14-6.
After returning from halftime, the
two teams battled through a scoreless
third quarter.
With 7:51 remaining in the game,
see ROUNDUP page 2B
11-0.
Junior shortstop Gina Sutko led the
offensive attack, collecting two hits
and driving in four runs. One of her
hits was a home run. Kathy Diggle
had a perfect game at the plate with 3
hits in three trips to the plate and 1
RBI.
In the second game with Berkmar,
the Lady Bulldogs carried a 23-3 lead
into the seventh inning before experi
encing what head coach Jonny Tal
lant called, “the worst inning we’ve
played all year.”
Due to numerous walks and sloppy
defense, the Lady Patriots scored 7
runs in the frame. That number was
higher than the Forsyth team had
given up in an entire game pre
viously.
The Forsyth team settled down to
hold on for the win by the final 23-10
score.
The Lady Bulldogs had built their
lead by scoring 2 runs in both the first
and second innings. Berkmar
scratched to within one with 3 runs in
the third.
Seven runs in the fourth and 6 more
in the fifth increased the Forsyth lead
to 17-3. Six runs in the seventh lead to
<he 23-3 lead that the Lady Bulldogs
held before the Lady Patriot revolt.
None of the sloppy defense that
characterized Tuesday’s final inning
with Berkmar was evident in Thurs
day’s games with Johnson.
The Lady Buldogs combined good
see SOFTBALL page 2B
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SECTION