Newspaper Page Text
Sports
Sunday, December 6, 1987
Mike
Webber
Sports Editor
Big names don’t
guarantee wins
It’s been three months since William Andrews
retired as an Atlanta Falcon. At that time the
team was searching for a leader. Closing in on the
Christmas holidays, it’s a team still looking for a
hero.
The NFL strike ended two months ago, and
since that time Marion Campbell’s troops haven’t
tasted one solitary victory.
Last Sunday it lost for the ninth time in 1987.
The pride of Atlanta has won only twice this
season.
Last Sunday was a day owner Rankin Smith
Sr., shouldn’t soon forget. There were 18,382 no
shows. On top of that, only 15,909 showed up, to
watch St. Louis beat the home team.
The sad thing is, the season isn’t over. You’ve
got to guess most Falcons wish it was.
What the team lacks is leadership, and I don’t
mean the coaching kind. The Falcon-playing
ranks resembles a rather sad state.
Already, the suggestions have begun rolling in
for the 1988 draft.
Why must the Falcon brass look to a top-rated
player as means for speeding up that recovery.
Atlanta may wind up with the top pick. That
doesn’t mean Heisman Trophy winner Tim
Brown, of Notre Dame, is its man.
A perfect example that cream sometimes takes
its time rising to the top was Auburn’s Andrews.
The 79th player taken in the 1979 draft, he was the
15th running back selected. In terms of profitabil
ity, he stands as Atlanta’s best deal.
In 1981, he became only the second running
back in NFL history to crack the 2,000-yard com
bined yardage barrier. That season, Andrews
gained 2,037 rushing and catching the ball.
It wasn’t to be his best year. That came in 1983
when he earned 2,176 total yards.
In only six seasons toting the pigskin, he be
came Atlanta’s most popular player. With 8,382
yards rushing, Andrews was also a weekly en
trant for the opposition’s most wanted list.
Then came a term which makes players cringe
knee injury. It wasn’t fair, going down in prac
tice, agonizing over a twisted knee. The diagnosis
was tom anterior posterior ligaments. As if that
wasn’t enough, there was also nerve damage.
An NFL runner’s legs are wheels of transporta
tion. It was the kind of injury which left him with
a wheel chair.
After missing the better part of two years, he
learned to walk again.
Two seasons ago he attempted a comeback. He
wound up the season with 214 yards and one
touchdown, looking more the part of hood orna
ment for Dan Henning’s team.
It was to be the last regular season he would
have.
When pre-season rolled around this past sum
mer, Andrews reported. Though the public didn’t
know it at the time, Cleveland was to be his last
opponent. It was just a pre-season game, but At
lanta also lost that kind. On top of that, the pride
of Thomasville, Ga., only gained 6 yards. For the
entire pre-season, he totalled only 25 on 11
carries.
Andrews hated losing yards, whether it be
scrimmage or game. One has to wonder if losing
games didn’t leave Andrews with a tougher bur
den to haul around.
Following that contest against Cleveland, he
said goodbye to Atlanta’s fans, left the game
forever.
Don’t worry about Andrews. He’s set financial
ly. Part of his 1984 contract was a $6 million an
nunity plan. It’s a program set to pay, make that
reward, him with $200,000 a year from ages 40-70.
Talented he was, dumb he wasn’t.
He was also gutsy.
There was hope the Falcons helped itself in last
year’s draft. Kenny Flowers, a talented runner
from Clemson, was a key. Earlier, he severly
pulled a leg muscle, and was lost for the season.
With Andrews gone, the position went to Gerald
Riggs. He looked good with Andrews around as a
running mate. Without him, things have been go
ing uphill. As of late Riggs has been nursing a
bruised shoulder, and hasn’t seen much playing
time.
Riggs is a pretty good runner, but another An
drews, he isn’t.
There is always hope for the future. That’s why
they hold an annual draft. That’s also why teams
with the worst records, draft first. This may be
one race Atlanta could win.
The Falcons thought they had help from last
year’s draft. Besides Flowers, only first-round
pick Chris Miller, is still around. Only problem
was Miller, a much-needed quarterback, kept
tugging at the purse strings. When he finally re
ported, the season was half over.
The upcoming draft may be important as any
the club ever had.
A word to the wise heros aren’t always found
growing on the Christmas tree.
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Two straight
FCHS sweeps Dawson Co.
By Mike Webber
Sports Editor
All’s well that ends well.
A week which had a rough beginning for
Forsyth County, after losses to North Hall
on Tuesday, had a sweet ending Friday, as
both teams stopped Dawson County.
Led by Linda Diggle’s career high 37
points, the Lady Bulldogs (4-1), turned Daw
son County every way but loose, winning 65-
50. The game wasn’t as close as the final
score. Forsyth County led 46-26, with 7:24
left.
Coach Steve Barnes saw his Bulldogs pull
out of Tuesday’s 80-73 tailspin to North Hall.
This time it played like champions, collect
ing a 71-56 win over Dawson County.
“It was good to see the team come back
like this,” said Barnes. “We hadn’t looked
good earlier in the week, but had a real
strong game this time. The win couldn’t
have come at a better time.”
Lady Bulldog coach Jerry Cauley was
also pleased with his team’s turnaround.
“We played like a team tonight,” said Cau
ley. “We shot the ball well and everybody
helped. It was a team victory.”
North Hall had left the Lady Bulldogs
dragging Tuesday, after losing a 65-47 deci
sion. The Lady Bulldog offense didn’t put up
much of a fight that time, managing on)y’3s
percent from the field.
Friday was a different story, especially
for Diggle. Her fourth quarter statistics of
17 points looked like an entire game. During
the first quarter Diggle had only one basket,
but for the game collected 14 field goals, and
was a perfect 9-9 from the foul lane.
Diggle, who had all nine free throws in the
fourth quarter, scored all but four of her
team’s 21 points in that stanza.
The game was a dismal return for Scarlett
Martin, a former Forsyth County player.
The Lady Bulldog defenders keyed on Mar
tin, a Dawson County transfer this season,
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Sam and Beth Heard with Bit O Zip, the quarter horse which finished fifth at nationals
Bit O Zip makes name
Quarter horse was much larger after winning fifth place
By Mike Webber
Sports Editor
Forsyth County is now represented
by an athlete of another breed. Bit O
Zip, a 2-year old quarter horse, won
fifth place in the Amateur Two-Year
Old Halter Gelding Division at the
World Quarter Horse Show. The event
was held Nov. 13-21 in Oklahoma,
Okla. Bit O Zip is owned by Sam and
Beth Heard.
“We were so excited, we didn’t
know what to say,” said Mrs. Heard.
“Needless to say, we’re proud of what
she did against the big boys.”
The World Quarter Horse Show is
considered the Super Bowl of quarter
horse shows. Today, there are than 2
million registered quarter horses in
the world. Only the top 2,000 horses
qualified for the annual show.
In order to qualify for the World
Show, horses must earn a pre-deter
mined number of points at American
Quarter Horse Association shows be
tween Aug. 1,1986 and July 31,1987.
Bit 0 Zip earned points as the Geor
gia Quarter Horse Association’s High
Point Gelding and the Horseman’s
High Point Gelding. In his age group,
Bit 0 Zip was also the overall winner
Forsyth County News
»
holding her to two field goals and six points.
Forsyth County, which only led by seven
points after the first quarter, won the game
with a super second quarter, outscoring its
opponent 19-7. A 14-10 opening quarter lead,
was suddenly transferred into a 33-17 half
time advantage for the Lady Bulldogs. After
three quarters, Forsyth County led 44-26.
Betsy Henderson also had a strong game,
scoring 10. Trudie Ridings and Jennifer For
bush had eight each, while Shellie Thomp
son had two.
It was a big week for Diggle and Hender
son, as they scored 16 and 14 respectively
against North Hall.
The Forsyth County boys also used the
Dawson County Tigers, as a comeback from
Tuesday’s loss. After one quarter the Bull
dogs led 22-12. At halftime the lead was 11
points, 34-23.
Early in the third quarter, Forsyth County
opened a 36-23 lead. From that point on, it
became a little uneasy. The Bulldogs led 52-
37 after three, but saw that advantage dwin
dle to 54-47, with 6:10 left. From that point
on, it was no contest as the Bulldogs came on
with a 17-9 burst.
“We got into a little tight situation, but the
players came on strong,” said Barnes. “It
was good to see us play well, especially with
the pressure on. It was a big win for us.”
The Forsyth County foul situation made it
easy for Dawson County to make a fourth
quarter run. With 3:44 left in the third quar
ter, starters Billy Kemp, Chris Bennett and
Adam Craft, all were saddled with four
fouls. At the 7:08 mark of the fourth quarter,
Bennett left with his fifth.
That trio was extremely important to
their team’s success. Bennett wound up the
second leading scorer, with 17 points. Kemp
was the leader with 23.
With Bennett on the bench, Ritchie Pirkle,
who finished with 15, played an even bigger
role. Pirkle scored seven of those points af
ter those three were whistled with four fouls.
in the Halter Gelding Award.
The horse is trained by Bames
ville’s Henry Abreu. The Heard fam
ily owns both Bit 0 Zip, and his moth
er, Dizzy’s Tidbit.
The quarter horse is considered a
most versatile horse. It can be en
tered into Western Pleasure Shows,
can be ridden, or shown with a bridle.
Bit 0 Zip, only the second horse
owned by the Heards, is also the first
one they’ve shown. With such success,
it might be tempting to begin raising
show horses. Stud fees for quarter
horses range anywhere from SSOO
-
“We sometime think about how nice
the money would be,” she said. “But
we’re glad he doesn’t bite and kick
down the fences. Sometimes a stallion
doesn’t make a good bet.”
And make no mistake about it,
Dizzy’s Tidbit and Bit O Zip, are con
sidered pets to the Heard family.
“These two horses are our pets,”
she said. “We might show one, but
we’re not in the business of training
and showing horses. We just had our
second child, and want our horses to
be pets for them.”
For those interested in becoming
owners of a quarter horse, Mrs. Heard
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Perfect view
Forsyth County player Linda Diggle
appears to have perfect position to
watch teammate Shellie Thompson
has offered an idea. She suggests pur
chasing a horse which has already
been saddle broken, and ready for
shows. Quarter horses ranged in price
from $1,500 all the way to $1 million,
depending on quality.
“I would suggest the beginner
should buy a horse already broken,”
she explained. “A young quarter
horse would require a trainer willing
to spend a minimum of three hours a
day. Most people don’t have that kind
of time. With two children, I’m cer
tain we couldn’t have done it.”
At 2 years of age, Bit O Zip hasn’t
been ridden yet. The next plan for him
includes visits to Western Pleasure
Shows.
“Most people break their horses at 2
years of age, but we wait a little long
er,” she said. “I don’t see why there’s
such a big rush, especially with a pet.
We’re working him with a bridle now.
Next year, sometime, we’ll start rid
ing him.”
The Heard’s show horse experi
ences, and string of success, dcoesn’t
appear to end with this horse.
“Dizzy’s Tidbit is pregnant again,
sometime in April,” she said. “I guess
this one will also become a family
pet,” she said. “That’s the only way I
can see having animals.”
score against North Hall. Although the
pair combined for 20 points, the Lady
Bulldogs dropped a 65-47 decision.
FCHS grapplers
eye C. Gwinnett
as next opponent
By Mike Webber
Sports Editor
The 1987 wrestling season began on a low note
Wednesday, when Forsyth County was were
dealt a 52-18 loss at Etowah. The Bulldogs next
opportunity for victory will come Tuesday at
Central Gwinnett beginning at 4 p.m.
Coach Mike Prior hopes the team will learn
from the Etowah defeat and be prepared for Cen
tral Gwinnett.
“Etowah was very good and we weren’t ag
gressive as we should be,” said Forsyth County
coach Mike Prior. “We’ll need to work hard for
next week’s match.”
Forsyth County, which won seven times last
year, came away from Wednesday’s match with
only three individual victories. Bobby McKenzie
(unlimited), Toby Bramblett (152) and Steve Sla
ton (189) each pinned their opponents.
Overall, there was only one match, which
wasn’t decided by a pin. Jim Lofton lost a slim,
14-9, decision.
Following this season, the area tournament
will be held, Feb. 6, at a site yet to be determined.
The top four wrestlers in each weight classifica
tion will qualify for state competition. This year’s
state is scheduled for Feb. 12-13 at McEachem
High School.
Qualifying for state is a main goal of high
school wrestlers.
McKenzie a senior this year, participated in the
1987 state wrestling tournament. He captured
fourth place in the 1987 region event.
Slaton picked up exactly where he left off two
seasons ago. During the 185-86 season, Slaton
compiled a 18-1 record. His Wednesday pin
proved he didn’t lose anything learned that year.
Bramblett, a young wrestler, proved he has the
talent to follow that role.
Although the team didn’t fare well in its opener,
Prior views his team as one having talent.
Wrestlers like Patrick Cash (167) and Michael
Copeland (112) should make team competitive
this season. Copeland, a transfer from Shiloh
High School last year, wound up his first season
at Forsyth County High School with a 7-3 mark.
Jim Lofton (145) and Todd McCord (119) are
two more names that have talent to win this
season.
“We haven’t been working all that long, and I do
feel we have some good wrestlers” Prior said.
“We need some more experience and practice
time.”
This is the 1987-88 Forsyth County High School
wrestling schedule.
FORSYTH COUNTY WRESTLING
DAY DATE OPPONENT SITE
Wad. 12/2 Etowah Away
Tua. 12/8 Can. Gwinnett Away
Fri. 12/11 Parkview Away
Fri. 12/18 E-Hatl Away
Tuna. 1/5 Gilmer Co. Away
Sat. 1/8 Cherokee Co. Away
Wad. 1/13 Johnson Away
Fri. 1/15 Dawson Co. Away
Sat. 1/18 Duluth Away
Tuna. 1/18 N. Springs Away
Fri. 1/22 Riverside Away
Sat. 2/6 Araa Tournny TBA
Fri. 2/12 Stale McEacham
Sal. 2/13 State McEacham
1B
Staff photo Kathryn L. Babb