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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. mm !■ * JSB \jo^K { ®" ' William Andrews gained yards ij 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, m M§4bsi mmm* ® jm¥s i ' \V' jL JB BBS rf f -JSIBjIF JBE fr * u H i 1 \ I♦ Wr *JfiP I A- J.&i* rap B - Tamm % ih ■BBMB * - i* * , ■v |J| fig j§B gjL .. „ WESES* " .. mm am \ t-.MPfef.. „.^&aaaan«fiMß. —-Jh - - -.1 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 r .... ■' Mb x 'if jm "jSfc f ' m *~ Ik . am £sß? H J& JBHfi jfij 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