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FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS —Wednesday, February 4,1998
Upon Further Review...
No one can stop this #1 vs. #2
matchup: It’s Duke-Carolina!
It comes a month too late, in the
wrong sport, but we finally get
our coveted No. 1 vs. No. 2
matchup.
But it’s bigger than that.
These two teams traveled as far
as Alaska and Hawaii to establish
themselves as the country’s best
back in November. Since then,
they’ve done nothing to dispel
that notion.
But it’s bigger than that.
Riding on this game is first place
in the ACC. Not to mention the
inside track to the top seed in the
ACC tournament and NCAA East
Regional.
Still, it’s bigger than that.
It’s Duke-North Carolina.
Now, there are rivalries, and
there are natural rivalries. A nat
ural rivalry is so named because
hatred for your rival comes so nat
urally.
Alabama-Auburn is this way.
Children are simply raised to hate
one or the other, and that’s all
there is to it.
Oddly, some rivalries exist
fiercely in one sport, but don’t
spill over into another. Georgia
fans savor nothing more than
beating Florida in football. But
they don’t get whizzed up about
downing the Gators in, say, bas
ketball.
And football usually is the art
form of preference for rivalries.
When you picture great rivalries,
your mind often conjures up
images of classic football games.
Michigan-Ohio State. Florida-
FSU.
But make no mistake. Duke-
Carolina in basketball takes a
backseat to none. A natural rivalry
in the truest sense, Duke-Carolina
has all the elements necessary for
extreme mutual hatred. And in
massive quantities.
CH EER from IB
how her squad has continued to
progress, especially with the
potential pressure of the rivalry in
place. “Being that it was Central,
and that the girls know they’re
good, it boosted their confidence,”
she said.
With top class AA teams like
Johnson, Dacula and Rockdale
either already beaten by the
Forsyth teams - and/or struggling
with form or injuries - Central
and South appear to be establish
ing themselves as the teams to
beat at region and state. At the
former, fortunately, neither will
necessarily keep the other from
advancing to Macon. Gilmer,
Lumpkin and White counties will
probably provide the competition
at the region meet at Eastside, but
those teams are not likely to be
near the level needed for an upset.
The development of the middle
school and youth programs in
Forsyth and surrounding areas,
plus the springing up of cheer
leading academies and all-star
teams, looks like it might be cre
ating some long-term success for
the high school programs.
DOGS from IB
i
Tuesday and will go to Pickens
County Friday. Central was to
host Pickens Tupsday and travel
to Gilmer Friday.
JV girls
In the JV game, the Lady Eagles
defeated the Lady Dogs, 39-24.
Heather Upchurch had 12 points
to lead South, while Erin Mulryan
had nine and Jessica Watters five.
Clara Patten led Central in scor
ing with 15 points and Allison
Foxx had three.
In the opening quarter, South
put the game away by scoring 17
points while holding Central to
just a single field goal by Patten.
Mulryan had seven points and
Upchurch had five, including a
triple, for South in the stanza. ,
In the second quarter, Central
outscored South 4-3, but still
trailed, 20-6, at halftime.
In the third quarter, the hosts i
held a 5-3 edge, then maintained
in a high-scoring final period,
despite getting outscored, 15-14.
In the quarter, Patten had 11
points for Central and Samatha
Green had a triple for South.
There’s proximity. The schools
are eight miles apart. Everything
either one does catches the other’s
attention. Every perceived weak
ness is probed for an advantage.
There’s the conference. In the
best basketball conference in the
country, invariably the champion
must wade through Durham or
Chapel Hill.
Have you checked the ACC
standings lately? Duke is 9-0;
Carolina 8-1. Every other team
has at least four conference loss
es.
Then there’s the tradition.
Enough history to satiate Ken
Burns. Like national champi
onships (three for Carolina, two
for Duke), countless Final Fours,
ACC titles, and so on.
Nowadays, it’s hard to fathom
that Carolina had a rich basketball
tradition before Dean Smith
arrived. But Frank McGuire’s ‘57
team beat Kansas and Wilt
Chamberlain for the champi
onship.
It’s also hard to fathom that
Smith is no longer the Tar Heel
coach, so smoothly were the reins
handed over to long-time assistant
Bill Guthridge. The Heels haven’t
skipped a beat.
Smith’s record was so incredible
that upon his retirement, one
Duke alumna begrudgingly mut
tered, “What he did really was
amazing.”
Sadly, we won’t see the likes of
Dean Smith again.
Unless it’s Duke’s Mike
Krzyzewski. Like Smith, he took
a storied program and took it to
the mountaintop. His teams have
won back-to-back national titles,
and made seven Final Fours,
including five in a row.
And like Smith, Coach K does it
the right way. Players graduate.
This really appears to be taking
effect at South, where the Lady
Eagles have overcome the loss of
10 seniors to be poised for even
greater success and the potential
for a title defense. “Just since
we’ve started three years ago,
through the middle school and
other programs, the girls are start
ing younger,” said McDaniel.
That’s part of what has enabled
the coach to be able to challenge
her girls as the season has pro
gressed. “We have a more difficult
routine this year ... that’s harder,
with more elite stunts.”
The developmental programs
also lend to the depth South has
this year. With the JV season over,
McDaniel has four strong fresh
men in as alternates should any
injuries occur.
Sanborn is also pleased with her
team’s depth, too, noting that
while the team has an especially
strong senior class, there are also
some top underclassmen.
The coaches also agree, in their
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Ashway W
Nobody gets in trouble. And
here’s a laughable thought: can
you imagine Duke or Carolina on
NCAA probation?
Maybe we’ve hit on the key to
this rivalry: similarity breeds con
tempt. I mean, take the school
colors. They’re the same. Blue.
The only difference is the hue.
Royal blue or Carolina blue.
Duke and Carolina are so much
alike they’re like brothers. And
nobody in the neighborhood beats
up my brother—except me!
And that’s how it’ll be Thursday
night at the packed Dean E. Smith
Center. It’ll be uptempo, tough
defense, full tilt college basketball
at its finest.
But when it’s over, all the win
ners will have is bragging rights
for a month' They meet again in
Durham on February 28.
As Coach K said recently, “The
only polls I’m worried about right
now are Wojciechowski,
Domzalski, and Krzyzewski.”
The real winners are the fans.
We get to see the two best teams
in the land play twice this year.
And probably for a third time in
the ACC tournament final.
Anyone for four?
Denton Ashway is a partner in
the law firm of Lipscomb,
Johnson, Ashway and Sleister. His
phone number is 887-7761.
own ways, that the essence of
excellence in the sport is creating
the best possible performance,
and keeping the worrying about,
the opposition at a minimum. A
team competes against itself.
It was a tribute to this and the
spirit of cheerleading in Forsyth
overall, that the Lady Eagles and
Lady Bulldogs performed a stunt
together later Saturday at their
schools’ basketball games.
“My girls wanted to do stunting
together with them,” said
Sanborn. “I’m really proud of
them from that end.”
“It shows where the girls are
character-wise,” McDaniel
agreed.
Interestingly, while neither team
competes again before region, the
squads will be cheering on their
hoops teams again Saturday in
Central’s new gym as they clash
with South again.
Then the rest of the state will see
what these Forsyth athletes are
made of.
EAGLES from IB
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Photo/Chris Pugh
Hot passer
South’s Ryan Campbell looks for the open man as Central’s
Jeremy Boles defends in Saturday night’s game on the War
Eagles’ floor.
contributed 10 and eight from the
backcourt.
From the bench it was Boling,
plus Ryan Campbell with nine
more and some steals.
South had a good balance of
inside and outside scoring. “When
we play like we should, that’s
what we intend to have,” said
Porter.
Tatum leads Central; foul
calls hurt
Michael Tatum led head coach
Greg Dirst’s team with 10, but the
Dogs had difficulty getting an
offensive focus, especially after
Matt Shugart (six points) picked
up his fourth foul on a technical
in the first half. Scott VanderHoff
added seven and Todd VanderHoff
six.
The Dogs did seem to suffer
from an imbalance in foul calls,
getting whistled for 27 personals
compared to 16 for South, leading
to a 10-point deficit from the line.
It was tough treatment for a team
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that had won five of six.
But a bigger thorn was Dixon,
who drained all three of his 3-
point bombs in the first period,
plus two free throws. After two
buckets in the second, he picked
up nine more in the third quarter
after moving tp a post.
Finally, the exclamation point:
After missing two free throws to
start the fourth, he sailed through
the lane on the next possession -
after a Jimenez miss - and made
the War Eagle gym explode with a
two-handed jam.
That was part of a 24-6 burst
that gave South their biggest lead
at 84-46; indeed, most of their
margin was built on sustained
runs.
There were surges of 10-0 and
12-5 in the first quarter, then a 14-
3 push in the second that
increased their lead to 38-20.
Chase had 10 big points in the
first half and Boling had seven of
his.
The Dogs were, at times, able to
push back. Tatum hit a three and
Shugart had four quick points as
they had a 10-3 run near the end
of the half. Even on the technical,
South not only blew the free
throws, but the possession as well
- and their lead was down to 43-
30.
Key 14-1 surge
But after Bobby Donofrio and
Todd VH scored in the second
half to make it 46-34, Dixon and
Drew led a 14-1 explosion. That
increased the margin to 25 and all
but put the game out of reach.
Jimenez also hit four straight
free throws and Wesley Ellis had
a strong floor game off the bench.
Porter praised their play, as they
helped make up for Johnny
Jimenez’s illness and foul trouble
from Chase.
South played at White County
Tuesday night, while Central
hosted Pickens County. Both
teams are on the road Friday at
Pickens and Gilmer counties
respectively.
Saturday, the Dogs will have a
chance to get one back on their
home floor to complete the season
series.
JV boys
The Bulldogs JV defeated
South, 64-60, on Saturday.
The score was tied at 48 at the
end of the third quarter, but
Central was able to outscore
South, 16-12, for the victory.
The Dogs’ balanced attack was
led by Brent Howell and James
Otwell, with 14 each, and Adam
Buice, who had 13. Slate Amos
added eight.
Josh Campbell of South led all
scorers with 24, while George
Lisgaris added 11, Austin Burger
nine and Brad Thomas eight.
In the opening quarter, Central
outscored South 14-12, but found
themselves down at the half, 34-
32, after Lisgaris got all 11 of his
points in the second.
In the third quarter, Central
outscored South 16-14 and the
score was tied at 48. Amos scored
six points, Buice five, including a
triple, and Howell had a triple for
Central. For South, Campbell and
Burger scored six points in the
quarter.
In the final quarter, Howell and
John Poulos each scored four
points for Central. Campbell
scored seven points, including a
triple, and Thomas scored three
for South.