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I FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS Wednesday, January 13,1W9
Upon Further Review...
rej 1—
Atlanta Falcons defy history,
|reach first NFC title game
The images are just as vivid
today as they were on that clear,
- cold day 18 years ago -
I lhe day the Atlanta Falcons, 12-4
' -and winners of their only divi-
I won title, hosted their last play
s off game.
Their foes were the Dallas
Cowboys of coach Tom Landry,
the Lords of the Manor, the
. NFL’s elite team.
i / Beat the Cowboys in the play
offs, and you had arrived.
r
. The old stadium rocked as the
■ Talcons held a 9-point lead in
' the fourth quarter. A Cowboy
' touchdown was of no major con
i' cem. The Falcons merely had to
I gamer a first down to run out the
clock.
On third and short, the Falcons
opted to give the ball to Lynn
• Cain instead of William
Andrews. When the dust cleared,
it was fourth and short.
Suddenly, frantically, here
came Danny White and the
-Cowboys racing the clock down
the field. And then came the play
I’ve never forgotten.
From my vantage point in the
. end zone, I had a perfect view of
Drew Pearson juking right, and
sprinting left on a simple post
pattern.
. I could see the number 22 on
,jthe back of diminutive defender
.Rolland Lawrence as he lost
contact with Pearson and gave
futile chase.
Then came White’s pass -a
/long, arcing, perfect spiral,
banging in the blue sky for an
eternity - finally coming to rest
Jn Pearson’s sure hands in the
end zone.
For 18 years, that haunting 30-
This Week in Fishing
Fishing is slow again with the
cold weather on Lake Lanier
LAKE LANIER FISHING
REPORT FOR JANUARY 13,
1999
Lake Sidney La- _r is down 8
feet and the water temperature is
high forties. The lake is clear and
the creeks and rivers are slightly
stained.
The best day for fishing will be
Monday, Jan. 18 from 2 p.m.
until 4:30 p.m. The next full
moon is January 31.
BLACK BASS have been slow
with the cold fronts and heavy
rains. The bass are deep early, but
later in the day, fishing picks up.
The up-lake fish are still slug
gish, due to the cold stained
waters. Down-lake bass are also
deep and tight on cover, but any
warming days will get these fish
active.
Worms and jigs are going to be
the better lures for these fish. The
water is still cold and the presen
tations must be slow.
Dark brown or all-black Georgia
Jigs in the 3/8-ounce size, with a
dark Uncle Josh trailer, will be
good choices for the bass.
Use a Culprit June bug u-tail, as
well as the lizard on a Texas rig.
Look for bass on the sharper
cuts and points, mid-lake and in
the rivers. These fish are on
sharper drops in cold water so
they do not have to chase baits
very far.
Spoons are also good additions
to the early spring tactics; work
them in the same areas.
The fish all over the lake will be
feeding on a three-day cycle. It’s
best to pay close attention to the
feeding periods and fish slow
moving baits.
Larger docks that are totally
enclosed up the lake will warm
the surrounding waters all day
with the sunlight. Pitch and flip,
or even skip baits under these
larger docks.
Go the the gang planks around
in the shallows later each day,
make precise presentations and
be quiet. Look in the backs of the
Six Mile and Four Mile creeks
and fish the docks and the wood
with jigs and worms.
1 During the water
27 loss to Dallas stood as the
Falcon’s high water mark, the
closest they ever came to shed
ding their mediocrity.
The closest they ever came to
the Super Bowl.
Until now.
Thanks to their wondrous 20-
18 defeat of the dreaded 49ers,
the Falcons are set to appear in
their very first NFC
Championship game this
Sunday.
Win or lose, these Falcons have
done the impossible: they have
destroyed the demons wrought
by their hideous history.
Last Thursday, 49ers coach
Steve Mariucci was fretting.
“Home field advantage is a real
thing. It’s legit.”
The Georgia Dome crowd was
predicted to be “raucous.” This
prompted my 13-year-old daugh
ter to exclaim, “Isn’t that an oxy
moron?”, alluding to the dark
days when the Dome resembled
a mausoleum.
These Falcons turned the tables
so far that they were actually 3-
point favorites over the Niners.
And as you watched the game
unfold, it was clear that the
Falcons were indeed the better
team.
But keeping in mind that only
two years ago the feeble Falcons
turned in another 3-13 atrocity,
this was really an epic upset.
For an historical comparison,
you probably have to go back to
Cornwallis’ surrender to the
upstart Colonials at Yorktown.
The losers wore red jerseys that
day, too.
And the British band played
warms a little and use fire tiger
crank baits.
Be sure to bump the deep wood
and bump this bait off rocky
points as well.
The West Fork of Little River,
on the right side going into the
creek, is a good winter location.
Run a bright fire tiger and red
crawfish Model A bomber crank
baits right off the little cuts and
mud points.
SPOTTED BASS are deep and
they have been slow to react to
almost all lures and live bait.
It’s a deep bite all over the lake
and, with the very cold water, the
spots are hard to catch.
Marina docks are good areas for
the spots and doodling worms
deep will work. The green finesse
worms on a brass and glass
weight and glass bead makes lots
of noise under water.
Dropping a dark jig and eel can
get a strike from the better fish.
The spoons are still good winter
lures for these fish and lucky
anglers can get on a school. Look
in the backs of creeks around the
deep docks, as well as marina
slips, for any active fish later each
day.
Some of the better fish will bite
better with the full moon the last
day of the month. Add some extra
scent on the lures and work the
baits dead slow.
Live night crawlers are catching
a few fish and use a small 1/8-
ounce lead head jig on light line.
STRIPERS are as deep as
many anglers have seem them in
the winter months.
They have been slowed from the
high winds, cold rains and cold
weather. Any warming trend may
help, but continue to look to 30
feet and deeper for shad schools
and stripers.
Down lake in the clear water,
use small baits and use fresh cut
bait on the points.
Gainesville Marina at marker
#53, Holly Park and the Little
Hall area continue to hold these
fish. Points right on the river hold
fish and keep watch for any
schools of bait fish in the creeks
close to the riw-
Denton VMT
“The World Turned Upside
Down.”
It would have been a fitting
tune to play in the Dome on
Saturday.
Just as fitting were words like
“unbelievable” and “I can’t
believe this is happening” - as
often employed Saturday by
long-time Falcon observers.
No one, however, captured the
moment like the NFL’s Coach of
the Year, the man who led the
Falcons out of their 33-year
morass of mediocrity.
Dan Reeves returned to the
sideline Saturday, observing the
National Anthem with his hand
over the heart that caused so
much concern during the past
month.
Dan Reeves returned to the
Falcon locker room at the half
Saturday, calming a team that
should have led 21-0, but instead
led only 14-10.
And Dan Reeves returned to
the post-game press conference
Saturday, and was asked if he
ever had a team come so far, so
fast.
Said Reeves, “The teams I’ve
had before never had this far to
go.
We know, Coach. We know.
t I
Oh
Ken >
Sturdivant
River Forks Park is also holding
schools of bait and stripers. Cut
bait is the best way to to draw
fish to baits.
Fish around the ramps and on
the main lake points right on the
river. Chum the area and be sure
to use fresh cut bait.
Trolling large chartreuse and
all-white buck tail jigs may work
if used after mid day. Troll with
slowest engine speed and keep
the baits 70 feet behind the boat
for success.
Large all-white Roadrunners
can work, but it’s still tough to
find schools. Only one or two fish
are coming in after fishing a full
day.
CRAPPIE are in the deep
freeze and they are at depths of
27 feet and deeper.
Bridges and the larger docks are
the main holding areas. Look
over these areas carefully at each
one with the Lowrance depth
finder for schools of crappie and
bait fish.
Use greens, chartreuse and
pearl Creme mini tube lures,
Hal Flies and small minnows.
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Friendly rivals “Sf
South's Beth Lively (left) 'W
and North’s Crystal 1 4/T <
Carlyle are not only
friendly rivals, but also
spring and summer
teammates on
championship traveling
and all-star teams.
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one else that has had better stats
this year at their positions. It is
really good representation for our
region; it is one of the strongest
regions in the state.”
Carlyle, of course, had an
incredible offensive year in addi
tion to playing a great right field.
She set team single-season
records in six categories, includ
ing batting average (.563), slug
ging percentage (.920), total
bases (103), triples (10), hits (63)
and runs (51).
Os course, Bennett was another
big reason North went 28-5 and
won six straight games in
Columbus for their second
straight state title. While she hit a
comparatively modest .386, she
was regarded as one of the best -
if not the best - catchers in the
AWARDS from IB
desire, being a hard-worker,
coachability and toughness” was
bestowed upon junior Robert
Sexton, who excelled as a line
man this fall and still has another
to go.
Running back Elijah Mitchell,
the senior who gave South two
1,000-yard backs, received the
Coaches Award for the season.
Record-Setter Awards were
handed out to senior Derek Drew
and junior Drew Holahan. The
former hauled down 32 passes for
536 yards, while the latter hit a
46-yard field goal among his
seven successful 3-pointers.
The Leading Tackler Award,
was given to Lance Callas, the
senior defensive end who record
ed 10 sacks among his 100 tack
les and displayed “hustle” while
“never giving up.”
And junior David Dyer, a tough
linebacker who also is an emerg
ing running back, took the
Hardest Hitter Award.
The Hustle Award, based on the
whole year, was doled out to
junior Scott Hudgins. “He’s deter
mined to get what he wants,” his
coach said of his ethic on the
field, in the weight room and
everywhere else.
There were two Most Improved
Awards distributed. The offensive
one went to senior lineman Jason
Payne - who went from almost
not going out this year to grading
as high as 100 percent in one
game - while the defensive one
went to senior lineman Beau
Johnson.
An earlier highlight and always
a special feature of South football
banquets were the Games to
Remember Awards, where each
player received recognition for
their most memorable contest of
the season.
Assistant coach Allen Lane did
something unique when he called
up all seven of his linemen and
praised their response to the chal
lenges he issued them before the
state.
Orr has led the Lady Raiders to
an incredible 56-7 mark the last
two years and has had them sec
ond or better in the state three of
the last four years. Few, if any,
baseball/softball coaches in state
history have had the well-chroni
cled run of success he has
enjoyed at North.
Lively, a summer ball teammate
of the Lady Raiders, has been a
prime cog in the SFHS machine
her entire career. She has made
four straight All-County teams
and led the county in hitting in
‘97.
For all of these players, they
will have plenty of time for their
honors to sink in and for them to
prepare for the games.
Carlyle, with some time to think
Gilmer and Grady games, where
the line paved the way for huge
rushing (and winning) perfor
mances.
“It couldn’t have happened with
out these guys,” he said. “I chal
lenged them to win the bailgame
... It got to the point (during the
season) where they didn’t even
need me.”
Other “Games to Remember”
included monster 200-yard-plus
rushing efforts from Smith (plus
four TDs, against Grady) and
Mitchell, and many, many more.
The entire team had been previ
ously introduced, class-by-class.
First, there were the JVs (fresh
men and sophomores), who went
7-0 this year. Scout team awards
were handed out to Kelly Runfola
on offense and Wil Tyner on
defense.
Then came the varsity, with
underclassmen performers Taylor
Ownbey, Chad Bennett (both
freshmen) and Tim Webber (soph)
coming on first.
The 15-member junior class was
introduced next, followed by the
13 seniors - who Vaughan said
had 24 wins, three years in the
state playoffs and two in the top
15 in the state rankings.
“The seniors have been such
great leaders,” said Vaughan.
“They’ve accomplished quite a
lot. And we had a couple of fresh
men start ... I had no idea they
would play the way they played.”
At the start of the awards night,
there were comments from boost
er leaders Mike Freeman and Rick
Smith before Vaughan came on
for the first time.
Vaughan said the event is about
“what everybody has done ... it’s a
‘we’ thing,” and “Rick Smith is
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about it, said later over the week
end, “It is a great honor to be
chosen North Georgia All-Star
State Player of the Year. I would
like to thank my teammates and
my coaches; without them, this
award would not have been possi
ble.
“I would also like to thank my
dad for always coaching me
(recreation and traveling ball) and
all the extra hours of practice on
and off the field. Os course, 1
can’t forget my Mom, who never
stopped believing in me. A spe
cial thank-you to Coach Orr for
realizing my abilities and giving
me an opportunity to play the
game, for picking me up when I
would get down on myself and
for his part in getting me this
wonderful opportunity.”
probably the person most respon
sible for the stadium being here ...
and for me being here.”
“We want to be world-class in
everything we do,” he added.
The coach thanked all of those
who assisted in every way with
the program this year, including
Principal Brenda Colby, who
spoke of the attributes that the
student-athletes take from the
program that will aid them
throughout life and beyond the
gridiron.
Vaughan paid tribute to his
coaches and their families for all
of the sacrifices they made during
the season. He also thanked his
trainers (Sarah Vaughan and Kelli
Hamrick) and his “All-County”
waterboys/managers (Ethan Lane,
Casey Lane, Drew Vaughan and
Josh Tate).
Then he turned the program
over to the cheerleaders.
Supporters of the team but also -
of course - champions in their
own right, the defending Class
AA titlists were introduced by
new coach Denise Miles Bixler.
“It’s been a new beginning,” she
said. “These girls have all put in a
lot of hard work for the football
team.”
At the end, the War Eagles
looked ahead to next year, with
the introduction of the captains
between now and spring drills:
Mark Nash, Dusty Tate, Jody
Miller, Blake Brewer, Sexton and
Hudgins.
And awards were given from
players to the coaches. The final
one went to Vaughan, with Scott
Smith recalling the coach taking
over the program three years ago.
“He taught us to be a team,”'he
said. - 2