Newspaper Page Text
Forsyth County News - Sunday, March 28,1999
Sports
Farewell,
but I’ll be
watching
t Stephen
Underwood
You know, I really have been
meaning to get that photo that goes
with my column updated for a long
time. But now it serves as an inter
esting reminder of just how loooon
ngg it seems like I’ve been at the
Forsyth County News.
You hear comments of how much
presidents age while in office, but
looking at that picture and compar
ing it to the face I’ve seen in the
mirror on some recent mornings ...
well, I’m just glad the photo
doesn’t show the 20 pounds lighter
1 was then, too.
It’s been a long and exciting road
with the FCN - and it’s with mixed
feelings that I tell you of my plans
to move on. I’m stepping down as
spoils editor of this publication as
of this issue to take a position at a
magazine.
Os course, I’m excited on many
levels abdut this, but there’s a lot of
sadness in giving up working with
a great bunch of people. And sad
ness in not getting to go off and
report on the great things you - the
sportsmen and women, boys and
girls of Forsyth - are doing.
I want to thank everyone for
everything they’ve done.
The FCN sports section almost
feels like a little child I’ve raised
■or five years and now have to give
Lp for adoption or something.
IThere’s some feelings - bordering
Ln arrogance, I guess - that there’s
Lo way that anyone else could or
should do it.
I But of course that’s not true; those
Ivho will come in my place will
Luild on the good things we’ve
Kone here and improve the things I
haven't done as well.
11 truly hope, as we’re still planning
la live in Cumming, to have the
lhance to come out to more events
■ere, whatever they may be, and
lollow the ever-improving fortunes
■f Forsyth’s finest - whether it’s as
■.stringer or even a spectator/fan.
Il feel very fortunate to have been
[round to witness, in person or
■trough one of our reporters, all of
lie great Fbrsyth sports of the mid-
Inlate 1990 s - from the youngest
If the youth, to the prep standout
Kams and individuals, to the adult
Khletes and coaches of all kinds,
■ou could, I believe, call the ’9os
■orsyth’s glory years - with eight
■ate prep titles (and a million more
H the regions) and all of the other
Bnazing accomplishments you’ve
nd at every level.
■ wish I could put all of the names
H those in the paper who have
Hihanced this paper and my work
Hith your collective and individual
Hats. But taking reasonable space
Hr this and the fact that I’d surely
Higet too many great ones make
■at pretty difficult.
Kqually sincerely, I’ll also
■member all of those from whom
Be felt friendship from and grati
■fe towards.
flinally, I guess I need to tell you
Bere I’m going. I’ve had a chance
■get on board as a managing edi
■ with a national magazine cover
fl the sporting goods industry out
Biffices in Sandy Springs,
flhis transition will make most
■wets of the life, that my wonder
fl wife Quita and I want to build
Hm sure at times I’ll find myself
Shing I was out in the communi-
Bl ballgames, track meets or
flatever else, watching your kids
fl having conversations with
jflfyone - whether it be exalting
fl exulting over another great
Hie, considering exciting
Aspects for the future, or just
floting the breeze.
B all of those in Forsyth County
Arts: I will miss being wis yw ,t#
flften as I’ve been. But don't be ;
Brised to see me feast
Betimes. Forsyth spoil* are in
■DKXXJ.
■ T **
Lady Raiders, their fans gave team their all 5
Photo/submitted
Seniors Crystal Carlyle, Deidre Lotspeich, Lori Gravitt, Cassie Bennett and Kelley Dunn with on
the podium with coach Tracey Tipton. Carlyle earned the Hustle Award; Lotspeich got the Best
Defense Award; Bennett received the Lady Raider Award; Dunn was honored for most rebounds.
JV baseball players vying
for next year’s varsity spots
By Eric Burden
Staff Writer
Spring sprang, birds sang and bats rang at
Vanderhoff Field March 20 as the Forsyth
Central Bulldogs junior varsity baseball team
collected a pair of wins from a doubleheader
with Johnson.
After the game, assistant coach and part-time
bird watcher Charles Kicker identified the bird
whistling the tune of victory.
“That’s the tufted titmouse,” said Kicker as he
puckered up and echoed the twitter of the titter.
But for the rest of the season, he and Bulldog
head coach Mike Pruitt will be identifying the
players that would fill up the varsity nest after
this year’s flock of seniors spread their wings
and fly the coop after graduation.
Determining the migration routes of next
year’s varsity players has evolved into a fine sci
ence for Pruitt and his counterparts, Mike
Tinney at North Forsyth and Ronnie Davis at
South Forsyth.
Five games into the season, a gaggle of five
JV’ers show signs of earning their wings and
filling the bill, in the eyes of Pruitt.
Those he spotted as maturing into red-chested,
black-billed, fly-catching Bulldogs are sopho
mores Cody Schmotz, Jacob Cantrell, Brett
Liner, Nathan Hester and Justin Carr, and the
doubleheader with Johnson gave proof of their
potential.
In the second game, it was Cantrell that
cracked the game-winner in the bottom of the
seventh as he drove in Thad Hulsey from third
to break a tie and give the Bulldogs a 9-8 win.
Like a peacock fanning out his tail feathers, Can
fanned Johnson batters in the first game until the
umps issued a mercy killing after four innings
with the Bulldogs up 21-0.
The sweep gave Central a 3-2 record after loss
es to Gainesville and South Forsyth followed a
Falcon kicker
Andersen shares
goal-setting tips
By Eric Burden
Staff Writer
For 17 years, Atlanta Falcon place kicker Morten
Andersen has weaved footballs through distant uprights
with the skill and success that should place his name in
the National Football League’s Hall of Fame.
On Friday morning at Forsyth Central’s Little
Theater, he shared with students the mindset that he
used to set the life goals that enabled him to make
the field goals that brought Falcons and their fans
the ecstasy and the opponents’ and their fans the
agony.
“I came to this country when I was 17 after my
parents decided I needed to be exposed to some
thing more than playing soccer in Denmark,
because at that time, that’s ail I wanted to do,” said
Andersen, who added that one of the first things he
was exposed to was American football. It seemed
to him strange to have guys standing in groups in
the middle of a field and whispering and even
stranger when one guy bent over and another put
h|« hands against his rump.
Outdoors&Rec J'. '
special section W
COMING I
THURSDAY I
season-opening win against East Hall.
“Our hitting is still weak,” said Pruitt.” At
least, it’s not as consistent as we need it to be.
t Even though we hit everything they threw us in
i the first game, and we hit well against East Hall,
i in our losses our bats just died. The other thing
is to get our pitchers to throw strikes.”
North was at 2-7 as of midweek and South
stood at 7-2, but the record is really not what
I junior varsity coaches roost on or crow about.
For Pruitt, who also coaches the varsity squad,
the junior varsity serves as the minor league for
the varsity the emphasis is not so much on
the won-loss record as it is on developing play
ers for varsity play.
“We practice our varsity and junior varsity
; squads together. That way they’re used to the
signs and know the system when they’re ready
to move up to varsity. It doesn’t make any sense
to me if we don’t prepare and make them varsi
ty-wise as soon as possible,” said Pruitt.
It’s a philosophy that Tinney and Davis employ
as well.
“We’re trying to get them ready for the next
I level,” Tinney said. “We like to win, but at this
point, it’s more important to develop players.
Freshmen need to learn to consistently make the
routine play routine.”
South’s Davis says molding the JVers’ mental
skills into varsity shape so that they integrate
with their physical baseball skills shouldn’t be
overlooked.
“At the junior varsity level we’re trying to get
them to learn the game inside and out,” said
Davis.” They need to be observant, not just
counting home runs and strikeouts. They need to
watch rotations of defenses know what
defense they should play in each situation,
watching where the pitcher is throwing the ball,
what kind of pitch is being thrown, how the bat-
See BASEBALL Page 2C
Photo/Eric Burden
Morten Andersen joined Tony Romano at
Forsyth Central High to talk with students.
But then, someone handed him a football and told
him to kick it through two long sticks at the end of
the field.
See ANDERSEN, Page 2B
I Basketball banquet honors £
standouts on offense, defense 1
By Alton Bridges
Sports Writer
When the North Forsyth Lady
Raiders held their basketball ban
quet Monday evening at the high
school cafeteria, Tracey Tipton,
varsity Lady Raiders head bas
ketball coach, thanked the play
ers, coaches and administrators
“for just being good people” and
supporting the team throughout
the season.
Tipton told the gathering the
basketball season was successful
because everyone associated with
the team could look themselves
in the mirror and say, “ ‘ gave
everything 1 could possibly give.’
When we have done that, we are
successful. We never lost a game
by not hustling. There might
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Photo/Dustin Wrighf
Central’s Slate Amos delivers in the recent 20-0 win over Johnson. *
Diamond ’Dogs j
defeat Fannin, 13-3 *
By Alton Bridge*
Sportswriter
The Forsyth Central Bulldogs
exploded for seven runs in the
second inning and defeated the
young Fannin County Rebels
13-3 Friday afternoon at
Vanderhoff Field. The game
was called after four and a half
innings because Central had a
10-run lead.
Fannin starts six freshmen and
had only one hit until the top of
the fifth, when they scored three
times. “Fannin has a good team,
but a young team,” said
Bulldogs coach Mike Pruitt.
“We started (Adam)
McCullough because we want
to win the games we are sup
posed to win. A team like
Fannin can slip up on you.”
Brooke Richards led the offen
sive attack for the Bulldogs,
going 3-for-3, scored twice and
I I
- , •
Sports events j
and activities J
PAGE2C
Si
HA
have been a few times we hustled
too much and got ourselves isl
trouble.”
The Lady Raiders played in
Region 7AA after spending thfl
previous four years in Region
BA. Though one of the smalleA
teams in the region, the groufl
still finished with a record of 12j$J
13. &
Coach Stephanie Stiers workefi
with the varsity team, coachefl
the junior varsity team to a 9-2
regular season, and the freshmarr'
team to an overall record of 11-3?*
Shannon Cantrell and
Baker were assistant coache£»
who also worked with all threhß
Lady Raiders basketball teams.
See BANQUET, Page 2G*
•I
drove in three runs. Micah
Owings went 2-for-2,
three runs, and also had three*
runs batted in. Winning pitches
McCullough went 2-for-3 arwt
scored once. Also, Bryan VaaC.
Bavel went 2-for-3, with a doup
ble and a home run and drove irr
four ' runs. WejL
Riemenschneider and Tino
McFerran went l-for-2 and SetK
Cole went l-for-3.
“We are beginning to come'
around,” said Pruitt. “We want
to be ready when the region
tournament gets under way. Wf
went out today and did what Jr
wanted them to do and iy
worked.”
In the first inning, Cole douy
bled and scored on a double bv
the next batter, Owingdi
Richards followed with a singA
and Owings scored on a singll
See DOG£ Page 2C
*