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SOCCER WRAP-UP War Eagles claw North Springs Central splits contests with Riverwood By Morgan Lee Sports Writer South Forsyth soccer erased any worries of a letdown after last Friday’s momentous victories against St. Pius X with a sweep of Region 6- AAAA foe North Springs, Tuesday night at home. Meanwhile, Forsyth Central split contests with Riverwood, winning the girls game 5-1 before dropping the boys match-up 3-2. South boys hold off late push The South Forsyth boys soccer team withstood some nervous moments and a tenuous finish to hold on to a 2-1 victory over region oppo nent North Springs. Tuesday night. Carrying a state ranking for the first time this season, the No. 9 War Eagles (5-1 overall, 3-0 in Region 6- AAAA) dominated for 60 of the game's 80 minutes building a 2-0 lead that would have soared higher but for the goalkeeping skills of North Springs’ Matt Manning. Yet the visiting Spartans fought back midway through the second half, halving South's lead and miss ing three clear chances before the War Eagles clinched a critical win. "We have to learn a great deal from this one," said South coach Phoday Dolleh. “We were a little unlucky in the first half [not to score more]. And then, in the second half, we lost our cool a little and started putting pressure on ourselves.” All the pressure was on North Springs' defense in the first half. Firing on all cylinders early, the War Eagles peppered the Spartan goalmouth, starting with Linus Warendh's header just five minutes into the contest. Kiel Voight nearly broke through just a minute later but saw his low drive pushed around the post by North Springs’ Manning the Spartan keeper who kept his club in the game throughout with a cagey, solid display. “Their goalie was very smart,” said Dolleh. “He was a big reason we couldn’t score more.” But even Manning couldn't shut out South’s high-flying attack forev er as Nathan Renaud proved midway through the first. Running on to a pass in the Spartan penalty area from teammate Nelson Alvarez, Renaud blasted a close-range shot past Manning with 21 minutes left in the half to give South a 1-0 lead. North Springs stiffened after the strike, allowing few more chances in the first stanza, but South needed just one chance to score again after the interval. Two minutes into the restart. Kyle Swisher latched on to a pass from Voight who had won a ball in front of the Spartan goal strode into the North Springs’ penalty area and slotted a nine-yard shot past Manning for a 2-0 War Eagle advan tage. But just as South looked as though they might pull away. North Springs turned the tables and clawed Dixie Speedway prepared for opener From staff reports ‘‘l’ve never seen so much anticipation for the first race of the season,” said Mike Swims, Dixie Speedway general man ager. Swims and company have been busy preparing for the Spring Short Track Champion ships at the 3/8-mile clay oval on Saturday, March 13. He said more than 150 race cars participated in an open practice session at the track on Feb. 21 and March 6. “We have had our first race of the yason the first weekend A Il |r v• J B I 3 _p d Fl f / r a goal back three minutes later. Taking a ball away from the South defense 35 yards from goal, a streaking Spartan attacker surged forward and drove a shot past strand ed War Eagle keeper Richie Larkin to pull North Springs within 2-1 with 35 minutes left. South’s Jordan Cushman tried to answer four minutes later pounc ing on a rebound from Warendh's shot but saw his point-blank effort saved by a diving Manning. With time waning, the Spartans’ confidence grew as South began los ing continuity in midfield, allowing North Springs to grab control of the contest. Twenty minutes in to the half, midfielder Greg Bova stepped up to preserve South’s lead, clearing a shot off the War Eagle goal line. But North Springs wasn’t ready to fade. With just eight minutes to play. South’s Larkin saved a blistering shot off of a botched clearance only to find himself facing a one-on-one breakaway just one minute later See CLAW, Page 4B of May for the past few sea sons,” Swims said. "With the response we had at both of our practice sessions, it looks like everyone is ready to go for the Spring Short Track Champion ships on March 13.” The Spring Short Track Championships will be head lined by a 50-lap, $3,000-to win Super Late Model main event that is expected to draw the top local and regional com petitors in the area. One local competitor that is ready to step out on to the national and See PREPARED, Page 2B Sports NMn 11 \ Photo/File Racers ages 5-15 from 17 states will compete at the Spring Nationals at the Cumming Fairgrounds. t I g ■ i h| A » 1 ’ 1 Mw / \ That's Racin', 5B Above, South Forsyth’s Linus Warendh chal lenges a North Springs player for the ball dur ing the War Eagles' 2-1 win on Tuesday. Left, South Forsyth's Katie Lindsey con nects on a header during the Lady Eagles’ 3-0 win over North Springs. Both South teams are now ranked in the state’s top 10 after last week’s wins over St. Pius. Photos/David McGregor Quarter midgets set to draw thousands By Travlg M. Chaffin Sports Editor Organizers of the North Georgia Quarter Midget INSIDE | ■ Results from the NGQMA’s most recent race,4B. Association’s inaugural Kids Racing for Kids Spring Nationals expect that the event could bring as many as two thou- sand visitors to Forsyth County. As early as Wednesday night, trailers began filing, North Forsyth baseball outlasts Berkmar North Forsyth improved its record to a perfect 4-0 Wednesday night, defeating Class 8-AAAAA’s Berkmar Patriots 9-5 at Raider Field. Starting pitcher Scott Patterson (2-0) went four innings, allowing four hits and three runs (two earned) while walking none and striking out five. Mark Doll earned the save. The Raider offense was high lighted by Dexter Bobo, who went 2-for-2 from the plate with two triples and 3 RBI, and Christopher Light, who was 2-for -4 with a double and 2 RBI. North Forsyth opened strong, batting around in the bottom of the first for a 7-0 lead entering the second. But Berkmar did not give up, scoring two runs in the second, one in the third, and two more in the fifth to pull within 7-5 heading into the bottom of the fifth. After drawing a walk with one out in the bottom of the sixth, Justin Hamilton capitalized on an errant pickoff attempt and two wild pitches to score for an 8-5 Raider lead. Then, with two outs, Christopher Light hit a double to score his brother, Payton, from second base for the 9-5 North Forsyth victory. The Raiders host Kennesaw Mountain Friday afternoon. First pitch is at 5:55 p.m. Bulldog tennis sweeps Chamblee at home Both Forsyth Central Bulldog tennis teams took out region foe Chamblee Monday afternoon at Central Park in Cumming. The Dawgs blanked Chamblee 5- without dropping a set, while the Lady Dawgs won 3-2. Central's boys (1-2 overall, 1-2 in Region 6-AAAA) got singles wins from Justin Davis (6-1,6-0), Bryan McKinnon (6-0, 6-1) and Harry Pritchett (6-2, 6-4). Central also took both doubles points with wins from No. 1 team Tony Abdulkarim and Kyle Rinna (6-2, 6- and No. 2 team Simon Allen and Andrew Webber (6-2, 6-2). For Central’s girls (2-1,2-1), singles players Brittany Romig (6- 1,6-0) and Melissa Smith (6-3, 6- 0) helped the Lady Dawgs to a 2- 1 advantage. In doubles, No. 1 team Maddie Stoddart and Erin Moister dropped the first set 6-1 and were down 4-3 in the second before storming back to win the final two sets 6-4, 6-4, and take the match. Coaches, contact the FCN with your scores Coaches, statisticians and parents can report scores, stats and game accounts to the Forsyth County News sports department by emailing sports@forsythnews.com or by calling (770) 887-3126, ext. 505. into the parking lot of the Bill Thomas Raceway at the Cumming Fairgrounds to begin running practice laps. “There are already 30 trailers here,” said NGQMA publicist Lorraine Good. “On a Wednesday night, that’s pretty unheard of ... People from Pennsylvania are already here [and] a lot of the out-of-towners are start ing to trickle in.” Practice laps were sched uled for Thursday, seven cars See DRAW, Page 2B , □