Newspaper Page Text
War Eagles tough at home
South third in
strong field at
Invitational
By Morgan Lee
Sports Writer
Not that he's happy with third
place, but South Forsyth golf coach
Matt Loveless wouldn’t mind per
formances like Monday’s every time
his team hits the course.
Shooting a total 302, South
turned in another consistent round at
the second annual War Eagle
Invitational, hosted at the Polo Golf
and Country Club, coming in behind
5A squads Milton (first place
298) and Northview (299) and tied
with Habersham Central. Also play
ing in the 11-team event, Forsyth
Central finished with a 320, while
North Forsyth turned in a 361.
"We played well,” said Loveless,
who has high hopes for this season.
"A 302 will get us [to] State every
time sometimes it’ll even win it."
South's Steve Hocker missed
tying for low medalist by one stroke,
shooting a 72 that honor went to
Marist’s Brett Lange, who won an
18th-hole playoff for a 71. The War
Eagles’ Joe Muntan and Jack Jeffrey
each finished with a 76.
Monday’s round comes on the
heels of last week’s strong 303 at the
Madison County Invitational, where
the War Eagles finished tied for
sixth, again with Habersham.
"Any time you’re shooting under
310, you're doing well,” said
Loveless. “We're playing consistent
right now. And the mid 290’s is in
our range as long as we keep
improving.”
County rivals North and Central
are also looking for improvement
throughout this season and each hung
tough Monday afternoon.
Recording two rounds under 80,
the Bulldogs showed they aren’t far
off the torrid pace of leaders Milton
and Northview. Central’s Nick
Sheffield fired the Bulldogs lowest
round, turning in a 77, while Rick
Rider closed with a 79.
“I'm pleased with our progress,"
said Central coach Bruce Bennett,
who has just one senior in the team.
“We came in fourth in the region last
year, and we’d like to think we can
improve every year. But we’re going
to have to get better."
Playing in their first Invitational
of the season. North’s young Raiders
gained valuable experience for the
future. Keith Ascenzo finished with
the Raiders’ best round, shooting an
88. Colby Wagoner also broke 90,
scoring an 89.
“I want them to get exposed to
the kind of quality golf there is out
there,” said North coach Don
Golden.
“We’ve got just two seniors. This
experience will help [us] play better
tournament golf. We're in the
process, still, of getting golf going at
North. But we’ve improved from last
year, and we have 12 to 13 kids who
are pretty even."
With a senior-laden team. South,
Championship ring on way
for former Eagle Patterson
By Travis M. Chaffin
Sports Editor
South Forsyth graduate and Kennesaw
State University freshman Taylor
Patterson has reason to celebrate these
days. After all, he’s got a National
Championship ring on the way.
As the Owls claimed their first men’s
Division II basketball championship in
Bakersfield, Calif., this past Saturday
defeating Southern Indiana 84-59 the
2003 War Eagle grad and his teammates
earned the right to cut down the nets in
front of a national television audience on
CBS.
“It was definitely an experience where
a lot of things were new to me,” said
Patterson, who, as the team’s only fresh
man, earned valuable playing time off the
bench throughout the season.
“I was not prepared in any way for
this type of season. It was just unbeliev
able it’s great to be part of a winning
Sports
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however, sees an opportunity to
shoot for the top this season.
“Our seniors have stepped it up a
lot,” said Loveless. “We had a lot of
inconsistencies last year. Now, the
top six kids are always around 300.”
And Monday served as a timely
reminder of just how well the compe
tition can play on any given day.
“There were some great scores,”
said Loveless. “Look at the top five,
my God ... Everything’s tighter now
and more competitive. You might see
half [the field] playing in college one
day.”
After a successful completion to
the second-ever War Eagle. Loveless,
also took time to thank course offi
cials like Polo Golf and Country
Club head pro Brent Whittaker
and parents, who volunteered their
time working the event.
"Without them, this wouldn’t be
possible,” said Loveless. “This is a
classy tournament.”
Patterson
“In between one of my son’s (14-
year-old Justin] AAU games, I went to a
restaurant and watched it on TV with
his whole team and all of their parents
and we were all cheering for
Kennesaw."
Kennesaw State won its final 26
games en route to a 35-4 season, becom
ing the first team from the Peach Belt
Conference to win the national title.
See PATTERSON, Page 28,
H • ' „
team.”
And while Taylor’s
father. Brad, was watch
ing his son’s team in
person this past Satur
day, the freshman’s
mother, Brenda, was
doing her part here at
home.
“I was at home
manning things here,”
she said.
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South ace Spearman signs
South Forsyth softball standout Teran Spearman recently signed a letter of intent to
play at the next level for Andrew College in Cuthbert. Spearman, seen above at a sign
ing ceremony, went 12-3 this season, posting a 1.98 earned run average. She also
registered 73 strikeouts, while earning both All-Region and All-County recognition. The
Andrew College Tigers belong to the National Junior College Athletic Association.
Above, South
Forsyth’s Steve
Hocker finished
with a team
best 72 at
Monday’s War
Eagle
Invitational, just
one shot away
from low
medalist hon
ors. South fin
ished tied for
third with a
team 302. Left,
North Forsyth
gained valuable
experience, fir
ing a 361.
Photos/Doug
Jackson
COMING THURSDAY
Coverage of Monday night bueball
Season
under way
at Lanier
National
By Jeff Hood
For the Forsyth County News
Dwayne Buggay of Marietta
made an early season statement
by leading the final 103 laps and
winning this past Saturday
night’s Akins Pro Late Model
150 during the Checks-2-Cash
Spring Explosion at Lanier
National Speedway in Braselton.
Tony Bennett started on the
pole after edging Buggay by .003
seconds during Pepsi Qualifying.
Bennett, who finished second, led
the first 47 laps but was constantly
shadowed by Buggay.
Bennett’s car slid up the track
just enough for Buggay to put a
nose underneath the 2000 track
champion on lap 48.
“The car was really good,”
Buggay said. “I even come on the
radio and said ‘Man, let’s don’t
touch this car ever again.’
“We came out here early today,
played with it, and it wasn’t really
good. So, we went back to the
same setup we ran at the end of
last year. We put it on and there it
was.”
The win allowed Buggay to
grab the early lead in the Zaxby’s
Super Six Series.
Last year’s series champion,
Richey Etheridge edged Fredrick
Moore for third. Chris Worthon of
Boaz, Ala., collected fifth-place
pay. Buggay was joined in victory
lane by about 100 excited fans
representing Checks-2 Cash which
sponsored Saturday night’s event.
That same company sponsors
Buggay’s No. 15 Ford Taurus.
When pre-race favorite Kenny
Adams tagged the wall in turn two
on the first lap that opened the
door for Terry Gray and Doug
Berryman to battle for the top spot
in the 40-lap United Sprint Car
Series feature event.
The duo of Gray and Berryman
brought the huge crowd to its feet
repeatedly during the opening
laps. But it was Berryman’s daring
move on lap 20 which allowed
him to grab the lead for the final
time and pull away for the victory.
"This is a big win,” Berryman
said, whose hometown is Mans
field, Ohio. “Man. what a race.
This is just a big win.
“It comes in handy when you
learn to save your tires. I saw
Terry [Gray] was using his up. So,
I just kept running around the top
trying to cool the tires.”
Gwinnett Place Dodge presents
the NASCAR Dodge Weekly
Series at Lanier National Speed
way on this Saturday, April 3.
Gates open at 5 p.m. with qualify
ing scheduled to begin at 5:30
p.m. Heat races begin at 7 p.m. to
be followed by feature events.
For more information on
Lanier National Speedway, call
(770) 967-8600.
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