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David Collings to end the
inning.
“[South] had the bases
loaded and we were able to
get out of that jam," said
Heusing.
“I thought that would be a
big boost for us and kind of
get us [pumped [ up a little
bit.”
But that hope proved false.
White sent Central batters
down on three straight strike
outs in the first inning, then
War Eagle batters exploded
for seven runs in the second,
highlighted by Wages’ grand
slam.
COUNTY from 1C
toward April’s Region 6-
AAAA finals at Marist.
“We get better every
week," said South head
coach Shawn Coury. "We’ve
already broken 16 school
records this season."
South shattered two more
school records at the county
meet, with Marlyce Stein
reaching 34-7 1/2 in the
triple jump and Jay Garrell
clearing 13-1 in the pole
vault. Distance specialist
Ashley Whiteman also reset
her own record in the 3,200
finishing in 11:55.
“We got strong perform
ances from everybody, and
we just keep getting better,”
said Coury, whose team was
participating in its fifth meet
of the season.
Only the Lady Dawgs'
sprinters kept South’s girls
from a clean sweep of gold
medals.
Central’s Ashley Farley
—a Lady Eagle herself last
season won both the 100-
(12.86) and 200-meter
(27.00) dashes as she com
pleted a banner day.
Central’s 400-meter relay
team, including Farley, also
took first, finishing in 53.44.
"Ashley Farley did a
tremendous job for us," said
Central coach Carl Lyles,
whose team was performing
in just their second meet of
the season.
"We have to keep work
ing hard. We re still young.
But our times are going to
drop."
The rest of the girls meet
undeniably belonged to
South.
The Lady Eagles Anna
Fearon took first in the 400-
meter dash, finishing in
62.85. while Sharon Pam
perin (2:27) took the 800-
meter run. South's 1,600-
meter relay squad also took
first. Lady Eagle hurdlers
Brianna Salomon (17.5) and
Stein (50.46) each ran well,
earning gold in the 100- and
300-meter hurdles, respec
tively.
In distance events.
South’s Ashley Whiteman
held off North’s Laura Mayo
in both the 1,600 and 3.200.
Whiteman closed strong in
each race, crossing the finish
line after 5:40 in the 1,600
and 11:55 in the 3,200.
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“If he continues to go
about his work in the right
66
LVe ve got to go
back to the
drawing board
and work on
somethings
way, he’s got a chance to real
ly be a big-time contributor
for us,” said Strickland of his
catcher.
South batted around in the
second Barton had two sin-
In field events. South's
Ashley Myers soared 15-5
1/2 in the long jump to take
first, while Katie Ewald
ruled in both the discus and
shot-put, hurling the shot 33-
4 and the discus 97-7. Fearon
also proved strong in the
pole vault, clearing 9-0 to
take the win.
The Lady Eagles’ per
formance came on the heels
of a top-three showing at the
Roswell Relays and shows
that the squad is closing
strong on the April 23-26
region finals.
"It went really good,"
smiled Coury.
But Coury didn’t have to
reserve all his praise for the
girls team the War Eagle
boys also stormed their way
to the top, clinching 10 first
place finishes along the way.
South’s Geno Burroughs
took the 200-meter dash
(23.5), while Vladimir Gul
chuck won the 400-meter
dash (53.21 ). In the 800,
Chris Bruce captured gold in
2:11. South also took both
the 400-meter relay (46.71)
and 1,600-meter relay (3:38).
The War Eagles’ Bo
Brawner continued his recent
torrid pace in the distance
events. After taking the
3,200 in 9:50 at the Roswell
Relays. Brawner picked up
another first, this time finish
ing in 10:13. Brawner also
claimed the 1600. crossing
the finish line in 4:51.
North Forsyth's Stephan
Mason fired back for the
Raiders in the 100-meter
dash, finishing in 11.23. But
it was in the field events
w here the Raiders made their
mark.
North swept the long
jump, high jump and triple
jump as they began pressing
South.
In the long jump. North's
Muller leaped 20-1 1/2 for
gold, while in the triple
jump. Hanks impressed with
a 38-2 effort. North's John
Mcßrayer completed the
Raiders’ sweep in the high
jump, clearing 5-6.
“North's boys really
impressed me," noted Coury,
"especially their jumpers."
But South proved too
strong in the discus and shot,
with Drew Connell and
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gles in the frame and the
Bulldogs trailed 8-0 entering
the third.
South proceeded to score
three more runs in the third,
one more the fourth and
another in the fifth, when the
mercy rule was invoked for
the 13-0 final.
Strickland said he was
pleased with his team's alert
base running, but still felt that
the War Eagles have plenty of
room for improvement.
"We've got to get better,”
the South coach said. "We’ve
got to work on every facet of
the game ... You name it. we
HmL *
n
Photo/David McGregor
The Lady Dawgs 400-meter relay team finished in first
place Tuesday, winning in 53.44. The Lady Dawgs fin
ished in third place overall with 30 points.
Daniel Stonecypher claiming
firsts. Connell hurled the dis
cus 139-5, while Stone
cypher completed a 43-6
throw in shot-put.
For Central's Bulldogs,
hurdler John Daniels enjoyed
an outstanding day. winning
both the 100- and 300-meter
events. Daniels completed
the 100 in 15.8 and the 300
in 43.3.
With spring break domi
nating the upcoming week,
all three teams have breaks
until April 13. when Central
heads back to Coal Mountain
need to work on it.”
On Thursday, South
defeated Chamblee 11-1 on
the road, while Central fell to
Marist, 5-1.
South Forsyth returns to
action Thursday at home
against Sprayberry. Mean
while, Forsyth Central travels
to Rome on Tuesday.
"Hopefully, we can get
some things worked out,” said
Heusing. "We’re not hitting
the ball well right now, that’s
the biggest thing.
“We’ve got to go back to
the drawing board and work
on some things.”
for another meet against
North. South, meanwhile,
heads to McEachern Invi
tational on April 17.
The boys region track
meet opens April 30 at
Marist and finishes on May
3.
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FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS - Sundiy, April 4,2004
Party’s over in NFL
for celebratory cheer
By Nell Hayes
Knight Ridder Newspapers/KRT
WALNUT CREEK, Calif.
lmagine it if you can, the
shock on the faces of fans,
coaches, and players at the
dawn of the new age.
The crowd goes silent.
Broadcasters stare slack
jawed at the field, speechless,
as this visionary celebrates a
touchdown by...
Not celebrating?
The NFL announced its
new get-tough policy at the
owner’s meetings in Palm
Beach# Fla., that it hopes will
eliminate excessive celebra
tions.
Any planned celebration
that involves two or more
players can result in a 15-yard
penalty. (Not that the threat of
a 15-yard penalty deterred
Raiders cornerback Phillip
Buchanon from taking off his
helmet while celebrating a
27-yard punt return against
Kansas City last season).
Players who produce
“hard objects" such as the cell
phone New Orleans Saints
receiver Joe Hom hid in the
goal-post padding or the
Sharpie Terrell Owens pulled
out of his sock in 2002 will be
ejected. (“Soft objects” such
as paper signs and cream
cheese danishes are deemed
acceptable).
We’ve all witnessed the
emphasis in sports shift from
the team to the individual.
Watch Owens the next time
he scores a touchdown. He
actually runs away from
teammates so he can have the
spotlight to himself.
"Nice catch. TO."
"Back off. man. you're in
my light.”
Tougher rules were needed
because these "spontaneous”
celebrations were more chore
ographed than music videos.
It was enough to give you
a higher appreciation for how
baseball polices itself.
Football and basketball
have grown increasingly
flamboyant. Players beat their
chests, wag their fingers or
signal a first down after seem
ingly routine plays.
If a baseball player spends
more than three seconds
admiring a home run, he’s
liable to get a fastball in the
ear next time he comes up.
The rule change may rob
us of the answer to one of the
great sociological questions
of our day. however.
Athletes are so determined
to be the focus of attention
that it's a wonder nobody has
thought of it by now.
Fans have come to expect
PAGE 3C
displays like the ones the
NFL is trying to eliminate.
Sooner or later an astute play
er would’ve realized the best
way to draw attention to him
self is by not drawing atten
tion to himself.
Think about it: The best
way to get noticed in the
look-at-me culture that sur
rounds the NFL and NBA is
to do something nobody has
done. By now we’ve seen it
all, including a player who
dropped to all fours and imi
tated a dog urinating.
What’s left? At this point,
the only thing nobody is
doing is handing the ball to
the ref.
It would take someone
with a pioneering spirit who
understands that he would be
impacting not only sports but
society as a whole. Imagine a
player crossing the goal line
and resisting the urge to wave
a roaring chain saw over his
head to symbolize conquest.
He wouldn't sign the ball
or produce a sign. He would
n’t spike it, dunk it or spin it.
He would resist the tempta
tion to dance, leap into the
stands or gyrate his hips.
He would simply hand the
ball to the stunned referee, at
which point the stunned
announcer would repeat Jack
Buck’s famous line from the
1988 World Series: “1 don’t
believe what 1 just saw!”
Assuming there is such a
person, he would instantly
become a historic figure.
Corporations would want him
to endorse their products.
“If tossing the ball to the
referee was good enough for
Walter Payton and Barry
Sanders, it’s good enough for
me," he would proudly say,
prompting the type of raucous
applause usually reserved for
the president’s State of the
Union address.
A rare, unselfish act by an
NFL player, now there’s
something we could tell our
grandkids about, something to
replace the memory of Owens
shaking pompoms with the
49ers cheerleaders.
The NFL, when it comes
to celebrations, would have
come full circle. We'd be
back at the beginning, before
anybody had heard of Billy
“White Shoes" Johnson.
If 15-yard penalties and
ejections aren’t effective
deterrents, and the end zone
idiocy continues, the NFL
could do what baseball does.
If you w ant to send a mes
sage everyone will understand
it's tough to beat a fastball in
the ear.