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STATE SOCCER PLAYOFFS Forsyth sweeps first round South’s boys and girls take out Paulding By Morgan Lee Sports Writer The South Forsyth War Eagle soccer team erased any chances of a first-round state play off upset with three second-half goals in Tuesday night's match-up with Paulding Countv. After Linus Warendh staked the hosts to a 1-0 lead just 1: 2 2 into the contest, the War Eagles struggled to find a follow up despite dominating much of the proceedings. But the sleep-walking War Eagles sprang to life in the second half, taking firm control with three goals in a 4-0 outcome that advanced South into Monday's second roynd. The War Eagles will travel to face Salem, Monday, which defeated Clarkston 9-1 in the first round. "That's one of the good things about this team," said South coach Phoday Dolleh. “they listen to instructions and take in what the coaches say [at halftime]." The War Eagles (14-2-2) attacked from the outset of the second half and finally put the game away with a volley from Richard Meisemann with 32 minutes left to play. Connecting on a loose comer kick inside the Paulding penalty area, Meisemann drove the ball home for a 2-0 advantage. Moments later. South added their third strike of the night when Kiel Voight ran on to a diagonal pass from Jordan Cushman and slot ted a 16-yard shot past Paulding's stranded keeper for a 3-0 lead. With the result firmly in hand. South began emptying their bench —a tactic that paid results when reserve Matt Renaud struck with five minutes left to score his first varsity goal of the season. "The target for tonight was five goals,” smiled Dolleh, who might have seen his team's scoreline doubled in the first half had the War Eagles finished stronger. "Everybody just kind of fell asleep [in the first half]. After the [first] goal, our rhythm See TAKE, Page 3B Central girls explode for five first-half goals By Morgan Lee Sports Writer Over the past two weeks, Forsyth Central girls soccer coach Sid Bramblett finished each postgame interview with a note that his team was ready for the postseason. He wasn’t kidding. The Lady Dawgs traveled to Rome, Wednesday afternoon, and thrashed the Region 7-AAAA cham pions Lady Wolves 6-1. scoring five goals in the first half, while Monica Tobin finished with a hat trick. The win sends the Lady Dawgs (14-2-2) into next week’s second round of the state playoffs where South Forsyth pitcher Joe White kept his cool after allow ing a lead-off home run Wednesday night, keeping intra-county rivals North Forsyth in check for a 5-1 complete-game win. Photo/David McGregor INSIDE 2B ■ An in-depth look at the Lady War Eagles' destruc tion of Paulding County in the state playoffs on Wednesday. they could face the No. 8-ranked Lady Jaguars of Cedar Shoals. “We're gelling pretty well," smiled Bramblett after Wednesday's result. “We came out and scored early, and that took the pressure off us. Only one team has beaten us over the past three years when we scored first.” The Lady Dawgs led almost from kickoff. Just 30 seconds in. Monica Tobin struck from long distance to give Central a 1-0 lead. From there, the race was on as Central pressed forward in search of more goals. See EXPLODE, Page 5B JH I jOgl W- Sports Forsyth County News—Friday, April 30,2004 That'S Ratin', 4B iB | 1 Iff 1- I ' Bfeir- ' ■ Yr ■ • • - -tat > 1 ___ .. ?* ..... Photos/David McGregor Above, South Forsyth's Jordan Cushman and his teammates defeated Paulding County 4-0 Tuesday. Below, both Forsyth Central and South Forsyth's girls, seen earlier this season, won games Wednesday night. - a' - ■ <■■ 1 White holds off North Forsyth War Eagle hurler rebounds from rough start to pick up win By Travis M. Chaffin Sports Editor After allowing a first-inning leadoff home run to North Forsyth's Justin Hamilton, South Forsyth pitcher Joe White dug in for the long haul, allowing just four more hits and no runs while striking out six en route to a complete-game win as the War Eagles defeated the No. 5-ranked Raiders 5-1 to move past their intra-county rivals and into the region’s top spot. “The tone of the game was set after Joe [White] gave up the leadoff home run and just didn’t flinch,” said South Forsyth head coach Mike Strickland. “It’s something that’ll go unnoticed, but that’s huge. It obvi ously didn’t rattle him.’’ Likewise, North Forsyth head coach Jim Cahill could take nothing away from the War Eagle hurlcr’s performance. “Joe White pitched a great game,” said the Raider skipper. “He’s a great pitcher. As for South, they’ve got a good ball team and they’re going to go far." Trailing 1-0, South Forsyth found its way onto the scoreboard in the top of the third as catcher Jonathan Wages connected for a ■ ■ Photo/David McGregor South’s Ashley Myers, left, and Sharon Pamperin helped set a new school record in the 4x400 relay at region on Tuesday. County sends six to state track meet By Travis M. Chaffin Sports Editor To see the South Forsyth girls 4x400 relay team Tuesday after noon. it was hard to tell they had just set a new school record. Despite completing the race in 4:09, shattering their personal best by eight seconds and the old record by six. the girls’ competitive nature allowed no celebration for a fourth place finish. But as the Lady Eagles did their best to hold back any post-race tears, head coach Shawn Coury couldn't have been more proud of the team's all-out performance. “They ran their guts out,” he said. “They ran it eight seconds faster than they’ve run in their whole life. That’s all that matters. It doesn’t matter who passed us; it doesn't matter who did what. They ran as fast as they've ever run, and you can never ask more than that out of kids.” In all. Forsyth County sends six athletes to next week's girls state track meet in Albany five from South and one, Catie Jensen, from North. For the Lady Eagles, who Tuesday hoisted the Region 6- AAAA runner-up trophy at Marist, the 2004 campaign has simply been a continuation of improvement. “Everything we did this year is better than last year.” said Coury. “Look around look at the kids we went up against and we’re still sitting second, and it’s by two points. “We went up against some of the best in the state today. We don’t have to wait [until State]. We did it today.” As a team. South Forsyth fin ished second in the region with 98 points (behind St. Pius X’s 100). North Forsyth finished eighth with 30 points and Forsyth Central fin- See TRACK, Page 2B two-out, three-run homer to score Evan Nissley (3-for-4 with a dou ble) and Matt Reyes (courtesy run ner for White). “He’s come up with big hits for us in two-out situations and with runners in scoring position all year, and he did it tonight," said Strickland. The No. 4-ranked War Eagles (14-9 overall, 8-2 in Region 6- AAAA) maintained a 3-1 advantage until the top of the sixth, when Jamie Benjamin scored from second as North’s outfield struggled to rein in a base-hit by Billy Upchurch. The South second baseman later scored from third on a two-out Nissley sin- See WHITE, Page 2B » B