Newspaper Page Text
PAGE SB
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FCS rivalry
games end
with split
From staff reports
A re-kindling of south versus
north took place on the campus of
Horizon Christian Academy, as
Forsyth Christian School squared
off with their neighbor to the north
in a non-conference match-up of
county rivals. A draw ensued as
the host school took the ladies
opener before falling to their
southern visitors in the nightcap.
FCS girls lose close
game feeling deja
A of vu swept
through the crowd just before
sophomore Brittany Kirk sank
what amounted to the winning
point with three seconds remaining
in the early game, as Horizon’s
Lady Warriors fended off a fierce
comeback attempt led by FCS for¬
ward Shauna Jensen in the early
game.
A pre-season tournament win
for Horizon in almost identical
fashion led to the eerily similar
feeling when guard Courtney
Prausa hit a winning free throw
attempt with just over one second
remaining on the clock earlier this
month.
Despite the outcome, FCS head
coach David Jensen couldn’t help
but feel good about his team’s
play. “These girls played one of
the best games they’ve ever played
together tonight. I’m really proud
of every single one of them. Win
or lose, we’ve made definite
strides tonight in where we want to
be as a team.”
Although it was Kirk (eight
points) who put the final dagger
into the collective hearts of FCS
fans when she iced the victory, it
was Prausa who once again paced
the Lady Warriors as she account¬
ed for 14 of the team’s 15 first
quarter points, before pressure and
weak-side help cooled her off. The
freshman finished with 20 points.
A 12 point game by FCS lead¬
ing scorer Victoria Floyd and a 10
point output by forward Joanna
Floyd kept the game constantly
within reach, while Shauna Jensen
put together her most complete
game of the season, chipping in
eight points and adding 12
rebounds for the Lady Christians.
Boys notch fourth of
season
Senior Brady Redding had
been scorching teams defenses to
begin the season for FCS, but it
was the hot hand of forward Adam
Brooks who did the majority of
damage to a stingy Warriors
defense as he connected for a
career-high 25 points in a 52-44
win.
Twelve of the 25 points came
courtesy of Redding, as he handed
out six assists to Brooks, before
totaling nine on the night. The sen¬
ior guard, averaging nearly 25
points per game, netted only 17, in
an effort to distribute the ball
throughout the course of the game.
Warriors head coach Jack
Odom would not let his troops
quit, however, as evidence by
guards Scott Cross and Ryan
Trotter’s three point barrage - an
outburst that quickly reduced the
17 point lead to eight as Cross
pulled the trigger for two of his
four treys and Trotter nailed down
two more. Matched baskets
brought the game to under a
minute where FCS ultimately
stopped the deluge and held on for
their fourth win of the season.
“Scott and Ryan really caught
fire,” said FCS head coach Chris
Walls following the game. “This
seems to happen each time we
play. We get somewhat of a com¬
fortable lead and, ‘wham!,’ here
comes HCA and we’ve got to hold
on.
FCS’ Brooks led all scorers
with 25 and wiped the boards for
14 rebounds, while forwards
James Batchelor and Joe Montero
pulled down nine and six
rebounds, respectively. Junior
Payton Turner chipped in four
rebounds and doled out three
,
0
FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS —Thursday, December 1,2005
2005 ’s over, what about 2006 ?
By Cammy Clark
Knight Ridder Newspapers/KRT
The 2005 NASCAR Nextel Cup
season started with four-time cham¬
pion Jeff Gordon winning the
Daytona 500 and ended with it’s
newest multichampion, Tony
Stewart, climbing a fence with fire¬
works blasting in the night air at
Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Stewart said he heard the crowd
chants for “Climb the fence. Climb
the fence” and gladly obliged. This
was a championship he wanted to
share with everyone.
He joked Sunday night that if he
keeps scaling fences he might have
to start a - gasp - exercise routine.
While there couldn’t have been a
much more dramatic race finish
Sunday, with Roush Racing team¬
mates Greg Biffle and Mark Martin
battling side-by-side, there was far
less drama to decide the champion
as in the inaugural Chase last year
when it was decided on the last lap.
Stewart just had to stay out of
trouble, finishing 15th.
NASCAR CEO Brian France
said Sunday before the race that he
was pleased with the progress the
Ford Championship Weekend was
making to become an elite event.
But he also said there is room for
improvement in many areas of the
Chase, including perhaps the format
itself. But if there were to be
changes, it would be tweaking.
“We don’t have obviously the
real narrow point gap that we had
last year that we might have in the
future, and that will change interest
in this finale a little bit,” he said.
“But the track sold out in record
time, and its going to add seats and
everything else. It’s good. We’re
happy with it.”
NBC’s overnight ratings, consist¬
ing of the top 56 U.S. markets, were
down. The average rating was 4.8
(which represents an average 66,000
households per market) compared
with 5.5 last year.
But the ratings are still up from
two years ago, before the Chase for¬
mat. The national overnight rating
was 4.5.
Star on rise
The 2005 NASCAR season also
was a year marked by the emergence
of the sport’s newest star, backflip¬
ping Carl Edwards, and by the strug¬
gles of favorite son. Dale Earnhardt
Jr.
Edwards, in just his first full sea¬
son, surprised most everyone with
four victories and a third-place
championship finish.
“Carl is one of those guys that it
just comes so natural that I don’t
think he has to work real hard at it,”
Roush Racing teammate Matt
Kenseth said.
“I’m not saying he doesn’t work
hard because he does..
“He’s the only driver I’ve ever
seen in my life walk down pit road
during qualifying with a headset on
listening to the scanner to see what
everybody is saying about the track.”
The season began as a farewell
tour to two great veterans, Rusty
Wallace and Mark Martin, and ended
with goodbyes to two great veterans,
Wallace and Ricky Rudd.
Season worsens as Favre’s friend the boot
By Don Pierson
Chicago Tribune/KRT
Brett Favre has enjoyed better
years than his first losing season, bet¬
ter games than his Sunday loss at
Philadelphia, and better days than he
had Monday when one of his best
friends in coaching, Steve Mariucci,
was fired as coach of the Detroit
Lions.
Mariucci was Favre’s first quarter¬
backs coach when he was traded to
the Green Bay Packers in 1992. Favre
has kept in close contact with
“Mooch” ever since.
Mariucci and then-head coach
Mike Holmgren are credited with
harnessing Favre’s gunslinger men¬
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Sure, we all know Tony Stewart won the Cup Championship this year, but what about next season?
Silly season begins with a look at what to expect when Daytona 2006 goes green.
Martin, out of loyalty to his long¬
time owner Jack Roush, will be back
for one more season - going after
his elusive championship.
“I turned over a new leaf,” said
Martin, 46, with the enthusiasm of
Rusty Wallace.
“Kenny Wallace said I was a pes¬
simist after Charlotte, so I got mad,
and I’m so excited about coming
back that I just can’t stand it.
“I wish we were starting tomor¬
row, and I’m gonna win. That’s the
new me.”
It also was a year when Stewart
became Mr. Calm and Composed
while 2004 Nextel Cup champion,
Kurt Busch, watched his reign end
far from Homestead while serving
three-time league MVP. Favre never
completely abandoned his carefree
style, but went to Super Bowls in
1996 and 19^7.
Fortunately for the Bears, they get
to play Favre at a low point in his
career as he tries to salvage more than
two wins out of a lost season. Favre
leads the NFL in interceptions with
19, and Sunday’s 19-14 loss against
the Eagles was sealed when he
heaved a desperation pass into the
end zone that was picked off with 59
seconds left.
On the same drive, Favre had
thrown an interception only to get a
reprieve on a questionable roughing
penalty.
On Monday, the Philadelphia
his team suspension for his belliger¬
ent behavior and reckless driving
citation in Arizona.
“Well, 1 said in Phoenix that
either the therapy is working or he’s
learned through experience,” Gordon
said.
“He finally started to get the fact
that this is a sport that has media
involved, fans involved, sponsors
involved and it’s great that we get
the privilege to go out there and
drive these race cars for these race
teams, and we get paid a lot of
money to do it.”
All about the teams
When asked whether the $12 mil-
have won had they been quarter
backed by Mike McMahon, who
threw no interceptions subbing for
injured Donovan McNabb.
That was a message to suspended
Eagles receiver Terrell Owens, who
got into trouble for saying the Eagles
would be undefeated if Favre were
the quarterback.
Asked what he will be playing for
the rest of the season, Favre said:
“The only thing you ever play for is
to be the best, regardless of the situa¬
tion preseason, postseason, regular
season, in the playoffs or out of it.
You still want to be the best on the
field. I don’t see how you can ever
step out on the field and not care.”
Favre, 12-1 against the Bears in
lion won this season, including the
$5.8 million championship bonus,
was as meaningful as simply his love
of racing, Stewart said wait a
minute.
“Let’s just clarify one thing, the
team has won $12 million,” Stewart
said smiling.
“I have not.”
Stewart turned to team president,
J.D. Gibbs, and said he wasn’t com¬
plaining about his pay, before joking
“your dad Joe Gibbs had to get a job
coaching the Washington Redskins
to pay my salary.
“Trust me, when I started racing
at the age 8,1 was just happy to get a
trophy that was bigger than the other
kids’.”
part of the Bears-Bucs game before
his kickoff Sunday.
“They’re playing outstanding,” he
said.
“Their defense is tops in the
league and they’re doing all the right
things. The way things are going for
us, (the Bears) would be a good bet.
We’ll see what happens.”
Favre admitted that playing with
strangers after key injuries “does dent
your confidence a little bit. It makes
you a little bit apprehensive on deci¬
sion-making and timing.”
Favre got philosophical when
thinking of the injuries that have
robbed the Packers of their top wide
receiver, Javon Walker, and top two
running backs, Ahman Green and