Newspaper Page Text
4483 Denny Ridge, Jasper, GA, Bent Tree
Lot Only $12,000
You can purchase this lot for a future
build or just to enjoy all the amenities at
Bent Tree which include golf, tennis,
boating, fishing, swimming, hiking,
horse back riding, tennis etc.
Go to www.Bent-TreeRealEstate.com
to view listing
aYour Future Home Pre
C5TA3*.
70B-30I-5B0D
B
Section
February 11,2021
PHS wrestling heads to state
By Keith Petty
On the weekend of Febru
ary 6 and 7, Pickens High
School hosted the high
school region wrestling tour
nament. PHS wrestlers
turned out with a great dis
play of skill against their op
ponents. As a whole, the
Dragons placed third in re
gion competition, with
Northwest Whitfield and
Central Carroll narrowly tak
ing second and first, respec
tively.
Individually, the team
broke a school record by
qualifying eight wrestlers for
the state championship
matches. The following
wrestlers placed in the top
three in the region and wres
tle this Thursday in Macon:
1st- CJ Murphy - senior, 4x
region champ, 4x state qual
ifier, second-time state
placer- 2nd in 2019 & 2020;
2nd- Andrew Burrell - senior
2x state qualifier; Julian Ja
cobs - senior, and Zak Price
- senior, 2x state qualifier;
3rd- Chris Knight, freshman;
Dylan Gonzalez - freshman;
Wesley Sultan - senior; and
Kaleb Nicholson, sopho
more, 2x state qualifier.
In addition, PHS is also
extremely proud to announce
two young ladies will also be
competing in the girls’ state
championship wrestling
tournament. Sophomore
Maggie Bautista and Junior
Emma Ferguson will wrestle
Wednesday.
PHS wishes these young
ladies and gentlemen the best
in their travels and matches
under the guidance of Coach
Brandon Tippens.
Soccer gets
underway at PHS
The Pickens soccer team played their first game of the
year at home Saturday with cold conditions. Above, Jack
Flatt for PHS in green.
The team lost to 7A North Forsyth 8-4.
Sidney Shorter for the Dragons.
Will Finney for the Dragons.
(photos/Robin Dunn)
photo/ Robin Dunn
GREEN AND WHITE GAME - Slade Mooney
on the mound during the Pickens Jr. High Baseball:
Green and White game last weekend.
PHS Dragon wrestlers placed third in the region and broke a school record with eight
members qualifying for state.
Below, Andrew Burrell (left) and Wesley Sultan in action at the region tournament held
at Pickens High School. (Action photos/Robin Dunn)
Dragons basketball hitting on all
cylinders as season winds down
The boys’ basketball sea
son is winding down and the
team seems to be hitting on
all cylinders.
Last Tuesday, the boys
played host to the Cedartown
Bulldogs in a region contest.
Before the game kicked off,
the team recognized senior
Tucker Lowe for scoring his
1,000 career points. Lowe
has appeared in varsity
games over the last four sea
sons and has been a leader on
and off the court. He has led
the Dragons in scoring this
season and will look to con
tinue his sharp shooting ways
at the next level.
From the opening tipoff
the Dragons jumped out to an
early lead on the Bulldogs.
Pickens put up 21 points in
the first frame and carried an
11-point lead into the second
quarter. The second quarter
both teams went ice cold.
Pickens was leading the con
test 29-23 at the break. The
Dragons expanded their lead
in the third quarter by
outscoring Cedartown 15-9.
In the end, Pickens would
cruise to a 49-40 victory over
their region opponent. Jaden
Stewart had a big game for
the Dragons, scoring 20
points on the night.
In the second game of last
Continued on Page 5B
rfm
v 4k
Wt i I
i *1
photo/ Robin Dunn
TUCKER LOWE HITS 1,000 POINT MARK- Tucker
Lowe was recognized last week for hitting the 1,000 point
mark during his four years as a Dragon. He has led the
team in scoring this year and is a leader on and off the
court.
Nettes split region games
photo/ Robin Dunn
The Nettes huddle against Cedartown at home last week. While they lost that game,
they brought home a victory later in the week against Tunnel Hill 50-48.
The Nettes played host to the Cedartown came up just short at the final buzzer. The
Bulldogs last Tuesday. Entering the game, final from Jasper saw the Nettes fall 58-55.
Pickens was on a four-game winning streak. Heading into the second contest of the
Despite leading almost all game, the Nettes _ , „
Continued on Page 5B
Sports
Fanatic
By
Tommy
Gartrell
Columnist
The Final
Piece
With the resigning of
slugging outfielder Mar
cell Ozuna last week, the
Braves regained one of
the major contributors to
Atlanta’s success in 2020,
but is he the final piece in
the championship puzzle?
The answer to that
question depends on the
production of the talented
young roster around
Ozuna more than his per
formance alone.
Moreover, Atlanta is
part of an arms race
within its own division as
well as the National
League as a whole. The
best teams spent tons of
money on prospects on
premium baseball players.
The reigning world
champion Dodgers
reshuffled an already
dominant roster and
signed 2020 Cy Young
Award winner Trevor
Bauer as the cherry on
top. San Diego added
starting pitchers to com
plete its already potent of
fensive squad, and the
Mets traded for starter
Carlos Carrasco and
shortstop Francisco Lin-
dor from Cleveland. In ad
dition, New York signed
all-star catcher James Mc
Cann and a bevy of pitch
ers. The always
formidable Cardinals
traded five players to Col
orado for gold glove win
ner and perennial all-star
Nolan Arenado.
Currently, various out
lets rank the Braves be
tween third and fifth in
Major League Baseball.
On paper, those power
rankings seem fair but as
we all know, the games
are played on the dia
mond.
How solid is Atlanta’s
roster then?
As currently con
structed, it looks strong,
but the team should have
financial room to add
more complimentary
pieces. According to AJC
estimates, Atlanta has
roughly $15 to $20 mil
lion remaining below last
season’s original budget.
The areas of need seem
obvious too.
A few more arms are
needed in the bullpen. The
list of unsigned free agent
relievers is unbelievably
long at the moment, and
this glut of pitchers is
driving the prices down. If
these guys are a dime a
dozen, then Atlanta should
spend 15 or 20 cents now
because I do not ever want
to see Luke Jackson pitch
ing in a high leverage sit
uation again.
The Braves already
have potential backups for
starting catcher Travis
d’Amaud, but should they
sign a veteran or go with
youth? Highly rated
rookie William Contreras
could certainly fill the
spot as needed, especially
if the minor league season
is uncertain. Otherwise,
the organization may want
him to get as many in
nings as possible at triple
A. Considering the avail
ability of unimpressive
free agent catchers, I
would rather see the kid as
the backup.
The outfield appears to
be Ozuna in left and
Ronald Acuna Jr. in right
Continued on Pase 5B