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H Sports H n IV A &More n imI iiii LAW oi l it i: 01 NICOLE L. McArthur CRIMINAL DEFENSE *DUI ACCIDENTS‘INJURY 706-253-9000 Tills week in Sports History & Tennis Teams to face Gilmer, 11B Nettes shock #l seed in Region PHS heads to Elite Eight to play Jefferson Wednesday Photos courtesy of Albany Herald, Joe Whitfield The Nettes get tough in Albany — #5 Emmie Moore, #32 Caroline Mullins, #33 Carmyn Mullins slow down the ranked team. #3 Emmie Moore, #21 Amanda Nelson for the Nettes. In a tough road win, PHS scored as many in the fourth as they had the first three quarters combined. The basketball state play offs are underway and the Dragonettes have made a splash in the first two rounds. Having finished as the region runner up, the Nettes secured a first round home game as the #2 seed and the Lady Raiders of Riverdale came to town as the #3 seed from Re gion 5-AAAA. It didn’t take long before the home team took control of the game and did not let up until the final buzzer. The 83-44 win ad vanced the Nettes to the Sweet Sixteen for the third time in Coach Thomas’s tenure as head coach. Twelve of 13 active play ers scored in the contest with the only player not scoring taking two fantastic charges in the game. A large crowd was on hand to see the fast- paced game and were not dis appointed as the Nettes scored their highest point total of the season in their last game of the season on Roy Cowart Cowart. The Sweet Sixteen matchup would be much dif ferent as the Dragonettes had to travel to Albany to face the #1 seed from Region 1- AAAA - the Dougherty Lady Trojans. Dougherty was led by region player of the year and team captain, Kaylin Thompson. The Dougherty faithful welcomed the players and fans from Jasper into a small, hot gym in downtown Albany proudly wearing their much deserved region champ t-shirts. The DJ in the comer played hype music as both teams warmed up and the Dougherty cheerleaders came strolling in together in unison as they prepared to cheer along the Lady Trojans. Dougherty started out quickly, scoring on their first two possessions. The Nettes were either nervous or just a bit off to begin the game and the Lady Trojans took advan tage with a 15-8 first quarter. In the 2nd, an Emmie Moore 3 capped a 7-0 ran to tie the game at 15, but the Nettes would only score one more point and found themselves down 16-23 at the half. Still, they were getting good shots and it seemed like they could get themselves back into the game quickly. Unfortunately, the 3rd quarter started much like the first with some quick baskets by Dougherty and several turnovers by the Dragonettes. The Nettes kept battling and began to increase pressure on Dougherty to try and claw back into the game. After the lead ballooned to 14 for the Lady Trojans, the furious Nettes ran started the cut the lead to six before a contro versial timeout erased two points on a steal and lay-up by Bella Hopkins. Appar ently, one official granted a time out just as Hopkins stole the pass from the inbounder and scored. A chorus of boos from the Nettes faithful let the refs know how they felt about the call. Dragons fall to undefeated McDonough in state playoffs The Dragons wrapped up their season with a tough game in the first round of the state playoffs versus McDonough High School in Henry County. The Dragons finished as the third seed in Region 7-AAAA and the McDonough Warhawks boasted an undefeated region regular season and a gaudy 25-2 record. They would prove to be too much for the Dragons to handle and dispatched the boys from Jasper 79-40. The Dragons put together a solid season with a mixture of talent and contributions coming from seniors, juniors, and sophomores. The 6-6 region record was the third .500 or bet ter record in a row and the overall 14-15 record contained wins against 23-5 Northwest Whitfield and 19-11 Gilmer. Congrats on a competitive season Dragons. Jasper’s Ali Lawson Trippe scores three goals to help USA Go alb all to bronze medal Continued on Page 9B Diamond Dragons beat Gilmer Antinozzi led team with three hits in four at bats WtiSS &*< **1W i'r'V ittW v\J v, I rtf V¥ *v i\V EW w: Ali Lawson Trippe (#2) competing at the IBSA Goalball Americas Championships in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Feb. 18-22. The PHS Dragon Baseball team beat Gilmer on Thursday, February 24th with a final score of 10-5. Gilmer opened up scoring in the first in ning. The Pickens Varsity Dragons evened things up at two in the bottom of the second inning. An error scored two runs for the Dragons. After Gilmer scored two runs in the top of the fourth, Pickens answered with two of their own. Gilmer scored when Branson Teague doubled on the first pitch of the at bat, scoring two runs. Pickens Varsity Dragons then answered when Anthony Antinozzi dou bled on a 2-2 count, scoring one ran and Har lan Will singled on a 0-1 count, scoring one ran. Pickens pulled away for good with three runs in the third inning. In the third, Anti nozzi tripled, scoring two runs and Trey Payne singled on a 1-0 count, scoring one run. JP Nunn was the winning pitcher for Pickens Varsity Dragons. Nunn surrendered two runs on four hits over three innings, striking out two. Tate Hales, Trey Payne, and Trace Ledbetter all put in work in relief out of the bullpen, steer ing their team towards the victory. Pickens Varsity Dragons scattered 10 hits in the game. Anthony Antinozzi, Harlan Will, and Trey Payne all had multiple hits for Pickens. Anti nozzi led Pickens Varsity Dragons with three hits. Pickens didn't commit a single error in the field. Vs. North Springs Harlan Will went 2-for-3 at the plate to lead Pickens in hits Pickens fell behind early and couldn't come back in a 7-1 loss to North Springs on Saturday., February 26th. The Diamond Dragons lost despite out-hitting North Springs four to two. Connor Shouse started on the mound for the Dragons, going two innings, allowing two runs on zero hits and striking out five. JP Nunn, Cason Cason, and Tee Knight each contributed Continued on Page 11B Sports Fanatic By Tommy Gartrell Columnist New season, new look Atlanta United FC kicked off the 2022 Major League Soccer season on Sunday with a 3-1 decision over Sporting Kansas City at Mercedes Benz Sta dium. For the Five Stripes, this year hopes to be a return to cham pionship contention but with a host of new names and faces on the pitch. This first match per formance bodes well for the offseason acqui sitions and player de velopment. Newly signed Luiz Araujo and veteran Dom Dwyer scored the first two At lanta goals, and seven teen year old Caleb Wiley in his MLS debut added the final blow in the 89th minute. The later is a product of United’s own soccer academy. The packed house of 67,523 fans show that there is once again tremendous excitement for this franchise. Dy namic striker Josef Martinez returns to full health for the first time in two years. The many new roster additions add that relentlessly at tacking ability which made the Five Stripes a feared opponent and league champions not long ago. Even the most casual of soccer fans can quickly see a difference in this club. The look and texture mimic for mer champion head coach Tata Martino’s style. This team plays fast and is aggressive unlike many soccer clubs which can almost hear viewers snoring through their television sets. Anything less than a deep playoff run by this squad will disappoint the masses. Based on the first match of 2022, getting to know these many new players could be quite a delight ful experience. The USA Men’s and Women’s Goalball Teams both came away with medals around their necks at the con clusion of the IBSA Goalball Americas Champi onships that took place Feb. 18-22 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The U.S. men’s team won the silver medal, while the U.S. women’s team came away with the bronze. The U.S. women’s team rolled through their first four games, outscoring their op ponents by a combined score of 43-3 before suffering a 6- 3 defeat to Canada. They re bounded with a 10-0 quarterfinal win over Peru to set up a rematch of last sum mer’s Paralympic Games semifinal with Brazil. As with the last time the two teams met, this game was a down-to-the-wire thriller Continued on Page 9B Jr. high continues dominance, now 4-0 Pickens Jr. High School pitchers continue to shut down opposing batters. Two Jr. high school pitchers deliver a dom inating performance, racking up 17 Strike out during the contest. #22 Christian Starks started on the bump for PJHS. Starks lasted four innings, allowing four hits, two runs while striking out 11. #15 Landon Poole threw three innings in relief out of the bullpen, striking out six of his own. Only one out recorded during the game that was not a strikeout. Continued on Page 9B Racing Across America Race Recap - Wise Power 400 By Alex Korowotny Racing Sports Correspondent Last weekend, the NASCAR cup series rolled into Auto Club Speedway to Fontana in southern Califor nia. This was the first race where we saw who could be the best driver this season. This race used the 670- horsepower package, which is where the drivers will have to brake going into the cor ners and use skill. This pack age will be used at every track, besides Atlanta and the two superspeedways of Day tona and Talladega, so who ever is the best with the new car and this package will very likely be the guy to beat this season. Let’s see what drivers could the ones to beat this season by going over what happened in the 2022 Wise Power 400 at Auto Club Speedway this past Sunday. The green flag waved at 3:53 p.m., with the Daytona 500 winner Austin Cindric on pole. Erik jones passed him on the first lap and led the first 10 laps before Tyler Reddick passed him for the lead on lap 11. The first caution of the race flew on lap 15 for Kyle Busch spun out coming off him 2. The green flag waved again on lap 20 with Tyler Reddick still in the lead. Chase Elliott took the lead Continued on Page 9B