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Page 20—Wednesday, October 9, 2013, TheTrue Citizen
SPORTS
POWER PLAY
Reginald Grubbs pulls away from a Wayne County defender on one of his carries in the game. He caught a 14-yard
touchdown pass in the second quarter and totaled 28 yards on 5 carries as well.
Bears upset Wayne County’s momentum
By Anne Marie Kyzer
annemariek@thetruecitizen.com
The Bears took the sting out of
Wayne County’s winning streak.
Burke County High School’s
football team defeated the Yellow
Jackets 32-28 in Jesup last Friday,
handing them their first loss of the
season.
Wayne County, now 5-1, was
previously ranked among the
state’s top five teams.
“I thought it was a big confi
dence booster," ’ Bears Head Coach
Eric Parker said. "I think our kids
still expect to win big. We had
some of those sophomores that
played a big role in the win and
you could just see them gaining
confidence as the game went
along.”
Four Bears were in on the Bears’
five touchdowns and eight play
ers on defense had at least 2 tack
les each.
“It was just nice that it was such
a group effort that helped to pull
this game out. When you have a
lot of guys contributing on offense
it makes it difficult for the oppos
ing defense to decide how they
want to play you.” Coach Parker.
“We finally got that against Wayne.
“That’s our trademark and I
thought the kids made it a point
to play that way the entire game.
If we can continue to play with
that mentality I think this will be
another great year for the Bears.”
—Coach Eric Parker
We never let their defense get a
lead on what we were doing be
cause we had so many guys get
ting the ball in so many different
ways. There’s no doubt that’s when
we are at our best.”
The two teams haded the lead
all night before Burke County
grabbed it for good with just a few
minutes left in the fourth quarter.
The Bears struck first when
Andrew Allred caught a pass from
Donquell Green before heading to
the end zone on a 67-yard play to
score.
Wayne County scored twice to
steal the lead but the Bears were
back in the end zone midway
through the second quarter thanks
to another Green completion.
This time he connected with
senior Reginald Grubbs from 14
yards out.
The Beat's were down 14-12 at
the break, due to a couple of failed
PAT attempts.
But they were the first to strike
again when they returned from the
locker room. Green carried the ball
4 yards to score and give the Bears
an 18-14 lead.
Wayne County scored again in
the third but their lead didn’t last.
Senior Antonio Harold, taking
the reins at quarterback, scored
twice in the fourth quarter.
Untoircy Thomas sent kicks be
tween the posts for the PATS.
Wayne County scored once
more with two minutes left and
attempted an onside kick before
the Bears were able to run out the
clock with the ball back in their
possession.
Burke County’s offense wore
down the Wayne County defense
by having the ball in their posses
sion more than 35 minutes of the
game compared to Wayne
County’s 12:57.
“When you are running the ball
with success it does control the
clock and it can wear a defense
down,” Coach Parker said. “Over
the past few years we’ve been re
ally good at it. As our offensive
line matures I think you will see
us get good at it again.”
Coach Parker said the win
boiled down to Bears getting back
to their style of play. “I thought
our kids embraced the importance
of getting back to being physical,”
he said. “We actually made a lot
of mistakes, most of which were
signs of inexperience, but we kept
playing fast and physical. That’s
our trademark and I thought the
kids made it a point to play that
way the entire game. If we can
continue to play with that
mentality I think this will be an
other great year for the Bears."
Lady Bears finish
season in playoffs
By Anne Marie Kyzer
annemariek@thetruecitizen.com
The Lady Bears finished their
season on the diamond after a
tough Liberty County team
dashed their hopes in the region
playoffs.
Burke County High School’s
softball team (12-14) logged a
huge 13-1 win over Richmond
Academy last Tuesday to earn
the chance to host the first round
of the region playoffs. Burke
County Head Coach Lee Smoak
said pitcher Aubrey Mallard
“pounded the strike zone” for
the win, and the team stepped
up the defense behind her.
But when Liberty County’s
talented team came to Burke
County, they won the first two
games in the series 8-0 and 6-1.
Burke County Head Coach
Lee Smoak said defensive mis
takes cost them big in the two
losses. He praised Peyton Pea
cock for her performance on the
mound, where she gave up only
5 earned runs in the two games
combined.
Coach Smoak said he was dis
appointed in the losses, chalk
ing them up to nerves and not a
lack of talent.
Catcher Sara
Mitchell
tags a
Liberty
County
player out
at home
plate in
round 1 of
the 1 st
region
playoff
game.
“We are trying to get this pro
gram to a point where medioc
rity is no longer accepted as the
norm and to the point where
mentally we are able to react to
pressure situations in a positive
fashion instead of the pressure
causing us to crack,” he said,
noting the team is packed with
good athletes and he hopes to
see the team take strides for
ward as they work throughout
the year toward next season. “We
are trying our best to get some
of these girls on some upper
level travel teams so that they
can face upper level competi
tion on a regular basis and gain
the exposure they need to com
pete at a high level. All we can
PHOTOS-DAVID STEMBRIDGE
do is learn from all the grow- year. We will continue this sum-
ing pains this year and try our mer with another well-rounded
best to get better for next summer softball program.”
SEASON STARS
Coach Smoak said several players put in solid perfor
mances throughout the season, including:
Leading pitcher: Peyton Peacock, 4 wins, 87 innings
pitched with a 3.38 ERA
Leading hitters: Emily Mooneyham (.423 avg.), Abby
Saxon (.381), Amber Hills (.378), Peyton Peacock
(.329), Michaela Bell (.314), Caity Mayton (.302)
Defensive leaders: Michaela Bell, second base; Sara
Mitchell, catcher
BEARS TO HOST MUSKETEERS
NEXT UP
Burke Co. vs. ARC
Friday, Oct, 11
In the Bear Den
7:30 p.m.
By Anne Marie Kyzer
annemariek@thetruecitizen.com
The Bears will buckle down for
their third region contest this Fri
day when they host the Academy of
Richmond County.
The Musketeers (2-3, 1-0) are
currently ranked second in the re
gion and the only other team with
out a region loss on their record.
They’ve picked up wins over
Josey and Glenn Hills but have
fallen hard to Evans, Statesboro and Wayne County in non
region contests.
Bears Head Coach Eric Parker expects to see Richmond's
typical size and athleticism play a factor Friday night.
“They are big and athletic as always," he said. “They lost a
lot of seniors from last year’s team so they are a little young
in some spots, a lot like us, but they are always dangerous.
We will need to have a solid week of practice and make sure
we are prepared.”
The win is a must for Burke County to realize their region
championship goal.
“This may actually be the biggest ball game we will have
played to this point simply because it will go a long way in
determining the sub-region champion," Coach Parker ex
plained. “The Statesboro and Wayne County games were ac
tually for pride. They have no bearings on sub-region
seedings. The next three games will determine if we get in
the region championship game or not.”
Last year, the Bears beat Richmond Academy 38-7. That
was the first time the teams had faced off in more than a
decade. They played each other every year between 1987 and
1999, when the Bears dominated with an 8-5 record against
them.
Burke County’s Williams
claims top 10 finish
From Staff Reports
Burke County High School’s cross
country team competed in the
6 th annual WACO Invitational. The
Bears were led by Quintus Williams
who won a medal and finished in the
top 10 among 143 runners with his
career best time of 17:49. Other lead
ing Bears were Donnell
Osborne, 19:48;George Tomlin,
20:03; Nick Tomlin,
20:05; Demarcus Walker, 20:48;
Michael Farmer, 21:33; Stevonta
Jones, 23:00; Kenny Freeman, 23:04;
David Hickman, 23:44; and Chance
Murphy, 24:03.
The Lady Bears were led by
Charesia Walker, who ran a team sea
son best time of 26:46. Other top Lady Bears were India
White, 28:20; Deryanna Evans, 28:30; Audrianna Thomas,
29:41; Amber Mcgee, 29:41; Ronesia Nestfield, 30:25; and
My chon Dishmond, 31:28.
“Every race we are improving our times and I hope to con
tinue with this trend and carry that momentum straight into
the region meet," Coach Anton Anthony said. “Both teams are
working very hard and it feels good to watch our runners get
better each day.”
The next meet is scheduled for today (Wednesday) in
Swainsboro.
Quintus Williams
won a medal and
finished in the top
10 among 143 run
ners.