Newspaper Page Text
Page 12— Wednesday, November 17, 2021, The True Citizen
^ SPORTS
Bears leash Bulldogs, advance to 2nd round
BEN ROBERTS
benroberts@bellsouth.net
The Burke County Bears
made short work of the Mary
Persons Bulldogs last Friday
in The Bear Den with a con
vincing win of 48-21. With
that victory, Burke County
advances to the second round
of the Georgia Fligh School
Association (GFISA) playoffs
for the first time since 2018.
The Bears offense rolled
over the Bulldogs, racking
up 567 yards of total offense.
Running backs Eldrick “Tiger”
Williams and Charlie Dorsey
accounted for most of that
yardage. Williams had 15 car
ries for 166 yards and three
touchdowns, while Dorsey had
132 yards on 17 carries and one
touchdown of his own.
Bears’ quarterback Marshall
Flowers was 9 of 14 for pass
ing on the night for 160 yards
and no interceptions. Flowers
connected with Eric Patterson
on a 47-yard touchdown and
Kohen Rogers on a 13-yard
touchdown. Fie also had 43
rushing yards of his own on
13 carries and the first Bears’
touchdown on the night.
Burke County’s senior-
heavy defense did their job as
well, holding Mary Persons to
just 280 yards of total offense.
Coming into Friday’s match
up, the Bulldogs had the GFISA
Class AAA leading rusher in
Duke Watson. The sophomore
running back had 1,619 yards
on the regular season, averag
ing 7.7 yards per carry.
The Bear’s defense held
Watson to just 97 yards on
the night, an average of 5.1
per carry. Watson accounted
for two of the Bulldogs’ three
touchdowns. Their other touch-
down came
on a 37-yard
pass late in the
third quarter.
Asked if his
Bears had put
together one
of their best
games of the
season, head
coach Eric
Parker agreed,
“I thought so. When it comes
to the playoffs, these one game
situations, it really does come
down to match ups. There
are just some things that you
do better than other people
they’ve played.”
“I thought we did a good
job of keeping them off bal
ance with our pace,” Parker
said. “We were kind of inside/
outside with the run. And then
Marshall had a good game
throwing the ball and that al
ways helps. We were hitting on
all cylinders and we’re going
to need to continue to do that
if we’re going to have a chance
to advance.”
The Bears will next face the
Stephens County Indians (7-3,
2-3 region), the number 4 seed
from Region 8, out of Toccoa.
The Indians upset the Region
6, number 1 seeded Rockmart
Yellow Jackets 27-13 last
week. Stephens County had
three losses
on the sea
son, all to
the top three
teams from
their own
Region 8.
“I always
say about the
first round,
you get to
see what
your region was all about,”
Parker said. “[Stephens Coun
ty] comes out of a pretty good
region. Three out of their four
teams won. I think they’re a
pretty solid bunch. They look
pretty good on him.”
Parker said the Indians bring
a balanced offense and a stout
defense that he expects to chal
lenge his team on Friday.
“They’re a real physical of
fensive line and they’ve got
two backs that stick it up in
there pretty good. They can
just get the ball and grind it
on you,” Parker said of the
Stephens County ground game.
“Then they have a couple of
good receivers. They’re pretty
good on defense. This could
be one of those games where
there’s not a lot of scoring or
could be on one where some
one doesn’t play real well,”
Parker warned.
Tickets for Friday’s game
are $10. Those ticket prices are
set by the GHSA. Tickets will
be available at the gate begin
ning at 6 pm on Friday or can
be purchased online at www.
gofan.co.
Should Burke County ad
vance to Round 3, they will be
on the road against the winner
between second seeded Carver
of Atlanta and the number
one seeded Liberty County in
Hines ville.
Parker hopes Bears’ fans
will pack The Bear Den Friday
night and help them get their
next win.
“I hope people will come
out and get behind this team.
They’re playing hard. It’s not
the most talented team we’ve
had, but the kids are playing
really, really hard and I think
that deserves a little support.”
BEARS CHOSEN FOR ALL
REGION TEAM
Several Burke County players were chosen to represent
the Region 4-AAA All Region Team. Honorees are selected
by the Region 4 coaches.
Offense
RB - Eldrick “Tiger” Williams
OL - Keith Moss
Defense
DL - Devin Watkins
DL - Ivan Arroyo
LB - Khyron Fields
DB - Jaedon Middleton
Honorable Mentions
Charlie Dorsey
Kohen Rogers
Jaylen Golphin
Elijah Young
Brandon Lively
NEED ROUND TWO TICKETS?
Tickets for Friday’s game are $10. Tickets will be
available at the gate beginning at 6 pm on Friday
or can be purchased online at www.gofan.co.
Reserved seat passes will still be honored but
fans must still purchase a round 2 ticket.
Rowell
provide for the pre-school age
to the senior citizens. Program
ming is where my heart is.”
The department has flour
ished under Rowell’s leader
ship. During the commission
meeting November 9, Chair
woman Terri Lodge Kelly said
she was surprised when she
heard about Rowell’s resigna
tion. The BOC presented her
with a plaque, honoring her
service.
Recently, the department
won an award for innovative
programming in District 1.
They also won a state award for
the design of a flyer advertising
the boxing program..
“Truly the blessings have
been from the people I worked
with,” she said and pointed
out that the department’s staff
consists of some of the most
selfless people she has ever
met in her life. Looking back,
she is most proud of the early
contribution that she person
ally made toward obtaining a
grant to build the gymnasium.
She fought hard for recreation
to be seen as a necessary part
of a quality life.
“It was one of the very first
grants that were awarded for a
recreational facility,” she said.
“Those grants are nor
mally reserved for things
that are considered to be '«
essential, like water and |
sewage and sidewalks. Our ’
gym is busy all the time.
That is something that I am
most proud of.”
The most important person
to whom she would have to say
“thank you” for her success, is
former director, the late Danny
Jones. “He gave me free rein,”
she said.
Rowell has to stop herself
from crying when she thinks
about the times during sport
ing events when crowds of
people cheered for a child who
was struggling. It’s one of the
memories that made the choice
to leave such a tough decision
for her.
A string of events prompted
Rowell to head down the path
that her son had been hinting
at for a couple of years. Once
she opened her mind to retiring
early, the signs came in a wave.
Right after she prayed about it,
a county retirement representa
tive showed up at the office.
“I said,’ Lord, that was kind
of quick, wasn’t it,”’ she re
called thinking. Next, an em
ployee came across a retire
ment letter stuck in an old file
and left it on Rowell’s desk.
The handwritten letter, penned
by her dad, was addressed to
her in 2005. “...it’s come the
time to hang up my cleats,”
he wrote. “In the years ahead
it won’t make any difference
how much money I had or how
big a house I lived in, or how
big a car I drove, but the future
might be a little bit better if I
was important in the life of
one child.”
The timing of finding the let
ter sealed the fate of Rowell’s
decision. She turned in her
resignation with confidence
that it was time for her to move
in a different direction. Her last
day of employment is Novem
ber 30, her dad’s birthday.
“To get a 2-page handwrit
ten letter from my
Continued from front
daddy on that same day...,” she
said. “I knew that this was the
day that God planned for me
to do this.”
Although Rowell has begun
the task of wrapping things up,
the county may not have seen
the last of her. We should not
be surprised if she returns as a
volunteer.
“I can’t imagine not being in
volved” she said and laughed.
“I just love this place. I can’t
imagine anything I would
have done with my life other
than this.”
J.L. Glisson passed away in
2013.
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- er vice
► Don't be
alarmed.
Plant Vogtle siren test
Thursday, November 18th.
On Thursday, November 18th at approximately
7 p.m., Plant Vogtle will conduct its annual three-
minute test of the emergency notification system.
During this time, outdoor sirens will be activated
within the states of Georgia and South Carolina, in
the surrounding counties of Burke, Allendale, Aiken
and Barnwell.
This yearly test is designed to ensure you recognize
outdoor sirens so you're prepared in the unlikely
event of an incident at Plant Vogtle.
Before the siren test, the CodeRED notification
system may call residents in the area. Residents
must subscribe to the CodeRED notification
system in order to receive a call. To subscribe,
residents may sign up on their Emergency
Management Agency's website. This test is
being conducted in cooperation with the states
of Georgia and South Carolina and the above
counties.
Georgia Power is committed to protecting your
health and safety. For emergency preparedness
tips, visit georgiapower.com/nuclearenergy.
*lf there were a real emergency, sirens would
indicate a need to tune into local television or
radio for additional information.
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