Newspaper Page Text
Page 12 — Wednesday, August 17, 2022, The True Citizen
©SPORTS
Bears kickoff2022, face Thomson on road
BEN ROBERTS
benroberts@bellsouth.net
Burke County will begin
their 2022 football season
this Friday against a familiar
foe. The Bears will travel to
McDuffie County to face the
Thomson Bulldogs in The
Brickyard.
In the past, this matchup has
usually held significant ramifi
cations for both the winner and
loser, often times determining
which team would be crowned
region champion. This year
is a little different, however,
with Burke County moving
up to AAAA and the Bulldogs
dropping to AA with the Geor
gia High School Association
(GHSA) reclassification this
year.
Those classifications are
determined every two years
based on a school’s enrollment
numbers. Thomson is once
again expected to be a stout
team, with many news outlets
predicting them to go deep in
this year’s state playoffs.
In a preseason interview a
couple of weeks ago, however,
Bears’ head coach Eric Parker
said he expects his team to
compete as well.
“We’re returning a good
bit of our skill position kids,
there’s a lot of experience in
that group,” Parker said.
Offensively, the Bears will
be led by the senior duo of
quarterback Marshall Flow
ers and running back Charlie
Dorsey.
Parker did admit there were
concerns on the line on both
sides of the ball. The front
three starters on defense were
all seniors lost to graduation.
“We’re going to need solid
line play up front,” he said.
In all, the Bears lost 12 se
niors last year, but Parker is
known for getting his under
classmen valuable experience
to prepare them to step up
when the time comes.
“We’ve got a chance to be
pretty good but we need to gel
early on,” Parker said.
The Bears’ move to Region
3-AAAA will bring some fa
miliar faces as well as new
ones. Burke County will kick
off its region schedule by
traveling to Jesup on Sept. 30
to face former region foe, the
Wayne County Yellow Jack
ets. The following Thursday,
Oct. 6, the Bears will travel
to Savannah to play the Bene
dictine Cadets. Burke County
has faced Benedictine several
times in the last few years. The
Cadets are fresh off their 2022
AAAA state championship and
are expected to held another
strong contender.
Region 3 is rounded out with
games against other Savannah
area schools Islands and New
Hampstead. Burke County will
close its regular season on Nov.
4 on the road against Southeast
Bulloch.
The Bears went 7-2 last year
during the regular season, fall
ing to Benedictine and Thom
son. Burke County entered the
playoffs as the number 2 seed
for Region 4-AAA. They de
feated Mary Persons in the first
round and Stephens County in
the second to advance to their
first quarter finals since the
2017 season.
The Bears lost to Carver-
Atlanta in that game 46-14.
Carver went on to be the state
runner-up, losing to Cedar
Grove 56-26.
Kick off for Friday’s game
against Thomson is set for
7:30 pm.
2022 Bears Football Schedule
Date
Opponent
Aug. 19
@ Thomson
Aug.26
Effingham
Sept. 2
OPEN
Sept. 9
Evans
Sept. 16
Oconee County (Homecoming)
Sept. 23
@ Statesboro
Sept. 30
@ Wayne County*
Oct. 6 (Thursday)
@ Benedictine*
Oct. 14
Islands*
Oct. 21
OPEN
Oct. 28
New Hampstead*
Nov. 4
@ Southeast Bulloch*
^Region 3-AAAA game
Lady Bears softball starts the season off strong
Brannon Braddock
Jbraddo4@gmail.com
The BCHS softball team has
had a strong start to the season.
As of last Friday, August 12,
the team is 4-2 overall with
all of their opponents being
out-of-region. The week of
August 8 through August 12,
the Lady Bears played three
games, finishing positive at 2-1
for the week.
On Tuesday, the team faced
off against Metter at home. Un
fortunately, there aren’t many
highlights from this game, as
the Lady Bears fell 14-1 to the
visiting Tigers.
After recording their only
loss of the week, they quickly
bounced back with a strong
7-4 victory over Washington
County on Wednesday. Notable
performances from this game
include Arliyah Crumbley,
who pitched a full 7 innings
recording five strikeouts in the
process. Additionally, players
such as Maliah Blomstrom,
Alyssa Rabun, and Braylin
Fare had impressive appear
ances at the plate. Blomstrom
went 2-3, scoring a run while
Rabun and Fare both went 1-3
with two runs batted in (RBIs).
Rounding out their week,
the Lady Bears traveled to
Jefferson County where their
bats lit up in a high scoring
win. Brylie Mallard pitched a
solid five innings in relief while
the rest of the team sealed the
deal with their amazing plate
performances. Page Sullivan
went 4-5 with 2 RBIs; Arliyah
Crumbley went 3-5 with three
RBIs; Maddox Russel went
3-6 with two RBIs; Braylin
Fare went 2-4 with a triple; and
Alyssa Rabun went 2-4 with an
RBI and a double.
The Lady Bears start their
next week off welcoming Jef
ferson County for their second
meeting of the season. They
continue with another tough
matchup against Metter and
an away game against Cross
Creek. If the Lady Bears con
tinue playing like they have
been, they can win all three of
these games and improve their
overall record to 7-2.
Young BCHS volleyball team shows promise
Brannon Braddock
Jbraddo4@gmail.com
Last Thursday, August 11,
2022, the Burke County Lady
Bears volleyball team traveled
to Westside for a tri-match with
Westside and Augusta Prep.
This season, the Lady Bears
only have three returning start
ers. Regardless, the team was
“eager to accept the challenge
of competing at a high level,”
said head coach David Skinner.
The Bears won their first
matches against Westside 26-6
and 25-10. The second match
with Augusta Prep was very
tight and competitive with
several long rallies. Unfor
tunately for the Bears, a few
players were injured during
the first set. The players who
remained stayed focused and
played hard. Overall, the Lady
Bears fell short, losing 25-16
and 25-21.
This didn’t stop strong out
ings from some of Burke Coun
ty’s star players. Tre’yonna
tones recorded five kills, five
aces, and one block; Gloriahna
Roberson had four assists and
six aces; Destiny Odom record
ed two kills, four aces, and one
block; and Erika Lee Durden
had two kills and two aces.
Coach Skinner said he was
“pleased to see the chemistry,
execution, grit, and fight of
[the] team, especially in the
face of adversity.” Overall,
it seems that this first set of
matches serve as a good indica
tor of how the rest of the season
will pan out. Skinner continued
his praise saying, “all of our
players made significant con
tributions to our effectiveness
as a team on Thursday.”
The Lady Bears play their
next set of matches today,
August 17, at home against
Washington County. This poses
an opportunity for a huge mile
stone for the volleyball team
and Coach Skinner. If the Lady
Bears win against Washington
County, it would be Coach
Skinner’s 100th win.
After their home game on the
seventeenth, the Lady Bears
will play a series of away
games and won’t return home
again until August 27.
The Lady Bears volleyball team talks strategy during a timeout.
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»■
Broadcast team members (from left) Rick Umpleby, Dan
Wiggins and John Ealick prepare to call the GHSA 2011 AAA
championship game in the Georgia Dome. The Bears defeated
Peach County 28-14 to capture the title.
Bears broadcast
From Staff Reports
When the Burke County Bears take to the held this Friday, they
will do so without one of their longest and most ardent supporters.
Former coach and longtime football radio broadcaster, Dan
Wiggins, passed away in May, leaving a huge hole in the lives
of his many friends and family.
Wiggins’ absence has been especially painful for Ben Roberts,
who served as Wiggins’ color analyst for the last three football
seasons.
“Dan’s death was obviously a huge loss for his family and
this community as a whole, but as I struggled with losing my
friend, I also worried who was going to call the Bears’ games,”
Roberts said.
“I don’t mean that in a selfish way,” he added. “I mean I can’t
imagine turning on the radio to listen to a Bears’ football game
and not hearing Dan’s distinctive, gravelly voice detailing the
game.”
Roberts admits he briefly contemplated giving up calling the
games himself as he pondered how to move forward. In the
end, however, he decided he owed it to his partner to ensure
the broadcasts continued just the way Wiggins had taught him.
To ensure that end, Roberts sought the help of experienced
Bears’ broadcasters, Chris Henry and Earl Huddleston.
Henry, a former Burke County High School principal and
Dan’s former broadcast partner, retired from calling the games
after the 2018 season.
“I leaned on Chris early on for some guidance in how to move
forward and he immediately offered to help in any way he could,”
Roberts said.
Huddleston has been the Bears’ stadium announcer for numer
ous seasons and is a seasoned pro in the broadcast booth himself.
Roberts explained that Henry will call the play-by-play for
Bears’ home games with Roberts assisting. Huddleston will
provide color commentary for away games while Roberts will
handle play-by-play duties.
Wiggins and Henry both grew up in North Augusta and Henry
remembers Wiggins as a gifted athlete and considered him one
of his heroes in high school.
Henry agreed that Dan’s enthusiasm and knowledge will be
missed during this year’s games.
“Dan was always ready to go,” he said. “He would visit Coach
Parker frequently during the week and would have great informa
tion on the Bears and their opponent for the broadcast. No one
could link the listener to the game atmosphere like Dan.”
Roberts and Henry called the Bears’ scrimmage against Laney
two weeks ago and Roberts admits he was glad they did.
“I needed that scrimmage as much the players,” he said. “I
needed to go ahead and be in that booth and go through those
motions without Dan sitting beside me. There were some strong
emotions at play, so I’m glad I got that one under my belt.”
Roberts said he appreciates Henry and Huddleston’s willing
ness to help him this season and that from the beginning they all
agreed Wiggins would want to ensure that the broadcast continued
its tradition of bringing the Bears’ action across the airwaves.
“I think I can speak for all the broadcast team members when I
say it was such a privilege to have known and worked with Dan.
In my case, he was certainly a mentor,” Roberts said.
The Bears will travel to Thomson this week to face their long
time rivals, the Thomson Bulldogs, and Roberts thinks it’s only
fitting to start this new season against one of Wiggins’ favorite
opponents.
“Thomson’s always been huge and nobody loved to get on
the held with them more than Dan,” Roberts said. “We’ll have
our work cut out for us, both on the held and in the booth, but I
imagine Dan will be right there with us, pulling just as hard as
he always did.”
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