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Panthers' Rugged Defense
....Crushes Peach County Runner
Over Peach County
Panthers Win Spring
Game With 14-0
Displaying an awesome
Infantry attack, com
plimented by a stingy
defense, the Perry
Panthers took control
early and held it all night
as they crushed the
Peach County Trojans 14-
0 last Friday night In the
annual spring game at
the Panther Pit. The
contest was not nearly as
close as the final score
Indicated. The Panthers
fumbled three times deep
In Trojan territory,
denying potential touch
downs.
The yearly spring grid
tilt was played in
anything but spring-like
conditions. The tem
perature hovered at the
freezing mark and
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Ridley (28) Pulled Down
....Perry IB Rushed For 141 Yards
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Dan Wright (11) Fumbles Pass
....After Being Hit By Trojans
numbed hands and feet of
players and fans alike.
Undoubtedly, the un
seasonably cold weather
kept away a lot ot ticket
buyers. A crowd ot less
than 200 showed up tor
the first football game ot
1978.
Perry's offensive
fireworks warmed up the
fans to some extent. Led
by another one hundred
yard game by John
Ridley, the Panthers
chalked up 275 yards for
the evening as the
veteran line opened
gapping holes in the
porous Trojan defense.
Ridley finished with 141
yards in 22 trys and did
not carry the ball a time
in the third period.
Fullback Sam Kendrick
(wearing a new number ■
7) picked up 48 yards in a
dozen attempts, while
newcomer Sinclair
Lester rambled for 47 in
10 cracks. Five other
Panthers gathered the
remaining real estate.
The tale of the tape was
even worse on the
statistical level. Perry
recorded 17 first downs to
just 3 for the Trojans. In
the offensive play
category the Panthers
racked up 64 plays from
scrimmage to just 45 for
the visitors. The hard
hitting Perry defense
limited the Trojans to
just 52 yards on the
ground and 86 through the
airlanes. Playing a ball
control offense, the
Panthers also controlled
nearly twenty-nine
minutes of the forty
eight minute affair. To
say the least, the Panther
defense got a lot of rest
and were sharp when
called on.
Perry's only "sore
spot" of the cold evening
was in the passing
department. The Pan
thers connected on only
one of five passes, good
for nine yards, and that
resulted in a fumble that
was lost. It could have
been better, two Quinton
Harvey aerials were
dropped.
Perry High head
football coach Bob
Morrow was "well
satisfied" his team's
performance Friday
night. "Both our of
fensive and defensive
lines looked in mid
season form," the
Panther mentor com-
Home Journal
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PAGE 14-A
THURS., MAR 23, I»7S,
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Perry High Will Be AAA
GHSA Designations
Are A Bit Confusing!
Classifications for Georgia high schools
(GHSA) will read a bit differently in 1978 and
the new designations are sure to cause
confusion.
However, there is still time to get used to
the new terminology. Its use will not come
into effect until this fall. The major change in
the labeling of the state’s four separate prep
divisions is the addition of an “A” to each
class.
At the top of the list is class AAAA. For
merly known as triple-A, the addition of
another “A” brings on the question of how to
say AAAA. For example, it is rather clumsy
to say region two four-A when referring to
region 2-AAAA.
A more logical pronunciation is to say
region two quadruple-A. This mouthful can
be eliminated by referring to the quadruple
as quad. When football season rolls around
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Panthers' Second Unit
....They Drove For Second Touchdown
merited. "This is the best
I've felt after a spring
game in a long time."
With a sparce crowd on
hand Peach County won
the toss of the coin and
elected to receive. After
two rushes netted nothing
the Trojans went to the
air for eleven yards to the
46 and the initial chain
movement of the game.
Two plays later the
Trojans were back on
their 42 when freshman
Greg Bogan blew in to
throw the Peach quar
terback for a 4-yard loss.
It was the first of several
fine plays by the up-and
coming Perry
sophomore. A play later
the Trojans "punted" to
the Panthers at the Perry
28.
Wasting little time the
Panthers marched 72
yards in 13 snaps for the
first points of she game.
The drive, all on the
ground, was spear
headed by junior John
Ridley who hauled the
pigskin seven times and
capped the well-oiled
excursion with an 11-yard
TD burst behind crushing
blocks. Willie Harris and
Sam Kendrick also toted
the mail during the drive.
Perry missed the two
point conversion, leaving
the count 6-0 at 2:23 of the
opening period.
"We really moved
them (Peach) back,"
offensive line coach Dave
Crockett stated about the
Panthers front five of
center Alan Brunson,
guards Willie Anderson
and Boyd Brooks, tackles
Marcus Riley and Billy
Gordon, and alternating
guard Emerson Thomas.
After Perry's Tommy
Stokes and Daryl Parker
forced a Trojan fumble
early in the second period
- Tim King recovering for
the Panthers - another
drive commenced at the
Perry 12. In ten snaps the
Panthers had driven 78
yards to the Trojan 10,
but then bogged down. A
fourth down pass from
Quinton Harvey to split
end Willie Harris fell
incomplete in the end
zone. Ridley, with a 47-
yard burst, ate up most of
the yardage in the ill
fated drive.
A series of downs by the
Trojans netted only a
yard - Perry recorded
another sack, this time by
Stanley Bass - so the
visitors "punted" to the
Panthers at their own 37.
Perry made waves again,
but a fumble six plays
into the drive stalled the
Panthers at the Peach
County 9-yard line.
The half ended three
snaps later with the
Ironmen still on the nine.
Perry was still clinging to
a precarious 6-0 lead.
In the third period the
Panthers called on their
second team offense, and
they were offensive. Led
by freshman quarterback
David Arnall the Pan
thers subs journeyed 65
yards in 13 plays, all on
the ground, for the second
Perry score of the cold
evening. Fullback Sin
clair Lester carried the
ball eight times during
the sustained march and
did the honors at 5:53 of
the third period by
crashing over from two
yards out. Lester encored
by sweeping to his left for
she two-point conversion
to up the Perry ad
vantage to 14-0.
Second teamers Lamar
Dunagan, Marty Cassey,
Kevin Ross, Wayne
Henry, Jeff Linder, Bert
Harvey, Keith McLain,
Louis Wallace, Ashish
Gupta, David Arnall,
Danny Rush, Sinclair
Lester, Eugene Speicher,
Geoffrey Hill and Eddie
Parker all assisted in the
Panther scoring drive.
In the final stanza the
first unit reentered the
contest and made
repeated punctures in the
Trojan defensive line, but
a pair of fumbles, one of
them in the shadows of
the Peach goal post at the
two, kept the Panthers off
the scoreboard in the
final quarter.
Peach clicked on three
of six aerials in the fourth
again next fall fans will say region 2-Quad A
when referring to competition involving a
team such as Warner Robins High School.
And what about the other divisions?
Confusion is on the way here too as fans try
to remember this year’s triple-A teams are
last year’s class AA schools. Likewise the
double-A teams are what used to be called
class A, and those teams which once were in
the B division become A schools. The Perry
Panthers will thus become class AAA next
season instead of their usual AA tag ... they
will be region three triple-A. Okay?
Right now, things are a bit confusing.
Perry athletic heads are attending meetings
for next season. Are the gatherings for AA or
AAA changes and recommendations?
Rightnow, it’s confusing, but by the middle
of next season’s football calendar it should be
all straightened out.
period for thirty yards,
but the running game was
nill, only seven net yards.
Perry's frigid fans
departed the Panther Pit
with a satisfied look at
game's end, but the
happiest bunch was that
second unit, they out
scored the first stringers
8-6 in the 14-0 triumph
over Peach County.
THE STATS
RUSHING: John Ridley
22 for 141, Sam Kendrick
12 for 48, Quinton Harvey
4 tor 32, Willie Harris 3
for 7, Sinclair Lester 10
for 47, Danny Rush 4 for
12, Louis Wallace 1 tor 1,
Bert Harvey 2 for 7.
RECEIVING: Dan
Wright 1 for 9 yards.
FUMBLES
RECOVERIES: Tim
King, Dean Walker
PENALTIES: Perry 3 for
25 yards. Peach 6 for 30.
PERRY PEACH
17 First Downs 3
275 Yds Rushing 52
9 Yds Passing 86
5-1-1 Att-Com-Int 11-6-0
3-3 Fumbles Lost 2-2
64 Off Plays 45
Panther Roster
Keith McLain, Skip
Ends April 7th
Adult Softball
Signup Underway
The Houston County
Recreation Department's
men and women softball
league registrations are
underway. Registration
will continue until April 7,
1978.
During this time, a
team representative may
register his or her team
at Ted Wright Park on
Moody Road in Bonaire
or in the commissioner's
office at the courthouse in
Perry from 9 till 5
Monday through Friday.
At the time of
Grantham, Eddie
Parker, Carlton Round
tree, Ricky Funk, Willie
Harris, Eugene Radford,
Lynn Smith, Dan Wright,
Quenton Harvey.
Stanley Bass, Emerson
Thomas, Randy Lum
pkin, Danny Rush, John
Ridley, Sam Kendrick,
Carlton Bailey, Ashish
Gupta, Lamar Dunagan,
Greg Porter, Ronnie
Allen, Tim Nall.
Dean Walker, Bert
Harvey, Willie Anderson,
Boyd Brooks, Jeff Linder,
David Arnall, Ben
Wright, Jeff Hill, Tim
King, Allan Brunson,
Billy Gordon, Kelvin
Ross.
Marty Cassey, Darryl
Parker, Dennis Lane,
Tommy Stokes, Marcus
Riley, Wayne Henry,
Mike Whiddon, Kessler
Lewis, Johnny Slasher.
Louis Wallace, Carl
Joiner, David Whiddon,
Darryl Collins, Sinclair
Tester, Jerome McGhee,
F ranklin Speicher,
Drennon Everett, Greg
Bogan, Tony Carter
(injured, did not play).
I Hi
registration, a $50.00
commitment fee will be
asked. The money will be
deducted from league
fees. If no league exists,
money will be refunded.
After April 7, 1978 the
teams that have
registered will be called
as to the date for an
organizational meeting.
The season will begin the
first week in May.
For information, call
Virgil Lawson at 922-2878
or 923-2905.
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