Newspaper Page Text
8A
THE HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 1991
Perry sports
—1
Jim L
Moody I
■k Managing
Jk editor J
Don’t let fight
keep you from
football game
Friday night will prove to be a
real test for the Perry High School
football program.
Not only will one of the best
AA teams in the state come into
the Panther Pit, we’ll find out if the
community continues to feel safe at
the stadium in the wake of fighting
after the last home game.
What happened after the opener
with Cook County was senseless.
Just why fighting broke out in the
parking lot may forever be a mys
tery.
But one thing is certain: The
school is making every effort to
keep the peace at the game.
You can bet that lots of police
will be on hand, and they will be
very visible.
You can also be sure that the
thugs who instigated the fighting
will not be present.
Only a handful of PHS students
were involved, and they have all
been suspended from school for the
rest of the year. They won’t be al
lowed anywhere near the school for
a long time to come.
Most of the people involved
were not students, so they can’t be
punished through the school sys
tem. We’ll have to see what hap
pens to them in the court system.
But Principal Phil Smith assures
me that the school knows who
those people are, and they will not
be allowed to buy a ticket to foot
ball games.
If nothing else, Mr. Smith is a
believer in strong discipline.
So the school is doing every
thing in its power to ensure a quiet
night, at least off the football field.
It’s in the school’s best interest
to make people feel safe. People
won’t come to the game if they
think they are in danger. And the
only way the Panther athletic pro
gram can survive is through com
munity support that means at
tendance.
Large crowds at the five home
football games can mean the differ
ence in making a profit or suffering
a loss. Much of the equipment for
all the athletic teams is bought
through profits made off football
games.
But if the crowds during a season
arc small, it could be years before
the program recovers.
With Perry’s drop to AA a few
years ago, many of the school’s
traditional rivals, such as Peach
County, were left off the football
schedule.
Also, since PHS is playing
smaller schools, the number of
people cheering the visiting team
has dwindled.
These are problems beyond the
school’s control that have cut into
die athletic budget.
Many school officials believe
that when the GHSA re-aligns
schools for next year, Perry will be
back in AAA. That will be good for
the level of compction, but it will
be better for the financial stability
of the program.
But these arc things we can’t
control. What we can do to help the
program is attend the game.
OK, so the Panthers aren’t in the
state’s top-10 poll.
But that’s not the point here.
Those arc our kids on the field, our
kids in the band, and our girls
yelling cheers. If we don’t support
them, who will?
If you support Perry High
School in any way, do yourself, the
school and the community a favor:
Attend the game Friday night.
Show your support for the kids
and show the town that we will not
tolerate the kind of mess that went
on Aug. 31. Don’t let a few idiots
take away your right to enjoy a
good game.
Westfield dove shoot
If you are a supporter of the
Westfield Hornet athletic program,
take the opportunity to support
Hornet athletics during a dove shoot
Saturday. Cost is only $lO per gun,
and that’s tax deductible. The shoot
will be in a brown-top millet field
in Elko. For more information, call
Butch or Lynda Williams at 987-
4770.
All the proceeds benefit West
field athletics. The dove shoot is
sponsored by the Westfield Quarter
back Club.
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Westfield’s Joey Hawk carries the ball during the Stratford game last Friday.
Perry more wary of East Coweta this year
By JIM MOODY
Managing Editor
The Perry Panthers won their
first game Friday night, but they
haven’t had much time to celebrate.
The Panthers face an undefeated
East Coweta team Friday night that
is ranked in the top five AA teams
in the state.
“I think they are a very good
football team,” said PHS head
coach John Stephens.
Last year the Panthers traveled to
Sharpsburg with a 2-0 record.
Stephens said he and the team had
never heard of East Coweta since
the school was new to the region.
“On the way the kids were talk
ing about how the B-team would
play that night.”
When the Panthers boarded the
bus for the long ride home, they
took a 42-21 loss with them.
“They just politely invited us to
a good old-fashioned whipping,”
Stephens said.
“This time, we’ll look at them
in a new perspective.”
Last year the Indians made it to
state playoffs. “They have a lot of
folks back,” Stephens said.
Though the Indians will be
tough, Stephens said they won’t
hold the size advantage over the
Panthers that Lamar County held
Lady Panthers open
region play with
sweep of Upson Co.
By TRACY MALONE
Special to the HHJ
The Perry High Lady Panthers
started their region slate with a
doubleheader sweep of Upson
County. Perry took the opener 8-5
and won the second game 10-1.
In the first game Perry got 13 hits
led by seniors Stephanie Lee and
Shannon Johns. Lee went 2-4 with
a two-run homer and Johns went 2-
3.
The Lady Panthers started the
scoring with a two-out single by
Deidre Williams. In the fourth
inning Perry lowered the boom on
Upson by scoring 6 runs.
Jill Prickett led off the inning
with a double, followed by Amber
Findley’s single that scored
Prickett. Later in the inning,
Jennifer Allen hit into a fielder’s
choice allowing Findley to score.
Johns was then hit home by Cindy
Griffin’s sacrifice fly.
Lee capped off the inning with a
two run homer making the score 8-
2. In the latter innings Upson gave
Perry a slight scare by scoring one
Friday night.
“Lamar County was much big
ger.”
Even with the size disadvantage,
the Panthers held Lamar County to
only six points.
But Perry was still plagued by
fumbles. Miscues also hurt the
Panthers in their opening loss to
Cook County.
Lamar County’s lone score was
set up from a fumbled exchange be
tween Perry quarterback Jeff Ridley
and running back Notrell Askew.
Lamar’s extra point failed.
But Stephens said fumbles hurt
the Panthers less than in the Cook
County game.
“We fumbled some, but we at
least fumbled on our end of the
field,” and didn’t kill scoring drives.
Stephens said the Panthers have
worked to eliminate the fumbles.
“We think we’ve found the prob
lem with the exchange.”
A key to the victory was Perry’s
kicking game and Lamar’s lack of
one.
The point after touchdown was
the margin of victory.
Lamar also had the opportunity
to kick a field goal late in the game
on fourth down. But Lamar opted to
Please see PERRY, page 9A
in the sixth and two in the seventh.
Pitcher Heather Ellis stopped the
threat by striking out the last batter
in the seventh.
The second game started off with
a bang as Griffin hit a leadoff home
run. They would go on to score in
every inning except fifth and the
seventh. In the second inning
Amanda Coffee scored on Natasha
Haley’s double. Then on Jessica
Brewer’s sacrifice Johns came in
making it 3-0. In the third inning
Stephanie Lee homered and Deidre
Williams homered one batter after
Lee. Johns, Brewer and Griffin all
scored in the fourth inning. The
last of the scoring was in the sixth
inning when Tiffany Arrington
doubled in Brewer and Lee.
Coach Joy McNeil said she was
pleased by the senior leadership and
the fact that in the second game
many of the outs were hard hit
ones. She also was pleased by the
much improved defense and the
teamwork exhibited by the team.
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Perry’s Nortrell Askew makes a run Friday night against Lamar County.
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A Lady Panther takes a swing
during Perry's game against
Upson County Tuesday. The
Lady Panthers' bats came to life
against the Yellow Jackets, as
Perry scored 18 runs in the two
games.
The next varsity game is Thursday
at sp.m. at Sumter County,
followed by a Friday tournament at
Macon County.
Hornets work
on basics after
Stratford loss
By JIM MOODY
Managing Editor
Westfield head Coach Todd
Curkendall says the Hornets’ 35-0
loss to Stratford Friday night does
not mean his team is down for the
count.
“We’re going to go into each
game with the attitude to win.” he.
After watching the game film,
Curkendall said the team continues
to play with poor technique and
fundamentals.
“We’re basically not blocking
and tackling. That’s really the bot
tom line. It’s really the same old
story. Until we do those things
we’re not going to win.”
Curkendall said his team was
outmatched against Stratford, but
the Hornets are better than the score
would indicate.
“(Stratford) is a good football
team, but they’re not the best we’ll
see. They’re not 35 points better
than we are.”
He said Hornet mistakes hurt the
team worse than Stratford did.
“We threw interceptions in our
own territory.”
But even on drives without in
terceptions, the Hornet offense was
not on track.
“We didn’t even get within field
goal range. We’ve only scored 7
points in the first two games.”
Lady Hornets even
region record with
split with Mt. DeSales
By DAVID JAHNS
Special to the HHJ
The Lady Hornets won the first
game of a double-header but could
not win the second game against
Mt. DeSales to make a sweep.
In the opener, Westfield took the
lead in the bottom of the sixth and
| hung on to win 6-5. The Lady
i Hornet tried to make a come back
in the bottom of the seventh inning
j of the nightcap but it was not
i enough. They lost 10 to 8.
The split with Mt. Desales
makes the Lady Hornets' overall
I record 6-4,2-2 in the region.
In the bottom of the second
inning, the Lady Hornets got on the
board first. When Laurie Thompson
hit a ground ball, Marla Massey
scored from third base.
In the bottom of the third inning,
Christi Horsting scored when Erica
Graham hit the ball into the
outfield and Mt. DeSales made
several errors.
I Mt. DeSales came back in the
fourth to tie the game at two
Journal
Curkendall also said Stratford ran
about twice as many offensive
plays as Westfield.
“We’re just not moving the
ball.”
But the lack of offense hasn’t
caused Curkendall to think about
changing quarterbacks.
“We’re going to stick with
Danny (Perfect) and see if we can
improve.”
Before the season, Perfect and
Chad Evans battled for the starting
quarterback slot, but Evans sus
tained a knee injury before the sea
son began, ending the race.
i Curkendall said he expects Evans
to be ready to plav within a week.
The Hornets will try to regroup
Friday night at home against an 0-3
Briarwood team.
Briarwood is a smaller AA
school, but Curkendall said the av
erage size of the players is bigger
than Westfield’s.
Briarwood runs the split-back
veer offense, which the Hornets
haven’t seen this year.
Curkendall said the emphasis in
practice will continue to be funda
mentals, rather than keying on the
split-back veer.
Defensively, Briarwood runs a 4-
4 or a split-5, both of which the
Hornets have come up against this
season.
apiece. But Westfield went right
back ahead when Jeanna Bishop and
Mandy McDaniel both scored.
Mt. DeSales came back again to
tie the game in the top of the fifth.
Marla Massey sacrifice flied for the
Lady Hornets to bring in April
Horsting, putting Westfield ahead
5-4 in the bottom of the fifth.
After Mt DeSales tied the score,
Westfield's Kim Marshall was
batted in by Laurie Thompson and
the Lady Hornets held on to their
lead to win the game.
In game two, Mt. DeSales took
the lead and did not give it up.
Trailing 3-0 in the first, Laura
Langston scored when Erica
Graham hit a double.
Mt. DeSales added to its lead in
the second to make the score 5-1.
They contined to add to their lead in
the third by making the score 6-1.
But in the third inning, the Lady
Hornets' Laura Langston, April
Horsting and Christi Horsting all
scored runs and cut the Mt. DeSales
Please see WESTFIELD, page 9A