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SPORTS
Bill Murphy Sports Editor | 770-718-3415 | sports@gainesvilletimes.com
Unties
gainesvilletimes.com
Sunday, November 11,2018
HIGH SCHOOL
SCOREBOARD
Gwyn’s 23
points lead
Chestatee
Cameron Gwyn had a team-high
23 points and three additional start
ers scored in double figures as the
Chestatee High boys basketball
team opened its season Saturday
with a 79-68 win against Kings Ridge
in Gainesville.
Daniel Briseno (15 points), Jonah
Bull (13) and Ethan Popham (12
points) were others to produce for
the War Eagles (TO), which plays
Lumpkin County next in a non
region contest at 7:30 p.m. on Tues
day in Dahlonega.
WRESTLING
EAST HALL WINS RAIDER
DUALS: The Vikings got off to a
promising start to the season by
defeating Dacula (50-30), White
County (52-30) and Habersham Cen
tral (39-39) with a win by criteria to
be crowned the 2018 duals cham
pion on Saturday in Mount Airy.
East Hall (3-0) will next travel
to Cambridge High School for a
10-team tournament, beginning at 9
a.m. on Saturday in Milton.
Compiled by Sarah Woodall
NASCAR
Kevin Harvick
on mission
to silence his
critics after
race penalty
Associated Press
The mood in the desert is tense
headed into the final elimination
race before NASCAR’s champion
ship, a title Kevin Harvick is deter
mined to win.
The 2014 champion is on a mis
sion to lead his Stewart-Haas Rac
ing team into the title race, prove
they honestly are the best group
in the garage and that a wave of
adversity cannot unravel their suc
cess. NASCAR said the No. 4 team
cheated in last weekend’s victory at
Texas by building their own spoiler
and passing it off as one supplied by
the required vendor. The punish
ment was severe and put Harvick
in danger of not qualifying for the
championship.
But the road to the final four goes
through ISM Raceway outside of
Phoenix. It’s a track where Harvick
has won nine times previously,
■ Please see RACE, 4B
Can-Am 500
When: 2:30 p.m. today
TV: NBC
HIGH SCHOOL BASKCTBALL
Finally coming together
Photos by AUSTIN STEELE I The Times
Cherokee Bluff basketball coach Benjie Wood speaks to his players during a scrimmage against Johnson on Thursday, Nov. 8, in Flowery
Branch. The games played at Cherokee Bluff that day helped raise funds to help in Hurricane Michael relief efforts.
After months of work, lst-year Bears see ‘the process’ coming to life
BY SARAH WOODALL
swoodall@gainesvilletimes.com
For athletic programs fresh to
the scene, building a solid chem
istry is usually the first step in the
process.
Cherokee Bluff High juniors
Griffin Neville and Palmer
Weaver can tell you that while
the boys basketball program is
now closer than ever, it certainly
had its challenges in the early
going. But for every setback,
there’s always that breakthrough
moment.
Both shooting guards for the
first-year Bears pointed to a sum
mer trip to Panama City, Florida,
that changed everything.
It was during a June basketball
summer camp at Gulf Coast Com
munity College, a place Bears
coach Benjie Wood has taken his
teams in the past and where he
first met Rutherford High coach
Rhondie Ross, now a close friend
of Wood’s. Aside from participat
ing in various drills on the cam
pus, Cherokee Bluff scrimmaged
Ross’s team at Rutherford High
and one other high school.
In that time, the growing pains
of a young program showed.
“(I remember) we had a real
bad game, just awful,” Neville
said. The effort was horrible.”
As punishment, Neville said
the Bears took part in a grueling
workout regimen on the beach
the very next day. On top of run
ning long distances, Neville said
players ran suicide sprints on the
thick sand while carrying a team
mate on their backs, all in what
felt like 100-degree temperatures.
But running side-by-side, bat
tling those elements as a group
lit a spark. The attitude changed
within the team, Neville said.
“It created a bond that just
brought us together,” added Nev
ille, who previously played at
Gainesville High for Wood. “We
started playing well after that,
because we had to.”
Weaver could attest.
“We had a couple of games
(down there) where we started
to fall apart, but we had to trust
coach Wood, trust each other to
get back on track,” the 6-foot-l
junior said. “We were all over the
place. But ever since then, we’ve
■ Please see BLUFF, 4B
Cherokee Bluff’s Griffin Neville takes a foul shot during a
scrimmage played against Johnson on Thursday, Nov. 8, in
Flowery Branch.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
GEORGIA TECH 27, MIAMI 21
run wild in Athens
CURTIS COMPTON I Associated Press
Georgia tailback D’Andre Swift breaks away from Auburn defenders for a long
touchdown run during the fourth quarter of the game on Saturday, Nov. 10, in
Athens.
Bulldogs
Swift rushes for 186
yards, No. 5 Georgia
beats Auburn 27-10
BY PAUL NEWBERRY
Associated Press
ATHENS — No. 5 Georgia struck
for a pair of touchdowns late in the
first half to take control and D’Andre
Swift finished off Auburn with a
77-yard scoring run early in the
fourth quarter to lead the Bulldogs to
a 27-10 victory over their oldest rival
Saturday night.
Swift rushed for 186 yards to power
another big game by Georgia’s run
ning attack, which finished with 303
yards.
Having already locked up a spot in
the Southeastern Conference cham
pionship game, the Bulldogs (9-1, 7-1,
No. 5 CFP) couldn’t afford to slip up
against the Tigers.
They didn’t, though it took Georgia
a while to get going.
After settling for pair of field goals,
the Bulldogs trailed 10-6 with the
first half winding down. But, facing
third-and-4 from the Auburn 14 and
the prospect of bringing on kicker
Rodrigo Blankenship for the third
time, Jake Fromm connected on a
touchdown pass to Tyler Simmons
that pushed the home team ahead
with 2:47 remaining.
Auburn (6-4, 3-4, No. 24 CFP) went
three-and-out, taking only 47 sec
onds off the clock, and Georgia got a
chance to add to its lead. Swift broke
off a 24-yard run before two short
completions left the Bulldogs facing
fourth-and-3 at the Tigers 38.
Coach Kirby Smart let the clock
run down before calling timeout with
29 seconds remaining. He passed on
a long field goal attempt, and any
thoughts that Georgia might be trying
to lure Auburn offsides with a no-back
alignment were dashed when Fromm
took the snap and found Terry God
win breaking free over the middle.
Godwin hauled in the pass without
breaking stride and didn’t go down
until he tumbled into the end zone for
a TD that suddenly pushed Georgia to
a 20-10 lead at the break.
Both teams slogged through the
third quarter before Swift tacked on
■ Please see GEORGIA, 3B
Marshall, J ackets
top fumble-prone
Miami Hurricanes
Associated Press
ATLANTA — TaQuon
Marshall ran for 92 yards
with two touchdowns and
Georgia Tech scored 13
points off Miami’s three lost
fumbles to beat the struggling
Hurricanes 27-21 on Saturday
night.
Georgia Tech’s top-ranked
running attack gained
231 yards against Miami’s
defense, second in the nation
in total yards allowed. Mar
shall completed only 3 of 4
passes for 73 yards, includ
ing a 31-yard scoring pass
to Brad Stewart in the third
quarter.
Georgia Tech (6-4, 4-3
Atlantic Coast Conference)
has won three straight games
and five of six to become
bowl-eligible. The Yellow
Jackets failed to qualify for a
bowl in two of the last three
seasons.
Miami (5-5, 2-4) continued
to see its once-promising sea
son fall flat with its fourth
straight loss. It was Mark
Richt’s first loss in 10 games
as a head coach at Bobby
Dodd Stadium, including his
time with Georgia.
Travis Homer’s 2-yard
scoring run midway through
the final quarter cut Georgia
Tech’s lead to six points.
Miami’s proud defense
gave up Marshall’s 22-yard
pass to Jalen Camp on third
and 6. Marshall converted
another third down on a
keeper, allowing the Yellow
Jackets to work more time
off the clock.
Finally, after Miami called
its final timeout with 2:53
remaining, Jerry Howard ran
for 11 yards on a third-and-5
play that ended the Hurri
canes’ comeback hopes.
Marshall had touchdown
runs of 28 and 8 yards on
Georgia Tech’s first two pos
sessions. The second scoring
run followed a lost fumble on
a kickoff return by DeeJay
Dallas. Ajani Kerr recovered
for the Yellow Jackets at the
Miami 23.
■ Please see TECH, 3B
