SPORTS
Bill Murphy Sports Editor | 770-718-3415 | sports@gainesvilletimes.com
Sftncs
gainesvilletimes.com
Tuesday, November 13, 2018
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Bulldogs still
have chance at
HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL I Player of the Week
Steady as they come
championship
It’s not at all too early
to talk about Georgia
getting a crack at playing
for the football national
championship this year.
The fifth-ranked
Bulldogs (9-1) have
rolled through the rest
of the SEC East, earn
ing a repeat spot in the
league title game, this
one against top-ranked
Alabama (10-0) on Dec. 1
in Atlanta.
The only hiccup
for Georgia was the
20-point loss to LSU,
which appears to have
rejuvenated Georgia for
its late-season surge as
it seeks to repeat as SEC
champs for the first time
since 1982. Since the loss,
the Bulldogs have reeled
off three straight top-25
wins (Florida, Kentucky
and Auburn) and will be
heavy favorites for the
final two regular-season
games against Massa
chusetts on Saturday and
Georgia Tech on Nov. 24.
Now, the path to the
national championship
for Georgia in 2018 is
certainly more chal
lenging than last season.
However, there’s still a
chance.
Bulldogs fans may
cringe at the idea of
potentially needing to
beat top-ranked Ala
bama and further down
the road No. 2 Clemson
(10-0) for the national
championship. The
nearly-perf ect Crimson
Tide are a mystery with
Heisman-worthy sopho
more quarterback Tua
Tagovailoa’s knee injury
in the third quarter,
which he didn’t return
from in Saturday’s win
against Mississippi State.
Georgia seems to have
insane depth at all the
offensive spots, which
could turn the SEC title
game into a track meet.
The Bulldogs are get
ting peak performance
from starting quarter
back Jake Fromm, while
Justin Fields plays only
minimal snaps but is
ready in the wings, if
needed.
Georgia’s running
back stable is four deep
with Elijah Holyfield and
D’Andre Swift getting
the majority of the work.
Expect the Bulldogs to
be even better running
the ball in 2019 as Zeus
White is expected to play
after a season-ending
knee injury prior to the
season. Holyfield still has
one more year of eligibil
ity remaining, should he
pass on entering the NFL
draft.
And while the offen
sive line has been a bit
BILL MURPHY
bmurphy@gainesvilletimes.com
of a patchwork effort
during the regular sea
son because of injuries,
things seem to be steady
ing for the late-season
run. Having Isaiah
Wilson, Ben Cleveland
and Andrew Thomas all
on the field for every
snap makes running a lot
easier.
Should Georgia enter
tain any ideas of winning
the national champion
ship, it will come at
the hands of a prolific
offense.
However, the talent is
there. Beating Alabama
will be more tailored
toward a 35-30 outcome,
rather than a defensive
struggle like when the
Crimson Tide won the
matchup in last year’s
championship game.
The rest of the play
off picture looks pretty
clear. In 2018, it looks
like the SEC will only
have one spot in the two
semifinal playoff games.
The SEC Champion
ship game is, by proxy, a
quarterfinal game.
The modern-era play
off format is what has
separated Alabama and
Clemson as the two top
programs in college foot
ball. The Crimson Tide
have been all four times
to the playoffs, while
the Tigers have three
straight trips.
Should Georgia win
the SEC title, it would
become the fifth school
to make multiple playoff
appearances, joining
Ohio State (2014 and
2016) and Oklahoma
(2015 and 2017).
It’s the big win the
Bulldogs need to once
again become a truly
elite team for the first
time since the early
1980s.
It’s a longshot for
Georgia to win it all.
But there’s certainly a
chance.
That’s all Bulldog fans
need to have a reason
to really get excited
about Athens once again
becoming home to the
national champions.
Bill Murphy is sports
editor of The Times.
He can be reached
at bmurphy@
gainesvilletimes.com
or @Bill_Murphy313 on
Twitter.
MLB
Ronald Acuna named
NL Rookie of the Year
Associated Press
NEW YORK —
Atlanta Braves outfielder
Ronald Acuna Jr. was an
overwhelming
pick for National
League Rookie
of the Year, eas
ily beating Wash
ington outfielder
Juan Soto.
The 20-year-
old Acuna
received 27 first-
place votes and
three seconds for
144 points from the Base
ball Writers’ Association
of America in balloting
announced Monday.
Soto got two firsts
and 89 points, and Los
Angeles Dodgers pitcher
Walker Buehler was next
with one firsts and 28
points.
Acuna started the sea
son at Triple-A and made
his debut on April 25, the
youngest player in the
majors then at 20 years,
128 days. The Venezu
elan hit .293 with 26 hom
ers, 64 RBIs and 16 steals
with a .917 OPS. He set
a Braves record
with eight lead-
off homers this
season and tied
a franchise mark
by homering
in five straight
games from Aug.
11-14.
Soto debuted
on May 20 at 19
years, 207 days,
although in a quirk the
Dominican is credited
with a home run from
five days before his debut
— he went deep on June
18 against the New York
Yankees in the comple
tion of the May 15 sus
pended game. Soto hit
.292 with 22 homers, 70
RBIs and a.923 OPS.
Buehler, a 23-year-old
right-hander, was 8-5
with a 2.62 ERA.
Acuna Jr.
SCOTT ROGERS I The Times
North Hall’s JT Fair hauls in a long touchdown pass for the Trojans on Oct. 19, during the first half of their win over
Lumpkin County at The Brickyard.
Fair gained 129 rushing yards and scored 3 TDs in North Halls
first ever road playoff win against Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe
BY SARAH WOODALL
swoodall@gainesvilletimes.com
While other players were slipping
and sliding through the muddy filth
inside Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe’s
Tommy Cash football Stadium last
Friday night, North Hall High’s JT
Fair was Steady Eddie.
Each time Fair toted the rock, he
used those elements to his advan
tage. While adjusting on the fly, Fair
found ways to ‘put the brakes on’ as
would-be tacklers missed their mark
and slid past the junior Trojans back.
It happened on several occa
sions throughout North Hall’s
(9-2) dominant 41-6 rout of
the No. 2 seeded Warriors in
the first round of the Class 3A
Playoffs.
“A lot of times, athletes —
whether they’re on mud or
not — extend with their cut
foot... JT has always kept his
feet underneath him when
he makes cuts, and that’s an
advantage when you’re in the mud,”
North Hall coach David Bishop said.
“You’re not overextending your leg
outside the frame of your body. ...
When you do that, that’s when the
ground slips from under you ... He
didn’t have that issue Friday night.”
He certainly did not.
It was evident Fair was in for a
memorable night when he collected
quarterback David Seavey’s pitch
from the backfield on the Trojans’
fifth play from scrimmage — Fair’s
first carry of the night.
“I basically ran straight for about
(36) yards and scored,” Fair said. “I
knew it was going to be a pretty big
night from then on.”
Was it ever. Fair went on to carry
nine additional times to rack up a
team-high 129 yards and a pair of
touchdowns, hauling in a 15-yard scor
ing reception in the passing game as
well. The defensive back also
recorded one of two North
Hall interceptions as the Tro
jans got their first road playoff
win in their 61-year history. It
was also the first-career play
off win for Fair and his Trojan
teammates.
For those reasons, Fair is
the Times football Player of
the Week.
As an offensive unit North
Hall accrued 317 of its 342 scrimmage
yards on the ground and combined
for five scores against Lakeview-Fort
Oglethorpe, getting two from Seavey
and one from senior running back
Daniel Jackson. Fair praised the guys
up front — a six-man wrecking crew
of Nate Nixon, Austin Sullens, Micah
Holman, Dylan Hughes, Seth Carlton
and Logan Jackson — for opening the
lanes for the backfield and making
sure the No. 3-seeded Trojans main
tained possession.
“They just really care about our
running backs, and they wanna keep
us protected,” Fair said of the offen
sive line. “They want to block well so
we can do well. They don’t get much
credit, but they deserve a lot of it.”
It was Fair’s third 100-plus yard per
formance on the ground this year, and
his highest total since erupting for 239
yards and three scores against Fannin
County on Oct. 12.
“JT has done a tremendous job all
year,” Bishop said. “You know, for
most people he’s kind of played sec
ond fiddle to them, and he’s done it
quietly and unassuming. ...But if you
were to consider stats, he’s got pretty
dang good stats, whether it be receiv
ing or rushing.”
It all probably stems from the fact
that Fair has a knack for finding open
grass each time he touches the ball.
He has scored on his first touch of the
game on three occasions this season,
and his mammoth performance last
Friday night now brings his season
rushing total to 839 yards (65 carries)
at a staggering rate of 12.8 yards per
■ Please see FAIR, 2B
Bishop
Hall County cyclists top podium at
state mountain bike championships
For the Times
For the Times
Chestatee High School’s Jonah Soper won the sophomore
state title at the Georgia Interscholastic Cycling League
Mountain Bike State Championships on Saturday, Nov. 3, in
Atlanta.
Lily Gowens, a sophomore on the Hall County Prima Tappa East
Team, won the varsity girls state title at the Georgia Interscholastic
Cycling League Mountain Bike State Championships on Saturday,
Nov. 3, in Atlanta.
