About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 24, 2018)
2B Saturday, November 24, 2018 The Times, Gainesville, Georgia | gainesvilletimes.com SPORTS TECH ■ Continued from 1B Godwin said. “We’ve just got to let them know who the real Georgia team is around here.” Georgia is also driven by the memory of what hap pened in the Yellow Jackets’ last two appearances at San ford Stadium. In 2014, the Yellow Jackets prevailed 30-24 after tying the game with a 53-yard field goal on the final play of regulation and preserving the victory with an overtime interception near the goal line. In 2016, the Bulldogs squandered a 13-point lead in the fourth quarter and lost 28-27. Both times, Georgia Tech’s players celebrated by gleefully snapping off branches of the famed hedges that surround the field. “I definitely don’t want them to win here ever again — especially while I’m here,” Georgia tight end Isaac Nauta said. “I’m excited to attack this one and make sure those hedges don’t get touched.” Some things to watch for when Georgia hosts Geor gia Tech in the “Clean, Old- Fashioned Hate” rivalry: SWIFT’S EMERGENCE Georgia’s running game has gotten a huge boost from sophomore D’Andre Swift. Plagued by injuries much of the season, Swift finally got healthy and ripped off three straight 100- yard games to help Georgia clinch the SEC East title — including a career- best, 186-yard performance against Auburn two weeks ago. He was able to rest up a bit last week, playing spar ingly against UMass. Swift gives the Bulldogs a solid 1-2 punch out of the backfield. He leads the team with 857 yards rush ing, averaging 6.9 yards per carry, while Elijah Holyfield has 817 yards and a 6.6-yard average. BALANCED RECEIVING CORPS No Georgia receiver has eye-popping numbers, but the Bulldogs have plenty of potential targets for quar terback Jake Fromm and his backup, touted fresh man Justin Fields, who has played in all but one game. Riley Ridley leads with 32 receptions, Mercole Hardman has 31 and Nauta is a frequent target with 21 catches. Godwin (15 receptions) has overcome injuries to give the Bulldogs another weapon in the passing game. In all, Georgia has six players with double-figure recep tions and 12 more players with at least one catch. “You don’t have to have a guy,” coach Kirby Smart said. “You can do it by committee.” TECH’S QUARTERBACK DUO The Yellow Jackets have two capable quarterbacks to run the triple-option — “run” being the operative word. Senior TaQuon Marshall paces the Yellow Jackets in rushing with 857 yards while scoring 11 touchdowns, while redshirt freshman Tobias Oliver has come off the bench to run for 808 yards and lead the team with 12 touchdowns. Neither has much of an arm, and the Yellow Jackets have largely abandoned the passing game during their current winning streak. But that part of the offense can’t be totally ignored; Georgia Tech has averaged nearly 36 yards on its six completions in that span. Smart BUFORD ■ Continued from 1B The Wolves managed to drive down the field to get in range to tie the game, but a poor hold following a mishandled snap caused the try to be blocked, giving the ball back to the Bearcats with only two minutes left to play. Buford did get one more drive after forcing a stop, but it was too little too late for the Wolves, who ended up in fourth-and-18 when McLaughlin was sacked on second down and could not convert on a desperation heave. “As a whole, this year was a great year,” Bryant said. “We wish that it could’ve ended the way we wanted it to, but it is what it is.” SCOREBOARD Football/high school Prep Scores Friday’s Scores PREP FOOTBALL GHSA Class A Private Quarterfinal Athens Academy 25, Calvary Day 19 Eagle’s Landing Christian 42, Darlington 6 Prince Avenue Christian 48, North Cobb Christian 20 GHSA Class A Public Quarterfinal Clinch County 35, Mt. Zion-Carrollton 7 Irwin County 26, Commerce 23 Marion County 34, Schley County 27 GHSA Class AA Quarterfinal Callaway 35, Washington County 20 Fitzgerald 28, Rabun County 17 Heard County 18, Dublin 3 Rockmart 48, Jefferson County 13 GHSA Class AAA Quarterfinal Calhoun 24, Jenkins 12 Cedar Grove 55, Benedictine Military 0 Pierce County 24, Monroe Area 7 GHSA Class A AAA Quarterfinal Blessed Trinity 42, Eastside 15 Cartersville 42, Baldwin 13 Marist 10, Mary Persons 7 Troup County 20, Cairo 17 GHSA Class AAAAA Quarterfinal Bainbridge 23, Buford 20 Stockbridge 48, Carrollton 3 Warner Robins 21, Clarke Central 14 GHSA Class AAAAAA Quarterfinal Dacula 56, Valdosta 21 Lanier 27, Coffee 7 Lee County 42, Creekview 20 Northside-Warner Robins 30, Sequoyah 6 GHSA Class AAAAAAA Quarterfinal Archer 16, Tift County 10,0T Colquitt County 45, North Gwinnett 0 Lowndes 20, Grayson 15 Milton 20, Hillgrove 19 GISA Class AA Semifinal Gatewood 42, Memorial Day 14 Terrell Academy 17, Edmund Burke 14 GISA Class AAA Semifinal John Milledge 24, Tiftarea 17 Football/college Friday’s College Football Scores SOUTH Memphis 52, Houston 31 South Alabama 31, Coastal Carolina 28 UCF 38, South Florida 10 Virginia Tech 34, Virginia 31,0T MIDWEST Buffalo 44, Bowling Green 14 Cincinnati 56, East Carolina 6 E. Michigan 28, Kent St. 20 Iowa 31, Nebraska 28 Missouri 38, Arkansas 0 Ohio 49, Akron 28 Texas 24, Kansas 17 Toledo 51, Cent. Michigan 13 FAR WEST Oregon 55, Oregon St. 15 Basketball/college Women’s college basketball scores Friday, Nov. 23 EAST Brown 68, Fairfield 49 Bucknell 77, UMass 58 Buffalo 73, Georgetown 64 Drexel 51, Siena 39 Gonzaga 57, Rutgers 40 Harvard 69, Jacksonville St. 62 Marist 76, Stetson 69 Syracuse 92, Princeton 61 Texas 56, Quinnipiac 55 UConn 65, St. John’s 55 Vermont 56, Wagner 54 Wisconsin 57, Pittsburgh 42 Wright St. 93, Hofstra 64 SOUTH Alabama 73, Grambling St. 55 Arkansas 79, Tennessee St. 55 California 65, Tulane 57 Coastal Carolina 81, Bowling Green 80 FAU 53, Lafayette 49 FIU 77, Florida A&M 54 Florida St. 62, E. Kentucky 45 Georgia Tech 74, Idaho St. 51 Maryland 68, Morgan St. 44 Memphis 59, Mercer 53 Miami 82, Nebraska 68 Michigan St. 75, Kennesaw St. 51 NC State 69, George Washington 61 North Carolina 71, South Florida 69 Radford 56, Temple 50 Southern Miss. 67, MVSU 60 Troy 84, Sam Houston St. 79 W. Kentucky 82, ETSU 68 MIDWEST Bradley 59, Delaware 47 Campbell 65, Nebraska-Omaha 52 DePaul 79, Kansas St. 59 Fordham 78, Ball St. 70 George Mason 91, UMKC 84 Iowa 84, West Virginia 81 Michigan 70, Missouri 54 Minnesota 65, Cornell 45 Notre Dame 82, Drake 64 Ohio 70, St. Bonaventure 53 Purdue 70, Mississippi 59 S. Illinois 72, Hartford 50 Yale 58, Youngstown St. 56 SOUTHWEST Abilene Christian 81, Texas Southern 39 Clemson 74, Oklahoma 62 Fresno St. 70, Texas-Arlington 61 IUPUI 58, UTSA 50 Nicholls 58, UTEP 56 Rice 66, Georgia St. 49 SMU 60, Robert Morris 55 Texas A&M 97, Arkansas St. 56 Wyoming 53, North Texas 49 FAR WEST Arizona 73, SC State 32 Boise St. 91, Idaho 85 Colorado 65, Nevada 52 Denver 117, Lamar 110 Illinois 74, Cal Poly 51 Indiana St. 88, Grand Canyon 81 Kentucky 75, UCLA 74 Louisville 58, Arizona St. 56 N. Arizona 63, Loyola Marymount 62 N. Colorado 68, San Francisco 63 Oregon 94, UC Riverside 44 Pacific 75, N. Dakota St. 68 Pepperdine 113, Sacramento St. 97 Saint Mary’s (Cal) 73, Milwaukee 71 San Diego 83, Cleveland St. 82 San Diego St. 83, California Baptist 67 Southern Cal 55, Utah St. 46 UC Davis 68, S. Utah 45 UC Irvine 84, LIU Brooklyn 71 VCU 64, Weber St. 36 Washington 71, Duke 64 Men’s college basketball scores Friday, Nov. 23 EAST Grambling St. 74, Niagara 68 Mass.-Lowell 88, Massachusetts-Boston 59 Rutgers 54, Boston U. 44 UNC-Greensboro 84, Delaware 65 SOUTH Charleston Southern 93, Coppin St. 67 Coll, of Charleston 74, UAB 51 E. Illinois 79, Gardner-Webb 78 FIU 104, Ave Maria 84 Florida St. 79, LSU 76, OT Georgia Tech 65, Prairie View 54 Houston Baptist 93, Wake Forest 91, OT Kent St. 77, Vanderbilt 75 Kentucky 77, Tennessee St. 62 Liberty 76, Alcorn St. 54 Longwood 67, Fairfield 65 Maryland 104, Marshall 67 McNeese St. 80, Mississippi College 42 Memphis 71, Canisius 63 Nicholls 77, NC Central 63 North Carolina 94, UCLA 78 Northwestern St. 70, Alabama A&M 66, 0T Old Dominion 72, N. Iowa 65 Tennessee Tech 79, Louisiana-Monroe 73 VMI 87, Stetson 79,0T Wofford 97, Mars Hill 46 MIDWEST Cincinnati 71, George Mason 55 IUPUI 68, St. Francis Brooklyn 48 Indiana 76, UC Davis 62 Marquette 77, Louisville 74, 0T Michigan 83, Chattanooga 55 Milwaukee 79, Albany (NY) 70 N. Illinois 87, Oral Roberts 66 Northwestern 91, La Salle 74 Oakland 77, James Madison 69 Ohio St. 89, Cleveland St. 62 Purdue 84, Robert Morris 46 Rio Grande 77, Lamar 75 Samford 74, Purdue Fort Wayne 66 Virginia 53, Wisconsin 46 W. Michigan 85, Southern U. 70 SOUTHWEST Ark.-Pine Bluff 115, California Baptist 107, 30T Arkansas 78, Texas-Arlington 60 Michigan St. 78, Texas 68 Oklahoma 65, Dayton 54 Texas A&M 74, South Alabama 62 Texas State 82, SC-Upstate 50 UALR 97, Howard 76 UNC-Wilmington 78, Arkansas St. 64 Villanova 77, Oklahoma St. 58 FAR WEST Abilene Christian 73, Pacific 71 Miami 78, Fresno St. 76 Seattle 82, Denver 63 Stanford 67, Middle Tennessee 54 UC Santa Barbara 76, Portland St. 69 Transactions BASEBALL American League KANSAS CITY ROYALS — Named Mike Matheny special adviser for player develop ment. TEXAS RANGERS — Announced RHP Eddie Butler has been granted free agency. BASKETBALL National Basketball Association ATLANTA HAWKS — Transferred G Jaylen Adams to Erie (NBAGL). WASHINGTON WIZARDS — Assigned F Troy Brown Jr. to Capital City (NBAGL). Signed F Okaro White. NBA G League WESTCHESTER KNICKS — Added F Maverick Bowman as a roster exemption. FOOTBALL National Football League CINCINNATI BENGALS — Placed DT Adolphus Washington on injured reserve. Signed DT Christian Ringo from Dallas’ practice squad. DETROIT LIONS — Waived S Don Carey. Claimed CB Marcus Cooper off waivers from Chicago. INDIANAPOLIS COLTS — Released DE Anthony Winbush from the practice squad. Signed QB Phillip Walker to the practice squad. NEW YORK GIANTS — Signed PK Marshall Koehn to the practice squad. Terminated the practice squad contract of TE Garrett Dickerson. TODAY ON TV Basketball I Football ■ College basketball: Houston at BYU, 10p.m., Fox Sports 1 Other ■ Skiing: Women’s Killington Cup, 3 p.m., NBC ■ PGA Tour Golf: ISPS Handa Melbourne World Cup, 8 p.m., Golf Channel ■ Michigan at Ohio State, noon, Fox ■ Syracuse at Boston College, noon, ESPN ■ Florida at Florida State, noon, ABC ■ Purdue at Indiana, noon, ESPN2 ■ Navy at Tulane, noon, ESPNU ■ Texas Tech vs. Baylor, noon, Fox Sports 1 ■ Auburn at Alabama, 3:30 p.m., CBS ■ Maryland at Penn State, 3:30 p.m., ABC ■ Pittsburgh at Miami, 3:30 p.m., ESPN ■ Minnesota at Wisconsin, 3:30 p.m., ESPN2 ■ Temple at Connecticut, 3:30 p.m., ESPNU ■ Arizona State at Arizona, 3:30 p.m., Fox Sports 1 ■ Rutgers at Michigan State, 4 p.m., Fox ■ Southern vs. Grambling State, 5 p.m., NBCSN ■ South Carolina at Clemson, 7 p.m., ESPN ■ Kentucky at Louisville, 7 p.m., ESPN2 ■ San Jose State at Fresno State, 7 p.m., ESPNU ■ Kansas State at Iowa State, 7 p.m., Fox Sports 1 ■ Notre Dame at Southern California, 8 p.m., ABC ■ Oklahoma State at TCU, 8 p.m., Fox ■ Utah State at Boise State, 10:15 p.m., ESPN ■ Hawaii at San Diego State, 10:30 p.m., ESPNU COLLEGE FOOTBALL MATT GENTRY I Associated Press Virginia Tech defenders Jovonn Quillen (26) and Coleman Fox (16) celebrate recovering a blocked kick for a touchdown during the first half of a game against Virginia on Friday, Nov. 23, in Blacksburg, Va. Streak still intact Overtime FG gives Hokies wild 34-31 win over Virginia BY HANK KURZ JR. Associated Press BLACKSBURG, Va. - It was a crazy finish that only started with a Hail Mary. Brian Johnson kicked a 42-yard field goal in over time and Virginia Tech pulled out the wildest vic tory in its 100 meetings with Virginia, 34-31 on Friday night. The Hokies won their 15th in a row in the series and kept alive their hopes for a 26th consecutive bowl appearance. “The whole game started with Dalton’s catch,” said defensive end Ricky Walker, speaking of a throw deep downf ield that Dalton Keene took away from Virginia cor- nerback Bryce Hall. “From there on it was ‘I can’t believe this is happen ing’ and guys making plays, and that fumble was pretty wild.” The fumble came two plays after Keene’s catch had moved the ball to Vir ginia’s 30, and it came at the end of a 19-yard run by Steven Peoples. Joey Blount stripped him of the ball at the goal line, but it squirted into the end zone, through the hands of Virginia’s Bren- ton Nelson and Hezekiah Grimsley recovered for the Hokies. Johnson’s extra point tied it at 31 with 1:51 left, and his field goal sent the Cavaliers to their second straight overtime loss. “We were not in despera tion mode on Keene’s catch, but it was getting there quickly,” Hokies coach Jus tin Fuente said. Overtime almost offered disaster when, on third- and-10, Ryan Willis was pressured by Charles Snowden, who grabbed his jersey well behind the line of scrimmage. Had Willis been sacked on the play, the Hokies would have faced fourth and very long with no chance of even attempting a field goal. Instead, Willis fought to stay upright and threw the ball away. Virginia Tech (5-6, 4-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) won it when the Cavaliers botched a handoff from Bryce Perkins to Jordan Ellis at the Hokies’ 14 and Emmanual Belmar recov ered, setting off a wild celebration. The Hokies’ signature “Enter Sandman” entrance song rang out through Lane Stadium with fans who braved sub-zero wild chills from the start, singing along and enjoying the most unlikely victory by either team in the 100th installment of the rivalry. For most of the second half, it looks like the out come would be different. The Cavaliers (7-5, 4-4) trailed 14-0 at halftime, but scored touchdowns on their first four posses sions of the second half. They went ahead with 6:51 to play when Perkins hit Hasise Dubois for 29 yards, his third touchdown pass of the half. A 28-yard field goal by Brian Delaney made it 31-24 with 2:41 left, but also represented a failure for the Cavaliers, who already had momentum when Snowden tipped a pass and made a diving interception at the Hokies’ 11. But three plays yielded only a yard. “I was really hopeful for a touchdown there, but I felt a field goal would be enough,” Virginia coach Bronco Men denhall said. But the Hokies weren’t finished and snapped a four- game losing streak at home. Ellis tried to comfort Per kins, who also fumbled the ball away at the Hokies’ 12 in the second quarter. “It wasn’t his fault. We had plenty more chances to win the game. That one play doesn’t define the whole game,” he said. CRAZY ENDING The end of the first half featured gamesmanship on both sides after Virginia Tech scored on a blocked punt return. The Cavaliers took over at their 29 and Virginia Tech burned its timeouts as the Cavaliers went three-and- out and punted with 1:22 left. ATLANTA HAWKS Hawks cold from beyond arc in loss Aron Baynes scored a season-high 16 points, Jay son Tatum added 14 and the Boston Celtics snapped a three-game skid with a 114- 96 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night. Boston, which had lost seven of 10, used a 45-point first quarter to put it out of reach early. Coming off their worst performance of the season in a home loss to the 4-14 New York Knicks, the Celtics led by 13 in the first when Kyrie Irving hit a daz zling fade-away 3. The lead swelled to 29 mid way through the second after Terry Rozier dunked and hit a 3. It was Boston’s 10th trey, nine more than Atlanta had at that point. The rebuilding Hawks were 1 for 17 beyond the arc before Alex Len’s 3 late in the second. GOLF Mickelson wins match against Woods with birdie on 22nd hole Phil Mickelson beat Tiger Woods in overtime Friday in their $9 million pay-per- view match in Las Vegas that ended up free for many viewers because of technical problems. Mickelson won on the 22nd hole, mak ing a 4-foot birdie putt on a specially set up 93-yard, par 3. The match at Shadow Creek Golf Club finished under floodlights. Mickelson said to Woods after the match: “Just know I will never let you live that down. It’s not the Masters or the U.S. Open, but it is nice to have a little something on you.” Woods said he enjoyed the match, even if he was on the losing end. “You couldn’t have made this event any better than it was,” he said. “It was back and forth and very competi tive on a golf course that was playing on the tricky side.” The match made for some compelling golf at times, if only most people would have been able to see it. Technical difficulties marred the event, which was billed as golf’s first pay-per-view broadcast. Some viewers unable to view it on their televi sions after paying $19.95. Turner and Bleacher Report representatives sent out links on social media allowing people to view it for free on their computers and mobile devices. There were over 500 peo ple on hold online waiting for assistance during one point. Associated Press Mickelson FALCONS ■ Continued from 1B quick as we could.” Beadles was signed on Oct. 30 and has worked at tackle and guard in practice the last two weeks. Sam- brailo has been the team’s swing tackle. Quinn said he and offen sive line coach Chris Mor gan have discussed options on the line. “We’ll revisit it again on Monday,” Quinn said. “I’m certainly not pleased with the results of where we were yesterday, but I haven’t made a final decision of who or what or if there are going to be changes. It’s definitely something we’re looking at to try and make sure we’re playing at our best.” Ryan also threw an interception. “I thought we did some good things offensively, but when you turn the football over four times against a really good football team that’s playing with a lot of momentum, that’s too much to overcome,” Ryan said after the game. “We need to be better than that as we move forward. We’ve got an extended weekend here to get some rest, but also to take a look in the mirror and find ways that we can all be better and that’s what we need to do.” The team’s dire playoff outlook won’t affect plans to have linebacker Deion Jones play when he is available. Jones came off injured reserve last week after missing two months with a broken right foot. He was inactive against Dallas last Sunday and again was held out against the Saints in what Quinn described as a close call. The Falcons will try again to have Jones active on Dec. 2 against Baltimore. “I’m hopeful that we’ll have him in the lineup,” Quinn said. “I know he was very close. The fact I think he is that close, that he’s ready to help us win, I think he’ll be out there.” Freeman also still has a chance to return for the final two regular-season games. The Falcons also have lost both starting safeties for the season.
