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SPORTS
Bill Murphy Sports Editor | 770-718-3415 | sports@gainesvilletimes.com
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gainesvilletimes.com
Tuesday, November 27, 2018
HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS I Athlete of the week
STAYING ON TOP
Photo for The Times
North Hall’s Mathew Glenn (left) sizes up his opponent during the Class 3A wrestling championships earlier this year.
Glenn, a senior, took first in his weight class at the Archer Invitational on Saturday, Nov. 24, in Lawrenceville.
North Hall wrestler Glenn preserves unbeaten streak
with win at Archer Invitational traditional meet
BY NATHAN BERG
nberg@gainesvilletimes.com
Going into his individual state
championship match to end last
season, North Hall wrestler Mathew
Glenn and his coach, David Nichols,
made an agreement.
“I made a deal with him that if he
won state, we would go buy matching
tennis shoes,” Nichols said.
Glenn did win, so earlier this year
he and his coach hit the Nike out
let store to upgrade their footwear,
eventually opting for a matching set
of gray Nike Air Max’s. So far this
season, the new shoes have turned
out to be somewhat of a lucky charm
for Glenn.
He hasn’t lost a match this year,
going a perfect 12-0 individually,
culminating in his dominant perfor
mance in Saturday’s Archer Invita
tional. Glenn easily dispatched his
three opponents to take first at the
132-pound weight class, earning him
honors as this week’s Times Athlete
of the Week.
Glenn said a renewed focus on
keeping a high pace during matches
is what led to his most recent victory.
“Just really going out, keeping up a
high tempo, that’s one of the biggest
things,” he added. “No one can really
keep up with me, I feel. I’ve gained
a lot of confidence over the summer
on my feet.”
Glenn, now a senior and team cap
tain for the Trojans, has come a long
way since joining the program nearly
four years earlier, also Nichols’ first
season. Back then, Glenn weighed in
at around 100 pounds, lighter than
the lowest weight class high school
competition offered.
But Nichols said the young wres
tler never let his size hold him back.
“His freshman year, we knew we
had something special with him,” the
third-year coach said. “Every week,
we would send him out there against
really quality kids, and he would
walk away with some quality wins
over opponents.”
Glenn finished third individually
at the state championship his fresh
men season, and both he and Nichols
knew he had the potential to finish
even higher as his high school career
progressed.
Both were eventually proven right
with Glenn’s state-title win earlier
this year.
“I think most of being where I am
now is the work that I’ve put in,”
Glenn said. “Getting bigger and get
ting stronger naturally, and just by
lifting and all that helped, but I think
the biggest part is the effort and the
determination.”
Glenn has been a major contribu
tor to North Hall’s recent success,
which includes a Class 3A state
championship as a team a season
ago.
And as much work as he’s put in
on the mat, Glenn has been asked to
help the team off it as an upperclass
man and leader.
“Mathew really leads by example
and setting the right tone for the
other kids,” Nichols said. “He is the
hardest worker in the room every
day, and he’s also a great student and
just really represents our program
well.”
Team captain is a role Glenn has
accepted with gusto, and one he
takes seriously. Even when practice
gets tough and “everybody’s just
dying,” Glenn said staying optimistic
and upbeat is always a priority.
He enjoys helping other members
of the team get through particularly
difficult workouts.
“(I) just give them a pat. Tell them
‘We’re gonna get through.’” He said.
“Just really encourage them, letting
them know what they’re doing well
and what it’s going to be worth at the
end.”
So what comes “at the end” for
Glenn and his teammates?
For one, he hopes to win another
individual state championship and
finish his final season undefeated.
But individual goals pale in compari
son to team aspirations, according to
Glenn.
North Hall’s biggest competition
this season will likely be Jefferson,
a perennial state power in the Class
4A that dropped down to 3A after last
season. Glenn said his most impor
tant focus is making sure the Drag
ons know that North Hall is still the
team to beat in the 3A.
“That’s by far the biggest thing
for us and the biggest thing for me,”
he said. “I think the best way to end
these four years would be just beat
ing Jefferson, kind of putting them
in their place and defending our title
and showing them they’re not better
than us, that we work harder than
everyone.”
ATU\NTA FALCONS
RON SCHWANE I Associated Press
Atlanta Falcons head coach Dan Quinn watches against
the Cleveland Browns in the second half on Nov. 11 in
Cleveland.
Falcons have
plenty of
trouble spots
during skid
BY GEORGE HENRY
Associated Press
Coach Dan Quinn knows
the Atlanta Falcons’ season
is at a tipping point.
Riding a three-game
losing streak, the Falcons
trail five teams for the sec
ond NFC wild-card spot.
Atlanta (4-7) has almost
no margin for error as it
prepares to host Baltimore
(6-5).
Quinn gave his team a
primer Monday on the big
gest areas of concern in
practice this week. First
is turnover margin. The
defense has one fumble
recovery all season. No
team has fewer. The
offense had four give
aways in a blowout loss at
New Orleans, three in the
red zone.
Quinn’s other big issues
are in the run game. With
26 net yards against the
Saints, Atlanta had not per
formed that poorly since
gaining 17 in a loss at San
Francisco in 2015.
It’s no better on the
defensive side. The Fal
cons have been gouged
by four premier backs
over the last three weeks,
with Nick Chubb, Ezekiel
Elliott, Alvin Kamara and
Mark Ingram combin
ing for 439 yards and two
touchdowns.
“It’s for the run offense
to provide that balance
that we need to make the
play-action go and to add
to the toughness that we
want, and then defensively
we stack the box, and the
times that we’ve gotten
into trouble is when we’ve
lost gap control,” Quinn
said. “It’s not a question
I Falcons
vs. Ravens
When: 1 p.m. Sunday
TV: CBS
of being stout enough or
being strong enough. It’s
when we’ve gotten out
of our gap. One guy does
it wrong and there’s not
another guy there to knock
it over.”
There are other trouble
spots, too. Matt Ryan leads
the NFL in passing yards
but he’s been sacked 33
times, fifth most in the
league. During the three-
game skid, he’s been hit 38
times, including 14 sacks.
Safety Damontae
Kazee’s six interceptions
lead the league, but the
Falcons are tied for 19th
with nine overall. Corner-
back Desmond Trufant,
once considered to be
the team’s best defender,
blamed himself last week
for having five dropped
picks this season. He has
yet to get an interception.
Fixing the ground attack
is a tough assignment this
week with Baltimore lead
ing the NFL in run defense.
Quinn is considering a
change at guard, where
starters Andy Levitre and
Brandon Fusco were lost
to season-ending injuries.
Zane Beadles, signed
a month ago to provide
depth, could replace
either Wes Schweitzer or
Ben Garland as a starting
guard, but Quinn said the
team won’t address the
topic until Sunday.
With the Falcons’ big
gest salary commitment
to Ryan for $100 million
■ Please see FALCONS, 2B
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
It’s must-win for No. 4 Georgia, if not
Alabama in SEC Championship game
DAVID GOLDMAN I Associated Press
Alabama head coach Nick Saban, left, and Georgia head
coach Kirby Smart pose with the championship trophy at a
press conference on Jan. 7 in Atlanta.
TEXANS 34, TITANS 17
Watson, Texans
pick up eighth
straight victory
BY JOHN ZEN0R
Associated Press
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -
Alabama players have been
through the uncertainty
before, and didn’t like it.
The top-ranked Crim
son Tide advanced into the
College Football Playoffs
after ending the 2017 regu
lar season with a loss. This
team’s resume also might
be impressive enough to
survive a defeat to No. 4
Georgia in Saturday’s South
eastern Conference cham
pionship game in Atlanta,
but the Tide (12-0, 8-0 SEC)
would certainly prefer to
go ahead and lock it up this
time.
It’s almost certainly a
must-win for the Bulldogs
(11-1, 7-1), who parlayed
last year’s SEC title into
a playoff trip before ulti
mately losing to the Tide in
the national championship
game. There’s less clarity
but more margin for error
with an Alabama team that
has won all 12 games by lop
sided scores.
A win Saturday would
make the Tide’s playoff invi
tation a no-brainer. A loss
puts the team’s fate into the
selection committee’s hands
once again.
Alabama would prefer not
waiting until Sunday again to
learn its fate.
“We know with the type
of competition that we play
and the schedule we play,
if we win out we control
our own destiny,” Tide left
tackle Jonah Williams said
Monday.
“We never want to put
our destiny in the hands of
somebody else. I think that
on top of the challenges we
have just playing high qual
ity teams week in and week
out, we also kind of have that
(situation) where there’s not
any room to slip up, because
then it’s not in our hands
anymore.
“So I think that’s
definitely something we’ve
thought about.”
It’s exactly what hap
pened a year ago. Alabama
received its fourth straight
playoff bid despite losing
to Auburn in the Iron Bowl.
Second in the division, first
in the nation.
If the Tide falls short
again and still gets into
the playoffs after a closing
defeat, that would leave
champions of other Power
5 leagues — not to mention
unbeaten UCF — feeling
jilted again. No. 6 Ohio State
faces No. 20 Northwestern in
the Big Ten and No. 5 Okla
homa plays No. 11 Texas for
the Big 12 title.
The Bulldogs’ scenario is
more straightforward, and
also more precarious, than
Alabama’s.
They were fifth in last
week’s playoff rankings but
the team ranked one spot
■ Please see SEC, 2B
BY KRISTIE RIEKEN
Associated Press
HOUSTON - Gaines
ville High graduate
Deshaun Watson threw for
210 yards and two touch
downs and ran for a third
as the Houston Texans set
a franchise record
with their eighth
straight win, 34-17
over the Tennes
see Titans on Mon
day night.
Demaryius
Thomas scored
his first two touch
downs as a Texan
and Lamar Miller
ran for 162 yards,
including a 97-yard TD.
In the first game since
founder and owner Rob
ert “Bob” McNair died on
Friday, the Texans (8-3)
honored him by wearing
decals on the back of their
helmets in the shape of a
football with white block
letters bearing his initials
of “RCM.”
With that reminder
on their helmets, they
became the first team in
NFL history to win eight
games in a row
after opening a
season 0-3.
The Texans
trailed by 10
early before reel
ing off 27 straight
points. Tennes
see (5-6) finally
scored again on a
48-yard reception
by Corey Davis late in the
third quarter, but the sec
ond TD by Thomas — this
one for 10 yards — made it
34-17 with just more than
eight minutes left.
Watson
