About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 30, 2018)
4B Sunday, December 30, 2018 The Times, Gainesville, Georgia | gainesvilletimes.com SPORTS NORTH HALL WRESTLERS WIN AT HOOK ‘EM HOLIDAY CO\SSIC For The Times The North Hall High wrestling program topped a 36-team field to win the Hook ‘Em Holiday Clash on Saturday at Lambert High in Cumming. Finishing second for the Trojans were Jacob Pedraza (120 pounds), Matthew Glenn (126), Jack Whitmire (132), Cody Smith (152), Logan Hawthorne (195) and Seth Carlton (220). M\NIERO\ND SCOREBOARD Gainesville girls claim third with 53-50 victory Tia Shelton broke the 1,000-point career milestone for the Gainesville High girls as it beat Chestatee, 53-50, in the third-place game of Lanierland on Saturday at West Hall. Shelton finished with 22 points, while Tija Blackwell chipped in 20 points for the Lady Red Elephants. Down by 3 entering the fourth quarter, Gainesville outscored Chestatee 15-9 in the final period. On Friday, Gainesville visits Haber sham Central at 7 p.m. in Mount Airy. BOYS THIRD-PLACE GAME: Lakeview Academy knocked down 12 3-pointers as it beat North Hall 74-44 on Saturday at West Hall. Blake McIntyre led the Lions (9-5) with 20 points, while Adam Cottrell finished with 13. Also in double figures, Holden Cooper finished with 12 points and Arturo Varela scored 10. EAST HALL GIRLS 66, WEST HALL 39: Mag gie Griffin finished with 15 points and Ashante Peoples added 11 for the Lady Vikings (7-10) in the consolation bracket of the Lanierland on Saturday in Oakwood. On Friday, East Hall visits Greater Atlanta Christian in Lilburn. LAKEVIEW ACADEMY GIRLS 64, CHEROKEE BLUFF 52: Eliza Snyder poured in a season-high 33 points for the Lady Lions, along with three steals and four rebounds in the conso lation round of Lanierland at West Hall. Jo Snyder scored 11 points with three steals for Lakeview Academy, while Jackie Allen had 10 points and five assists. On Saturday, Lakeview Academy hosts George Wal ton Academy at noon. Compiled by Bill Murphy AUSTIN STEELE I The Times Flowery Branch’s Ashley Scott and North Hall’s Ansleigh Ferguson dive for a loose ball during the championship on the Lanierland tournament at West Hall High. GIRLS ■ Continued from 1B double showings in the previous two tournament games, was held to two points and no field goals for the contest. Lady Trojans senior Guard Maci Gillespie was the only starter to score in the double digits with 13 points, followed by Grace Hollifield with five points. Newton-Gonzalez was pleased to see her play ers take advantage of their opportunities against a North Hall squad that gutted out a pair of thrilling victo ries the previous two nights — including the team’s over time victory against Gaines ville in the semifinals on Friday. “We knew they came off two big games, you know, two games where they had to play really hard,” the Lady Falcons coach said. “We typically come out pressing, but we knew they had senior guards and a really heady point guard in (Maci Gillespie). So we just decided to lock in on our half-court defense, and I’m really proud how we locked in on that. “I thought our help-side defense was good, thought we guarded Ferguson really well, and we just locked in on all five players.” Gillespie scored the game’s first basket for North Hall within the first two min utes of the championship, though that time spent ahead was short lived for the Lady Trojans (11-4). Scott put Flowery Branch ahead with the first of two 3-pointers in the period, and the Lady Fal cons sprinted ahead with a double-digit lead they would not relinquish. Scott’s second trey of the half, this time from way out side the top of the arc, beat the buzzer to stretch Flow ery Branch’s lead to 20-6. After leading 27-10 at half time, the margin gradually ballooned to 36 by the final period. It was all smiles for the Lady Falcons after that, hoisting the trademark gold trophy in front of a packed- to-capacity crowd. “Just thinking going into this, our first one, they hadn’t won since 2003. So that just tells you how hard it is to win one,” Newton-Gon zalez said. “But to be able to win four-in-a-row, we’ve had kids who just commit ted to what we ask them to do, really lock in with scout ing reports and gameplans. That is just a testament to our kids, what they do and believe in our system.” BOYS ■ Continued from 1B entered the final quarter up by 11, and Hector made sure his team finished off the win. He hit his first trey of the frame early — a response to a Kylan Curry 3 on the other end of the court. His second 3-pointer came just seconds after TJ Campbell hit one for East Hall, about midway through the game’s last period. The third was a dagger. With Gainesville leading by 13 and barely more than two minutes left to play, Hector drilled a 3-pointer from the corner that gave the Red Elephants a 16-point advantage — their biggest of the night. The lead proved insur mountable for the Vikings, as Gainesville easily fin ished things off from there. Hector said the perfor mance was the result of hard work, “trusting the process” and shooting 500 3-pointers a day in practice. “Repetition, repetition, repetition,” he said. “That’s how you get that result. ” NFL Falcons looking to end season on positive note JAE C. HONG I The Associated Press Atlanta Falcons’ Matt Ryan (2) looks to pass against the Carolina Panthers during the first half of the game Dec. 23 in Charlotte, N.C. Associated Press Dirk Koetter doesn’t think it benefits him or the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to wonder what might have been. Win or lose Sunday’s season finale against NFC South-rival Atlanta, the Bucs (5-10) will miss the playoffs for the 11th straight year. The Falcons (6-9) have had a tough go of it, too, though they do have a shot at ending their disappoint ing season on a three-game winning streak. The performance of both teams has been impacted by injuries, but inconsistent play has been a factor, too. “You can’t play the ‘what if’ game,” said Koetter, who’ll soon learn if he has accomplished enough in three seasons to keep his job. The Bucs have the NFL’s No. 1-ranked passing attack despite Jameis Winston beginning the season serv ing a three-game suspen sion for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy and then struggling to hold onto his starting job. The defense has per formed better, too, since Koetter fired ex-Falcons coach Mike Smith as defen sive coordinator in Octo ber. Still, he insists it serves no good purpose to second- guess whether he waited too long to make the move. “I do not play the ‘what if’ game, ever, because it doesn’t do any good,” Koet ter reiterated. “You can’t change what’s already done.” Quinn led Atlanta to the Super Bowl just two years ago. The Falcons lost sev eral key starters on defense early, and injured run ning back Devonta Free man appeared in only two games before being placed on injured reserve. A five-game losing streak ruined the prospect of rallying for a playoff berth, however Matt Ryan led victories over Arizona and Carolina the past two weeks and a victory Sunday would enable the Falcons to finish on a positive note. “I’m really proud of the fight of our team. I think they have demonstrated resolve and leadership when things are at their hardest,” Quinn said. “I think what I told them, all of this will serve a higher purpose in the end,” the Falcons coach added. “Through the years, I’ve seen when that’s not the case, and it’s tough to get it back, but this team fights. We’ve never backed off.” The Bucs have lost three straight, 10 of 13 overall fol lowing a 2-0 start with Ryan Fitzpatrick filling in during Winston’s suspension. Winston regained his starting job only to be benched and re-inserted into the lineup again. The No. 1 overall pick from the 2015 draft has thrown for nine TDs vs. three intercep tions over his last six games Falcons at Buccaneers When: 1 p.m. today TV: Fox — five of them starts. Koetter, who’s 19-28 since taking over the Bucs in 2016, said his sole focus is on putting the Bucs in the best position possible to be successful against Atlanta. Some things to know about the Falcons and Bucs matchup: WINSTON’S FUTURE?: The Bucs face a number of potentially tough decisions in the upcoming offseason, including whether Winston is the team’s quarterback of the future. The fourth-year pro is due to earn nearly $21 mil lion next season, although it’s only guaranteed in the event of injury. While Winston has shared playing time with Fitzpatrick, who’s 2-5 as the starter this season, No. 3 quarterback Ryan Grif fin is expected to be active against the Falcons. A podcast series from She Sfmes gainesvilletimes.com Honestly local. HISTORY OF -HALLXOMT.Y- How did Hall County take its current shape? Why did people move into the area, and how did the earliest settlers survive? In the final episode of Hall Tales, go back to the earliest days of the county with host Johnny Vardeman and guest Glen Kyle, director of the Northeast Georgia History Center. Listen to all Hall Tales Podcast episodes here: www.gainesvilletimes.com/halltales This podcast edition of Hall Tales is sponsored by Hall County Government in honor of its 200th anniversary.
