The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current, December 30, 2018, Image 9

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The times., December 30, 2018, Image 9

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Newspaper Page TextSPORTS Bill Murphy Sports Editor | 770-718-3415 | sports@gainesvilletimes.com Unties gainesvilletimes.com Sunday, December 30, 2018 IY\NIERIY\ND GIRLS I Flowery Branch 48, North Hall23 Four-peat for Falcons V Photos by AUSTIN STEELE I The Times The Flowery Branch girls basketball team hoists the trophy after beating North Hall 48-23 in the Lanierland championship game on Saturday at West Hall. The Lady Falcons have now won four straight championships in the Hall County tournament. Strong overall showing sends Flowery Branch to win North Hall’s Maci Gillespie attempts to block Flowery Branch’s Ashley Woodroffe during the Lanierland championship on Saturday at West Hall High in Oakwood. BY SARAH WOODALL swoodall@gainesvilletimes. com Last year, Flowery Branch coach Courtney Newton-Gonzalez was emotional for her stellar senior class, which made program history with a third-straight Lanierland championship trophy to add to the school’s trophy case. It was the same circum stance for the fourth-year Lady Falcons coach Sat urday night, only a differ ent bunch to congratulate as the 2019 class added another benchmark in the group’s legacy. Reigning Hall County champion Flowery Branch stormed past North Hall for a 48-23 triumph in the 2018 Lani erland title game at West Hall High, sealing the pro gram’s first-ever four-peat in the tournament. The Lady Falcons (12- 3) are also the first team in the girls bracket to win four-straight titles since West Hall, which won championships from 1997-2000. “You know, I think this group had a monkey on their back. Just because we did lose so much (after last year),” Newton-Gon zalez said of her current senior group. “We lost some great, great play ers. So I think there might have been some doubt coming into this season, but I’m so proud of them for brushing off all that doubt and being able to step up as seniors and lead this group and continue the legacy.” A new player from West Virginia early in her high school career, Ashley Scott was in the surprising position to give the Lady Falcons the lead early and then go on to front the scoring efforts with 15 points. “It’s something really special,” said Scott, who’s production came solely from the perimeter with five 3-pointers, and was named to the Lanierland All-tournament team. “A lot of kids have to .. keep up, I guess (with this pro gram). Transition into what we’ve accomplished. And I think our team is good enough to do it, espe cially for next few years. ” The Lady Falcons played with such an inten sity and enthusiasm that stayed with the defending champs from start to fin ish. Offensively, all five starters fueled a scoring rampage that resulted in Flowery Branch carrying a double-digit lead from the first quarter through the rest of the game. ‘It’s a feeling of accom plishment because, it was what we were aiming for,” said senior guard Ashley Woodroffe, who capped off her final Lanierland game with 13 points, and earned the tournament’s MVP distinction. Senior guard Caroline Wysocki was another to lead the charge as she chipped in six points with five assists and four steals. Flowery Branch, nor mally a squad dedicated to pressing opponents early, switched things up to better combat North Hall’s tenacious group of guards. As a result, the Lady Falcons yielded their opponent to single digit points for three of four quarters, and very few clean looks at the basket. North Hall post player Ansleigh Ferguson, after recording double- ■ Please see GIRLS, 4B LY\NIERU\ND BOYS Gainesville 70, East Hall 62 AUSTIN STEELE I The Times Gainesville’s boys basketball program lifts the trophy after beating East Hall to repeat as Lanierland champions on Saturday at West Hall High. Still kings of Hall County Gainesville pulls away late to repeat as tournament champs BY NATHAN BERG nberg@gainesvilletimes.com Senior Gainesville guard Maurice Hector was not thinking about the legacy he would leave behind coming into Saturday night’s Lani erland final against East Hall — the last Hall County tournament of his career. But when the final buzzer went off to seal his team’s 70-62 win over the Vikings, the gravity of what he and the rest of the senior class had accomplished started to set in. The Red Elephants’ Lani erland championship win marked Gainesville’s third straight, and assured that each senior on the team finished their careers unde feated at the event. “Once that final buzzer sounded, it hit home quite a bit,” Hector said. “It was really sentimental to us, me and Brent Kelly and Rassie Littlejohn and Silas Wood. We really appreciate this win.” Hector was the driving force behind the Gaines ville (7-6) win. He scored 18 points, hitting six 3-point- ers — three of those in the fourth quarter. “I’m so proud of that kid,” Gainesville coach Chuck Graham said. “That kid waited his turn. There’s All-tournament team something to be said about when a kid just continues to work. He never complained. He was always working on his shot. And now he’s seeing the benefits of that.” Kylan Curry scored 14 for East Hall (9-7) in the loss. The Red Elephants ben efited from a strong finish, but to start, they appeared greatly outmatched against the athletic Viking squad. East Hall scored the first five points of the game, and ended the opening quarter on a 6-0 run that gave it a 15-8 advantage after the first eight minutes. Gainesville surged back in the second though, getting a pair of Hector 3s and a trio of buckets from Jordan Wil liams in the post. A Robert Reisman trey with less than 30 seconds to go until half time gave the Red Elephants a one-point lead heading into the break. Gainesville jumped all over East Hall in the third quarter, starting the half on a 10-2 run and outscoring the Vikings 17-7 over the course of the eight-minute period. “The challenge was to match (East Hall’s) inten sity level,” Graham said. “I thought our guys did a great job of that.” The Red Elephants ■ Please see BOYS, 4B Ashley Woodroffe Kinsey Wilson Ivey Shadburn Christina Garcia Eliza Snyder Maci Gillespie Jazmyn Gooch Tia Shelton Ashley Scott Madi Phillips Rafael Rubel Noah Edmondson Cam Gwyn Adam Cottrell Ty Smith Danny Garcia Maurice Hector Mario Brown Griffin Neville Girls Flowery Branch (MVP) West Hall East Hall Chestatee Lakeview Academy North Hall Johnson Gainesville Flowery Branch Cherokee Bluff Boys Gainesville (MVP) West Hall Chestatee Lakeview Academy North Hall Johnson Gainesville Flowery Branch Cherokee Bluff Handing out awards for the best of the NFL in 2018 BY BARRY WILNER AP Pro Football Writer The Associated Press will hand out its individual NFL awards on the night before the Super Bowl in Atlanta. Until then, here are some off-the-beaten track honors to consider: BEST GAME: Eagles 32, Texans 30. Aside from the meaning for both teams — the defending champs desperately trying to find a way into the postseason, the visitors seeking an AFC South title and to hold onto a wild-card bye — it was a tremendously dramatic, well- played Week 16 contest with twists and turns galore. And it ended on a last-second win ning field goal by one of Philly’s heroes from last season, Jake Elliott. Runners-up: Chargers 29, Chiefs 28 in Week 15 — too many flying flags to make it a classic; Rams 54, Chiefs 51 in Week 11 for anyone who likes video-game shootouts; Cowboys 13, Saints 10 in Week 13, if your tastes tend toward defense. WORST GAME: Go all the way back to the season opener for Miami’s 27-20 victory over Tennessee in, yawn, the longest game ever played. Two weather delays not only stretched out the day, it also led to CBS going in and out of the telecast. At least it featured a tiebreaking 102-yard kickoff return by Jakeem Grant. The game took 7 hours, 8 minutes. Runners-up: Lots of Cardinals games, maybe their 17-3 loss to Detroit the worst; a Thursday night 6-0 win for Jacksonville over Indianapolis in Week 14 marked not so much by stingy defense as inept offense. BEST GAME SCENE: When Drew Brees became the NFL’s all-time leader in yards passing — with a 62-yard TD throw to rookie Tre’Quan Smith in Week 5 — officials stopped the game at the Superdome and the game ball was handed to Pro Football Hall of Fame officials on the sideline while the crowd offered a loud and loving ova tion. Brees removed his helmet, held Inside Atlanta looks to end season on positive note at Tampa Bay, 4B out his arm to salute the crowd and hugged his wife, Brittany, and children on the sideline. “I love you guys so much,” Brees said while hugging his three boys as Brittany held their daughter nearby. “You can accomplish anything in life if you’re willing to work for it.” BEST PLAY OF THE YEAR: No surprise here, except perhaps to the Patriots trying to defend Miami’s final- seconds play in Week 14. Ryan Tanne- hill threw a 14-yard pass to Kenny Stills, who lateraled to DeVante Parker, who quickly lateraled to Kenyan Drake along the sideline. He cut toward the middle and found a seam, helped by a block from guard Ted Larsen at the 30. Drake beat two Patriots to the corner of the end zone — defensive back J.C. ■ Please see NFL, 2B MATT ROURKE I Associated Press Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson, a Gainesville High graduate, runs for a touchdown in the first half against the Philadelphia Eagles on Dec. 23 in Philadelphia.