Newspaper Page Text
November 19, 2008
PAGE 2B
Playoff
^Reporter
continued from IB
spark enabled them to win
in overtime, to overcome a
late fourth-quarter deficit,
to be ranked No. 2 in their
region and to set a school
record for points (83)
scored in a single game.
Lit by the good coaching of
Dennard Scoggins and his
staff and fanned by enthu
siastic supporters, the
spark inspired the
Mustangs to play beyond
what they thought they
were capable of playing.
Unfortunately, the spark
vanished from the face of
the earth Friday night.
From the beginning of
the playoff match, the
Mustangs performed as if
they were out-of-sync and
out-of-focus. Only in brief
flashes did MA resemble
the team that had ripped
over David Emanuel,
Briarwood, Covenant,
Bethesda and others.
Westwood, ranked No. 3
in its region, came to
Forsyth to play ball. The
Wildcats, known as a pass
ing team, lived up to their
reputation and they put
together an impressive
running game to boot.
While Westwood played
well, the Mustangs were
too often their own worst
enemy.
The pain of getting elimi
nated from the playoffs in
the opening round and on
home turf was apparent on
the faces of the Mustangs.
Understandably so.
Following a series of lack
luster seasons without
making the playoffs and
after several early-season
losses to larger schools this
season, expectations for a
successful seson, let alone
a playoff berth, seemed
remote. It was Coach
Scoggins who continued to
emphasize the team's loss
es were at an end and to
promise a spot in the play
offs. Week by week as the
Mustangs picked off oppo
nents, often in dramatic
fashion, skeptics became
believers. Fans’ enthusi
asm ballooned. A tangible
pride and spirit swept the
MA campus, and everyone
was excited with the
thought of the available
possiblities.
Suddenly, the question
MA fans exchanged was no
longer "How many games
you think we'll win?" but
rather "When's the cham
pionship game?" Just one
off game and the dream
was dead for the year.
Yes. It hurt!
Westwood's first scoring
drive included 12 plays,
four first downs and 81
yards. Wildcat work hors
es included Andrew
Stargel and Mason
Worsham. Collin Enfinger,
however, carried the ball
across the goal line from
six yards out. Enfinger
then kicked, and the PAT
was good. With 9:29 show
ing on the second-quarter
clock, Westwood had pulled
ahead 7-0.
The Mustangs' following
possession was a sort of
pattern that plagued MA
throughout the contest.
The Mustangs had got off
five plays and covered 42
yards, 31 of which had
been raced off by Drew
Eldridge,when the promis
ing drive ended abruptly
because of a Simon Colwell
fumble.
The Wildcats recovered
the fumble and put togeth
er one of the more sus
tained drives of the night.
Again, Stargel, Worsham
and Enfinger were ball
handlers. During the
drive, WA got off 12 plays
which covered 97 yards
and four first downs.
Following one of the
brighter examples of
Mustang defense, Wildcat
Enfinger was forced to set
tle with a field goal from
28 yards out. The Wildcats
had upped their score up
to 10-0, and that is where
it remained until after half
time.
Westwood wasted no time
in putting together its next
drive. The push included
five plays, the most
impressive of which cov
ered 75 yards. Stargel did
the scoring honors while
Enfinger added the extra
point. With 10:35 showing
on the clock in third peri
od, the Wildcats
had increased
their lead to 17-0.
In the fourth
quarter with 9:36
left in the game,
Westwood put
together 14 plays
covering 50 yards
and including
three first downs.
As usual, Stargel,
Enfinger and
Worsham did the
ball handling.
Stargel scored
from three yards
out. Enfinger's
PAT attempt was
no good, but the
Wildcats were pulling
away from the Mustangs
with a 23-0 score.
Next possession,
Westwood claimed its last
TD for the match. A fum
ble, this time by Trey
Epperson, turned the ball
over to the Wildcats. The
visitors then covered 68
yards in six plays and
three first downs. Stargel
scored from 15 out with
3:23 left in the game.
Stargel then attempted a
pass for two points, but it
was incomplete. The score
was 29-0.
The Wildcats were obvi
ously aiming for a shut
out, but the Mustangs
would agree with none of
their aims. Aaron Purser
passed once for 32 yards,
followed by three Purser
incomplete passes. That's
when Epperson carried the
ball into the endzone after
rushing 34 yards. Purser
then attempted a run for
two, but he was stopped
short with 2:04 left in the
game.
Westwood's victory was
complete because the
Wildcats won not only on
points but on every facet of
the statistics as well. The
Wildcats doubled Monroe's
first downs, posting 16 to
MA's 8. The Wildcats
rushed for 336 yards in 39
carries while the Mustangs
gained only 159 in 30 car
ries. Westwood collected
93 yards passing to
Monroe's 48, attmpted 14
passes of which eight were
completed compared to
MA's nine attempts of
which two were completed.
WA gained 429 total yards
while MA picked up 207.
Monroe threw one inter
ception and fumbled twice,
both of which were recov
ered by Westwood. The
Wildcats avoided intercep
tions but fumbled twice.
WA recovered both of its
fumbles. The Mustangs
had six penalities for a
total of 30 yards while the
Wildcats also had six
penalties for 50 yards.
MA punted four times for
126 yards. WA punted
only once for 43 yards.
Monroe's individual sta
tistics for Friday's playoff
match plunged significant
ly below those from previ
ous weeks' stats. Still,
Purser carried seven times
for 19 yards for an average
of 2.7 yards per carry.
Epperson rushed 12 times
for 80 yards, an average of
6.7 yards. Eldridge car
ried four times for 37
yards, an average of 9.3;
and, Colwell rushed seven
times for 23, an average of
3.3.
Purser attempted eight
passes and completed two
of them for 48 yards.
Purser's receiver for both
passes was Andrew
Henriksen who averaged
24 yards per reception.
From the defensive per
spective, Purser was the
leader with 11 tackles.
Micah Spivey and Austin
Anderson had eight tackles
each. Adam Laney had
six tackles, and Colby
Lewis, Chris Harrelson
and Epperson had five
each. Micah Gilbert and
Eldridge each had four.
The Mustangs may be
down this week as the
playoffs continue without
them. Sometimes it is
good to remember where
one ends up is not the
issue. The issue is how
far one has to go to get to
where he ends up. This
season, the Mustangs trav
eled a very long road, and
the journey made a lot of
people happy.
Tub makes it official
In front of family, friends, teammates and coaches, Mary Per
sons’ Terrence Shannon signed his letter of intent to attend
school and play basketball for Florida State University last
week. Shannon is pictured with his mother Nicole Shannon, fa
ther Anthony Shannon, MP principal Jim Finch, Coach Robert
Worthy and athletic director Rodney Walker.
Young pole
vaulter
jumps twice
her height
Nine year old Carson
Dingier of Monroe
County won first place
at the fourth annual
Hurricane Pole Vault
meet in Fitzgerald re
cently. Carson cleared
an 8-foot jump. She
made several at
tempts to break the
world record for nine-
year olds, is8'8".
She is pictured here
with her coach Charlie
Polhamus.
Forsyth's ONLY
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MAJK100FM
Classic Soul Hits at 100.1 FM
Serving Forsyth, Macon
and Ail of Middle Georgia!
The Home of
Georgia Tech Sports
Mustangs
continued from IB
with an array of kindness.
So, covering Monroe
Academy football this sea
son awakened tons of sen
timent and nostalga. Yes,
MA has changed since I
taught there. I no longer
know all the faculty and
there are fewer students.
But, being on campus for a
short time only, I recognize
that many of the core val
ues of MA have not
changed.
On Friday nights at
McMichael Field, the foot
ball crowd is large enough
to showcase a good sam
pling of humanity without
being big enough to make
one feel cramped. In the
sampling, the observer will
see every body size and
shape, every color, every
age from infant to great
grandmother, every per
sonality type-a true cross
section of mankind. I have
always felt it is unfortu
nate and simply untrue
when those who do not
know characterize Monroe
as being segregationist
and racist. The student
body has a diverse make
up, including African-
Americans, and the faculty
has been integrated.
What is clearly communi
cated to me as I look at
the people in the stands is,
no matter how diverse
they are, they are connect
ed—like members of a fam
ily. They share common
philosophies and dreams.
They understand each
other. And, through these
shared values, they are
providing their children
with the education that
promotes family and
belonging, a sense of secu
rity, responsibility, leader
ship and contributive and
well-mannered transition
into adulthood.
Today, I teach in a public
school in another county. I
never cease to be shocked
at the total lack of tact
and manners students
exhibit. My ears are
relentlessly assaulted by
the crudest street lan
guage. Respect for any
thing is obviously extinct.
And, the students have no
grasp of the terms con
tributive or responsibility.
The one persistent thing I
hear from them is, "I don't
care."
Being on the sidelines
each Friday night, I
became more and more
aware of the football team
members' conduct at MA.
All the starters and subs
were impressively respect
ful of each other. Their
conduct was gentlemanly,
even in wet, dirty uni
forms. MA Head Football
Coach Dennard Scoggins,
in his first year at Monroe,
has frequently praised his
team, not just because
they just completed a win
ning season, but because,
"Everyone on the team is
just as fine a young man
as you'll find anywhere.
It's been a long time since
I saw as many gentlemen,"
he commented. Then I
started checking out stu
dents who were not on the
football team. MA is
apparently having an epi
demic of good manners.
They've swept the campus.
Is MA perfect? No. Are
the students unflawed? Of
course not. Is it logical to
judge other public schools
by the standards found in
one public school? Again,
no!
But, for those parents
who believe how one acts,
talks, respects, takes
responsibility, etc., is as
important as any substan
tive course, Monroe or a
school like it might be an
alternative to other
schools.
Again, I'm proud of the
Mustangs for their per
formance on the football
field this season. They
worked hard, and the work
paid off with a team that
showed improvement and
looked better each week.
But, I'm prouder of the
Mustangs for their tangi
ble good behavior, charac
ter, integrity and social
poise than I am for their
football skills. Knowing
how to act, how to show
respect for others, how to
do the right thing-these
are skills that hang out
with success. These the
Mustangs have. These the
Mustangs practice to be a
team of gentlemen.
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