Newspaper Page Text
D ecember 9, 2009
^Reporter
1B
Terry Johnson 2B.
School news 3B
Church news 4-5B
Public Record 6B
Classifieds 7-8B
Public Notices 9-12B
The best
coverage
for Monroe
County sports
SO CLOSE: Sasha Lipford (33) goes for the ball, with help from Asia Buckner (20). Lipford
recored five rebounds against the Lady Jaguars Friday night. The Mary Persons Lady Bull
dogs heated up the court in the fourth quarter but fell short, 55-52. (Photo/Gina Herring)
MP teams stumble
BY GINA HERRING
Both the ladies and
the men’s Mary Persons
basketball teams suf
fered losses to Woodland
and Maynard Jackson
last week before beating
Locust Grove on
Saturday.
The Lady Dogs are 3-2
this season after losing
to Woodland on the road
and a nailbiter at home
on Friday. The girls suf
fered their first defeat
against Woodland last
Wednesday, losing 38-
51.
"Woodland is a good
team with a lot of depth.
We allowed them to
jump out on us early
and we played catch-up
ball the entire game,"
said Coach Lang
Oglesby "Slow starts
have been our Achilles’
heel this season. "
The Lady Dogs also
started slow against a
tough Maynard Jackson
team at home on Friday
night. The ladies were
trailing 22-14 at the
half. The Lady Dogs
stayed consistent
throughout the third
quarter, closing the gap
to 8 points. But the
Lady Dogs would not
give up and turned on
the heat in the fourth
quarter. With just under
four minutes to play the
crowd erupted as the
MP girls tied it up, 44-
44. A minute later the
MP ladies were ahead
by three points, 50-47.
However the Lady
Jaguars had a final
push left in them and
edged ahead 55-52 in
the final seconds, steal
ing the victory from MP
Asia Buckner was the
leading scorer for the
Lady Dogs, with 25
points, including three
3-pointers.
Emily Davis scored 11
points, including twoo 3-
point baskets.
Sasha Lipford scored 7
points and had 5
rebounds. Aleah Holden
scored 3 points and had
7 rebounds. Morgan
Stewart scored 6.
Coach O said he was
proud of his girls’ effort
against Maynard
Jackson but says "If we
are going to be success
ful this year, we have
got to come up with a
way to fix our slow
starts.”
Right now, the most
consistent players are
freshman forward Aleah
Holden and senior cen
ter Sasha Lipford.
“If we are going to beat
anyone, I've need more
production from my
guards,” said Oglesby.
The Lady Dogs
bounced back on
Saturday, blowing out
the winless Lady
Wildcats of Locust
Grove by a score of 60-
34.
Leading the Dogs on
offense were Sasha
Lipford, with 15, Emily
Davis, with 14, and
Aleah Holden, with 13
points. Asia Buckner
scored 10 points.
Tesa Brown and Ajayla
Stoudimire each sank a
three-pointer. Morgan
Stewart had 2 points.
Holden also led the
defense, getting 16
rebounds. Lipford had 6
rebounds.
THE BULLDOGS
also lost to Woodland
and Maynard Jackson.
The Wolfpack beat the
Dogs 71-53 on
Wednesday. The Dogs
also lost to Maynard
Jackson on Friday, 52-
37. Scoring was at a
minimum for the Dogs,
but the leading scorers
were Terrance Harris
with 9 and Brannen
Greene, who had 7.
Tevin Davis scored 6.
Renaldo Lyons, Meshari
Walton and D'Vante
Pennamon each scored 4
points.
The boys also bounced
back on Saturday,
creaming Locust Grove
68-43.
Brannen Greene and
Tevin Davis each scored
13 points. Greene had
three 3-pointers.
Terrance Harris scored
11 points. Renardo
Lyons and Jacoby
Mitchell each scored 6
points. Ricardo Lyons
had 5, including a 3-
point shot. Brandon
Walton and Jared
Willis each had 4
points.
Davis led the defense
with 6 rebounds.
Renardo Lyons had 4
rebounds.
The Bulldogs are 2-3.
UP NEXT: The Dogs
plays Jackson on
Tuesday in Jackson.
The JV Boys play at 4
p.m. The varsity girls
play at 6 p.m. and the
varsity boys play at
7:30 p.m.
On Friday, Dec. 11,
MP must travel to
South Atlanta. The
boys play at 5:30 p.m.,
followed by the girls at
7 p.m.
MP plays Howard in
Macon on Saturday.
The girls play at 1 p.m.
and the boys follow at
D'Vante Pennamon (4) goes up for a shot. Pennamon and Ter
rence Harris each made one three pointer in the game against
Maynard Jackson Friday night. (Photo/Gina Herring)
MP back in region
with Peach, Baldwin
Region realignments moves MP; Jackson stays in 4AAA
BY GINA HERRING
The Georgia High School Athletic
Association released its new region
assignments last week and it ain't pret
ty for the Dogs. While Mary Persons
remains a triple-A school, the Bulldogs
have been placed in region 2AAA in the
midst of middle Georgia powerhouses
Peach County and Baldwin County,
along with Howard, Rutland, Central
(Macon), Perry, Veterans, West
Laurens, and Westside (Macon). The
new region assignments will be effec
tive for all MP sports beginning in
August 2010 with football, softball and
volleyball.
Coach Rodney Walker, athletic direc
tor and head football coach, said the
new region assignment will be tough
for several MP teams, especially foot
ball.
"It's going to be tough there's no
doubt about that," said Walker. "But
geographically that's really where we
belong. It will mean a lot less travel
and will create better rivalries."
Mary Persons and Jackson are no
longer in the same region, but that tiny
fact means very little as far as the
heated football rivalry is concerned.
However, there are 10 teams in the
region and 10 games on the regular
season football schedule. Therefore, the
only non-region football game MP will
play next year will probably be Jackson
- at the very beginning of the season.
But Walker said the schedule has not
been finalized yet. He and the other
region coaches are meeting on Dec. 16
to decide whether or not to have sub-
regions. From talking with all the
coaches, Walker says he believes the
Dogs will play the nine-game region
schedule. And he believes Jackson will
also be on the schedule, although it has
not been confirmed yet.
"We have to play Jackson. Somebody
might get shot if we don't have Jackson
on the schedule," joked Walker.
Could new region assignments eliminate the
Backyard Brawl?
"Seriously, it's too big of a rivalry and
brings in a lot of revenue."
The new region 2AAA features a
hodgepodge of teams, only one of which
was on MP’s schedule in the last two
years.
Peach County is 14-0 so far this sea
son and is set to play Gainesville for
the state AAA title in the Georgia
Dome this weekend. The Baldwin
Braves lost to Cairo in round two of the
state playoffs, going 9-3 on the season.
West Laurens was 5-5 in 2009 and
missed the playoffs.Perry finished the
2009 season 1-9.
Howard High finished 2009 with a
record of 3-7 and will jump from AA to
AAA in 2010.
Central is also moving to AAA. The
Chargers were also 3-7 last year.
Westside(Macon) is moving down
from AAAA to AAA. The Seminoles fin
ished 2009 with a record 11-2, having
made it all the way to the third round
of the playoffs before losing to Rockdale
County on Nov. 27.
Veterans High School is a brand new
school being built off Piney Grove Road
in Kathleen between Hwy. 247 and
Moody Road. It’s set to open in August
2010.
The only team that will remain in the
same region as MP will be Rutland.
The Bulldogs beat the Hurricanes 23-6
in September. Rutland was 2-8 in 2009.
Walker says the exact schedule is
expected to be released sometime fol-
Davis picked to play
in North-South game
Senior Mary Persons linebacker Tevin
Davis has been selected to play on the South
team at the Georgia Athletic Coaches
Association (GACA) North-South All-Star
football game on Dec. 29 at Memorial
Stadium in Columbus. Kick-off is at 2 p.m.
“I'm very excited for Tevin. He’s excited
too. They picked 70 or 80 players in the
whole state and he’s one of them. I’m very
proud of him,” said MP coach Rodney
Walker. Davis led the MP defense all sea
son.
Vullo earns 1st degree black belt
The Christian Martial
Arts Ministry of Mt Zion
United Methodist Church
awarded Russell Vullo
the rank of 1st degree
black belt in the style of
Tang Soo Do on Nov. 29.
Vullo’s rigorous training
included mastering many
techniques, forms, self-
defense techniques, mem
orizing Bible verses, and
learning spiritual disci
plines. Over the last 4
1/2 years of Vullo’s train
ing, he completed well
over 60 hours of commu
nity service. Vullo’s
examination for black
belt was physically, men
tally, and spiritually
demanding. In addition
to demonstrating profi
ciency in all techniques
and forms, the test
included the completion
of 100 sit-ups, 100
pushups, 100 jumping
jacks, 600 kicks and 200
punches against the
punching bag, and 15
minutes of sparring. The
test took over 4 hours to
complete and also includ
ed a 5 page written
report about Vullo’s spiri
tual beliefs. Tang Soo Do
is a traditional martial
art of Korea. The
Christian Martial Arts
Ministry of Mt Zion UMC
concentrates on building
Christian character
through physical, mental,
and spiritual training.
Our goal is to develop
Christ-centered lives
through the practice of
the martial arts. Our
Code of Honor says, “I
will keep my word. I will
do my best. I will be
polite, treat people with
respect, and help those in
need. I will do this
because I belong to God.”
The Christian Martial
Arts class meets at Mt
Zion UMC every Tuesday
from 6:30-8:00. The class
Russell Vullo
is taught by Rev. Chris
Mullis, a second degree
black belt in Tang Soo
Do. Classes cost only $20
per month, and all class
dues are used to support
missions.
For more information,
call Rev. Mullis at 994-
8983.