Newspaper Page Text
1B June 29, 2011
Baseball Banquet Photos 2B
Terry Johnson 3B
Five questions
for new college
football season
I t feels like the college foot
ball season just ended,
but in just over two
months the 2011 season
will kick off. That means
SEC fans like myself are al
ready planning their
tailgates and road trips.
It also means coaches
are getting additional
sleep in preparation for
the four-month regular
season grind, and play
ers are enjoying their
last month off before fall
two-a-days rob
them of their so
cial time.
Here are five
questions inquir
ing SEC fans
have on their minds heading
into the new season?
Florida could reap serious ben
efits offensively in future years.
But Weis could also provide an
immediate benefit if he can
boost the confidence of incum
bent quarterback John
Brantley. Brantley's
drop back style
should fit much
more effectively in
Weis's pro-style
offense than it did in
former head coach
Urban Meyer's
spread offense.
Between
Muschamp's
defensive acu
men and Weis'
anticipated offen
sive genius, the
Gators will likely continue to
be a force in the SEC East.
1. How will Auburn fare with
out Cameron Newton?
Newton, the 2010 Heisman
Trophy winner, led Tiger fans
on a ride they will never forget
last season. The Tigers com
pleted a perfect 14-0 season
and won their first national
title in over 50 years. But
despite the title, some SEC
observers are still questioning
whether head coach Gene
Chizik and offensive coordina
tor Gus Malzahn will be nearly
as successful this season with
out Newton's rifle arm and elu
sive legs. That question could
be a resounding yes if North
Carolina State quarterback
Russell Wilson decides to
transfer to Auburn. Wilson,
another dual-threat quarter
back, is a smaller version of
Newton but has the chance to
be the same one-hit wonder in
the SEC that Newton was a
year ago. If Wilson, who threw
76 touchdown passes in three
years at N.C. State, does in fact
enroll at Auburn, look for the
Tigers to once again contend
for the league championship.
2. Is this Mark Richt's last
stand at Georgia?
Though some fair-weather
Georgia fans suggest Richt's
exceptional 96-34 overall record
at Georgia is enough to quell
any ongoing speculation about
Richt's job status, consider that
his record in the last two sea
sons is a miserable 14-12. The
Dawgs open the season with a
game in Atlanta against a
Boise State team that will
surely be ranked in the Top-15
before returning home in Week
2 to face South Carolina, who
could be the favorite to win the
SEC East. If Georgia drops
both of those games, rest
assured Richt's seat will be
roasting, and the glory days of
Greene and Pollack will seem
like decades ago. On the other
hand, if Richt wins both games,
he will be back in good stead
with Bulldog nation, and in all
likeliihood Georgia will contend
for the league title. What is
much more likely is a split, and
the debate will rage on all sea
son into the team's late-season
annual rivalry games with
Florida, Auburn and Georgia
Tech.
3. How will rookie head coach
Will Muschamp fare at
Florida?
Muschamp, who has been
grooming himself to be an SEC
head coach for over a decade,
broke the hearts of many
Georgia fans when he took the
head coaching job of his alma
mater's arch rival in December.
Now, it will be up to
Muschamp to continue the
Gators' dominance over the
Bulldogs and most of the rest
of the league. Muschamp made
what I believe to be a savvy
choice in veteran offensive coor
dinator Charlie Weis. If Weis
sticks around for several years,
4. Has Les Miles finally won
over Bayou Bengal nation?
The "Mad Hatter," as LSU
head coach Les Miles has been
famously dubbed, has won at
least 11 games in four of his
first six seasons in Baton
Rouge. However, Miles has
never been fully embraced by
LSU fans, who had grown fond
of former head coach Nick
Saban during his five-year
tenure at LSU. Saban moved
on to Alabama in 2007 and
became public enemy No. 1 in
Louisiana, while Miles won a
national title that very season
at LSU. But due to the return
to form of once-mighty
Alabama and a subsequent dip
by LSU, Miles' job security
remained in flux to a certain
extent. Then, in November,
things changed when Miles'
Tigers beat Saban's Tide in a
classic game in Baton Rouge,
which was punctuated by sev
eral patently risky Miles' gam
bles that paid off. Miles then
said he was not interested
when his alma mater,
Michigan, had a job opening
following the season. It appears
now that Miles will be the
coach at LSU for many more
years. With a loaded team in
2011, an SEC championship
season would permanently
quell any unrest between Miles
and Tiger fans.
5. Will Tennessee be back as
an SEC contender in Year 2 for
Derek Dooley?
Georgia's Richt enjoyed a 13-
1 SEC title season in his sec
ond year at the helm in 2002
and has since referred to the
second season in a head coach's
tenure as a "dream" season.
Florida's Meyer won a national
title in his second year at
Florida in 2006, Auburn's
Chizik won a national title in
his second year in 2010 and
several other recent coaches,
such as former Ohio State
coach Jim Tressel and
Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops,
have won recent national
championships in their second
years as well. Richt said his
success came about because
the inherited players had more
time to buy into and adjust to
his system while he also accu
mulated two recruiting classes
of his own. The same will be
the case for Tennessee coach
Derek Dooley, who was hired in
January 2010 to clean up the
mess left by former coach Lane
Kiffin. Dooley's Vols are not yet
deep enough or talented
enough to contend for a league
title, but it would not be sur
prising if Tennessee experi
enced a significant leap in 2011
back to New Year's Day bowl
status. Even an eight or nine-
win season would be a welcome
change for Tennessee fans, who
have endured a tumultuous
last three years.
E-mail news editor Richard
Dumas at forsyth@mymcr.net
Region Player of Year, again
Mary Persons catcher Joey Wilson receives his trophy for being
named Region 2-AAA Player of the Year for 2011. Wilson was also
the Region 4-AAA Player of the Year as a junior in 2010. Wilson
was also named the team’s Best Offensive Player at the MP base
ball awards banquet held at the Department of Corrections offices
on Friday, June 17. See more photos on page 2B. (Photo/Richard
Dumas)
Bulldog
volleyball
tryouts
July 11
Mary Persons
High School will
hold volley ball
tryouts at 1 p.m.
beginning on
Monday, July 11
at 1 p.m. Con
tact Coach
Green for more information. (File photo)
Monroe 7-8 All-Stars take 2nd,
earn sportsmanship award
The Monroe County 7-8 All-Star baseball team finished 2nd in
Warner Robins on Friday night to be the runner up in the district
tournament. They then tied for fifth in the State 7-8 tournament
over the weekend. The team was also awarded the Sportsmanship
Trophy for the entire District tournament. The award is given to the
team, coaches and parents that displayed the best character
throughout the tournament. Players are, from left, front row, Jason
Pines, Justin Wachtel, Baxter Berlin, Carter Grant, James Waite
and Tyler Cleveland, back row, Garrett Waites, Jackson Jones,
Justin Nash, Lawson Cole, Hunter Alexander and Jarvis Germany.
Coaches are Jimmy Jones, manager, Jason Pines, Michael Berlin
and Shandora Jones.
Locals
finish
Indian
Springs
triathalon
Four Monroe
Countians and
members of
First Baptist
Church of
Forsyth participated in a sprint triathlon (600 meter swim, 14.3 mile
bike, and 3.1 mile run) Saturday, June 25 at Indian Springs Sate
Park. Pictured from left to right are Lauren Pope, John Pope, Caleb
Watson, and Darrell Watson. Lauren placed second in her age cat
egory, 20-24, and Caleb captured first in the Novice category in his
first ever triathlon. John and Darrell said they were just happy to fin
ish. (Photograph courtesy Hannah Watson)
It was a
no brainer.
- Vigil Amey
on taking
the head job
atMP
Amey is
new boys
basketball
coach
BY RICHARD DUMAS
After a lengthy selection process, the
Mary Persons boys basketball team has
gotten a new head coach.
The Monroe County
school board last Tuesday
approved the hiring of
Virgil Amey. Amey comes
to Mary Persons from
Elite Scholars Academy, a
charter school in
Jonesboro, where he has
served as athletic director
and PE teacher.
While he didn't coach
there, he has a great deal
of boys varsity head
coaching experience.
From 1997 to 2003, he
served as first an assis
tant coach and then a
head coach at Gainesville
High School. In 2001 and
2002, Amey took the
Gainesville Red
Elephants to back-to-back AAA Final Four
appearances as head coach. In all, Amey
was part of three Final Four teams and
four region championship teams in his
seven-year stint at Gainesville. He was
also named region Coach of the Year three
times.
Amey said the vision of MP principal
Jim Finch and athletic director Rodney
Walker to build a complete athletic pro
gram is what drew him to Forsyth.
"It was a no brainer," said
\ I 1 Amey, who had not even been to
[ Forsyth until he developed an
[ |fu interest in the job.
—I -1—* J Amey met some of his players
I r over the weekend during games
“ at Mercer and said he'll be evaluat
ing their strengths and weaknesses dur
ing the initial adjustment period. He said
he wants to spend a lot of time with the
players and get to know them. He said
he's excited to have the chance to coach in
a more rural area without the transience
and distractions of a metro area.
"It will be a breath of fresh air," said
Amey, who said metro schools have the
problem of constant transfers and other
distractions.
He said he didn't have many second
thoughts about taking the job.
"Any time a person knows his calling it's
easy to walk through the door and leave
others behind," said Amey.
Amey describes himself as a family man,
and his wife and children will remain in
Jonesboro until his twin 16 year olds fin
ish high school. In fact, he got so tired of
seeing young people wear inappropriate
garb that his family started a Christian
clothing store for children in Jonesboro,
though it fell victim to the recession.
In 2003, Amey returned to coach his
alma mater, Booker T. Washington High
School in Atlanta, where he had been a
member of the 1987 AAAA state champi
onship team as a player. Amey then
served one-year stints at Carver High
School in Atlanta and at Douglas County
High School before entering into adminis
tration in 2008.
Prior to coaching at Gainesville, from
1992-97, Amey had served as varsity girls
head basketball coach at Druid Hills High
School, where he was twice named
DeKalb County Coach of the Month.
Amey is married to wife Dawnne and
has four children, Corey, 26, Justin,
Jordan, twin 16 year olds, and Alexis, 6.
The hiring of Amey came almost two
months to the day after former MP head
coach Prelvis Paster announced on April
20 he was leaving to become varsity boys
head coach at Griffin High School. MP
administrators had talked to several can
didates but nothing fit until they found
Amey.
Expectations will be high because Amey
is inheriting a team that finished 2010-11
with a 19-9 overall record, and a Region
2-AAA championship. The Bulldogs sea
son ended with a disappointing first-
round home loss in the state playoffs to
Henry County, but only one senior gradu
ated from last year's team.
MP could have as many as eight seniors
on next year's team, not including rising
junior Brannen Greene, who is considered
by national scouting services as the top
Georgia basketball player in the Class of
2013.