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Reporter
1B December 5, 2012
Terry Johnson
School
Bolingbroke
Public Record
Classifieds
.Page 4B
Page 5B
Page 6B-7B
Page 8B
Page 9B-14B
The best
coverage
for Monroe
County sports
From the Press Box
Dawgs fall short
in title contest
($JJ X £X
A bout a decade ago, ESPN.com columnist Bill
Simmons defined what he called the 13 Lev
els of Losing in sports. Simmons, a fanatical
Boston Red Sox supporter said the worst of
these was a Level I loss, which referred ex
clusively to Game 6 of the 1986 World Series when Sim
mons' Red Sox blew a two-run lead in the bottom of the
10th inning to the New York Mets on Bill Buckner's in
famous error.
By giving Game 6 its own cat
egory, the unapologetically-
biased Simmons acknowledges
his belief that the Sox' 1986 loss
is the most painful loss in
sports history.
However, Simmons establishes
12 other categories, which he
ranks from most to least
excruciating beginning
with Level II. Simmons
calls the Level II category,
"The Stomach Punch."
Surely, "The Stomach Punch" is the best way to
describe what happened to Georgia Bulldogs' fans on
Saturday night.
Back in 2002, Simmons defined "The Stomach
Punch" like this: "Now we've moved into rarefied ter
ritory, any roller-coaster game that ends with A) an
opponent making a pivotal (sometimes improbable)
play, or B) one of your guys failing in the clutch. . .
usually ends with fans filing out after the game in
stunned disbelief, if they can even move at all. . .
always haunting, sometimes scarring."
Simmons went on to say that Earnest Byner's
famous fumble at the two-yard-line in the 1988 AFC
Championship Game that cost Byner's Cleveland
Browns a trip
to the Super
Bowl was the
ultimate
"Stomach
Punch", partic
ularly when
the Browns
had never
been to the
Super Bowl
before or since.
UGA’s John Jenkins sacked Alabama’s
A.J. McCarron during the first half of
the Tide’s 32-28 SEC Championship
game victory over Georgia Saturday.
(Photo/Will Davis)
As a
University of
Georgia foot
ball fan my
entire life, I
had already
mentally pre
pared myself
for the likeli
hood that the
Dawgs would
fall short. But
even I had no
idea what
Saturday
would have in
store for
Bulldog
Nation.
Georgia fans
are used to excruciating losses. In fact, in this calen
dar year alone, the Dawgs already lost a triple-over
time game to Michigan State in which Georgia blew a
16-point halftime lead and its normally reliable kicker
missed two overtime field goals. If any fan base is
used to losing in disappointing fashion, it's the
Bulldogs'.
But Saturday was much different. It may not have
been Game 6 in 1986, but Georgia's 32-28 loss to
Alabama was not much below that on the Levels of
Losing scale. The Dawgs entered Saturday's battle
with Bama knowing that a victory would not only net
the program its first Southeastern Conference cham
pionship in seven years, it would have gotten Georgia
into the national title contest in Miami in January for
the first time in 30 years.
Many media members, including myself, called
Saturday's game the program's biggest since Herschel
Walker left Athens at the end of the 1982 season.
However, the fascinating sub context for the game was
that Alabama was actually a seven-and-a-half point
favorite. Given Georgia's recent history of losing criti
cal games and Bama's recent history of global domina
tion, it was hard to imagine UGA actually winning.
But winning it was. When Georgia's brilliant line
backer Alec Ogletree scooped up a blocked field goal
and dashed 55 yards for a touchdown midway through
the third quarter, UGA fans were yelling louder than
any time since Larry Munson broke his chair at the
Gator Bowl. As I was sitting quietly in the Georgia
Dome press box as Ogletree did his best Usain Bolt
impression, my friend texted me and jokingly asked
me if I was cheering yet. When I responded that I
wasn't, he shot me back a text that read, "You are
stronger than me." And I may not have cheering
vocally, but I definitely had goosebumps. A reporter
asked Alabama coach Nick Saban in his postgame
press conference if he ever felt in the third quarter
like his team might have a problem on its hands.
Saban's typically deadpan answer cracked up the
See DUMAS page 4B
Mary Persons linebacker Tre Davis (No. 25) tries to bring down Ridgeland’s Darrell Bridges during the Panthers’ 45-14 win
over MP Friday night. Bridges was the star of the evening, rushing for 208 yards and four touchdowns. The Panthers will host
Marist in the AAAA state semifinals Friday while MP’s season finishes with a 10-3 record. (Photo/Kim Holderfield)
Dogs defeated in quarters
Ridgeland bounces Bulldogs from playoffs 45-14
BY RICHARD DUMAS
The Mary Persons Bulldogs trav
eled more than three hours to
Ridgeland Friday night for the
AAAA state quarterfinals with their
minds set on making the school's
first Final Four appearance since
1998.
However, Ridgeland and its talent
ed senior running back Darrell
Bridges had other ideas. The
Panthers stomped MP 45-14 with
their overpowering ground attack,
rushing for 422 yards, including 208
by Bridges who surpassed 2,000
yards on the season during the con
test.
The Panthers' defense was equally
impressive, holding MP's talented
offense to just 197 total yards for the
game and zero first downs in the
first half. MP quarterback Jordan
Banks could not find many open
receivers due to the Panthers' tight
coverage, and it caused Banks to
struggle. He completed just three of
eight passes for 53 yards with three
interceptions.
The Panthers jumped out to a 24-0
halftime lead and though the
Bulldogs mounted a challenge in the
third quarter were unable to get any
closer than 17 points the rest of the
way.
MP received the ball to open the
game, and the first series was a bad
omen for the rest of the contest.
After gaining five total yards on the
Bulldogs' first two plays, Banks
dropped back to pass on 3rd-and-5.
Ridgeland cornerback Dillon
Peterman stepped in front of Banks'
pass and the ball hit Peterman right
in the hands, but he was unable to
secure the interception. Had
Peterman caught the ball, he likely
would have returned it for a touch
down. Though the Bulldogs were
able to escape with a punt, they
would not be so fortunate later in
the game.
MP defensive end Demarcus Davis
stalled Ridgeland’s first drive with a
key third-down sack, the first of two
he would record in the game. But
MP's next offen
sive series went
even worse than
its first as the
Bulldogs could
not muster a sin
gle yard before
punting again.
That's when
midway through
the first quarter,
Ridgeland went
to its bread and
butter: its Wing
T rushing attack.
Starting in good
field position at
the Bulldogs' 40-
yard-line, the
Panthers marched 40 yards on eight
plays, all runs, in 4:13 of game time.
Bridges capped the drive with a two-
yard touchdown run with 1:31 left in
the first quarter. Evan Courtney
converted the extra point for a 7-0
Ridgeland lead.
MP's next series ended in just
three plays when Banks was inter
cepted by Ridgeland’s Ian Hayes.
The pick enabled Ridgeland once
again to start in MP territory at the
42-yard-line. The Panthers opened
the series by throwing deep down
the right sideline, but Vonn Bell was
unable to haul in quarterback Trevor
See MP page 3B
FTP HftBaanea
rpwrni~7rrn\ ■ ■ ■ <
Drew Goolsby #17
The senior linebacker had 9 tackles and
a fumble recovery in MP’s 45-14 quar
terfinal playoff loss to Ridgeland Friday.
WELLS
FARGO
KETTERBAUGH JUNGBERG
FINANCIAL GROUP
OF WELLS FARGO ADVISORS
1425 Bass Road • Macon, GA
478-749-6219
Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC, Member SIPC
Jason Jungberg, AAMS
Financial Advisor
Monroe County boys lead dominant rec team
Were they the most dominant recreation football team ever? Well that may be a stretch but Monroe County can be proud of
the five boys from the county who played on the Senior Division Black team down at FPD Viking Football League in Macon
this fall. The Senior Division consists of 5th and 6th graders. Incredibly, of the 18 players on the team, only 4 were 6th
graders. The Black Team absolutely dominated the other teams by going undefeated and winning the Super Bowl. They
outscored their opponents 274 to 13 over the eight game season. The Monroe County boys were Nate Howard, Trippe
Moore, Jimbo Finch, Dillon Cox and Noah Davis. Speedster Trippe Moore scored a league-high 24 touchdowns. Monroe
Countians Tre Howard and Eddie Moore were coaches.