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The Commerce News
Sports
IB
THE COMMERCE (GA.) NEWS
WEDNESDAY,
JUNE 18, 2008
CONTACT US: Brandon Reed / brandon@mainstreetnews.com / (706) 367-5233 or (706) 335-2927
CHS Football
Girls Basketball
Commerce football coach Steve Savage expects around 400 players to turn out
to the Northeast Georgia Offensive Camp next month at CHS.
CHS Set To Host Offensive Camp
By Brandon Reed
Hundreds of offensive high school
students will be in Commerce late next
month.
Commerce High School head football
coach Steve Savage says he expects
between 350 to 425 athletes to come
out to the 13th Northeast Georgia
Offensive Camp, to be held at CHS
July 22, 23 and 24.
Football players from around the area
will take part. The camp will be divided
into a lineman camp and a skills camp,
and will teach the skills needed in an
option style offense. Players will learn
the fundamentals that they will need to
play quarterback, fullback, halfback,
wide receiver and offensive lineman.
Savage, along with Stephens County
coach Brian Johnson, St. Pius X coach
Paul Standard and Winder-Barrow
coach Jimmy Bentley, started the
camp. Last year, 360 players attend
ed the camp, including athletes from
Commerce, Stephens County, Dacula,
East Hall, St. Pius X, Norcross, Lincoln
County, Franklin County, Hart County
and White County, among others.
Some 210 attended the first year of
the camp.
Other Sports
Summer Prime For Area Paintball Players
Team Barricade competed in the GFOA paintball
tournament June 14. The team members include (L-R)
Brad Webb, Baer Schiffer, Ben Norris, Blake Stevens
and Commerce’s Corey Gunter. Not pictured is Daniel
Vickery. Photo by Justin Poole
By Justin Poole
“Go for the can! Doritos,
Doritos! Doritos down!
Go!”
While hearing that
screamed above the rapid-
fire sound of semi-auto
matic fire may make you
think of a concession stand
hold-up, in reality it is the
most recent incarnation of
a game.
The game is paintball.
Daniel Vickery has been
playing paintball for 11
years, starting with scenar
io games, games that mimic
military style combat,
and moving up into tour
nament speedball games.
His current team, Team
Barricade, includes mem
bers from Jackson, Banks
and Franklin counties.
“What got me into it
was just to have some
thing to do,” said Vickery.
“Everybody has their thing.
Some people like to fish,
or hunt, or things like that.
Everybody has their thing
they like to do. One of the
biggest things is the adrena
line rush. When you get out
there, you forget all the stuff
about work or problems.
You get out there and just
have fun, and that gets you
addicted.”
While many beginners
start with scenario games,
players who want to take
the game to a more sporting
challenge take up speedball.
The average speedball game
lasts under five minutes and
to watch is like being on a
rollercoaster. Each marker
fires a .68 caliber paintball
between 280 and 300 feet
per second at a rate as high
as 13 balls per second.
The game takes place on
a field that is roughly half a
football field and broken up
with inflated bunkers that
provide cover. The bunkers
are arranged so either side
is a mirrored image of the
other. The bunkers look
like soft-drink cans, pyra
mids (Doritos), an X, and
snakes.
One five-person team tries
to eliminate the other five-
person team first. Points
are awarded based on the
number of team members
left in the game, as well as
achievements (grabbing a
flag in the center of the
field and carrying it to the
opposite side).
“It is a game of skill and
teamwork,” Vickery said.
“One person cannot carry
a team. It takes a lot of strat
egy and time to think about
what you want to do.”
Team Barricade members
Vickery, Corey Gunter of
Commerce, Brad Webb,
Ben Norris and Blake
Stevens all play to have fun.
Continued on Page 2B
Lady Eagles Basketball Camp Ends
By Brandon Reed
The second annual Lady Eagles
Basketball Camp wrapped up last week
at East Jackson Comprehensive High
School. Campers ranging from first to
eighth grade took part, with the focus
being placed on the fundamentals of
passing, shooting, ball handling and
defense.
“We keep it basic but make it some
what challenging depending on the
age and skill of the camper,” said East
Jackson girls basketball coach Amy
Larimer. “We also include competitions
such as ball handling, hot shot (shoot
ing competition), jump rope and free
throw.”
Larimer said a kids’ camp night will be
held during the season, with the hope
that all of the campers will return.
Several Lady Eagles helped Larimer
with the camp.
“It is really great to see my players
make a connection with the younger
kids that will eventually be a part
of our program,” Larimer said. “As a
new school, creating that connection is
essential in building a program.”
Larimer said 25 girls attended the
camp this year, as opposed to 40 last
year.
“I want the numbers to be higher, but
we will continue to work on building
it,” she said.
The second annual Lady Eagles basketball camp was held June 9-12 at East
Jackson Comprehensive High School. Head coach, Amy Larimer, was assisted
by Nikki Sosebee, Megan Elliott and Mallory Wegmann.
Commerce Park and Rec
Four Tigersharks placed in their age division at the season opening
Pentathlon on Saturday. They were, pictured, left to right, Taylor Lacey,
Brandon Liles, Kendell Moon and Hannah Lacey.
Tigersharks Have Strong
Showing to Start Season
The Commerce Tigersharks kicked off their 2008 season Saturday as they traveled
to Winder for the Pentathlon.
Four Tigersharks placed in their age division. They were Taylor Lacey, Brandon
Liles, Kendall Moon and Hannah Lacey.
Taylor Lacey took second in the girls’ 14 & under division, Liles won seventh in
the boys’ 10 & under division, Moon placed tenth in the girls’ 10 & under division,
and Hannah Lacey finished ninth in the girls’ 12 & under division.
“I was very pleased with the results,” said Commerce Parks and Recreation aquatic
center coordinator Pam Minish. “Everyone swam faster than their seeded times.”
The Pentathlon consists of each swimmer competing in five events, one for each
swimming stroke and an individual medley. Their times are added together for a
total time, with ribbons given for the first 10 places.
Twelve Commerce swimmers took part in the event, which was held at the Winder
YMCA. Of those, 11 earned ribbons.
Other winners included Libbi Lance, Emmie Burley, Hannah McRee, Haydee
McRee, Dalton Dean, Dawson Knick and Quincy Mashburn.
“I am absolutely stunned at how fast everyone swam this early in the season,” said
Allen Lacey, president of the Commerce Tigersharks Booster Club.
The next event for the Tigersharks will be on Thursday, as the team will take part
in a dual meet at Jefferson.
Down The
Stretch
By Brandon Reed
2008 HOF Class Is
A Strong One
The votes are in, and the Georgia
Racing Hall of Fame class of 2008
has been chosen, and this year’s
inductees amount to one of the
best groups yet. The Georgia
Racing Hall of Fame voted this past
Saturday on the eight inductees at
the Hall of Fame in Dawsonville.
The 2008 class features racing
pioneers, as well as those who
helped elevate the sport to where
it is today.
First on the list, which is in no
particular order, is Bill Gazaway,
of Newnan, who joined NASCAR
in 1960 as a team owner, with
his cars making seven starts. But
Gazaway is best remembered for
being NASCAR’s vice president of
competition, a position he would
hold from 1984 to his retirement
in 1987. Gazaway started as a tech
inspector for NASCAR in 1963,
and was known throughout the rac
ing world for his commitment to
the sport.
He passed away on June 29,
2006.
Next is Atlanta native Jack
Jackson, who started racing in
the early 50s in the jalopy divi
sion at the legendary Peach Bowl
Speedway in Atlanta, moving
quickly up to the sportsman divi
sion, where he became a multi-year
champion at the speedway.
Jackson is the founder of the annu
al Peach Bowl Speedway reunion.
Jackson and fellow Hall of Famer
Jimmy Mosteller were the founders
of the Georgia Automobile Racing
Hall of Fame Association.
Next on the list is Columbus
native Sam McQuagg. McQuagg
was a constant winner at Valdosta,
and at Auburn-Opelika, in Alabama.
In 1965, McQuagg made 14 starts
in NASCAR’s Grand National
(now Sprint Cup) division, record
ing two top fives and five top tens
en route to being named the rookie
of the year.
McQuagg won his only Cup
event the following year in the
Firecracker 400 at Daytona Beach,
Fla., piloting a Ray Nichels owned
Dodge that was equipped with the
first spoiler in NASCAR history.
Charlie Padgett, of Jasper, started
his career at a track in Dalton.
He was the Southern Racing
Enterprises Modified Champion
in 1956, racing at Canton, Dallas,
the Peach Bowl, Banks County
Speedway, Gainesville Speedway
and Toccoa Speedway. Padgett
came into his own at the legend
ary Athens Speedway in Athens,
Ga., where he won the July 4 Mid-
Season Championship event in
1964 and 1966, and the Labor Day
Championship event in 1964 and
1965.
Randy Payne, of Rome Ga.,
picked up the nickname “Mr. Big
Stuff” after piloting his famed Ford
Torino Cobra to several victories
in the late 60s, including Canada’s
first sanctioned drag race. He was
nominated driver of the year by
Car Craft magazine four years in a
Continued on Page 2B
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