Newspaper Page Text
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 16, 2008
THE BANKS COUNTY NEWS
PAGE 3B
Middle School Basketball
In Memory:
BCMS girls defeat Lumpkin, Towns County
Shag Crawford: From deck plates to home plates
BY CHRIS BRIDGES
The Banks County Middle School
girls basketball team ushered in the
second half of the 2007-08 season
last week with two more wins.
Coach Steven Shedd’s team
defeated Lumpkin County 32-18
and Towns County 27-22. The coach
was glad to see his team perform
well after the holidays.
“It had been quite a while since
our last game and I wasn’t sure how
we would respond,” Shedd said.
“Needless to say, I was quite pleased
with our performance and we seem
to look better now than we did
before Christmas break.”
In the win against Lumpkin
County, BCMS was led by Madison
Franklin who scored eight points.
Ashley Morris finished with seven
points while Katlin Parks scored
six.
Deasha Beasly finished with five
points while Taylor Kennedy scored
four and Bridget Marlow added
two.
The Lady Leopards took control
of the contest early leading 20-1 at
the end of the first quarter. BCMS
continued to hold a 17-point lead at
halftime.
Shedd said his team’s tough
defense was a key factor giving
Lumpin County several different
looks to contend with.
Lumpkin County would get as
close as nine points in the third quar
ter but BCMS would then pull away
in the fourth.
“I was very proud of our defensive
intensity and offensive aggressive
ness in this game,” Shedd said.
In the win against Towns County,
parks had a big performance with 13
points. Shedd said his team’s effort
surpassed the one shown against
Lumpkin County the previous out
ing.
“Towns County has really had our
number the last couple of years,” the
coach said. “For us to get this win
from them after losing the first time
this year is huge.”
BCMS started the game slow and
fell behind 10-1. The Lady Leopards
managed to get back in the contest
in the second quarter and cut the
lead to 19-13 by halftime.
“I think our girls turned the corner
at halftime and decided that they
were going to refuse to lose this
game,” Shedd said. “We went to a
man-to-man defense and held them
scoreless in the third quarter.”
That defensive pressure allowed
BCMS to take a 20-19 lead. Overall
in the second half, Towns County
managed just three points.
Franklin and Beasley both fin
ished with five points while Sarah
O’Kelley and Kennedy scored two
each.
The win improved the BCMS girls
to 7-2 overall.
BCMS boys return to action, post two victories
BY CHRIS BRIDGES
Showing little rust from the holi
day break, the Banks County Middle
School boys basketball team defeat
ed Lumpkin County and Towns
County last week.
Coach John Bertrang’s squad post
ed a 53-45 win against Lumpkin
County behind 16 points from Jacob
Blalock, who made four 3-pointers
in the contest. Blalock also had a
huge performance against Towns
County pouring in 26 points in a
53-44 victory.
“I was impressed with the way the
boys handled the long Christmas
layoff,” Bertrang said. “Against
Lumpkin County, we played hard on
defense and let the offense take care
of itself. Jacob had a great shooting
game.”
Kyle Smith contributed 12 points
against Lumpkin County while John
Morgan County finished with 11
and Jonah Thomas scored eight.
Jameson Flynn and Blake Griffith
both scored two.
The following day, BCMS trav
eled to Towns County and opened
the game on fire scoring 19 points
in the first quarter. Blalock finished
the opening quarter with 14 points
including two 3-pointers. Blalock
helped BCMS build a 32-19 lead
at halftime as he made two more
3-pointers.
“The boys played great defense in
the first half,” Bertrang said. “This
group of young men pull together
to help each other on and off the
court.”
Smith added 12 points in the win
against Towns County while Morgan
finished with eight. Clayton Martin
scored four and Thomas finished
with three.
Morgan has suffered a broken wrist
and will not be able to play for the
remainder of the season. Bertrang
said Morgan was improving with
his scoring and rebounding as well
as on the defensive end of the court.
The two wins improved BCMS to
7-2 overall.
Bertrang said it will be important
for his players to not look ahead and
focus on each opponent at hand.
Wrestle... continued from page 1B
Hanley’s team then moved into the quarterfinals
against No. 3 seed Morgan County and posted a 39-36
victory. A pin by Stephen Giles at the 119-pound match
clinched the victory for the BCHS team.
Also earning pins were Pham, Jeremy Greenway
(140), Newell, Hewell and Gossett. Gregory earned a
win at 171.
The Mat Leopards now found themselves in the
semi-finals against state power Lovett. Hanley said his
wrestlers were a little intimidated, however, against the
semi-final foe.
Mayfield, Pham and Ward were the only BCHS wres
tlers to earn pins in the 59-18 loss.
“There were several matches in which we got the first
take down but couldn’t get the win,” Hanley said. “We
saw Lovett on their chest and wrestling is 90 percent
mental.”
The loss sent BCHS into the wrestlebacks where the
Mat Leopards rebounded with an impressive 57-22 win
against East Jackson. Hanley said the win was his team’s
best performance of the season.
Newell, Dempson, Gregory, Hewell, Mayfield, Giles,
Pham, Holloway, and Wesley Angel (145) each recorded
pins while Greenway recorded a win.
At this point BCHS was preparing to face Morgan
County in a rematch for third place. However, the Mat
Leopards received some disappointing news at this time
as well. BCHS had been under the assumption it had
qualifyed for state since it would be in the top four at
area. However, it was announced only the top two teams
would be moving on.
This news stunned the Mat Leopard wrestlers who
then lost to Morgan County 45-33.
“It was very disheartning,” Hanley said. “It was like
the air just left us.”
Gossett, Pham earned pins in the rematch with Morgan
County while Gregory took a win. Newell and Angel
won by forfeit.
BCHS is scheduled to travel to Winder-Barrow
Wednesday for a 5 p.m. match.
I have made it a tradition at
the opening game of the
season to scream at the
home plate umpire just after the
first pitch. I don’t know why I
do it, it just seems the right thing
to do. My remarks (no swearing,
just pointed baseball slang) at this
targeted time usually question
either his eyesight or his valid
ity as an umpire. My wife and
friends sitting next to me look
away and try to act as if they
don’t know me. Undoubtedly, I
probably zeroed in on National
League umpire Henry Charles
“Shag” Crawford at some point in
my life.
The men in blue (more pre
cisely, men in black while Shag
was an umpire) are a mysteri
ous breed. Some are players
who never made it to the major
leagues, others played a bit of
ball in college or perhaps just
high school.
They appear almost invisible on
the field, ghost-like figures that
enforce the rules of the game,
serving as jury and judge on
each call. Their decision is final
(except in a few extreme cases)
and arguing with their ruling may
be fatal to the player or manager
making his case. I remind you all
that our own Bobby Cox holds
that envious record of being
ejected from the game for arguing
with the men in blue.
I have seen some of the best
and worse — by far, more good
than bad — umpires throughout
the many years that I have fol
lowed (since age seven) the game.
Names like Al Barlick, John
(Jocko) Conlan, Augie Donatelli,
Bruce Froemming, Doug Harvey,
Ron Luciano, Dutch Rennert,
Ed and Paul Runge and Harry
Wendelstedt.
Look closely at the names and
one can see the heavy ethnic
influence that has dominated
the ranks of the men in blue and
black: Irish, German, Italian,
Dutch, an ethnic cross section
of our nation. Study the names
Diamond
Talk
By John W. Rieken
associated with the 135 years
of baseball and one can nearly
write the history of our nation as
the immigrants flooded this land
called America. The men in blue
are much like any major league
player: they came up from the
ranks to finally make it to the
“bigs.”
However, Crawford may have
carried a bit more Americana
with him then we see in players
and umpires coming up today.
His resume before becoming
an umpire included working as
a milkman, a cabdriver, and an
iceman, all in West Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania.
Crawford began his umpiring
career after he was noticed by a
high school baseball coach. The
coach told an official of the old
Canadian-American league (early
1950s) who hired Crawford.
From there, Crawford went to
the Eastern League, then to the
American Association, and finally
to the majors in 1956.
Crawford immediately gained
recognition in the majors for his
unique style. He was known to
lay down on his side or stomach
to get a better view of the unfold
ing play. He may have been the
umpire who originated resting
his right hand on the shoulder of
the catcher while in a crouching
position behind home plate when
calling balls and strikes.
Perhaps what Crawford was
best known for was his unhesitat
ing tendency to eject a manager,
coach, or player for exceeding
the acceptable limit of time and
language when arguing a call.
During the 1969 World Series,
Crawford ejected Orioles man
ager Earl Weaver in game 4, only
the third time in baseball history
a manager had been thrown out
of a World Series.
What zest Crawford brought to
the diamond, he also brought to
his fellow band of umpires. He
helped create the umpire’s union,
an act which was ultimately
responsible for his downfall from
the majors in 1975.
Henry Charles Crawford
became known as “Shag” at
some point in his early umpiring
career, although no one remem
bers exactly when and exactly
why. A few of his contemporaries
believe it may have been due to
his shaggy clothes he would wear
to the park.
Regardless, mention the name
Shag in the majors, and baseball
fans older than 50 will know
immediately the handle belongs
to the square-jawed man in black,
Shag Crawford.
So, where do deck plates — the
steel laid down to form the deck
of a ship — figure into this trib
ute? Shag served on a destroyer
in World War Two and fought,
among other places, at the inva
sion of Luzon (Philippines).
His ship, the 2200 ton, Sumner-
class destroyer Walke, was the
target of a kamikaze on January
6, 1945. The plane hit the bridge
of the Walke, mortally injuring
its captain. The crew, including
Crawford, fought gallantly on to
save the Walke which went on to
fight in the Korean and Vietnam
conflicts. Ironically, the Walke
was finally scrapped the same
year Crawford left the umpiring
ranks.
There is little fanfare in Shag’s
passing. This is simply the story
of another man who performed
his work quite well throughout
his life.
I have lost an old friend. Shag
Crawford. 1916 - 2007. Umpire
and hero.
Banks County resident John
Rieken is an avid baseball fan.
E-mail comments about this col
umn to jrieken@gsu.edu.
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