Newspaper Page Text
July 16,2008
Section
B
The Banks County News
Sports Editor: Chris Bridges
Contact: 706-367-2745
www.mainstreetnewssports.com
First
Ten
★ ★ ★
chris@mainstreetnews.com
BY CHRIS BRIDGES
True fans will
always stick
by Falcons
I f the pro football experts are
anywhere close to correct,
the upcoming season is not
going to be pretty for the Atlanta
Falcons.
I’ve seen forecasts which call
from 6-10 at best to 1-15 at worst.
Most of the time predictions typi
cally fall somewhere in between
so I guess we are realistically
looking at finishing in the neigh
borhood of four wins. Six or
seven wins is probably asking for
too much and most NFL teams are
going to win more than one game.
Even franchises that have fallen
on the toughest of times find a
way to win two or three contests
in a 16-game regular season.
Flow did the Falcons get in such
shape? As is typically the case,
many factors are involved. A
series of bad decisions have been
made, all of which have added to
the pyramid which has caused the
organization to reach this level.
Of course, it could be said the
franchise has been cursed since
it began operations in the 1960s,
but let’s focus on the current times
since Arthur “Mr. Flome Depot”
Blank bought the franchise.
Showing his inexperience in
running a pro football franchise,
Blank’s first bad decision was fir
ing Dan Reeves, a Hall of Fame
coach. Blank’s decision was
wrong to fire Reeves and he then
got the next two hires to replace
him wrong. Jim Mora turned out
to be wrong although I don’t fault
Blank completely because on the
surface it seemed like this hire
had a chance to be successful.
Then, of course, we had the
Bobby Petrino disaster which
left many people in NFL circles
wondering if Blank really knew
the difference in a nail apron and
a coach’s headset. This was a true
disaster of a hire if there ever was
one. Let’s hope Blank’s fourth
decision concerning head coaches
is one where he gets it right with
Mike Smith, who arrives by way
of Jacksonville.
Blank also was made to look
like a fool by Mike “Public
Enemy #1” Vick. This thug, who
is still sitting in jail where he truly
belongs, played Blank and all of
us for fools. Have no sympathy
for Vick in this case and have a
only the smallest amount of it for
Blank although the owner’s will
ingness to shell out the millions
for his quarterback was a little on
the risky side to be sure.
The drafting of Matt Ryan
from Boston College was a good
move, however. The selection
showed those clueless enough to
think Vick might actually put on
a Falcon uniform again that the
organization has moved on.
All of this brings us to the sum
mer of 2008. Many bad decisions
have been made in recent years.
The great thing about the NFL is
that is really doesn’t take that long
to turn things around.
Look at the New Orleans Saints
from 2006. A team which most
experts figured would win five
games at best went to the NFL
Championship contest.
There is hope for the Falcons.
The true fans will stick with the
Birds this season, even if they
only manage to register one or
two wins. Count me as one of
those “true fans.”
Chris Bridges is sports editor of
The Banks County News. Contact
him at 706-367-2745 or by e-mail
at chris @ mainstreetnews. com.
All-Star Tournaments
Champions: 9-10 All-Stars capture softball state title
BY CHRIS BRIDGES
When all was said and done, the Banks
County 9-10-year-old All-Stars stood victori
ous as state champions.
Coach David Kennedy’s team captured the
GRPA Class C state title this past week
end winning three games including a 10-7
victory against Butts County in the final
outing. This marks the second consecutive
season the 9-10-year-champions have repre
sented the Banks County Parks and Recreation
Department.
In the opening game of the state tournament,
Banks County recorded a 15-3 win against
Pike County. The following game saw Banks
continue to be impressive at the plate with a
25-6 win against Jefferson.
The final game was somewhat closer but
Kennedy’s squad was still able to post the
three-win win to clinch the state champion
ship.
Members of the state championship winning
team include Abby Baird, Kayla Berry, Mallory
Coker, Kaitlyn Duncan, Anslee Foster, Gabby
Kennedy, McKenzie Kennedy, Summer Lord,
Taylor Parson, Alex Pritchett, Riley Scroggs
and Bayleigh Watson.
Rodney Foster and Ricky Duncan also helped
coached the 9-10-year-old All-Stars.
In other Banks County All-Star action, the
13-14-year-old All-Star baseball team fell to
Druid Hills 11-0 Monday. The team was sched
uled to play again Tuesday against Bartow
American.
A win Tuesday would have put the Banks
team in action Thursday at 2 p.m.
The 13-14-year-old team members include
Thomas Ward, Jay Coen, Taylor Foster, Avery
Chastain, Jamerson Flynn, Jared Clark, Tayler
Hewell, Tyler Hellmeister and Blake Allen.
The All-Star team is coached by Jeff Coen and
Cranley Ward. See next week’s edition for an
update on the progress of the local 13-14-year-
old All-Star squad.
Pride of Summer: Working in the Trenches
FIRST PLACE SHOWING
Members of Banks County High School's championships tug-of-war team competed in Walhalla, South Carolina at a recent lineman
challenge. BCHS was the overall winner of the 11 -team event. Photos by Melissa Hester
In Walhalla; South Carolina...
Leopards win first place in lineman challenge
BY CHRIS BRIDGES
The Banks County High School lineman
traveled out-of-state for their second com
petition this summer.
This time the Leopards who compete in
the trenches returned home with a first-
place showing. Members of the BCHS
football program traveled to Walhalla,
South Carolina recently for a lineman
challenge and showed they weren’t
satisifed with an earlier second-place
showing at a competition at Gilmer High
School.
Traveling just across the South Carolina
state line, the BCHS contingent won it
all in the competition which showcases
strongman events for offensive and defen
sive linemen. Events ranged from the
185-pound bench press all the way to the
old-fashioned tug-of-war.
BCHS was led by a senior group with
just one year of experience at these
competitions and emerged with an over
all score of 85. The closest team to the
Leopards was Class AAAA Daniel High
School which compiled 70 points. Host
Lineman Challenge
Members of the BCHS football
team captured first place at a
Lineman Challenge held in Walhalla,
S.C. recently compiling 85 team
points.
Walhalla was third with 53 points fol
lowed by AAAA Gaffney with 49.
The only other Georgia school compet
ing was Hart County, a AAA school. The
Bulldogs were sixth with 44 points among
the 11 schools competing.
Coach Blair Armstrong’s team was first
in several team events included the bench
press, five-man sled push and tug-of-war.
In the bull pull, Tyler Hulsey and Thomas
Baker dominated all competitors but one
with three wins each. Baker qualified
for the championship round and almost
pulled out the overall win despite having a
50-pound weight disadvantage.
See Linemen on page 2B
DRIVING WITH FORCE
Tramaine Mayfield shows his strength in the one-
man sled competition in South Carolina.
BCHS taking
part in new
Gladiator Wars
BY CHRIS BRIDGES
The Banks County High School
football team has been at war —
with itself.
The new competition involves
everything from 55-gallon drum
rolling, relay races with buckets of
water, relay races with dumbbells,
bag jumps, sled pushing, tug-of-war
and more. The players are divided
into teams and compete approxi
mately every two weeks.
This new competition the
Leopards are involved in is called
Gladiator Wars.
The event is held
on Friday morn
ings for athletes
who are not on
vacation, play
ing baseball or
basketball. Teams are drafted and
then “go to war” although in a
friendly sort of way, coach Blair
Armstrong said.
BCHS held the first competi
tion on the same day as the initi-
tal Helmet Buddies. The winning
team consisted of Billy Dunn,
Nick Sosebee, Alex Banks, Nathan
Mathis, Jon Gailey, Matthew Patton
and Josh Staats. The runner-up team
was made up of Lyn Hester, Kane
Duncan, Zach Sprayberry, Hunter
McLane, Tramaine Mayfield and
Zach Reichert.
Recently, the BCHS football pro
gram held another Gladiator War
outing with a winning team which
had to have a tie-breaker to deter
mine the victor. All the teams were
within striking distance of first
place going into the final event.
The team which emerged in first
place consisted of Justin Bowen,
Tyler Husley, Dylan Lackey, Jeremy
Greenway, Cody Evans, Abner
McCright and Andrew Hudson.
The runner-up team at the most
recent event included members
Demetric Dempson, Thomas Baker,
Barry Whitfield, Kenny Langston,
Nathan Mathis, Logan Prater and
Eli Autry.
The Gladiator War championship
will be held Friday, July 25, from 9
a.m. until noon at the BCHS prac
tice field.
Countdown
to kickoff:
44 DAYS
Local Racing
Seasoned equipment leads to victory at Atlanta Dragway
BY AMY GLOVER
Special to the BCN
The three car-class winners in Saturday
night’s Atlanta Dragway Summit ET Series
action used “well-seasoned” vehicles, proving
one doesn’t need the latest technology and
fancy equipment to win.
Super Pro winner Joshua Cohen of
Lawrenceville secured his first victory with a
well-seasoned 'll Camaro. Running in only
his sixth race, Cohen pulled off a beautiful win
with a .0004 margin of victory, running a 5.13
on a 5.08 dial, against Woodstock’s Michael
Morris, who ran a 6.73 on a 6.70 dial in his ’01
Undercover Dragster.
Jim McKelvey of Snellville and Ashley
Hancock of Commerce placed in the semifi
nals.
Long-time racer Kelly King, from
Stockbridge, showed up his shinier opponents
in the Pro class with his well-worn ’74 Vega
Wagon. King won with a tighter package, run
ning a 7.12 on a 7.06, against Brian Lyle, who
ran an 8.06 on a 7.98.
King remarked on the visual status of vehi
cles, saying, “A clean car doesn’t win races.”
Two previous event winners, Howard Warren
of Douglasville, and Justin Buchanan of Six
Mile, S.C., ended their night in the semifi
nals.
In the Sportsman class, another long-time
racer, Randy Franklin of Loganville, broke out
less (16.69 on a 16.84) in his 314,000 miled
'19 Chevy C-10, than his friend of 30 years,
John Snapp of Conyers.
Snapp ran a 16.69 on a 16.84 dial. Franklin
said that while he has had his fair share of the
runner-up position, this was his first win at
Atlanta Dragway.
D.A. Streber, of Greenville, S.C. placed
third.
Dallas racer Jeff Shropshire won in the
Motorcycle category, pulling off a 15.04 on a
14.84 dial against Homer’s Howard Bowman.
Bowman, riding his wife’s ’06 Harley, finished
in a larger overshot of prediction, running 9.77
on a 9.60 dial-in.
Steve Jackson, from Bogart, was the semi
finalist of the category.
Competition was shortened from six to
four classes this weekend due to the Atlanta
Dragway Junior Dragster team representing
the track at the NHRA O’Reilly Auto Parts
Jr. Drag Racing League Eastern Conference
Finals at Maple Grove Raceway in Mohnton,
PA.
The top ranking junior dragster driver was
Brandon Thompson from Douglasville, who
finished as a quarterfinalist in the 16-17 cat
egory.