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- Wednesday, March 2,1994 "Houston Times-Journal
Upson-Lee Drops
Panthers In Bth
By BILL OVERTON
Sports Editor
After .being smoked in last
week's opener, the Perry baseball
team showed signs of snapping out
of its youthful shell, winning a pair
of weekend games before falling to
Upson-Lee 4-3 Monday afternoon
in Macon.
The Panthers, 2-2, played the
Knights for the right to go to the
championship of the Lem Clark
Invitational, but the Knights' Bruce
Salter squeezed home Brent Lowe in
the bottom of the eighth inning to
provide the margin of victory.
Unlike a 10-0 loss to Jackson in
the opener of the tournament last
Tuesday, Perry's bats were more
alive against the Knights. The
Panthers only banged out five hits,
but they were timely in giving
Perry a 3-1 advantage through four
innings.
Perry, which struck out 10 times
in the loss to Jackson, only whiffed
seven times in the extra inning
affair.
After spotting Upson-Lee a 1-0
advantage in the bottom of the first,
Perry pitcher Jason Brett settled
down into a groove. Over the next
four innings, he allowed only two
hits, while striking out two.
Hornets, from 7A
half. The Hornets were able to keep
Cranford to only 11 points in the
final 19 minutes, an improvement
which still wasn't enough for
Westfield.
"I guess the kid's human,"
Massey jokingly explained. "He's,
far and away, the most complete
player I’ve seen in the GISA."
Westfield never led in overtime
and trailed by four with under a
minute left. But after a pair of free
throws by Phillip Rigdon, the
Hornets were just two back at 63-
61.
Westfield had a chance to tie or
go ahead with 35 seconds to go.
However Matt Shepley stumbled in
the lane and lost control of the ball,
which ended up in Jamie Walker’s
hands for the Eagles.
Walker was immediately fouled
and proceeded to hit the first end of
the one-and-one with eight seconds
left.
But after missing the second free
throw, Westfield had once last
chance. Rigdon worked and found a
contested three from the left comer,
but it bounded long and the game
was over.
Trailing 37-22 with just over
two minutes left in the first half,
Westfield began the comeback trail.
Shepley connected for a three
pointer and after an Eagle turnover,
John Shipley converted a layup to
pull the Hornets within 12.
Westfield eked closer after Lon
Talton whipped in his third trey of
the half to put the Hornets 10 back
at 41-31 with 35 seconds to go.
Shepley added a free throw, and
Westfield had nearly cut the deficit
in have, trailing 41-32 going to the
dressing room.
"There was no doubt that we
would begin to play better,"
Massey said. "I'm not sure what
Albany, from 7a
Perry, which is 1-4 during
Thomas' six years against Albany
based teams, has its own source of
inspiration. While Thomas admits
that there may bp little to prove to
the rest of the state, the team still
wants to prove to itself that it can
beat an Albany team.
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However, Brett began to tire in
the sixth. With one out, Lowe
homered over the right center field
fence to cut the margin to 3-2. The
next batter, catcher Ryan Riggins,
deposited Brett's pitch deep into the
center field sky. Bin Dallas Waldrip
caught up with it at the warning
track.
In the seventh with Perry still
holding a 3-2 lead, Brett walked
Salter to open the inning. Salter
then stole second and pinch hitter
Ches Reese moved him to third
with a ground out to second
baseman Jason Cantrell.
Andy Chatham then bunted in
the first of the two squeeze
attempts. The run scored and the
game went to an eighth frame.
For Perry, Tim Allen had two
runs scored and a triple in the
losing cause. Catcher Joaquin
Gonzales and left fielder Jamie
Walker each had an RBI.
Friday, Perry beat Northeast 11-
8 to earn its first win. Cantrell
scored two runs in a 2-3
performance. Brett scored two runs
and Terry Yawn also went 2-3 with
two runs scored. Waldrip picked up
the win in relief of Brett
Saturday, the Panthers knocked
turned us around. The kids got into
the flow of the ball game.
Defensively, we started to execute a
little better. And we got our fans
back into the ball game."
The third quarter was mostly a
period of frustration for both
squads. Only 15 points were scored
in the quarter between the two
teams, and Westfield still trailed 48-
40 going to the deciding quarter.
As it turned out, the deciding
quarter was not the deciding quarter.
Westfield exploded in the fourth,
mostly behind center Jake Walls,
who scored 10 points in the frame.
The Hornets sent the standing
room only crowd at Tattnall Square
Academy into a frenzy with 2:02
left in the game as Talton came up
with a steal and passed to Walls for
the game-tying layup along with
the foul.
"We felt confident the entire
second half," Massey said. "The
kids just refused to quit. Once the
opportunities started to fall for us,
you could see we were kind of like
a shark in bloody water."
Walls made the ensuing foul
shot to give Westfield a momentary
55-54 lead. It would be short-lived.
After Cranford made the second
of two free throws, Westfield took
its cracks from beyond the three
point line, with both Shepley and
Talton getting solid looks. But
neither shot fell, and Cranford took
the ball coast to coast for a layup
and a 57-55 Stratford lead with just
under a minute left.
Shepley hit two pressure free
throws with 48 seconds left to tie
the game again. Cranford had one
last shot with time fading to win it
outright, but his baseline three
pointer bounded long and the two
teams went to the extra three
minute period.
"In the past two years, we've
been real nervous," Perry senior
guard Keith Wimberly said. "We
should be better prepared for that
experience. We've just got to play
to our potential."
Uame time for Thursday night’s
tip-off is 5:30 p.m.
mA ; jSt - v Wm, «X -1-.
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Perry pitcher Jason Brett unleashes one In Monday's loss to
Upson-Lee. Brett pitched 7 Innings In the 4-3 defeat.
off Southeast 6-5 with three runs in
the top of the seventh. Cantrell
again had a solid day, going 2-4,
while Allen matched his numbers.
Waldrip struck out seven, before
giving way to lefty Troy Davis.
Perry will play its home opener
March 10 at 4 p.m. against Dodge
County.
PANTHER NOTES: The
third annual Perry 100-inning
r BT
fit lllfe
Jeff Dortch aklea high In an attempt to acore two polnta.
Rodeo, from 7A
school, beating Cody Lambert for
the all-around title in New Mexico
High School competition.
"It's (rodeo) something I feel like
I should have done a long time
ago," said Garlington, adding the
primary difference from riding the
circuit out of high school to riding
the circuit as a 33-year-old rookie
was knowledge. "I kind of know a
little bit (now)," he said.
"I feel like I can ride with them
(the cowboys in the National Finals
Rodeo)," said Garlington. "I can go
to the finals. I just want to ride the
beasts."
Garlington knows that he has a
long road ahead to make it to the
finals. Over the next month, the
Floravista, N.M., cowboy will ride
in rodeos in San Antonio, Texas,
Monroe, La., Valley City, N.D.,
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Extravaganza will be played March
12 at 10 a.m. at the high school.
There will be a home run hitting
contest for those interested, as well
as a base race for kids. The proceeds
will go to player jackets and the
Perry Athletic Department. For
donations or pledges, call Bob
Jones at 988-6298 or Sandra Jones
at 987-2167.
and San Angelo, Texas.
"As many as I can get to," he
said of his future rodeo plans. "I'm
trying to get a sponsor," he added.
For now, it's a trip to San An
tonio, dropping by Baton Rouge to
pick up a check.
Wiggins,
from7A
Houston Lake pro Mike
McCollum said that he was pleased
with the turnout, despjte the
weather.
"It was tougher on Saturday
because of the wind," McCollum
said. "After the wind died down
today (Sunday), we had some good
scores and close matches. There
were ties in every flight"
Former FSU Great
Inspires Alumni
By VETO F. ROLEY
Staff Writer
Rod Sellers told a gathering of
Flonia State alumni last Saturday
at the New Perry Hotel, to never
give up.
"Those three words," said
Sellers, "applies to athletics, busi
ness, academics, and, especially,
family life."
Sellers said that events in life
were not always easy; that events,
especially in families, were some
times difficult
"You can overcome by keeping a
positive attitude," said Sellers. "If
you can work hard, you can over
come a lot"
Sellers said that as a high school
senior, he was around 6-1, 155
pounds. He said that he was told by
Florida coach Ray Graves that
Florida was not going to offer him
a scholarship to play football at
that school.
"'Simply for the fact that you are
not major college material (Florida
would not offer Sellers a scholar
ship),'" Graves told Sellers.
Sellers told the audience that he
enjoyed playing and beating Florida
while he was at Florida State.
At Florida State, the player who
was "not major college material"
was named a two-time consensus
All-American. He finished his ca
reer with 212 catches for 3,598
yards and 23 touchdowns. He aver
aged 119.9 yards a game receiving.
He was elected to the College
Football Hall of Fame in 1988.
Sellers also holds Seminole
records for 16 receptions in one
game (vs. South Carolina, 1968),
30 consecutive games catching a
pass, 260 yards in one game (vs.
Wake Forest, 1968), five touch
downs in one game (vs. Wake For
est, 1968), eighteen 100-yard games
in a career and five 200-yard games
in a career (four coming in one
season).
Sellers said the best year Florida
State had during his three years
playing for the Seminoles was his
senior year, 1968, when the team
went 7-2-2. The Seminoles opened
the year with a tie against Alabama,
37-37, and closed the year in the
Gator Bowl with a tie against Penn
Perry, from 7A
Dodge County scored the opening
two of the half, Perry scored the
next seven unanswered to take a
double-digit lead at 40-29.
From then on, Dodge never
really contested the Panthers and
got no closer than 10.
While coasting by 20-plus
points in the fourth quarter,
Thomas was able to give his
seniors a curtain call to the
predominantly Perry-based audience.
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Rod Sellars speaks to the
Florida State alumni at the
New Perry Hotel Saturday.
State, 17-17. For the year, Sellers
had 1,496 yards and 12 touchdowns
on 86 receptions.
"Athletics is a tremendous tool
to help academics," said Sellers,
adding that sports taught
"discipline, self-confidence and the
willingness not to give up. Too
many young people give up on too
many things."
Yet, Sellers said that academics
was more important than athletics.
"I can't say it enough," he said,
adding that too many athletes
wanted to make the professional
ranks. "Why should someone risk
their whole future in professional
football when they might only get
four years out of iL"
After graduating from Florida
State, Sellers was the number one
draft choice of the New England Pa
triots. He later played for the Dallas
Cowboys, before closing out his
professional career with the 1973
Miami Dolphins Super Bowl team.
Sellers was in Perry to speak at
the Middle Georgia Florida State
Alumni Banquet
In addition to Felton’s and
Richardson's totals, Perry received
12 points from senior center Boris
King and 10 points from senior
Keith Wimberly. Another senior,
Stacy Francis, added eight points.
C.J. Mincey led Dodge with a
game-high 16 points.
Both teams advance to • the
GHSA Class AAA Tournament,
which begins in Albany Thursday
night.
. V
Hubert Bennett
1036-A Macon Street, Perry, GA
987-2114