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Sports
Phil Clark v
Recent NFL
draft produces
no surprises
National Football League teams
prodded through the recently
concluded draft of college players
with extreme caution. It was the
so-called 'salary cap draft.' Teams
must be careful not to draft players
they won't be able to sign under the
salary cap restrictions. There were,
therefore, few surprises in the draft.
The most noticeable fact about
the draft is the exclusion of
Heisman Trophy winner Charlie
Ward of Florida State. Let me say
this. Ward was not overlooked
because of a lack of ability. He
simply had not decided between
basketball and football, and teams
just can’t afford to gamble on him
in the football draft. Ward had said
he wanted to concentrate on just
one sport. He said after the draft
that the decision on which sport had
apparently been made for him.
"Maybe I'll be the first Heisman
trophy winner to play in the NBA”,
Ward was heard to say.
It came as no surprise that Ohio
State defensive lineman Dan
Wilkinson went as the number one
pick by Cincinnati. He was, as a
sophmore, the best player available,
regardless of whether the Bengals’
most desparate need was in the
defensive line. And the Colts'
selection of San Diego State
running back Marshall Faulk as the
second pick also raised no
eyebrows. He, too, was a
legitimate choice. And
Indianapolis, like Cincinnati, needs
help wherever they can get it. As
expected, Heath Shuler of
Tennessee was the first quarterback
selected, the number three pick
overall by Washington. The
Redskins also need help, and with
Mark Ripien slowed to a crawl,
quarterback was a critical position
for the 'Skins.
The salary cap is another story.
Already, Cincinnati is offering
Wilkinson a deal that’s about half a
million less than Steve Emtman
got from the Colts in 1992, and a
million less than last years' number
one pick, Drew Bledsoe, got from
New England. Whether the Bengals
can sign Wilkinson will be
interesting.
Since NFL owners made some
moves last month to put more
offense into the game, coaches
apparently were trying to strike
back during the draft. 106 defensive
players were chosen, and many
coaches said the reason is that
defensive players most often can
play sooner than offensive players.
In fact, 16 of the first 29 picks
went for defensive players, ten of
the first thirteen.
The Atlanta Falcons did not have
a first round pick. They had traded
it to the Colts for quarterback Jeff
George. The Falcons also later
traded future draft choices for 33-
year-old defensive lineman Chris
Dolman of the Vikings. Dolman,
though 33, is one of the best pass
rushers in the league. The Falcons
need that desparately. But the best
pick they made could have come
later in the draft when they got
Georgia linebacker Mitch Davis.
He is a quality football player. He
played outside linebacker at
Georgia, but is projected as an
inside backer with the Falcons.
Other state players chosen in the
draft include Georgia offensive
tackle Bernard Williams by
Philadelphia in the first round,
Georgia Tech offensive tackle Gary
Brown and running back Dorsey
Eevens, both in the fifth round and
Georgia running back Frank Hai vev
in the seventh.
And by the way, the omission of
Ward in the draft marked the first
time in 39 years the Heisman
trophy winner was passed over.
That year, Pete Dawkins of the
Army was not drafted because of his
military obligation. Of course,
Dawkins made a career of the
military, retiring with the rank of
general. So maybe things will
work out well for Ward.
Westfield looks to start of playoffs
By PHIL CLARK
Special to the HTJ
Westfield Coach Bert Brown
said, "it could be a letdown, losing
our last two games by lopsided
score, but I don't think so. We had
already clinched second in our
region, and the games with
Stratford and Southland wouldn’t
help or hurt us. We would have
liked to win, but we didn't, so we'll
focus our attention on Terrell
Tuesday.” Tuesday, that's when the
GISA playoffs begin. By virture of
finishing second in region 2AAA,
the Hornets have the home field for
the first round, facing region 3AAA
third place finished Terrell
Academy. Brown said, "Terrell is
not a very strong team, so we feel
pretty good about Tuesday’s game."
In the final game of die regular
season Thursday afternoon out at
the Hornet's Nest, the Southland
Raiders used a nine-run fourth
inning to defeat the Hornets 13-7,
dropping the regular season record
to 7-14. All of the wins came in
region 2AAA. After Justin
Johnson opened the game with a
single off Hornets starter Troy
Nuss, the senior right hander struck
out Rhett Simmons and Chris
Castleberry and it looked like the
locals would get out of the inning
without giving up a run. But
cleanup hitter Rob Fletcher drilled a
long double scoring Johnson, and
before the dust had setded in the
inning, the Raiders had put four
runs on the board to take a quick
lead, one which they never gave up.
The Hornets almost caught up in
their half of the first, though. Matt
Shepley led off with a double off
freshman starter Chad Carter. After
Thad Hawk drew a walk, Nuss hit a
long home run over the left field
fence to cut the lead 4-3, but after a
Hornet golfers prepare for state tourney
.JP I % S •* jAhLJ Ejubr
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Members of the Westfield golf team are (kneeling) Robert Harrison, (standing, l-r)
Scott Hill, Keith Davis, coach Marvin Arrington, and Ed Strickland. They are holding
the GISA Region 2AAA championship trophy.
Jenifer Smith paces Lady Hornet thinclad team in region
By VETO F. ROLEY
Staff Writer
Jenifer Smith led the Westfield
girl's track team to a second place
finish in the Region 2AAA GISA
track meet in Macon Tuesday after
noon.
While women's track coach
Donna Campbell said she was dis
appointed in the finish of the team
Perry finishes third in region golf meet
By VETO F. ROLEY
Staff Writer
The Perry golf season came to a
disappointing end Tuesday at Hous
ton Lake Country Club with a third
place finish.
After warming up for the region
championship with a 149 at Hous
ton Lake last week, the Perry
golfers had an inconsistent Tuesday.
"We've had it (inconsistency) all
year," said Tony Thrift, head coach
for the Perry Panthers. "A week ear
lier, we shot our best nine hole
match..
"It's very disappointing," said
Thrift. "We felt like it (the tourna
ment) being at our place, we would
have a chance.
"We knew Ware County would
be tough to beat. But, we felt like
we had a real good chance at second
place.
"But, we didn't rise to the occa
Lon Talton single, Carter got the
side out without further damage.
The game stayed that way until
the fourth, although Westfield had a
scoring opportunity in the second.
Lance Watson led off the inning
with a base on balls and Greg
Adams followed with a single.
After Shepley flied out to left field,
Hawk's grounder was bobbled by
the thirdbaseman, loading the bases.
Nuss hit a twisting line drive down
the third baseline that looked like a
hit all the way, but leftfielder Rob
Fletcher made a brilliant running
catch and doubled Watson off third
to end the inning. Brown took the
blame for the play at third, saying
he sent Watson because he, like
everybody else, thought the ball
would drop for a hit
The fourth inning was a disaster
for Westfield as the Raiders sent
fourteen batters to the plate, getting
seven hits, one walk, three Hornet
errors and nine runs to put the game
away although Westfield did come
back in the fifth to score four times
making the final score 13-7. The
game was called after five innings
to allow the B-teams time to play
their game.
The Raiders scored their thirteen
runs on thirteen hits, eleven of
them singles. Westfield got just
six hits off two Raider pitchers,
including doubles by Shepley,
Brian Staines and Jeff Dehem and
Nuss' home run. Bari Brown got
the win for Southland, replacing
starter Chad Carter after Carter left
with a sore arm after one inning.
Nuss took the loss for the Hornets.
Brown said he’ll start Lon Talton
Tuesday against Terrell. Gametime
is at 4 p.m. at the Hornets Nest.
The Hornets will be without
starting catcher Sheldon Shelton for
the playoffs.
since they lost to Tattnall, a team
they have beaten three times in
other meets this year, she added that
the Hornet thinclads "had their best
times, best jumps and best throws.
It was a super team effort."
Smith was named the high point
woman in the field, getting 34
points for the Hornets. She took
home first place finishes in the
sion. That's it. Now, we are get
ting ready for spring football.”
Thrift said that if his team shot
closer to a 320, he would have felt
Graffiti improves to 3-0
By JOHN SIMPSON
Special to the HTJ
Graffiti Hair Salon posted one of
the highest run totals in league his
tory, and Pennington 111 Plumbing
dialed in their first win of the early
season, in match-ups Thursday in
girl's junior softball action at
Ochlahatchee Park.
The Graffiti girls plated nine
runs in three of five innings cnroute
to a 36-11 win over First Family
Finance. Backed by a strong defen
sive effort, Pennington 111 charted a
14-6 decision over Family
Footwear.
\
Houston Times-Journal
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I f|" - >v i jHh| 18 |
Jake Walls prepares to throw a pitch against Stratford Wednesday atternoon in a
losing effort.
long jump, 100 meter dash, and
400 meter dash. She was also a
member of the 400 meter and 1600
meter relay teams, which won first
place.
In addition to Smith, the 400
meter relay team, which won first
with a time of 54.93 seconds, is
composed of Stephanie Barr, Jenifer
Lane and Amy Rhodes. For the
better about the match. "I felt we
were going to have to shoot under
320 to finish second. Getting beat
Please see Perry, page 10A
Alicia Powell and Elizabeth
Rosner were recognized for their
play for Pennington 111, while Fam
ily Footwear credited Kalah McCoy
and Hilary Hagwood. Rachel Wryc
and Katie Chapman were singled
out for their play on Graffiti, as
were First Family players Casey
Murman and Michelle Vest.
Graffiti improved its record to 3-
0 on the year, while Pennington 111
improved to 1-2. First Family
dropped to 2-1, as Family Footwear
still searches for its first win after
three attempts.
Please see Graffiti . Dane 10A
Saturday, Apr! 30. 1994 Houston Times -Journal
By VETO F. ROLEY
Staff Writer
The Hornets had a bad day on the
course; but, they accomplished
what they set out to do with a
Thursday match at the Twin Cities
Golf Course in Sandersville.
Although Westfield shot an un
characteristic 322, they finished
only five strokes behind Southland,
which finished in first by five
strokes. Brentwood, which was
playing on its home course, shot a
342.
"None of the teams played near
what they are capable of," said Hor
net head coach Marvin Arrington.
In region matches held before
Thursday's matches, Southland had
shot a 300, Westfield a 307 and
Brentwood a 313.
"The weather was good and the
course was in good shape," said Ar
rington. "But, the scores were not
that good."
Twin Cities is the site of the
Georgia Independent School Asso
ciation AAA state tournament,
which will be played Monday. "The
purpose was to go and play the
state course," said Arrington, whose
1600 meter relay team, Amy Harold
replaced Lane.
Other top finishers included
Julee Fryer, who finished third in
the shot put, Mary Catherine
Walker, who finished first in the
1600 meters, Harold who finished,
second in the 400 meters and Claire
Hart, who finished third in the 300
meter hurdles.
The men’s team finished fourth
in the region, sending seven thin
clads to state qualifying at Tattnall
today.
Lon Talton had the only first
place finish for the men, taking the
honors in the 800 meter dash.
Nathan Greer and Brad Walton
had strong showings for the Hor
nets in the pole vault. Greer was
second with a vault of 10 feet even,
Stephens rests at home
Perry High School athletic direc
tor and head football coach John
Stephens is at home doing well
three weeks after having neck
surgery on April 11.
Stephens had to undergo neck
surgery as a result of injuries suf
fered in an auto accident following
football season.
"I'm doing pretty good," said
Stephens Friday morning. "I’m get
ting a little stir crazy.
"Everything has gone extremely
wcl*," said Stephens, adding that
■4
page 7A
team will play a practice round
Sunday at the course, one day be
fore the state tournament.
"We did what we set out to do,"
said Arrington. "I really think
Monday we will be ready to play."
Ed Strickland was the low scorer
for the Hornets with a round of
75—just one stroke off Brentwood's
Brandon Coffs low score of 74.
Todd Rigdon was the only other
Westfield player to shoot in the
70s, coming into the clubhouse
with a 77.
Scott Hill finished the day with
an 83, while Keith Davis finished
the round with an 87. Larry Thom
son also played, finishing the day
with a 93.
The Hornets will end their 1994
season with the state tournament.
"It (the state championship) is
within reach," said Arrington.
'We're going up Monday and give
it our best shot. It's all on the
line."
while Walton finished third.
Greer also picked up points in
the 400 meter relay, joining Brian
Staines, Jeff Dortch and Matt Shep
ley for a third place finish.
Shepley also picked up points in
two events, taking third in the 100
meter dash. Westin Ekey took
fourth in the discus throw.
"We ran our best times of the
year,” said track coach Larry Ben
nett. "If you are not the fastest, you
are not the fastesL You can only do
as good as you can do.
"I’m pretty well pleased," said
Bennett, who noted he had 19 run
ners at the region match. "We com
peted in every event, which is
something that we didn't do last
year. We pretty much did what we
did all year."
there is no permanent injury from
the accident.
"The only place that I’ve had any
trouble is from where they took the
bone in my hip," said Stephens.
"I've not had any trouble with my
neck, although it is still very ten
der.”
Stephens added that he has re
ceived a lot of support from the
Perry community since his opera
tion. "I am very impressed by the
concern and support shown by peo
ple in the community."