Newspaper Page Text
Sports
Panthers close football season with 7-6 win
By PHIL CLARK
Times-Journal Sports
The four graduating seniors on
Perry’s 1996 football team were
able to end their high school
careers with a Nov. 15 win as the
Panthers erased a 6-0 Lamar
County halftime lead to take a 7-6
win on John Brewer’s short touch
down plunge and Matt Froehlich’s
successful point after touchdown
kick.
The game started out with an
exchange of turnovers, then set
tled into a defensive struggle as
both teams had trouble hanging
onto the football.
Freshman quarterback Raphael
Horton scored from one yard out
to cap a 9-play Lamar County
drive highlighted by a Horton to
Carey Jordan completion for 12
yards and a 26-yard run by
Roderick Fluellyn on a third-and
eight at the Perry 27. The point
after try was hobbled then
blocked, and Lamar led 6-0 with
9:31 left in the first half.
All four of Perry’s seniors
turned in good games in their
finale, with Dawkins Ennis lead
ing a defense that stopped Lamar
for losses on 11 plays.
John Brewer had a 9-yard sack
of quarterback Trey Butler on
Lamar’s second possession of the
game. Brewer is a junior.
With the Trojans leading 6-0,
and just 2:07 left in the half,
Lamar got the ball at their own
40-yard line following a Brewer
punt, and quickly struck for 30
yards on a Horton-to Jerry Castlin
pass play. But then Horton threw
incomplete at the Perry 30, and
Dontarrious Thomas came up
with a big interception off a
Panther Cross Country team is second in Region 3-AA
Rob Zell pleased with dedication
and determination of his team
By MARK FELTY
Times-Journal Staff
Perry High’s Cross Country
team qualified several members
to compete at the Georgia High
School Association State Class
AA competition held in
Marietta.
Edging out Dodge County for
second place by one point at the
Region 3-AA meet in Cochran,
Perry surprised many of their
competitors with a team of young
and talented individuals.
“The dedication of the kids,
and their determination to attend
state was their motivation,” said
Coach Rob Zell.
Freshman Taryn Burch was the
only female to qualify for State.
Seniors Kurt Houser, Richie
Sokinas, and Seth Green. Juniors
Reggie Clark and Brett Dorman.
Sophomore David Talley repre
sented the male portion of the
team at the state meet.
Athletes must complete a 3.2
mile course, and the times are
accumulated into a composite
score. The team with the lowest
Buckle those chinstraps
Playoff season begins in GHSA football, continues in GISA football
By PHIL CLARK
Times-Journal Sports
It’s football playoff time! Twenty
Georgia Independent School Association
members continue the quest for three state
titles this weekend, while the Georgia High
School Association begins the playoffs
under a new format that sends four teams
from each region into the state playoffs,
eliminating region playoffs.
Some 128 teams begin a five week play
off series that crowns four state champions
just four days before Christmas, Dec. 21!
The GISA crowns champions the week
end of Dec. 7-8.
Big games abound in middle Georgia. In
the GISA, region 2-AAA runner-up Mount
de Sales took out the frustration of a loss to
Tattnall with a 62-21 whipping of
Brookwood, and will come into the
Hornets’ Nest Nov. 22 to play 1-AAA cham
pion Westfield. The two teams met at
Henderson Stadium on Aug. 30, the first
game of the season for both schools, with
the Cavaliers winning 39-14.
Westfield’s young line has matured, and
so has first-year starting quarterback Trevor
Jones. Mount de Sales has lots of speed, and
Westfield will try to cut off the outside
lanes. It will be a tough job. The Cavaliers
probably won’t be able to run up the middle
against perhaps the GISA’s best defensive
lineman Ben Nash, so the outside might be
the only option.
Look for a close game. Look for
Westfield to ect a little revenge.
deflection at the Perry four-yard
line.
A clip on the return put the ball
at the Perry two, but the Panthers
were able to pick up a first down
on a Brewer third down carry to
get the ball from the shadow of
the goal line. Donovan Kendricks
picked up seven as the half ended.
Perry got the ball to start the
second half, but had to punt after
a delay of game penalty and a
bobble for a loss of three yards.
The Panthers recovered the
fumble and Brewer punted the
ball away. Lamar also had to punt
after Tyree Jones lost three on a
third-and-eleven at the Lamar 24-
yard line.
The Panthers then got the
offense going for their only scor
ing drive of the night. Brewer got
nine of a first down, then Willie
Chambliss got a first down with a
4-yard pickup.
Brewer and Chambliss alter
nated the next four carries for
another first down, bringing up
first and goal from the 10.
Kendricks got two, then Lamar
was hit by two straight penalties,
a personal foul on a Chambliss
two yard pickup, putting the ball
at the Lamar three, then an off
sides penalty that put it near the
one.
Brewer went over for the score
with 4:25 left in the third and
Froehlich kicked the winning
point after.
Lamar lost a fumble on their
next possession as sophomore
Bryant Hamilton claimed the
loose ball for the Panthers at
the Lamar 41. Though Perry
lost a fumble back to the
Trojans, the defense was able
The dedication of the
kids, and their determi
nation to attend state
was their motivation.'
Coach Rob Zell.
score is awarded a victory.
Zell said Perry’s season was
not a winning one, but he said
that the members showed a con
sistent improvement in their
times.
Scoring
The males who competed at the
Region meet and their times: Brett
Dorman, 18:28; Jeb Stuart, 19:25;
Kurt Houser, 19:39; David Talley,
19:56; Reggie Clark, 20:45,
Daniel Wright, 21:30; Richie
Sokinas, 22:22. Alternates were
Seth Green, Joe McDaniel and
Justin Niederkom.
Females: Taryn Burch, 22:40;
Megan Strandburg, 23:37;
Shannon Lanier, 24:22; Heather
Sokinas, 25:05; Kerry Landry,
30:22; Corcua Fells and Emily
Noel, no limes available.
Hornets host Mount de Sales Nov. 22
Westfield will host Mount de Sales in the
second round of the Georgia Independent
Schools Association state football playoffs
Nov. 22 at the Hornets’ Nest.
The Warner Robins Demons lost to
Northside Nov. 15, but still got the top seed
in GHSA region 2-AAAA and will meet the
number four team from 3-AAAA at home
Friday night. That’s Bradwell Institute, and
the Demons could be a victim of 3AAAA’s
playoff seeding format.
This year, the winner in the B subdivi
sion is seeded first, the A winner is second.
The B side runnerup is third, the A side run
nerup fourth. Records are used only to
determine the two playoff' teams from each
subregion. Consequently the Demons face
9-1 Bradwell rather than 7-3 Brunswick,
who will Be at Central.
The Demons have not played well over
the last half of the season,, and will have
their hands full with Bradwell, losers only
to Benedictine. The Eagles have played well
over the last half of the season and go into
the playoffs with that big win over Warner
Robins, though they are still the number
three seed.
Though Benedictine is 9-1, I like the
Eagles. Central will handle the Brunswick
Pirates at home, but other entry.
Page 6A
- Wednesday, Nov. 20, 1996
£ am ft slim I Vffß;
* <r /jKyKSJrf*-
v. 4% Ml AffiHr ■ ■■%. a jMI ;
N|Sf m. 1 A. 9 jfiS
f A JK w m&L « BPS®:*.---
.... v - &
V • ' ,?<V . ■% ' i
Times-Journal Photo by Eric Zellars
HEADED TO THE END ZONE Donovan Kendricks (24) heads toward a first down
during the Panther football victory over Lamar County Nov. 15.
Perry 7, Lamar County 6
slat Lamar Perry
First Down 13 8
Rushing 43-141 45-128
Passing 60 0
Passes 5-14-1 0-3 2
Fumbles 3-2 31
Penalties 10-55 8-86
Punts 3:22.7 5:24.4
to hold Lamar on two fourth
down conversion attempts to
take the 7-6 win.
Perry finished at 2-8. Lamar at
- . w '^Pj
CROSS COUNTRY RUNNERS Members of the Perry High School Cross Country team
include (back, from left) Daniel Wright, Richie Sokinas, Joe McDaniel, David Talley, Jeb
Stewart, Brett Dorman, (center) Coretta Fells, (front) Megan Strandburg, Emily Noel,
Taryn Burch, Shannon Lanier, Heather Sokinas and Kerry Landry.
Westfield had a bye in the first round
while Mount de Sales defeated Brookwood.
The game begins at 8 p.m. The winner
advances to the semifinals.
Evans, won’t fare so well against Jeff
Caldwell’s Camden Wildcats at St. Mary's.
Peach County will meet upstart
Greenbrier, a first year school in Evans and
the number four team from region 3-AAA.
Peach could be heading for a quarterfinal
meeting with old nemesis Josey, but for now
Greenbrier is the only priority. The Trojans
will advance.
The Crisp County Cougars host region 3-
AAA number three Thomson, a surprise
winner Nov. 15 over number one Josey. The
win didn’t improve the Bulldogs’ playoff
posture, however, so they face their second
top five team in two weeks. This time, the
Bulldogs are turned away. We iike Crisp.
Americus finished the season unbeaten
and atop the l-AA standings and will be at
home as long as they survive, except for the
semifinals at the Georgia Dome. This
week’s opponent is Greene-Taliaferro, a
once formidable playoff foe, but a team that
has been down for a few years, since
Charlie Winslette left.
The Tigers won't bring enough firepow
er to Americus. The Panthers continue their
Scoring
Lamar County Raphael Horton 1 run.
Kick blocked, second quarter.
Perry John Brewer 1 run, Matt
Froehlich run, third quarter.
Rushing Lamar: Roderick Fluellyn 4-
73, Roreico O'Neal 16-37, Corey
Jordan 2-15, Raphael Horton 10-15;
Perry: Willie Chambliss 10-46, John
1-9. Perry loses the four seniors,
and there are just seven juniors on
the team.
The remainder of the squad is
Houston rimes-Journal
Brewer 16-44, Eddie Gary 5-28,
Donovan Kendricks 12-11, Danta
Holmes 1-5.
Passing Lamar: Horton 5-12-1-60,
Trey Butler 0-2-0-0; Perry: Brewer 0-3-2-
0.
Receiving Lamar: Jason Castlin 1-30,
Corey Jordan 2-15, Tireico O'Neal 2-
15; Perry: none
made up of sophomores and fresh
men. Freshmen have accounted
for four fumble recoveries in the
Panthers last two games.
Timei-Joumal Photo by Mark Felty
quest for a state title.
A class A matchup that will bear watch
ing is the Turner County at Lincoln County
game. Turner lost to Macon County Nov.
15, and combined with Seminole County’s
win, dropped to the number four position in
1-A. Lincoln, as usual, is the top seed in 4A.
Turner County has a good football team,
and Lincoln can expect to see the ball in the
air. The Rebels passed for 259 yards against
Macon County, but the Bulldogs complete
ly shut down their running game to win the
game. Should Turner get just a little bit of a
ground attack, they could surprise Lincoln.
I think they will.
Valdosta blasted Lowndes County to take
the region 1-AAAA title, though the
Wildcats had to win it via the winning per
centage tiebreaker over Lowndes and
Colquitt County. Valdosta should have little
trouble with Griffin and Lowndes should
handle Shaw.
Colquitt County has a tougher assign
ment, though. They travel to LaGrange to
play 4-AAAA number two Troup County.
Should Colquitt win, there could be a quar
terfinal matchup with Valdosta. Colquitt is
the only team to beat the Wildcats this year.
A rematch would be interesting.
Back in the GISA, Southland should han
dle Windsor in Americus, Tattnall looks like
a good bet against FPD and surprising
George Waiton could give John Milledge a
good game, though Milledge will win.
(See PICKS, Page 7A)
Phil
Clark
Times-Journal
Sports
A couple of
nice guys
make the news
Two of the really nice guys in
high school football made the
news last week. One had already
retired, the other announced his
retirement. And both were head
coach at just one school!
First, Jimmy Maffett, the first
coach in Macon County High
School football history, was hon
ored Nov. 15 before the Bulldogs’
season finale against Turner
County with a reception in the
school gym.
During the game, the field
house on campus was named the
“Jimmy Maffett Field House” in
honor of the 23-year veteran
coach who started the football
program at Macon County and
was the head coach until his
retirement a dozen years ago.
Many of Maffett’s former play
ers were in attendance for the
occasion, and the reception was
spearheaded by former players
Jerry Jones and Johnny Edwards
and their wives. Jones had been a
quarterback for Maffett, while
Edwards was an all-state punter.
The field house, which is
appropriately called the ‘Dog
House’, houses a well-equipped
weight room which is the key to
the Bulldogs’ strength and condi
tioning superiority.
It is situated on the west end of
the campus, and the new lettering
faces the school campus, a daily
reminder to students, coaches and
faculty of the tremendous influ
ence Maffett had over the football
program. Maffett’s teams won
138 games during his t enure.
The other announcement came
out of Dalton, where longtime
Catamounts coach Bill Chappell
announced that he will retire fol
lowing this season.
Chappell has been at the school
for 42 years, 33 as head coach, a
career during which he has won
315 games. Chappell can move
ahead of the late Wayman Creel
into second place with a first
round win this week against
Tucker, the number four team
from region 6-AAA. But Dalton
has historically let down in their
first playoff game, so the
Catamounts will be mindful of
that fact as they take the field
Friday night in Dalton. The
Catamounts are the top seed from
7-AAA.
Word has it now that Chappell
had made his decision to retire
before the start of the season, but
withheld the announcement to
avoid distractions during the sea
son. It did seem a little strange,
then, that the players were told
last Monday, before their game
Nov. 15 with Murray County with
the region top seed on the line.
Dalton beat Murray, and won a
three-way tiebreaker for the
top;seed to set the stage for
Friday’s game with Tucker.
Chappell’s record at Dalton is
315-73-9, a winning percentage
of .800, placing him second to the
late Nick Hyder of Valdosta (who
also coached at West Rome), on
the list of coaches who have won
300 or more games. Hyder’s win
ning percentage of .858 is first on
the list, but Larry Campbell of
Lincoln County, who has 290
wins and just 39 losses, will take
over the lead in the elite category
next year, with a typical Lincoln
County season.
Chappell and Maffett both
downplay the importance of the
coach, instead focusing the atten
tion and praise on the players
themselves.
Both adhered to that philoso
phy throughout their respective
careers. And both coaches share
the observation that they chose
the right profession, and both feel
that they spent their career in the
best possible place, Chappell in
Dalton, Maffett at Macon County.
While we applaud these two
veterans, let’s also mention a first
year head coach. Terry Holder,
longtime head baseball coach at
Evans in Augusta, got the athletic
director and head football jobs at
Greenbrier, a new school in
Evans.
Holder guided the new school
to the playoffs, finishing fourth In
(See CLARK, Page 7A)
IjBBBBr ■