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Panther Cheerleaders take first in tournament
By CHAD LEWIS
Times-Journal Staff
The Perry Panther cheerleading squad
squared off against four other high schools at
the Americus Panther Cheerleader Invitational
and they came out on top.
First-year sponsor Christy Williamson said
that she is proud of the job they did at the com
petition held in Americus on Feb. 1.
“They’ve worked so hard for this,” she said
in a recent interview. “They deserve the cred
Squaws overtake Perry
in fourth quarter, win
By PHIL CLARK
Times-Journal Sports
For three quarters, the Perry
Lady Panthers and Dodge County
Squaws battled on even terms,
with the lead changing hands sev
eral times.
But in the fourth quarter,
Dodge forged ahead, then hit 15
of 20 free throws down the stretch
to hold off the Perry girls 57-46
for their 19th straight win in their
undefeated season.
Dodge County owned a 10-6
lead after one quarter, but Perry
used a balanced scoring effort to
take a halftime lead 23-21. Teresa
Scott had five in the quarter,
Monique Kendrick and April
Fendley four each, and Brandi
Dodge pounds Panthers 82-59
By PHIL CLARK
Times-Journal Sports
The Dodge County boys will
host the 3-AA sub-region tourna
ment if they win the regular sea
son championship and they took
another step in that direction Jan
28 with an 82-59 win over the
Perry Panthers at Eric P. Staples
gym.
Earlier in the season, Perry had
forced Dodge County into overtime
before the Indians pulled out a win.
Rodney Kirtz and Malcolm
Brown got the Indians off to a first
quarter lead despite seven first
quarter points by Perry’s Daniel
Harvey. Kirtz scored six in the
quarter, Brown five.
It was the second quarter that
turned out to be Perry’s downfall
as Dodge put up 23 points while
holding the Panthers to just 14
and took a commanding 41-25
halftime lead.
Although Perry came out
strong in the third and outscored
Panthers dip West Laurens twice
By PHIL CLARK
Times-Journal Sports
The Perry basketball teams
picked up important region 3-AA
South victories Jan 28 in Dublin
as they swept West Laurens, win
ning the girls game 60-45, then
defeating the Raiders 56-54 in
overtime to win the boys game.
It was the Perry girls’ 15th win
of the season. Monique Kendrick
and Teresa Scott led Perry to a 40-
24 halftime lead as the Lady
Panthers coasted to their fifth sub
region win of the year and
remained second in the standings
behind Dodge County.
Kendrick finished with 17
points, Scott had 13 as eight Lady
Panthers added to the offense.
West Laurens, dropping to 1-4
in the sub-region, got 21 points
from Ebony Long and 11 from
Lakiya Thomas. Brandi Thomas
had nine for Perry.
Fullington downs Hornets in OT
By PHIL CLARK
Times-Journal Sports
Yogi Berra said it, and before
the Westfield-Fullington game
was over Feb 1 in Pinehurst,
everybody was beginning to
believe it.
Yogi once said, “It ain’t over
till it’s over.”
With Fullington taking a seem
ingly safe lead by outscoring
Westfield 42-23 over the middle
two quarters, Fullington fans were
beginning to relax, and Westfield
fans about ready to pack it in
when suddenly the Hornets
caught fire and made up a 22-
point fourth quarter deficit to pull
even and force overtime.
Fullington carried a 58-40 lead
into the fourth quarter, and when
they scored the first two baskets
of the fourth quarter to go up by
22, it appeared to be over for
Westfield. But Andy Conrad and
Joey Brumbelow led a 36-point
it for this championship.”
The award-winning 2:16 performance, lead
by team captain Molly Tripp, beat out
Thomasville, Dodge County, Mitchell-Baker,
and Albany. The girls have been practicing this
particular routine since the end of the football
season in early December.
Up next for the Panthers is the Region 3-AA
championship on Feb. 8 at East Laurens High
School with competition starting at 4 p.m.
The top two squads will represent their
Thomas and Shanequia Howard
had a basket each.
After three, Dodge still owned
a two point advantage as both
teams scored 11 points, with the
Squaws leading 34-32.
Dodge outscored Perry just 10-
9 from the field in the fourth quar
ter, but the parade of free throws
enabled the visiters from Eastman
to remain unbeaten.
Kendrick had 11 to lead Perry,
Howard tossed in 10, including
seven of Perry’s 12 points in the
fourth quarter. Fendley had 9.
Keisha Branch scored 17 for
Dodge and Susan Peacock with
13, Lako Brown with 11 and
Shona Johnson with 10 were all in
double figures for Dodge.
Dodge 22-16, the Indians put the
game away with a 25-point fourth
quarter that saw eight different
players score for Willis Jones’
team.
The loss was Perry’s fourth in
sub-region play. Dodge got dou
ble figure scoring from five play
ers, including 10 by freshman
Jeffrey Thomas off the bench.
Perry placed four players in
double digits. For Perry, Daniel
Harvey scored 13, but just six
after the first quarter. Reggie
Clark and Donte Holmes had 11
each, Dannorris Harvey 10.
Dodge was led by Kirtz who
scored 16 and in the balanced
attack Brown and Heath Burch
had 14 each, Tony Bivins 15 and
Thomas 10.
Perry will finished the regular
season with a home game Feb 7
against Northside and a game at
Peach County Feb 8. The subre
gion tournament will be played
Feb 11, 14 and 15.
The boys’ game was a low
scoring defensive struggle that
went into overtime before the
Panthers could emerge with the
win. *
Trailing 12-8 at the first rest
stop, Perry had cut the Raiders’
lead to 23-21 by halftime, but saw
the Raiders regain the four point
advantage by the end of three
despite eight points and a pair of
three-pointers by Reggie Clark.
Donte Holmes took charge in
the fourth, scoring seven of his 12
points to pull the Panthers into a
52-52 tie at the end of regulation.
Holmes and Dannorris Harvey
scored baskets in the overtime to
pull out the 56-54 win.
Clark had 16 points for Perry,
Holmes 12, Harvey and Johnny
Watkins eight each. Jay Edwards
had 15 for the Raiders and Travis
Smith added 12.
Westfield assault in the fourth
quarter that caught the Trojans
with just three seconds left in the
game as Ben Hulbert hit a three
pointer to force overtime with the
teams tied at 76-76.
Fullington outscored the
Hornets 14-12 in the overtime to
hang on for a 90-88 win.
Brumbelow had 11 of his 16
points in the fourth quarter, while
Conrad posted half of his team
high 20 in the period. It was
Conrad’s steal of an inbounds
pass with 37 seconds left that
pulled the Hornets even at 73-73,
setting the stage for Hulbcrt’s last
second heroics.
Brian Hartley finished with 19
points including a slam dunk with
1:15 left that brought Westfield to
within eight at 71-63. Brumbelow
then hit a trey and Conrad fol
lowed with a three point play as
(See WIN, Page 7A)
Page 6A
Wed. Feb. 5, 1997
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Timof-Joumol Photo by Eric Zellari
FIGHTING FOR POINTS Felicia Scott battles for two
points in action against Dodge County last week.
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PANTHER WRESTLERS PREPARE FOR STATE
Six matmen qualified for competition
Six Panthers headed to GHSA
AA wresding tournament
Passinault to wrap up career at Perry
By CHAD LEWIS
Times-Journal Staff
Six members of the Perry High
Wrestling Team won a invitation
to compete for the state champi
onship on Feb. 1.
The Area Championship, which
was held at West Laurens, was a
success for the Panthers, especial
ly for senior captain Travis
Passinault, who walked away with
first place in area.
“It felt good to win first,”
Passinault said with a smile. “You
can get fourth and still qualify, but
it means more to you if you win
first place.”
Three other wrestlers from
Perry—Brian Ramey, Eric
Gaston, and Jonathan Jones
qualified by finishing second.
Nathan Garren came in at third
place and Ben Katshor finished
fourth
Wiili a fifth place finish, Matt
Ruuo vas named a- m alternate
for state.
The State Championship will
be held on Feb. 7 and 8 at Gilmer
High School at Elijay in extreme
north Georgia.
Regardless of the outcome, this
region at State. Last year, the Panthers fell one
point shy of making it to state competition,
something that Williamson knows is on their
mind.
“They came so close last year,” she said, “so
they really want it this season.”
The two teams Williamson fears the most is
Bleckley County and West Laurens.
“There is going to be some tough competition,
but they’ll try their hardest,” said Williamson.
“These girls always give it their best.”
Passinault who is a
senior, will be graduat
ing this June, leaving
behind an impressive
resume that includes
three tournament cham
pionships in the last six
weeks. And if he can
win a few more matches
on Feb. 8, it could also
include a state champi
onship.
will be the final match for one of
the best wrestlers to ever wear a
Panther uniform.
Passinault, who is a senior, will
be graduating this June, leaving
behind an impressive resume that
includes three tournament cham
pionships in the last six weeks.
And if he can win a few more
matches on Feb. 8, it could also
include a state championship.
“I’m looking forward to it,”
said Passinault. “I’ve been wait
ing for this day for years now.”
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Special Photo
WINNERS Pictured, left to right, are Danny Shelton,
Tony Ellerbee, Floyd Gregory ana Ted Pender.
Dugout Club raises funds
for PHS baseball program
Special to the Times-Journal
The Perry High School
Baseball Boosters, known as the
“Dugout Club,” held a fund-rais
er gold tournament Jan. 19 at
Perry Country Club. The four
man scramble event was a big
success as 16 teams participated.
Funds raised by the tournament
will be used to purchase jackets
for the varsity baseball players at
PHS.
The winning low gross team
members were Floyd Gregory,
Danny Shelton, Ted Pender, and
" I |r
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Special Photo
GOING TO VEGASI These Perryans participated in
the 1997 Las Vegas Open Horseshoe Tournament. They
are Tom Carter, Jan Collier, Betty Collins, Jerry Hudson,
Howard Kuehn and Buddy Ayer.
Kuehn finishes sixth in horseshoe tourney
Special to the Times-Journal
The 1997 Las Vegas Open
Horseshoe Tournament was held
at San Remo Casino recently with
several Perryans in attendance.
Three out of six placed in the
money in their class. They were:
Buddy Ayer-3rd place, Howard
Kuehn-6th place, Tom Carter-6th
Hornets take region win
from Stratford Eagles
By PHIL CLARK
Times-Journal Sports
The Westfield Lady Hornets
won a nip-and-tuck battle with the
Lady Eagles of Stratford Jan 28 at
the Hornets’ Nest, cashing in on
three of four free throws in the
final 15 seconds to come away
with a 48-44 win.
Mary Katherine Walker scored
all of her 12 points in the first half
as Westfield took a 3-point half
time lead, 23-20.
Katie Jones promptly tied the
score opening up the second half
with the first of her two three
pointers. Stephanie Barr and
Jennifer Stewart scored baskets to
give Westfield a four point lead,
but Laura Posey had to leave with
four fouls just 1:25 into the third
period, and Stratford quickly tied
the score on a four-point trip
down the floor.
Baskets by Claire Hart and
Lina Arnold gave Westfield a 31-
29 advantage after three quarters.
With 5:35 left in the game and
Stratford leading by two, Stewart
made a steal in the backcourt and
fed Barr who converted a three
point play to reclaim the lead.
Although Stratford tied the
„ score twice more, they never
regained the lead. The Lady
Hornets’ Barr and Hart converted
three shots from the foul line after
a Jones three-pointer brought
Stratford to within a point at 45-
44 with :18 left in the game.
Barr scored 11 of her team high
15 points in the pivotal fourth
quarter, while Walker added 12
and Hart 10, including the crucial
free throw's in the fourth.
Tarva Smith had a game high
20 for Stratford. Jones added 9,
including two three-pointers in
Tony Ellerbee. The winning low
net team members were Jon
Caseon, James Peterson, Tom
Kenerly, and Sarah Hawkins.
Sponsors of the tournament
included hole sponsors Chick-Fil-
A, CB&T Bank, R&F Video,
Pender Pools, Bridges Termite and
Pest Control, Sportwise, Ralph
Gentry, Perry Pawn, Wellston
Decorating, June and Chet Lowe,
Daisey Patch, Longhorn Butcher
Shop, Elwood Waites Insurance,
R&R Systems, and David’s Pro
Shop.
place.
Also placing in their class were
Jan Collier, Betty Collins and
Jerry Hudson.
On March 8, Perry Horseshoe
Club will host a Winter Warm Up
Tournament in the South Arena at
the Georgia National Fairgrounds
and Agricenter.
the last half.
The Hornets also picked up an
important region 1 -AAA win with
a 79-71 win over the Eagles, eras
ing a 58-54 Stratford lead with a
2-point fourth quarter.
After a 40-40 halftime tie,
Stratford went on a 14-7 run in the
third, including three three-point
ers by Luka Milano vie, who had
six on the night.
The Hornets used the three
pointer themselves in the fourth,
with the 25 points coming on just
one two-point basket, along with 4
treys and 11 of 12 from the foul line.
Ben Hulbert scored 10 of his
game high 23 points in the fourth
while Joey Brumbelow and Brian
Hartley each had a three pointer
and two of two from the foul line.
Hartley finished with 14 for the
Hornets, Chip Davis had a dozen
and Trey Wilder 10.
Hornets down Fullington
By PHIL CLARK
Times-Journal Sports
The Westfield Lady Hornets
erupted for 21 points in the third
quarter and took an easy, non
region win over Fullington Feb 1
in Pinehurst as four Lady Hornets
scored in double figures in the 59-
30 win. Mary Katherine Walker
had the radar tuned in as she hit
two three-pointers in the first quar
ter and finished the game with 10.
Stephanie Barr and Laura
Posey put on a show in the third,
combining for 19 Westfield points
as the Lady Hornets took a 50-22
lead after three quarters. Posey
finished with 14 to lead Westfield,
while Barr had 13 and Jennifer
Stewart added lO.The win evened
Westfield’s record at 8-8 for the
season.