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Panthers beat Dodge, win 3-AA title
Perrys 78-50 win breaks up Dodge win streak in region title games
!»\ ( HAD I.EWIS
limio Jdi xsu Sum
loRSYTH Exactly one
week alter healing Dodge Counts
in Eastman to claim the CillSA
Subregion 3-AA South
Championship, the Perry High
boy \ team had to lace the Indians
again lor another championship
And once again, the Panthers
came thiough ssith a strong sec
ond hall to ssin the Region 3-AA
Championship ssith a 7X-50
pounding ot Dodge Counts Feb
21 here at Mars Persons High
School
"II sse play as ssell as we did
tonight, then sse should be able to
go pretty far in the state tourna
ment," said Perry head coach Carl
Thomas I’m real proud ol ms
guy ’s ellort tonight. I II take that
kind ol effort every mghl
The Panthers used a long
range shooting attack to do much
ol their damage against the
Indians Reggie Clark. Ricardo
lack son and Donte Holmes hit six
three pointers in the lust hall to
account lor nearly hall ol Perry's
to first-halt points
W lien Clark nailed a three
pointer Irom the right ssmg ssith
4S second lett before halftime, it
ss as his fourth in a ross
My body started trembling
when that lasi one went in." said
( lark alter the game "It ssas
unreal!”
Dodge Counts coach Willie
Jones, ssho has seen his team ssin
the region title for the past three
sonsecutive years, admitted alter
the game that the hot-shooting
guards made beating the Panthers
a nearly impossible task
It's tough sshen they start
shooting as ssell as Perry did
tonight." he said "When (Clark >
kept hitting those three-pointers.
: B ;m |
Timet-Journo) Photo by Eric Zetlan
UP AND OUT Lacrista King (31) looks for the basket against
Mary Persons during the GHSA Region 3-AA tournament last week.
Bulldogs eliminate Perry, 52-36
B\ CHAD LEWIS
I ISII.S-JjMjUXAI, SrtWTN
FORSYTH Alter entering
the Georgia High Sehool
Association Region 3-AA
Championship tournament as the
number-two seed, the Ferry Lady
Panthers were looking to keep a
streak alive.
For the past three years. Perry
has finished second in the region
tournament and gone on to com
pete in the state championship
tournament. But alter tailing 52-
36 to the Mary Persons Lady
Bulldogs on Feb 20. that streak
has come to an end
It would have been nice to be
able to play in the state tourna
ment again." Perry head coach
Max Vickers said alter the game,
but we laced a really good team
tonight "
To no one s surprise. I.ady
Bulldog center Latoya Davis was
it forced us to come out and guard
him and that made it easy for
them to get the ball dossil loss to
(Dannorris) Harvey
The Panther guards ssere able
to feed the ball to Harvey the ball
easily during the second halt The
b-toof-2 center ssound up posting
a game-high 22 points on the
night
After leading by only 9 points
at halftime. Perry broke out of the
gates running in the third quarter,
oulscoring Dodge Counts 21-6
With 44 seconds left to play in the
quarter. Harvey took a pass from
guard Johnny Watkins and scored
dossn loss to make the score 60-
'6. sending many of the Indian
fans home early
With iust 2 minutes left to play
and the game in little doubt, both
coaches pul m their reserve play -
ers. but even that didn l help
Dodge County Sophomore tor
ssard Kris Asbury hit set another
three-pointer from the left ssing to
stretch Perry's lead to a game
high 20 points, making the score
74-4 k
Perry didn’t have an easy of a
time m the opening round ol the
region playoffs against Pike
Counts, but still managed to elim
inate the Pirates ssith a 70-66 sic
tors at Mary Persons High School
on Teh 20
Johnny Watkins and Donte
Holmes scored 17 points each as
the Panthers beat a Pike County
team that managed to ssin only 2
games during the regular season
After eliminating Mars Persons
earlier in the play oils, the Pirates
improved their record to 4-20
coming into the game against
Perry
"With the ssas played against
them. I'm glad sse didn't knoss
what their record ssas. because
the difference in the game The
sophomore posted 29 points on
the scoreboard, the most scored
by any player during the entire
Region 3-AA tournament
Mary Persons came out of the
gates running when they scored
the tirst 7 points ol the game
Their defense held Perry score
less lor the first 6:15 of the game
before forward Felicia Scott
nailed a jump shot from the right
corner to put points on the
Panther's hall ot the scoreboard.
Then it was the Panther's turn
as they scored the next 5 unan
swered points to tie the score at 7
to end the opening quarter.
Scott, who lead the Panthers in
scoring w ith 10 points, once again
tied the score hall way through
the second quarter when she
scored Irom down low. making
(Sec BILLIMM.S, Page 7A>
Page 6A
Wed . Feb. IS, 199 H
jggg ,'ljß Mb
kill ~ ’ **,p * |
THE REGION CHAMPS Members of the 1997-
98 Perry Panthers flash signs of victory after taking
the GHSA Region 3-AA basketball tournament at
that would have made us that
much more confident. Thomas
'.nd with a chuckle
Holmes hit a jump 'hot with 3K
second remaining in the first hall
to push the Panther lead to 10
But guard Lamar Milner shrunk
the lead to 7 when he sank a
three-pointer at the bu//er
Perry managed to score 35
points during the third quarter, but
Pike C ounty remained only II
points off the lead With 5-tw left
to play Watkins gave the Panthers
a little breathing room mid-way
through the fourth quarter when
he rebounded a missed foul shot
Clark’s three-pointers lead to championship
Bv C HAD LEWIS
I I'll '-Jill MS O .StoIMTS
F< )RSYTH In all ot the years Reggie Clark lias
played the game ot basketball, lie had never hit loui
three pointers in a game before
But he couldn t have picked a better night to do it
than he did when he nailed tour straight to help Perry
beat Dodge County 7K SO Feb 21 to win the GHSA
Region 3-AA Championship
"When that fourth one went in. my whole body
started to tremble." said a smiling Clark as he
hugged the GHSA Region 3-AA Championship tro
phy with both arms "Lve got to tell ya tins is
unbelievable'"
This season has been a good one lor the 17 year
old. As the only starting senior lor the Panthers.
Clark has emerged as somewhat of a team leader
during his final year of high school competition And
lie's done so by making the big shots when he has
been asked to. like in the region championship game
"He's made a lot of big shots over the years, said
Perry head coach Carl Thomas the day alter winning
his second region trophy, "but that one he hit (Feb
21 1 was definitely the biggest
Although the Panthers won the game easily,
coasting to a 2h-pomt victory. Perry only lead by 9
Rally falls short,
Lady Hornets lose
Bs Jj JOHNSON
TisikvJoi HSU Kill TOM
MACON The state touma
ment opening round game
between Westfield and Southland
featured everything turnovers,
steals, layups, a significant
I.oooth point, even a major last
minute comeback.
But for the Lady Hornets, it
didn't include a win Southland
held on to down Westfield 45-43.
For Senior Stephanie Barr, the
game held special importance
Two and a half minutes into the
third quarter. Barr hit a baseline
shot to cut the gap to 23-IK.
Southland Not only that, she
scored her I.oooth point lor the
Hornets.
Her efforts fell short, however.
Westfield spent most of the night
looking up up at the Lady
Raiders, who kept pulling away
on the scoreboard
Down 34-24 at 6:34 in the
linal period, the Hornets put
together a hriet run which cut the
gap to 34-30 by the 4:06 mark
A three-pointer by Jcnnifet
Wilson, and a baseline shot by
Wilson a lew seconds later, put
Southland comfortably ahead 39-
30, with 2:47 left
The Hornets still weren't
(Sec RALLY, Page 7AI
Houston Times-Journal
Tun*, Journal H»o*o by Eric Zaflor,
Mary Persons Feb. 20. The Panthers defeated
Dodge County for the third time this season to earn
a birth in the GHSA state tournament this week.
by Donlarrius Thomas and put it
in the basket, making the score
64-53
I didn't really like the way
looked against Pike County,
admitted Thomas, who last won
the Region 3-AA championship
four years ago 'But the main thing
is that we were able to come oui the
next night and play oui best against
a good Dodge County team
Perry is now 27-1 this season
while going 54) in the playoffs In the
opening round of the stale playoffs,
ihev will I.kc Southeast Bulloch on
Feb 26 at the Macon Coliseum The
game will start at 7 p m
going into the hall
It it wasn't lor Reggie coming through with
those big shots in the first half, we probably would
n't have enjoyed a lead a halftime Thomas
explained Reggie really kept us in there
But while Clark maybe enjoying the success of
this season along with his teammates, times haven't
always been so sweet tor the senior point guard
He entered Perry High in the tall ol 1994. just a
lew months after the Panthers had last won the
Region 3-AA championship Since then. Dodge
County has won three consecutive region titles while
Clark and his Panther teammates could only watch
and wait patiently lor their day income wonder
ing if it would ever be their turn to experience a
championship
"For a while there. I was wondering if we were
ever going to be able to beat Dodge County." admit
ted Clark alter the Panthers beat the Indians for the
third time this season “Until this year. I had never
been on the winning side ot a Perry-Dodge County
game, but beating them again in the playoffs was
really sweet
Thanks u> their region championship. Perry enters
(Set* STATE. Page 7A)
— wr hk
T*M« Jowmol fSoto by Jj Jobmon
CLOSE Laura Posey (5) shoots for two points in Georgia
Independent Schools Association Class AAA state tournament action
Feb. 18.
PERRY (7H> Ricardo
Jackson 6. Reggie Clark 16.
Johnny Watkins 4. Dontarrius
Thomas 7. Donte Holmes 12.
Dannorris Harvey 22. Jerome
Nottingham 2. Cornelius King 2,
Ashurv 3.
DODGE CO (50) Jason
Marshall 3. Kary Flint 3. Yardcl
Brown 11. Davis Smith 3. Cednc
Northcutt 7. Jeffrey Thomas 13.
Jonathan Johnson 2 Darren Gary K
HALFTIME Perry .39.
Dodge Co 3() Three-pointers
Perry 7 (Clark 4. Holmes.
Jackson. Asbury i. Dodge Co 3
(Brown. Northcutt. Thomas).
i
Chad
Lewis
Time* lour net
Sports
No fun in
fund raising
A lot of svritcrs. me includ
ed. have mentioned (hat some
limes the amount of money
spent on high school athletics is
mind blowing
For example, the going rate
for an athletic director of a
AAAA-levcl school is steadily
approaching the S7O.OCK) range,
which causes many to say Ux>
much money is being spent on
athletics.
I agree, to a certain extent,
that much of the money could
be better used for new class
rooms and better libraries But I
also realize that most of the
money used to provide equip
ment. uniforms and road trips
is raised by the coaches, play
ers, parents, and supporters
themselves through various
forms of fund raising
Take this past weekend for
example, last Friday. Perry
Middle School coaches Danny
Shelton. Leslie Belcher and
John Warlick were out at Perry
High getting ready to cook 650
doomed chickens to help raise
funds for their spring sports
programs
At 5 15 the next morning,
while most of us were at home
in our nice, warm beds, these
dedicated men and women
were firing up the smoke pit to
get everything ready in time
At the Perry Middle School
campus, dozens of volunteers,
including coaches, coaches
wives, parents, students, and
supporters spent a beautiful
Saturday inside a hot kitchen
preparing lunch for over 600
hungry families
Across town at Perry High
School, the Panther baseball
team played KM) innings to
raise funds for their season
The group played non-stop
from 9 a m until 6 p.m in blis
tering cold weather
Now I'm sure that they all
enjoyed being with one anoth
er. but if they had all the money
that people believe they do. I
assure you they could have
imagined better things to do
with their time It it wasn't tor
the effort of these hard working
volunteers, there is a good
chance that some of the athletic
programs would simply have to
be cut.
It that doesn't make you
appreciate the work they do.
just remember the fact that they
didn't use your tax dollars
•••
My apologies to Woody
Greene and his family In last
week's article about Perry s
newest wrestling state champi
on. I mentioned that this was
the second time in PHS history
But. as Perry High tennis coach
Luke Smith pointed out to me.
Greene also won a state cham
pionship for the Panthers
I apologize for the error.
Woody Just remember thai
your feat hasn’t been forgotten
By the way. I appreciate read
ers like Luke Smith who help
out on these type of stories I
don't mind it heck, it means
somebody actually lakes time
to ready my column'
•••
I received a press release
from the good people at
Georgia Public Television last
week saying that they will be
televising the Georgia High
School Association State
Championship Basketball
Tournament this week and
next.
Unfortunately, they will
only be covering the AAA and
AAA A games in their entirety.
They do plan on having con
stant updates of the A and AA
games, which means good
news for fans of the Perry High
boys teams.
But truthfully, you really
need to do yourself a favor by
going out to see these boys play
in person. It's rare to see a
grinip of players this good on
one team, so take a little time
this weekend to support these
young men as they represent
our city in the state champi
onship tournament They can
use a couple of hundred
screaming fans in the Macon
Coliseum