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One play the difference: Jackson 7, Perry 0
Bv Jj JOHNSON
JACKSON One sideline
observer told those nearby during
an early fourth quarter time out
that one play would decide the
fate of the Perry-Jackson football
game here Oct. 2.
Another observer in the group
predicted the home team would
score during their next posses
sion.
Both predictions came true.
Perry had gained possession of
the football with less than seven
minutes to go in the game. The
Panthers failed to move the ball in
three tries and sophomore Phillip
Gentry punted from the Panther
17.
Starting from the Red Devil
46-yard line, Jackson picked up
four yards to midfield on a run by
Jermaine Hicks. A delay penalty
sent the ball back to the Perry 45.
but quarterback Tavarus Morgan
made up for that and more with a
9-yard scramble to the Panther 44.
Running back John Grier was
trapped behind the line of scrim
mage for a 5-yard loss.
Then the predictions held true.
Jackson end Roderick Shannon
slipped past the Perry secondary
along the left side of the line.
Morgan set sail with a pass which
Shannon caught near the Panther
4()-yard line. He raced ahead of
the Perry defense to the end /.one
to score the only touchdown of
the Georgia High School Region
3-AA game.
With 2:37 let in the game. Red
Devil Brady Johnson sent the bali
through the uprights and Jackson
had the 7-0 win.
After the game. Panther Coach
George Collins told his players
not to be discouraged about the
loss. “You piayed well, you never
quit. I am proud of that,” he told
the players as they knelt together
on the field.
Later, Collins continued his
praise of the now 3-2 squad. “I’d
go to war with these guys. I’d
play anyone with them. I think
they can win,” Collins said.
The loss was costly. Both
teams came into the game with
one region loss. The second loss
makes one of four playoff spots in
the large region more difficult to
attain.
Both also face some tough
challenges ahead after off weeks
Oct. 9. Jackson still must face
Manchester, Mary Person and
Macon County while Perry will
play Mary Persons Oct. 16 and
Grudge match football
Westfield pounds FPD in rematch of 1997 GISA region championship game
By PHIL CLARK
Times-Jouaw/u. Sroyrs
Ever since First Presbyterian
knocked Westfield oui of last
year's region I-AAA champi
onship. the Homeis have been
looking forward to the rematch,
and a measure of revenge
They got both Oct 3 at the
Hornet’s Nest as Catet Pierce
brought his Vikings to town to
play Ronnie Jones’ Hornets in a
game featuring Westfield’s speed
against the Vikings’ size.
Speed won! In a game high
lighted by big plays, Westfield got
more than the Vikings in pound
ing out a convincing 28-13 win.
Every touchdown in the game
featured at least one big play. First
of all, a big defensive play early
in the game gave the Hornets the
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DOWN AGAIN First Poubyterian runners
found themselves on the ground frequently against
Macon County late in the season.
The game between Jackson
and Perry was perhaps the most
intense game the two squads have
fought in recent years.
Statistically, the game was fairly
even, with Jackson holding a
slight advantage in total offense.
Early, Perry appeared headed
to the end zone. On the fourth
play of the game, Donovan
Kendrick picked up 15 j?ards to
give the Panthers a first down at
the Jackson 44-yard line. He
gained six yards on the next play,
and Rashad Winn tacked on 12
yards for a first down at the Red
Devil 26.
But that was all. The Red Devil
defense stiffened and Perry even
tually had to punt from the 35-
yard line.
The same type of events
marked almost every' possession
of the first half as first one then
the other team would get a drive
started only to run into defensive
efforts and offensive mistakes
which cost field position and pos
session.
Late in the second quarter,
Jackson appeared headed to a
score with the ball at the Panther
24 on second down, but
Dontarrious Thomas put an end to
that with a pass interception at the
Panther 12.
Much of the second half was
spent in Panther territory as Perry
was unable to establish good field
position. The first Jackson posses
sion stalled at the Panther 36.
Perry started at the 15 and made
but six yards.
Jackson moved to the Perry 44
but stalled and Perry took over on
the Panther 16. A 21-yard run by
Kendrick got the Panthers out of
the red zone, but then the drive
stalled at the Perry 43.
A strong 40-yard punt from
Gentry set Jackson back at the
Red Devil 17 just before the final
quarter began.
After Jackson failed to move
the ball. Perry got the best posi
tion of the second half, starting
from the Panther 45.
Winn picked up seven yards,
and then Kendrick added four,
more to give Perry a first down at
the Red Devil 44
Two plays later, Perry fumbled
the ball back to the Red Devils at
the Jackson 40-yard line.
Jackson moved the ball enough
for a first down, but no more to
set up the Perry series which led
to the only touchdown of the
night.
ball in First Presbyterian territory
after the Vikings had won the toss
and look the ball.
Linebacker Jared Shell inter
cepted a Chris Hardison pass, set
ting up the Westfield offense at
the Vikings' 44-yard line. It took
just two plays for the Hornets to
take advantage. After Shell
picked up 15 on first down, Jacob
Walker scored the first of his three
touchdowns with a 29-yard scam
per around the Vikings' defense.
Nathan Skinner’s point after
touchdown kick gave Westfield a
quick 7-0 lead, just 2.24 into the
game.
Westfield was content to pound
away at the huge FPD defensive
line, rushing the ball 43 times,
while putting it in the air just five
times. The strategy paid off for
Westfield. Matthew Hulbert (32) stops the play
while Patrick Harris (71) watches.
Page 6A
Wed , Oct. 7. 1998
I fir a
GET HIM! Perry Panthers (in white uniforms and
helmets) surround Jackson running back Jermaine
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PITCH TIME Perry quarterback Dontrell Green
(3) pitches the ball to Rashad Winn (7) while Willie
After Jackson scored, Perry
started at the Panther 34. Thomas
attempted a halfback pass which
was intercepted near the Jackson
35 and returned to the Red Devil
48.
From there, officials ruled
interference on the Panthers and
gave both possession and a 15-
yard penalty. A 15-yard unsports
manlike penalty gave Jackson
possession of the ball at the
Panther 22 with two minutes to
go.
The Panthers took Oct. 5 off
the Hornets, who improved their
record to 5-1 and moved Ronnie
lones into a tie with Gordon
Powers for most wins by a
Westfield head coach They have
56 each. Marvin Arrington heads
the list with 59
The Vikings got one first down
on their next possession, but Josh
Giles, Ron Marshall and Shell
stopped then on the next two
plays and Matthew Lee threw
Harris Lee for a 4-yard loss to
force a Shae Hinson punt.
Westfield, too. had to punt
after picking up just one first
down, and the defenses began to
take control of the game. A clip
ping penalty on the return of
Daniel Weir's punt set the Vikings
back to their own 22- yard line
and the Hornets’ defense again
Houston Tims -Journal
Timas-journo! priotot by Jj Johnson
Hicks (5, on ground) during second quarter action
at Jackson Oct. 2.
Simon (62) provides protection against the Jackson
Red Devils.
from practice, but returned to
drills Oct. 6 in preparation of their
next game. Oct. 16 That will be a
homecoming cseni with Mary
Persons.
Perry 0 0 0 0-0
Jackson 0 0 0 7-7
Jackson ■ Roderick Shannon 49-yard
pass from Tavarus Morgon Brady
Johnson kick 2:37 fourth
Perry Jackson
10 First Downs 12
37-173 Rushes, yards 37-119
18 Pass yards 134
2 4 1 C-A-l 104 8 1
4-2 Fumbles, lost 1-0
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Times-Joumal Photos by Eric Z«B,Hars
TACKLE TIME Will Holt (22) of Westfield puts a toclde on an FPD
runner during the game Oct. 2. Westfield won, 28-13.
stopped the Vikings as Lee and
Robby Heaton turned in short
yardage tackles, forcing another
Hinson punt.
Jacob Walker returned the punt
to the Westfield 46-yard line to
give the Hornets excellent field
position. They look advantage of
it, using two big plays to put the
second touchdown of the night on
the board.
After Trevor Jones hit Tate
Parker for 17 yards and a first
down. Parker came back with an
18-yard run to move the ball to
the FPD six-yard line. Two plays
later, Parker went over for the
score. 'Hie try for point after was
wide, and the Hornets settled for a
13-0 lead with 10:32 left in the
half.
9- Penalty yards 6-40
6:31.7 Punts, avg 7:27.8
Rushing Perry - Donovan
Kendrick 26-148, Rashad Winn 5-
28, Dontarrious Thomas 2-8,
Dontrell Green 3 (-7), Donte Holmes
1- Jackson Tavarus Morgan 15-
36, Jermaine Hicks 21-70, Andrell
White 1-13
Passing: Perry - Dontrell Green 2-
4-118; Jackson - Tavarus Morgan
10- 34
Receiving Perry • Dontarrious
Thomas 1-10, Monterris Engram 1-
8, Jackson - Chad Morgon 5-38,
Jermaine Hicks 1-22, Andrell White
2- Vincent Reaves 1-8, Roderick
Shannon 1-49
The Vikings continued to self
destruct after the Westfield kick
off. Lee returned the kick to the
FPD 30 where he fumbled the ball
but Brad Whitfield covered for
the Vikings.
After a first down at the
Westfield 47 and a 5-yard pickup
to the 42. Matthew Lee and Will
Holt combined to throw Lee for a
9-yard loss on a reverse, then a
holding penalty moved the ball all
the way back to the Vikings’ 31-
yard line. An illegal procedure a
play later forced a Hinson punt
from the Vikings’ 30.
The Hornets committed one of
their two turnovers, though, as
Walker bolted for 22 yards before
(See FPD, Page 7A)
m
W
Phil
Clark
TlnwesJoumal
Sports
GISA tourney
is fun for
spectators
I always enjoy the opening
round of the Georgia
Independent School
Association softball playoffs.
There’s always some time to
kill between games, and I
know I’ll always run into
someone who has something
interesting to say.
Oct. 3 was no exception.
But first, let me get to some
thing else. As I browsed around
the Kinchefonee softball com
plex before the first games of
the morning, I ran into Grady
Smith and Terry Morgan of
Stratford and had engaged in a
brief conversation with them as
Smith polished off a mid morn
ing chicken snack.
As we talked, a charming
lady and her two young daugh
ters came by to make their way
to the area of the Deerfield-
Windsor dugout, ice chest and
sandwiches in tow. Nancy
Lopez is almost a fixture at
Deerfield events as she and
husband Ray Knight are big
supporters of the school, in
more ways than one
With Ray away for the base
ball playoffs, taking care of his
chores with ESPN. Nancy and
the girls had settled in for a day
of softball. I did not interrupt
her “day off.” but she would
not have objected 1 have
talked to her previously, also at
a Deerfield event, and found
her to be just as charming off
the golf course as she appears
to be on it.
Westfield B-team football
guru Larry Bennett was pre
sent, as he, Susan and Brian
came to root Emily and her
Lady Hornet teammates on.
Later I stood nearby as Larry
and Archie Thompson chatted.
They were teammates on the
1975 Baker Academy football
team, and both were outstand
ing players. Archie, of course,
was there rooting for
Stephanie, the Lady Hornets’
young shortstop.
Larry and I had reminisced
about the early 70s in private
school football, when he was
helping to carry the load at
Baker.
You’re also sure to run into
former Westfield softball and
basketball coach Donna
Campbell at these events.
Donna is now the fast pitch
softball coach at Abraham
Baldwin Agriculture College
where her 1997 team was state
champions, and finished 16th
in the nation.
Donna, of course, is always
looking for players, although
she was scouting slow pitch
softball, and more or less eval
uating a player while trying to
fix into her mind it the player
could handle fast pitch
“1 like a few of the ladies
I’ve seen”, Donna told me “A
few of them won t have any
trouble adapting to fast pitch.
In fact, a couple have some fast
pitch experience.”
Another former player I
enjoy talking to is Ken
Simpson, who was on the very
first team fielded by Westfield.
Ken told me “we were a pretty
good sized bunch of boys,
although none of us had any
football experience. But after a
season of practice under Coach
Arrington, we thought we were
ready to beat the world.
“We had the first game in
Westfield history in 1972 at
Monroe, and we were con
vinced that we could to up
there and just whip the day
lights out of them, although
they had been playing for a few
years,” he recalled.
It didn’t work out that way,
though, according to Ken. “It
didn’t take them long to show
us what the game of football
was all about.” Monroe won
that first-ever Westfield game
55-0.
“But what we did, though,
was leant from it. We went
over to Dublin the next game
and clobbered Josey,” Simpson
said. Westfield won that game
68-0.
Simpson is a very strong
supporter of young folks. He
coaches both baseball and soft
ball. Daughter Erin is
Westfield’s catcher this season
Ken is constantly yelling
(See CLARK, Page 7A)