Newspaper Page Text
Wed., Jan. 20, 1999, Houston Timts-Joumal
Page 6A
PHS Wrestling roundup
Flu costs Panther wrestlers chance in home match
Bv ALLINE KENT
For the Times-lournm.
The flu bug is making the rounds in Perry
and unfortunately has bitten the Perry
wrestling team. Perry, which hosted Fayette
County and Cook county at home Jan. 15, had
.tUl'tfiwUc.vwUscy. matches duetto illness.
“The forfeits really hurt us,” said Head
Coach Sean Moistner. “We had to give up 18
points in match.”
Region opponent Cook County entered the
match ranked third in the state in Class AA,
while Fayette County is a AAAA school.
Perry faced several state contenders from
Cook County including Matt Carter at 215
Ernest Howard grabs first place in Houston County tournament
By ALLINE KENT
For the Times-lournal
Perry’s Ernest Howard
brought home first place Jan. 16
as he won his class at the Houston
County wrestling tournament.
Fifteen schools participated in
the tournament. Perry finished 7th,
disappointing but somewhat
expected, since the Panthers forfeit
ed two number one seeds, a number
Lady Panthers head into final stretch of season in fourth place
By ALLINE KENT
F« in thkTimes-Iqurnal
The Lady Panthers enter the
last stretch of the basketball sea
son with five region games ahead
of them and a record of 6-8. At
this point, Perry is fourth in sub
region 4-AA South.
It has been a learning year for
the team according to head coach
Max Vickers. The team has 12
players, but only two seniors,
Brandie Thomas and Krystal
Brown and one junior, Karisa
Banister.
Vickers, in an interview after
the Peach County game Jan. 16,
said many mistakes his team
makes are because they are so
young. “We talk about a lot of
things in practice, but in the game
situation, they see it a few seconds
late and we won’t get in there,” he
said.
“It is a hard decision who I am
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THINKING IT OUT Panther coach Max Vickers discusses plans
with xxxxx xxxxx during recent Perry action.
Hornets
ranee before the Hornets blew
the game open with a 24-point
fourth quarter in which seven dif
ferent Westfield players joined
the scoring parade. The Hornets
converted 14 free throws in the
Bees
(Continued from page SA)
this season. The 56-25 win
improved the Lady Hornets’
record to 3-5 as they prepare to
meet Central Fellowship Christian
Academy at home Jan. 22.
Playing with just six players
on her bench, Johnson had a few
anxious moments in the first half
of the Windsor game as both
guards, Katie Byrd and
Stephanie Thompson, were
whistled for three fouls each. But
neither fouled out.
Westfield (56) Byrd 9. Jones 12.
Jamie Jaros 1, Anne Peake 2.
Thompson 22. Dudley 10.
Windsor (25) Hodge 3. Smith 13.
Bradford 2. L. Smith 2. Bryant 5
Halftime score: Westfield 28.
Windsor 8
Eounds. Carter, a junior and first year wrestler,
as a record of 10-8 and “definitely has a shot
at state," according to Cook Coach Scott Ray.
Two other wrestlers on Ray’s team, Cleve
Edwards at 140 and Josh Sutton at 171 are
considered state contenders.
Perry’s Ernest Howard, at 112, and Tony
Soilazzo, at 125, won against Fayette County
opponents in first round of the evening.
Quinton Johnson at 145 won a fierce match by
a score of 13-11.
Ben Katshor at 125 pinned his Fayette
County opponent. Katshor was area chartipion
in his class last year and finished fifth in the
state.
two and a number three in the tour
nament, all due to flu illness.
Quinton Johnson placed third
and Demetrius Williams and Tony
Soilazzo also finished third in their
respective classes. It was the first
time either Williams or Soilazzo
had placed in a tournament this
season.
The Panthers are preparing to
host two upcoming matches
going to play at my guard posi
tion. Kiki Woodard and Marquita
Ragan are my best defensive play
ers while Jessica Green and Karisa
Banister are my better shooters,”
Vickers said.
While Vickers refers to the
season as a “learning experience,”
he says that applies to him as well
as his players.
“One decision I made early in
the season was that we were not
playing well offensively and I said
that I was going to play my best
defensive players. And then it got
to where we were only scoring
two or three points a quarter, so 1
decided to put my best shooters
in, and to open it up. I decided if
we were going to lose, we would
go down shooting,” he said.
Although “very disappointed”
in his teams performance versus
region opponent Southeast Jan.
15, Vickers was happy with the
final quarter to ice the victory and
avenge an earlier loss to the
Vikings. Sexton had eight of the
Hornets’ total in the fourth, and
14 for the night, joining Hartley
and the steady Robert Causey in
double figures. Hartley finished
with 19, Causey 11.
Westfield (64J Causey 11. Hartley
19, Matt Moore 2. Ernest Greene 7,
Sexton 14, Daniel Weir 5. Jones 4. Bo
Hart 2
FPD (46) Andrew Powell 5. Tommy
Joyce 4, Rashad Etheridge 2. Bo
Trawick 8. Brad Whitfield 7, Carson
Royal 3. Chris Hardison 4. Chaz
Robbins 11, Josh Walker 2
Halftime : Westfield 31. FPD 19
3-pointers: Westfield 3 (Hartley 2.
Sexton 1) FPD 5 (PoweS 1. Whitfield 1,
Robbins 3)
Hornets dump Windsor
MACON The Westfield
Hornets never could pull away and
hide, but they built an early lead
then withstood a third quarter rally
by Jim Massey’s Windsor Knights
to pick up an important region
lAAA victory here Jan. 15. The
51-43 win was the Hornets second
in a row, and second in region play.
Windsor, with wins over Flint
River Academy and Monroe, is
including the Perry Invitational
Tournament to be held Jan. 29-30
at the high school.
Coach Sean Moistner is
expecting 18 schools to compete
in the event..
Perry will be competing Jan. 23
against Pike County and Macon
County. The matches will be held
at the Perry Recreation
Department Building, 1058 Keith
way the Lady Panthers played
Peach County, especially in the
second half.
“We hit some shots, got some
offensive rebounds and loosened
up. The team started to realize
what I was telling them as far as
how Peach County was playing
and we looked like a totally differ
ent team, especially in the fourth
quarter. There is no doubt that
Panthers pick up region win over Southeast
ByALLINEKENT
For the Times-lournal
MACON Dannorris
Harvey scored 24 points to lift
Perry to a 61-51 region win over
Southeast here Jan. 16.
Perry had a slow start against
Southeast but made up for it in
the second quarter, scoring 22
points and taking the lead.
“It was a tough game, but we
held on,” said Perry head coach
Carl Thomas. “We had a hard
time scoring and the other team
took advantage of the situation.”
The victory keeps Perry on
track as the only undefeated team
in subregion 4-AA South.
Dontarrius Thomas, a Perry
player who usually scores in the
Perry hosts Dodge at Pit Jan. 22
ByALLINEKENT
For the Times-lournal
It’ll be a big one in Perry Jan. 22 as the Panthers host Dodge County
for the last time in regular season play.
The Panthers comes into the game undefeated in the region, includ
ing a huge win 63-59 over Dodge County two weeks ago in Eastman.
“The Perry-Dodge County rivalry is one that you can throw the
records out on,” said Panther Coach Carl Thomas. “But being at home,
will definitely give us an advantage.”
Thomas said in the past, “it has come down to a competitive game
in the four quarter.”
Thomas has plenty of experience with the competition his Panthers
will face that evening. Besides meeting each other twice a season for
regular play, the Indians and the Panthers have been in the same sub
region for six years and have played each other five of those years for
the region title.
Dodge County will travel to Perry in high spirits after defeating two
region opponents in games this past weekend. Jan. 15, Dodge destroyed
Bleckley 65-30. The following evening, Dodge County faced Tri-
County and won 72-63. Dodge was led by Yandel Brown who scored
31 points in the game.
The girls will start at 7:00. Boy’s game time is 8:30.
(Continued from page SA) B-Team Hornets
still winless in region play.
Brian Hartley finished off a 65
point week with 24 against the
knights. Robert Causey teamed
with Hartley to score 15 fourth
quarter points to pull away after
the Knights had battled back to
tie the game twice in the final sec
onds of the third quarter, a Trevor
Jones free throw with two seconds
left in the third had given the
Hornets a 33-32 lead after three.
With 4:10 left in the game and
the Hornets still clinging to a two
point lead, Causey padded the
lead to four with a basket, then
Hartley scored on a three point
play after pulling down an offen
sive rebound. Causey’s basket
with 2:00 left gave Westfield a
nine point lead, then Hartley hit
two of two from the foul line
twice in the last 22 seconds to ice
the victory, and give the Westfield
senior 24 for the night.
Westfield (51) CaSsey 10. Hartley
24. Ernest Greene 1. VWI Sexton 6.
Daniel Weir 4. Jones 6
Windsor (43) John Carden 14,
Kevin Dunn 6. Dusty Monttord 10.
Blaine HeMwia 2.
Josh Morstad 7. Dusty James 2
Halftime: Westfield 25. Windsor 16
Against Cook County, Perry’s Howard
again won, this time by a pin. Williams at 136
and Hamilton at 160 also chalked up victories
for the Panthers.
In one of the most intense matches of the
evening, Quinton Johnson won handily in die
145-pound class. Johnson defeated his Cook
County opponent 21-6.
Although it is Scott Ray’s first year as Cook
County’s head coach he knew coming into the
evening that the competition between the two
top ranked schools would be tough,
“Tension, excitement, that what it is all
about,” he said. “If its not exciting, it’s not
wrestling,” he continued.
Drive, at 6 p.m..
The next day, the Panthers visit
Morgan County to compete
against several schools including
Morgan, ranked no. 2 in AA and
Carrollton ranked no. 10.
Several of Perry’s top wrestlers
including Ben Katshor and Fred
Ridley are expected to be over
their flu and to compete in the
event.
this game is a learning process,”
he said.
Vickers has seen, some differ
ent people working and playing
hard during the year’s progres
sion. He says that Jessica Green
and Karisa Banister are playing
well while freshman Aleta Code
has a “good shot and getting
bette.
“Offensively,” he continued,
double figures, got into foul trou
ble and didn’t play as much as
usual during the game according
to Thomas.
Jason Stripling, a sophomore,
came off the bench and “did a
good job for us", Carl Thomas
said.
The Panthers scored nine
points to Southeast’s 13 in the
first quarter. Harvey led the way
with seven and Dontarrius
Thomas had two.
Donte Holmes came alive in
the next quarter scoring seven
points, followed close behind by
Jason Stripling with six. Harvey
again led the Panther attack
adding nine. The Panthers went
into the half with 31-27 lead.
of free throws with 6:12 left, and
35 seconds later, Barnes gave the
Vikings their first lead at 47-45.
Then Ben Brannen rescued a
sputtering Westfield offense with
eight points and four rebounds
down the stretch, his two free
throws with 4:48 left breaking a
13-point Viking run. The free
throws cut the Vikings’ lead to
two at 49-47.
The Vikings hit a trey and the
Hornets got a basket from
Brannen as the visitors built the
lead to three points again. But a
Brannen free throw and a Chance
Jones basket off an offensive
rebound tied the score at 52-all
with four minutes left. A basket
by Jones and a free throw by Kory
Kitchens offset a Barnes three
pointer and with 2:20 left, the
teams were still knotted, at 55-aIL
Jones and Brannen scored for
the Hornets around a Gebhardt
basket for the Vikings and with a
minute and a half left, the
Hornets led by a basket. Kitchens
hit from the foul line to make it a
three point lead, and after an
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“we make many good decisions.
We have a lot of trouble with the
press but playing Brandie
(Thomas) the majority of the
game helps us with that. “
The Lady Panthers face
Bleckley County, a team with only
one win this year and Dodge
County and Dublin this week.
Dodge County returns five
seniors and is ranked no. 2 in the
The third quarter was high
lighted by a three-pointer by Kris
Asbury, also the high scorer for
the quarter. Dontarrius Thomas,
Harvey and Stripling each added
two.
Perry went into the fourth
clinging to a three-point lead.
They managed to surge ahead
aided by three pointers by
Dontrell Green and Holmes.
The next night, Perry traveled
to Peach County for a non-region
game. The Panthers took an early
15-0 lead. Early shots by
Dontarrius Thomas and Johnny
Watkins gave Perry a 7-0 lead but
the real momentum in the first
quarter came when Green stole
the ball and passed it to Watkins,
Lady Hornets
first quarter points as the
Windsor Lady Knights solidified
their claim as one of the top girls’
team in the Georgia Independent
School Association with a 60-36
win over the Westfield Lady
Hornets. Hencley had first quar
ter help from Lindsey West with
six points, but the Lady Knights
had to wait until the third quarter
before they got any breathing
room as Westfield battled to stay
within ten points of the region
lAAA leaders. For the third
straight game, they did it from
the foul line, connecting on seven
of eight in the first half as
Windsor led at the break 29-19.
But it was a damaging third
FPD time-out, Holt hit two free
throws, then Jones scored off a
steal to seal the win at 64-57. The
win improved the Hornets to 7-2
for the year.
Westfield (64) Brannen 10.
Kitchens 2. Holt lv, Mark Hulbert 3.
Jones 16, Wes Faulkner 7, Mitch Greer
3, Henry Hunter 2, Cole Dunaway 2.
FPD (57) Cox 6. Loyd 7, Gebhardt
8, Bert Barnes 18. Faulkner 10. Bragg
2, DeLarosa 6.
Half-time score: Westfield 36, FPD
29
3-pointers. Westfield 1 (Greer 1)
FPD 5 (Cox 2. Barnes 2, Faulkner 1)
Lineup changes work
MACON Using a different
starting lineup seems to be work
ing for Westfield boys’ b-team
coach Rennie Atkinson. “Going
into the season, 1 told them that if
they showed up for practice every
day and worked hard, every one of
them would start at least one
game this year. Going into the
Jan. 15 game at Windsor,
Atkinson had used eight different
lineups in nine games, and on this
night, it would be nine different
ones as he lived up to his promise.
Every Hornet has now started at
state.
According to Vickers, they
know what they are doing left and
right. “There is no room for error
against Dodge County,” Vickers
said, “They have the best shooters
in the region.”
The Lady Panthers take on
Dodge County Jan. 22 at 7:00 at
home and travel to Dublin Jan.
23.
who got fouled on the shot.
Peach County managed to put
their first points on the board
with two minutes left in the quar
ter. The Panthers ended the peri
od up 19-8. In the second, Peach
County closed to within three
points two minutes into the quar
ter. The Panthers had a 34-26
lead at the half and went on to
win the game 57-51.
The win improved Perry’s
record to 13-3 going into the last
stretch of regular season play. The
Panthers have six games left in
the regular season, four of which
are region match ups.
The Panthers face Dodge
County Jan. 22 at home and trav
el to Dublin Jan. 23.
(Continued from page SA)
quarter that put the game away
for the Lady Knights. With a bal
anced scoring attack that saw
seven different players put points
on the board, Windsor outscored
the Lady Hornets 18-6 in the
third, with a basket by Anne
Peake and two by Lina Arnold
generating all of Westfield’s
offense in the quarter.
Hencley ana Jennifer Wilson
each hit a three pointer in the
fourth for the Lady Knights.
Westfield (36) Lauren Byrd 6. Laura
Posey 2. Arnold 12. Julee Todd Z Beth
Ann Murph 6. Rachel Moore 6. Peake 1.
Windsor (60) Wilson 6, Brooke
Hines 6, West 11, Hencley 14, Brooke
ChambNte 4, Stacy Edwards 2,
Shevanie Hattaway 4, Meredith
Cook 13. *
»
(Continued from page SA)
least once, none has started all ten
games.
Against an overmatched
Windsor team, every Hornet
scored, Chance Jones leading the
way with 14 with Will Holt
adding ten. Westfield jumped on
the Knights early, pounding out a
22-11 first quarter lead with
Jones, Holt ana Mitch Greer each
hitting a three pointer.
Windsor did gain a little in the
second, cutting the lead to eight
at half-time, 31-23, but the
Hornets wouldn’t let them back
into the game as Atkinson was
able to clear the bench early and
often. The Knights did nuke a
run late, but Westfield got three
baskets from Ben Brannen off
Chance Jones feeds in the fourth
quarter to seal the victory number
eight 57-39.
Kitchens 2. Holt 10. Mark Hulbert 2.
Jones 14, Adam Arcos 4, Wes
Faulkner 2. Nathan Skinner 1, Greer 6.
Henry Hunter 6. Cole Dunaway 2
Windsor (39) Fuller 5, Barker 2.
Rigby 4. Darren Monttord 17. Greer 4.
Lindsey 3. Hart 2. Smith 2
Halftime score: Westfield 31
Windsor 23