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A BIG SCARE - Dontarrius Thomas gets medical treatment late
in the game against Mary Persons. The injury will not keep
Thomas out of the lineup against Fitzgerald Feb. 19.
Panthers claim second region crown
By ALLINE KENT
For the Times-lournal
EASTMAN No one can
remember how long it has been.
Actually, all anyone can agree on is
that is has been a long, long time. But
Feb. 13, Coach Carl Thomas and his
Perry’ Panthers did what no Perry
basketball team has done in at least
22 years.
They won back to back 4AA
region championships. That’s right,
region champs two years in a row.
This was a classic high school bas
ketball game; the kind of game that
made you remember what sports are
supposed to be all about. Friendly
competition, glory to the school,
good manners under pressure. And a
first place trophy.
For Carl Thomas, it was the cul
mination of a goal he and his players
set at the beginning of the year.
Region champions two years in a row
and another snot at the stare title.
To some it may have seemed a
realistic goal. After all, the Panthers
returned four senior starters this year
from a 30-2 team. Thomas, on the
other hand, has tempered expecta
tions with two very real facts that
have concerned him all season lack
of depth and replacing his point
Thomas: PHS basketball team is family
IT iAI
COACH CARL THOMAS
Watches PHS Play
Westfield’s Bazemore is leading a double life
It had been 10 years since it was
last done, but Westfield senior
Brandi Bazemore had notions of
being both a cheerleader and a bas
ketball player in her final year at the
school.
Melis Moseley pulled it off in
1988-89, so Brandi knew that it
could be done. Brandi had been a
football cheerleader, and once her
mind was made up to try the dual
role, she went to head basketball
coach Billy Sellers.
Sellers said, “I told her 1 didn’t
have a problem with it, but she had
to understand that if she played, bas
ketball had to come first/ Brandi
then needed to get clearance from
Jean Ficryd and Tina Hunter, the
cheerleader sponsors.
Floyd calls Bazemore one of the
“most school-oriented students I
have ever seen. Everything she does
or thinks revolves around her school.
She never tires of doing for the
school, often making personal sacri
fices to do diem.''
guard.
Lack of depth didn’t seem to be
much of an issue in the Feb. 13 game
against Mary Persons. Because of
early foul trouble, juniors Dontrell
Green, Kris Asbury, Michael
Robinson, and sophomore Jason
Stripling all split time on the court
against Mary Persons.
They held their own. Asbury, who
by his own admission, is usually sent
in as a shooter, said that in the last
few games he had been going in more
and more to play defense. He did
quite a fine job, rebounding several
key times and stealing the ball right
out of the Bulldogs hands a few times
also.
If the night belonged to anyone, it
belonged to Donte Holmes. The
senior, commanded the court in a big
way, scoring 19 points in the game
including 9 in fourth quarter. Holmes
applied pressure to Mary Persons'
biggest threat holding him to 10
points and cutting down his assists.
“Donte has does a lot of unsung
things for us. He has been a great
athlete at Perry High," said Carl
Thomas after the game. “I am proud
of him, proud of all of them. What a
way for the seniors to go out, with
bade to'back region tides."
By ALLINE KENT
For the Times-Journal
Without any contest, Perry bas
ketball head Coach Carl Thomas is
one of the most emotionally charged
coaches on a side line. On the other
extreme, off the court, he is a calm,
sincere man who cares deeply about
his players, not only as basketball
players but in all walks of their lives.
How does he mesh the two sides?
“What people in the stands fail to
realize sometimes, is my team truly is
a family. I am basically a parent on
the court. I have to discipline them,
fuss at them and then build them
back up." Thomas explained.
“Somerimes they need to be chewed
out, sometimes they need to be
loved.”
Though, to the fans and parents
following the team, the love and bol
stering of his players, may not always
be evident on the court, it may be the
moments that are not publicly seen
where his compassion and devotion
Phil
Clark
Times-Joumal
Sports
Floyd said that “Billy Sellers has
been very cooperative in arranging
practices. We practice the cheerlead
ers first, and we often work on the
routines we’ll use during the boys'
gime, since those are the ones
randi is involved in. The other girls
on the squad have been very under
standing and supportive, too.”
Brandi Bazemore has pulled it
off. She plays during the girls’ game,
and changes out of her number 13
uniform into her cheerleaders outfit
and joins the squad in time for the
boys game.
It amazes me that, with all of the
things going on in this young lady’s
life concerning basketball, she* never
brought the wrong cheerleader’s out-
Page 6A
- Vtfed.. Feb. 17,1999
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Times-Joumal Photos by trie ZeHars
ANOTHER CELEBRATION - Panthers celebrate their second
straight region title. Visible are (from left) Bernard Harvey (23), Johnny
Watkins (12), Donte Holmes (10) and Dontarrius Thomas (20).
Perry clinched their 9th consecu
tive state tournament trip by beating
a very physical Mary Persons team.
The game started off with a Mary
Persons shot that was missed and
Holmes caught the rebound, setting
off his spectacular performance that
evening. Johnny Watkins put the first
three points on the board. The
Bulldogs hit a three-pointer and then
pulled out by five but the Panthers
came back and by the end of the first
were up by one 15-14.
The second quarter started with a
score by Dontarrius Thomas. It
seemed Perry had lost their way for a
minute until Asbury stole the ball
away from Mary Persons and passed
it to Holmes who scored two.
Holmes had the half court all to
himself, easily scoring the next two
on a layup and giving the Panthers a
24-16 lead
Perry continued to dominate the
game with sophomore Jason Stripling
and junior Michael Robinson seeing
significant playing time. Watkins’
trey at the buzzer gave the Panthers a
35-24 lead at the half.
Although Mary Persons threat
ened, Perry held onto their big lead in
the third. Watkins lead the way with
9 points which including another
to his kids are the most defined.
Thomas works hard, when speak
ing of his team and their performance
especially when talking with the
media, to point out the positives a
player has made, laying any blame for
a loss or a poorly played game at his
own feet.
Part of the success of the Perry
program, which has sent nine teams
to the state tournament during
Thomas’ 11 years at the high school,
could be the fact that Thomas carries
the family attitude off the court as
well. He makes himself accessible to
them off the court and off season as
well.
“All the kids in our program know
that they can come to me with their
troubles, “ Thomas said. “Sometimes
it’s academic problems, sometimes
personal problems, sometimes they
just need a friend."
“A lot of people see me and say, ‘I
couldn’t play for that guy.’ As volatile
as I can get with them, I believe they
fit to a game!
Athletics is not all that Brandi
Bazemore is concerned with. She has
not let the enormous amount of
practice time interfere with being a
good student. No, make that an out
standing student
Westfield Headmaster Michael
Drake said “Brandi is a consistent
student. She never has ups and
downs in the classroom. She just
never seems to let up. I don’t have the
overall records at hand as we speak,
but I can tell you she’s in the top
three in her class. I know she’s in the
top three in my history class.”
Drake also reminded me that
Brandi is president of the Student
Council, president of the Tri-Hi-Y,
and is very active in the Fellowship
of Christian Athletes. And “don’t
forget”, Drake said, ‘she is. also the
reigning Homecoming Queen.”
Jean Floyd added, “Brandi is a
great student, a great person, and
she, again, is 100 percent Westfield. 1
have seen her come to the school on
three pointer.
The Bulldogs closed to within
three with only two minutes left in
the quarter but with Holmes and
Watkins on fire offensively never
really had a chance.
Holmes added nine to the score
during the last minutes and Watkins
had seven giving the Panthers a solid
70-63 win over Mary Persons.
The Panthers bring the first round
of the state tournament home with
them Feb. 19 at 8:30. They will take
on Fitzgerald High School, coached
by Dan Anderson. Anderson is in his
fourth year at the school and has
made significant progress with his
teams each year, starting with a team
that went 14-10 his first year.
The last three years, Fitzgerald
has been sub-region champions. This
year the team is 17-8, with four
starters back from last year.
Leading the pack is one of the
team’s strengths, 6’6 Cliff Searcy who
averages 17 points a game. Fitzgerald
has a fourth place seed in the tourna
ment.
Perry 70 Mary Persons 63
Green 2, Holmes 19, Watkins 22,
Thomas 17, Asbury 2, Harvey 4, Stripling 4
Three pointers - Johnny Watkins - 2
would not play for me if they didn’t
know that I was there for them. They
respect my methods as a coach."
Thomas starts each season by set
ting goals for the team every year.
“We include the kids in the process
and try not to make them farfetched,
something we can strive for as team.”
This year the goals were two-fold;
win all homes games and win region,
allowing the team, Thomas
explained, the opportunity to set a
new goal of winning state.
In the role as parent, Thomas
tries, like all parents strive to do, to
bring out the best in his players.
“My challenge as a coach this year
has been to get us to play as a cohe
sive unit, those who have seen us play
a lot this year know that at times we
have struggled, sometimes we have
been a collection of talented individ
uals as opposed to a cohesive unit.
That is my job to get that blend in
there. “
Saturday at 7:30 a.m. and stay until
8:00 p.m. when we were having an
important school function. She
never once considered that she was
S' ring up one of her precious few
ys off/
Floyd continued, “Whatever
accolades
you want
t o
bestow
on this
J'oung
ady, you
can be
sure they
are
A
Houston Times-Jomal
Tmrs-.lnunnl Photo by .{< Johnson
RACHEL MOORE (14) JUMPS AS SHE PASSES BALL
Lady Hornets Won Key Game To Reach State Tourney
Westfield falls in consolation, still in state tourney
By PHIL CLARK
Times-Iqurnal Sports
MACON The Mount de
Sales Cavaliers came from behind
in the fourth quarter behind Jessie
Rosa and Sarah Mead to down the
Westfield Lady Hornets 54-46 in
the region lAAA tournament
Feb. 12 at Central Fellowship
Christian Academy.
The Lady Hornets will now
meet region 2AAA champion
Monroe Feb 17 in an 8:30 game at
Stratford Academy.
Lina Arnold scored five of her
team high 11 points in the first
quarter to help Westfield to a 10-
9 lead.
Sarah Mead hit a three pointer
and two other baskets in the sec
ond quarter, though, to erase the
Westfield lead and put the
Cavaliers up by two at the half,
21-19.
Lauren Byrd hit two three
pointers in a 16-point Westfield
third quarter after a Laura Posey
basket just 20 seconds into the
Panthers advance y down Lamar County
in semifinals of Region 4-AA play
By ALLINE KENT
For the Times-lournai.
Coach Carl Thomas and his
Panthers, coming off a tough game in
the second round of the 4AA region
tournament, pur a hurting on Lamar
County 69-55 in the semifinals game
Feb. 11
Three Perry players hit double
digits, two in the 20s.
There was never any doubt who
was in charge during the fourth quar
ter.
Lamar County entered the game
after a 58-55 upset over favored
Dodge .County in the quarterfinals.
With that game tied down to the last
seconds, Lamar hit a three-pointer at
the buzzer to defeat Dodge and earn
their chance at the Panthers.
Perry was down by three at the
end of the first and by seven at the
end of the second and third quarters.
Perrv never panicked and concen
trated. on offensive play scoring 22
points in the fourth quarter. Kris
Asbury had a three pointer while
Thomas and Harvey each had six and
deserved. She is one of
a kind.”
For sure, she’s one of
| a few who have been
able to play the dual
role of player and
cheerleader.
Indirectly, 1
\ suppose Billy
/ I Sellers is
J .« involved with
9 the last two
who were able
9 to pull it off.
■IV Bazemore
played for him,
\\ and Melis
\\ Moseley is now
Bjj\ his sister-in
\\\
What are
\' \ the future
V— plans for
Brandi
■ Bazemore?
■ Don't know.
She's so busy, we
igtg
In
quarter had tied the score at 21-
21. Posey added two more baskets
while Byrd had a two pointer in
leading Westfield into a 35-34
lead after three quarters.
But Mead and Jessie Rosa were
too much for Westfield in the
fourth as Mead hit her fourth 3-
pointer of the game in a six point
quartet while Rosa was scoring
ten, including 3 of four from the
foul line. The 20-point Mount de
Sales quarter earned the Cavaliers
the win, and a third place finish in
the region lAAA tournament.
Westfield, the fourth place team,
will play Monroe at 8:30 Feb. 17
at the Stratford gym.
Westfield (46) Byrd 10, Posey 8,
Arnold 11, Juice Todd 3, Beth Ann
Murph 5, Rachel Moore 9.
Mount de Sales (54) Mead 21,
Jennifer Van 6, Rosa 19, Carrie DeLoach
2, Kelly Wall 2, Frances Layfield 2,
Sarah DeLoach 2
Halftime: Mount de Sales 21,
Westfield 19
3-pointers: Westfield 2 (Byrd 2)
Mount de Sales 5 (Mead 4, Rosa)
Johnny Watkins and Donte Holmes
combined for seven to send Perry way
out in front in the last minutes of
play.
Dontarrius Thomas led the
Panthers against Lamar with 26
points. Johnny Watkins added twenty
and Dannorris Harvey put twelve on
the board for Perry. Watkins had
three treys in the game, one in each of
the first three quarters.
Perry 69 Lamar County 55
Dontrell Green 2, Donte Holmes 2,
Johnny Watkins 20, Dontarrius Thomas 26,
Kris Asbury 5, Dannorris Harvey 12,
Rashad Lester 2.
Tournament action at Perry
GHSA State AA action, Feb. 19-20: '
Fd>. 19: Jeff Davis vj, Lamar County
Girls, 4 p.m.; Richmond Hill va Jackson
Boys, 5:30 p.m .; Southeast Bulloch vs.
Dodge County Girls, 7 p.m.; Fitzgerald vs
Ptoy Boys, 8:30 pm.
Feb- 20: Vidalia vs. Mary Bsmms
Girls, 4 am. Brantley Co. vs. Lamar Co.
Boys, 5:30 p.m.; South Effingtianuja-
Harris Co. Girts 7
Bullock vs Mary Persons Boys, 830p.w.
never got a chance to discuss that.
Whatever she chooses, you can bet
she’ll go at it 100 percent. It’s the
only way she knows. The only
daughter of Ken and Sally
Bazemore, Brandi will graduate this
year, and Westfield loses another
outstanding student and person. It
seems there are many every year at
the school that wear this description,
and certainly Brandi fits in snugly.
She has one brother, Britt, a 1998
Westfield graduate.
To sum it up, Jean Floyd said, “it
might not look like it to the average
fan, but the positioning and the for
mations of our routines vary from
routine to routine. It takes a lot of
practice, precision, and above all,
dedication.”
Brandi Bazemore has one of
those ingredients that will make
everything else she does a lot easier.
Dedication.
She's also got the cutest smile
you’ll want to see!