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Sports ' y - ft?' ißHgjffi]3Bßa|By S BBr v K^S^ffa..'. ~ ifl/ ■Sk jl &# Is/’ v||| B3p* •'*» V ;C:.| j*ttgs| V| ;' %diSlpll < - jSEB Perry Panther baseball teams honored by PHS Dugout Club Br ALLEGE KENT second year in a row, David Coffey was named Best Offensive player arid Kent Franklin was named Best Defensive player at the Perry High baseball bahqiiet hosted by the Dugout Chib. , V Phillip Gentry was awarded the Most Improved player award fox the second year in a row. IYesident of the Dugout Club Randy Franklin presided over the banquet dur ing whidh every JV and varsity player was recognized and praised for his accom plishments during the 1999 season. The banquet was held in the Perry High School cafeteria decorated with the balloons and tablecloths in the school colors. JV Coach Andy Gentry and Coach Robbie McCuffie presented certificates to the JV players and lauded their individ ual performance during the season. The dugout club presented plaques to the graduating seniors, Coffey. David Coach Gentry remarked to the group that their leadership had been invalu able to the team. Panther head Coach Lee Whatley thanked the parents and the Dugout dub for their participation in the base - ball program. He also thanked Lee Spiers, who does the play by play for Perry, calling him “the voice of Panther Baseball" for being at every PHS event. The four managers of the team were also recognized By Whatley; Summer Saunders, Amanda McCloud, Erin McCoy, and Dana Collins. Whatley continued by recognizing his seniors and one fresh man, Caleb White, who according to his coach, “never played like a freshman. He has skills and compo sure beyond his years/ Whatley also applauded the efforts of coaches Gentry and McDuffie calling them “the' fmit "aaiistant coachea In Georgia/ Franklin was pre sented the trophy as Atlanta Braves slip and slide, but stay on top of NL The Braves have skidded a bit in the past week or two, due mostly to their inability to beat Chicago, but they still cling to the lead in the National League east race. The problem has been, ironi cally, an inconsistent starting pitching staff. Tom Glavine seems to have righted himself, Kevin Millwood has turned in a couple of good outings in his last two starts, and John Smoltz, before going on the DL, was his usual dominant self. Rookie Odalis Perez has strug gled. and Bruce Chen, brought up to take Smoltz’ place in the rotation, gave up four runs in his first inning back in the bit leagues, but settled down to pitch OK. The bullpen has been out standing, thanks to folks like Kevin McClinchy, Rudy Seanez, Justin Speier, and Macon native John Rocker. The offense has failed, too. dur- IP sßl^ w .mu - ii-’ m WT' W - U|Mk|B L it Hks nrr ’ MEWrBJfI t>A wna’iT'D BWT rDiitfUTf fiv nAt/rn mirmrv ;%: 4 iX&K M vrs. JU&JY J r 4WYIM44it WtxVUJ WrT»* Itonored v • Phil Clark Home Journal Sports ing the past couple of weeks. Still, Atlanta appears to have on of the best teams in the National League, and if fact, all of baseball. While pondering the Braves’ problems, 1 picked up a copy of an old press guide which con tains a section on “Braves His torical Highlights". I though readers might find some of them interesting, as we wait for “our team" to pull out of their present mild slump. In 1935, Babe Ruth finished his remarkable baseball career in a Braves’ uniform. Ruth home- Best Defensive Player for the team. Franklin played both centerfteld and pitched for the Panthers during the sea son while maintaining an A average. Whatley referred to Franklin as the best center fielder in the Middle Georgia area and said that he had worked hard on improving his skills In the four years he had started for the Panthers. the Best Offensive player of the year" went to David Coffey, who batted .56? this season and has ,540 lifetime hatting average and 22 home runs in his four .years at Perry. '~~ Whatley called Coffey a leader on the team who always gave more than 100 percent and who motivated other players to do their best. Coffey will be attending the University of Georgia on a baseball scholarship. The Hustler award was given to David Talley, who was moved from 3rd to shortstop this year and the Coaches Award was presented to Jeb Stuart for his continual school spirit. Whatley concluded his address by com menting that it had been his goal to instill into the young men a love of basebaU. Randy Franklin presented a gift to each of the coaches and then received a standing ovation from the sizable crowd gathered. Franklin will be stepping down after serving as President of the club for three years. Whatley will not be returning to coach the Panthers and will be succeeded by Coach Gentry. Gentry said after the ban quet that he was excited about the opportunity and that it had been his goal ever since he got into coaching to be a head coach. Page 6A rMfeijtin f*Tfrifftiff*i r and Jeb Stuart. % ' i - mm red in his first National League at-bat, but after hitting just .181 with eight homers, Ruth called it quits in June of that year, with 714 major league home runs. Johnny Sain and Warren Spahn each won 21 games for the 1947 Braves, which finished third in the standings. The team did exceed one million in atten dance for the first time in histo ry, though, and Bob Elliot, the Braves third baseman, won the league MVP award. With Spahn and Sain combin ing to win 39 games the following season, 1948, the phrase “Spahn and Sain and two days rain" was coined. Sain won 24 regular sea son games for the Braves, who went on to lose to Cleveland in the World Series. Alvin Dark hit .322 to win the Rookie of the Year award. A year later, center fielder Sam Jethroe gave the Braves back-to back Rookie of the Year award winners. Yet another rookie, -Wed.. May 26, 1999 Football already? Westfield coaches view prospects during spring jamboree game Bt Phil Class Home Joiikwai Sports The Westfield Hornets engaged First Presbyterian and Windsor in the annual spring football jamboree at the Hornets' Nest May 20 Hornet Coach Ronnie Jones and his staff are looking to fill nine positions left void by graduation. The games, in which each par ticipant played both the others, but no score was kept, provided an opportu nity for all three coaches to do a little experimenting looking toward next football season. Jones will look to replace three starters in the offen sive backfield, including quarterback Trevor Jones, fullback Jared Shell and running back Tate Parker. Along the line, the Hornets lost Robbie Heaton, Ron Marshall. Chad Ekey, Matthew Lee and Josh Giles. Replacing several all stars on the offensive line won’t be easy. Jones told a gathering of players, par ents and fans after the game “Well have a bunch of new kids next year. We’ve got a long way to go, but I promise you we’ll get there. We looked good against FPD, but Windsor was more physical, and we had a little trouble with them." Bo Hart, Ernest Greene and Mitch Greer took the snaps at quarterback as Jones and his staff seek a replacement for three-year starter Trevor Jones. Gone, too, is all-state fullback Jared Shell, who rushed for nearly 1,400 yards a year ago. Running back Tate Park Georgia High School Rodeo Association bringing finals to Georgia National Fairgrounds State rodeo finals expected to draw large crowd to Perry arena Swoai. to th» Home Jwkkm. Two hundred Georgia high school students will compete at the 21st annual Georgia High School Rodeo finals in the Reaves Arena at the Georgia National Fairgrounds June 11, at 8 p.m., June 12 and June 13. starting at 2 p.m. both days. The event will fill more than 300 stalls at the fair grounds and 400 hotel rooms in Perry, according to rodeo planners. Teens from across Geor gia will be completing in barrel racing, pole bending, calf roping, goat tying, breakaway roping, team roping, bull and bronc rid Houston Home Journal er was also lost to gradua tion, and the Hornets will be hard pressed to find a runner with Parker’s speed and determination. Back, though, is Jacob Walker at a running back position. Walker will be among the top players in the Georgia Independent Schools Association with outstanding speed, balance and strength Chance Jones figures to move into Shell’s fullback position. Jones is a power ful runner who hits the hole with authority. Matthew Hulbert looked extremely quick in the spring Jamboree, and should step in and replace Parker. Hulbert is also extremely fast. John Curtis Gibbs appears set to replace speedy Gary Virden at split end. It is along the line that Westfield will be inexperi enced, with new faces in every starting offensive line position. Ben Brannen returns from last ye&r's team, but he has been moved from center to tack le. He will apparently team with another rising junior, Michael Giles, at the tackle positions. Giles gained con siderable experience a year ago. Joel Stephens appears ready to move into the starting position at center. Stephens is another rising junior. Matthew Eve and Golden Goss opened the jamboree as the guards, but several other Hornets got long looks from the coaching staff, and the line positions appear to be open. ing. One highlight is the selection of the Georgia High School Rodeo Queen and Court for the year 2000. A special recognition cer emony will be held for Rep. Henry Reaves, who is a strong supporter of the high school rodeo and the Geor gia National Fairgrounds and Agricenter. The top 20 contestants in each rodeo event will be competing to participate in the national High School Rodeo finals, to be held in Gillette, Wyo., in July. Kathleen O’Neill, rodeo chairperson, said that stu dents from kindergarten Eddie Mathews, hit three home runs on Sept. 27, 1952, becom ing the first rookie to hit three homers in a game. By 1953, the Braves were in Mil waukee, attracting what was then a National League record 1,826,297 fans. Mathews led the league with 47 home runs, and Spahn led the league with 23 victories. In 1954, Bobby Thomson broke an ankle in spring train ing, forcing the Braves to convert a young second baseman named Hank Aaron into an outfielder. Aaron hit .281 with 13 home runs as the Braves finished third in the league. The year 1957 was a great year for the Braves. After losing the 1956 pennant to the Dodgers on the final day of the season, the Braves came back in 1957 to take the National League title, then beat the New York Yankees in the World Series behind a spectacular pitching perfor mance by Lew Burdette. Daniel Weir returns at tight end and will also con tinue at the Hornets’ punter. Place kicker Nathan Skinner is also back Cole Carter, R.G. Lamar, Patrick Harris, Stephen Baxter and Cody Mont gomery are others who will be looked to for help along the line. Don Walker returns at defensive end and provides good speed at the position. Walker will open at safety, with Will Sexton returning at a corner back. Kyle Harold returns at one line backer position, with Jones set to move into Shell’s spot as linebacker. Hart was a starter at safety last year, but just how much he plays on defense will depend on his role at the quarterback position. Same with Greene. Kory Kitchens off last year’s team will get a lot of playing time at a cor nerback spot. Will Holt was unable to participate in spring drills, recovering following shoul der surgery, but the versa tile rising junior should be a factor at both running back and linebacker. Jones has lost defensive coordinator Rennie Atkin son and line coach Jeff Dehem from the coaching staff, although Dehem was on hand to help with spring .drills. Duane Hunter has joined the coaching staff, from Fullington Academy. Westfield opens at Fullington on Aug. 27. The home opener will be against Tiftarea on Sept. 10, follow ing a road game at Tattnall Square Sept. 3 The rodeo is June Il ls at the Agricenter. through high school will be offered a special admission rate of $3 to the evening event on June 11. Admission for adults is $8 per day. Children ages 6-12 will be admitted on June 12 for $5, and chil dren 5 and under will be admitted free. “Everyone is invited to put on hats and boots and head out to the Agricenter/ O’Neill said. For more information, call 800-987-3247 or 912- 825-8338. Aaron led the league in homers and runs batted in, and won the Most Valuable Player award, but it was a couple of late season call-ups, Wes Covington and Bob “Hurricane" Hazle, who sparked the Braves. Covington hit 21 home runs, and Hazel batted .403 down the stretch for the Braves. Burdette won three games and Aaron batted .393 as the Braves beat the Yankees in the World Series. Spahn won the Cy Young award. Then, 1958 was the year the Dodgers and the Giants moved west, but the National League pennant stayed where it was. in Milwaukee. This time, though, the Yankees won the World Series, four games to three. Mathews and Aaron combined to hit 61 home runs, Spahn and Burdette won a total of 42 games. In 1963, Aaron just missed the triple crown, hitting 44 home runs and driving in 130.