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Sports It’s a football jamboree! HEADED DOWNFIELD Donovan Kendrick (35), a senior running back for Perry, heads downfield against Peach County in the Peach Jamboree Aug. 20. Providing blocking against the Trojans are junior Laron Davis (74), Junior Rashad Winn (7), and Junior Willie Simon (62). < jpjjaP* II GIVE ME SOME HELP Panther running back Michael Fluellen (2), a junior, looks to Tray Green (25), ajellow junior, for help as he looks for room against Peach County, The Panthers tied I'eacti *7-7 in the minute jamboree game. 111 Iff yrmmfWW I'CIIHM, 1 ~TW/ 'V' . ...Z""' , '’ y * T * l ■' "HHttf*-'*" "'^ It s August, so it must be time for high school football I know, it's much too hot to be thinking high school football. But that time is here again. Boot ball fans will have to brave mos quitoes, even gnats, and the players will have to endure heal and humidity uncommon to loot ball, but the season is here. The first game of the new sea son takes place Aug 26 as Mount de Sales hosts defending Georgia Independent School Association class AAA champion Tattnall at 8 p.m. at the Mount de Sales ath letic complex. That’s just for openers. The following night, most other GISA teams kick into action. The West field Hornets, with Ronnie Jones set to begin his seventh season Ht the helm, with play at Fulling ton Aug 27 at 8 p.m. That same night. Ricky Ellis takes his Windsor Knights on the road to play at Brentwood in what could be a matchup of teams that will go deep into the playoffs this year. Southland will host Southwest Georgia as Craig Rhodes tries to get his Raiders back into championship con tending form. Stratford, one of the preseason favorites in GISA class AAA, will meet another playoff contender as Cater Pierce’s First Presbyterian Vikings host the Eagles. While the Georgia High School - * Phil Clark Home Journal Sports Association doesn't start for another week for most schools, there is the Corky Kell Classic at the Georgia Dome Aug 28. The four-game program, which kicks off at noon, features the same teams as a year ago, with a change in opponents in the AAAA games A year ago in AAAA. MeEach ern beat Parkview 32-7 on the way to the state final, while Brookwood beat Colquitt County 21 16. This year. Parkview plays Colquitt while McEachern meets Brookwood. A year ago, besides McEachern reaching the state finals. Brookwood and Colquitt reached the semi-linals while Parkview lost in the quarterfi nals. In other Kell Classic games this year, the class AA game fea tures state champion Carrollton against Elbert County again. Elbert finished just 5-5 a year —_ 1- ~— " Mht ' f| w "|rj CjTW /*5 / „ <»>. \ rVfl •' ** -* • | n * * % 4, — - —ii I THINK I CAN, I THINK I CAN Panther defensive back Quintin Johnson (31), a senior, races to block a Warner Robins punt in the first game of the three-game Jamboree. His effort fell just short as Warner Robins got the kick away. The Demons scored two quick touch downs against Perry, and held on in an otherwise very evenly matched game to win 14-0. Peach downed Warn er Robins 7-0 in the second game. Horae Journal Photos by Jj Johnson GETTING SOME HELP Rashad Winn (7) opens a hole against Peach County for Donovan Kendrick (35). Kendrick, a four-year player for the Panthers, is expect ed to carry a heavy load from the backfield this season. The Panthers used junior Philip Gentry in a 40-yard field goal effort on the final play of the game. Gentry's kick fell wide but had the distance to clear the crossbar. A penalty on the play gave Gentry a chance 10 yards closer, but the effort was blocked, leaving the teams tied 7-7. Perry opens the regular season Sept. 3 at the Pan ther Pit with Vidalia, the only non-region 4-AA team the Panthers face during the season. ago and missed the playoffs. The AAA game again has Thomas County Central facing Danila. Thomas County reached the set ond round a year ago while Dae ula lost in the first round. A week later in the GIISA. everybody jumps into the fray. The Perry Panthers, coming oil an impressive 7-3 season in which they barely missed the playoffs, will meet the Vidalia Indians in the season opener Sep 3 at the Panther Pit. It is Perry’s only non-region 4 AA game. The Panthers won last year in Vidalia 20-19. Thev meet Lamar County Sept 10. Over in Fort Valley, the Peach County Trojans come off a near miss season in which they made it to the state finals before losing to Dougherty County. Long-time assistant coach Alan Rodemaker was promoted to head coach when Rodney Walker decided to leave for Sandy Creek, a region 4-AAA school in Tyrone. Rode maker was the popular choice of fans, booster club members and players, so the transition should be smooth. The Trojans again open the season with always-tough class AAAA Northside of Warner Robins. The game a year ago was a blowout, the Eagles winning 38-0, one of just two regular sea- Page 6A Wed.. Aug. 25, 19‘>9 Houston Home Journal Lady Hornets claim three wins at Pinewood Westfield goes 3-1 in day-long tourney BY PHIL CLARK Home Journal Sports HfcLlfeVfLtft”-^TSSaK Leigh Ann Johnson, begin ning her second year as head of the Westfield Lady Hornets softball program, used the Pinewood Christ ian Academy preseason tournament to fine-tune her team for the regular season, and look for answers to questions at a couple of positions. Johnson used her entire squad of 16 players during the tournament as she watched her team win three times, with the only loss coming to host Pinewood, a perennial Georgia Independent Schools Association soft ball power. The Lady Hornets pound ed out 46 hits, including eight for extra bases, in scoring 43 runs during their four games. All of the offense came in three of the games, though, as Pinewood scored a 15-0 three inning win in the Lady Hornets' third game of the day. In that game. West field managed just a single by Stephanie Burdeshaw. Otherwise, though, the offense was productive as Ann Peake and Stephanie Thompson each recorded seven hits in 10 at-bats, with Burdeshaw collecting five. Hannah Barrett and Amber liunnieutt had four each. liunnieutt let the team with seven runs batted in and hit the only home run for Westfield, an inside-the park drive that went deep into the right field corner for the right hand hitter. It was a day of sevens' for the Lady Hornets. Hun nicutt led with seven RBI. Rachel Moore scored seven runs, while Peake and Thompson each collected seven hits. The team col leeted eight extra base hits, including Hunnicutt's homer, two triples each by Moore and Patty Dudley and one by Barrett, plus doubles by Julee Todd and Rebecca Dudley. Defensively, the team turned two double plays. The first came in game two against Memorial. With runners at first and sec ond, Hunnicutt speared a sharp grounder and tagged the runner moving toward third, then tossed to Thompson covering at sec son losses for Peach County last season. Conrad Nix took the Eagles all the way to the AAAA quarterfinals before losing to McEachern 24 21. after North side had eliminated Lowndes County the week before In other matchups on opening weekend. Richard Fendley takes his Warner Robins Demons south to Diwndes County where Milt Miller will have the Lowndes County Vikings ready to go to war. A year ago, in Warner Robins, Drwndes- won 29-7. so the Demons have something to prove. Robert Davis, the longtime Warner Robins coach now at West side Macon, will also be traveling to Valdosta. His Semi noles, a surprise playoff team in their first year of varsity competi tion. will meet the state champi on Valdosta Wildcats, who scalped the Seminoles 35-6 in last year’s meeting. You must admire Fendley and Davis, though. Opening night competition is most often a non region affair, and a lot of coaches will go out and schedule an easy game. Not so in this case, though. Lowndes and Valdosta are always tough. They are almost unbeatable at home in non-region games. Doug Johnson will take the i Westfield A vs. Stratford 26 ' p.m. y at Stratford ond to force the runner moving up from first. The second double play came in the team's fourth game, against Trinity Christian With a runner at first and none out, Trinity’s Woody hit a pop just in front of the plate to the right of the mound. Julee Todd made a diving catch of the pop, then tossed to Rebecca Dudley at first to double off the runner. In their 3-1 tournament performance. Westfield scored beat Augusta Chris tian 15-9, Memorial 14-4 and Trinity 14-6, while los ing 15-0 to Pinewood. Ann Peake went 4-4 in the win over Trinity, while Stephanie Thompson was 3-3 against Memorial. Hunnicutt was and Katie Stewart each went 2 2 in the Memorial game. The Lady Hornets were able to confine the oppo nents' offense to the top five hitters in the lineup for the most part. In the three wins, the bottom half of the batting order scored a total of two runs, and even in the loss to Pinewood, the bottom of the order scored just three of the 15 runs. Johnson also got a look at some B-team players who will be counted on to travel with the varsity as well. Katie Stewart was 2-3 in the two games she saw duty in. Ann Adams was 1 3 with a run scored while Amanda Murph was the winning pitcher over Memorial and also was 1-2 with two runs scored. Brittany Sullivan and Nikki Dean each started a game in the outfield for the Lady Hornets. Erin Adkins, the starting catcher, saw duty at second base in one game as Johnson experi mented with various com binations of players. Emily Bennett, who started one game in the outfield, caught in two others. The Lady Hornets open the GISA Region lAAA schedule Aug 26 at Strat ford at 4:15 pm. Houston County Bears to Jack son to meet the Red Devils again. The Bears look the measure n! Jackson 32-7 in a matchup of AAAA against AA teams. Dodge County, of region I AA. will host Toombs County in their opener A vear ago. Dodge County won 15 14 on the same night Perry was beating Vidalia 20-19. The games were played in sites just six miles apart. Coach Chris Reeves enters his second season at Macon County after succeeding C.B. Cornet. Reeves took his team two games deep into the playoffs lasi year alter finishing 7-3 in the regular season, a win over Perry putting them into the playoffs and deny ing Perryc The Bulldogs open with AAA state champion Dougherty County, a 40-7 win ner a year ago on the way to the state championship. Bleckley County will be at Hawkinsville in the opener for both teams. Bleckley, of class AA, beat the class A Red Devils 21-14 a year ago while Jim Mor rell was still the head coach at Hawkinsville. However, Morrell has moved on to take the job at Harris County, and the Red Dev ils have brought back one-time assistant Lee Campbell, who was the head coach at Montgomery County last season.