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Hornets pound Athens Christian, 28-6
Br Phil Claw
Hornets
scored on their first two
possessions of each half
and held Athens Christian
to just 33 rushing yards in
taking a 28-6 win in Geor
gia Independent School
Association non-region
football victory here Sept
17.
Athens mounted just one
scoring drive, that coming
on an impressive 13-play,
39-yard drive late in the
first half.
Athens had gained pos
session on a pass intercep
tion by Zack Reddish at the
Athens 40-yard line. Red
dish returned the intercep
tion 21 yards to the West
field 39 before Jacob Walk
er made the stop.
In their scoring drive,
Athens gained more than
four yards on a play just
once, but managed their
only three first-half first
downs in taking the ball
into the end zone on a one
yard run by Sonny Evans.
The drive toOk 7:36 and
accounted for nearly half of
the Eagles' total offense for
■the night.
Athens had the ball to
start the game, but the
Westfield deiense stopped
them after a gain of just
four yards.
■ The Hornets got their
first possession at their own
39-yard line after a 35-yard
Patrick Cheek punt.
Matthew Hulbert picked up
14 yards and a first down
on Westfield’s first offensive
play.
After Jacob Walker
picked up six and Chance
Jones two, Bo Hart hit
Ernest Greene on a third
down pass play, and
Greene outran the Athens
Revenge for last pear
Dodge County scalps
Perry Panthers , 43-6
By ALLINE KENT
Friday night the Peny Pan
thers fell to the Dodge
County Indians 43-6.
If you want to be more
complicated about it. the
number 3 ranked Class AA
team in the state literally
ran all over the Panthers.
The game ran the Dodge
record to 3-0 this year, 2-0
in Georgia High School
Association Region 4-AA.
The win also attoned the
Indians for the 10-7 win
Perry took last year.
Peny could not stop the
Indians' running game led
by one of the top backs in
Looking back at 1983, one of the years that was great
It’s Interesting to occasionally
look back a few years in local
sports and reflect on what was
going on. The year 1983 was an
interesting year for local high
school football.
First, it marked the end of the
football coaching career of West
field's Marvin Arrington, who had
been the school’s first coach, the
man who started the football
program at the private school.
Arrington, whp had been
appointed Assistant Headmaster
and consequently, taken on
added administrative duties,
turned over the football reins to
Gordon Powers after Arrington’s
final squad had gone 5-6 in
1982. Five of those six losses,
though, were by a combined total
of 21 points.
Powers won 56 games in seven
years at Westfield, He inherited a
team with a dozen seniors, plus
assistant coach Percy Hardy was
back. Hardy had coached a region
championship teahi in 1975 while
Arrington took a year off to pur
sue a postgraduate degree. The
1983 team nad two returning all
region 3AAA performers to build
defense to complete a 31-
yard scoring play.
The point after touch
down kick was wide left,
and the Hornets owned a 6-
0 lead with 8:48 left in the
first quarter.
Athens was again unable
to move against Westfield,
and hurt themselves with a
15-yard penalty. Don
Walker, Cole Carter. Kory
Kitchens and Jabob Walker
made the big plays in the
Westfield defensive effort.
Another Cheek punt put
the Hornets back to their
23-yard line, but Jacob
Walker quickly got them out
of a hole with a 34-yard
burst to the Athens 43-yard
line.
Don Walker had a 15-
yard carry and Mark Hul
bert bolted for 14 in the
Hornets’ touchdown drive.
Jacob Walker carried the
final eight yards for the
score, and Hart hit Mark
Hulbert for a two-point con
version to give Westfield a
14 -0 first quarter lead.
The Eagles lost yardage
on their next possession as
Chance Jones sacked
Athens quarterback Matt
Pittard for a 5-yard loss and
Ben Brannen stopped Zack
Reddish for a 2 vard loss on
a screen pass.
Westfield couldn't take
advantage of good field
position, and settled for
Daniel Weir's only punt of
the night on a fourth-and
-15. The teams exchanged
possessions until Reddish
intercepted the Hart pass to
set up the Eagles’ only scor
ing drive of the night.
The Hornets began the
second half just as they had
the first, by scoring on their
first two possessions. Tak
ing the opening kickoff in
the third quarter, Jacob
the region, Jeffery Thomas.
Dodge County picked up
368 yards on the ground
which included Thomas
rushing for 191 and three
touchdowns.
Following close behind
was Alfonso Washington
who added 117 yards and
two touchdowns.
“Although Dodge may be
the one of the best in the
region, we didn’t play like
we should have," Coach
George Collins said this
week. “It was by far our
worst game of the year."
Dodge controlled the
football the entire game
See PERRY, Page 10A
Phil
Clark
Home
Journal
Sports
around, Keith Thompson and
Chip Langston. Bert Brown and
Mike Campbell were assistant
coaches. It was not the kind of
debut season Powers would have
preferred, as his Hornets posted a
5-4-1 record, including a season
opening 7-7 tie with Stratford in
the first meeting between the two
schools.
Also, 1983 was the last year a
Perry High School football team
won a playoff game, as the foot
ball fortunes at the school have
not measured up the those in
basketball, track, golf and other
sports. Dave Crockett had taken
over the reins at Perry when Bob
Morrow decided to leave the
Walker set the Hornets up
with a 32-yard return to
the Westfield 45-yard line.
Walker got 20 yards on first
down, and the Hornets
used six more running
plays, including Will Holt’s
11 -yard touchdown run.
Holt had 19 yards on two
carries during the drive.
Nathan Skinner’s point
after kick gave Westfield a
21-6 lead.
Kory Kitchens, Chance
Jones and Kyle Harold
combined to stop Athens
for just three yards before
Daniel Weir recovered a
Pittard fumble at the
Athens 30-yard line, set
ting the Hornets up in
excellent field position.
See HORNETS, Page 10A
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STOP 'EM Hornets Kent Keener (51) and Ben Bran
nen (74) close in for a tackle on the Athens Christian
ball carrier who is following his blocker (52).
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ilomc Journal Photo l»y Jj Johnson
GETTING BUY Panther sophomore running back
Demarcris Vance (32) tries to ease past a Dodge defend
er late in the game Sept. 17.
■
Wed.. Sept. 22, 1999
Page 8A
coaching ranks and enter the pri
vate sector.
Crockett had taken the team to
the region 3AAA playoffs in 1982,
beating Dublin in the opening
round 20-8 before losing 24-17 to
Americus, so the success of the
1983 team was not a surprise.
Just as in 1982, tlie Panthers
beat Dublin in the opening round
of the region playoffs, this time bv
a 31-7 score, so local fans had
reason to believe their team could
finally win another region cham
pionship (the only one had come
in 1959).
Again, the Americus team was
standing in the way, and again
the Americus version of the Pan
thers beat the Perry version 28-10
to advance to the state playoffs.
Today, of course, there are no
region playoffs. Each region
determines four playoff represen -
tatives in regular season play,
and the four advance to play
teams from other regions accord
ing to Georgia High School Asso
ciation guidelines.
The year 1983 was also one of
lopsided state championship
games in the GHSA football play
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9b ! Jfl®
Home Journal Photos by Rob Mead
DEFENSE Kyle
Harold (35) and Don Walk
er (46) close in on an
Athens Christian running
back during action Sept.
17 in Perry.
Houston Home Journal
Getting There From Here
r x
\ Vv -' - Manchester
\ X -*—
"* v . Albany
~\J
To Sherwood:
Follow 1-75 to Cordele. South of Cordele, go southwest
on Ga. 300 to Albany. Past the Miller Brewing Co., take
the first right. Follow Ga. 300 to U.S. 19. Go under bridge,
turn right, do a 270-degree entrance onto U.S. 19 headed
south toward Camilla. Go about 5 miles. Ga. 234 exits
- - , P
Southwest Gecrgn Regia al ||
/HI fi>t ; / / 3*“^ LUOa —SfrfTng
MspLJA 4-
h'-yC » r i
Manchester High School
41 from Talbotton
offs. Tift County, after barely
beating Benedictine 7-6 in the
quarterfinals and edging Westside
Augusta 21-12 in the semifinals,
blasted LaGrange 59-6 in the
AAAA finals.
West Rome, in the midst of
their four-year run, beat Dooly
County 35-0 in AA. And in class
A, Palmetto won their second
state title in a row. The school no
longer exists, having merged with
Campbell Smyrna to form what is
now Creekside High School.
Only in class AAA was there a
close championship game in
1983. Mitchell-Baker beat Marist
21-13 for the championship.
Mitchell-Baker, of region lAAA,
had been eliminated the year
before by region foe Bainbridge,
as the Bearcats went on to the
state title 7-6 over Gainesville in a
driving rain storm.
The 1983-84 year was a disap
pointing season for the Perry bas
ketball team as well. After beating
Collins 77-66 in the first round,
the Panthers dropped a heart
breaking 64-63 decision to Thom
son. the same night Mitchell-
Baker eliminated Dodge County.
To Manchester:
Follow U.S. 341 north
to Fort Valley. Tag. Ga. 96
from Fort Valley through
Reynolds, Butler and
Howard to Junction City.
There is construction in
Junction City on the new
Ga. 96 roadbed. Watch for
a right turn on Ga. 90.
Follow Ga. 90 to Talbot
ton. Turn right on Ga. 41,
go through town and to
Manchester. In Manches
ter, stay on Ga. 41. Turn
left in downtown Man
chester near First Baptist
Church. Go about five
blocks, Ga. 41 will turn
right. Go past a shopping
center on right. Manches
ter High will be on the
right. The field is behind
the school.
Gainesville won the champi
onship, beating Fulton 89-64 in
the only lopsided boys champi
onship game. Douglass Atlanta
beat LaGrange 62-58 in the AAAA
title game, meaning LaGrange lost
both the football and boys basket
ball title games. Terrell County
beat Randolph Clay in a battle of
2AA team to win the champi
onship 63-57 while Woodbury
won in class A 66-63 over
Truetlen County.
The 1983-84 Perry girls team
also reach the state playoffs
before losing 57-51 in the opening
round to eventual state champion
Rockmart. Rockmart edged Dodge
County 50-47 for the champi
onship.
Perry’s only region football
championship came in 1959.
They played Americus for the
region championship in 1979.
While chances of coming out of
the current season as the number
one team in region 4AA seem
remote, the Panthers have plenty
of time, and games, to turn things
around and make the playoffs
this season.
right (west).
Follow Ga.
234 to Slappey
Boulevard.
Cross
Slappey, con
tinue about 3
miles to left
turn on coun
ty road. Go
about 4 miles
to 4-way stop.
Sherwood is
on the left, the
former River
wood campus.