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Sports 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 : jp . . aßfnVi i' A ifYra i Iggjl’... . 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). r ~ 'iikRRK! /|9 '’ —■ .a ,JJb Iky? x ' i m iMm Jh X, **'‘T .. —l ——- ————— 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 xje .sedUV • Wf wM Mr j 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.