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Perry honors 1959 region champs during 1999 football game
By JOAN DORSETT
reception and halftime
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Home Journal Photo by Joan Dorsett
TEAM PAUSES FOR PHOTO DURING RECEPTION
Team Gathered Before Game To Review 1959 Title
Panthers rebound,
take first win over
Jackson in overtime
By ALLINE KENT
Home Journal Stoats
Last week, after the Pan
ther's close game with Man
chester, Defensive Coordi
nator for the Panthers, Carl
Dixon commented that
other than Dodge County,
Perry had played good foot
ball this season. “Except
on the scoreboard and
that’s where it counts," he
said.
Friday night at the Pan
ther Pit, the scoreboard
finally got it right.
Perry defeated the Jack
son Blue Devils with a 33-
32 overtime win, picking up
the winning point by pene
tration.
The victory gives thfetSttfh -
thers their first region vic
tory of the season and
keeps their hopes of mak
ing the playoffs alive
Perry received the open
ing kickoff and started play
from the 35 yard line. On
Perry’s first play of the
game Monterrious Engram
made a spectacular recep
tion and carried the ball to
the Jackson 37 yard line.
Tray Green on die carry,
picked up seven yards on
the next play. Michael
Robinson's reception was
good on the six yard line
and two plays later, with 10
minutes on the clock,
Rashad Winn carried the
ball in for the Panther
touchdown and set the tone
for the Perry offense for the
entire evening.
Jackson answered back
with a field goal their first
possession making the
score 8-3 after the first
Reflecting on Ronnie Jones’ major coaching milestone
By now I suppose just about
everybody is aware that on Oct 1,
coach Ronnie Jones reached a
milestone in his coaching career
that’s attained by very few. He
won his 200th game as a high
school coach in Alabama and
Georgia, most of them in his 20
years as a coach on this side of
the state line.
Jones began his career in his
home state of Alabama, at Wood
land Christian School in Phenix
City. For three years he was ath
letic director, head football coach
and head baseball coach. In his
three years at the school, his
team won one state champi
onship in football.
But soon the state of Georgia
beckoned the Auburn graduate,
and he hightailed it for
Thomasville and Brookwood
Academy, where he stayed for 11
years. At Brookwood, Jones was
again thrust into the role of ath
letic director, head football coach
and head baseball coach. While
at Brookwood, Jones coached
Chris Reeves, now the head
coach at Macon County High
School in Montezuma.
Jones’ teams at Brookwood
won two state championships, so
recognition at the Perry-
Jackson game Oct. 1. Hon
ored were players and
coaches of the 1959 Perry
quarter of play.
Perry’s Phillip Gentry
was injured on the Pan
thers first touchdown play
and had to be assisted from
the field. Without their
place kicker, Perry had to
resort to a running game
after each touchdown with
highly successful results,
converting five out of six
times.
Gentry tore both liga
ments in his right knee and
will require surgery. He
will miss the remainder of
the football season.
Ronnie Collier filled in for
Gentry as punter with an
average of 35 yards a punt.
Donovan Kendrick took
duties on the kick
off.
"When you lose your
starting linebacker, kicker
and punter, it is a big blow,
“ said Coach George Collins
speaking of Phillip Gentry.
"But Ronnie and Donovan
did a good job for us.”
Collins’ gave a lot of credit
to Kendrick’s kick to the
endzone during overtime
play for the penetration vic
tory. ’That was just huge
for us." he said. “It was
essential to back them up
as far as possible."
Although the Red Devils
scored in the second quar
ter, the damage could have
been much greater if the
Perry defense had not risen
to the challenge. When the
2nd quarter opened, the
Red Devils caught a Pam
thcr punt on the five and
See Hornets, page 8A
Phil
Clark
Home
Journal
Sports
Ronnie is no stranger to title
games.
Jones left Brookwood and the
Georgia Independent School
Association to take the head foot
ball coaching job at Calhoun
County in Edison, a member of
Georgia High School Association
region lA. Jones didn’t win any
championships at Calhoun
County, but his team did hand
C.B. Cornett one of his 10 losses
while in an eight-year tenure at
Macon County High School. This
was a region playoff game, too.
eliminating the Bulldogs from the
playoffs before reaching state.
Ronnie will tell you he’s proud
of those 200 coaching victories,
and he’s proud of the state cham
pionships, koo. But more, per
haps, for nis players than for
High Region 2-B football
champs which remain the
only Perry High team to win
a region football champi
onship.
Some 14 players and two
coaches with their family
members attended the 6:30
p.m. reception in the school
lunchroom and were wel
comed by PHS Principal
Phil Smith.
Teacher Dicky Erwin
spoke of his research that
led to the realization there
had been only one region
winning team and that it
had won 40 years ago.
Thus the inspiration for
the “welcome back."
PHS team chaplain
Bobby Nix led in prayer for
the deceased team mem
bers: assistant coach Ben
Lee, Jake Duckworth, Den
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Home Journal Photo by Rob Mead
JUNIOR DANIEL WEIR (84) LOOKS FOR ROOM
He Helped Hornets Down FPD For Jones’ Win
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WILL HOLT LOOKS FOR RUNNING ROOM AT FPD
himself. Ronnie Jones just isn’t
the type to ever seek the spot
light. In fact, you have to twist his
arm, poke and prod to ever get
anything about him when it
comes to his accomplishments.
Talk about his boys, and you
can't keep him quiet. And that’s
the way it should be. Unfortu
nately, that isn’t always the case
in the coaching profession.
Ronnie and his wife Beth are
both native Alabamians, but
Georgia, and particularly Peny. is
fortunate they chose to migrate
east some 20 years ago. While
Ronnie is still an Auburn fan,
and still keeps up with his home
state, I think he's just about to
get used to being a transplanted
Georgian. We’ll take him, and any
more like him that Alabama
wants to send this way.
One of the first things Jones
had to say when presented a foot
ball autographed by every mem
ber of the current team was “to
win 200 football games means I
have been fortunate to have a lot
of outstanding and dedicated
athletes, and I’ve been blessed
with a lot of great coaches who
have done a lot to help reach that
plateau." There you go, directing
Page 6A
- Wed., Oct. 6, 1999
nis Fesmire, Charles
Bridges and Mike Jacobs.
Reminiscing was encour
aged by visits with Head
Coach George Collins,
Touchdown Club President
Phil Gentry. PA announcer
Johnny Barton and avid
PHS supporter Doug Bar
nett .
Refreshments by the
PHS Touchdown Club were
served by Brenda Gentry
and Rochelle Denton. Reg
istration was handled by
seniors Summer Saunders
and Mandy Hinkle who
gave out programs and
tickets for the game and a
memory book that included
brief statistics of each game
of 1959 compiled by Dicky
Erwin from old bound
copies of The Houston
Home Journal
Houston Ham Journal
The honored guests had
50-yard line seats for a very
exciting ball game that
went into overtime with
Perry winning 33-32 on
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REGION TITLEISTS RECOGNIZED AT HALFTIME
Team Has Claim To Only PHS Region Football Title
Hornets grant
Jones’ 200th
career win
By Phil Clark
Home Journal Sports
MACON - The First
Presbyterian Day School
Vikings might have thought
they’d discovered some
thing in their first posses
sion against the Westfield
Hornets in their Georgia
Independent School Associ
ation non-region meeting in
Macon Oct 1. They hadent
and lost
The Vikings, who are
known to put the ball in the
air under coach Cater
Pierce, instead kept the ball
on 1 the ground for six plays
on ' their Opening posses
sion. picking up 18 yards
rushing. But it was on a
pass play that the Westfield
defense delivered a mes
sage when Kory Kitchens’
big hit forced an incomple
tion on a Chris Hardison to
Stephen Howell pass
attempt. And three plays
later Don Walker threw the
Vikings’ Kevin Summers for
a seven yard loss to set the
tempo for a long and frus
trating evening for Pierce
and his Vikings. After First
Presbyterian picked up 18
yards rushing in their first
possession, the team went
backwards for the remain
der of the game, finishing
the night with minus five
rushing yards for the game.
And the Westfield
defense wouldn't let Hardi
son get the passing game
going, either, sacking the
the praise to others. That’s just
the way Ronnie Jones is.
Ronnie and Beth have been
blessed, too, with two of the finest
young uns you’ll find. Trevor, a
1998 graduate and three-year
starter at quarterback, is now at
the University of Georgia. That’s
right, UGA! Ronnie would have
loved for Trevor to follow him to
Auburn, but you can bet he’s
darn proud of him, even if he is
rooting for the Red and Black
now.
Then there’s Chance. A sopho
more starter at fullback and line
backer. Chance played a huge
part in his dad’s 200th win.
Chance stepped in to fill the
shoes of the departed all-state
fullback Jared Shell, and has
done a tremendous job, teaming
with Jacob Walker and now Will
Holt to provide the Hornets with
another potent running attack,
directed by junior Bo Hart at
quarterback.
Now in his seventh season at
Westfield, Jones has had but four
starting quarterbacks. In his first
season, in 1993, Jones had con
verted wide receiver Lon Talton
calling the signals, switching
from the wide open run and shoot
penetration.
At halftime the lormer
region champs were intro
duced individually and
warmly applauded.
Photo for the Home Journal by Hal Clover
big senior four times for a
loss of twenty yards. Hardi
son, who was third in the
GISA in passing yardage
with 717 going into the
game, did manage five com
pletions in ten tries in the
first half, but Just 2 of
eleven in the second half,
passing for just 72 yards
during the game.
The defensive stars
were plentiful. Kitchens had
another outstanding game
from his strong safety posi
tion, including a tackle for a
two yard loss on a swing
completion in the sec
ond quarter. Don Walker
was also busy. Aside from
his big hit for a loss on the
Vikings’ first possession.
Walker had*a quarterback
sack for minus ten yards
midway through the third
quarter. It came just two
plays after linebacker Kyle
Harold had nailed Hardison
for a five yard loss on a first
down pass play.
Cole Carter, Michael
Giles, Golden Goss and
Kent Keener were all
involved in plays which lost
yardage for the Vikings,
while Matthew Hulbert,
Joel Stevens and Walt
Brannen each recovered a
Viking fumble.
While Westfield’s
defense kept the Vikings
sputtering all night, the
See HORNETS, page 8A
offense of Joby Boydstone to a
sophisticated wing-t.
At the time, there were no
other GISA teams running that
offense. A few have switched,
though. Talton was with Jones
for just that one year, though.
Graduation took him.
Again Jones converted a wide
receiver into an outstanding
wing-t quarterback when junior
Matt Shepley stepped in to call
the signals for two seasons.
Under Talton's leadership, the
Hornets won a region champi
onship, and were runners-up to
the state champions. Shepley,
too, guided the team to a region
championship and a start run
ner-up, piloting the Jones
coached team to a 12-1-1 record
in 1995, the Hornets best record
under Jones.
Then came Trevor Jones for
three years, and two more region
championships. You know,
maybe Ronnie Jones is right. It’s
the outstanding young men he’s
been blessed with over the years
that led to the 200 victories. But
don't you believe for a minute
that Ronnie Jones doesn’t have a
heck of a lot to do with it. too.
Just don't expect him to admit it.