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Sports Perry honors 1959 region champs during 1999 football game By JOAN DORSETT reception and halftime - PL B,P n VBBrtffin w-iJMV fIH JHr **Wfc».* H BHHr ffW MA _ * j ' y . 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 Jk j. jel jmMm Hi ifMw»i v i r ' ~ a i Home Journal Photo by Rob Mead JUNIOR DANIEL WEIR (84) LOOKS FOR ROOM He Helped Hornets Down FPD For Jones’ Win fe, 4L flya p*Sj [ : jW \ j W ,Jt [ y * \ ouj \ Mil Jui 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 llmlti H I i i 9| s ft j # lInHH fi b| | r ill |:>XRBBB 1,-»H 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.