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Sports Panthers face sixth ranked Mary Persons in Forsyth BrALUNEKENT hq*« —_ Last year, Perry host ed Mary Persons and upset the Bulldogs the week the ’Dogs moved into the number 1 rank ingin Georgia Class AA. This year, it is sure that the 6th ranked Bulldogs will enter their game with the Panthers with their eyes wide open. Coach Steve Chafin is in the midst of only his second year as head coach of the Mary Per sons program and is once again looking toward post-season play. Last year, the Bulldogs finished with a 11-3 record, going four rounds in the play offs f ] before 3 falling to Early Co 33- 7 in a Georgia AA foot ball semifinal. Mary Persons fell only twice in regular season last year, once to the Panthers and once to Manchester. The team has picked up one loss this year, a 34-14 defeat by Dodge County in Eastman. Fortunately, for the Panthers, the Bulldogs have had a chance to lick their wounds already. While, Perry enjoyed the off-week, Mary Persons took on Macon County last week and beat those Bulldogs 28-14 improving their season record to 4-1. Despite four turnovers, Mary Per sons led the game 14-0 at the half, and 21-7 after the third quarter. Although the Bull dogs only returned seven starters on both sides of the ball, two of them are as good as high school football players get. Senior running back Jamario Smith (6, 190) and senior tight end Andre Zellner (6-3, 228) are considered top prospects for the Divi sion 1-A college level. Both are counted on strongly on both sides of the ball. The game begins at 8 p.m. Oct. 22 at Mitchell Field in Forsyth. Use Exit 60 off 1-75. Go over the interstate and about I one mile to a stop sign. Turn right on U.S. 41 and watch for signs. Prep football second season arrives region play For member schools in the Georgia Independent School Asso ciation, the second season is here. Most schools have not played a region game yet. Beginning now, the games that really count toward playoff seedings are here. Some schools, like Westfield, will have a week off toget ready for the region opener. The Hornets, members of GiSA region lAAA, will begin their bid for a fifth region championship in seven seasons under Ronnie Jones. Mount de Sales will be the oppo nent at the Hornet's Nest Oct 22. then the much-awaited battle with the number one Stratford Eagles will come at Stratford the following Friday night. The last of the short three game region schedule comes Nov. 5 when Windsor comes to the Hornet's Nest for homecoming. Westfield has been relatively untested except for the 14-14 tie With Tattnall, a game which the Hornets feel they should have won. What this has done is enabled coach Ronnie Jones and his coaching staff to do a little experi menting with personnel. What they have been able to do is take a thin, inexperienced squad and Westfield stings Brentwood 40-3 for sixth win By Phil Clark Home Joukhal Sports Just like Ole Man River, the Westfield Hornets Just keep rolling along. They Sicked up their sixth win of le season against a single tie in a 40-3 thrashing of Brentwood at the Hornet's Nest Oct. 8. The Hornets increased their GISA-best total yardage output to 2,573 vards in recording 344 yards on the ground and another 112 through the air against the Eagles. Westfield senior Jacob Walker took over the lead in rushing yardage in the Georgia Independent School Association, rushing for 178 yards on just 11 car ries, and his three touch downs brings his total to 18 in seven games. Walker shares the West field school record with 20 in a single season with Chris Small, who turned the trick in 1985. Walker has rushed for 874 yards to overtake Deerfield-windsor’s J. Car swell, whose team was idle last week. About the only pretty’ thing about this game, tnough, was the final score. The Hor •••> 9l ; m&mHk - * |tr':^# * ** ' Softball season ends in playojfs for Westfield Hornets By Phil Clark Home Journal Sports LEESBURG it was a dark, threatening day at the Lee County Recreation Complex here Oct 9 for the qualifying round of the Georgia Independent School Association soft ball playoffs. The Westfield Ladv Hornets did a little threatening of their own in a bid to eliminate region 4AAA runner-up Brentwood in the second meeting of the day between the two teams. After losing to Brentwood 8-3 in their first game of the day, the Lady Hornets then disposed of Athens Christian 7-0 before meeting Brent wood again after the Eagles had lost 17-6 to Southland. Westfield actually out hit Brent wood 13-12 in the opening game for both schools, but the Eagles were Phil nsr” Clark Journal shape a team that is able to play mostly one-platoon football. A few players go both ways, including ’ fullback-linebacker Chance Jones, split end-free safe- S! Ernest Greene and tight end efensive end Daniel Weir. While a few others play some on both offense and defense, for the most part, they are regulars on one side of the belli and backups on the other. Jacob Walker has not been called on to play defense as much as last year with the rapid develop ment of Kory Kitchens at strong safety. Matthew Hulbert, who started the season as a running back-defensive back, has been switched almost exclusively to dWc'hso, a portion L says “1 love nets lost two fumbles early in the game, but the Hornets’ superiority prevented the Eagles from taking advan tage of the miscues. After scoring on their first possession, a 5-play, 59 yard drive that took less than two minutes, the Hornets then bobbled the ball on a punt after holding the Eagles to 11 yards. By half-time, the Hornets owned a 19-3 lead with 141 rushing yards and another 79 through the air, despite being their own worst enemy. Getting the football when Brentwood won the toss and deferred, the Hornets marched down the field in just five plays. Will Holt got the night started with a seven-yard run. Walker broke open for 23 and 13 yard runs and after Chance Jones got four, Walker bolted into the end zone from 12 yards out. Nathan Skinner’s try for point after was wide left and the Hornets settled for a 6-0 lead just a minute 53 seconds into the game. Forcing a punt from the Brentwood 46, Westfield couldn't hang on to a fair catch at the 28, and the ball three in the bottom of the first to take a lead the Lady Hornets could never overtake. Westfield picked up two runs in their half of the third to cut the Brentwood lead to 4-2. Anne Peake and Amber Hunnicutt drove in runs. Julee Todd had one of her three tour nament doubles in the inning and scored one of the runs. The Eagles came back with two in their half of the inning, though, and Westfield could never get any closer. Rachel Moore, Peake. Emily Bennett and Rebecca Dudley each collected to play. Defense is my game. I'd much rather be on that side of the ball all the time." Jones does not play his quarter back, Bo Hart, on defense, although he was a defensive starter last year. Will Holt, who has gone both ways, is seeing more offensive time now thkn he does on defense since the Hulbert move. It is along the line where the most improvement has been made. The addition of Kent Keener at nose guard has helped to solidify the defensive line, and it allows Jones to start 10 different players at the five interior line positions. Matthew Eve, Patrick Harris, Ben Brannen, Joel Stevens and Stephen Baxter have steadily developed into a good offensive line that has allowed the Hornets to amass nearly 2,600 yards of offense in seven games. It also allows Cole Carter, Keen er, Michael Giles, Don Walker and Golden Goss to lineup almost exclusively as defensive players. Weir spells Goss at defensive end and Ben Brannen plays some or\ the defensive line, but the develop ment of several young players has been one of the keys to a 6-0-1 Page 8A Wed., Oct. 13, 1999 squirted upfield to the West field 35 where the Eagles recovered. They were able to convert the mishap into their only points of the game after stalling at the Westfield 12- yard line when junior Cliff Smith booted a 29- yard field goal with 2:43 left in the i first quarter. Bo Hart continued his pin point passing, f pfe ing with Holt for a 36-vard pick up ' after the ■?§£' J| Brentwood ■Bl * kickoff. Walk er got four By before mNfr the Hor- w C O B nets fumbled WALKER and Brent- fHe now wood has 18 again recov- m TDs. ered. *** A defense headed by Ernest Greene, who had three tackles in the Eagles’ next possession, forced another Smith punt and this time the big junior BIG D Cole Carter (79) closes in for a tackle of a Brentwood ball carri er. Rushing in to assist is Ben Brannen (74). Mean while, Will Holt (22, to the right) looks for running room against Brentwood. Trailing him is Jacob Walker (18). (Home Jour nal Photos by Rob Mead.) ■ ... , PVjyih g able to bunch ' their hits well enough to score in five of their six turns at bat. Brent wood tallied Houston Horn Journal nailed a 53-yarder that Greene returned two yards to the Westfield 36-yard line. Hart finished off a five play drive with a 25-yard touch down pass to Daniel Weir on which the junior tight end broke out of a Brentwood tackle at the 20 and muscled his way past the final two defenders for his third touchdown of the year. | Skinner tacked on the point after for a 13-3 West field lead. Brentwood’s Don* "March man rolled the dice and went for a first down on a fourth and-one at the Brentwood 44-yard-line on the Eagles ensuing possession. The decision backfired when the Hornets stopped quarter back Charlie Durden in his tracks for no gain. The Hornets then needed just three plays to convert Sf jgpfe:" % „„ 4 , two hits for Westfield. Falling into the losers' bracket, Westfield faced Athens Christian in the second game. Athens had been humiliated by Southland 20-3 in their first game. The Lady Hornets flicked up three runs in the first and our in the second to account for all of the scoring in the 7-0 shutout win behind freshman Amanda Murph. Athens managed just four hits in the game. Rachel Moore walked to open the Lady Hornets' first inning, on the way to a perfect three-for-three day. Julee Toda reached on an error, but was erased on a fielder's choice grounder off the bat of Anne Peake. Hanna Barrett sent one run home with a single, and another scored when Athens Christian hobbled the ball in left center. Barrett came around to start for Westfield. Since there are just four teams in region lAAA ana three of them make the state playoffs, the pres sure is not nearly as great as it is at Perry High School, where George Collins' Panthers play in one of the toughest regions in Georgia High School Association football regard less of classification. Four teams from the region qual ify for the state playoffs, the four with the best regular season region records. Most of the teams in the region were idle last week, while the Mary Persons Bulldogs edged a bit closer to a playoff berth by nanding Chris Reeves' Macon County Bull dogs their third region loss. Mary Persons nas won three while losing one region game to fol low Dodge County in the stand ings. Macon County’s three losses is about all the team can afford, and they still have several tough games left. Three region losses was good enough for the fourth spot a year ago, but an improved Dodge Coun ty adds another team to the mix. The Indians missed the playoffs last year. Lamar County has also lost just one region game and Har the score as Walker picked up 30 on first down and scored from the seven after a Chance Jones pick up of eight yards. The run for a two-point conversion failed and Westfield led 19-3 with just under four minutes left in the first half. Despite trailing by 16 points, Brentwooos March man chose to stay in his wishbone offense, and although the Eagles moved the ball a little against the Hornets, they never threat ened to score again until late in the game. With 3:45 left in the half when the Eagles got the ball back on the Westfield kickoff, M archman kept his troops on the ground, using up nearly three minutes before giving up the ball at the Westfield See WINNERS, Page IQA score the third run of the inning on another Athens error after a single by Emily Bennett. The Athens defense tightened up in the second, but the Westfield bats remained hot as Rebecca Dudley got a one out single and moved up when Muiph singled. Moore’s single loaded the bases and Todd drove in all three runners when her finer sailed over the left center fielder's head for a triple. Todd then scored on Peake's sacri fice fly, giving Westfield a quick 7-0 lead. The 7-0 victory sent the Lady Hor nets against Brentwood again after Southland’s 17-6 victory put the Eagles into the losers' bracket. With rain coming down through See SOFTBALL, Page 10A ris County two. Perry, with losses to Lamar, Dodge County and Man chester, now finds itself in a must win situation. Manchester and Persons, two of last year’s playoff teams, appear set to repeat. Dodge is leading the region standings. Lamar and Har ris are knocking on the door while Macon County and Jackson could be left out this year. Perry’s game at Mary Persons Oct 15 is the key to the season. If they can beat the Bulldogs, and they certainly have the talent, then they could be in good shape although their loss to Lamar County could come back to haunt them, as could the overtime loss to Vidalia in a non-region game, should the second tie breaker come into the picture. Perry beat Mary Persons last year. They can do it again. And they must. There are no region champions anymore in the GHSA, only number one seeds. Perry’s last, and only, region championship was in 1959. They glayea Americus for the region title l 1979. Could they be running in 20-year cycles? Could this be the year they return to the playoffs?