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Home Journal Photo by Phil Clark
MEMBERS OF THE WESTFIELD LADY HORNET TEAM GET THE WORD
Talking During Timeout Is New Head Coach Leigh Ann Johnson while Lina Arnold (12) listens
Fullington takes OT thriller
from Lady Hornets, 51-47
By Phil Clark
Home Joukkal Sports
The Westfield Lady Hornets and Fullington
Lady Trojans gave fans a little free basketball at
the Hornets' Nest Dec . 4, going into overtime
before Fullington pulled out a 51-47 win over
the Lady Hornets.
The Lady Trojans, with all five starters back
from a year ago, got seven points in the over
time period from Lindsey Bloodworth, including
five of six form the foul line, to pick up their
third Georgia Independent Schools Association
win of the young season and remain unbeaten.
The teams had battled on even terms
throughout the game, with Fullington taking a
10-8 first quarter lead before Westfield battled
back to gain a 23-20 advantage by half-time.
By the end of three quarters, Fullington was
back on top by two, leading 31-29. The Lady
Hornets had battled back from an 8-point
Fullington run.
On the first play of the fourth quarter, Lady
Hornet Anne Peake tied the game at 31 -all. then
Rachel Moore and Julee Todd hit back to back
baskets for a four-point Westfield lead.
With three minutes left in regulation, Kristen
Perry takes 68-55 win from Dooly County
By ALLINE KENT
Coach Carl Thomas and his
Perry Panthers improved to 4-
1 Dec. 4 with a 68-55 win over
Dooly County in non region
Georgia High School Associa
tion basketball competition.
Jason Stripling led Perry
with 12 points. Three other
Panthers had double figures;
A 1 Thorton added 11 while
Michael Whitehead and Allen
both scored 10.
The win was a solid one for
(he Panthers and exhibited
one of their biggest strengths,
depth. Eight Panthers put
points on the board during the
contest.
"We came out fiat," said
Thomas “and just were not
scoring. Our defense pressure
took them out of the game in
the second half."
Hie Panthers also took on
Warner Robins last week,
Mistake of SEC officials does not go unpunished
It's over, and there’s nothing that
can be done to correct the mistake.
But the officiating crew that worked
the Georgia Tech-Georgia game Nov.
27 has been suspended by the
Southeastern Conference.
The action came after SEC offi
cials saw what a television audience
had witnessed over and over. The
fumble that gave the ball to Georgia
Tech at their own one-yard line with
just seconds left in regulation was
not a fumble at all. Fact is, one offi
cial had ruled that Jasper Sanks,
the Georgia ball carrier, had lost the
ball only after his knees had both
touched the ground, ending the
play.
However, that official was over
ruled by two others who saw the
fumble! Question is, how did they
see the fumble when it actually was
n't a fumble? Before an official’s call
is overruled, there should be no
doubt that the original call was in
error in this case, the original call
was correct, the overruling was
wrong.
It won’t change the outcome of the
game, which was tied 48-48 at the
time, and which Georgia Tech went
on win 51 48 in overtime. Who
Ingram of Fullington drilled a three pointer for a
one-point Fullington lead before Rebecca Dud
ley tied the game with a free throw with 1:57
left.
With 1:05 left. Katie Bloodworth’s three
pointer put Fullington back on top. Westfield’s
Lina Arnold answered the trey with one of her
own with thirty seconds left, sending the game
into overtime.
Free throw shooting is an area in which the
Lady Hornets will work hard to improve. The
team missed 21 free throws in the Fullington
loss.
"We are making some positive strides," coach
Ann Johnson said after the tough loss to
Fullington. "We still have some areas that need
work, but I can see a lot of positive signs, and
that's encouraging," the first-year head coach
said.
Westfield: Todd 4. Moore 6, Arnold 15, Peake 10.
Dudley 8. Emily Bennett 4.
Fullington: Katie Bloodworth 13, Lindsey Bloodworth
17. Deana Scarborough 7. Kristen Ingram 10, Gina
Hogg 2, Jaclyn Scott 2
Halftime score: Westfield 23, Fullington 20. Regula
tion 40-40
falling 67-53. Thomas called
the Demon team, “the best
we've played so far this season.
They have four starters back,
while we lost four starters. It
was a good test for us."
Warner Robins shot out to a
lead early, but according to
Thomas his players hung in
there. “In spite of turnovers, in
spite of mistakes, our kids
stuck with it and played hard.”
Perry cut the Demon's lead
from 16 points to seven with 3
minutes on the clock. A couple
of free throw shots allowed the
Demons to stretch the score
back out.
“We came away with a loss."
said Thomas, “but also with a
lot of positives. We were com
petitive and showed it."
Kris Asbury led the Pan
thers with i 4 points that
included three three-pointers.
Thomas commented on the
strong game that Asbury had
Phil
Clark
Home
Journal
Sports
knows whether Georgia would have
successfully kicked a field goal to
win in regulation? That’s not the
question. The point is, they should
have had the opportunity to try.
It would be safe. I suppose, to
question why Georgia coach Jim
Donnan chose to run one more play
instead of kicking the field goal
before the controversial fumble call.
That’s not the call fans choose to
question, though. Instead, they
asked why Georgia ran a sweep on
their first possession near the Geor
gia Tech go.il line, and gave the ball
to big. 265-pound Charles Grant
instead of one of their swifter backs,
like Robert Arnaud or Patrick Pass.
Grant was in|ured on the play and
was lost for the game. Who knows
against the AAAA opponents.
“Kris played very well all
night against Warner Robins.
He also played the whole
night, never coming off the
floor during the game."
Perry will take on Region
opponents Tri-County and 0-4
Bleckley this week before trav
eling to Fort Valley Dec. 12 for
a matchup with Peach County.
"We always have a good
game against Peach County.
It is a big rivalry for us, has
been for years. It is an impor
tant game for both communi
ties."
Game time is 8:30 p.m..
Perry 53 Warner Robins 67
Allen 5. Thorton 12. Robinson 7.
Asbury 14. Whitehead 5, Stripling
8. Montgomery 2
Perry 68 Dooly County 55
Green 4. Allen 10, Thorton 11,
Robinson 4. Asbury 5. Whitehead
10. Striplilng 12. Montgomery 9
Page 6A
Wed., Dec. 8, 1999
what that decision cost the Bull
dogs. Besides not having Grant on
defense all game long, he was also
not available to carry the ball on the
final drive. Instead of Sanks trying to
bull straight ahead for a couple of
yards and a touchdown, it could
have been Grant. The early decision
had an indirect effect on the last
decision, didn’t it?
To defend Donnan on the decision
to run one more play instead of try
ing a field goal, his logic was that
Georgia Tech had moved the ball so
effectively and so swiftly against the
Georgia defense that 16 seconds
would have been enough time for
Tech's Joe Hamilton to move his
team into scoring position. He could
be right. Hamilton clearly was the
most impressive player on the field.
All of. this could have been moot,
however, if one official had not over
ruled another who actually had the
call right. The SEC opted to suspend
the entire crew, and maybe that’s
the way It should be done. But the
official who made the correct call,
but was overruled, should get some
consideration.
This is not the only game that was
tainted by blown calls, to be sure.
Top Panther grid stars recognized
Br ALLINE KENT
Homs Jooknal B>orr»
It wasan emotional night
for many as Perry Panther
coaches, fans and players
gathered to celebrate a season
that head coach George
Collins called a “tribute to
every young man on the team."
“It is easy to work and pre
pare every week when you
have a winning streak going,"
said Collins. "But to come in
on Monday, after an overtime
loss or a heartbreaker and
work makes a team special."
The Panthers annual foot
ball banquet was hosted by
the Touchdown Club Dec. 2.
The Junior Varsity squad was
honored first, a team that
went undefeated against other
9th grade squads. Certificates
were given to the members of
the team by JV Coaches Hardy
and Billings.
Coach Mark Ivory recog
nized the varsity offensive
players and said that regard
less of the team’s record, the
Panthers still had a good year.
Ivory put special emphasis on
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HONORED With their plaques are (back,
from left)'Caleb White, WiUle Simon, Monter
rious Engram, Justin Mortarty, Fred Ridley,
HnH Bk*
Houston Horn Journal
his three seniors; Michael
Robinson, Dontrell Green and
Monterris Engram.
Defensive coordinator Carl
Dixon gave recognition to the
defensive players including
seniors. Dustin Rainey, Fred
Ridley, Matt Dennis, Justin
Moriarty, Jonathan Whitfield,
Morris Clarington, and A.B.
Woods. Dixon received a
standing ovation after com
menting on the character and
integrity of his senior class.
“It was a frustrating year,"
Dixon commented. “But it was
a learning year for all involved.
I am very proud of these young
men."
Four players were selected
by their coaches as outstand
ing players at their position;
Matt Dennis, Defensive Line
men; Marne? Taylor, Defensive
Back; Michael Robinson,
Offensive Back and Willie
Simon, Offensive Lineman.
The Panther coaching staff
selected the recipients of two
awards; Robert Warren was
chosen as Most Improved
while Justin Moriarty was
Some of them are on the college
level, some higher, and some are on
the high school level. There have
been games this year, games that I
have covered for this newspaper,
that were inundated by blown calls,
stupid calls, no-calls, late calls,
“convenient” calls and intentionally
wrong calls.
When this happens, when offi
cials take the game out of the hands
of the players, something needs to
be done, and it needs to be done
before the fact, not after.
How do you accomplish this?
That’s a hard question, and one that
probably can’t be answered. Do we
need character checks as well as
skill checks when certifying offi
cials? If that’s what it takes, yes.
If that’s what is needed to get not
only the incompetent, but the obvi
ously uncouth officials out of the
game, then perhaps that's what
needs to be done. Granted, It’s often
a thankless job. And often lans can
make better calls from the stands
than the officials can on the field
(that’s obvious just listen to the
fans around you at your next game).
Sadly, though more and more the
fans an- riel in make better
given the Coaches award.
The Touchdown club pre
sented Monterris Engram the
Panther Award and Doug Bar
nett from Chick-Fil-A gave the
“Can Do" award to Caleb
White.
Two awards were voted on
by the players. Dontrell Green
was named Outstanding
Offensive Player by his team
mates while Fred Ridley was
chosen as Outstanding Defen
sive Player.
Collins presented what he
called “special awards" to
those members of the commu
nity who volunteered their
time and energy for the Pan
ther program.
Included were Angie Pur
cell, Panther trainer; Brenda
Gentry, PHS Touchdown Club
volunteer; Ralph Thomas, Lee
Spiers, Reverend Bobby Nix;
Dicky Irvin. Doug Barnett, Tim
Lewis, R.G. Claxton, Phil Gen
try, Touchdown Club Presi
dent; Johnny Barton, and Phil
Smith, principal of Perry High.
Home Journal Photo by Alline Kent
Matt Dennis, (front) Mamez Taylor, Dontrell
Green and Michael Robinson
Special Photo
ELLIOTT EXTENDS CON
GRATULATIONS Elko resi
dent Walt Brannen (left) vis
its with NASCAR driver Bill
Elliott at the Atlanta Motor
Speedway. Brannen received
the Georgia Young Lions
Asphalt Championship
Award for his performance in
the races held in Atlanta and
Charlotte this season. He
raced 35 times during the six
months, accumulating 3,401
points out of a possible
3,500. He was ranked fourth
of 57 drivers and earned the
Georgia award, presented
before the recent NASCAR
race in Atlanta. Brannen had
wins in eight of the 10 Young
Lions races in the legends
series and II wins for the
season. Next year, Brannen
will be in the Legends Semi-
Pro Division and will partici
pate in Winter Speed Weeks
in Florida. More Brannen
information is at www.bran
nenracing9ll .com
calls from the stands.
I’m not on this soapbox because I
think Georgia was robbed and that
Georgia Tech was handed a gift. I'm
here because it amplifies the num
ber of blown calls.
Forget who was playing. One team
was had, the other was the benefi
ciary. That shouldn’t happen. Not on
the college level. Not on the profes
sional level, where there is the
option of replay. And certainly not
on the high school level where you’re
playing with the psyche of people
who are too young to be taken
advantage of.
Officials make mistakes like
everyone else. That's expected and
accepted. Honest mistakes, that is.
And most officials, the huge, huge
majority of them, are dedicated,
hard-working, conscientious folks
who wouldn’t do anything to harm
young players.
But a few have egos of their own
to feed. They need to be in control,
and the center of attention. Those
are the few that we need to weed out.
And there are a few of them.
Question is, how do we go about
getting that kind out of the profes
sion?