Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

Sports ill !■ ■ ■. fg ■■■'"'- ' ; Jp J ’’„’ ' ’ TgH . 1 % Bfc I;;;-'“'■ * BsHߧ^ ■"“ "'' *' i J*jy?ss y’tjC'fc, *B|f ? " BSp ;^K 4 |k / ipr St k" ■*•-*, y^w ■ *'' : - * k ' * *v FVftw i. jT jfwbkj** j , ( 3c^' y yt- ’'^rjßHß 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 aft* -aft y mßft Jjft j «Psf ~r BR3IM| 1 . By, Ls; ->a*h' 4 I » jM ftp' <*** . jjjcraSSefeu Hr •**— * «li3r is " M* fc ,IHI. JNRHk 9 iipm- MiiWMHBiE HI **& f§§, ,- 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?