Newspaper Page Text
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FRIDAY,
FEBRUARY 27, 2004
ON i/■ i'
High school soccer
today
■ Perry at West Laurens, 5 p.m.
Houston County at LaGrange, 8
p.m.
Saturday
■ Warner Robins at Mount Zion,
2 p.m.
Houston County at LaGrange, 2
p.m.
Recreation basketball
today
■ Warner Robins Recreation
Department finals: Mite boys, 6
p.m.; Midget boys, 7:15 p.m.;
Senior boys, 8:30 p.m.
INhMM
Macon It*ax to host
Parry night
The Macon Trax will host
“Perry night” March 12, when the
team plays Jacksonville (7:30
p.m.).
Sponsored by Artie
Construction
based out of
Perry, the Nl\ -
special
event will
en a b
dents to pur
chase upper level
seating for $5. And, there will be
other activities the Trax them
selves will be wearing St.
Patrick’s Day jerseys in honor of
that occasion as well including
an auction after the game.
Tickets can be purchased at
the Perry Recreation Department
or Perry Country Club.
WR Roc holding
diamond signups
The Warner Robins Recreation
Department began baseball and
softball registration Saturday and
will continue until all leagues are
filled.
The cost is: $29 for city resi
dents, $59 for county residents
and slOl for those residing out
side of the county. Call 929-1916
for more information.
MU Angeis holding
basketbal tryouts
The South Georgia Angels girls
AAU basketball team is currently
having ongoing tryouts in Tifton.
Tryout dates are Wednesday and
March 3. The team is open to
girls ages 13-14. Contact Carlos
Howard at (229) 388-8949 for
more information.
Perry Rotary Club to
sponsor tourney
The Perry Rotary Club will
sponsor a charity bass tourna
ment and raffle March 13. The
cost is $125 per two-person
team. First prize is SI,OOO. Visit
www.rotarydistrict692o.net or call
987-8000 for more information.
TRIVIA f /
(kick diz...
In what year was the first poll to
determine a college football nation
al champion conducted?
On Ms date...
1997 Philadelphia's "Legion of
Doom” line scored 15 points against
the Ottawa Senators.
Born on _
Gene Sarazen, Feb. 27,1902
At 5-feet, 5-inches, he was the
shortest championship golfer. He
won the US. Open with a6B a
record dosing round at the time. He
is generally credited with develop
ing the sand iron.
8oun»: Spmkm'B Trattury ot Sport*
An*odo*§, Stohm and Humor
Hosted lt._
"I believe that professional
wrestling is dean and everything
else in the world is fixed.”
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Coming...
Sunday: Lady Bears,
Panthers gun for state titles
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Turner takes over reigns of Bears basebal
By Joe Sersey
HHJ Sports Writer
WARNER ROBINS
Houston County’s
baseball team will
seek to improve
on what to it —was a
disap
pointing
2003.
The
Bears fin
ish e d
above .500
PWVHW
at 12-10 but failed to make
the postseason even
though in the end, they
only missed by a game,
while finishing fifth in
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HHJ/Don Moncrief
Westfield head baseball coach Billy Sellers hits pop flys to outfielders during a practice at the school Monday.
The team will open its year by hosting a tournament.
Westfield rests its hope in pitching as season start nears
By Joe Sersey
HHJ Sports Writer
PERKY
Last year Westfield
had a 25-7 record
and finished third
in the Georgia
Independent School
Association’s Region 3-
AAA.
This
year, the
Hornets
could still
put
together
EASON
PftEVKW
that kind of record and
still be third.
The Hornets lost six of
their seven games to
Deerfield (two) and
Southland (four).
Westfield went to the state
playoffs and defeated
everybody they met until
the semifinals where they
Perry's girls soccer team doesn't 'Sweat' the small stuff
By Jos Ssrssy
HHJ Sports Wrltsr
PERRY Perry’s girls
soccer team has gotten off
to a rocky start (1-2) but
that shouldn’t concern
players or
fans too
much.
They’ve
been busy
against 2-
AAA A A
EASONj
teams like Houston
County for instance.
Their first victory came
against Dodge County.
Last year Perry finished
second in 4-AAA and last
ed until the second round
of the state playoffs.
During the off-season,
they lost three seniors, but
they still have seven start
ing this year. That give
head coach Courtney
Sports
rl
I
i
jjLi
I
Region
2
AAAAA.
This
year,
Ho C o
enters
with a
new
coach
and
eight
pitchers,
TURNER
five of whom are lefties.
Jim Turner is the coach.
He comes from First
Presbyterian where he
coached baseball for 20
years. In that time, he
Pop on top
again met Southland.
They lost and finished
third.
This year, Westfield fig
ures to add some young
sters into their mix.
“We’ve got a couple of
new players,” Westfield
coach Bill Sellers said.
“Look for a team to pitch
the ball well but have
trouble scoring runs.”
Sellers thinks that it
may take some time to get
the bats going. He is rely
ing heavily on his three
starters to get him
through the tough spots.
Bubba Blalock returns.
He bringß a 10-3 record,
0.74 earned run average
and 139 strikeouts. That
was good enough to get
him a scholarship to
Kennesaw State.
He’ll be the power pitch
• Herbert confidence her
team will make a strong
showing this year.
“I look forward to a
great season,” Herbert
said. “The key will be the
new playerß. We’re still
teaching them the game.”
Perry must get past
region powerhouses
Central, Macon, and
Dublin.
“Dublin always beats
us,” Herbert said. “Last
year, we lost one to
Central in double overtime
and tied them.”
The Lady Panthers will
rely on leading scorer Lisa
Sweat to provide leader
ship as well as scoring.
“Lisa is good at working
with other strikers,”
Herbert said. “She teaches
them how to cross over.”
Herbert said senior mid
amassed a 240-140 won
loss record.
U I was looking for a chal
lenge and a better retire
ment program,” Turner
said. “I’ve lived in Warner
Robins for 20 years, and
my father coached Little
League here for 40 years.”
The Bears lost several
starters to graduation.
As far as the secret to
success for his current
squad, Turner said it’s all
mound work.
“I looked at the won-loss
records of other region
teams and tried to put
some things together,” he
'Our hitting will
catch up to us
eventually, but
scorap n pong
to be at a
premium.
Westfield head baseball
coach Billy Sellers
er and Nick Shelton will
be the finesse guy.
Shelton was 6-3, had a
1.70 ERA and well over
100 strikeouts.
“We lost 11 seniors,”
Sellers said. “It’s a good
thing we have some people
coming back.”
Blalock will play short
1 look forward to
a mot season.
Tin key wte be
the new players.
were sun
teacnmg mem me
yams.
Pony girl* hssd soccer
cosch Courtnsy Hsrtmt
fielder Carly Jackson has
also developed into a good
shooter.
The four-year starter
has improved her passing
and long range shooting,
so opponents won’t be able
to focus on Sweat, Herbert
said.
'Pitching te always
the key We’ll need
quality innings.'
Houston County baseball
head coach Jim Turner
said. “Pitching is always
the key. We’ll need quality
innings.”
His team will field five
left-handed hurlers and
three right-handed, with a
couple more in the works.
For him, that’s the differ
ence between a private
when not pitching and
Shelton will play third.
James Liipfert is return
ing and looks to play cen
ter field. That means that
Josh O’Neal will have to
move from center to sec
ond.
“We’re playing 15 games
in five days next week,”
Sellers said. “Don’t be sur
prised if you see someone
playing one position in one
game and another position
in the next game.”
He is using the Clint
Brannen Motor Company
Baseball Bash as a way to
find out who can play
where.
The tournament is host
ed by Westfield and gives
GISA teams a chance to
get some games before
their regions schedules
See HORNETS, page ZB
“Jennifer McLaughlin is
another player who has
matured,” she added.
“She is a lifesaver at
defender. She’s extremely
fast and very good at
recovering if someone gets
past her.”
Another bright spot for
the Lady Panthers is
freshman keeper Jordan
Dykes.
She has started all three
of Perry’s games and
Herbert said she believes
that by her senior season,
Dykes will be the best
goalie in the county.
In winning their region
opener against the Indians
(6-0 and on Tuesday), they
combined an explosive
offense with a smothering
defense.
They play West Laurens
today in Dublin at 6 p.m.
1B
school and 2-AAAAA a
lot more to choose from.
“The big thing for a
coach is player develop
ment,” Turner said. “We
may experience some grow
ing pains, but we have a
great work ethic.”
Houston County will also
feature at least five left
handed batters.
He said he will be count
ing on production from
seniors Billy Dukes, Josh
Pope, Rafael Outler, Matt
Taylor, Aaron Pilarski,
Chip Jones and Kyle White.
His offense will combine
See BEARS, page 2B
jPi!
m u \
Riley Smith
Sports Writer
rsmith@evansnewspapers.com
Sports around
the Web are a
site to behold
Are you making the
most of your
Internet connection
specifically, do you ever
venture away from the same
3-4 Web sites? Tell me if this
sounds familiar. You check in
with the one that has your e
mail, then ESPN. Maybe you
visit a national or local
media outlet, get bored and
go back to ESPN.
Well, think about this.
Occasionally, I pick a city or
region I know hardly any
thing about, and take a look
at the local media’s Web site,
most recently Saint
Augustine, Fla. and Buffalo,
N.Y. I like to see how they
prioritize their sports and
news coverage.
Today, I took a look at the
sports pages on media Web
sites from cities all over the
world. It’s pretty interesting
to see what they’re dedicat
ing space on their Web sites
(as well as newspapers) to
for their readers.
The Sydney Morning
Herald (www.smh.com.au)
has extraordinary rugby cov
erage, naturally. (The top
three sub-headings refer to
different national rugby
leagues.) Golf is next.
Strangely, 90 percent is dedi
cated to the PGA and LPGA,
leaving just a little room for
the Australian Tour.
See SMITH, page ZB
Local football
dub recognizes
schools' host
By Jos Sersey
HHJ Sports Wiitsr
WARNER ROBINS
There are six gentlemen in
Houston County who proba
bly see more football than
the coaches. They are mem
bers of the All County
Football Fan Club.
“We used to have more
members," club treasurer
Robert Thomas said, “but
they weren't active so we
decided to go small.”
But what they do is larger.
Every year, the ACFFC
sponsors a banguet to honor
who its members think are
the best football players in
the county.
They meet the first
Monday of the month at the
Holiday Inn to discuss foot
ball rate players and plan
Sss CLUB, psgs 2B