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THE HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL
Dawg seniors establish tradition
By CHARLES ODUM
AP Sports Writer
TAMPA, Fla. - It was easy
for Georgia coach Mark Richt
to tip his cap to each mem
ber of his senior class after
Saturday’s Outback Bowl
victory over Wisconsin.
There are only six scholar
ship seniors on the team.
“It’s not that big of a
class,” Richt said.
Or, it may be the biggest
six-man senior class in col
lege football.
What could be more dif
ficult than replacing David
Greene, the winningest
quarterback in Division I-A
history and the only quar
terback to start in Richt’s
four years at Georgia?
How can Richt measure
the impact of losing defen
sive end David Pollack,
this year’s Southeastern
Conference Defensive Player
of the Year and the 2002
SEC Player of the Year.
The MVP of the Outback
Bowl, when he collected
three sacks and a key late
forced fumble and recov
ery, Pollack is Georgia’s all
time sacks leader, the 2004
Lombardi Award winner and
the only defensive player in
school history to be a three
time All-America pick.
Who will replace Reggie
Brown and Fred Gibson,
who ranked second and
third in the SEC this season
in receiving yards per game?
The two combined for 32
career touchdown catches
and more than 300 career
receptions.
The other seniors were
fullback Jeremy Thomas, a
Fabulous freshman Peterson fuels Oklahoma
By RALPH D. RUSSO
AP Sports Writer
MIAMI - At 7 years old,
Adrian Peterson was lifting
weights and practicing foot
ball plays with his dad.
“I guess that’s how I devel
oped a love for the sport,”
Oklahoma’s freshman sen
sation said.
Nelson Peterson started
his son on the road to star
dom, but wasn’t around to
see him make it this far.
In 1999, the elder Peterson
was sent to federal prison in
Texarkana, Texas, for laun
dering money for the sale of
drugs.
Adrian was in seventh
grade.
“It was tough,” he said
Sunday. “I just try to use it
Texas edges Michigan on last-second field goal
By The Associated Press
PASADENA, Calif. -Dusty
Mangum kicked a 37-yard
field goal as time expired
and No. 6 Texas, behind
quarterback Vince Young,
edged No. 13 Michigan 38-
37 Saturday in the first
matchup of two of college
football’s elite programs.
The Longhorns proved
they did indeed belong
in the Rose Bowl. The
Longhorns (11-1) earned
their trip West when they
leapfrogged fourth-ranked
California in the final BCS
standings, helped by coach
Mack Brown’s public pleas.
Michigan freshman quar
terback Chad Henne tied a
Rose Bowl record with four
touchdown passes, three to
All-American wide receiver
Braylon Edwards. Garrett
Rivas kicked three field
goals, the last a 42-yarder
that squeezed just inside the
right upright with 3:04 left
to give Michigan a 37-35
lead.
Capital One Bowl
lowa 30, LSU 25
ORLANDO, Fla. - Just
when it looked as though
coach Nick Saban would go
out a winner at LSU, the
lowa Hawkeyes came’ up
with a miracle finish.
Drew Tate threw a 56-
yard touchdown pass to
Warren Holloway on the
final play. The score capped
a wild fourth quarter and
spoiled a comeback by the
Tigers, who overcame a 12-
point deficit with 8 1/2 min-
• • Wr"' .... - k 1
AP
Georgia quarterback David Greene fires a pass against
Wisconsin in the Outback Bowl Saturday in Tampa, Fla.
two-year starter, and line
backer Arnold Harrison,
who had 15 career starts,
including six this season.
The small class made a big
impact with a 42-10 record,
the 2002 SEC champion
ship, and three straight sea
sons with 10 or more wins.
Saturday’s 24-21 bowl vic
tory gave Georgia a 10-2
record.
Georgia, ranked No. 3 in
the preseason, didn’t com
pete for a national champi
onship, but it entered the
bowl game No. 8 and should
have a third-straight top 10
finish.
“To get 10 wins, to me it
makes it a great season,”
Richt said. “I said that if
we didn’t get to 10 wins it
would be a good season but
we got 10 and it’s a great
season. It wasn’t a perfect
in a positive way. Instead
holding my head down, I
lifted my head up, just used
that to motivate me to keep
going and have the will and
the drive to do the stuff that
I want to do for him.”
Even before Peterson and
the second-ranked Sooners
play No. 1 USC in the
Orange Bowl on Tuesday
night for the national title,
he has already put together
one of the greatest freshman
seasons in the history of col
lege football.
The 19-year-old Texan
has run for 1,843 yards, 20
short of the NCAA freshman
record set by Wisconsin’s
Ron Dayne. His second-place
finish in the Heisman voting
was the best for a frosh,
Bowl Roundup
utes left.
LSU freshman JaM arcus
Russell came off the bench
to spark the rally by throw
ing two touchdown passes.
When he hit Skyler Green
for a 3-yard score, the Tigers
led 25-24 with 46 seconds to
go-
After Tate completed two
passes, a penalty pushed
lowa back to its 44 with 14
seconds left. Tate wound up
and threw long to an open
Holloway, who caught the
pass in stride at the 10 and
dashed to the end zone as
time expired.
lowa (10-2) won its eighth
game in a row to reach dou
ble digits in victories for
the third consecutive year
under coach Kirk Ferentz.
Aside from their fourth
quarter rally, the Tigers (9-
3) struggled on offense and
special teams one week after
Saban announced his resig
nation. He finished 48-16 in
five years with the Tigers,
leading them to a bowl game
every season and to the BCS
national championship in
2003.
Gator Bowl
No. 17 Florida State
30, West Virginia 18
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -
Florida State overcame mis
take after mistake to avoid
an unprecedented third
straight bowl loss. Coach
Bobby Bowden, facing his
season, OK, we’re still look
ing for perfection and that’s
what we want, but you can’t
say a 10-win season like
that is anything other than
great.”
Georgia had not compiled
three straight seasons with
10 or more wins since 1980-
83, when it won a national
championship and three
SEC titles. Since that streak
in the early 1980 s, Georgia
had only two 10-wins sea
sons - in 1992 under coach
Ray Goff and 1997 with
coach Jim Donnan - before
Richt’s arrival.
Included in the current
streak are three straight
wins in New Year’s Day
bowls.
D.J. Shockley, Greene’s
backup for three seasons,
will move up as the start
ing quarterback in 2005.
topping Herschel Walker
and Michael Vick, who both
came in third.
Just two years ago, Maurice
Clarett led Ohio State to a
national championship as a
freshman. Peterson is poised
to do the same - just as he
planned it.
Peterson came to Norman,
Okla., from tiny Palestine,
Texas, with a truckload of
hype. Billed as a battering
ram with a burst of speed,
he had run for over 5,000
yards and 54 touchdowns
in his final two high school
seasons and was touted as
one of the best runners ever
produced by the Lone Star
state.
Every college in the coun
try wanted him. He had his
former school for the first
time since the 1982 Gator
Bowl, moved within one
bowl win of Joe Paterno’s
NCAA record of 19 at Penn
State.
Leon Washington ran for
195 yards and Chris Rix
crafted two long second
half touchdown drives. Rix
played poorly for much of
his final game of an up
and-down career. Bowden’s
first four-year starter at
quarterback fumbled three
times and threw two inter
ceptions, one of which led to
a touchdown.
But Bowden stuck with
Rix and he eventually gave
the Seminoles (9-3) a spark.
Rix completed five
straight passes during a 90-
yard drive, capped by his 14-
yard TD pass to Craphonso
Thorpe late in the third
quarter. Thorpe leaped for
the ball over Dee McCann in
the right corner of the end
zone for a 23-15 lead. It was
only Rix’s third TD pass of
the season.
Quarterback Rasheed
Marshall and West Virginia’s
platoon of running backs
shredded the nation’s top
run defense for 238 yards.
Kay-Jay Harris carried
25 times for 134 yards
and scored twice. But the
Mountaineers (8-4) failed
to find the end zone three
times after advancing inside
the 20-yard line.
West Virginia has lost 11
of its last 12 bowls games
and is 0-5 in the Gator.
SPORTS
Greene’s success and inju
ries to Shockley were big
reasons the two never were
considered as co-starters, as
Richt originally planned, but
Shockley has enough experi
ence to make a smooth tran
sition to the starting role.
Richt showed his confi
dence in Shockley by putting
the junior in the game when
Georgia took possession at
its 1-yard line Saturday.
Shockley responded with a
14-yard run.
“A lot of people think I’m
nuts when I do that, but
I’ve got a lot of confidence
in Shockley,” Richt said.
“When Shockley made that
big run out of the end zone,
it was huge for us to change
the field position.”
No position will be more in
doubt than receiver. Brown
and Gibson combined for
about half of the team’s
catches. Sean Bailey and
Bryan McClendon were the
top backups to the seniors,
but Bailey and McClendon
combined for only 17 recep
tions in the regular season.
Bailey had three touchdown
catches.
Des Williams, who shared
time with Thomas this sea
son, likely will move up
at fullback. Derrick White
started ahead of Harrison
Saturday.
Georgia also faces the pos
sibility of losing some top
juniors. Linebacker Odell
Thurman, offensive guard
Max Jean-Gilles, safety
Thomas Davis and defen
sive tackle Gerald Anderson
must decide if they will enter
the NFL draft.
pick of the powerhouses.
Despite all the Sooners’
success in their first five sea
sons under coach Bob Stoops
- they won a national title in
2000 and played for anoth
er last year - it had been
decades since Oklahoma had
a big-time back.
Before he ever played a
down, he was being compared
to Billy Sims and Marcus
Dupree. The buildup didn’t
impress his teammates, but
the work ethic did.
“You don’t expect a young
guy to come in a perform the
way he has,” center Vince
Carter said. “The funny
thing about it is he said he
was going to do it way back
in the summer. He’s a man
of his word, apparently."
Cotton Bowl
No. 15 Tennessee 38,
No. 22 Texas A&M 7
DALLAS - Rick Clausen
looked nothing like the
third-string quarterback
he was most of the season,
leading Tennessee to five
touchdowns in just 2 1/2
quarters.
The Volunteers (10-3) had
lost four of their last five
bowl games, the last two
by a combined 40 points.
After never leading in either
of those games, they made
things different just seven
plays into this one when
Clausen’s short pass to C.J.
Fayton turned into a 57-
yard touchdown.
Tennessee wound up with
the most lopsided victory
in its 45-game bowl history.
The Vols came within 5:13
of their first bowl shutout
since the last time they
played the Aggies, way back
in the 1957 Gator Bowl.
The rout was as much
a result of the Volunteers
playing perfectly as it was
the Aggies self-destructing.
For instance, A&M (7-5) lost
only one fumble in its first,
seven games, but gave away
four this time.
Clausen was 18-of-27 for
222 yards with three touch
downs, no interceptions
and no sacks. The Vols set
another school bowl record
with 32 first downs.
The Aggies have lost five
straight Cotton Bowls, while
the Volunteers improved to
3-3 in this game.
REWIND
From page 1B
title and four regional wins.
One more and they would
send the second Junior
squad to the World Series
in two years (2002 was the
other).
It wasn’t to be, however, as
the squad was upset and
sent home by Tennessee - a
team they had already beat
en earlier in pool play.
Local fast-pitch
teams begin play.
◄ Houston County
and Warner Robins - against
each other - and Perry get
things started on the grid
iron. The first two battle
to a tie while the Panthers
upset then No. 10 ranked
Stephens County.
Northside, Westfield and
Central Fellowship get into
the act a week later. The
first two post wins. To its
chagrin, the first doesn’t
- all season long.
SEPTEMBER
Football, foot
ball, football. Notable games
include a Northside win over
Houston County and Warner
Robins picking up win No.
5.
◄ ◄◄◄◄ Members of the
Demonettes fast-pitch soft
ball team and plenty more in
the county and state mourn
the loss of former teammate
and Middle Georgia College
student Jane Gore whose
life was tragically taken in a
car accident.
The University
of Georgia inducts former
Perry football coach and
Bulldog All-American Herb
St. John into its Circle of
Honor (along with Vince
Dooley and Olympian Sheila
Taormina
A A A A Demonettes,
in their second season, pick
up their first-eyer volleyball
win. Before the season was
over, they had added eight
more.
A A A A A High school soft
ball begins.
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File
Two years into its volleyball
program, Warner Robins
picked up its first win.
OCTOBER
AAAAA Hmm ... more
football perhaps? Yes. The
Bears get their first taste of
Region 1-AAAAA action and
win (over Coffee County).
That was the good news.
The bad was before the
month was over they had
to make a return trip (from
the state playoffs last year)
to Valdosta and they had
to play Lowndes. Following
those two losses, the Bears
beat Tift County to qualify
for the postseason.
Other marked accom
plishments on the gridiron
were Warner Robins beating
Northside and Perry making
history by qualifying for the
postseason - despite having
only two wins - for the sec
ond straight year.
◄ ◄◄◄◄ The Westfield
Schools hosts its inaugu
ral cross country meet. It
loses but it’s not finished.
Two weeks later the team,
which is also marking its
first year of having enough
participants to compete as a
“team,” win the region.
AAAAA The Lady
Hornets fail to make the
Final Four in softball for the
first time in four years.
First Presbyterian Day
does the damage, knock
ing them in the loser’s
bracket with a shutout and
then duplicating that after
Westfield had climbed back
into contention.
GHSA locals Warner
TUESDAY, JANUARY 4, 2005 ♦
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File
For the first time in four
years, the GISA Final Four
began without the Lady
Hornets in the field.
Robins and Northside also
take their shot at making
the state playoffs - via the
region tournament.
The Lady Eagles fall after
a day while the Demonettes
were eliminated in round
two.
Houston County and Perry
play in the Sectionals but
both also come up short in
the first round.
Warner Robins
High School marks a first
by hosting the region cross
country meet. In that venue,
the girls finish second over
all and qualify for the state
tournament.
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File
Warner Robins marked a
first by hosting the region
cross country champion
ship.
NOVEMBER
◄ Warner Robins
crushes Henry County 42-0
in the Region 3-AAAA play
off game.
Then they beat Americus-
Sumter in round one,
Creekside in the second
round, Rome in the Elite
Eight, Ware County in the
Georgia Dome and the semi
finals and Statesboro in the
finals to capture the AAAA
title.
Northside beats Luella
in the region playoff game,
then rolls past Bainbridge
in round one but is upset
by Statesboro the week fol
lowing.
Houston County beats
Bradwell Institute and
Lovejoy before falling at
the AAAAA level to ever-a
thorn-in-the-side Parkview.
Perry threatens to shock
eventually state winner
LaGrange in the AAA open
ing round - leading 7-0 at
the half - but can’t duplicate
its first-half performance in
the second.
Also, John Milledge ends
Westfield’s string of region
titles at four. The Hornets
win a round-one tilt before
First Presbyterian Day - a
team they had beaten earlier
- trip them up.
◄ ◄◄◄◄ The Panthers’
Chuck Conley gets some
shocking news as he’s given
his walking papers following
a 5-6 year.
DECEMBER
◄◄◄ ◄ ◄ Perry’s boys
basketball team rolls and
rolls and rolls.
Before the month is over,
their win streak is at 13
and they have a Bear Brawl
title - knocking off Warner
Robins which had held won
it six years straight - to boot.
Northside’s girls are doing
none to shabby as well.
Their win streak reach
es nine before the Lady
Panthers, which had only
three wins out of 12 tries at
the time - shock them in the
Bear Brawl finals.
The Lady Eagles then
rebound by capturing the
J.B. Hawkins Christmas
Tournament.
3B