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Mxtmr u 4Jmmral SATURDAY, DECEMBER 31, 2005 SCOREBOARD ■ No scores reported Coactes/assistants: Pteaae cal and leave a message on your scores at 887-1823 Ext 231 (please provide stats - scare by Inning, leadtag Mttors/defcoders) or cal 8284812 to speak to the mltor. ON TAP ■ Nothing on slate IN BRIEF Aviadon museum te hold marathon, run/walk The 10th annual Museum of Aviation Foundation Marathon, Half Marathon and 5K Run/Walk will be held at the Museum of Aviation Jan. 14, 2006. All three races will be run on Robins Air Force Base and all three courses are USA Track and Field certified. Entry fees are SBO for a relay team, S4O for the marathon, S3O for the half marathon and $lB for the 5K run/walk. A $5 surcharge applies for registra tion after Monday. Those who register early receive an event T-shirt. Proceeds from the event ben efit the Museum of Aviation. Last year more than 500 run ners and walkers took part. Call race director John Hunter at 926-6686 (day) or 953-5335 (evening) or e-mail him at hunterjh@cox.net for more. Organization accepting hashetball applications Applications are now being evaluated for the Ten Star All- Star Basketball camp. The camp is by invitation only and open to boys and girls ages 10-19. Call (704) 373-0873 for a free brochure for more. Wildlife urganizatiuns to hold poster contest * The Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Wildlife Resources Division, The State Botanical Garden of Georgia, and The Environmental Resources Network, Inc. invite kindergarten through sth grade teachers and students to participate in the 2006 Give Wildlife a Chance Poster Contest. The theme for this year’s competition, “Georgia’s Cycle of Life” encourages students to explore Georgia's many plant and animal Cycles of Life and the reliance each has on the other. The GWCPC is open to all kindergarten through sth grade students in public or pri vate schools and home-school groups. The participants enter the contest at the local school level. The top first-place, school-wide winning posters will proceed to the state level contest at the State Botanical Garden of Georgia in Athens. Four state level winners will be chosen and awarded with their artwork reproduced into a full-color poster, which will be distributed to education facili ties throughout the state. The deadline for entries at the state level contest is Feb. 17, 2006. For more information, visit these Web sites: www.geor giawildlife.com and www.uga. edu/botgarden or contact the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Wildlife Resources Division, 116 Rum Creek Drive, Forsyth, GA 31029. TRIVIAL TRIVIAL On this day... 1926 - The Chicago Tribune broke a story the Detroit Tigers threw a 4-game series to the Chicago White Sox in 1917. He said 1t... "Life begins at 51 - Harry Gant I Hm i • m y,-.B&pr M. HHJ l»<*n Moncrief Perry head coach Andy Scott talks to the news media prior to the start of the season. He was just one of many quotables worth repeating from 2005. See 'n say The coach says ../Quotes from 2005 By DON MONCRIEF HHJ Sports Editor Who says coaches always tow the line - rehash the same party line when describing the oppo sition or summing up their team’s perfor mance? Oh, OK, so maybe we - us COMING SOON The 2005 local sports year in review. Read about it in Wednesday’s HHJ. ignorant news media - did, but the truth is, they also often deliver nuggets of wis dom worth their weight in gold (and you can quote this Lady Eagles peach J.B. Hawkins tourney finals By MATTHEW BROWN HHJ Sports Writer Lakeshia Levi had a double-double while fel- low senior Try c e e Brown came close to one herself Thursday in a 59-42 win for the Northside High girls Northside girls 59, Peach County 42 basketball team against a pesky Peach County High club. This was opening round action of the J.B. Hawkins Tournament hosted by Crawford County High School in Roberta. Levi had 22 points to lead the Lady Eagles and matched Brown for the team high in rebounds with Northside boys fall to Central as troubles continue By MATTHEW BROWN HHJ Sports Writer If only half of those shots had gone in, Northside’s boys bas ic e t b a 11 team could be looking at champi onship final appearance to end a rough start Central boys 68, Northside 63 to the 2005 portion of the high school season. Central High of Macon Sports writer on that). Here are some that stood out in 2005; from them and from some others in our local sports community: “He was the kind of coach who loved you even while he yelled at you.” - Kay Bloodworth Grier, on longtime Westfield coach Percy Hardy Jr., who passed away this past year “We entered the back door to the state duals this year. Next year I expect to enter through the front door.” - Perry head wrestling coach Randy Mizell, on the 13. Brown had nine points and several assists in help ing Northside deal with the tight defensive pres sure from the Peach Lady Trojans. Sonyetta Davis had 11 points while Brittany Holder had 10 rebounds. Northside head coach Casaundra Wilson said after the game that her Lady Eagles handled Peach’s pressure better than from previous encounters. She was also happy with the rebounding totals, much of which was piled up on the offensive end to lead to sec ond- and third-shot scoring chances. “That helps a lot,” said Wilson. “That way they can’t pressure as much when we can score. It takes some of the pressure off See FINALS, page 12A was leading the Eagles by 13 going into the fourth quarter Thursday at the J.B. Hawkins Tournament at Crawford County High. The Chargers, despite not scoring for more than four minutes of that final period, advanced to the finals with a 68-63 win. “In the fourth quarter, (Central) only took five shots,” said Northside head coach Kevin Smith, whose team was looking for only its second win in 10 games. Panthers’ expectations for 2006. The team finished third in the state qualifier, which didn’t give earn them a bid to the finale, but the team got in due to the fact second-place Creekside withdrew. Their whole team came down with ringworm. “It’s the only sport where you’re your own referee. It really does reveal the man or woman behind the club.” - Landings golf profes sional Bill Goggin, on golf of course “Last year we beat Northside on a techni 9|9 Ibhk 9 9! pPiP ' HHJ 'Matthew Brown Trycee Brown lines up against a Peach County Lady Trojan as Northside applies some full-court pressure in Thursday’s game at Crawford County’s gym. “They only made one. They made a bunch of free throws, but we played really hard on defense. If we could have gotten some shots to fall, we’d have been right there with them. “They are a very good basketball team. In the sec ond quarter they shot 90 percent from the floor. They were 9-of-10 in the second quarter. And they were a high percentage in the third quarter, too. “They shot the ball well; cality. We didn’t want any controversy like that this year. We pretty much wanted to start off strong. We wanted to make a statement.” - Houston County head wrestling coach Heath Burch, after the Bears had defended the county cham pionship. “Even though they had youth on their side, it’s skill and will to win that made the differ ence.” - Faculty coach Alicia Gilmore, on the inaugural Perry faculty-student fund raiser basketball games See QUOTES, page 12A we defended well. If we could have made some free throws, we’d have had a chance to win.” Central, a region rival of Northside, had a lead of 60- 47 going into the final peri od of play. With Northside’s aggressiveness on defense forcing one turnover after another, the Chargers couldn’t add to that 60 until a foul shot at 3:43 remain ing. One of those turnovers See TROUBLES, page 12A PAGE 10A Joe Sersey HHJ Correspondent Try as I may, I just can't 'bridge' the gap I’ve come to the con clusion there’s noth ing genteel when genteel southern women play bridge. I’ve written about my aversion to playing the game, but I’ve tread softly when it comes to discuss ing my Muffin’s experi ences with the game. I’m not allowed to wish her luck. If I do so, she is invariably plagued with bad cards. I can’t live with the thought that the hands dealt to her are my fault. She’s actually had times where she didn’t get to play a single hand. Now that’s bad cards ... and my fault. My Muffin doesn’t play with the kind of crowd where you check your cane at the door, and any person who throws her walker is incarcerated. But she does like to win, and I’m a blight on her chances. Alas, that is my fate. To quote Albert King, I was “born under a bad sign, and if it weren’t for real bad luck, I wouldn’t have no luck at all.” (Eric Clapton does the best ver sion.) That’s my life. My Muffin assures me that the world is out to get me. What ever lane I’m driving in, it becomes the slowest in a traffic jam. I tested my theory on a recent drive home from Atlanta. Last Tuesday, I drove up there to get my post-op follow up on the cataract surgery on my left eye. On an aside, I find it extremely ironic to spend the first 54 years of my life to be nearsighted only to become farsighted in its final stages. The verbal ironist in me can’t help but note that the world is as ugly far way as close up. I digress. On the drive back from Atlanta, I left the doctor’s office at Emory at 3 p.m. It took me two and a half hours to travel to exit 212 on 1-75. That gave me ample opportunity to test my theory. See SERSEY, page 12A Perry grapplers split tournament matchups From staff reports Perry’s wrestling team went 2-2 at the Dogfight Duals held at Jones County High School Thursday. The Panthers defeat ed Baldwin County 54- 22 and Houston County 42-27. Perry lost a close match to Northside 42-39 and was also defeated by the host 53-20. Individually, Brandon Montgomery went unde feated on the day. He, at 103 pounds, went 4-0 and earned a medal.