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12A ♦ SATURDAY, DECEMBER 31, 2005 FINALS — From page 10A of us.” Northside led 16-10 after the first quarter, the big dif ference being the points the Lady Eagles got from the offensive glass. It wasn’t just on put-backs, as Holder would score on a third try. Northside also re-set the offense with second tries, and Davis found Levi in the post to convert one such opportunity and Davis, at 5-4, penetrated the baseline for two on another second chance. Peach County scored five in a row from the outside in one late stretch of the first and had a chance for a tying 3-pointer that hit the back rim. Following a scramble for a loose basketball, Davis broke away and put the Lady Eagles up by six going into the second quarter. In this quarter, Northside tried to counter Peach’s pressure with some full court defense on its own. Though Davis started the period with a 3-pointer, the Lady Trojan pressure was causing some problems, and with two inside baskets TROUBLE^— HHJ Matthew Brown Some of Northside's starters and the rest of the bench look on during their matchup in the J.B. Hawkins Basketball Tournament Thursday at Crawford County. QUOTES— From page 10A “We haven’t taken a summer off our whole lives. I’d work every Saturday, Sunday and holiday except Christmas.” Former Landings Golf Club owner Alan White, on why he decided to sell the organiza tion “I was very happy and had not heard any com plaints from the par ents, kids or adminis tration. I just wanted to spend more time with my two young kids who are 3 and 6.” - Former Westfield boys head basketball coach Duane Hunter, on his resig nation “I just don’t want them to think that’s all I’m about. That all I do is stand inside that circle. I want them to know I’m an athlete.” - Westfield’s fast-pitch standout Lana Mackey, on why she competes in other sports SERSEY — From page 10A At first I changed to what ever lanes seemed to be mov ing fastest. It immediately stopped. So for most of the journey, I stuck to the fast lane. What a misnomer. My problem extends to any line you could care to name. If I’m in it, it’s not mov ing. I’ve tried to work a sys tem. For example, never get behind people wearing base- 1 feel it within myself when my girls are ready for it. Sometimes we're just not ready to press.' - Northside girls head basketball coach Casaundra Wilson Peach was down by one, 21- 20. With five points from Levi on a stick-back and an old-fashioned three-point play, Northside pulled away from Peach before halftime. Janay Wilson, a guard back in the Lady Eagle lineup after recovering from inju ries, ended the first half with a press-break basket. That put her team up 30-22 at the break. Northside had called off its pressing efforts in the second quarter and would not do it again until the fourth quarter. It’s a call Wilson said she makes when she feels the time is right. “I feel it within myself “Up until then I had never missed a day of work (due to racing), but when I got back to work, the postmaster sent word that if I kept running and if I got hurt again, I would be let go. I sent word to him to stick it in his (exple tive) and I resigned.” - Local National Vintage Racing Association driver Bob Moore, on his response when he was given the ulti matum to quit racing or lose his job “I wasn’t fast enough. I wasn’t experienced enough. The motor didn’t have enough power... I had too many wrecks.” - Local National Vintage Racing Association driver Al “Skinner” Smith, on how his racing career progressed early “It just grenaded. We only had 12 laps to go and it just kind of flut tered and shut off. A big flame shot through the cockpit. It melted every thing in it. Every wire. ball caps indoors. You can stand in line at McDonald’s for 15 minutes behind such individuals but when they reach the clerk to order, they have to pause to make up their minds. Never stand behind a teen ager who’s with his friends. He’s going to let them jump the line when he gets to the ordering window at the con cession stand at McConnell- Talbert. Watch for groups who feel it’s necessary to stop and when my girls are ready for it,” she said. “Sometimes we’re just not ready to press.” The Lady Eagles were ready to attack Peach’s pressure in the second half. Brown had two assists to Davis and Levi while Davis penetrated inside and threw out to Levi for a success ful high-post jumper. The rebounding edge was still in Northside’s favor as Holder put home another second shot. Peach County would force four turnovers out of Northside late in the third quarter, but only got one basket out of it. When Peach lost the ball, freshman Leah Danielly took the ball all the way, and the Lady Eagles led 44-31 with eight minutes left. Northside’s second-half foul trouble didn’t hurt it too much as Peach was 7-for -12 at the line in the fourth quarter. The Lady Eagles weren’t much better at 7- for-14. The Lady Trojans did pull as close as nine, 47- 38, by breaking Northside’s press. Without the pressure, Then it was nothing but black smoke from the lines. I slammed on the brakes and bailed at that point.” - Elko native, Westfield Schools graduate and current ARCA RE/MAX driver Walt Brannen after his engine blew up in Michigan “I don’t want to say we were short. We just weren’t as tall as some of the teams we play.” - Houston County head volleyball coach Tony Jones, when comparing his 2004 squad with that of 2005 “As we age, we start to put golf in the right perspective. I’ve learned to do that. It’s a great game, but it’s just a game.” - Local golfer Sissi Gann “They ran with a pas sion like no other teams before them.” - Warner Robins head cross country coach David Erpelding, on his girls and boys squads “I feel like I work for a talk to their friends. It seems that the only place they can meet to converse is in the middle of an exit door. Cheerleaders are good for that. They’re also good for ordering for large groups. Avoid parents with chil dren. It used to be the father or mother would just tell the kid what he’s getting, but in the kinder and gentler America, it’s necessary to ask a child who can’t read what they want and then read the menu to them. SPORTS p 7*| ~ HH.J Matthew Brown Northside freshman Leah Danielly (10) calls for the basketball on the outside during the Lady Eagles’ clash with Peach County High in the J.B. Hawkins Basketball Tournament Thursday at Crawford County. Levi had a clean steal and put-back field goal with three minutes left. Wilson even slipped under neath the basket and upped Northside’s lead to the final 17-point margin. “I gave them the holidays off,” said Wilson on how well From page 10A was a steal by Charles McKenzie in the paint, and he scored to bring Northside within nine at 60-51. That would be the last field goal for the Eagles until McKenzie scored again with 1:27 to play. In-between, there was a barrage of missed 3-pointers and long two-point shots coming up short from Northside. Central grabbed a loose bas ketball underneath the basket and went back ahead by double digits with 3:15 showing on the clock. When McKenzie finally broke the Eagles’ own dry spell, the Chargers owned a 66-54 advantage. Under the category of “too lit tle, too late,” Northside’s Frank Brown found his 3-point stroke with three makes in the final minute. Northside’s first lead of the night came on a second-shot made by Ainsley Blackmon, system that still values prayer.” - Perry head football coach Andy Scott “I wanted to see some good football ... from now on, I expect us to be there.” - Perry head football coach Andy Scott, on being at the Georgia Dome during the high school semifinals “I knew when I was playing that I was born to be a coach.” - Northside assistant coach Jason Respert “We’ll see what we’re made of ... The winners will be there Monday.” - Warner Robins head football coach Bryan Way, after the Demons had lost to Northside in the City Championship “We played very hard. We made some mis takes that cost us the game. But we can’t do anything about it, so we have to move on. Knowing that we could have won, it hurt a lot. Just get the little tyke a corndog and tell him to be grateful. You could give him mud and he’d be happy - as long as a toy came with the meal. Maybe my Muffin is right. The world has conspired to make my life miserable. Possibly, but as long as I don’t talk about bridge, don’t drive to or from Atlanta, or go any where, for that mat ter, they’ll never take me alive. I bid four no trump. Northside came back after three tough games in last week’s Houston County Bear Brawl and the Christmas weekend. “We came in (Wednesday) and practiced. After the Bear Brawl, I gave them some time away from it. who was a machine in scor ing and rebounding for Smith in the opening quarter. Jacobi Rodriguez came off the bench to score five points and make a steal as Northside tried to create an up-tempo pace. But the foul-shooting prob lems were particularly bad in this quarter, and the Eagles had to settle for a 14-13 lead. It wasn’t long into the second quar ter when Northside was staring at a seven-point deficit, one that would get even worse resulting from turnovers. “We were contesting the shots, but they have good shooters,” said Smith about the Chargers’ performance in that quarter. “When a team shoots the ball well, all you can do is try to score. If you’re contesting the shots, all you can do is try to score.” The Eagles stayed as close as five, but the Central halftime lead expanded to 11, 40-29. All of that hard work we did, we wanted it to pay off.” - Northside receiver Mario Armstrong “We played our best football in the first quar ter, but the wear and tear of the game just wore us down.” - Central Fellowship head football coach Mike Card, SUMMPRtnfff | mm i- W $ . Services, Security and Southern Hospitality Private and mam residential living with available healthcare and support rnvim all in one location. • Assisted Living • Specialized Alzheimer* Care • Abated living Apartments • Skilled Nursing Center • Independent living Villas J |47N> 4 >S7-3100 '>llll Simli’t SI ml • IVtn, <. Vlo<»*> THE HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL “I got one of my guards back, and it’s taken a little bit of the pressure off some of the other players. Janay Wilson is my point guard. It makes it easier for my shoot ers to get open ... they don’t have to worry about bring ing the ball down.” With that patient offense working for open shots inside and finding the hot shooters outside, the Chargers led by as much as 18 in the third period. Rodrigues had four more points to get Northside as close as 12, and Rasheed Taylor had the last basket of the quarter. “We took a big step tonight,” said Smith about Northside’s ability to make it a game in the fourth. “I thought we played hard. We’ve played 10 games now, and I thought we finally, everybody as a unit, played hard tonight. Our guys are growing up a little bit. The football guys are getting their legs up under them. Things are starting to look up.” Brown’s little spurt at the end gave him a team-high 21 points, 19 in the second half. Blackmon had 14, none in the second half, and Rodriguez finished with 13. Central’s Elton Simmons led everyone with 26 points. following a loss “They have those big guys, and it’s a little harder on them in 100- degree weather. You would expect to get bet ter through the course of the year. Obviously they have.” - Northside head foot ball coach Conrad Nix, on Baldwin