Here we go again! More bowl games and the return of the Sprawl Bowl to Newnan (COLUMN)

Today is Friday December 28 which is Day 14 of the 2012 college football bowl season with three on today’s docket.

From Albuquerque to Boise to Charlotte, we have had a bevy of bowls with sponsorships for t-shirts, potatoes, a flower, a restaurant, a truck carrier and a southern based department store chain.
Today we will have sponsors of athletic apparel, auto repair and health wellness for the bowls but there will be other bowls with other sponsors.
The count of bowls for this season is 34 and we didn’t count the BCS title game which is considered a bowl until it’s extinction after next year’s bowl season.
Of the bowls that will appear on television, ESPN/ABC will broadcast all but two of these games as FOX will handle the Cotton Bowl and CBS will delve into the Sun Bowl on Monday between Southern Cal and Georgia Tech.
Years ago I wrote about having a bowl in Newnan called the Sprawl Bowl as the City of Homes was growing a lot and a number of shopping centers and business were putting down roots.
I had this well-coordinated with a parade and all sorts of ceremonies and yes I was having way too much fun with this and eventually the Sprawl Bowl went into hiding.
Until now.
I am having to bring this back just to show how crazy bowl season is to the masses.
I am going right to the parade which will begin at Jackson Street and travel to Newnan High School.
Danny “Boomer” Bishop has been shown a lot of love lately and that should continue as he is the grand marshall for the parade.
Boomer will ride in a car that will have his favorite teams’ logos as Braves, Newnan Cougars and Georgia Tech stuff will adorn the ride.
I guess the bands from East Coweta, Newnan and Northgate as well as their competitive cheerleading squads can appear as well as bands and cheerleaders from the respective middle schools.
We will have to remember one important detail and that is to not have these groups behind the horses.
We will try to schedule the parade around sporting events.
We need a big luncheon like the other bowl game so I am thinking of Sprayberry’s on Jackson or the Redneck.
At the luncheon, Newnan mayor Keith Brady will present the coaches with keys to the city and the teams will have some things to say about the game.
There will be other activities involved with the bowl such as a trip to Senoia to visit the set of “Walking Dead” and a special edition of the Turin Tractor Pull.
I don’t want to disrespect the pull because it is enjoyed by all who attend but my idea of a pull is some of the players from team can pull the tractors.
There will be other activities but I am not that creative and this would take too long to list in this column.
We still need a stadium to play this in and to assign a network to broadcast said game with the most important aspect is to invite a pair of teams.
I think we play one quarter each at Drake Stadium (Newnan), Shoemake (East Coweta) and Seldon (Northgate) with the final stanza to be played at the Temple Avenue recreation facility.
The game will be sponsored by the Cancer Treatment Centers of America who has their new facility in Newnan.
The combatants will be Louisiana Tech who was spurned by the bowls and Marshall University since the “We Are Marshall” movie was filmed here.
The final touch is to select a network and since ESPN has a huge plate, we need to go elsewhere like FOX, CBS or NBC.
I did think of TBS but they are very funny and this bowl is very ridiculous so I think we will go with NuLink cable channel 10 to handle the broadcast.
There we go. I have presented the ridiculous and sublime of a bowl and I have shown it can be played anywhere, sponsored by anybody and broadcast by any station.
Enjoy the games as there are more to come.

The world of sports can be medicine for what ails the real world (COLUMN)

Victoria Soto was a big fan of the New York Yankees and her favorite player was probably star shortstop and team captain Derek Jeter.

When the 2013 baseball season begins in April, the 27-year-old teacher will not be among the throngs at the team’s home opener as she was one of the 28 people who were killed last Friday at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.

Soto was killed while trying to protect students in her first-grade class.
Laid to rest Wednesday, Soto’s mother Donna Soto received a telephone call on the same day from somebody affiliated with her daughter’s favorite baseball team.
It wasn’t someone with the public relations department or a representative of the Steinbrenner family who placed the call.
It was none other than Jeter himself who called Donna Soto on one of the worst days in her life to offer his condolences and speak with her a moment.
James Wiltsie, a cousin of Victoria Soto, told the New York Daily News about the loyalty she had toward the Yankees and what it meant for Jeter to call.
 "Vicki loved the Yankees -- that was part of her eulogy," Wiltsie told the paper. "No one in the family reached out, so (Jeter) must have heard about it and ... reached out.
Nothing is going to fix the fact that Donna had to bury her daughter today, but I'm happy that it brought some comfort. and people like Jeter have reached out. It brings some comfort to know that people recognize Vicki as a hero."
Amen to that Mr. Wiltsie.
Your cousin was a hero when she didn’t need to be but there are some six-year-old children who will get the chance to play for the Yankees or become a teacher like Victoria Soto.
I am not a huge Yankees fan since I am deep into following my beloved Atlanta Braves, but one of those who is a favorite of the other clubs is Jeter.
He may be a bit of a player in the city that never sleeps, I don’t read about those activities and SportsCenter is not telling me that he is suspended for 60 days for juicing and he is not sitting in a Manhattan jail for killing someone.
What Jeter means to me is the good that is in sports when we read or hear about the domestic disputes, the DWI stops or the cheating to hit 8000 home runs.
Jeter is part of a medication designed to help try to make the world feel better despite all of the problems that exist.
Another person that can used for medicinal purposes is Chuck Pagano who is the head coach of the Indianapolis Colts.
Pagano was hired by the Colts to steer the club through the beginning of the post-Peyton Manning era and the record was of no concern to the club as they were in rebuild mode.
The Colts were off to a 1-2 start and all was well in the Hoosier state until news broke during the team’s bye week.
The club reported that Pagano was diagnosed with non-life threatening Leukemia and would have to take a leave of absence as head coach for chemotherapy treatment which would last for several weeks.
Bruce Arians was named interim head coach and the story of the 2012 season for the Colts and their fallen leader.
In the first game under Ariens, the Colts came from behind to defeat the Green Bay Packers 23-20 in an emotional game for a movement that became known as “Chuckstrong”.
The Colts lost a 35-9 decision to the New York Jets the following week, but went on a four-game winning streak that gave them a 6-3 record and made them relevant in playoff talk and later two of the team’s cheerleaders paid tribute to the coach by having their heads shaved.
This act of kindness followed an act by most of the team to become hairless including star quarterback Andrew Luck a couple of weeks sooner.
By the way, the cheerleaders are prettier than the football players.
A 59-24 loss to the New England Patriots tempered the situation for the Colts but this weekend they defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 20-13 for their fourth win in five games and a trip to the AFC playoffs which was something that was not expected.
The playoff spot was not the only good news for the Colts as Christmas Eve day marked the return of Pagano to the office to prepare to coach next Sunday when they face the Houston Texans on the road.
The outcome will be irrelevant but I would like to see Indy win it for Pagano and go into the postseason “Chuckstrong”.
Good luck coach.

Sports involvement with the number 12 (COMMENTARY)

COLUMN

Today is the 12th of December in the year 2012 and according to the Mayans (the folks who have declared the end of the world nine days later) this date is quite significant.
It is the last time this century that the month, day and year will be similar with the next time coming on January 1, 2101 when I will be 138 years young and laying claim to being the oldest human on the planet.
Weddings, a few births, parties and other events are being conducted on this date and in some cases at 12:12 pm if they didn’t happen this morning at 12:12 while a number of events are happening only by chance.
The world of sports is not shutout from the number 12 or the date 12-12-12 as the two digit number is associated with everything from jersey numbers to home runs to points.
There are a lot of famous number 12’s including the quarterback trio of Terry Bradshaw, Roger Staubach and Tom Brady who have won a combined eight Super Bowl titles while Ken Stabler, Aaron Rodgers, Bob Griese and Joe Namath garnered one trophy.
The number 12 is famous in our part of the world when Sid Bream score the winning run in the deciding game of the 1992 National League Championship Series as he wore number 12 during his three years with the Atlanta Braves.
Wade Boggs wore number 12 when the New York Yankees won the World Series in 1996 which had to do something with the 26 he wore with the Boston Red Sox as two times six is…12.
Michael Jordan was known for wearing 23 during his career at North Carolina and the NBA but he wore 45 during his baseball “career” and the first few games during his second stint in the association but there was one game where he donned the number 12 jersey in a 1990 game in Orlando as his normal jersey was stolen.
The number 12 is even significant in the sport of golf as the shortest hole is located in the heart of Amen Corner at Augusta National Golf Club. The 12th hole is a par-three, 155-yard hole which has a deep bunker in the front and azaleas, pine trees and two bunkers in the back.
Of the pros who have toiled on it, Jack Nicklaus called it the hardest tournament hole while Tiger Woods felt comfortable on the tee of the hole only on Monday Tuesday and Wednesday which is not good when you consider tournaments are played Thursday through Sunday.
However, the pro with the worst luck on the 12th hole was Tom Weiskopf who shot a 12 in 1980 which is probably not good.
One former athlete is taking the number 12 to unique heights as baseball hall of famer Roberto Alomar was getting married today at 12:12.
There are a lot of people getting married today but during his career, Alomar wore the number 12 except for one stop but 12 for him was like 44 for Hank Aaron or 33 for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
Good luck to the happy couple for at least the next nine days when the world is supposed to be ending.
There are a lot of sporting events planned or otherwise for today including the 12-12-12 marathon being run in Sarasota, Florida and the NBA has scheduled not 12 but 13 games for tonight including the Atlanta Hawks travelling to Orlando for a game with the Magic (hmm) who once had a guy named Dwight Howard that wore number 12.
I would go further into the involvement that the number 12 has in sports but this is exhausting alone as we are 12 days left until Christmas shopping is completed.
Hope your day went well on 12-12-12.

State championship game between Hawks and Knights feature a lot

They begin with offseason workouts in the spring, go through the summer at camps and more workouts in the heat and then go through a 10-game regular season schedule.

For the Heritage Hawks and the Deerfield-Windsor Knights two playoff games were added to the 2012 schedule and the two will meet Friday night in Albany to close the season with the winner claiming the GISA AAA state championship trophy.

Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30.

Both teams come into the game with 11-1 records and are number one seeds from their respective regions.

The game will also mark a homecoming of sorts as Hawks head coach Kevin Prisant will return to the school where he played and coached under current head coach Allen Lowe.

Both coaches have told various media outlets the game is about the kids and not about their relationship as coach and student but the subject has become a part of the story of this game.

The game has been promoted as a battle of David (Heritage) and Goliath (Deerfield-Windsor) with the football program of the former completing its seventh season with 40 wins while the latter has been playing football since 1970 and has 287 wins to its credit.

Prisant is in his second year at Heritage and as a head coach while Lowe has been in the business for 27 years including two stints at Deerfield-Windsor and a stint at Calvary Day of Savannah.

In other words, Prisant may have learned from the right teacher.

Also added in the mix is the first state football championship in Coweta County should the Hawks leave Dougherty County victorius.

The Newnan Cougars played for the GHSA AAAA title in 1981 but were defeated 21-0 by Warner Robins.

Regardless, the game will feature the two best running backs in the GISA with the Hawks' Candler Rich and the Knights'  Khron Mcclain.

Rich, the program’s all-time leading rusher, leads Heritage with 1805 yards and 22 touchdowns with offers from Ivy League schools at his feet while the Knights' offense begins and ends with Mcclain who has 168 carries for 1966 yards with 23 touchdowns and has 16 catches for 259 yards and seven more touchdowns.

The Hawks have also benefitted from a number of other players including senior quarterback Joe Bonner after his return from a shoulder injury and has thrown for over 3000 yards in his career including over 600 this year with 11 touchdowns.

Other  contributors have included tight end Garrett Jones, fullback Tyler Nix, wingback David Bready and wide receiver Spencer Perry who have figured in the Hawks success on both offense and defense.

Following Mcclain in the rushing attack of the Knights is Matthew Fox who has 51 carries for 405 yards and five touchdowns while Kemarvin Pitts has 50 carries for 382 yards and also has five touchdowns.
At quarterback for the Knights is Dallas Margeson who has accounted for 53 carries for 112 yards and four touchdowns to go along with 58 completions in 104 attempts for 939 yards and 16 scores.

Good, clean hate to visit the dome or the invasion of the “who dats”

This past weekend we had good, clean hate when Georgia played Georgia Tech while Florida played Florida State and Alabama faced Auburn.

The NFL version of rivalry weekend visits our conscience as several games will involve teams that just don’t like other.

The one rivalry that has the local or regional feel to it is the Thursday night contest between the Atlanta Falcons and the New Orleans Saints.

Over the past 45 years there have been Saints who became Falcons and vice versa.

At one time, the Falcons quarterback (Bobby Hebert), fullback (Craig “Ironhead” Heyward) and kicker (Morten Anderson) were members of the Saints before moving to Georgia and only a few years ago the son of a former Saints head coach was the head Falcon.

This year linebacker Chris Lofton is the player who switched jerseys as he was released by the Falcons and signed by the Saints.

In the meeting on November 11 in New Orleans that saw the Saints come out with a one-point win that ended the Falcons eight-game winning streak, the Saints players were talking to anybody who would listen about the conduct of the Atlanta contingent.

Terms like “classless”, “losers” and “little brothers” were uttered from several players including Loftin who was signed by the rival Saints after the “bountygate” scandal saw teammate Jonathan Vilma suspended.

It seems to me that Mr. Lofton drank the koolaid or brew taken out of the Mississippi River or Lake Pontchartrain in which you become a Saints player and utter almost anything possible whether it is thought out or not.

Then we have Saints linebacker Scott Shanle who called the Falcons their “little brothers” after the game a couple of weeks ago.

My question is who in the devil is Scott Shanle?

According to his bio on NFL.COM, Shanle is a 10-year pro from Nebraska who has started half of the team’s games this year and has 564 total tackles in his career.

Outside of that Mr Shanle doesn’t really have that “wow” factor and last I looked he and his buddies are among the worst defenses in the NFL so if he was looking for a way to make a name for himself I doubt this statement worked.

This “shoot from mouth” mentality in the Crescent City goes back years when the Saints had players like Rickey Jackson, Pat Swilling and others in the 1980s who bashed everyone including the guy who signed the checks.

I grant you that since the days of the Aint’s, the club has played a lot better and have been to the playoffs and own a Lombardi Trophy, but I can’t root for this team.

They have been a media darling too long after the Hurricane Katrina tragedy and it can be quite annoying.

Besides I have been a fan of the birds way too long and I will be watching them in the playoffs while the “big brothers” will miss the dance.

I would go on but one must try to be calm when demonstrating good clean hate.

Rich, Bonner lead Hawks to playoff win over Patriots

Candler Rich was at it again Friday night with three touchdowns while quarterback Joe Bonner threw a pair and ran for one to lead the Heritage Hawks to a 42-27 win over the Pinewood Christian Patriots in a GISA AAA playoff game.

The home victory for the Hawks was the program’s first playoff win and improved their overall record to 10-1 as they prepare to host the Westfield Hornets next Friday as the latter defeated Trinity Christian of Sharpsburg 10-7.

Pinewood Christian finishes their season with a record of 5-6.

The Hawks opened the scoring quickly as Rich ended a six-play drive buy running along the sideline for a 28-yard touchdown run with 9:52 remaining and after recovering a Patriots fumble, the Hawks took a 14-0 lead as Tyler Henson scored on a seven-yard pass from Bonner with 5:57 remaining in the quarter.

Bonner, who finished the evening completing 4-of-6 passes for 108 yards, passed the 3000 yard mark for his career with the touchdown pass.

The Patriots got on the board with 8:23 remaining in the first half when Ethan Kumpula scored on 13-yard run.and after a Hawks fumble at the Patriots 33, the latter threatened to tie the game as they reached the Hawks’ nine yard line, but the drive stalled with an errant snap on fourth down with 2:56 remaining.

Heritage took advantage on the first play at their own 25 as Bonner hit Garrett Jones with a pass and after three attempts, Jones secured the ball and scored the touchdown.

After a Patriots fumble early in the third quarter, the Hawks took advantage with a time consuming 13-play, 54-yard drive that culminated with a five-yard keeper by Bonner and the lead was 28-7 with 1:58 remaining after Dudley converted the extra point.

The Patriots cut into the lead when quarterback Dalton Johnson connected with Heath Waters for a 47-yard touchdown pass with 57 seconds remaining in the quarter and the Hawks’ lead was 28-13 after a failed two-point conversion attempt.

Heritage had an answer for the Pinewood score as Rich recorded his second touchdown of the evening with a 72-yard return on the ensuing kickoff and Dudley’s extra point was true and the Hawks took a 35-13 lead into the final quarter.

In the fourth quarter, both teams lost fumbles with the Patriots recovering the second miscue and converting as Johnson scored on a 12-yard keeper with 7:15 remaining that cut the score to 35-21 after Joshua Barnard caught a pass in the back of the end zone for a two-point conversion.

Johnson completed 10-of-25 passes for 186 yards and threw two interceptions while rushing for 65 yards on 23 carries.

The Hawks took a 42-21 lead as Rich recorded his third touchdown of the evening with a 30-yard run through the middle of the Patriots’ defense with 4:11 remaining, but the Patriots scored one more time as Johnson connected with Barnard on a 46-yard touchdown pass with 2:16 remaining.

Hawks score 29 straight points to defeat Lions and win first region title

SENOIA-In their first season of varsity football in 2006, the Heritage Hawks showed their inexperience as they manage to finish with a 1-9 record.

That was then, this is now as the Hawks won the first region championship Friday night with a 29-14 victory over the Trinity Christian Lions in a GISA Region 2-AAA contest played at McKnight Field.

Besides winning the region title, the Hawks improved to a program-high nine wins against a single defeat which surpassed last year’s record and they will host a first round playoff game against the Pinewood Christian Patriots who lost to Bulloch Academy 21-14 in Statesboro.

The Lions, in their second of playing 11-man football as well as participating in the Georgia Independent School Association, dropped to 6-4 overall and 3-2 in the region which earned them the region’s third seed and a trip to Perry to face the Westfield Hornets who is Region 1-AAA’s second seed.  

The Hawks appeared to continue their sluggish play from a week ago that led to a 38-35 loss to Tattnall Square as they opened the game with a fumble in their initial series and the Lions took advantage as fullback Mark Collier culminated a drive with a one-yard run through the middle of the Hawks’ defense with 8:05 remaining in the first quarter.

Trinity added to the lead with 8:35 remaining in the second quarter as a 13-yard completion by quarterback Connor Adams was followed by a 26 yard run by Jay Warner and the faithful was happy with the 14-0  cushion after the extra point attempt by Cole Houser was successful.

However, the Hawks overcame their struggles and began their rally behind the play of senior Candler Rich who ended a 10-play, 65-yard drive with a seven-yard run along the right sideline for a touchdown with 3:50 left in the first half.

In one of the stranger plays of the evening, the Hawks converted a two-point conversion as teammates Garrett Jones and Spencer Perry appeared to battle for the reception in the end zone with the latter eventually coming down with the ball.

The Lions threatened to answer the Hawks’ score as they started a drive at their own 35 yard line and behind the legs of Warner were able to get in the red zone with time running out.

However, the Hawks were able to make a goal line stand as Warner was knocked out of bounds at the one-yard line on fourth-and-goal and Heritage was able to run out the clock with the 14-8 deficit.

The Hawks took the lead on their initial series of the second half as they recovered an onside kick attempt by the Lions at midfield and Rich did most of the damage in the eight-play drive including a 25-yard run with 8:35 remaining in the third quarter and the Hawks took a 15-14 lead as Ben Dudley converted the extra point.

After holding the Lions on a three-and-out, the Hawks added to the lead as Joe Bonner scored on a one-yard quarterback keeper with a minute remaining in the third quarter and Dudley the extra point to give the Hawks a 22-14 advantage.

To the surprise of no one, the final score of the evening came from Rich as he caught a pass from Bonner at the Heritage 10 and raced past everyone for a 90-yard touchdown score 15 seconds into the final quarter.

Cougars get "ugly" region win over Tigers

The Newnan Cougars definitely followed the phrase "don't make it pretty, make it work" to perfection Friday night at Drake Stadium as they defeated the Douglas County Tigers 21-13 in a key Region 3-AAAAAA contest.

The Senior Night victory improved the Cougars' overall record to 6-2 and the region mark is now at 2-1 with games at Westlake and East Coweta remaining.

Why was the win not so pretty?

The officials were testing their arms throughout the evening as Newnan was penalized eight times for 50 yards while Douglas County saw the hankie tossed in their direction nine times for 57 yards.

One of those penalties haunted the Tigers in the first quarter when a 41-yard field goal by kicker Juan Serna with approximately 3:20 remaining negated by a false start and on a subsequent play lost possession of the ball with an incomplete pass.

Both teams also were guilty of turnovers as they combined for six and the two saw the quarterback go down four times and the center-quarterback snap became an adventure as the clubs were guilty of four fumbled snaps.

The miscues would lead to a scoreless first quarter as both teams saw drives stall.

However, Quinton Dix broke the scoreless tie when he powered through the middle of the Tigers' defense on a five-yard run through the end zone with 9:08 remaining in the second quarter and Newnan took a 14-0 lead when Traon Moss caught a 22-yard pass from Bailey Bryant and Tyler Mulvenna converted the extra point with 1:32 remaining.

The 14-0 lead for the Cougars remained through halftime until Terrell Gibson raced down the sideline on 57-yard pass play from Ellis Richarson a minute into the third quarter into the end zone for the Tigers to cut the margin to 14-7 after the extra point.

Douglas County had a chance to draw closer on their next series as they began at midfield and moved to the Newnan 20 when Richardson mishandled a snap for a 10-yard loss stalled the drive and a subsequent 47-yard field goal attempt by Serna was blocked.

The play of the game for the Tigers came with seven minutes remaining in the game when Mulvenna tried a rugby style punt on to have it blocked and recovered in the end zone by the Tigers’ Devante Williams to cut the margin to 14-13.

However, the Tigers were unable to tie the game as Serna’s extra point attempt was deflected and went to the left of the goalpost.

The Cougars took possession after the score at their own 17 yard line and behind an 18-yard pass from quarterback Bailey Bryant to J.K. Britt and a 34-yard completion to Tray Edwards, Newnan moved the ball to midfield.

However, a pair of false start penalties slowed down the drive but a 16-yard run by Nix solved that problem and the running back appeared to have a 36-yard touchdown run to seal the win but that was partially negated by a holding penalty at the Tigers’ 10 yard line.

Again, Nix came through as he would score on the next play with a 20-yard run with 2:18 remaining and Mulvenna drilled the extra point for the final margin.

Douglas County had an opportunity to tie the game on their final series of the game but an interception by Newnan’s Terence Geter with 1:10 remaining ended the drive and Bryant went down to one knee three times to run the clock out.

Season ends for Northgate softball

  

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Andie Martin (left) and Ebonee Echols (right) hit home runs in the  Lady Vikings loss to the Lady Wolfpack.

COLUMBUS-Kirsten McMongle singled home the winning run Friday to give the Greenbriar Lady Wolfpack a 12-11 come from behind victory over the the Northgate Lady Vikings an elimination game of the AAAAA Elite Eight state softball tournament at the South Commons Complex.

The Lady Vikings, winners of the class AAAA championship a year ago finish their season with a record of 29-10 while the Lady Wolfpack advanced to the next round with a 30-8 record.

Jordie Holt led off the inning by reaching on a error and advanced on a bunt single by Emily Weatherman to setup McMongle game winner as Holt came home from third base.

The Lady Vikings took the lead in the top of the first inning when  Andie Martin, Katie Burns  reached on walks and Jenna Pealor followed with a single to load the bases before a walk to Casey Kent forced Martin home with the first run of the game.

Northgate  added to the lead in the top of the second inning as Hannah Edge reached on an error, Brenna Skalski reached on a one out single and Ebonee Echols followed with a three-run home run.

In the top of the fourth inning, Skalski led off with a single for the Lady Vikings, stole second and advanced to third on an error that allowed Echols to reach base and came home on a wild pitch.

Echols, who moved around the bases on a pair of wild pitches came home on a sacrifice fly to right field by Martin.

Greenbriar scored twice in the bottom of the frame but the Northgate got the runs back in the top of the fifth inning as Casey Kent led off with a single and scored on a two out single by Katie Sachs who would score a run on an infield error.

With an 8-2 lead, all looked well for the Lady Vikings going to the bottom of the inning but the Lady Wolfpack rallied after a groundout with five hits and a Lady Viking error led to four runs and tcut the margin to 8-6.

Northgate managed to get one of the runs back in the top of the sixth inning as Pealor hit a solo home run but Greenbriar repeated their script from the previous frame as they scored five runs with one out to take an 11-9 lead.

The Lady Vikings tied the game at 11-11 in the top of the seventh inning as Skalski singled and stole second ahead of a home run to right by Martin.

Martin, who set the record for home runs in Coweta County in 2010, was 2-for-3 at the plate in her final game for the Lady Vikings while Skalski was 3-for-5 at the plate and scored three runs.

Lucky 13? I not sure yet but there are more to go

According to post tracking mechanism of this blog, I have written 13 submissions since I started in July.
I have written about my life as a sports writer and what I was hoping for this blog, I have also taken a peek at a variety of sports and those who play in them.
There have also been game stories on this blog among the 13 entries.
Are they the lucky 13? I am not sure but they have given me a starting point with the hope of getting back in the game of writing about sports and those who play them.
As I work on ol' number 14 (this one for those who are wondering) I look at the world of sports and there are a number of issues to look at and make comments about.
I will admit that as I write this, I am listening to a radio station in Hawaii playing top 40 music. No word if Dog the Bounty Hunter is around or the latest bad guy for Hawaii Five-O is around but I am sure they will let me know.
Now that I have rambled about this, that and the other, I think I should comment on something sports related or something that looks like it.
To start, let those that root for the Atlanta Braves give thanks to the baseball gods that Jeffrey Loria is NOT the owner of our team.
For a number of years, Loria was the owner of the Montreal Expos until the end of the 2002 when he sold the club to the other 29 franchise owners and then bought the Florida Marlins from John Henry who led a group that now owns the Boston Red Sox.
The Marlins' owner has gone through managers in a way that would have made George Steinbrenner proud.
Tuesday afternoon was the latest act of Loria as he fired Ozzie Guillen as manager of the now Miami Marlins after what many consider a tumultuous season.
Playing in a new ballpark that is located on the grounds of the old Orange Bowl stadium, the Marlins signed several new players that would give them a chance at contending in the National League East.
The team struggled out of the gate and so did Guillen as he told a magazine that he admired Fidel Castro which is something that doesn't play well in Miami consider there are a number of citizens who moved there from Cuba.
This led to a five game suspension for the usually outspoken Guillen but the Marlins seemed to start playing better and looked the club that was expected but then it all fell apart as a number of players did not hit and the closer Heath Bell kept the store open.
Eventually, the Marlins did a freefall into the cellar of the division and that brings us to this day where the help wanted sign is on the door of Marlins Park or the state of the art restaurant that is in left field.
As for Mr. Loria, his list of managers in Miami is as follows: Guillen, Jack McKeon, Edwin Rodriguez, Fredi Gonzalez (yes it is that Fredi), Joe Girardi (the guy with the Yankees), McKeon again and Jeff Torborg.
Gonzalez was let go after a publicized tift with player Hanley Ramirez which led Bobby Cox to say not so nice things about Loria and the Marlins became the only club to not honor him during the Braves’ skipper’s retirement tour.
Meanwhile, Girardi had a little exchange with Loria in his only campaign and that led to him becoming Yankees manager after a year on FOX.
Again I say thank heavens this guy does NOT, will NOT and should NOT own the Atlanta Braves since he has screwed up two other clubs.
Wonder how the baseball fans in Montreal enjoyed the playoffs that fans of the Washington Nationals attended.
Well I did manage to put something together sports related that had a little comedy and a little tragedy involved.
So much for lucky submission number 14 I suppose.

Lady Vikings return to Elite Eight to defend title as Martin hits three home runs

SPRINGFIELD-Andie Martin hit three home runs Thursday afternoon including a grand slam and Jenna Pealor hit a single home run to lead the Lady Vikings to the Elite Eight state tournament for the ninth time in 10 years after defeating the Lady Rebels in Springfield.

Winners of the AAAA title last year, the Lady Vikings took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning as Ebonee Echols reached on a single and with out Martin hit her first home run of the game.

Northgate added two more runs in the top of the second inning as Sachs had an RBI on a bunt single and later scored on a passed ball.

Martin drilled her second home run of the game in the top of the third inning to give the Lady Vikings a 5-0 lead but the scoring continued in the frame as Katie Burns followed with a single and Pealor followed with a two-run home run.

In the top of the fourth inning, Martin struck again when she drilled a grand slam after singles by Katie Sachs, Brenna Skalski and a walk to Echols loaded the bases.

Northgate scored their final run of the game in the top of the fifth as Sachs singled and scored on a double by Echols.

Effingham County scored all of their runs in the bottom of the fifth inning for the game's final margin off winning pitcher McKenzie Peace who allowed two hits and recorded five strikeouts in the complete game.

Lady Indians headed to Elite Eight for eighth straight year

SHARPSBURG-Shemiah Sanchez had four hits, scored three runs and had four RBIs in two games Wednesday to lead  the East Coweta Lady Indians to a two-game sweep in their best-of-three AAAAAA playoff series with the Colquitt County Lady Packers.

The Lady Indians defeated the Lady Packers 8-2 in the opener and took the nightcap with a 9-1 six-inning win to secure their eighth straight trip to the state tournament in Columbus.

In the opener, Kia Smith led off the bottom of the first inning with a single and a stolen base before coming home on a two-out single to left by Reba Jones.

Running for Jones, Jenny Matherne scored on a triple to right by Sarah Colwell and Katey Lynch brought her home with a single to right field.

The Lady Packers (17-16) got on the scoreboard in the top of the third inning as Shelby Rakestraw led off with a walk and stole second before coming home on single by Shameka Reynolds.  

The Lady Indians (31-3-1) added to their lead in the bottom of the third inning as Sanchez flirted with a home run but had to settle for a triple as the ball bounced back onto the field after hitting the top of the fence.

After Jones reached on an infield single, Sanchez scored as Colwell grounded out to shortstop and after Matherne (running for Jones) stole second and advanced to third, Lynch had an RBI groundout.

Colquitt County cut the score to 5-2 in the top of the fourth inning as Cheyenne Tillman led off with a single and scored on a two-out single by Rakestraw.

East Coweta scored two runs after two outs in the bottom of the fourth inning as Smith and Mekhia Freeman reached base on hits and scored on a pair of infield errors.

The Lady Indians scored the final run of the game in the bottom of the sixth as Sanchez reached on a one out single and scored on a single by Colwell.

Megan Chocallo was the benefactor of the run support in the game as she pitched a three-hitter and recorded four strikeouts.

Chocallo also benefited from run support in the nightcap as the Lady Indians scored an unearned run in the top of the first inning as Freeman reached on a two-base error and came home on a single by Jones.

The Lady Indians scored a run in the top of the second as Lynch led off with a single and advanced to second on an error before eventually scoring when Casey Lambert grounded out to second.

Sanchez had a hand in the Lady Indians’ scoring in the next two frames as she drilled a solo home run over the center field fence in the top of the third and had a two-run, two-out single in the top of the fourth inning that brought Katelyn Bedrosian and Smith plateward.

After retiring 12 of the first 13 batters of the game, Chocallo ran into some trouble in the bottom of the fifth inning as she faced a bases loaded situation with one out but came out of it allowing one run.

Fielding plagued the Lady Packers in the top of the sixth inning as they committed a pair of errors that helped lead to four runs in the frame as Freeman, Sanchez, Colwell and Lynch had RBIs for the final margin of victory. 

GAC crowns Westminister in homecoming game

NORCROSS-Kyle Scales may not have been the homecoming king but he did put on a royal show Friday night as he recorded 180 yards of total offense and scored two touchdowns to lead the Greater Atlanta Christian Spartans to a 30-0 win over the Westminister Wildcats.

The game was played at GAC’s Reynolds Field and was the Region 6-AA opener for the two schools.

“It was a good win tonight for us,” commented GAC head coach Tim Hardy. “It was a region win which is the first step for what we want to do this year.”

The two teams stalled in their initial drives of the game with both reaching near midfield before the Spartans (5-2) broke the scoreless tie with 5:02 remaining in the first quarter as Scales drove into the end zone on a one-yard run and Brandon Holzgrefe converted the extra point.

Both clubs stalled again on their next series but the Spartans added to their lead with 3:39 remaining in the first half as Scales took a pitch from quarterback Rafe Chapple and raced 30 yards along the right sideline for a touchdown that gave GAC a 13-0 lead after the extra point attempt failed.

Westminister (2-5) tried to rally on the next series as the drive was highlighted by 14-yard run by Hays Meyer and a 12-yard reception from quarterback Jake Forte and the Wildcats had the ball at the Spartans’ 14 yard line with approximately 90 seconds remaining in the half.

However, the drive came to an end as Darius Slayton intercepted a Forte pass in the end zone and returned the ball to the GAC 40 with 1:21 remaining.

The Spartans took advantage of the miscue in one play as Chapple hit Chris Williams with a 60-yard pass in the middle of the field for a touchdown with 1:11 remaining and the lead was 20-0 after the extra point by Holzgrefe.

The Wildcats tried to get on the scoreboard before intermission as Forte connected on three consecutive passing attempts that moved the ball to the Spartans’ 43-yard line but an ill-fated sack with seconds remaining ended the drive and the latter took its 20-0 lead to the locker room.

“The guys played well tonight and hold them in check,” Hardy said. “We were able to mix our plays. Kyle is a good back and Rafe was able to get some space on his passing.”

After holding the Wildcats on the initial series of the third quarter,  the Spartans added to the lead as Holzgrefe converted a 36-yard field goal with 3:00 remaining in the frame.

The final score of the night came as reserve running back Corey Stevenson rushed four times for 58 yards on a 10-play drive culminated by a five-yard run by Chapple with 8:30 remaining.