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.

Lady Indians advance with sweep over Lady Rams

SHARPSBURG-The East Coweta Lady Indians overcame a sluggish start Wednesday evening with a pair of dominating wins as they swept the Newton Lady Rams in their opening series of the AAAAAA state softball playoffs.
In the opener, the Lady Rams took an early lead but the Lady Indians scored six runs in the bottom of the third inning that led to a 10-2 five-inning victory while 11 runs in the first two innings of the nightcap led to a 12-0 four-inning victory.
The Lady Indians improved to 29-3-1 with the series sweep as they await the winner of the series between South Cobb and Colquitt County which will have a third game today after a split last night.
The opener did not start well for the Lady Indians as Bre Weaver reached on a one out walk and after recording a strikeout, Lady Indians starter Megan Chocallo surrendered a two-run home run over the left field fence to Marie Diaz that gave the Lady Rams a 2-0 lead.
The Lady Indians cut into the lead in the bottom of the second inning as Reba Jones led off with a single, courtesy runner Jenny Matherne stole second and advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on an infield error.
In the bottom of the third inning, East Coweta batted around as they sent 10 batters went to the plate in the six-run frame.
After Katelyn Bedrosian hit a flyball to right field, Kia Smith reached on a bunt single, stole second and advanced to third on a sacrifice by Mekhia Freeman before coming home with the tying run on a single by Shemiah Sanchez.
With Jones at the plate, Sanchez stole second and came around to score the lead run as Jones hit a ball that was mishandled by the Lady Rams' shortstop.
Matherne ran for Jones again and Sarah Colwell followed a single and a stolen base before each came home on a double by Katey Lynch who would give the Lady Indians a 6-2 lead after scoring on a single by Maggie Morrow.
Morrow advanced to second on a error by the Lady Rams center fielder and later scored on an RBI single by Lauren Liebe for the final tally of the inning and the home team had a 7-2 cushion.
The Lady Indians added to their run total with three runs in the bottom of the fourth inning as Sanchez had an RBI single while the other two scored after a pair of wild pitches.
Chocallo rebounded after the first inning as one batter reached of the remaining 10 she encountered in the game before Kayla Turner finished the contest in the top of the fifth.
In the nightcap, Chocallo had another dominating performance as she retired the first 11 batters of the game before Letice Albert reached on a bunt single in the bottom of the fourth inning.
Chocallo had a 4-0 lead to start the game as Jones and Colwell had single RBIs and Lynch followed with a two-run home run.
The Lady Indians added  seven runs in the top of the second inning to take an 11-0 lead as Sanchez had an RBI single, Colwell had a sacrifice fly for an RBI and Lynch struck again with a two-run triple and scored on a wild pitch.
The Lady Indians scored their final run of the night when Matherne doubled, moved to third on a wild pitch and came home on an infield error.