Dean in the zone as Cougars tame Panthers

Doniel Dean was in that proverbial zone for athletes Saturday afternoon at the Max Bass Athletic Center as he scored 29 points to lead the Cougars to a 78-50 victory over the Chapel Hill Panthers.
After Immanuel Griggs gave the Cougars a 2-0 with a slam, the Panthers went on an 11-5 streak to take an 11-7 lead with 3:23 remaining in the first period then it was time for the home team to get rolling.
Dean hit a pair of free throws to cut the margin to two and began a 10-2 run that gave the Cougars a 17-13 lead going into the second period.
The Panthers opened the second period with a basket but the Cougars began to pull away as a 17-15 lead became 31-19 with 3:14 remaining as converted one of two free throws.
A three-point basket by the Panthers with 2:42 remaining cut the lead to 31-22 but the Cougars continued to play aggressively with an 11-2 run that was capped off by a three-pointer at the buzzer by Dean that sent the home team to the locker room with a 42-24 cushion.
Any hope of a rally by the Panthers faded throughout the third period as the Cougars built the lead to 51-33 with less than four minutes remaining to 60-38 going into the fourth.
As the final period progressed, the Cougars' lead continued to get larger and at one point they enjoyed a 73-43 lead.
As for Dean, he balanced his way through the game with a seven-point first period, eight-point second, eight-point third and four in the final stanza as head coach Rod Ladd emptied his bench.
Diamond Jones was second on the scoring parade for the Cougars with 12 points and Chris White had seven points while Nick Parks had six while Griggs, Tonaris Poytress and Isiah Houston had five apiece.
In the girls' game, the Lady Cougars tried to rally but fell on the short end of a 69-61 decision to the Lady Panthers.
Newnan trailed 53-41 at the end of the third period when they went on an 11-4 run that cut the deficit to 57-52 with 3:13 remaining in regulation.
Chapel Hill converted a basket to take a 59-52 lead but a 7-2 streak by Newnan cut the lead to 61-59 with 33 seconds remaining but an 8-0 finish sealed the game for the Lady Panthers.

GHSA begins 2014 realignment process with release of numbers

Regardless of the reaction of high schools in Georgia, the boys in Thomaston are back at it again.
Every two years the Georgia High School Associate meets to determine where member schools will play for the next two years and after the shifting and nudging, the final spots for each of the 50-plus regions are released.
The numbers used by the GHSA are based on enrollment figures from the state's Department of Education and the figures were released Monday as the realignment committe met.
Region 3-AAAAAA should remain largely unchanged as EC, Newnan, Douglas County, Westlake and Langston Hughes numbers keep them together.
The only departure is Tri-Cities which had 1659 students and is 143 behind the 1802 of the smallest AAAAAA school in Georgia.
Mill Creek of Hoschton remains the state largest high school with an enroll figurement estimated at over 3700.
Northgate remains in AAAAA with 1773, Whitewater registered 1392 and is now the second highest AAAA in the state but will probably elected to play in AAAAA next year as they were only students behind Woodland of Henry County which became the lowest AAAAA member with 1413.
McIntosh, which enjoyed a playoff season this year in football, registered 1684 students and will remain in AAAAA while Starr's Mill will also remain in the classification with 1493 students and Creekside is safe from the slicer with 1433 students.
Fayette County dropped into AAAA with 1322 matching the figures of neighoring Troup County while Sandy Creek registered 1207 and will stay in the classification
Meanwhile, Heard County will be in AA next year after the Franklin school registered 577 students for the school term.
Now the real fun begins as the primary governing body of the state's athletic program will go through the process of determining who will play where as several schools who moved down will have to make a request to play in a higher classification by Monday December 2 before the eventual placement is made the following day.
The GHSA is expected to hold a couple of more meetings before final placement on January 14.
Stay tuned.
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Vikings end Indians season with 38-10 victory, Region 1-AAAAAA wins three games against Region 3-AAAAAA

The Lowndes Vikings showed their dominance in the first half Friday night and never looked back as they defeated the East Coweta Indians 38-10 in their first round AAAAAA state football playoff game at Garland Shoemake Stadium.
The Vikings, who improved to 8-3 on the season will travel to Lovejoy to face the Wildcats in a second round contest next Friday after they had to come from behind to defeat Marietta 27-23 while the Indians finished the season with a record of 5-6.
After holding the Indians to a three-and-out on their initial possession of the contest, the Vikings took over at their own 40 and ran their version of ground-and-pound as they ran on every play of a nine-play drive that culminated with a 16-yard run by Alex Brown.
The Vikings converted a two-point conversion attempt as Brandon Roberts powered his way into the end zone and with 6:49 remaining in the first quarter.
After the score, the two teams exchanged possession before the Vikings regained control with 90 seconds remaining in the quarter and began a drive that went into the second quarter.
The series which began at their 43 slightly resembled the Vikings opening drive as they called mostly running plays with the exception of an eight-yard pass from quarterback Austin Dixon.
The 12-play drive finally came to an end when Roberts scored on a one-run run with 7:30 remaining but the subsequent two-point conversion attempt failed and the scored held at 14-0.
The Vikings took a 12-0 lead with 5:16 remaining in the quarter when a defender popped the ball loose from Indians quarterback Bryce Gemmel at the EC 17 and returned the fumble to the end zone to take a 20-0 lead after a failed two-point conversion attempt.
The Indians tried to rally on the ensuing series as they moved from their 22 to the Vikings’ 31, but a fumble after a reception gave the Vikings the ball and they went on a drive that ended at the eight-yard line and had to be satisfied with a 25 yard field goal with 17.9 seconds remaining.
After a penalty on a failed onside kick attempt, the Indians were able to the Vikings’ 30 and got on the board as kicker Cole Antley converted a 47-yard field goal as the half ended.
The Vikings added to their scoring total in their first possession of the third quarter as they went on an eight-play drive that culminated with a five-yard run by Jerome Daniels and after he converted the two-point conversion the lead became 31-3 with 7:31 remaining.
On the ensuing possession, the Indians took over at their 24 and with predominantly pass plays, they were able to get as far as the Vikings’ 28 before a sack and an incomplete pass forced a punt that went into the end zone.
Taking over at their own 20, the Vikings went on a drive that was highlighted by a pass interference penalty and a 33-yard pass from Dixon to Eric Hart before ending with a three-yard run by Brown for a touchdown seconds into the fourth quarter.
The Indians scored the final points of the evening as Gemmel hit E.J. Ransom with a two-yard pass with 6:51 remaining and Antley converted the extra point.
In his final game, Gemmel completed 14-of-20 for 143 yards and the touchdown.
Meanwhile, the night was difficult for East Coweta's region 3-AAAAAA as Colquitt County dominated Newnan early and often in a 41-10 victory at Moultrie while Westlake was no match for the Camden County Wildcats who were 36-7 winners.
Region champion Langston Hughes prevented a sweep by the Southwest Georgia region as they defeated Valdosta 34-13 and will host McEachern next Friday night in Fairburn.

 

Northgate provides offensive treat on opening day of Elite Eight

 

 

 

 

The Northgate Lady Vikings provided tricks while receiving treats Thursday as they dominated the Creekview Lady Grizzlies and Loganville Lady Devils in the opening round of the AAAAA Elie Eight state softball tournament at the South Commons Complex in Columbus.

In game one, the Lady Vikings got three hits each from Brenna Skalski and Jenna Pealor in an 8-0 five-inning win over the Lady Grizzlies while the second game saw the Lady Vikings come away a 12-0 four-inning victory over the Lady Devils.
Northgate will face Houston County in a winners bracket game beginning Friday at 7:00 after the latter had wins over Winder-Barrow (6-4) and Pope (2-0).
The first game began not only with the Lady Vikings in full attire, but getting a run in the bottom of the first inning as Skalski led off with a single and stole second before scoring on a one out single by Jenna Pealor.
Emily Heath was hit by a pitch and Ebonee Echols walked to load the bases for Casy Kent who responded with a two-run single to give Northgate a 3-0 lead.
The Lady Vikings added to the lead in the bottom of the second inning as Skalski, Carly Alderman and Pealor had consecutive one out singles that accounted for one run and with one out Echols singled Alderman home for a 5-0 margin.
In the bottom of the third inning, the Northgate scoring parade continued with two more runs as Pealor singled and eventually scored on the front end of a double steal while Skalski had an RBI single.
The single forced a pitching change for Creekview as Ashley Walraven replaces starter Gracie Dorr on the rubber and the former was able to end the inning as Aldernan hit a flyball to center field that resulted in a double play.
Pealor completed the first portion of the Northgate scoring fest with a solo home run in the bottom of the fourth inning.
Pealor continued being a treat for the Northgate faithful in the game against Loganville as she hit a two-run home run in the top of the first inning to lead the way.
The Lady Vikings added to the lead with five runs in the top of the third inning as Alderman had an RBI single and Echols hit a grand slam.
Northgate put the game further out of reach in the top of the fourth inning with five more runs as Brittany Futral reached on a leadoff walk and Skalski followed with a single and Alderman followed with an RBI single.
The Lady Devils made a pitching change, but the Lady Vikings took advantage by continuing the scoring binge as Alderman stole second and Pealor was walked to load the bases for Emily Heath who followed with a two-run single.
Echols reached on a walk and Pealor eventually scored from third after a sacrifice fly by Kent and Jessica Houk closed out the scoring with an RBI single.
Lost in the offensive explosion may have been the pitching of McKenzie Peace who allowed seven hits and three walk while recording three strikeouts in two games.