Issuu

Time to look great!

VOLUME 12 ISSUE 5 | FEBRUARY 11 - FEBRUARY 17, 2016

I Know The Truth | Pg. 4 High stakes of region tournament action separates contenders from pretenders.

All Together Now | Pg. 9 After 20 years, the Woodstock boys are bound for the state tournament.

YOUR SOURCE FOR SPORTS IN GEORGIA

ON MY OWN Six team titles and 84 individual state wrestling titles are up for grabs this weekend in Gwinnett. | Pg. 7

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Vol. 12 Iss. 5 | Feb. 11 - Feb. 17, 2016

STARTING LINEUP PUBLISHER/EDITOR I.J. Rosenberg

ART/CREATIVE DIRECTOR DJ Galbiati Blalock

GRAPHIC DESIGNER Rhonda Rawls

MANAGING EDITOR Craig Sager II

COLUMNISTS

ON THE COVER

PREP COVER

ASST. MANAGING EDITOR Kyle Sandy

MARKETING/ Lauren Goldstein PARTNERSHIP DIRECTOR

BUSINESS MANAGER Marvin Botnick

BEAT WRITERS: Ricky Dimon (Braves) Colin Hubbard (GA Tech) Dan Mathews (UGA) Craig Sager II (Falcons, Kennesaw) Kyle Sandy (GSU, Hawks) Lauren Goldstein (GHSA) STAFF WRITERS Tyler Andrews Ned Kaish

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Copyright 2016 Score Atlanta Publishing, LLC. All rights reserved. Score Atlanta is digitally published every week on ScoreAtl.com. Views expressed in Score Atlanta are not necessarily the opinion of Score Atlanta, its staff or advertisers. Score Atlanta does not knowingly accept false or misleading editorial content or advertising nor is Score Atlanta responsible for the content or claims of any advertising or editorial in this publication. No content (articles, photographs, graphics) in Score Atlanta may be used for reproduction without written permission from the publisher.

TEAM SCOOP AND VOICES

06 11 12

COVER PHOTOS COURTESY OF TY FREEMAN, CLAY TEAGUE AND RIVER OAK PHOTOGRAPHY

ON THE INSIDE AT SCORE Score Atlanta is looking for interns. Please visit www.scoreatl.com/ internships for more information on our program. Visit our website, ScoreAtl.com for the our weekly sports rankings. Download the free Georgia High School Scoring App www.scoreatl.com/mobile-app/ or in the app store for live scores all year long.

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SCORE ATLANTA | www.ScoreAtl.com they can survive Heritage-Conyers, the Jags will likely matchup with Gainesville for the Region 8 title, a rematch of an 80-77 2OT loss to the Red Elephants.

Now that Brunswick is out of the picture, who are some of the frontrunners to capture the state title? No. 1 Miller Grove remains a heavy favorite after its streak of six straight champion-

ships was broke in the Elite Eight last year by No. 8 Warner Robins. The Wolverines have firepower all over the court and a winning pedigree. But if we are talking winning pedigrees, especially in the regular season, none do it better than Coach Markus Hood at No. 2 Allatoona. The Bucs are undefeated at 25-0 and have won 77-straight region games spanning five seasons. Allatoona’s calling card is its stifling defense headed by sophomore Trey Doomes and senior Ephraim Tshimanga. Looking for offensive powerhouses that could make a trip to Macon? No. 3 McIntosh, No. 4 Gainesville and No. 5 Cedar Shoals all pass the test. McIntosh has not lost a game since small forward Isaac Kellum was cleared to play by the GHSA. Will Washington orchestrates one of the most exciting offenses in the state while Wofford signee Dishon Lowery and Chase Walter go to work inside, with Furman sniper Jordan Lyons outside. Gainesville has the juice and a chip on its shoulder that could bode well when everything is on the line. Georgia State signee D’Marcus Simonds is as fiery as they come and he has a deep supporting cast that has won games without him. Cedar Shoals might not have the sex appeal as some other teams, but their balanced scoring attack is as good as they get. Senior Chris Gresham has just returned from injury, missing the entire season and has already added another dimension to a deep team. If

title for two years straight. The Broncos finished with a title-clinching 358 points as Collins Hill took second place (297) and Lambert finished third (224). Brookwood’s Alex Huenniger, Conor Gamble, Jacob Rees and Alex Taylor set a new state record in the 400-freestyle relay (3:03.38). Broncos’ sophomore Marton Barta took first place in the 200-IM (1:48.63). Norcross senior, Eric Stickland took home a pair of gold medals in the 50-freestlye (20.36) and the 100-freestyle (44.76) and John’s Creek Michael Taylor broke the state record in the 100-backstroke (47.17). The Westminster boys easily held off second place St. Pius (256.5) and third place Chamblee (256) to clinch a second straight Class AAAAAA swimming state title Saturday at the Georgia Tech Aquatics Center. Westminster juniors Owen Downs, Princeton bound Derek Cox, Columbia signee Erek Cox and senior Joseph Ro-

driguez won the 200-medley relay, while breaking the one-day old state record from preliminaries with a Georgia-best 1:32.30. Derek Cox also won a pair of individual events with a 1:49.37 200-IM and a 55:17 100-breastroke. The Wildcats’ relay team of Erek Cox, Downs, senior Philip Stith and Derek Cox posted a championship finish of 1:24.08 in the 200-free relay after setting a new state record Friday night in the prelims (1:23.85). Chamblee’s foursome of Noah Oh, freshman Liam Bell, senior Alex Perry and Kentucky signee John Mitchell placed first in the 400-free relay with a time of 3:08.28. Dalton’s Ethan Young, who headed for University of California-Berkley set a new state record in the 100-backstroke for the fourth straight year with a 47.20 finish. Chamblee’s Mitchell took home gold in both the 50-freestyle (20.89) and the 100-freestyle (45.73). Harvard-bound Dean Davis led Paideia with first place finishes in the 200-freestyle (1:37.06) and 100-butterfly (47.90). The Marist girls’ 225 points edged secondplace Dunwoody’s 215 points and third-place Sequoyah’s 192. Marist was challenged from the beginning as Pace Academy’s foursome of senior Madison Graham, junior Olivia Baker, University of Pennsylvania signee Grace Ferry and senior Anna VanZyverdan edged the War Eagles’ relay team of junior Leona Harper, senior Hannah Lagod, junior Elizabeth Bailey and junior Tori Lauterbach with a time of 1:46:44

to 1:47.86. Marist’s Bailey later helped the War Eagles gain ground with a first-place finish first in the 100-butterfly (55.23). Pace added two more top finishes in the 200 and the 500 girl’s freestyle as Ferry hit the wall first with times of 1:49.42 and 4:53.10, respectively. Allatoona junior Caitlyn McHugh was second (1:50.18 ) in the 200-freestyle and Forsyth Central sophomore Ashley Cesario placed third in both (1:51.05, 4:58.73). Oconee County junior Da Della Torre clinched a pair of first places in the 200-IM (2:01.01) and the 100-breastsroke (1:02.38). Auburn signee Camille Porter from Jefferson finished on top in the 100-freestlye with a time of 51.99.

SANDY’S SPIEL

NEW CHAMP TO BE CROWNED IN CLASS AAAAA BY KYLE SANDY | KSANDY@SCOREATL.COM

ith Brunswick’s 48-42 loss to Statesboro W last night at Camden County in the Region 3-AAAAA tournament, a new champion

will hoist the trophy after the defeat eliminates the Pirates from the state tournament picture. Brunswick (19-8) entered the region tournament the No. 4 seed while Statesboro (20-7) rolled in as the No. 5. Region 3 has been one of the toughest in the state with six teams with 17 or more wins and a sleeper come state tournament time since the Metro Atlanta area hardly ever sees the boys from the south. The competitive region saw No. 9 in the state Effingham County (21-3) run through unscathed at 13-0 and Camden County (18-5) win its first 13 games of the season. In their lone regular season meeting, Brunswick held off the visiting Statesboro Blue

Devils 54-51. The Pirates finish their season sending home one of the state’s best junior centers, Kymani Dunham. No. 6 seed Ware County (17-10) has played spoiler throughout the tournament as well, knocking off No. 7 Coffee (11-15) and No. 3 Richmond Hill (17-10), 58-56. The Gators are actually the hottest team in the region, winners of 11-straight topping the Rebels’ 10 in-a-row and now meet second-seed Camden County while No. 1 seed Effingham County sees Statesboro.

STATE FRONTRUNNERS

NEIGHBORHOOD NEWS

LAMBERT GIRLS WIN FOURTH STRAIGHT SWIMMING STATE TITLE BY KYLE SANDY | KSANDY@SCOREATL.COM

epth prevailed as the Lambert girls won their D fourth consecutive Class AAAAAA swimming state title Saturday at the Georgia Tech Aquatic

Center. Lambert’s (377) points came despite no first-place finishes in Saturday’s events as secondplace Lassiter tallied a 321.5 finish and third-place Brookwood finished with 304.5 points. New state records were broken across the classifications. Brookwood foursome of Maddy Cohen, Erin Scott, Devan Sweeney and sophomore Lelia Taylor set the state record in the 200-medley relay with a time of 1:43.70. Walton’s Evan Arsenault, Gabbie Gauntt, Melissa Cox and Emma Cole set a new state record for the 200-freestlye relay with a time of (1:34.47).

CLASS AAAAAA BOYS

The Brookwood boys brought the Class AAAAAA State Championship trophy back to Gwinnett County after Walton claimed the state

CONTENDERS OR PRETENDERS?

There are a couple teams lower in the rankings and out of the polls that have put together nice seasons and could surprise some teams during the state tournament – or fall flat on their faces. No. 10 Southwest DeKalb has had a strong season behind TiQuan Lewis and Keith Gilmore. In both meetings with Miller Grove, they have pushed the Wolverines to the brink before falling short. The Panthers will likely get one last crack at Miller Grove in the Region 6 title game. No. 6 Riverwood only has one loss and has cruised in Region 7. Kohl Roberts anchors the paint as a double-double machine and Elijah Jenkins has turned into a sharpshooter, but at times the Raiders still struggle to score. Coach Buck Jenkins team will be a threat in the tournament, but if they fall into one of their scoring lulls, they could go home earlier than expected. Sequoyah wants to be ranked out of Region 7, but the Chiefs lack quality wins and have lost to Dacula 91-80, South Atlanta 82-51, Berkmar 79-53 and Dalton 54-53, failing tests to prove they are worthy of a top ten spot. Photo courtesy of Ty Freeman

DIVING TITLES

For the third consecutive year, Wesleyan standout junior Abby Gardner clinched the Class A-AAAAA girls one-meter diving competition with 527.80 points Thursday night at the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center, an improvement of 53.4 points from last year’s final. After a third-place finish in last year’s diving contest, Colquitt County sophomore Kellian Howell took home gold in the Class AAAAAA girls one-meter dive with 435.05 points. Runner-up Walton senior Peri Charapich placed second for the second year in a row with 418.75 points followed by senior Jordyn Sak from Lakeside-DeKalb (407.90) and Walton freshman Samantha Carmon (402.55). Photo courtesy of River Oak Photography

Vol. 12 Iss. 5 | Feb. 11 - Feb. 17, 2016

This comeback athlete had a long road back. Today it’s 8.5 miles. Know a young athlete who overcame a serious injury or illness? Nominate them for Comeback Athlete of the Month at choa.org/comeback.

Woodstock

Jackson County

Kamar Baldwin

It has been 20 years since the Wolverines opened their doors in 1996. In the first 19 years the boys basketball team has been mired in the doldrums, stringing together losing season after losing season. All of that was snapped Wednesday night as Woodstock beat rival Etowah for the third time, this time at Etowah, to clinch its first ever state playoff berth.

Another feel good story. The Panthers finished just 4-22 last year in Region 8-AAA and 0-12 in region play. Fast forward to this year and they are 16-10 and just earned their first state playoff appearance in 14 years. Coach Chuck Butler has turned the program around proving hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.

The Butler signee from Apalachee went out in style. The Wildcats lost a heartbreaker 69-67 to Heritage-Conyers in the Region 8-AAAAA tournament, but it wouldn’t have been close without one of the state’s most explosive scorers. Baldwin poured in 42 points in his encore performance, leaving fans in attendance with one last jaw dropping production.

SCORE LIST By Craig Sager II

REGION TOURNAMENT CENTRAL

February is one of the busiest months of the athletic season, although it is often overlooked. One week after national signing Day and it is time for region basketball tournaments. With 48 regions in the state and a girls and boys bracket in each region, we have 96 tourneys unfolding all at once this week. Catch all the hoops action at ScoreAtl.com

C’MON MAN

The only thing more surprising to me than Denver’s dominance in Super Bowl 50 are all the people that were surprised when Cam Newton did not take the loss well and left the stage during the postgame press conference. I have never seen Newton take a loss well so I did not even think twice about it, but apparently people feel the need to condemn ordinary reactions.

WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS

The 2016 GHSA Traditional State Wrestling Championships return to the Infinite Energy Arena (formerly Arena at Gwinnett Center) Thursday-Saturday to crown this year’s team champions as well as 84 individual state champions across Georgia’s six classifications. All six defending champions return and each is bringing at least 11 state qualified wrestlers.

LONGHORN LEGACY

Depth prevailed as the Lambert girls won their fourth consecutive Class AAAAAA swimming state title Saturday at the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center. Lambert’s (377) points came despite no first-place finishes in Saturday’s events as second-place Lassiter tallied a 321.5 finish and third-place Brookwood finished with 304.5 points. The Brookwood boys, Westminster boys and Marist girls also clinched titles.

GRAND SHOWDOWN

The 16-wrestler brackets of Class AAA-AAAAAA shrink to fields of eight wrestlers in Class A-AA, which will favor AA’s Social Circle as the Redskins look to sweep titles for a second consecutive year with wrestlers occupying 12 of the 14 weight classes. Bremen will have 14 wrestlers at state to challenge Social Circle as these two programs await their high-stakes showdown.

Brunswick

Hawks

Cam Newton

The boys Class AAAAA defending state champions were shutout of the post season with a 48-42 loss to Statesboro last night. Miller Grove has dominated the classification and had won six-straight titles before being eliminated by Warner Robins last year, opening the door for a new champ. It may be a while before we ever see the Pirates back in the ‘ship.

Up and down, around and around, will the Hawks makes up their mind whether they are a buyer or seller at the deadline? Back-toback losses to last-place Orlando had fans rioting, but a 23-point win in Chicago soothed the woes. Atlanta is back stuck in a strange spot. Stay mediocre in the weak East and battle for seeds 3-6 for another decade? Or make a big move.

Well, it looks like the jig is up. “The most likeable quarterback in the NFL” finally showed his true colors after pouting through the Super Bowl press conference. It’s easy to look like they good guy and have everyone love you and not have your onfield celebrations scrutinized when things are going well. When the bullets start flying, character is revealed and Cam’s didn’t look too hot.

NUMBERS

OUR TWO CENTS

By Kyle Sandy

Our email newsletter is something we take a lot of pride in at Score. If you aren’t familiar with it, it is a high school sportsheavy publication that we produce each day to fill in our readers on the latest happenings in Georgia prep sports. We send it out Monday through Friday throughout the year and Monday through Saturday during the fall. Not only do we cover popular sports like football, basketball and baseball, we also cover every other varsity sport the GHSA fields. If you like Georgia high school sports at all, sign up for our email newsletter by visiting www.tinyurl.com/scorenewsletter and enter your email address(es) that you’d like added to the distribution list.

TRIVIA QUESTION

HOW MAN TRADITIONAL STATE WRESTLING TITLES HAS JEFFERSON WON?

VETERANS CUT

The Atlanta Falcons sent safety William Moore and linebacker Justin Durant packing this week as they announced the veterans’ dismissal. Moore was a secondround pick in 2009 that made the Pro Bowl in 2012 but was held back by an injury-prone career. Moore signed a fiveyear, $32 million contract back on March 9, 2013. Durant was a 2015 free agent aquisiition.

WHO’S NOT

By Kyle Sandy

WHO’S HOT

SCORE ATLANTA | www.ScoreAtl.com

ANSWER ON PAGE 14

“

SANITY AT LAST

“We want to thank both of these guys for their commitment and work ethic. They battled through injuries to give everything they had for their teammates this season and I will always be appreciative of that.”

- Dan Quinn on William Moore and Justin Durant

South Forsyth girls losses all season before being eliminated by Chattahoochee

Players scored in double figures for the Hawks vs. the Bulls

42 2

Points in Kamar Baldwin’s final high school game Previously ranked boys teams out of Region 8-AAAAAA eliminated (Dacula & Brookwood)

Individual state wrestling titles to be handed out this weekend

Straight region victories for Allatoona boys basketball

Georgia State losses in its past seven games

Touchdowns scored by Cam Newton in the Super Bowl

Vol. 12 Iss. 5 | Feb. 11 - Feb. 17, 2016 pleted its third-straight sweep of titles at last year’s traditional meet. Lucas Patterson (132), Jamie Lopez (152), Matthew Waddell (170) and Levi Seabolt (285) gave Gilmer four first-place finishers as the Bobcats tallied 220.5 points and held off second-place Marist (147.5). Patterson (132), Waddell (170) and Seabolt return as three of the Bobcats’ dozen state qualifiers. Gilmer’s Trevor Preece comes in at 126 pounds after a second-place finish at 113 last year. Gilmer added the program’s seventh straight dual title last month with a 45-21 decision over Buford in the AAAA finals. The Bobcats’ closest test came in the quarterfinals, where they held off North Hall 40-30. Buford with 11 and North Hall with 10, will have enough wrestlers to challenge the Bobcats for the title. Gilmer, Buford and North Hall will each have wrestlers in the first three weight classes, which could build momentum early. Buford’s Trent Ferguson returns as reigning 138-pound champion.

ON THE COVER

COVER STORY

THE DRAGON DYNASTY...

DEFENDING CHAMPS AIM FOR CONSECUTIVE SEASON SWEEPS BY CRAIG SAGER II | CSAGER@SCOREATL.COM

year marked the firs time since 2005 Lwereast that the dual and traditional state titles swept in each classification. Now, with

the same six reigning champs returning to this year’s traditional state championships fresh off another round of dual state crowns, it will take a flawless combination of quality and quantity to outmaneuver the hierarchy. In Class AAAAAA, Gwinnett County’s Archer looks to complete the program’s fourth consecutive season sweep. The Tigers qualified 11 wrestlers for state and four of the five individual state champions from 2015 are back. Quinn Miller is set to defend his 220-pound title, while state champions Daniel Bullard (182), Thomas Bullard (170) and Chris Diaz (145) each moved up a weight class. The 152-pound bracket will be a weight class to watch this weekend now that Pope’s three-time individual state champion Jake Adcock is wrestling for Army. Class AAAAAA’s North Forsyth (13), Brookwood (10) and Mountain View (10) also qualified wrestlers in the double-digits.

Bartow 213.5-127.0 for last year’s Class AAAAA title, which was the school’s first traditional crown. Since, Camden County has continued its dominance, including a 257-26 scoring advantage during its run to a second straight dual state championship last month. The Wildcats qualified wrestlers in all 14 weight classes last year, but Jay Sheppard (138) was Camden County’s only individual champion. Second-place finishes by Lucas Nelson (106), Bryce Crew (120), Adrian Hughes (126), Denton Spencer (132), Domonique Hargrave (182) and Aaron Galegor (195) accounted for 127 of Camden County’s 213.5 points. Out of the six second-place finishers from last year, all but Galegor returns to state, and the Wildcats have once again filled all 14 weight classes. Nelson jumped to the 113-pound class, Crew classed up to 120, Hughes comes in at 145, Spencer bulked to 138 and Hargrave remains at 182. Woodland-Bartow qualified 13 wrestlers and Clarke Central and Class will each have 11 wrestlers to challenge the Wildcats.

RETURNING STARS…

CHALLENGE ACCEPTED…

Camden County edged Woodland-

Like Archer, Class AAAA’s Gilmer com-

Newly-reclassified Jefferson won the Class AAA state title for the first time last year, but that came by little surprise as the Dragons made their annual return to the podium to collect the program’s 15th consecutive traditional state championship and 19th all-time traditional title. Jefferson also remains unbeaten in state meet action since the inception of the state duals in 2002 and brought home the program’s 15th straight title this season. At last year’s traditional meet, the Dragons crowned six individual champions and had 11 wrestlers finish in the top 6. Dawson Bates (106), Mitchell McGhee (113) and Ben Kelly (120) conquered the first three weight classes before teammates Tanner Thurmond (132), Chase Piperato (145) and Caleb Little (182) added first-place finishes. Jefferson nearly doubled second-place Lumpkin County (125.0) with a total 240.5 points. Bates (113), McGhee (120), Thurmond (132) and Little (182) return as reigning champs, while newcomers like freshman Ian Statia (106) headline Jefferson’s 13 wrestlers competing this weekend.

BUILDING SUCCESS...

After winning a wrestling state title for the first time in school history at the dual state championships last year, Social Circle held off Bremen 215.0 to 160.5 to capture the Class AA traditional title and complete its first-ever sweep of state titles. The Redskins defended their dual state title last month with a 38-25 win over the two-time runner-up Blue Devils. The 16-wrestler brackets of Class AAAAAAAAA shrink to fields of eight wrestlers

in Class A-AA, which will favor Social Circle as the Redskins look to sweep titles for a second consecutive year with wrestlers occupying 12 of the 14 weight classes. Bremen will challenge Social Circle after qualifying wrestlers in all 14 weight classes. Championship experience should prove to be invaluable as Social Circle returns with its most talented lineup to date. Cade Lackey was the only individual champion returning from the Social Circle’s third-place finish at state in 2014 and Bremen’s Joseph Stroud for firstplace in the 152-pound finals edged him a year ago. Lackey’s runner-up finish accounted for 16 points and Social Circle stockpiled first-place finishes at 132 pounds (James Corasaniti), 138 (Reid Harris), 160 (Cameron Paschal) and 195 (David Endstrom). Lackey aims for the 170-pound title this year and reigning champs Corasaniti (138), Harris (145), Paschal (160) and Endstrom (195) are all back to lead the Redskins. Social Circle’s Levi Leach fell to Gordon Lee’s Jonathan Ragsdale in last year’s 120-pound title match, but this year’s 120-pound bracket will be wide open. Leach qualified at 126 pounds this year and Ragsdale has graduated after completing his perfect 58-0 season and becoming the 30th four-time individual state champion in Georgia history. Defending Class A champion Commerce dominated last year’s field with 283 points as the Tigers more than tripled second-place Turner County (90.0) and third-place Treutlen (83.5) for the state title. A Commerce wrestler finished in the top four of every weight class and a school-record eight wrestlers were crowned individual champions. Casey Burchett (106), Jacob Brewer (113), Dalton Flint (120), Austin Brock (126), Mitchell Patton (132) and Owen Brown (138) won state titles in the first six weight classes and Cole Chauncey took the 170-pound title before Derek Benoit capped off the Tigers’ historic weekend with a 4-3 decision over Brandon Carswell (Montgomery County) in the 285 pound final. Commerce qualified wrestlers in all 14 weight classes and will have five of the returning defending individual champions leading the way. Photos courtesy of Clay Teague

PREP SPORTS

WOODSTOCK 61, ETOWAH 47 KYLE SANDY | KSANDY@SCOREATL.COM

ounded in 1996 just a minute away from Towne Lake rival Etowah which opened its doors 20 years prior, Woodstock has played a second fiddle to the Eagles for 20 years now in boys basketball, never clinching a state playoff berth. The Wolverines have shuffled through coaches over the years going from Sean Glaze to Brady Richeson to Darrin Clark and now to Head Coach Kingston Clark, a well-traveled veteran who has seen success at some of the most unlikely schools. Standing in he and his team’s way of the school’s first ever state playoff appearance stood the Eagles. After defeating Etowah 62-58 and 6345 in the regular season, the Wolverines were tasked with beating their bitter rival for a third time and they did, earning a 61-47 victory and seeing the court fill with red-clad fans as Woodstock advanced to the Region

5-AAAAAA semifinals and the state playoffs on Etowah’s home court. Adrian Cohen gave the Eagles a quick 2-0 lead, but from there on out it was all Wolverines in the second quarter. Woodstock drilled three of their nine three-pointers in the first quarter led by two from Marcus Foo and one from leading scorer Tyreke Johnson to open up a 13-0 run and finish the quarter up 14-4. Etowah came out tight and couldn’t buy a basket while Coach Clark’s patient offense swung the ball around the perimeter until Coach Don Hurlburt’s zone couldn’t keep rotating. Woodstock led 19-9 before the Eagles showed signs of life, cutting the lead to 19-15 after five points from Rodriquez Lobbins. Heading into the half the Eagles’ 8-2 run shrank the deficit to 21-17. In the second half senior Zack Wallace

and Johnson began to lengthen the lead as the Wolverines saw blood in the water and went in for the kill. Foo found Wallace for three to push the lead to 28-18 with 4:52 to play in the third. A minute later, Brant Hurter tipped out a missed shot to Dominic Hewitt, who whipped the ball to Wallace for another three, making it 31-20. Johnson scored five of his game-high 20 in the frame to make it a 37-28 lead entering the fourth quarter. Eight minutes away from a date with destiny, the Wolverines who had come up short so many times before, were not about to let history slip through their fingers. Again, it was Wallace with back-to-back daggers from behind the arc to give Woodstock its largest lead of the game at 45-30 with 5:44 remaining. Etowah never threatened after Wallace’s marksmanship and Johnson iced the game from the line along with Hewitt combining to shoot 10-of-12 in the fourth quarter. Following 19 years of despair, year number 20 – Kingston Clark’s first – proved to provide the magic. “It started back in April when I got the phone call from Coach [Tonya] Sebring for the interview,” explained Clark on how the school history making season began. “I knew right

then and there we had to get the ball rolling and start working. Honestly, I didn’t anticipate getting into the state playoffs the first year but I definitely will take it. “The kids bought into what I was trying to instill into them and really and truly, they just fought throughout the season and worked hard throughout the season. This is a well-deserved victory. This is my first year but I feel the pain of the 19 years of not making it.” From Pierce County to Lowndes County to Cross Keys, Clark took a roundabout way to make it to Cherokee County. “I came up here a couple years ago. My wife wanted to come to the big city. I’m a country boy, born and raised. I had no ambition of coming up here to Metro Atlanta but when I finally did, I felt like I had done a tremendous job throughout my years, had some success, so I wanted to get that opportunity. “When I got the call from Woodstock to be honest with you, I didn’t think I would be their man, but by the grace of God, they saw something in me and chose me as their candidate and I am proud to be a Wolverine.” Photo courtesy of Ken Farver and Woodstock Independent.com, and EtowahEaglesBasketball.com

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Vol. 12 Iss. 5 | Feb. 11 - Feb. 17, 2016 UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA

DAWGS FALL HARD TO KENTUCKY BY DAN MATHEWS | DMATHEWS@SCOREATL.COM

eorgia’s two-game win streak was snapped on Tuesday as #22 Kentucky handed the visiting Bulldogs an 82-48 loss. Kentucky jumped to a 42-24 lead after the first half and poured on a 40-24 scoring advantage in the final 20 minutes. Jamal Murray scored 24 points, Tyler Ulis added 14 and Kentucky held Georgia to a season-low 22 percent shooting to coast to an 82-48 victory Tuesday night. The Bulldogs closed the first half on an 0-for-17 drought and began the second half with five more misses in a basket-less stretch that nearly reached 18 minutes spanning halftime. “There were some great shots that didn’t go down,” Georgia coach Mark Fox said. “It snowballed on us.” Yante Maten’s 16 points led the Bulldogs. Up next is Georgia’s Saturday trip to take on Mississippi State for an 8 p.m. tipoff, followed by a Tuesday home matchup with rival Florida. Georgia closes out February with a trip to

GEORGIA STATE

HUNTING FOR CONSISTENCY BY KYLE SANDY | KSANDY@SCOREATL.COM

eorgia State (13-8, 6-6) squeaked out a much needed win against cellar dweller Texas State (9-12, 3-9) last Thursday to snap a string of three straight losses with a 59-56 win. Senior Markus Crider went for a careerhigh 24 points including two free throws with 12 seconds left to help the Panthers back onto the winning path. Team-leading scorer Jeremy Hollowell scored 11 points as the only other Panther in double figures. Texas State, led by Cameron Naylor’s 15 points and eight rebounds, was held scoreless the final 1:27 of the game after Kavin Gilder-Tilbury sank two free throws to make it 57-56. “It was a good basketball game,” Coach Ron Hunter said. “We basically won by playing the type of basketball we have played all year. We grinded it out defensive. I thought Markus Crider played like a senior tonight and really stepped up. Texas State is one of the better defensive teams, but Markus found ways to work the ball inside and carried us today.”

Vanderbilt on the 20th, a trip to Auburn on the 24th and a home game against Ole Miss on the 27th. Georgia has just two regular season games left once February closes and the slate will set up for a March 3 trip to South Carolina and a March 5 finale in Athens against the Alabama Crimson Tide.

OPEN SEASON…

College basketball has been defined by a year of inconsistency and a lack of super power teams, but the result is a wide open SEC with just weeks left in the regular season. South Carolina sits at the top of the conference standings with a 21-3 overall record and shares an 8-3 conference mark with Kentucky and LSU. Texas A&M and Florida are one game back with 7-4 conference records and Georgia and Vanderbilt are right in the mix with 6-5 conference records. J.J. Frazier, Maten, Kenny Gaines (13.1) and Charles Mann (10.6) have each averaged double-figures through Georgia’s first 22 games with Frazier (15.8) and Maten (15.6) leading the way. Freshman Derek Ogbeide out of Pebblebrook continues to make an impact and has averaged about four points per game and five rebounds per game in his limited reserve role. As a team, the Bulldogs are shooting 35.9 percent from beyond the arch and has shot 42.5 percent from the field this season.

MAVERICK MISERY

On Saturday Georgia State was unable to turn its win against Texas State into a win streak, instead losing to UT-Arlington (16-7, 7-5) in commanding fashion, 90-69. The Mavericks snapped a four-game losing streak with the win over the reeling Panthers who have now lost five of their last seven. Jorge Bilbao finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds to power Arlington, who out-rebounded the Panthers 45 to 27. The Mavericks buried 10 three-pointers, nine between Erick Neal and Drew Charles who finished with 17 and 16 points respectively. “We just got our butts kicked and Arlington played really well,” Coach Hunter said. “It is one of those teams that we have a hard time matching up well with. Give them credit, they did everything well today and we didn’t do anything right.”

SOFTBALL OUTLOOK

Coming off of a 38-22 season, Coach Roger Kincaid enters his sixth year at the helm. With a couple sluggers graduated, Kincaid still has a fearsome twosome in the middle of his lineup. Ivie Drake popped 22 homers as a freshman and will begin this year on the USA Softball Top 50 Watch List for Player of the Year. Junior Megan Litumbe cranked out 21 of her own dingers a year ago and will play another big role. Senior Katie Worley returns to toe the mound one last season after hurling GSU’s first no-hitter since 2011 last year.

GEORGIA TECH

JACKETS STILL LOOKING FOR SOME STING UNDER GREGORY

BY COLIN HUBBARD | HUBSAAB12@GMAIL.COM

he Georgia Tech men’s basketball team is having a rather odd season up until this point in the season, but the negatives outweigh the positives by a mile. Georgia Tech came into play with a dreadful 2-6 ACC record but hadn’t lost a game by more than eight points. In fact, they have led at the half more times than not in the 2015-16 season but woeful second half play has doomed the Yellow Jackets time after time. Georgia Tech played host to the surprisingly unranked Duke Blue Devils and were looking to pick up their second ACC win in a row after knocking off NC State a few days ago. The Yellow Jackets held a 4-point lead at the break, but were outscored by 13 points in the second half and lost 80-71. Nick Jacbos led the way for the Yellow Jackets after scoring a team-high 17 points on 8 of 14 shooting from the field. He also brought down eight rebounds in just 25 minutes of play. Despite shooting over 42 percent from

KENNESAW STATE

OWLS PREP FOR BUSY WEEKEND ON HARDWOOD BY KYLE SANDY | KSANDY@SCOREATL.COM

ennesaw State dropped to 7-18 (3-6) with a 78-69 loss to NJIT on Saturday. The Owls took a 41-35 deficit into the half before getting outscored 37-24 in the second frame. Yonel Brown led with 19 points off of 8-of-16 shooting and Kendrick Ray netted 12 points, while shooting 4-of-14 from the field. As a team, the Owls made just 3-of-17 attempts from beyond the arch, including 0-8 in the second half. The Owls close a busy week at home with North Florida Thursday night before a 4:30 p.m. tipoff with Jacksonville on Saturday. The Owls visit Stetson on Feb. 18 before continuing the Sunshine State trip with a 7:05 p.m. tipoff at Florida Gulf Coast on Feb. 20. The Owls’ final regular season contest will take place on Feb. 25 at Lipscomb. The Atlanta Sun Conference Tournament spans from March 1 until March 6 where North Florida, Jacksonville, Florida Gulf Coast, NJIT, Lipscomb, Stetson and USC Upstate will battle

the floor, the Yellow Jackets converted just two of their 19 3-point attempts compared to the Blue Devils’ 13. This is a trend that is reoccurring time after time for the Yellow Jackets. They build a decent lead at halftime and throw it away down the stretch. Georgia Tech could easily be ranked if they were able to close games out in the latter minutes but have been unable to do so. Georgia Tech has shown all season long that they can rebound the ball and score the ball but haven’t been able to translate that into victories in ACC play. Head coach Brian Gregory very well could be on the hot seat after dropping his 58th loss out of 79 career ACC games. The Yellow Jackets will need to finish out their regular season with a lot of momentum heading into the ACC tournament if they want to have any chance whatsoever of making it into the NCAA March Madness tournament which begins in March. Will they be able to do it? Probably not, but weirder things have happened. Georgia Tech ended its deflating trend of close losses at the expense of Wake Forest Wednesday Night in Atlanta. Georges-Hunt scored a career-high 30 points, including four free throws in the final 30 seconds, and Georgia Tech held off Wake Forest 71-66 on Wednesday night, giving the Demon Deacons their ninth straight ACC loss.

with the Owls. North Florida and Jacksonville currently lead the standings with 7-2 conference records, while Florida Gulf Coast and NJIT cling to 5-4 records.

ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

Totaling the third highest point total in the NCAA at the heptathlon in New Mexico, Kennesaw State’s Bilal Abdullah earned Atlantic Sun Men’s Indoor Track Athlete of the Week honors for the fourth time this season, while his teammate Joshua Mulder set the KSU record in the pole vault, named the Track Athlete of the Week, announced by the league office on Wednesday. At the New Mexico Classic, Bilal Abdullah held the lead in the heptathlon after one day of action and carried that momentum to finish as the top collegiate performer with 5891 points. That mark currently ranks as the highest in the A-Sun and third in the NCAA. On the track, Abdullah won the 60m dash in 6.91 seconds which ranks as the second-fastest mark this season in the league, while taking home the 60m hurdle crown in 8.04 seconds. Fellow Owl Joshua Mulder also put together a strong performance in New Mexico in the heptathlon, finishing with 5405 points. His height of 4.90m in the pole vault is a new school record and leads the A-Sun by .08. Mulder finished sixth in the long jump with a distance of 1.92m.

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ATLANTA HAWKS

WILL THE REAL HAWKS PLEASE STAND UP? BY KYLE SANDY | KSANDY@SCOREATL.COM

he Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde season of the T 2016 Atlanta Hawks (31-24) rolled on this week as after winning three straight games,

two against current playoff teams, the Hawks lost back-to-back games to the last-place Orlando Magic (23-29) before bouncing back with a 113-90 drubbing of the Bulls in Chicago on Wednesday night. Ups and downs, peaks and valleys are common in pro sports, but no team in the NBA has looked as great and as terrible as the Hawks have this season. In Atlanta’s drill job of Chicago (27-25), the Hawks were at their best with eight players reaching double digits in scoring. The bench scored 53 points and dismantled a Jimmy Butler-less Bulls team. Dennis Schroder scored a team-high 18 points while starter Jeff Teague added 17. Rewind to losses against the Magic and the bench scored 44 points combined. The Hawks hold a one-game lead over the Miami Heat for first-place in the Southeast Division and Atlanta is the No. 4 seed in the East, but Coach Mike Budenholzer and the front of-

ATLANTA BRAVES

PITCHERS AND CATCHERS REPORT NEXT FRIDAY BY RICKY DIMON | RDIMON@SCOREATL.COM

itchers and catchers are scheduled to report to Atlanta Braves’ Spring Training by next Friday, Feb. 12. A moving truck has been on hand at Turner Field this week and will transport most of the team’s equipment to Lake Buena Vista, Fla. on Friday. Pitchers have been busy completing their final Atlanta-based workouts prior to departure. Starters Matt Wisler, Mike Foltynewicz and Williams Perez have been mainstays at Turner Field over the past week. Because Foltynewicz is recovering from surgery to remove a blood clot, Wisler is the only one of those three who looks like a lock for an early-season rotation spot. Perez will certainly be in the mix, perhaps along with Manny Banuelos, Ryan Weber, Kyle Kendrick and Jhoulys Chacin. How many bullpen spots are available will be predicated on the comeback progress of Jason Grilli, who missed the second half of last season due to a ruptured Achilles. David Carpenter, whom the Braves traded away for Banuelos last summer but signed back in November, arrived in Atlanta last weekend.

fice remain left in the a precarious position. To buy or sell at the upcoming Feb. 18 NBA Trade Deadline?

SELL

Rumors have swirled about Atlanta changing the makeup of its team. Jeff Teague, Kyle Korver and Al Horford have all been placed on the trade block according to insiders; three key pieces in Atlanta’s 60-win season just a year ago. If the team were to sell, it might be the right time. The East still isn’t as strong as the West is on paper and looking towards the future could be beneficial. With more cap space coming soon, marquee free agents are expected to hit the market including Kevin Durant, Rajon Rondo, Dwyane Wade and Hassan Whiteside. One free agent who is possibly on the move? Atlanta’s own Al Horford. He has been floated in trade talks surrounding Blake Griffin which seem like a steal if manageable. Teague’s name has come up in talks ranging from George Hill (yuck) to Victor Oladipo (yum).

BUY

Can Atlanta “buy” without having to move an important piece? The trades aforementioned would be upgrades but still would move cornerstone players. Atlanta’s most valuable trade chip outside of the big names would be Dennis Schroder. Most teams in the NBA are set at point guard, but if Bud chooses to keep the veteran Teague over Schroder, the German could bring back a nice haul.

“You can tell that everyone is starting to get excited,” Carpenter told the team’s website. “Competition makes everybody better. If you come in and you’re lackadaisical and you don’t get yourself prepared, the—in turn—you hurt the team and you hurt yourself.”

BECKHAM HOPING TO BOUNCE BACK …

Former Westminster Schools and University of Georgia star Gordon Beckham hopes a change of scenery will resurrect what was supposed to be a burgeoning MLB career when the White Sox drafted him eighth overall in 2008. Beckham signed a one-year, $1.25 million contract with Atlanta this offseason on the heels of a career-worst 2015 campaign in which he batted .209 with six home runs in 237 plate appearances. The 29-year-old’s best season came as a rookie in 2009, when he hit .270 with 14 homers, 63 RBIs, 58 runs scored and seven stolen bases. “To be playing third base every day,” Beckham told the Atlanta Journal Constitution when asked about his plans for 2016. “I think that’s what they told me that I had the opportunity to do, so we’ll go into spring and see what happens. If that doesn’t work out, then I’ll probably just be going all over the place and playing all the infield positions, which I can do…. It’s nice to be back home. I just feel very comfortable because obviously I live here and this is kind of my backyard. It’s definitely cool to be in a Braves uniform.”

ATLANTA FALCONS

FALCONS RELEASE PAIR OF VETERANS BY CRAIG SAGER II | CSAGER@SCOREATL.COM

The Atlanta Falcons today announced Tuesday that they have released linebacker Justin Durant and safety William Moore. “We want to thank both of these guys for their commitment and work ethic,” Head Coach Dan Quinn said. “They battled through injuries to give everything they had for their teammates this season and I will always be appreciative of that.” Durant, 6-1, 230 pounds, was originally selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the second round (48th overall) of the 2007 NFL Draft out of Hampton. He was signed by the Falcons as a free agent during the 2015 offseason after playing with the Jaguars, Detroit Lions, and Dallas Cowboys. Durant played in 13 games with 12 starts last season and totaled 82 tackles (57 solo) with three tackles for loss, one forced fumble, and three passes defensed. Moore, 6-0, 221 pounds, was selected by the Falcons in the second round (55th overall) of the 2009 NFL Draft. He spent seven seasons in Atlanta, playing in 76 games with 72 starts and earned a Pro Bowl selection in 2012. Moore

GHSA BASKETBALL

REGION UPSETS SHAKE PLAYOFF PICTURE BY KYLE SANDY | KSANDY@SCOREATL.COM

ust a day after defending Class AAAAA state champion Brunswick fell to Statesboro in the Region 3 tournament, eliminating the Pirates from postseason contention, more madness rocked the state. The Statesboro Blue Devils struck again, defeating No. 9 Effingham County, bouncing the Rebels to the consolation game after Effingham had not lost a region game all year. The fifth-seeded Blue Devils now meet two-seed Camden County for the region title and a number one seed heading into state. Stunners rattled the landscape of Class AAAA. Region 1’s top-seed No. 9-ranked Monroe was hammered by fifth-seed Westover 61-43. The Patriots advance to the region title where they will matchup with two-seed No. 10 Bainbridge. Tyree Crump (UGA) and the Bearcats are peaking at the right time, winners of six-straight. They advanced to the championship after dispatching of three-seed Worth County 80-59.

amassed 481 tackles (319 solo) with 16 interceptions, 3.5 sacks, 10 forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, and 38 passes defensed.

PRO PERSONNEL…

The Falcons also named Joel Collier Director of Pro Personnel this week. “After a thorough and comprehensive search, I am pleased to have Joel Collier join us as our director of pro personnel,” General Manager Thomas Dimitroff said. “He brings an extensive personnel background to our department, and he will provide strong leadership to our pro scouting group.” Collier brings more than 20 years of NFL experience to Atlanta. He joins the Falcons after spending five seasons as the assistant general manager for the Kansas City Chiefs from 2009-13. Collier helped the Chiefs complete one of the best turnarounds in NFL history as the club won the AFC West with a 10-6 record in 2010 after going 4-12 in 2009. Working in concert with Falcons Assistant General Manager Scott Pioli, Collier helped identify and select Pro Bowl players such as Eric Berry (3), Justin Houston (2), Dontari Poe, and Dexter McCluster in the NFL Draft. He also spent one season working with Head Coach Andy Reid, drafting starters T Eric Fisher and TE Travis Kelce, and helping the club return to the playoffs after posting an 11-5 record.

METRO MADNESS

In Region 6-AAAA No. 4 St. Pius blew a 50-38 lead heading into the fourth quarter against No. 5 Grady. The Knights were fouled attempting a three with 1.6 seconds left in a tied game and sank all three free throws to overcome a 15-point deficit and win 59-56. Grady now plays No. 2 Lithonia in the region championship while St. Pius plays fifth-seed Columbia. Class AA’s defending state champ No. 2 Seminole County lost to No. 9 Early County 7366 in Region 1. The Indians will face fourth-seed Fitzgerald in the consolation game while No. 1 Thomasville draws the Bobcats with the topseed out of one of the state’s toughest regions up for grabs. If things go chalk in Region 4 with No. 4 Crawford County advancing to the region title game and beating No. 8 Macon County, if Seminole County were to lose to Fitzgerald, or if the Indians won and Crawford County lost, the opening round of the state tournament would see a 2015 state title rematch between Seminole County and Crawford County. The upset of the night took place in Region 4-AAA. No. 7 Westminster entered its game with Jackson-Atlanta, winners of 21-straight and holding a 22-2 record. After dispatching of four-seed Jackson-Atlanta in the middle of January, 52-44 at Jackson, the Wildcats looked like a lock to advance to state. The Jaguars entered at 14-11 overall and 4-6 in region play, but it did not stop them from stunning the Wildcats 53-48 and in the process eliminating

Vol. 12 Iss. 5 | Feb. 11 - Feb. 17, 2016

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Vol. 12 Iss. 5 | Feb. 11 - Feb. 17, 2016