Issuu

Time to look great!

VOLUME 11 ISSUE 1 | JANUARY 9-15, 2014

All-Star Finish | Pg. 4 The Elite Junior Classic caps off the 2014 football season in thrilling fashion.

Georgia’s Hierarchy | Pg. 8 How will reclassification impact Wrestling’s Area Duals this weekend?

YOUR SOURCE FOR SPORTS IN GEORGIA

CAN’T STOP WON’T STOP The first place Atlanta Hawks continue to impress | Pg. 5

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Vol. 11 Iss. 1 | January 9-15, 2015

STARTING LINEUP PUBLISHER/EDITOR I.J. Rosenberg

COLUMNISTS

ON THE COVER

PREP COVER

ART/CREATIVE DIRECTOR DJ Galbiati Blalock

MANAGING EDITOR Craig Sager II

MARKETING/ Lauren Goldstein PARTNERSHIP DIRECTOR

BUSINESS MANAGER Marvin Botnick BEAT WRITERS Ricky Dimon (Braves, Tech)

Brian Jones (KSU) Dan Mathews (UGA) Craig Sager II (Falcons) Kyle Sandy (Hawks, GSU, Gladiators)

STAFF WRITERS Jalisa Smith

Matthew Cason

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TEAM SCOOP AND VOICES

06 12 13

COVER PHOTOS COURTESY OF 247SPORTS, GHSA AND NBAE GETTY IMAGES.

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back was part of a 25-point scoring outburst in the final quarter and it was fueled by a late touchdown grab by K.J. Hancock that proved to be the game-winner. Hancock, a North Gwinnett receiver, finished the game with three touchdowns, including the go-ahead 31yard touchdown grab from Stockton McGuire (Landmark Christian) with 1:58 left to give the North Team a 42-38 lead. Hancock was a late addition to the Elite Junior Classic and only got the opportunity to play in the game when his North Gwinnett teammate Josh Imatorbhebhe injured his foot this postseason and could not participate. Hancock came into the Elite Junior Classic with just 11 catches all season in the star-studded North Gwinnett offense, but would finish Monday with nine catches for 150 yards to go with

his three touchdowns and walked away with the Overall MVP honors. “I have never had a game like this in my life,” admitted Hancock. “I knew I wanted to come out and try to make plays but I was not expecting to score three touchdowns and have a game like this.” Before the North offense ignited in the fourth quarter, it was the South Team’s passing game that was controlling much of the game. Blessed Trinity quarterback Conor Davis turned in a four-touchdown performance with 20-of-26 passing and 357 yards through the air. Davis’ first touchdown pass was on a scramble that eventually went to Marion County’s Lorenzo Smothers over the middle. Davis’ pass sailed over the head of Smothers, but with one hand, Smothers leapt and secured the highlight-reel catch before diving into the endzone for the touchdown. Two minutes later, the South team was on the board again as Davis connected with Tyler Simmons, who then pitched back to Sam Jackson on the hook and ladder for a 55-yard touchdown to extend the lead to 21-10. Hancock answered the Jackson touchdown with an 11-yard touchdown reception from McGuire that cut the South Team’s halftime lead to 21-17. The North Team opened the second half with a 34-yard Chase Staton (Gainesville)

field goal before Davis found Tray Eafford (Lee County) for a 59-yard touchdown pass. McGuire knotted it up at 28-28 with a 26-yard North touchdown pass to D.J. Owens (North Paulding) on the first snap of the fourth quarter but Alex Barbir (South Forsyth) booted a 51yard field goal and Davis found Colquitt County’s Kiel Pollard on a 7-yard touchdown pass to put the South Team back up by 10 points (38-28). North quarterback Joseph Mancuso (Union County) found Owens for his second score to cut it to 38-35 and Staton executed a perfect onside kick that was recovered by Jesse Reverio (Cedar Grove) to keep the ball in the North Team’s hands. McGuire took advantage of the opportunity and hit Hancock for the 31-yard clinching score. The South Team got a final chance but Sandy Creek’s Javon Jackson stole the hook and ladder attempt and ran it all the way to the South 10-yard line to set up a late Staton field goal. The South Team finished with 428 total yards of offense to the North Team’s 408 total yards. Roswell’s Marcelino Ball turned in 10 tackles to lead the North team and included one tackle for the loss, while earning the Defensive MVP. Davis walked away with Offensive MVP with his four touchdown passes. Photo courtesy of 247Sports.com.

across the nation were stunned with the outcome, but the writing was on the wall and the fact that Alabama would get exposed again on the big stage was as clear as day to me. Before I begin on Alabama’s demise, let’s start at the beginning. Texas A&M and Arkansas kicked off bowl season for the West going 2-0 and seemingly were just getting things started for another dominating SEC performance. However, the proverbial doo-doo hit the fan when LSU, who beat Ole Miss by three, and lost to Alabama in overtime, got beat by a Notre Dame team who lost four straight and had to bench its senior quarterback. Just one bad 31-28 loss for the SEC, no big deal right? Time for the best of the West to flex its muscle

and prove it’s the top conference in football in the New Year’s Six. The vaunted Land Shark defense of the Ole Miss Rebels was ready to pound TCU who got snubbed from the final four, but things went awry as TCU embarrassed Ole Miss 42-3. That would be just the beginning of the writings on the wall starting to show through. The Orange Bowl featured the ACC, the SEC’s little brother who swept the SEC in the regular season. Time for some payback right? The Jackets ran the ball right down the Bulldogs’ throat, (sound familiar?) racking up 452 yards rushing and a blowout 49-34 victory, thus raising red flag number two. Maybe the SEC wasn’t that good? Maybe all of Alabama’s “signature” wins were just those over teams that were overhyped. But don’t fret, 2015 rolled in and Auburn had a date with the measly Big Ten and Wisconsin. Once again though, it was an SEC defense getting trounced on the ground. Melvin Gordon ran roughshod through the Tigers defense and racked up 251 yards, three touchdowns and a 34-31 win. Strike three for the SEC. Now all of Alabama’s big wins looked like nothing heading into the final four, not necessarily a settling thought for SEC enthusiasts. By the time the Sugar Bowl rolled around,

there was no reason to think this would be a sure-thing anymore for Alabama. The Tide did get off to a hot start, leading the Buckeyes 216, but Urban Meyer was able to cement himself as possibly the best coach in the nation by opening up the playbook and throwing in some razzle-dazzle en route to a 42-35 shocking victory. So what is there to take away from all this, besides the fact that the SEC’s top teams couldn’t matchup with other conferences’ top teams? My take away is that the run of dominance is completely finished for the SEC. The gap has been completely closed and now that there is a four team playoff, teams who wouldn’t have gotten a shot otherwise now will be able to enter the picture. Without a playoff this year, it would have been Alabama vs Florida State for the title. I heard some of the most blasphemous excuses this past week. “Bowl games don’t matter” or “they aren’t interested in playing if it’s not for the title”. To that, all I have to say is ignorance is bliss. The SEC got rocked and the SEC Network will have a lot of empty air space to fill after the debacle. The SEC Bias was fun while it lasted, but now it’s time to face the facts and face a brave new college football world. Photo courtesy of Jon Barash.

SAGER SAYS

THRILLING ELITE JUNIOR CLASSIC CAPS OFF 2014 SEASON BY CRAIG SAGER II | CSAGER@SCOREATL.COM

the start of the New Year, Georgia Bat efore wrapped up the high school football season McEachern with the second annual Elite

Junior Classic. Mild winter temperatures and rosters filled with the best juniors in the state drew a strong crowd and the game proved to be one of the most exciting football games I saw all year. All-star games can easily turn out to be lopsided but what this year proved is that for the second straight time, the Elite Junior Classic gave us the best of the best on both sidelines. The South Team was in control, leading 38-28 with under three minutes left before the North Team stormed back with 17 unanswered points to claim a 45-38 victory and win the Elite Junior Classic for the second straight year. The North Team’s late come-

SANDY’S SPIEL

BOWL SEASON EXPOSES SEC WEST BY KYLE SANDY | KSANDY@SCOREATL.COM

h how the mighty have fallen. The dust has settled and the once deemed “best division in college football history” fell flat on its face, with the SEC West limping into 2015 with a 2-5 bowl game record while the much ridiculed SEC East held up its end of the bargain going 5-0 to save the conference from complete and utter embarrassment. The simple fact is that once again, the SEC came into bowl season wildly overrated and once again was exposed. The fall of the SEC began last year with Oklahoma throttling an “uninterested” Alabama team 4531, and the fall concluded this season with Bama as they saw a Big Ten school with its third string quarterback hammer them into submission with 281 yards rushing and a 42-35 upset. Fans

Vol. 11 Iss. 1 | January 9-15, 2015

ON THE COVER

ATLANTA FALCONS

HOP ON THE BANDWAGON BY KYLE SANDY | KSANDY@SCOREATL.COM

hoo-Choo! All-aboard! This is the sound of the Atlanta Hawks bandwagon about to leave the station. If you haven’t jumped on already and bought into this year’s team, it definitely is time to. Atlanta’s “other” team has emerged as the must see ticket in town. Atlanta is in uncharted territory. The Hawks are 26-8 and off to their best start in franchise history since moving to Atlanta from St. Louis and are showing no signs of slowing down. The stars are seemingly aligned for Atlanta this year. They are playing in the Eastern Conference, the Cavaliers have flopped, and the Hawks have managed to stay healthy. In Coach Mike Budenholzer’s first year at the helm last season, he took the plucky eighthseeded Hawks without Al Horford and pushed the number one seed Indiana Pacers to the brink of elimination. Fast forward to this season and Bud has a healthy cast and a much improved bench. Horford may not be the 20 and 10 threat he was in years past, but he is settling in nicely as a third-option behind Paul Millsap and the steady Jeff Teague.

Before this year, Horford was relied upon to be “the man” for the offense and was expected to shoulder much of the load. This season, Coach Budenholzer has the Hawks clicking offensively while sharing the ball. Atlanta is currently ranked third in the NBA with 25.3 assists per game led by Teague’s 7.1. The offense has run smoothly and has managed to keep the turnovers down, with the Hawks boasting the fourth best assist-to-turnover ratio in the league. Kyle Korver is off to the league’s best shooting season in history and is attempting to become the first player ever to record a 50/50/90 shooting line; that is 50 percent from the field, 50 percent from the three-point line, and 90 percent from the foul line. As great and unselfish as the Hawks have been offensively, Coach Budenholzer will be the first to tell you that it is Atlanta’s defense that has taken the next step into becoming elite. They currently rank fifth in the NBA allowing just 97.6 points per game. During their current stretch of winning 19 out of 21 games, they have allowed over 100 points just eight

times. It has been a group effort with four players averaging over a steal a game led by Paul Millsap’s 1.88, which by far is the most by any power forward in the league and is tied for sixth in the NBA. The main reason for Atlanta’s success is that its players are getting it done on both sides of the court; they are not one dimensional. Millsap is not only leading the team in steals, but he also is second in scoring with 17.2 per game, and averages a team high 8.1 rebounds to go along with 3.1 assists. Teague, who leads the Hawks with 17.4 points per game, also is a thief on defense picking up 1.77 steals per game. This trend continues down the roster. Al Horford is blocking nearly a shot and a half a game and DeMarre Carroll has blossomed into one of the NBA’s premier “3 & D” guys. A rock solid starting five with players that get it done on both ends of the court is great, but the lack of a bench is something that often separates the pretenders from the contenders. A lot of Atlanta’s success has to be credited to the bench and the added pieces. Mike Scott emerged as one of the East’s best knock-down shooters off the bench last year. He exploded in the Indiana series and has continued his evolution from a post player into a dynamic 3-4 man shooting 38.5 percent from downtown. Scott along with stretch big man Pero Antic, cause matchup issues all over the floor for opponents’ big men who are not accustomed to guarding on the perimeter must step out to contest their three pointers. The newly added Thabo Sefolosha struggled early on to find his shot but has slowly begun to creep out of his slump. Thabo has added a toughness on the wing and an ability to guard other teams’ best scorers when needed. His playoff experience with the Thunder is also invaluable for the Hawks’ bench unit. The biggest improvement Atlanta has seen has been from second year guard Dennis Schroder. The 17th overall pick in the 2013 draft got limited burn a year ago, but the heralded Rajon Rondo clone has begun to tear things up on the second unit. His scoring is up to 8.2 points per game after just 3.7 last season and has shot well from the floor at a 44.8 percent clip. Though he still plays under 18 minutes per game, the German-born Schroder is second on the team in assists with 3.2 a night. He has come up big late in games including this Monday when he scored all seven of his points in the fourth quarter in a 107-98

win over the Clippers. Coach Bud has established a winning mindset and a culture change after a rocky offseason with the front office issues. The team has bought into playing with intensity on both ends and Hawks fans have reaped the benefits seeing their team hold first place in the Eastern Conference. It took fans and pundits a while to believe what they were seeing. Atlanta opened up with a soft schedule and many questioned the merits of its victories. They soon crushed all doubt with their nine game win streak and current 19 of 21 stretch. They have gone 9-2 against Western Conference teams, which is the measuring stick for all Eastern teams. The Highlight Factory has been a nightmare for opposing teams, as Atlanta has gone 14-3 at Philips Arena. The franchise is continuously trying to sell out games and get fans to appreciate the best team in the East. The Pac is back and it is finally time for Atlantans to embrace the team’s success and ride this train all the way into the postseason and possibly to their first division title since 1993-94. Photos courtesy of Jon Barash and the Atlanta Hawks.

Atlanta Hawks

Synjyn Days

Big Ten

Hotlanta is surging again, winning five straight games including sweeping its west coast trip. The Hawks have a game and a half lead over the Bulls for first place in the Eastern Conference and more impressively, have gone 9-2 against the West this season. If you’re slow to jumping on the bandwagon, it’s now or never because the train is leaving the station.

The senior running back who was a non-factor the first seven games of the season finished Georgia Tech’s magical season rushing for 171 yards and three touchdowns as the Jackets finished 11-3 and won the Orange Bowl. Zach Laskey’s injury might have been a godsend for the GT offense as Days averaged 119 yards rushing after just 12 yards per game before the injury and opportunity to start.

The ridiculed and maligned Big Ten flexed its muscle with two big bowl victories over Auburn and Alabama. Wisconsin led by Melvin Gordon’s 251 yards ran all over the Tigers defense and led the Badgers to a 3431 win. Ohio State, who many were skeptical about making the final four playoff, torched Bama for 537 yards with 281 coming on the ground.

SCORE LIST By Brian Jones

WHO’S NOT

By Kyle Sandy

WHO’S HOT

SCORE ATLANTA | www.ScoreAtl.com

Jon Jones

SEC West

BBWAA

After the UFC’s most dominant light heavyweight defended his title against Daniel Cormier on Saturday, he has now tested positive for cocaine and has checked himself into rehab. “Bones” Jones will likely not have to vacate his belt, but it is another black eye for the UFC which has been losing its luster in the past year or two.

Who would have thought that it was the West, not the East, that would struggle during bowl season? The cream of the crop went 2-5, with wins coming from Arkansas and Texas A&M. The SEC’s premier teams went 0-3 in their New Year’s Six bowl games. This just proves that games aren’t played on paper. expect the unexpected when it comes to bowl games.

The baseball writers that vote for the Hall of Fame got four no-brainers right, but again failed to induct the MLB’s greatest offensive catcher of all-time, Mike Piazza. The .308 career hitter with 427 homeruns was snubbed again due to the fact that steroid-use rumors swirled around him even though he never tested positive. Piazza received 69.9% of the vote with 75% needed.

NUMBERS

OUR TWO CENTS

By Kyle Sandy

THE SEARCH IS ON

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.

SCHOTTENHEIMER TO UGA

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.

The Falcons are in the thick of their coaching search and the leading candidates are Josh McDaniels, Dan Quinn and Rex Ryan. The best fit might be Ryan because he’s a great defensive mind that never had a consistent offense. But will Arthur Blank think he’s the right guy or will he go in another direction?

Georgia has found its replacement for former offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Mike Bobo. His name is Brian Schottenheimer and he joins the program after spending the last 14 seasons coaching in the NFL. I like the hire.

SMOLTZ IN HOF

One year after Tom Galvine and Greg Maddux were inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, John Smoltz get the word that he will be inducted this year. Smoltz, who won the Cy Young Award in 1996, is the second player in MLB history with a 20win season and a 50-save season. Finally, the third member of the Braves rotation is in.

HAWKS ON TOP

Don’t look now, but the Hawks are one of the best teams in the NBA as they are in first place in the Eastern Conference. As of Wednesday, the Hawks have a 25-8 record which is the best start in franchise history. They have a big game against Washington on Sunday afternoon and I think I might have to make a trip to Philips to support the Hawks.

RIP COACH

Jim Lofton who coached at East Hall and GAC passed away this past weekend. Lofton who played football at Auburn and was Vince Dooley’s roommate, won 233 games in Georgia and 25 win when he coached high school ball at Alabama. His final season was at GAC in 1998 and led the Spartans to an 11-3 record. He was 85 years old.

TRIVIA QUESTION

HOW MANY GAMES DID MIKE SMITH WIN DURING HIS SEVEN SEASONS AS THE FALCONS HEAD COACH? ANSWER ON PAGE 14

“

SANITY AT LAST

“Right now, Atlanta has unshakable confidence” - Clippers coach Doc Rivers after falling 107-98 to the Hawks on Monday

97.3%

Randy Johnson’s voting percentage to get inducted into the Hall of Fame.

John Smoltz’s number as Atlanta’s big three is finally complete in Cooperstown.

25.3

Assists per game for the Hawks, third in the NBA.

Losses for the SEC East in bowl games

452

Yards rushing for GT in the Orange Bowl

Hawks wins against the Western Conference

266

Yards rushing for Nick Chubb in the Belk Bowl

Yonel Brown’s KSU Division-I record for points in a game.

Vol. 11 Iss. 1 | January 9-15, 2015

HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL

STATE TITLE HOPEFULS GEAR UP FOR AREA DUALS; NO. 1 WHEELER TOPS POPE BY CRAIG SAGER II | CSAGER@SCOREATL.COM

hree of our six defending Dual state champions (Pope, Buford, Jefferson) find themselves in different classifications this year and that is sure to shake up this weekend’s Area Duals. In Class AAAAAA, Pope will look to win the Area 5-AAAAAA title for the first time with a field highlighted by Etowah, Roswell and Woodstock. Pope handled Etowah 53-19 on Dec. 3 and topped Roswell the previous weekend at Hillgrove 51-27. Archer continues to pace Class AAAAAA and dominated the Takedown Sportswear Invitational last week. Archer grabbed first place out of a field of 38 teams with 317.5 points. Six wrestlers placed first and 11 total wrestlers placed. Archer’s success this year has not come as much a surprise, but across the county, Mountain View is in the midst of a historic run. The Bears finished second of 55 teams

in the Coastal Clash in Charleston last month, the Southeast’s largest sanctioned high school tournament. Mountain View continued its historic season with a firstplace finish at the Gwinnett County Tournament. Adam Flatt (138 pounds) and Justin George (126) have been the key to the Bears’ success this season. Class AAAA’s Alexander looked strong in its first place finish at Gorilla Warfare this past weekend and cruised past North Forsyth, Cass and North Hall. Buford and Gilmer also highlight this year’s Class AAAA field. Buford won the Class AAA Duals state title last year and Gilmer grabbed the AAAA title. Gilmer has reached the dual podium five straight years. Jefferson is set to shake up the Class AAA hierarchy. The Dragons debut in Class AAA for the first time after 13 consecutive dual state titles in Class AA and A.

HARDWOOD THRILLER… In a battle of 13-1 Region 5-AAAAAA opponents, visiting Wheeler jumped to a 35-23 lead at the half before closing out Pope and protecting its No. 1 state ranking with a 64-54 victory Tuesday night. Jaylen Brown got Wheeler out in front early with a pull-up jumper and six first quarter points. Pope hung around with Chase Hutchins’ seven-point outburst in the quarter but would trail 18-9 at the end of one. Six Wildcats scored in the second quarter and a struggling Pope offense finally found life with back-toback Mitch Hollis three pointers. However, before the Greyhounds could go into the half with a single-digit deficit, Wheeler’s Makhai Eastmond drilled a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the Wildcats a 35-23 cushion. Pope’s inability to protect the ball led to easy Wheeler baskets and that is the formula Pope head coach Pat Abney believes was the difference in this game. “We can’t win against a good team if we don’t take care of the ball,” said a frustrated Abney after the game. “Our half court execution tonight was absolutely horrendous. We didn’t get enough shots up and that is because we didn’t take care of the ball.” Pope shook off a slow first half with a 1711 scoring advantage in the third quarter. The Greyhounds finally began drawing fouls and got

to the foul line nine times in the second half but converted just 3-of-9 attempts. Wheeler also struggled at the line, with 10-of-21 shooting, but a strong fourth quarter from Shembari Phillips was enough to help Wheeler runaway with the victory. Phillips netted seven of his 11 points in the fourth quarter and included 3-of-3 shooting from the foul line. Brown (four) and Cameron Jordan (five) combined for nine of the 18 Wheeler fourth quarter points and finished with 16 points apiece. Pope got a game-high 21 points from Hutchins and 12 points from Garrick DeBowles. This duo’s play on both ends of the court against No. 1 Wheeler showcased why Pope remains one of the top teams in Class AAAAAA. “We’ve got a great team,” said Abney. “Chase and Garrick are the leaders of this team and we are always going to be good because we bring it defensively each night and we compete. That’s why this team can win.” Both teams return to the court with Region 5 road games on Friday. Pope will visit Roswell and Wheeler will take a trip to Woodstock to take on the Wolverines. The Wildcats look to continue their sweep of Region 5 opponents that has helped warrant their No. 1 ranking. Prior to Tuesday’s 10-point win over Pope, Wheeler had won its last four region games (Lassiter, Walton, Roswell, Milton) by an average of 41 points per game. Photos courtesy of the GHSA and Ty Freeman.

Vol. 11 Iss. 1 | January 9-15, 2015

A young athlete’s brain is still developing, so don’t take chances with a head injury. Bring him to Children’s, where doctors have the expertise to diagnose and treat concussions. And with ImPACT testing, we can compare a patient’s progress to a normal baseline score to help determine when he’s ready to play again. To schedule a baseline ImPACT test for your athlete or team, visit choa.org/baselinetesting. TM

SCORE ATLANTA | www.ScoreAtl.com

Vol. 11 Iss. 1 | January 9-15, 2015

Score Atlanta Boys Basketball Rankings Class AAAAAA 1............................ Wheeler 2................................Shiloh 3.........................Tift County 4..................... Pebblebrook 5............................... Tucker

6.................Douglas County 7...................................Pope 8............................Norcross 9............................Hillgrove 10..............................Duluth

6........................... M.L. King 7..................................Drew 8........Northside-Columbus 9.........................Brunswick 10..................Richmond Hill

Class AAAA 1.........................Jonesboro 2........Johnson-Gainesville 3.............................Lithonia 4...........................Columbia 5..............................St. Pius

1................................ Laney 2......................Cedar Grove 3............................. Jenkins 4....................North Clayton 5................. Morgan County

6.......... Johnson-Savannah 7.................................Butler 8.......................... Savannah 9..............................Rutland 10....................Westminster

Class AA

Class AAAAA 1...................... Miller Grove 2...........................McIntosh 3........................Gainesville 4...........................Allatoona 5...........................Tri-Cities

Class AAA

1..................Pace Academy 2.................Holy Innocents’ 3...................... Thomasville 4...............................Vidalia 5..Greater Atlanta Christian

1.........................St. Francis 2.......................Greenforest 3...............Athens Christian 4...............Hancock Central 5.............................Treutlen

6..........Whitefield Academy 7..............Wilkinson County 8.................Calhoun County 9..........................Greenville 10..................Turner County

Score Atlanta Wrestling Rankings Class AAAAAA 1...............................Archer 2..................................Pope 3..................Mountain View 4.........................Collins Hill 5...........................Parkview

6...............................Etowah 7..............................Roswell 8....................South Forsyth 9...............Rockdale County 10................ Chattahoochee

Class AAAAA 1................ Camden County 2.....Woodland-Cartersville 3........................Cambridge 4...........................Allatoona 5..........................Sequoyah

6...................Blessed Trinity 7........................ Sonoraville 8......................... Adairsville 9..................Oconee County 10.........................Rockmart

Class AA 6................... Clarke Central 7......................Ware County 8......................... Creekview 9................................. Rome 10.....................Union Grove

Class AAAA 1............................... Gilmer 2...............................Buford 3.................................. Cass 4..........................Alexander 5........ Woodward Academy

Class AAA 1...........................Jefferson 2....................Banks County 3................. Toombs County 4................. Morgan County 5.................... Elbert County

1......................Social Circle 2....................... Gordon Lee 3..Greater Atlanta Christian 4............................. Bremen 5................................ Lovett

6..................... East Laurens 7..........................Armuchee 8............................... Vidalia 9...........................Jeff Davis 10............... Holy Innocents’

Class A 6................Lumpkin County 7.......................... Chestatee 8................................ Marist 9............................. Lithonia 10.................. West Laurens

1........................ Commerce 2................... Turner County 3.........Eagle’s Landing Chr. 4................Mt. Zion-Carroll 5...............Athens Christian

Class AAAAAA

Class AA

1........................McEachern 2....................North Forsyth 3........................... Westlake 4...............................Archer 5............................ Osborne

1.................Dawson County 2........................... Kendrick 3................................ Laney 4............................. Decatur 5................. Morgan County

6........................... Parkview 7....................South Forsyth 8............................Norcross 9.........................Woodstock 10...................... North Cobb

1.........................Brunswick 2........................ Greenbrier 3.......................Stephenson 4............ Southwest DeKalb 5....................... Forest Park

6...................................Trion 7.......Strong Rock Christian 8.........................Mt. Vernon 9......................... St. Francis 10............................Treutlen

1............................Veterans 2..............................St. Pius 3.........................Jonesboro 4...............................Buford 5............ Americus-Sumter

6................................ Beach 7.......... Johnson-Savannah 8....................Dodge County 9.................... Peach County 10.........Washington County

Class AA 6...........................Sequoyah 7............... South Effingham 8..................................Mays 9..............Effingham County 10.............................. Coffee

Class AAAA

Class A 6.........................Bainbridge 7.......................... Carrollton 8.................... Burke County 9...................Liberty County 10...............Stone Mountain

Score Atlanta Girls Basketball Rankings

Class AAAAA 6.....................Bryan County 7...............Seminole County 8.................................Model 9...............................Harlem 10....................Early County

1.................Holy Innocents’ 2.........................Darlington 3..............................Pelham 4.......................... Wesleyan 5................................ Model

6............................... Vidalia 7.................................Lovett 8..................Putnam County 9.....................Union County 10.....................Thomasville

Class A 6................................ Redan 7....................Mary Persons 8............................Thomson 9................................ Marist 10.............................. Griffin

1.........................St. Francis 2.........SW Atlanta Christian 3.................... Taylor County 4................... Turner County 5.........................Mt. Pisgah

6................. Mitchell County 7..... Savannah Country Day 8............Stratford Academy 9...............................Claxton 10................ Tattnall Square

SCORE ATLANTA | www.ScoreAtl.com

UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA

UGA NAMES SCHOTTENHEIMER NEW OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR BY DAN MATHEWS | DMATHEWS@SCOREATL.COM

ews broke just shortly after 2 pm eastern on Wednesday that Georgia has indeed found their replacement for former offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Mike Bobo. His name is Brian Schottenheimer and he joins the program after spending the last 14 seasons coaching in the NFL. Yes, he is the son of legendary coach Marty Schottenheimer and coached with his father during stops with the Kansas City Chiefs, Washington Redskins, and San Diego Chargers. He has spent the last three seasons as the offensive coordinator for the St. Louis Rams. “This is a great opportunity to become a Georgia Bulldog for both my career and my family,” Schottenheimer said in a statement released by UGA. “I’m thrilled to be part of an elite program with such national tradition and a great staff already in place. I look forward to working with young men and being a positive and significant influence on their lives as we develop them athletically, academically, and socially.”

GEORGIA STATE

CONFERENCE PLAY BEGINS BY KYLE SANDY | KSANDY@SCOREATL.COM

he Panthers (9-4) picked up a pair of wins to start off Sun Belt play this past week with win number one coming against UL-Monroe on Dec. 30, and number two against UALR on Saturday. In its latest game against UALR (5-7), Georgia State picked up an 82-69 victory behind Ryan Harrow’s 22 points and birthday boy Kevin Ware’s career-high 21. Ware stepped up big on his 22nd birthday as R.J. Hunter had a quiet night scoring just 14 points on 2 of 8 shooting. Coach Ron Hunter praised Ware’s play saying, “Kevin’s confidence was really high today. He got some early open shots to fall and was able to continue that all game. We have known that play like that was coming, it was just a matter of time.” Georgia State used a 15-0 run with six minutes remaining to balloon a 61-55 lead to 76-55 with under two minutes to go to put the game on ice. The win extended the Panthers’ home court winning streak to 18 games. In GSU’s final game of 2014, the Panthers

Schottenheimer previously had experience coaching on the college level back in the 1999 and 2000 seasons, spending one year a piece at Syracuse as their wide receivers coach and then at Southern California as the Trojans tight ends coach. Mark Richt also added his comments about Schottenheimer coming aboard his staff through the UGA Sports Communications Department. “I’m excited to have Brian join our coaching staff,” Richt said. “His NFL experience will be a perfect fit for how we like to play offensive football here at Georgia. He’ll be excellent in developing our players in both the running and passing games which will benefit them while they are at Georgia and for their future.” NAME DROPPING... In addition to his NFL coaching days with his father in three different organizations, Schottenheimer also spent five seasons as the New York Jets offensive coordinator under head coaches Eric Mangini and Rex Ryan. He was with the organization from 2006 to 2011. Schottenheimer has also worked with some very impressive names at the quarterback position during his time in coaching. Some of those names include Brett Favre, Drew Brees, Phillip Rivers. The hiring of Schottenheimer still leaves the opening for an offensive line coach on Mark Richt’s staff. So far, there’s no word on who could be in line for that position.

picked up a win in their conference opener, 6545 over UL-Monroe (6-6). R.J. Hunter poured in a game high 18 points while Markus Crider notched his first career double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Georgia State trailed by three at the half, but outscored the Warhawks 42-19 in the second half and held UL-Monroe to just 28 percent shooting in the game. LADY PANTHERS SPLIT ... Dec. 30 featured a double-header to kick off conference play with the women’s team playing before the men’s. The Lady Panthers came away with an exciting 80-72 victory over UL-Monroe (4-6), led by four panthers finishing in double digits. Freshman Makeba Ponder continued her hot shooting finishing with 20 points and four 3-pointers. Brittany Logan recorded her fourth consecutive doubledouble scoring 16 points and pulling down 15 rebounds. After knocking off UL-Monroe, the Panthers (6-5) were back at it hosting UALR (92). Preseason Sun Belt Player of the Year Taylor Gault scored 21 points and helped the Trojans to a 75-55 win. Brittany Logan was in early foul trouble for the Panthers and was never able to get on track as she sat on the bench for the majority of the first half and saw the Trojans build a 13 point lead. GSU was only able to connect on 35 percent of its shots while UALR connected at a 54 percent clip. Alisha Andrews scored 11 points for the Panthers.

GEORGIA TECH

GEORGIA TECH IS BUILDING ON 2014’S SUCCESS BY CRAIG SAGER II | CSAGER@SCOREATL.COM

he Yellow Jackets were one of the biggest surprises in college football this season. No one expected the team to rack up 11 wins this season and another ACC Coastal title and a 49-34 win over SEC West Mississippi State in the Orange Bowl have already built positive momentum into next season. Tech took a 2120 halftime lead over Mississippi State before opening the second half with touchdowns on four consecutive drives and running the football on 20-of-22 plays. Thomas threw 10 times for 125 yards in the first half before the ground game took over and senior Darren Waller had a career-high 114 yards on five catches, including a 41-yard score. “We talked about it at halftime — if we scored every time in the second half, we couldn’t lose, because we were ahead,” said head coach Paul Johnson. Georgia Tech finished with 452 rushing yards against the Miss State defense. The bowl

KENNESAW STATE

BROWN LEADS OWLS PAST THOMAS UNIVERSITY, GIRLS BB FALL TO MERCER BY BRIAN JONES | BJONES@SCOREATL.COM

he men’s basketball team needed a win as they have lost four straight games to end 2014. On Saturday the Owls faced Thomas University at the Convocation Center and they were able to hit on all cylinders, winning 92-66. Yonel Brown made school history as he scored 36 points which is a Division I School record. Brown scored 20 points in the first 10 minutes of the game and had 25 at halftime. He was 13-of-20 from the field, and four of seven from the three-point line. “He’s (Yonel) the point guard, he’s the leader of this team, he has the ball in his hands a lot and I thought he made a lot of great decisions, obviously with 36 points,” head coach #Jimmy Lallathin said to ksuowls.com. “He’s a kid that works really hard off the floor and its beginning to show. I’m very happy for him, very proud of him. He continues to get better and better.” Brown was not the only Owls to play well. Damien Wilson scored 12 points, and Orlando Coleman and Brad Morena each scored 10.

victory improved the Yellow Jackets to 2-8 in bowl games the past decade. “Our program took a step forward this year,” said quarterback Justin Thomas, “and we’re planning to keep striving to put Georgia Tech’s name on the top of the list.” The bowl win was impressive but let’s not forget about the 30-24 overtime win over Georgia in Athens this year, the first Tech win over Georgia since 2008. And let’s also not forget the job Johnson did this season to earn his contract extension. His offense almost was nearly impossible to stop once he got the right quarterback under center (Justin Thomas) and his defense drastically improved while creating a plus-11 turnover margin this year. The Jackets (11-3) completed the year with wins over Clemson (10-3), Georgia (10-3), a two-point loss to No. 3 Florida State (13-1) and a win over No. 7 Mississippi State (10-3), a team that was ranked No. 1 in the nation for four weeks. RECRUITING BUZZ…. Georgia Tech is putting together a solid class with Alexander running back Mikell Lands-Davis and AJC All-Classification player of the year and Washington County star A.J. Gray. Marietta running back and track star KirVonte Benson was picked up by the Yellow Jackets at the end of November and Georgia Tech sits on the fringe of bringing in a top 30 class in the nation this year.

This win is much needed because the Owls will start conference play on Saturday when they take on USC Upstate in Spartanburg, S.C. A BROWN WEEK… For his efforts this past week, Brown was named Atlantic Sun Player of the Week. In the games against Tennessee State and Thomas University, Brown averaged 28.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists. Brown scored 21 points against Tennessee State on New Year’s Eve and had a school-record 36 points against Thomas University. “It’s a great honor for Yonel,” Lallathin said. “He’s worked extremely hard off the floor and has been a great leader for us this year. We’re really excited about his leadership ability and growth as we start conference play.” In girls’ basketball news, the Owls continue to roll through the non-conference schedule as they took down Florida A&M 79-58 on Saturday at the Convocation Center. Deandrea Sawyers led the Owls with 20 points while Kristina Wells added 16 rebounds, six assists, four rebounds and four steals. The Owls looked to earn one last win before they begin conference play on Saturday, but they fell to rival Mercer on Tuesday 54-44. Jasmine McAllister scored 14 points and pulled down nine boards for the Owls. Kelly Dulkoski scored a career-high 11 points in the loss.

Vol. 11 Iss. 1 | January 9-15, 2015 ATLANTA HAWKS

HAWKS SWEEP WEST COAST TRIP BY KYLE SANDY | KSANDY@SCOREATL.COM

aced with a stiff three game west coast trip which featured the improving Utah Jazz and the top tier teams of the Portland Trailblazers and the Los Angeles Clippers, the Atlanta Hawks continued to prove their doubters wrong by sweeping through their competition. Atlanta’s latest victory came on Monday after overcoming a slow start in Los Angeles winning 10798. The Hawks (26-8) weathered an early 11-2 surge from the Clippers (23-12) and chipped away at the early deficit, to enter the second quarter trailing 26-21. The Clippers had ample opportunities to pull away from Atlanta but Los Angeles could not knock down its open three point attempts and Atlanta’s defense eventually started to clamp down on its open shooters. A big third quarter gave Atlanta enough cushion to hold the lead throughout. An 18-6 run gave the Hawks their largest lead of the game in the fourth at 95-78. The duo of Jeff Teague and Paul Millsap was too much for Los Angeles to contain. Teague finished with 20 points and 9 assists while Millsap pitched in 23 points

ATLANTA BRAVES

JOHN SMOLTZ RECEIVES FIRST-BALLOT ENTRY TO HALL OF FAME BY RICKY DIMON | RDIMON@SCOREATL.COM

hether it was starting or closing a crucial game, John Smoltz played like a Hall of Famer and Tuesday, he joined his former teammates Tom Glavine and Greg Maddux as the newest former Brave to get elected into the hall of fame in his first year of eligibility. Smoltz joined first-ballot selections Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez and Craig Biggio in this year’s class. “He [Smoltz] was more competitive across the board than anybody,” said Glavine. “When you got onto the field, we all were competitive, and that served as well. But with John it didn’t end there. He’d be you on the sun coming up, playing golf, playing cards. That competitive nature served him well.” Smoltz channeled his toughness throughout his Braves career and overcame multiple injuries before becoming one of the best closers in the majors (144 saves in 2002-04). Following his comeback and new role as a closer, Smoltz made another incredible transition

and grabbed 8 rebounds. DeMarre Carroll who scored a career-high previously against the Clippers, managed to score 17 points and snatch 8 rebounds. Atlanta won the turnover battle 12 to 21 and canned 13 threes which proved to be the difference maker. Six Clipper players scored in double figures led by Blake Griffin’s 26 in the loss. The Hawks completed the season sweep of the Clippers and has now won five straight games and has improved to 9-2 against Western Conference teams. BLAZIN’ THRU THE WEST ... On Saturday, the Hawks eked out a narrow win at the Moda Center against the Trailblazers (26-8), 115-107. The loss at home for Portland was just its third of the season. Paul Millsap scored 27 points and Jeff Teague added 22 of his own. Seven Hawks players scored in double figures on the night. Thabo Sefolosha notched his first double-double of the season off the bench with 13 points and 12 rebounds. Atlanta led by as many as 20 points in the second half before a late Blazer rally keyed by LaMarcus Aldridge’s 30 points closed the gap. Atlanta survived 13 Portland 3-pointers headed by Wesley Matthews’ four. UP NEXT ... The Eastern Conference leading Hawks tip-off against the Memphis Grizzlies (25-9), on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. at Philips Arena on the Hawks’ “Swipe-right” Tinder night before hitting the road again to face the surging Pistons on Friday.

back to being a dominant starter. Candidates need at least 75 percent of the vote for induction and Smoltz received 82.9 percent of the vote, behind Johnson (97.3) and Martinez (91.1). Biggio, barely missed election last year, but cleared the cutoff with 82.7 percent this year. Smoltz is credited with 213 wins, 154 saves, eight Braves appearances in MLB’s All Star Game and the NLCS MVP in 1992. It was the first time since 1955 that four players were picked and the only class to include three pitchers. “I’ve never been at a loss for words, but today might be that day. It was pretty overwhelming to think about getting in the Hall of Fame, let alone getting in on the first try,” Smoltz said during a news conference at Turner Field. “It has been a humbling experience.” COMMUNITY CARAVAN… With spring training months away, the Braves are taking time to get interact with the community and will make their annual caravan to Academy Sports + Outdoors across four different states beginning next weekend. There are six scheduled stops in Georgia, two in South Carolina (Jan. 21 at Spartanburg, Jan. 25 at Columbia), two in Alabama (Jan. 26 at Birmingham, Jan. 28 at Montgomery), and one in Tennessee (Jan. 29 at Chattanooga). The last stop is Jan. 31 at the Athens location. Names of players, team officials and broadcasters appearing at each stop will be announced next week.

ATLANTA FALCONS

FALCONS MEET WITH COACHING CANDIDATES BY CRAIG SAGER II | CSAGER@SCOREATL.COM

tlanta’s search for a new head coach continued Tuesday with a five hour interview with former Jets head coach Rex Ryan. Blank and the Falcons have shown strong interest in bringing in the tough and defensive-minded Ryan and the lengthy meeting displayed the level of interest shared by both parties. However, no deal was reached between the Falcons and Ryan and both sides moved on to their next set of interviews. Ryan will talk with the Buffalo Bills and the Falcons will interview Arizona Defensive Coordinal Todd Bowles according to NFL Insider Ian Rapoport. Bowles and the Falcons are set to meet Thursday as Bowles continues his tour of interviews across the NFL. BOWLES IN CHARGE… The Falcons’ interest in Bowles stems from his impressive resume that includes eight seasons as a safety in the NFL. Bowles started for the Redskins in Super Bowl XXII. As a coach, the former Temple University star joined the

GWINNETT GLADIATORS

DOMINGUE SHARP IN FIRST TWO APPEARANCES BY KYLE SANDY | KSANDY@SCOREATL.COM

he Gladiators (10-19-1-0) welcomed the Elmira Jackals (17-13-0-3) to The Arena at Gwinnett Center again on Saturday, but were unable to sweep their visitors, as the Glads fell 2-1. Gwinnett was the aggressor of the two teams, outshooting Elmira 32-24. Brenden Walker netted the lone goal against Travis Fullerton who was up to the task for the Jackals saving 31 of the 32 shots sent his way. Louis Domingue played well in his second game in goal saving 22 shots. All the action came in the second period for both squads. Keith Buehler struck first for the Jackals at the seven minute mark. Just over a minute later, the Jackals broke through again after Phil Bronner picked Joe Stejskal’s stick and sent home a blast past Domingue. Ten minutes would go by before Walker was able to add his seventh goal of the season with under two minutes remaining in the period. Gwinnett pressed for an equalizer late in the third after pulling their goalie, but a scrum in

Green Bay Packers in 1995-96 before daking over the defensive coordinator duties at Morehouse College and Grambling State from 199799. Folllowing his departure from Grambling state in 1999, Bowles took over the defensive back coaching position for a season with the Jets before accepting the same position with the Browns and Cowboys the next eight seasons. Bowles’ first defensive coordinator job in the NFL came with the 2002 Philadelphia Eagles and he has served the last two years as the coordinator for Arizona’s stout defense. FREE AGENT FRENZY… There is no doubt next year’s Atlanta Falcons will have a lot of new faces and while the franchise continues searching for a new head coach, a long list of free agents awaits decisions. Osi Umenyiora, Sean Weatherspoon, Kroy Biermann, Matt Bryant, Jacquizz Rodgers, Corey Peters, Robert McClain, Antone Smith, Mike Johnson, Cliff Matthews, T.J. Yates, Josh Wilson, Javier Arenas, Dwight Lowery, Eric Weems, Bear Pascoe, Charles Godfrey and Jonathan Scott are all unrestricted free agents and are free to sign with any other team. The Falcons will receive no compensatory picks and have no special leverage in trying to renegotiate those unrestricted free agents and that is why it is expected that there will be significant changes to Atlanta’s roster before kickoff in 2015.

front of the net did not result in a tying goal and the Gladiators eventually ran out of time. NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION ... Gwinnett was back in action for the first time in 2015 on Jan. 2 as they hosted the Jackals. Louis Domingue made his debut in goal for the Gladiators and looked sharp saving all 24 shots he was faced with, while the offense struck gold connecting four times en route to a 4-0 shutout. The shutout was just Gwinnett’s second of the season. The captain Sean Berkstresser used a nifty move to notch his fifth goal of the season and give Gwinnett a first period lead. The second period got rough when Elmira’s Matt Tassone stick-butted Dyson Stevenson igniting a brawl in Elmira’s defensive end. The third period was dominated by Gwinnett with Will MacDonald finishing a shot on a power play early in the final frame. Soon after, Casey Pierro-Zabotel scored his 10th goal of the season on another power play. Garry Nunn finished off the scoring at the 12:45 mark to give the Gladiators a 4-0 lead they would not relinquish. PROMOTIONS ... This Thursday will feature Student Night at the Gwinnett Center. Student Night Discount Tickets will be available for purchase beginning at 5:00 pm on Thursday, Jan. 8th only. Students must show a valid, current student id to purchase a SN ticket. On Saturday, Animation Celebration will be held with Scooby Doo and Spongebob making appearances.

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Vol. 11 Iss. 1 | January 9-15, 2015

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