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SEPTEMBER 10-16, 2008
ATLANTA’S
TALK NEWSPAPER
COBB’S
HIGH SPORTS
SCHOOL SPORTS
NEWSPAPER
VOL 3 NO 2
02C I SCORE COBB
Get In The Game!
™
THE HIGH SCHOOL
STARTING
LINEUP
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
PUBLISHER/EDITOR I.J. Rosenberg • MANAGING EDITOR Tad Arapoglou • DIRECTOR OF SALES/MARKETING
John Duke • ART/CREATIVE DIRECTOR David Gaudio • GRAPHIC DESIGNER D.J. Galbiati • WEBMASTER Alex Ewalt
VIDEO MANAGER/PREP EDITOR Scott Janovitz • BUSINESS MANAGER Marvin Botnick • SALES Zander Lentz,
Brian Pruett • PHOTOGRAPHER Scott Cunningham • OFFICE MANAGER Nakia Washington
BEAT WRITERS Josh Bagriansky (Dream), Stephen Black (Silverbacks), Jason Boral (Thrashers), James
Butler (UGA), Dave Cohen (Georgia State), Johnny Crosskey (Tech), Alex Ewalt (Preps), Erik Horne
(Falcons), Scott Janovitz (Hawks/Recruiting), Fletcher Proctor (Braves)
STAFF WRITERS Cranston Collier, Joe Deighton, Keilah Johnson, Brian Jones, Zander Lentz, Andrew
McCarron, Corey Mitchell, Jessica Parker, Derek Wiley
CONTRIBUTORS Dean Zindler, Kevin Dankosky, Mitch Evans, Matt Judy, Tony Schiavone, Richard Diamond, Joe
Haines, Brian Katrek, Chris Dimino, Mike Bell, Matt Stewart, Fred Kalil, Nick Cellini, Phillip Leopold, Dave Marshall,
Greg Smith, Steak Shapiro, Mike Cather, Beau Bock, Chuck Oliver, Hal Lamar, Chris Cotter, Matt Chernoff, Roy
Hickman, Dave Cohen, John Olah, Jeff Woolverton, Chris Voss, Bob Rathbun, Courtney Capps, Bill Hartman, Chuck
Dowdle, Shannon Alderman, Dan Kamal, Dennis Scott, C.C., Hal Lanier, Jeff Batten, Micah Hart, Ben Wright, Alan
Vasquez, Andrew Vedlitz, Brian Jones • SPECIAL CONTRIBUTORS Mitch Albom, Dave Kindred, Barry Bloom
SCHOOL LISTING
CHEROKEE/FORSYTH: Cherokee, Creekview, Etowah, Forsyth Central, North Forsyth, Sequoyah, South Forsyth, West Forsyth, Woodstock
COBB: Allatoona, Campbell, Harrison, Kell, Kennesaw Mountain, Lassiter, Marietta, McEachern, N. Cobb, N. Cobb Christian, Pebblebrook,
Pope, S. Cobb, Sprayberry, Walton, Wheeler
DEKALB: Chamblee, Columbia, Decatur, Druid Hills, Dunwoody, Lakeside, Marist, Miller Grove, M.L. King, Paideia, Redan, St. Pius X,
Southwest DeKalb, Stephenson, Stone Mountain, Tucker
FULTON: Alpharetta, Blessed Trinity, Centennial, Chattahoochee, Douglass, Grady, Lovett, Mays, Milton, North Springs, Northview,
Riverwood, Roswell, Tri-Cities, Westminster, Woodward Academy
GWINNETT: Berkmar, Brookwood, Buford, C. Gwinnett, Collins Hill, Dacula, Grayson, Greater Atlanta Christian, Meadowcreek, Mill Creek,
Norcross, North Gwinnett, Parkview, Peachtree Ridge, South Gwinnett, Wesleyan
LORI SPINGOLA
COLE MOON
ST. PIUS X
MARIST SCHOOL
The senior running back already has five
scores on the year—two against Marist
and three against Greater Atlanta
Christian—and has racked up 189 yards
on 45 carries. His score with 4:29 remaining against GAC put the game away in
Pius’ 31-10 win. The Golden Lions are 2-0
on the season largely because of the
efforts of the 6-foot-3, 205-pound back.
Spingola is arguably the best pitcher in
the state, and she’s just a junior. The
Marist hurler went 26-6 with 13 no-hitters
and a 0.31 ERA last year, and will try and
help the Lady War Eagles win the state
championship that has thus far eluded
the program (the team finished in third
place last year). Spingola is a member of
the East Cobb Bullets club team.
FOR REAL-TIME HIGH SCHOOL
FOOTBALL SCORES GO TO
SCOREATL.COM
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SEPTEMBER 10-16, 2008
SCORE COBB I 03C
Former Hoover coaches Lindsey and Propst make Georgia transition
here is not much in common between
Lassiter High School and Colquitt
County High School. Lassiter is in the
heart of Marietta, where there is plenty to
do considering its close proximity to
downtown Atlanta. Colquitt is 200 miles
south of Atlanta and is considered a rural
area. Lassiter has not yet won a state title,
while the Packers won their first and only
title in 1994.
But this year is different. This year, they
share something in common, a trait that fans
of high-school football will be following for
years to come. What is that trait, you ask?
Chip Lindsey and Rush Propst were both
coaches at famed Hoover High School in
Alabama last year and have brought their
coaching expertise to Georgia this year, with
Lindsey coaching the Trojans and Propst
leading the Packers. And if you don’t know
their names now, you will soon enough.
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LINDSEY TAKES REINS …
The Lassiter Trojans were looking for a fresh start, as they recently renovated their stadium
and scoreboard to keep
up with the times. They
found another way to get
that fresh start at the
beginning of 2008,
when the school hired
Lindsey to lead the
Trojans into a new era. Under
Propst, Lindsey was the offensive coordinator for the
Buccaneers. Surprisingly, as head coach of
the Trojans, Lindsey says not much is different, other than a small discrepancy in talent.
“There are differences in kids anywhere
you go,” Lindsey said. “But Hoover is a similar community to Lassiter.”
Lindsey is known to have a prolific
offense, which involves a lot of passing and
no huddling and is lucky to have two of the
top players in Georgia: tight end Philip
Lutzenkirchen (pictured right) and offensive
lineman Camden Wentz.
“Philip is our best skill athlete and
Cameron is our best offensive lineman,”
Lindsey says. “The key to our success is
other people have to step up.”
So far at least, it looks as if the Trojans
are buying into what Lindsey is selling, as
the team is currently 2-0 and averaging over
35 points per game.
“I feel like we are headed in the right
direction,” he said. “We have a good plan in
place and we continue to work and keep
getting better.”
PROPST STARTS FRESH …
Football critics know
him as one of the best highschool coaches in the country, while the MTV generation knows him as the stern
head man of Hoover from the reality
show “Two-a-Days.” Reputation aside,
after making a drastic move from
Central Alabama to South Georgia,
Propst looks to rebuild a struggling
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Colquitt County program. It didn’t take
long for the new Packer coach to learn that,
in order for his team to get back to the top,
it starts and ends with John Michael
Harrison (pictured bottom left).
“He’s done pretty good. He threw six
touchdown passes in the first game, five
in the first half,” Propst said after their
second win against Thomasville. “Tonight
he struggled, but if you play in this
offense long enough, you’re going
to have those nights.”
Propst won four state titles
while at Hoover and just missed
on a fifth in 2006. Colquitt
County is in Region 1AAAAA, which includes
two reigning state champions
(Northside-Warner
Robins and Lowndes).
Propst knows that he has
some work to do in order to
get to that level again.
“We have a long
way to go. Everything
we do is different compared to what they did
in the past and it’s
just a transition.”
IN IT TOGETHER …
Over the last few years there
has been a lot of controversy surrounding Propst and how he handled his players on the field as
well as his own dealings with per-
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sonal issues. So, after the 2007 season,
Propst decided to leave Hoover, which
resulted in the school releasing Lindsey
after the 2007 season. Once the dust finally settled, both coaches made moves to
Georgia and they still talk three to four
times a week.
“Rush did a great job,” Lindsey said
about Propst’s time at Hoover. “He changed
the way football was played at Hoover.”
Propst also had nothing but great things
to say when asked about Lindsey.
“Chip is a wonderful football coach,”
he said. “He did a great job under very, very
difficult circumstances last year. We
had to crawl under a foxhole
together and I wouldn’t have done
it with anybody else.”
Now, Lindsey and Propst are leading
two different teams in the right direction, two teams that will hope to be
on top for a long time to come.
The cover photos feature
(left to right) Colquitt County
coach Rush Propst (courtesy of Colquitt County
High School) and Lassiter
coach Chip Lindsey (courtesy of Ed Turlington/et
images). The photo of John
Michael Harrison is courtesy of
Colquitt County High School and
the photo of Philip Lutzenkirchen
is courtesy of Photographic Arts.
Jones can be reached at
bjones@scoreatl.com.
04C I SCORE COBB
Get In The Game!
A year of waiting and rebuilding: A closer look at the Allatoona story
than one sport in high school, the young Bucs
all of the problems at once,” said new head
llatoona High will not be having a graduaThe football team won’t be eligible for
will look to gauge their opponents for next
football coach Gary Varner.
tion ceremony this spring. Don’t be
A
the playoffs this year, as too many teams
year in other forms of competition, such as
And since there will be no players lost to
alarmed; it’s not that they lost accreditation.
from their future Region 7B-AAAA are
Simply put, the school has no seniors. Allatoona
is Cobb County’s brand new high school and, for
Class 4A football in the area, that means fresh
competition has moved to town.
Set on 120 acres near the CobbPaulding border near Highway 92, the newly
formed Buccaneers will draw student-athletes from schools such as Harrison, North
Cobb and Kennesaw Mountain. They will
not, however, play these schools on the gridiron this year. On a team of mostly ninth and
10th graders, with a few 11th graders sprinkled in, the Bucs will play a modified schedule, which will include matchups against
several classifications, to get acclimated to
competing on the second-highest level of
high-school football in the State of Georgia.
“When you’re this young, you can’t fix
graduation this year, Varner will focus on and
strive for on-field improvement to get his
players ready for next year. Varner is up to the
challenge, as the coach is no stranger to
Georgia, or Cobb County for that matter. He
came here in 1996 as an offensive coordinator
for Pebblebrook High. After five years, Varner
moved up to serve as the offensive coordinator at Kell High. Shortly thereafter, he found
himself leading Roswell High’s offense to the
2006 state championship.
Despite only having approximately 800
students enrolled this year, every sport (with
the exception of football) will play a full
Class 4A schedule. Allatoona principle, Scott
Bursmith, believes that this will challenge his
students and make them better. And considering most football players participate in more
basketball and track. In those sports, the Bucs
will have the opportunity to compete against
some of the very same players that they will
face on the gridiron come 2009.
BUILDING SUCCESS …
As for the level of confidence in Varner
outside of the program, parents and fans
immediately felt that his successes at
Roswell would rub off on his new Allatoona
team. The school held summer sports camps
before it even opened its doors up to students
and excited teenagers showed up in droves in
anticipation of one day building Allatoona
into an athletic powerhouse.
“Parents have been calling us asking what
they could do,” Bursmith explained. “The
booster clubs sprung up overnight.”
missing from their schedule. In fact, the only
schools in their region that they will play this
year are North and South Paulding along
with Hillgrove. Everyone else will just have
to wait and see what the Bucs have in store
for them next year.
While Varner is feverishly trying to
improve his team on the field, he is also working to make sure his players are just as sound
off it: “We want to build character in the kids
and make sure they are well disciplined.”
And with a healthy balance of support
from parents, teachers, coaches, and fans, it
will be no surprise to see the Allatoona
Buccaneers on top of their game in no time.
Collier
can
be
reached
at
cranstoncollier@gmail.com
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SEPTEMBER 10-16, 2008
SCORE COBB I 05C
Hanna forces schedule changes; North Cobb beats M.L. King in thriller
last Friday. The Wildcats got another stellar
the 24-21 win. North Cobb’s game-winning
ecause of inclement weather caused by
in Rome last weekend, and many of the top
performance from tailback Treavor Scales,
drive started with just over seven minutes to
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Tropical Storm Hanna, over 20 highprograms in Georgia, and around the
go at their own 20-yard line. M.L. King’s
who rushed for three touchdowns and 104
school football games were moved from their
Southeast, were in attendance. Westminster
scheduled times. Schools were given the
option of playing the week’s game on
Thursday, Friday or Saturday without notifying the GHSA. Some of the high-profile
matchups that were rescheduled were the
Camden County-Columbia County (Fla.)
and Charlton County-First Coast (Fla.)
games, which were both played on Thursday
at Camden County. Lincoln County at
McCormick (S.C.) was moved to Thursday
as well. The Georgia schools were the victors
in each of the three aforementioned contests.
PIGSKIN AROUND THE STATE …
Perhaps the most exciting game last week
was North Cobb’s last-second home victory
over M.L. King. North Cobb kicker Stephen
Petillo put a 22-yard field goal through the
uprights as time expired to give the Warriors
three touchdowns came courtesy of running
back Mack Brown, who scored on carries of
5, 11 and 33 yards. North Cobb moved to 1-0
on the year, and M.L. King dropped to 1-1.
Grayson continues to impress, as the
Rams shut out Warner Robins 30-0. Grayson
capitalized on two first-quarter fumbles, and
Harrell Gunn led the Rams with 106 yards
rushing. … North Gwinnett followed up the
loss to Byrnes (S.C.) with a win over struggling Brookwood, 17-3. North quarterback
Michael Tamburo passed for 245 yards and
ran for 42 more in the win. … Parkview got a
much-needed win by beating Chattahoochee
49-12. Auburn commit Brandon Jacobs
rushed for three scores in the game. …
Dunwoody kept up the momentum from the
upset win over Griffin in Week 1, defeating
another Class 4A opponent, Oconee County,
yards in the 37-13 win. … St. Pius X earned
their second straight win over a private-school
powerhouse by beating Greater Atlanta
Christian 31-10. In Week 1, the Golden Lions
took out Marist, who rebounded last Friday by
beating Stone Mountain 45-13.
Down south, several talented teams
were defeated by schools from lower classifications. Class 2A Brooks County routed
Class 5A Tift County 35-7, Class 1A
Wilcox County defeated state-ranked Perry
of Class 3A by the score of 47-21, and Class
3A Cairo demolished Class 4A Thomas
County Central 28-6.
OFF THE GRIDIRON …
In cross country news, the Berry High
School Invitational was held at Berry College
won the boys Class 1A-3A section, Marietta
took second in the boys 4A-5A, Blessed
Trinity took first in girls 1A-3A, and
Alpharetta took second in girls 4A-5A.
(Mountain Brook of Alabama took first in both
boys and girls 4A-5A.) … Peachtree Ridge
was supplanted by Greenbrier in last week’s
Gasports.com/GACA coaches softball poll. At
press time, the Lady Wolf Pack of Greenbrier
had a 14-1 record, with the only loss coming to
Northside-Columbus on Friday. … Lassiter
grabbed the top spot in the GACA coaches volleyball poll last week, and should hold on to
that ranking after going 4-0 on Saturday. At
press time, the Lady Trojans were 17-0 on the
season and had not dropped a single game.
Ewalt
can
be
reached
at
aewalt@scoreatl.com.
Top quarterback play to be featured on 790 State’s best do battle in GPB Game of Week
battle between two big-time quarterbacks headlines this week’s matchup
between the Collins Hill Eagles and the
Chattahoochee Cougars.
The Eagles enter the contest at 2-0 after
surviving a 14-13 win against Dacula last
week. They feature a dangerous spread
offense led by quarterback Michael Box,
who will play his college ball in the Big East
at UConn. Junior running back Charles
Perkins is becoming one of the best-kept
secrets across the state, and he has scored in
both of the first two games this season for the
Eagles. The defense is also a strength, led by
junior linebacker Barry Lennon, who is
being recruited by a host of SEC schools.
That defense will have its hands full
with Brendan Cross, who is committed to
A
Jim Grobe and Wake Forest. But the ‘Hooch
have had problems on the defensive side of
the football, giving up a whopping 100
points in their two losses this season. Fourthyear head coach Terry Crowder, who has led
his team to the playoffs the last two years,
will have to change something if he wants his
team to stop Box and company.
A shootout seems to be in the cards for
this one, with Box and Cross taking center
stage. A loss in the region opener after an 0-2
start would be a tough pill to swallow for the
Cougars. Meanwhile, Collins Hill could be
looking towards their best season in some time
if they can get to 3-0. Gametime is scheduled
for 7:30 p.m. at Chattahoochee High School.
B ag r i a n s k y c a n b e re a ch e d a t
jbagriansky@scoreatl.com.
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he Carver-Columbus Tigers beat
Northside-Warner Robins 2-0 on Oct. 17
of 1970. They haven’t beaten the Eagles since.
But it’s anyone’s guess which team will come
out victorious when they meet for the 17th
time this Friday in Columbus at 7:30 p.m.
The Tigers are led by a dominant defense,
which has not yet given up a point this season.
Linebacker Jarvis Jones, one of the most heralded high-school recruits in the country, leads
the way. He’s one of the big reasons Carver is
ranked No. 2 in our GPB/Score Prep
Rankings. LeRon Furr is also a big-time player at the LB position. They both will be a pain
for Northside quarterback Joe Scott, who is
only in his first season as the full-time starter.
Carver may be the class of 3A, but
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Northside is the two-time defending champion in Class 4A. This year’s team looks
primed for making a run at No. 3 after moving up to Class 5A. Their defense is no
slouch either, featuring all-world defensive
lineman and UGA commitment Abry Jones
and linebacker Eric Fields, who has committed to Clemson.
With two strong defenses, expect a
physical game, with points being few and far
between. The key will be how a good Carver
offensive line, led by Chris Hubbard and
Darrius Mills, handles Drew and Jones in the
trenches. Meanwhile, Cox will have to neutralize the duo of Furr and Jones.
B ag ri a n sk y c a n b e re a ch e d a t
jbagriansky@scoreatl.com.
ALLATOONA BUCCANEERS
KENNESAW MOUNTAIN MUSTANGS
06C I SCORE COBB
Get In The Game!
By Joe Deighton
By Joe Deighton
llatoona is a brand new high school. Of course, with a brand new school comes a brand
ullback Clayton Whitlock led the football team for the second week in a row in a 13-0
new athletic program. In its first year, the football team probably has the toughest road Fshutout over South Cobb. Whitlock ran for 146 yards as the Mustang defense shut down the
A
toward finding wins. Against South Paulding, they were soundly defeated 51-0. In their second South Cobb attack. It was a solid victory with Kennesaw maintaining possession for the major-
game they once again came up short, losing 55-21 against Chattooga. With only four games
total on the schedule, the Buccaneers will have a small window of opportunity with regard to
learning how to win. The important thing for head coach Gary Varner and his team is to gain
experience and build a program that the new school can be proud of. … In other sports news
around Allatoona, the softball team won its first region game against Osborne last week. The
Buccaneers then went on to defeat Valdosta on Friday in a surprise 3-0 win. … The volleyball
team has had its work cut out for them. To date, they have posted only one win. … Though victories as a whole have been hard to come by, so far for the Buccaneer program, just participating in real high-school athletics has to feel good for the entire school.
CAMPBELL SPARTANS
HARRISON HOYAS
KELL LONGHORNS
By Brian Jones
fter coming off a huge win in Week 1 against Sprayberry, the football team took on anothA
er rival last week as the Trojans went to battle against the Pope Greyhounds. The Trojans
got the scoring started in the second quarter when Hutson Mason threw a 30-yard touchdown
pass to Philip Lutzenkirchen and Dylan Dupree scored on a 2-yard touchdown run, giving
Lassiter a 14-point lead at the half. Dupree had two more rushing touchdowns in the second
half and his hard running proved to be the difference, as the Trojans beat the Greyhounds 3114. The impressive win marks the first time since 1995 that the Trojans have started the season
2-0. They will face Kell on Friday. … The softball team blanked Centennial last week 12-0.
Rachel Orlandella, Danielle Weinstein and Lindsey Wesseling each had two hits in the win. The
team is set to face Milton on Thursday. … The volleyball team swept a tri-match at Milton last
week, defeating Cherokee and the hosts. Taylor Montgomery led the way with 16 kills and six
blocks in the two victories. They will face Westminster and McIntosh on Sept. 18.
MARIETTA BLUE DEVILS
By Joe Deighton
he football team started the season with a nice 13-3 victory over Peachtree Ridge in their
first game of the season. The team then caught an early break in the schedule last week,
getting a bye in Week 2. First-year head coach David Hines and his staff might need another
week off before they face a formidable opponent in North Cobb on Friday. This might be the
toughest challenge of the season for the Harrison football team. … In softball news, the Hoyas
have a 6-2-1 overall record with a 1-1 region record so far. Deanna Stewart has coached the
girls to victories over South Cobb and Grayson in their last two games. … The volleyball team
has gone 7-5 in action so far. After an average start to the season, the team has come back to
win five of their last six matches. … The cross country boys and girls ran at the Berry College
Invitational this past weekend. The boys team came in 12th place while the girls finished in the
17th spot. They will run next at Carrollton on Saturday.
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LASSITER TROJANS
By Cranston Collier
fter almost achieving a comeback against the South Cobb Eagles in Week 1, the football
team got its first win by beating the Milton Eagles 28-23. The Spartans defense did well by
holding Milton to only 23 points after the Eagles put up 51 points on Chattahoochee two weeks
ago. The Spartans will travel to Walton this Friday to face off against the Raiders. The Raiders
are undefeated so far this season after defeating Brookwood in Week 1 and Kell last week. …
After weeks of getting blown out by their opponents, the softball team stuck its bats to Berkmar
last Wednesday, pounding them into the ground by a score of 18-3. It was their first win of the
season. The Spartans’ next game is Thursday against the Roswell Hornets. … The volleyball
team dropped a pair to Wheeler and Whitefield Academy last Tuesday, losing 2-0 in each game.
They split their games two days later by losing to Sprayberry and defeating Wheeler. The team is
back in action on Thursday against Wheeler and Paulding County.
A
ity of the game. “Our offense controlled the ball the whole game,” said head coach Scott Jones.
A touchdown from running back Diamond Stewart put enough points on the board to win the
game for Kennesaw (2-0). Two field goals by Zach Burgess put the game away. The Mustangs
will take their unbeaten record into Friday’s game against Etowah. … The volleyball team has
been impressive by winning their last three contests. In games against Roswell, Sequoyah and
Holy Innocents they have only lost one set. The wins bring their overall record to 10-6. ... In
softball, the girls have shaken off early-season struggles and have won five games in a row,
bringing their record to 6-4. … The boys and girls cross country runners are training for the
5000-meter course at Mill Run on Sept. 27.
By Cranston Collier
he football team kicked off its 2008 season this past Friday with a huge 33-7 win over the
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Northview Titans. It was the Titans’ second loss of the season after falling hard in Week 1
against Centennial. The Devils will look to carry their momentum into next week when they
begin region play at home against the Cherokee Warriors. Cherokee is coming to Northcutt
Stadium hungry for their first win of the season after falling to Class 4A Sequoyah in their season opener a week ago. … The softball team is on a three-game losing streak after falling to
North Cobb, South Paulding and East Paulding. The East Paulding Raiders made short work
of the Devils, defeating them 12-0 in only four innings. The girls will look to rebound
Wednesday in the North Cobb Warrior Classic. … The volleyball team added two more lossesto their seven-game losing streak, falling to both Starr’s Mill and Dutchtown last Thursday.
After playing in the Cobb-Gwinnett Challenge this past Saturday, their next challenge will be
in the Lovett Block Party this Friday.
McEACHERN INDIANS
By Brian Jones
By Cranston Collier
fter a thrilling win against Woodstock in the first full week of the high-school football seahe football team was shut out 14-0 last Friday in their showdown against the Etowah
A
son, the football team played its first road game of the year against Walton in the Score TEagles. The Eagles soundly defeated the Indians after crushing Starr’s Mill in Week 1.
Atlanta/GPB Game of the Week. The scoring got started in the second quarter, as Raider run- The loss puts the Indians at the very bottom of Region 5A-AAAAA, as they are the only
ning back Michael Boydston found the endzone on a 33-yard touchdown run. The Longhorns
answered back on the ensuing drive with an Austin Petrik 83-yard touchdown pass to Marlon
Anthony, but Kell missed the extra point and, after managing only a field goal in the third quarter, fell to the Raiders 17-9. Despite the loss, Anthony had a strong game, as he pulled down
five receptions for 112 yards. The Longhorns will take on Lassiter on Friday. … The softball
team defeated Wheeler 8-0 last week. Christie Harris, Kelsey Mericka and Whitney Okvist
each had two hits in the win. They will face Pope on Thursday. … The volleyball team lost to
Dacula on Saturday, but rebounded immediately from defeat with wins over Berkmar,
Parkview and Central Gwinnett.
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team in the division to have not won a game this season. The team will face Woodstock this
Friday as they hunt for their first win. The Wolverines of Woodstock will be well rested
after coming off a bye last week. … Last week, the softball team fell to Cherokee 2-0. The
team will next be in action on Thursday against a Harrison team with a winning record so
far this season. … The volleyball team did not play this past week and are practicing to
achieve their first win of the season in a Thursday doubleheader versus the Cherokee
Warriors and the Woodstock Wolverines. The Warriors also hold a losing record so far this
season and the Wolverines have won only one game thus far.
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SEPTEMBER 10-16, 2008
NORTH COBB WARRIORS
SOUTH COBB EAGLES
By Joe Deighton
SCORE COBB I 07C
By Cranston Collier
tephen Petillo kicked a game-winning field goal as time expired to give the football team an
he football team was shut out in its second game of the season against the Kennesaw
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exciting 24-21 victory over M.L. King. The win sent the team and its fans into a frenzy and got TMountain Mustangs. The Eagles now sit 0-1 in Region 5A-AAAAA and will look to
the season off to an incredible start. While the kick ultimately won the game, the defense con- rebound this Friday at home when they face the East Paulding Raiders, who got plenty of
tributed mightily to the win. The team was led by defensive end Derrick Lott, who had three sacks.
An early interception return for a touchdown by Donatello Brown was also huge for the Warriors.
Most impressive, the Warriors held the ball for 18 plays and seven minutes on the final drive, ending with the Petillo field goal. Quarterback Michael Emerson had 94 yards rushing to go along
with 66 yards passing in the ballgame. The Warriors will put their unbeaten regular-season record
(since 2007) on the line against Harrison next. … The softball team won the 2008 Sand
Tournament in Brunswick. The Warriors had a 4-1 record during the tournament, recording two
shutouts. … North Cobb volleyball has been up and down this year, going 7-8 thus far. They have
won their last two matches, however, one against Hillgrove and the other against Roswell.
NORTH COBB CHRISTIAN EAGLES
SPRAYBERRY YELLOW JACKETS
By Joe Deighton
he football team improved on the scoreboard this week, posting 27 points against out-of-state
opponent Cherokee (N.C.). Their defense, however, gave up too many points and they were
defeated 61-27. Each week is a learning process for head coach Terrence Lott and his Eagles.
“Wins and losses will take care of themselves as long as we improve each week,” Lott said. “I hope
to be able to build a football program that has the success that our other sports have achieved.” …
The volleyball team has won its last two matches and did not give up a game in either one. They
boast a 4-2 record, but have yet to start region play. … The softball team dominated their last two
opponents, St. Francis (15-0) and Whitefield Academy (12-0), respectively. Even though they have
a losing record overall, the last two wins give the team something to build on. … The cross country team competed in their first-ever GHSA race at Our Lady of Mercy Invitational. They had
moderate success, as Erin Mcannally finished 14th overall in a group of 140 girls.
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sleep with a bye last week. The Raiders come into Friday’s game 1-0 after defeating Rome
in Week 1. … Last Wednesday, the softball team suffered an 11-1 defeat at the hands of the
Cherokee Warriors. Their next game is Wednesday, as they travel up north for the North
Cobb Warrior Classic where they are scheduled to face off against opponents such as
Woodstock and Rome. ... The volleyball team defeated Whitefield Academy and Campbell
in its only scheduled matchups of the week. On Thursday, the team will travel to Powder
Springs to hunt the Hillgrove Hawks. The match will be a true challenge for the Eagles, as
the Hawks held a 10-4 record as of press time.
PEBBLEBROOK FALCONS
By Brian Jones
he football team suffered a disappointing loss against Sprayberry in Week 1 and was lookT
ing to get its first win of the season as the Jackets took on Dalton last Friday. The
Catamounts, however, broke a scoreless tie in the second quarter, scoring 21 points, and the
Yellow Jackets could not recover, as they lost to Dalton 34-14. One of the key stats of the game
was the rushing yards for Spayberry quarterback Forrest Holt, who gained just 33 yards on 21
carries. In fact, the Yellow Jackets only rushed for 88 yards total, a disappointing number when
compared to the 206 yards that Dalton totaled on the ground. The Yellow Jackets also failed to
move the chains, as they managed only nine first downs in the loss. The team hopes to get their
first win of the season against Northwest Whitefield on Friday. … The volleyball team swept
a tri-match last week defeating Wheeler and Campbell. The team will look to win another trimatch this Thursday when they take on Woodstock and Cherokee. … The softball team lost to
Ridgeland last week by the score of 7-1. The team will host North Paulding on Thursday.
WALTON RAIDERS
By Cranston Collier
By Brian Jones
he football team began Region 4-AAAAA play last Friday, falling in a disappointing 21-0
he football team was back at home on Friday, as they took on Kell in the Score
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shutout at the hands of the Creekside Seminoles. The game marked the first-ever meeting TAtlanta/GPB Game of the week. After suffering an injury in Week 1 against Brookwood,
between two of Region 4’s newest teams, as both Pebblebrook and Creekside (2-0) are playing quarterback Ray Rayburn did not start in the contest. The Raiders got the scoring started
their first season in Class 5A. Both teams were playoff teams last season in Class 4A. The
game also was the first loss of new head coach Randall Smith’s career. Smith and the Falcons
(1-1) beat Osborne in his first career game. Fellow Region 4 member East Coweta will travel
to Mableton to challenge the Falcons on Friday, as the Falcons will look to get their first-ever
Region 4 win. The Indians (1-1) will come in riding high after shutting Mundy’s Mill out 340 last week. East Coweta finished second in Region 4 last season. … The volleyball team, who
is also competing in the state’s highest classification, will get another opportunity to compete
against a smaller school when they face Whitefield Academy on Thursday. It will be the
Falcons’ second meeting against the Wolfpack in seven days.
POPE GREYHOUNDS
WHEELER WILDCATS
By Brian Jones
he football team is trying to find an identity and looked to narrow the search by getting
its first win of the season. The Greyhounds took on a tough Lassiter team on Friday,
however, and had a tough time neutralizing a new-look offense led by head coach Chip
Lindsey, falling to the Trojans 31-14. The Greyhounds were able to run the ball well though,
as they tallied 235 yards on the ground. The running attack was led by quarterback Parker
Frost, who carried the ball nine times for 78 yards and one touchdown. Jonathan Felix also
ran well, gaining 64 yards to go along with one touchdown. They will be on the road to take
on Roswell on Friday. … The volleyball team won its tri-match last week, as they defeated
Wesleyan and Woodward Academy. Mary Hoey led the Greyhounds with 20 kills, 17 digs
and one block. Sarah Morris had six blocks and 12 kills in the tri-match. They will be at the
Lovett Block Party this weekend. … The softball team lost to Roswell 4-1 last week and
will take on Kell on Thursday.
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when running back Michael Boydston scored on a 33-yard touchdown run to take the lead.
Late in the fourth quarter, with the Raiders up one and struggling to move the ball, Rayburn
was inserted into the action and struck quickly with a 25-yard touchdown pass to Scott
Ratliff. Walton went on to squeak past Kell 17-9. They will face Campbell at Raider Valley
on Friday. … The softball team defeated Milton last week 3-2. Ana doubled in the game-winning run in the fitth inning and Hanna Kate Downing threw a complete game. They will be
at Alpharetta on Thursday. … The volleyball team defeated Norcross but lost to Milton to
split their tri-match last week. They will take on Rockmart, Cherokee and Creekview on
Saturday in the Georgia Challenge Tournament.
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By Brian Jones
he football team was looking to get its first win of the season as the Wildcats went up against
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the Alpharetta Raiders on Friday. The Wildcat defense, however, could not stop quarterback
Mikal Abdul-Saboor, who accounted for three of his team’s four touchdowns and led the Raiders
to a 30-14 victory. One positive for the Wildcats was running back Rashad Stewart, who had a
strong game carrying the rock, leading all rushers with two touchdowns and 93 yards on 16 carries. Abdul-Saboor was simply too much, however, throwing for a touchdown and running for two
more on his way to gaining 168 total yards for Alpharetta. The Wildcats hope to get their first win
of the season when they hit the road to face Milton on Friday. … The softball team lost to Kell last
Thursday 8-0. The offense could only manage one hit against Longhorn pitcher Erin Jones. They
will face Hiram on Wednesday. … The volleyball team experienced some tough luck in their trimatch last week, as both Sprayberry and Campbell defeated them. On Thursday, Wheeler will face
the Spartans again along with Hiram and Paulding County.
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