The G.A.S. Pump (Sept 26)
September 26th, 2007 Posted in Youth Football, College Basketball, Hunting and Fishing, High School Cheerleading, Middle School Football, College Golf, South Carolina, Golf, High School Softball, High School Soccer, High School Volleyball, Georgia, College Football, High School Cross Country, High School FootballTime to fill ‘er up at The Georgia Amateur Sports (G.A.S.) Pump, brought to you by LocalReplay.com. Enjoy our daily look at amateur sports headlines from around the State of Georgia. Click here for yesterday’s edition.
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High School Football
Hal Lamb anticipates an odd feeling when he returns to Commerce on Saturday night. He spent his teenage years at Tiger Stadium and practically grew up on the field. The former football standout is a big part of the foundation of Commerce’s football tradition and helped the Tigers to a 1981 state championship…Athens Banner-Herald
Vote for metro Atlanta’s top high school performance…The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
One of the biggest games in the metro area last Friday night was St. Pius vs. Tucker at Adams Stadium. But it wasn’t just fans who came to see the game at the 45-year-old stadium; there were several people there looking to make a statement. Many of you have heard about the Sembler Co.’s proposal to buy a large portion of land in that area to build a mixed-use shopping/residential/office complex people have compared to downtown’s Atlantic Station…The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Blitz: Rewind last Friday’s best plays and try to win Jeff’s football by answering our new Blitz Trivia Challenge. Plus: Meet the CSRA’s leading tackler, Jamal Davis of South Aiken, and see how Chronicle sports writers are faring with their game picks…The Augusta Chronicle
Prep Statistics…The Augusta Chronicle
High School Football Standings…The Augusta Chronicle
Georgia AP Prep Poll…The Augusta Chronicle
South Carolina AP High School Football Poll…The Augusta Chronicle
GaSports.com Football Coaches Poll…The Augusta Chronicle
After being humbled 46-7 by the Sequoyah Chiefs in a Region 5-AAAA game in Canton last week, the Woodland Wildcats look to get back on track Friday night when they host the Lithia Springs Lions in another region contest. “We’ve had fun in practice this week,” said Woodland coach Steve Hamilton. “We’ve worked hard. Monday was the toughest day of practice that I’ve ever put a group of kids through and (Tuesday) will be tougher…The Daily Tribune News
Football players of the week for week four…The Citizen
It’s probably the most nerve-racking 3-5 seconds for a player. The ball is snapped, or the kicker runs up to the ball, and “Pow.” Everything gets a little quiet, wedges of players start huddling here and there, leaving folks like East Laurens’ Dreke Jackson waiting for the end of that 3-5 seconds…and the football. Over the last two weeks, Jackson has made a habit of turning the ensuing 15-20 seconds into excitement for fans and teammates, and points for his Falcons…The Courier Herald
The good, the bad and the ugly from Week 4 in the HOG…The Courier Herald
In their most in-sync performance of the season, Chamblee steamrolled Therrell 61-0. Playing in new uniforms, Chamblee performed like a new team. Gone were the penalties that plagued the offensive line, most of the extra-point attempts were made, and the offense demonstrated that it is very capable of passing and running the football. Conversely, the defense did not change. It was hard for Therrell to get a run for more than a couple of yards and when the Panthers threw the ball, it led to disastrous results…Dunwoody Crier
The Marist War Eagles, fresh off a thrilling overtime victory over the Washington Bulldogs, picked up where they left off by defeating the Cedar Grove Saints 35-25 in a Region 6 AAAA matchup Friday night. The War Eagles, who have sputtered on offense at times during the last two weeks, looked better, putting up a total of 319 total yards, with 278 of them coming from Marist’s ground attack…Dunwoody Crier
A classic battle of the Tortoise and the Hare took place Friday night in Adams Stadium as the athletic Tucker Tigers took on the disciplined and steadfast St. Pius X Golden Lions. In the end, the rabbit won the race. The Tigers crushed the Lions 35-0 in front of a packed house…Dunwoody Crier
First-year Griffin Christian head coach Kerry Phillips and his team will be in an unfamiliar sight when the lights come on Friday night, the ball is put down and the whistle is blown. “We’re glad to be home,” said Phillips…The Griffin Daily News
Griffin High School’s start to the 2007 season was not easy for fullback Sheldon Hancock. In the Bears first three games, Hancock failed to break 60 rushing yards and was held out of the end zone. “(It was) horrible,” Hancock said of his performance in the first three games “I felt I could do a lot better than what I did…The Griffin Daily News
For the second straight season Windsor is off to a 3-0 start, turning many heads into the direction of the south Bibb County private school. But head coach Michael Smallwood is cautious to get too giddy about his team’s impressive start this season because he knows that all this success could easily slip away. Tonight in Dawson, Smallwood and his Knights take on a Terrell Academy (2-1) team that knocked them off their undefeated high-horse last season…The Telegraph
Notebook: Trinity’s Jackson running into history…The Telegraph
Farmers & Merchants Bank Prep Athletes of the Week…Statesboro Herald
Two county football teams will try to erase some bad memories, while two others get a well-deserved night off this Friday. Social Circle and George Walton Academy will both try to come up with an elusive win. The Redskins travel to McDonough to face Eagles Landing, hoping to bounce back from back-to-back shutouts. GWA has lost two close games in three weeks. The Bulldogs will be in Sandersville to meet Brentwood Academy…The Walton Tribune
The Loganville Christian Academy Lions suffered their first defeat of the eight-man football season Friday in a 58-21 loss to Harvester Christian Academy. Harvester’s Demarius Johnson put on a Darren McFadden-like performance as the Hawks’ senior ran for seven touchdowns, was the punter and, oh yes, played linebacker on defense in the ICSGA league win…The Walton Tribune
Former coaches, teammates, and family members of Terrell Wilson came together Thursday night to honor him. The Collins Hill football player died unexpectedly Saturday from a previously undetected heart condition. At the school’s first football game of the season, Terrell’s team dedicated the game to him…11Alive
Friday: Tucker at SW DeKalb, 7:30 p.m…790 The Zone
Score Atlanta’s Brian Jones and Lee Wilson spoke with both head coaches for the Tucker-Southwest DeKalb matchup…790 The Zone
High School Volleyball
“Green beans. That’s what we call our uniforms,” senior Blaise Ramsbotham said. “We switch them out sometimes with our green and white ones, but these are our favorites.” The dark green, long-sleeved uniforms are new to the Greenbrier squad this year. The way they play when they’re in them isn’t so new. The Lady Wolfpack knocked off region rival Evans earlier this year wearing the green beans. They grabbed another key region victory Tuesday night with a 22-25, 25-15, 25-10 win over Lakeside, another region rival…The Augusta Chronicle
GaSports.com Volleyball Coaches Poll…The Augusta Chronicle
Harris County honored its five seniors before the start of the game. The Lady Tigers had a boisterous crowd cheering them on. Harris County coach Tamara Johnson high-fived all the players in an attempt to motivate her squad. It appeared that Harris County had everything going for them. But when the match started, Columbus High jumped out to an 11-2 lead and cruised to a 25-13 win in the first game. The Lady Blue Devils used a 14-1 run in the second game to propel them to a 25-14 come-from-behind win in Game 2 on Tuesday night, ruining Harris County’s senior night and taking sole possession of first place in Area 2-AAA…Ledger-Enquirer
Kelly Spencer did a little bit of everything to help her team win while suiting up on the volleyball court for Northgate High School. She 2006 Coweta County Player of the Year excelled at Northgate as a setter, outside hitter and defensive specialist. Now she’s using those same skills playing college volleyball at the Air Force Academy…The Times-Herald
The Northgate Lady Vikings swept Banneker and Riverdale in the Johnny Brown Gym Tuesday night to move into fourth place in the Area 3-AAAA volleyball race. Matt Trucks’ team topped Banneker, 25-19 and 25-12, and took care of Riverdale, 25-7 and 25-17. Riverdale beat Banneker, 25-19 and 25-17, in the other match…The Times-Herald
The George Walton Academy volleyball team rolled over two more teams to mark its best start ever with a 10-0 record. The Lady Bulldogs defeated region rival Young Americans Christian School, 3-2…The Walton Tribune
High School Softball
GaSports.com Softball Coaches Poll…The Augusta Chronicle
Evans celebrated on Greenbrier’s field Tuesday night like no Columbia County team has in nearly a decade. For the first time since 1999, Evans beat Greenbrier in softball. “It’s always a good game, and sometimes it just seems like the ball never bounces our way (against Greenbrier),” Evans softball coach Colette Cassedy said. “It just never went our way, but we came through tonight…The Augusta Chronicle
Erin Justice has had many memorable moments throughout her softball career at McIntosh. But perhaps none has been more memorable than what the senior accomplished Tuesday, hitting a first-pitch, game-winning, two-out RBI single in the bottom of the seventh inning in McIntosh’s 3-2 come-from-behind victory over sixth-ranked Starr’s Mill in a key Region 2-AAAA game on Senior Night in Peachtree City…The Citizen
The sixth-ranked Starr’s Mill Lady Panthers got a break from region competition last weekend, taking part in the Brookwood tournament, in which it went 3-3. They defeated Pike County 4-2, Valdosta 9-3 and Central Gwinnett 4-0. Its three losses came against Grayson (5-2), Ringgold (3-1) and Northside Warner Robins (3-2)…The Citizen
The Lady Patriots defeated Parkview 1-0 with Candace Dunn driving in the run with a sacrifice bunt. Hannah Braswell and Kayla Folds split the pitching with Braswell getting six strikeouts in four innings and Folds earning four strikeouts. Sandy Creek followed the win with losses to Eastside (5-1) and Northside Warner Robins (4-1). The team bounced back with a 12-5 win over Wesleyan with Dunn, Meagan Sitton and Kayla Awbrey doing well at the plate and freshmen Blair Byrom and Haley Williams handling the pitching…The Citizen
Harris County used the long ball to score five runs on only five hits and defeated Hardaway 5-3 Tuesday afternoon at Hardaway. “We were very fortunate,” Harris County coach Ed Oliver said. “When we hit the ball today, we hit it hard. We just battled.” The win improved the Tigers to 18-5 (9-0 Region 2-AAA) and helped secure the No. 1 seed in the Region 2-AAA tournament. Harris County has one game remaining against LaGrange later this week. Hardaway fell to 17-5 (8-1)…Ledger-Enquirer
Dunwoody High’s softball team won a 3-2 extra-inning thriller last week against Chamblee. Cara Caputo pitched all eight innings, walking none and allowing only two runs…Dunwoody Crier
Several Brookwood softball players made an unsuccessful attempt to drench head coach Bill Batchelor with a bucket of ice water, but that didn’t dampen the celebration. The Broncos rolled to a 7-1 victory over South Gwinnett on Tuesday and, in so doing, won their first regular season Region 8-AAAAA title in four years. The last time Brookwood was region champ was in 2003…Gwinnett Daily Post
When the East Coweta Lady Indians and Whitewater Lady WIldcats meet, there is usually going to be a solid pitching duel and Tuesday night was no exception. Christina Ezell of the Lady Indians and Whitney Toler of the Lady Wildcats gave the fans in attendance a duel with the Lady Indians emerging with 1-0 win on a third inning single by Rebecca Cresswell…The Times-Herald
Rockdale added a new twist in the race for the Area 8-AAAA regular season title Monday night at the Earl O’Neal Sports Complex. The Lady Bulldogs made themselves a player in the race by handing Eastside its first area loss of the season in a 1-0 victory…Rockdale Citizen/Newton Citizen
After five scoreless innings with only a pair of hits to their credit, the South Effingham softball team finally broke loose. The Lady Mustangs started the sixth inning by loading the bases and, with the help of a couple Richmond Hill errors, went on to score all of the game’s five runs in a 5-0 victory over the Lady Wildcats…Savannah Morning News
Farmers & Merchants Bank Prep Athletes of the Week…Statesboro Herald
Ariel “Red” Lanier’s bases-loaded, three-run double in the fourth inning gave the Portal Lady Panthers (5-4) a 5-0 lead and the Claxton Lady Tigers could not climb back as Kaylie Howell pitched a three-hit shutout and PHS got a 7-0 Region 3-A win Tuesday…Statesboro Herald
Statesboro broke a 2-2 tie with two runs in the fourth, then held on for a 6-3 win over the Academy of Richmond County Tuesday at Mill Creek. The win broke a three-game losing streak for the Blue Devils (4-12, 2-6 Region 3-AAAA) and ensured SHS a spot in the region playoffs at the end of the year…Statesboro Herald
After plowing through its first 21 games without a loss and only a handful of truly tight games, the Central High School softball team has suddenly lost four out of its last five games with the end of the regular season looming. The Lionettes, who dropped three out of four games Saturday during day two of the Greenbrier Tournament, lost their first Region 6-AAA regular season game in more than two years Tuesday evening with a 1-0 loss at home against Cedartown…Times-Georgian
Tuesday night, Valdosta High’s softball team celebrated a win over its archrivals. Valdosta beat Lowndes, the longtime queens of Region 1-AAAAA softball, for the second year in a row. Aysia Reed pitched a five-hit shutout, leading the Lady Wildcats to a 1-0 victory over the archrival Vikettes Tuesday at VHS…Valdosta Daily Times
Every football season, there are arguments between myself and my fellow sports reporters about our style of game coverage. I stick by my way of walking the sidelines, armed with two pads, marking the yardage that is indicated right in front of me, while being on constant look out for oncoming linebackers. The Valdosta Daily Times’ two Cs, (Christian Malone and Chris Walsh, of course) are press-box boys, sitting high and dry in air-conditioned boxes, sipping on fresh spring water and having grapes fed to them as they sit on cushioned chairs…Valdosta Daily Times
High School Cheerleading
The East Laurens Falcons traveled to Kennesaw Mountain High School this past weekend and brought home First place in the coed division. After placing second at the Jones County Competition, the Falcon Cheerleaders worked to overcome the mistakes of last week and to not create any new ones. “Our kids are holding each other accountable on the floor – not blaming each other when mistakes are made, but working through them in practice”, said Coach Tina Hester…The Courier Herald
High School Cross Country
One winning streak continued Tuesday at the Bartow County Cross Country Championships at Pettit Creek Farms, but another came to an end. The Woodland Lady Wildcats rolled to their third straight title, while the Cartersville Purple Hurricanes had their seven-year winning streak stopped as the Cass Colonels walked away with the boys team title by a single point over Woodland…The Daily Tribune News
In the championship boys division of the Sandy Creek Fall Classic, McIntosh placed fifth and Landmark Christian placed eighth…The Citizen
Loganville High School won both the girls and boys races in the varsity and middle school divisions last week to capture the Walton County cross country championship against Monroe Area…The Walton Tribune
College Golf
Good play from three golfers was not enough for Columbus on Tuesday at Coker College Invitational in Orlando, Fla. The Cougars shot a 5-over 293 and came in fifth. St. Edwards shot a 6-under 282 to win…Ledger-Enquirer
College Football
Courtney Love isn’t at all like the famous person with the same name. This Love, a redshirt freshman safety for Fort Valley State, is laid-back, and there is a high probability that no one thinks he’s crazy … at least off the field. On the field, he plays safety with as much intensity as any coach can ask from a player. That’s why five games into the season, Love has made such an impact for the Wildcats…The Telegraph
A year ago around this time, Nate Samas had wide eyes and no experience. Marcus Brooks went through spring practice as the player to beat at quarterback, and the former Southwest Patriot opened the season under center. Fast forward about three months, and who was the freshman of the year in the SIAC? Samas…The Telegraph
Deondri Clark is a little surprised. Usually, throughout spring and preseason practice and the early part of the season, defenses are a few steps ahead of offenses. And freshmen really look like freshmen, especially on the offensive line. But the second-year Fort Valley State head coach is watching something different develop as the Wildcats continue through the second week of practice. His offensive linemen aren’t running into each other, and the learning curve for the freshmen is less than expected…The Telegraph
Georgia Southern got a reality check Saturday. It was like old times when the Eagles jumped out to a 2-0 start to the season. And with the beginning of a three-game homestand against teams that were winless going into the weekend, last year’s struggles appeared to be quickly disappearing. But Chattanooga brought those problems back to life with a 45-38 overtime win in the Southern Conference opener for both team. The Eagles will try to respond when they host Western Carolina, which was picked to finish last in the conference, at 3:30 p.m. Saturday…The Telegraph
Chris Hatcher doesn’t have an excessive nature. The basics usually fit his taste. His new office? It’s substantially bigger than what he’s used to. And six months into a new job, it’s remarkably clean and uncluttered, with more family pictures than hype-induced pictures, trophies and plaques…The Telegraph
Linebacker Dakota Walker always seems to stand out. He’s 6-foot-3, 237 pounds and runs a 4.5 40-yard dash - numbers rarely associated with a defensive player among the front seven on a Football Championship Subdivision team. And he has a name rarely forgotten. “There’s really no story behind the name,” says the Georgia Southern junior. “My mother said she liked an actor named Dakota, so that is where it came from. It is what it is. Most people say they like it, so it’s all good…Savannah Morning News
Youth Football
This week’s report highlights the Atlanta Colt Youth Association’s 9-year old and 8-year old Intraleague Divisions…Dunwoody Crier
Quindarius Mayes scored a touchdown and Otavius Williams kicked an extra point as the Spalding County Raiders edged the Spalding County Bulldogs 8-6 Saturday in SCPRD Junior Division football…The Griffin Daily News
The Liberty County Recreation Department started its football season Saturday and Monday with more than 650 kids participating on teams and cheerleading squads. “The jamboree Saturday went good, but unfortunately we had some weather that didn’t let us finish it all, we didn’t get all the games in,” LCRD employee Rickey Gilliard said…Coastal Courier
Middle School Football
For four quarters, the Lee Timberwolves and the East Coweta Indians were locked in a scoreless duell in a Coweta County Middle School Athletic League game at Garland Shoemake Stadium on Tuesday. The two teams went into overtime with the Timberwolves securing the top seed for the playoffs as they defeated the Indians 8-6 to finish the regular season 5-0…The Times-Herald
Roundups
Prep Roundup…Athens Banner-Herald
Prep Roundup: Cass, Cartersville split region matches…The Daily Tribune News
Prep Roundup…Ledger-Enquirer
Prep Roundup: Lions’ Connelly gets complete game 10-inning win…Gwinnett Daily Post
Notebook: Jones trying to focus on region title chase…The Telegraph
Bulletin Board…The Telegraph
HIGH SCHOOL ROUNDUP…Savannah Morning News
Miscellaneous
My fishing career began with a cane pole. My first reel was a Phleuger Supreme given to me by my uncle because he thought it was worn out. Had he known I could fix it with a file and a shim, he would never have parted with it…The Telegraph
It might not have been her ideal way to celebrate qualifying for the elite event in her sport, but Savannah triathlete Kristel Maes would not take back a thing. There she was at 4 a.m. in the emergency room. She was vomiting. She had diarrhea. She could hardly stand up. She had pushed herself to total exhaustion. And she was happy. In her first Ironman triathlon, she won her age division and qualified for her ultimate goal, the Ford Ironman World Championships in Hawaii…Savannah Morning News
North Georgia College & State University head softball coach Mike Davenport announced that the Saints softball program will be hosting the North Georgia Annual DAY/NIGHT Golf Tournament, to be held September 28 at Sandy Creek Golf Club…AccessNorthGa.com
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