Georgia Youth and High School Sports News Blog

The G.A.S. Pump (Nov. 9)

Time 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 on the following links to find:

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High School Football

Athens/Augusta Area

Lakeside coach admits mistake | augustachronicle.com
A controversial play near the end of Lakeside’s final football game of the year last Friday has resulted in an apology from Panthers coach Jody Grooms, who faces possible punishment from his school and the Georgia High School Association.

Player of the Week: Nick Richards | augustachronicle.com
Richards completed 16 of 29 passes for 280 yards and two scores in a 21-7, season-ending win at Wayne County. He completed an average of 16 passes per game for 208 yards over his last four contests. The strong-armed Richards completed passes to seven different receivers last week to earn the victory.

Grayson preps for postseason | waltontribune.com
One of the signs of a good football team is to take care of business against lesser opponents. Grayson took on a Shiloh squad last week that had suffered through a two-win season and dispatched the Generals, 28-3.

Comets have No. 3 seed locked up | waltontribune.com
South Gwinnett hosts a 0-9 Meadowcreek team tonight in the regular season finale as coach John Small’s Comets hope for a successful tune-up for the the Class AAAAA playoffs, which begin next week.

Red Devils to end ‘07 season | waltontribune.com
Coach Eric Godfree’s Loganville football team will end the 2007 season tonight with a losing record in one of the toughest Class AAAA regions in the state. The Red Devils host Rockdale County for a 7:30 p.m. kick-off.

Atlanta Area

Extended family helps Landmark star thrive | ajc.com
As a highlight tape plays on the widescreen TV in the family room, Jeannette Mackens gets excited. She has seen the tape before, and was even in the bleachers to witness the events live, but she can’t hold her enthusiasm. Reliving the big plays of her nephew, Walter Lenard, is cause for celebration. “Run, Walter!,” she shouts. “Oh, yes.” A chorus of “Sssh” and “Quiet, Mother” comes from the rest of the family members in their two-story southwest Atlanta home.

Aristotle Throttle vs. Atom Smashums | ajc.com
Today, dear reader, we take the wild and wacky journey from Atom Smashers to Aristotle, which in the entire history of journalism probably hasn’t been attempted and after today may be outlawed forever because of this.

Race for the Playoffs: For all the marbles | ajc.com
East Coweta went from a one-loss team back to undefeated two weeks ago when Oxford, Ala., was forced to forfeit its 29-20 victory on Aug. 31. Now Danny Cronic’s Indians will put their perfect record on the line against Newnan with the top two spots at stake. Mundy’s Mill has secured third place, and the Hiram-Paulding County winner will finish fourth.

Race for the Playoffs: Win or stay home | ajc.com
Roswell, the 2006 state co-champion, finds itself in a difficult spot heading into Friday’s game against Centennial. The Hornets are battling with Centennial, Chattahoochee and Milton for the two playoff berths, neither of which has been clinched, from Division B. While scenarios exist where Roswell could lose and make the playoffs or win and not make it, this much is certain – a Roswell loss combined with a Chattahoochee victory against Milton means the Hornets would be out. The Division A berths will go to Walton and Sprayberry.

Race for the Playoffs: Region playoffs | ajc.com
Five regions will hold a playoff to determine their four representatives. In four of them, the top four teams from each subregions will meet. Here are the matchups for those games, with the winners advancing to state.

Race for the Playoffs: Sorting the pile | ajc.com
Six teams enter the final weekend still in the race. Two of the six are in good shape: Ware County, which has clinched a berth and can win the region title with a victory against Statesboro, and Evans, which plays 1-8 Wayne County. Statesboro is in the playoffs if it beats Ware County but can still advance with a loss if other games go its way. Brunswick, Effingham County and Glynn Academy also remain in the mix.

Race for the Playoffs: Jockeying for position | ajc.com
Brookwood clinched its third consecutive region title with its victory against Central Gwinnett on Friday, and Grayson will finish in second place. South Gwinnett and Parkview will claim the other two playoff spots. South Gwinnett can lock up the No. 3 seed with a victory this week against 0-9 Meadowcreek.

Race for the Playoffs: Who’s new to the party | ajc.com
Each of the state’s 40 regions will send four teams to the state football playoffs, which begin next week. As is the case each year, there will be some new teams crashing the party. Here are some of the teams on the brink of their first trips to the postseason, or at least their first in a long time.

Cass hosts Haralson tonight | dailytribune.com
At first glance, tonight’s Region 6-AAA game between the Haralson County Rebels and Cass Colonels at Earl Cunningham Memorial Stadium looks like a meaningless season finale for Cass. With a 4-4 overall record and a 2-4 mark in the region, Cass can’t go to the state playoffs for the third time in the last four seasons. However, the Colonels do have something still to play for: pride.

Chiefs closing out lost season | cherokeetribune.com
On opposite ends of close decisions last week, Sequoyah and Pebblebrook will meet Friday more for bragging rights than playoff spots. Sequoyah (4-5, 4-4 Region 5AAAA) sits in a three-way tie with Alexander and Lithia Springs for fifth place in the region standings and have been eliminated from the state playoff hunt, while Pebblebrook (6-3, 6-2) has secured the third spot, just behind East Paulding and Douglas County.

Warriors in need of momentum going into postseason | cherokeetribune.com
Cherokee will come into tonight’s matchup at Tommy Baker Field with Osborne hoping to shake off some rust before the playoffs start next week. The Warriors (6-3, 5-3 Region 5AAAA) were undefeated after six games but have lost momentum, as they have dropped their last three contests to region opponents. Last week, Pebblebrook took down Cherokee, 28-27, to extend the Warriors’ current skid to three games.

Powell, Mitchell carry a punch | timesherald.com
Newnan’s Russell Powell and Jarvious Mitchell have accounted for 35 of the Cougars’ 44 offensive touchdowns this fall. Mitchell has scored 17 of them, all on the ground, which ranks second only to East Coweta’s Tim McGill in Region 4-AAAAA while Powell has thrown 14 TD passes, tops in 4-AAAAA, and run for four other scores. Powell’s performance is all the more remarkable when you remember that he switched to quarterback only this year from wide receiver. He had never taken a snap at quarterback until the season opener against Whitewater.

Simply flip a coin… this cross-county rivalry a toss-up | timesherald.com
The East Coweta Indians and Newnan Cougars are just about as evenly matched on paper going into tonight’s game at Drake Stadium they have ever been. East Coweta is 9-0 and Newnan 8-1, but both are 5-0 in Region 4-AAAAA with tonight’s winner carting away the region championship. The five region opponents - Paulding Co., Hiram, Mundy’s Mill, Tri-Cities and Morrow - were each beaten handily by both the Cougars and Indians. Newnan’s average margin of victory over its region foes was 34 points, EC’s 31.2.

Macon Area

Crusaders look to keep momentum vs. EBA | courierherald.com
No matter what happens this Friday, the Trinity Christian Crusaders will be at home for the first round of the GISA State playoffs. Coach Steve Price just hopes his team doesn’t go gently into the playoffs. Trinity, who was off last week after beating Bulloch Academy 28-14 two weeks ago, will host Edmund Burke this Friday at Cleve Warnock Field. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.

Bears’ O looking for better results this time | griffindailynews.com
Griffin High’s offense has rolled in its past six games, but the Bears face their biggest challenge Friday in the Region 4-AAAA crossover playoff game against Upson-Lee at Memorial Stadium. In the Sept. 14 meeting between the two teams, the Knights (6-3 overall, 3-3 subregion) held Griffin (8-1, 6-0) to a Kevin Garland field, the only game this season in which the Bears failed to score a touchdown.

Savannah Area

High school football preview capsules | savannahmorningnews.com
After suffering its first defeat of the year two weeks ago, JENKINS rebounded with a 35-12 win over Groves last week. With a win tonight, the Warriors can secure a home game for the first round of the playoffs. … With a 33-0 shutout of Johnson last week, BEACH snapped a five-game losing streak. With a win tonight, the Bulldogs can finish with their best record since going 7-3 in 2003.

Gentes is an inspiration to SCD teammates | savannahmorningnews.com
Though he hasn’t played a down of football in more than four weeks, Cole Gentes has still had plenty to do with Savannah Country Day’s success on the field. The senior offensive and defense tackle saw his season come to a possible end Sept. 28.

Devils, Ware meet with region title on the line | statesboroherald.com
For Statesboro it’s simple — win and you’re in. Lose and you could be going home. All that and more will be at stake tonight at Womack Field as SHS (7-2, 6-2) welcomes Ware County to Senior Night.

Panthers welcome Jenkins County | statesboroherald.com
Portal and Jenkins County have both fought through difficult seasons in 2007, and tonight the Panthers host the Eagles to close out the season in a game that has both teams playing for pride. Both squads have seen their offenses evolve throughout the season.

Screven, SEB meet again in rivalry | statesboroherald.com
The Yellow Jackets lead the series against SCHS 12-11, and while the Gamecocks (6-3, 4-2 Region 3-AA) have assured themselves a spot in the playoffs, they can grab the No. 3 seed with a win today. Not to mention the fact that the storied series between the two teams could be evened out on Senior Night in Sylvania.

BA to play bittersweet Senior Night | statesboroherald.com
The only thing at stake for the Bulloch Academy Gators tonight when they host Memorial Day School is their character. “We’re all still hurting,” said Bulloch Academy head football coach Clint Morgan. “But we also realize that we still have another job to do.”

Valdosta Area

Giving up not an option | albanyherald.com
Two weeks ago, during the middle school title game between three-time defending champ Merry Acres and Albany Middle at Hugh Mills Stadium, there was an unfamiliar face pacing the sidelines, cheering on the Indians as loudly and heartfelt as anyone else.

Pack tries to finish with a victory | moultrieobserver.com
Don’t tell Colquitt County coach Tim Cokely — or Tift County’s Jay Walls, either — that the Packers don’t have anything to play for tonight when they travel to Tifton to meet the Blue Devils at 8 p.m. Although the Packers playoff chances were extinguished by Warner Robins last Friday, the Packers want to finish with a victory to take into 2008.

Tift not looking past Packers | moultrieobserver.com
Tift County needs to win Friday night’s game against Colquitt County to qualify for the state playoffs. And with the Packers 2-7 overall record and 1-4 record in the Region 1-AAAAA standings, one might not blame the Blue Devils if they peek ahead to see who they might have to face in the first round of the playoffs.

Statewide Area

Riverside clinches home field for playoffs in 49-6 rout of George Walton | accessnorthga.com
In a rare Thursday night football tilt, Riverside Military Academy claimed home-field advantage for round one of the playoffs with a 49-6 win over George Walton Academy. Tersoo Uhaa rushed for 177 yards and three touchdowns and Bill Dearybury passed for 247 yards and four scores, as the Eagles improved to 6-4 overall.

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