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May 2006
These 2 seniors do justice to title ‘unsung heroes’
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Back in April, we commented on the passing of Jamarcus Williams, a former Brookwood High athlete who died suddenly of a heart ailment.
Williams’ life struck a nerve with many readers and me. Never a star, Williams nonetheless touched many with his unselfish devotion to his teammates, coaches and sports.
To that end, I decided to pay tribute to unsung Gwinnett County high school athletes — seniors who gave their sports more than they gained — in memory of Jamarcus Williams.
There was just one lone criterion: players who did not play as much as they wished yet contributed to their teams in more unselfish ways.
As the school year went on, the good works of two young people registered with me, for reasons that will be obvious.
To that end, the honorees are:
TAMARA PERKINS
She probably could have started for any other team in her league, but the Collins Hill senior guard embraced her role as a backup on one of the best girls basketball teams in America.
From coach Tracey Tipton: “Tamara’s just one of those kind of kids every coach loves to have. She never once complained to me about playing time. She’s one of the few smart enough to understand how critical her role is. Players like her allowed a team like ours to have great practices. She doesn’t just buy into the idea but believes and understands that people like her push our starters to greater levels. I can’t say enough good things about her. It was brought to my attention other people would ask Tamara if she was happy with her role. Her reply would be she’s just proud to be part of a great team, and a group of good people. Tamara’s a smart young lady and will go on to do great things with her life.”
(Note: Tamara, daughter of Pamela and Bernard Perkins, will attend Tennessee State and play softball.)
MAURICE WILLIAMS
He played on a fledging Mill Creek basketball team, but a search of our newspaper archives did not bring back any mention of the senior forward — on the basketball court that is.
From Jim Dumond, assistant Scoutmaster: “Maurice will be honored at his Eagle Court of Honor ceremony Friday at Northview Christian Church in Buford. I know, kids earn Eagle every month, but Maurice is a young black man being raised by a single mom with two siblings. This outstanding young manwas also a member of the award-winning robotics team at Mill Creek, and took a loaded schedule of AP courses. This is by far one of the finest young men I’ve had the privilege of working with. … Oh, and did I mention he is Troop 597’s first black scout to attain the rank of Eagle Scout? …It’s a lot of work, and something that’s not just given to them. They have to earn it.”
(Note: Maurice, son of Wanda Williams, will study engineering in college.)
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Kell’s Fuller back where he belongs
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The home Nick Fuller found this year was a familiar one: the pitching mound. In the last year Fuller went from Kell to Lassiter and back to Kell, all the while never feeling completely lost.
The only time Fuller was out of place was when he did not have a baseball team to play for, which was for all but nine games this season as the GHSA sorted through the nagging complexities of his situation.
And the situation was this: the best pitcher in Georgia — shoot, perhaps the country — transferred from Kell before last year to join Lassiter. However, the abridged version of Fuller’s odyssey says he did not fit in at Lassiter, was so upset at one point he shattered a glass window and eventually transferred back to Kell.
This back-and-forth facilitated an investigation that kept Fuller on the sideline much of the year. “We didn’t play him until we got the approval of the state,” Kell coach Donnie English said. “His family kept a home in our area.”
Which brings us all the way to Tuesday night. English trotted out Fuller, who is so highly regarded that he could be the first pitcher selected in next month’s Major League Baseball Draft — for Game 1 of the quarterfinal series against Tift County.
He went head-to-head against Blue Devils stud Scott Shuman. It had the makings of a classic, but ended up being a classic walkover. So dominating was Fuller — and so potent the Longhorns’ bats — that the game did not even go the distance.
Kell romped 12-0 in five innings. Shuman was shelled for seven runs in the first two innings — including a three-run homer by senior Clint Roques — in an outing no one has ever seen out of him.
Shuman hit two batters and served up fat pitches over the plate that Kell obliterated. Meanwhile, Fuller was, well, Fuller. That is to say he was brilliant.
He gave up just one hit — an infield single to sophomore catcher Christian Glisson in the first — in a power performance that has marked his career. He brings it to the plate upwards of 95 mph, which, for a batter, turns the visual of a baseball into a Tic Tac.
Fuller blew pitches by Tift County with the usual ease, but it was his mixing of pitches that really made him so effective. He has a curveball with as much movement as a butterfly. And he has the confidence in it to throw it in harried situations.
Even behind in the count with runners in scoring position, Fuller called on a virtually unhittable breaking ball as his out pitch and ended the second and third innings with strikeouts with Blue Devils on second base.
“He has great speed on his ball, but he’s a smart pitcher,” English said.
It was smart of English to accept Fuller back after the transfer mumbo jumbo. “At one time he transferred to another school and it just didn’t work out and came back,” the coach said, trying to simplify the matter.
Was there any concern about accepting him? “No. He’s a good pitcher and a good kid,” English said.
Better than good, actually. Lassiter seems to have gotten along just fine without Fuller, and Fuller swimmingly without Lassiter. The kid has a home — the pitching mound — and he owns it when he’s on it, whether it was at Lassiter or at Kell.
But it would be interesting if both schools advanced to the finals, wouldn’t it?
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Players get second shot at success
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Beau Johnson and Yusef Holloway graduate from Central Gwinnett High on Wednesday. Pretty soon afterward, the former Black Knights football stars won’t be in Lawrenceville anymore.
“I’m real excited, especially to get away and meet new people,” Holloway says. “Basically, it’s like going to a new country — out there in Kansas.” With new prospects.
Beau’s and Yusef’s story is one of redemption, with a message for us all: When you mess up, fess up; then do the next best thing. Goes for kids of all ages.
Johnson, one of Gwinnett’s premier running backs, and the speedy Holloway have scholarships to Butler Community College. Although the school in El Dorado, Kan., may not strike a chord, it has a fine reputation for preparing youngsters to succeed at major universities.
In the classroom, as well as on the playing fields.
To the unenlightened, the junior college route seems designed for Division I rejects — academic and/or athletic. But often a two-year college can provide an avenue, and time, for much needed maturation.
“I didn’t qualify for D-I academically, so that set me back,” Johnson says. “Now I have another chance to prove myself, get my priorities in order, then take it to the next level.”
David Irons Sr. is a former Lions running back, and son of ex-Raider Gerald Irons, who works out athletes at Duluth’s Georgia Training Alliance. He contacted Butler on Johnson’s and Holloway’s behalf. His son, Auburn’s David Irons Jr., one of the SEC’s top cornerbacks, went to Butler. This summer, David Irons Jr. will graduate from college.
His father holds no less hope for Johnson and Holloway.
“They are not hard-headed kids,” Irons says. “Beau and Yusef are willing to listen, and have a desire to be educated. They promise they won’t let me down, and they want to reward their families who’ve supported them.
“I really believe they are going to go out there and be successful.” Even without a college football future, Irons says Beau and Yusef would be solid citizens. That’s because of groundwork laid by their parents, Miselinda Isaac and Janice and Christopher Holloway.
“I don’t see these guys becoming drug users or gang bangers; that’s a testament to their families,” Irons says. “But real life would have gotten started earlier for them. They just would have gone out, gotten jobs, married and raised families.”
Both kids appreciate their good fortune.
“I wasn’t focused on academics like I should have been,” Holloway says. “I fell short on my SAT, and that’s nobody’s fault but mine. At Central, football — and all the attention that comes with being high school football stars — got to Beau and me.
“I finally realized if I didn’t get focused, the opportunity to keep playing football wouldn’t be there. Butler is a good way to get me prepared for a university.”
Irons, whose other son Kenny is a star running back at Auburn, credits Beau and Yusef for waking up.
“When you realize you can’t blame things on anybody, you either fight through adversity, or pack it up and quit,” he says. “There are some good kids out there, good high school players, working in supermarkets and fast-food joints because they just gave up on themselves.
“Beau and Yusef have a chance to realize: ‘I will never slack off again.’ It’s never too late to grow up.”
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Playing just for free ride is really sad
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Once upon a time, say, a generation or more ago, most kids played high school sports simply for the sake of it. Sadly, just like dollar-a-gallon gasoline and sweet soul music, those days are long past.
Now, too often it’s all about the scholarship, baby.
What a loss. Because that scholarship paper chase has changed high school sports, and not for the better. No longer is just playing the game, while making memories and friends assured to last a lifetime, what it’s all about. Kids (and/or their parents) have their priorities skewed.
How sad. Because the raw numbers tell us most kids (and/or their parents) are setting themselves up for a hard fall. Some say your child has about a 1-in-10,000 chance of landing a full ride to play sports in college, and that’s one of the more generous estimates.
And even if your child is truly among the gifted few, finding a match made in athletics heaven is hard. Schools you want may not want you. And vice versa. Plus, in most cases, athletics scholarships are year to year — renewable at the school’s discretion.
I say all of that to say this: There are many wonderful reasons for kids to participate in high school sports, but using the team — and teammates — as vehicles to finance college should not be the prime one.
Many kids (and/or their parents) could learn from Kevin Noone.
A very fine receiver on pass record-setting teams at North Gwinnett High, Noone passed on playing in college. There was the chance to be a preferred walk-on at Division I-AA Southeastern Louisiana to play for his high school coach, Dennis Roland. Too far and too uncertain for Noone’s liking.
And surely one of those recruiting services, whom you pay to get your kid’s name out to mainly smaller schools, provided another avenue for matriculation. Instead, Noone deposited his visions of playing football in the memory bank and focused his sights on his future.
“I decided I wanted to be just a regular student, have fun and concentrate on my studies,” said Noone, who attends Young Harris College. “I got a lot out of high school football, and we had a lot of fun.
“Playing for coach Roland is going to stick with me for a while. I learned a lot from him, and it was the most fun I ever had. But I was ready to move on with my life.”
Like many fathers, a part of Peter Noone desired to see his son play on. Unlike too many, though, he understood, and accepted Kevin’s wishes.
“He could have gone further,” Peter Noone said, “but wanted to do other things.” So for the Noones, and the vast majority of families participating in high school sports, the prep playing days were the last. And, they say, the tops. “Best four years of my life, watching him playing high school football,” Peter Noone said. “I wouldn’t trade it for the world. My kid grew up so much, characterwise.
“I mean, it’s so competitive today. You can be a great high school player, that doesn’t necessarily mean you are going to be a great college player. So have fun in high school. … We had a blast.”
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Easy for East Coweta
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
So they do play something other than football down in Valdosta, huh? Hard to believe, but true. And the Wildcats are pretty good, too, as it turns out, on most days. Just not Thursday.
Thursday, they looked, well, anemic. East Coweta advanced to the AAAAA state quarterfinals by handling Valdosta with so much ease, 10-0, in a game that was cut short by an inning because of the mercy rule.
If the Wildcats performed in football as they did in baseball Thursday, new coach Rick Tomberlin’s job security would be threatened. It was that bad.
Coach Bart Shuman, whose son Scott is a star for Tift County, is highly respected, and rightfully so. But his team was too much Bad News Bears Thursday.
How’s this for anemic?
Valdosta trailed 2-0 after the first inning although East Coweta did not get a hit. Pitcher Tuzer Chism, who could not play quarterback for the Wildcats, did not break 80 mph on the radar gun — and he was not exactly painting the corners, either.
On his first pitch of the game, Chism hit the batter. He did the same three batters later and shortstop Ryan Danbury proceeded to boot a routine grounder with the bases loaded.
In the second inning, East Coweta’s Ben Baugh ripped a shot that just missed clearing the left-field wall for a double and RBI. It broke up Chism’s dubious no-hitter.
By the fourth inning East Coweta had a six-run lead and was cruising. But the 40 or so who traveled from Valdosta never wavered in their support.
“We take baseball just as seriously as we do football,” said Justin Northcutt, a former Valdosta baseball and football player from the late 1990s and whose brother, Mark, is an outfielder for the Wildcats. He tried to sound serious, but he could not have been.
“Of course, we haven’t had the success in baseball as we have had in football,” he added. “But in Valdosta, we like to see all our teams have success.”
That the Wildcats were even at East Coweta was an upset. They pulled a monumental upset over Redan in the first round to advance — and this after being no-hit in a 3-0 Game 1 loss.
“When we’re on,” Justin Northcutt said, “we’ve got enough talent to play with a lot of teams. We beat a good team [Redan] to get here. But in this game, you can have bad days.”
Valdosta’s bad Thursday was really bad. The Wildcats mustered all but three hits off Brandon Behenna. Their pitching was less than adequate. And their overall execution was far from the standards Shuman set.
“We’re glad to be this far,” Northcutt said. “In a lot of ways we’ve exceeded expectations.”
Even Northcutt had to admit that, while the Valdosta community supports baseball well with up to 200 at home games, the expectations do not rival those of the football team.
“That’s a fair comment,” he said. “But it goes back to the tradition the football team has built. No doubt there is more pressure on [Tomberlin] than Coach Shuman. The expectations are far more for football than baseball.”
Expectations are high for football at East Coweta, too. And Indians’ baseball prospects — with Baugh leading a pack of 13 seniors — are lofty as well. They get to play on, while, in Valdosta, they can concentrate solely on football.
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Unbeaten run over, dream isn’t
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Winning streaks come and go like thundershowers. Starr’s Mill’s remarkable run of 28 consecutive victories blew up Wednesday night off a prodigious home run by Tift County’s Christian Glisson.
As long as Glisson lives, no matter what happens in Thursday’s decisive Game 3 of the second-round series, he’ll have his two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh inning off the brightest of Panthers, Joey Lewis.
Everything pointed to a 29th successive win for Starr’s Mill, ranked No. 2 in the nation by Baseball America. Lewis, who pitched two scoreless innings in the first game of the day, had retired everyone he faced and was one out from victory.
But the left-handed Glisson, who barely missed a home run earlier in the game, rocketed a shot over the wall in left-center field for a 4-3 win that initiated bedlam for the Tift County contingent that traveled more than two hours to Starr’s Mill.
“To go undefeated, luck definitely is involved,” Starr’s Mill coach Brent Moseley said.
And sometimes luck runs out. Indeed, Tift County could have gone to bed Wednesday night believing it should have eliminated Starr’s Mill. The Blue Devils had every right to believe they gave away the first game in a 4-3 defeat.
Before the Panthers could blow a bubble, Tift County held a 3-0 advantage. But Starr’s Mill did not flinch, which is a product of having gone the entire season without a loss. And, the Panthers ended up bursting Tift County’s bubble.
Scott Shuman pitched a gem for the Blue Devils. The ace held the middle of the Starr’s Mill lineup to 3-for-15. He mixed his pitches well, had strikeouts when needed and generally was a bulldog.
Then the sixth inning came, and the wonder of Starr’s Mill’s season came to the fore. His team down 3-1 with one out, Lee Jones lashed a single to right. Luke Harp followed with a double to left, putting runners at second and third.
T.J. Stillwell popped out. Moseley pinch-hit with sophomore Matt Norton, who hit a hard grounder to short that was booted into left field when Harp smartly impaired the vision of the defender. Jones and Harp scored, tying the score 3-3.
The Panthers went on to win 4-3 on a single by Harp. Lewis, who is headed for Georgia, pitched two scoreless innings for the win. And when he entered in the second game, he had the look of a winner once again.
Whether Starr’s Mill has the ultimate look of a winner is not assured. Ace pitcher Andrew Robinson, who is Georgia Tech-bound, has a strained elbow that could sideline him the rest of the postseason. And there are other injuries that have decimated the roster.
But first things first. Getting past Tift County, as Wednesday night showed, is not assured. The Blue Devils are quite talented and just as resilient, as their comeback from a 10-1 deficit to Lithonia in the first round shows. And now there’s Wednesday night.
The streak is gone, but the season is not for Starr’s Mill. A win today moves the Panthers on, like a thundershower — and Glisson’s comet exists only as a not-too-pleasant memory.
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Leave of absence is in order for Flowe
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The words, typewritten on a cold sheet of paper, had to sting: “You are hereby reprimanded for conduct unbecoming your profession…”
Nobody wants to get this kind of love note from his boss.
Not even you, Cecil Flowe, über-successful Parkview High football coach.
Allegedly, you appeared “under the influence of alcohol” at the school’s prom. You cited the effects of prescribed medication for the “unbecoming” behavior.
When asked by a reporter Tuesday whether there will be an appeal of the discipline handed out by Gwinnett school superintendent J. Alvin Wilbanks on Monday, you did not respond.
You have nine more days to contest the action.
My phone message was not returned. So here’s some unsolicited advice: Punt, coach. Punt.
Do the right thing. Take a leave of absence. Get your life together. At this point, your health — and reputation — is more important than coaching football at Parkview. Or anywhere else.
Your school board representative says, based on your success, she’s prepared to give you the benefit of the doubt. After all, you are paid to win football games, and few do so quite as well. (I know, coaches are also hired to mold young lives. But they better win while they’re at it.)
So yielding to your track record — and that “this uncharacteristic behavior” was atypical — I also accept you at your word.
Still, that leaves you open to having your judgment — showing up at the prom medicinally impaired — called into question. Matters of health are not trivial. And the extent of your condition is a private issue.
Until, that is, your “professional demeanor” is challenged. Then, it is no longer between you, your doctor and family. Now, it’s a concern of your employers as well. Which, by the way, include the citizens of the county and state who foot the bill.
That’s just the way it goes for those on the public payroll. Which is why you should put your pride aside.
Surely, winning nearly 90 percent of your games and four state championships can be heady stuff. But winning is not the only thing.
When we spoke last month, something you said stuck with me. I asked whether spring football practice is worth the effort. Like any coach, you at first sounded enthusiastic about getting back on the field.
That’s what coaches live to do — coach.
But, you added, sometimes when you have a lot of talent back, and not many pieces to fit, you do wonder: “What am I doing out here?”
I’m no psychologist, but that sounded to me like a man in need of a break. A well-earned one, indeed.
In recent months, you’ve exhibited some wanderlust, checking into coaching jobs elsewhere in metro Atlanta.
Check out something else, Coach. Penny, Patrick and Shelby. Your wife and children need you well. More than anybody else needs a football coach. Please, do the right thing.
Take a leave, and take care of yourself.
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Kids are molded by their coaches
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
With the high school sports season winding to a close, timeout for a salute — and a challenge — to those men and women entrusted with your children’s lives. No, we’re not being overly dramatic.
Increasingly, nobody spends more time with your sports-playing children than their coaches. And that can be a cause for celebration or alarm.
Commemoration, because despite all the back-and-forth carping between parents and coaches — over such matters as starting positions, playing time, discipline and trust — overwhelmingly, the men and women you entrust your children’s lives to are fair-minded, conscientious and trustworthy.
At the same time, let’s be honest. It can be disturbing, because not all the men and women you entrust your children’s lives to are fair-minded, conscientious and trustworthy.
Bad apples spoil many professions.
Mind you, this is not to disparage a noble calling. As it is, teachers get dumped upon far too much. Plus, I’m biased toward educators. From a grandmother who taught eight grades in a one-room Louisiana schoolhouse to a niece on a master teacher track, I stand proudly among a long line of educators.
Fair-minded, conscientious and trustworthy teachers are tops.
Same goes for coaches, too. Perhaps even more so. The lessons they impart and guidelines they establish can be life-changing.
Just ask Vince Dooley.
Dooley has achieved greatness since his schoolboy days at McGill High School in Mobile. Football star at Auburn. National-championship-winning coach at Georgia. Enshrinement in the College Football Hall of Fame. Yet he still counts playing for coach Ray Dicharry at McGill as a hallmark.
“Next to my parents, he probably had more positive influence on me and helped me more than anybody,” Dooley says. “A lot of things didn’t make any sense to me at that time, but sports did.
“So whatever Coach Dicharry said was it. I’ve always had great respect for him.” I know what you’re thinking. Surely such a rigid disciplinarian as Dooley (Marine officer) was the easiest of athletes to coach.
Wrong.
Writing in “Dooley: My 40 years at Georgia,” he dedicated a section to Dicharry. Its title? “The Coach Who Changed My Life.”
Back in the day, Vince Dooley was rebellious, resented authority and spent time with a “rough crowd.” Could have teetered either way. In other words, a pretty typical teenager.
Not much has changed.
Except the potential pitfalls for our young people are even more daring. Maybe that is why Dooley offered an unsolicited, strident directive to today’s high school coaches.
“It’s extremely important … to remind high school coaches how [vital] their position is,” he says. “Because they get to work with kids in their formative age.”
You never know, coach. Some of your charges may grow up and accomplish great things — through sports or otherwise. Maybe even write a book.
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Lakeside’s resurgence stopped short
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Just before spring break, Morrie Swerlick signaled the rebirth of Lakeside DeKalb’s boys soccer team. Known for his mild-mannered nature, the senior center midfielder used the postgame euphoria of a victory over rival Druid Hills to break from his usually near-silent demeanor.
Swerlick went berserk — at least for him. He jumped up and down and screamed mostly indecipherable stuff that meant he was fired up and that his teammates should be, too.
Well, they were. After Swerlick’s demonstrative display, Lakeside hardly resembled the team that spent much of the first half of the season underachieving. Instead, they were reinvigorated, and before anyone knew it, they were playing in Tuesday night’s state semifinal at Marist.
This was quite a journey for a team that was eliminated in the first round last year and seemingly backpedaling much of this season. The Vikings’ place opposite Marist was a revelation, and the experience — while disappointing in the end — was life-lasting.
“At the beginning of the season, I didn’t anticipate this level of success,” coach Rick Barbe said. “Even at midseason, I didn’t see this coming. … But we just came together and out of the doldrums.”
Barbe wishes he could claim some credit, but he’s too modest for that.
“As a coach, you spend all season trying to get your team to perform at the level you think it can,” he said. “Then all of a sudden, it just clicks. And, really, I can’t explain it.”
With a berth in the championship game in the balance, Lakeside simply could not break Marist’s swarming, aggressive defense enough and had its surprising run stopped with a 2-1 loss.
This was a win for Marist that was charged by a defensive effort to be admired. Lakeside didn’t get many legitimate scoring chances, and when it did, goalkeeper Matt Barnes was brilliant, with a series of diving saves, especially early when Lakeside put on challenging pressure.
Marist senior Hall McKinley broke an early stalemate when he lobbed a kick over a charging Alex Kann that found its way into the net for a 1-0 lead.
For Lakeside, the deficit disappointed its large fan base that had traveled to Marist, but it did not break its spirit. Even after Greg Kacynski scored with 32:25 left in the second half for a 2-0 Marist advantage, the Vikings’ partisans cheered on.
Still, the War Eagles were not willing to allow Lakeside to extend its outstanding push. But it was not easy. The Vikings didn’t concede defeat, which said a lot about their character.
Down by two goals, Lakeside got a much-needed goal from junior Kenny Crutcher with 10:13 to play that made it interesting.
In the waning moments, the Vikings scrambled for another goal.
Fittingly, Swerlick was in the middle of the play that might have extended the game.
He beat the defenders up the right side and lofted a beautiful pass to Alexander Kim in front of the net.
However, Kim’s header flew over the goal with 1:58 to play, and with it, Lakeside’s run was over.
The deserving War Eagles, meanwhile, were swarmed by students after the final horn, their dream one more stellar effort from realization.
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Dooley, Dogs are Gwinnett’s hometown team
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
For an afternoon, the center of Bulldog Nation stood near Sugarloaf Parkway and Meadow Church Drive. That’s where Vince Dooley held court.
It’s been said that Gwinnett County, with fan allegiances spread among nearly two dozen high schools, lacks a true hometown team. I humbly disagree. While Athens may actually lie outside county lines, UGA is much nearer to Gwinnett’s heart.
Tuesday, what was billed as a book signing by the former Georgia football coach and athletics director — “Dooley: My 40 Years at Georgia” — appeared more like an ordination. Those filling the lobby of the First National Bank of Gwinnett in Duluth came for more than autographs and pictures.
Memories, of those past and yet to come, were the order of the day. Further indication of how deep a hold Georgia football has on locals.
Jan Agee of Suwanee and her aunt, Hilda Underwood from Loganville, were first in line.
“My son, Tyler, is a huge, huge, huge Georgia fan,” Agee said of her 12-year-old, a quarterback in the Gwinnett Football League. “He’s gone to every [home] game since he was 3 years old.
“He plans to play at Georgia one day.”
James O’Kelley’s playing days are far gone. But that didn’t prevent the Snellville resident from making the effort to meet Dooley, whose 1980 national championship season with the Dawgs remains a marker of when Georgia football soared beyond affection to near addiction.
“Longtime fan; from 14 years old, to 70,” said O’Kelley, who is on crutches as he recuperates from surgery. “I’ve been to a few games. Mostly, I listen on the radio. Like to hear ol’ [Larry] Munson when he describes the games.”
O’Kelley never attended UGA and has plenty of like company among Dawgs fans. But his love of all things red and black is rooted in red Georgia clay.
Deeply so.
“My school principal, he was a Georgia graduate,” O’Kelley recalled. “A.J. Cooper — he’s long gone now. A small, country school. Gillsville, right on the Hall County-Banks County line.
“I was raised on a farm. And I remember my principal taking a bunch of students to the Georgia game one year, and I was in the cotton field picking cotton when the bus went by. I almost cried ‘cause I didn’t get to go.
“Then I became a fan.”
For life.
Preston Frost, though, has a bigger headstart.
“That li’l kid there is already saying ‘Go Dawgs!’ Dooley marveled.
Preston Frost’s been around all of 13 months.
“Our basement’s red and black,” said mom, Michelle, of Suwanee.
Michelle Frost’s husband, David, is UGA Class of ‘94. “Hopefully, [Preston] will go there one day.”
Jason Roberts of Dacula never did. Ditto his father, Pete.
It hardly matters.
“My daddy’s been taking me to the games since I was 8 years old,” said Jason Roberts, who in 2000 joined his father as a season-ticket holder. “I got in at a good time; now they’re turning people away.”
All of which puts a twinkle in Dooley’s eye.
“Well, there was a base to begin with, even when I came,” he said. “But it expands as your program gets good. The great loyalty and dedication of the people — the love and passion they have — is amazing. Also, the passing on of the tradition.
“I don’t think the base changes at all.”
If anything, love for those Dawgs just grows on and on.
Much like Gwinnett.
• J.C. Clemons can be reached at 770-263-3830 or e-mail jclemons@ajc.com.
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Lacrosse gains ground in Georgia
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
They settled the boys high school lacrosse championship Saturday, and it was a big deal for more than participants Lovett and Lassiter. It marked an arrival for the sport.
There was a football-sized capacity crowd at Lovett’s stadium, a throng as loud and energetic as you’d find on Friday nights in the fall. And for a game still unfamiliar to many, that was pretty cool.
Lacrosse actually is considered North America’s first team sport, established by Native American tribes in the 18th century, according to elacrosse.com, an online Web site dedicated to the game.
Saturday’s championship was the second sanctioned by the GHSA, although the game had been mostly played by private schools in the area for the past 10 years or so.
One of the first public schools to pick up the sport, Lassiter opened the title match with vim, vigor and vengeance and finished that way, too.
The Trojans reversed a seven-goal defeat to Lovett by capturing the state championship with relative ease, 17-8.It was an inspired effort by both schools, with Lassiter being the more efficient and resilient. As he had all season, Tyler Bradshaw was significant to the outcome, notching two goals and four assists.
“A great lacrosse player,” Lassiter coach Pete Manderano said.
What is lacrosse, you say?
It’s basketball on grass. It’s hockey in cleats. It’s water polo without the water. It’s jai-alai on steroids. It’s football run amok. It’s fun.
If you like action and physicality and scoring, this is the game for you.
“You’ve got to be an athlete to play lacrosse,” Manderano said. “The days of just playing it to play are over.”
The days of lacrosse existing as this unknown, strange sport are close to an end, too. Kids get scholarships to major colleges.
To wit: Lovett’s Neal Hicks is a two-time all-American who has a full ride to Notre Dame. Chris Palmer, the Lions’ offensive MVP in football, signed with Bucknell to play lacrosse.
And the fact that it takes so much to play the game -- toughness, speed, hand-eye coordination -- will appeal to more and more youths as the game grows.The size of the crowd at Lovett on Saturday spoke to the magnitude and increasing popularity of the game. So large was the crowd that school officials were forced to make available additional restrooms.
Nothing will overtake football in Georgia — or anywhere in the South, for that matter — but because of the high athletic nature of the game, lacrosse has a real chance to blossom into a prominent spring sport.
Significantly, Milton, a public school, won the girls title last year. Now Lassiter has done it in boys. In the pre-GHSA days, it was a sport dominated by private schools, particularly Lovett, Westminster and Pace.
“Right now, it’s the No. 1 growing game in high schools in the country,” Lovett coach Jim Buczek said. “It’s blown up in Ohio … and Texas, and we’re seeing great growth here in Georgia.”
Right now, Lassiter is atop the boys high school lacrosse world in Georgia. That could hold even more significance in time.Permalink | Comments (24) | Categories: Curtis Bunn
Chamblee not a fluke
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Two years ago, Chamblee did not merit a blip on the boys soccer radar. Three decades had passed since the Bulldogs made the playoffs.
Today, they matter.
Friday night, amid clouds and occasional downpours, Chamblee’s delirious fans stormed the field after a 2-0 quarterfinal victory over perennial power McIntosh. At McIntosh.
It was a triumph that was no fluke. Although probably not as talented, the Bulldogs were quick, fast and determined. And those elements won out.
“At this point, there’s not much coaching left to do,” Chamblee coach Uwe Neuhaus said. “It’s mostly about encouraging them and letting them know they can do it.”
Still, Neuhaus understood it would take far more than self-esteem to knock off McIntosh. So he implemented a seldom-used strategy for him, deploying a gang of Bulldogs in the middle of the field to prevent McIntosh from “controlling the game,” he said.
It worked. The Chiefs seemed stunned that the entire first half came and went with just a few threatening shots toward the net, but no score.
The Bulldogs were aggressive and unhesitant, burrowing about the field with abandon and purpose. Early, when their adrenaline was at its apex, Chamblee consistently beat McIntosh to the ball. After the Bulldogs settled into the action, they were still effective, but also fortunate.
A couple of McIntosh scoring chances were either blocked by Zach Walldorf or just missed.
The problem with assigning so many players to congest the center of the field was that it limited the number of Bulldogs’ scoring opportunities. So, while they were capably containing McIntosh, they were no real threat to score.
Finally, the Bulldogs broke through. Julian Escheverri put in a header off a feed in front of the goal with 33:37 left for a 1-0 advantage. The Chamblee crowd cheered a cheer that was not of surprise, but pride. The groan on the McIntosh side was one of shock.
The Chiefs won the state championship in 2000 and were runners-up last year. They are always in the mix. To lose to Chamblee represented an enormous disappointment for a team with title aspirations.
Once the Chiefs fell behind, their level of play switched to desperation. Meanwhile, the defensive strategy Neuhaus developed had even more purpose. And the Bulldogs’ confidence expanded like a balloon. Were it not for a pair of spectacular saves by McIntosh’s Matt Rogers, it could have been worse.
McIntosh actually looked to be prepared to score first when sophomore Derek Farnsworth found himself in front of the goal with an open net, Walldorf having fallen to the ground.
Farnsworth kicked the ball toward the unattended goal, a sure score. However, Michael McQueen jetted across and kicked the ball over the net just a foot or so from crossing the goal line in a remarkable play.
That should have signaled it was a special night for heretofore unheralded Chamblee. If not then, certainly when Walldorf made a series of diving saves from point-blank kicks.
Last year was the Bulldogs’ first postseason appearance in 30 years. With 12 seniors, there were expectations of something good this season. But not this.
“We’re not the best skilled,” Neuhaus said. “But we play with a lot of heart.”
Permalink | Comments (1) | Categories: Curtis Bunn
Coleman gone but not forgotten
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
They laid Mandel Coleman to rest this week, in good Georgia earth. But they will never bury his marks. Not on his family. Nor on Meadowcreek High football. “Oh, he was so good at it,” Brangela Coleman says of her husband. “Mandel loved football. They wrote stories about him in the paper all the time.” Yes, they did. “Coleman’s four touchdowns lift Meadowcreek. …” Mandel Coleman, a headline-grabbing back, put Meadowcreek football on the map. By the time his all-state career ended in 1990, Coleman produced more than 3,000 yards and 42 touchdowns and gave fans of the new Norcross school plenty to shout about.
“He made people respect Meadowcreek,” teammate Eric McDonald says. With good reason.
“Probably one of top two or three kids I ever coached,” says Dacula High’s Kevin Maloof, who started the Meadowcreek program.
With players like Mandel Coleman, along with his brother, Jason Ward, David Hendrix, Cornell Thomas, Adrian Woolcock and Jason Nichols, the Mustangs rose to winning heights the school hasn’t repeated.
Says Maloof: “We had a great tradition for the Meadowcreek kids today to look back on.”
There they will see the effects of Mandel Coleman.
“Mandel played with great heart,” Maloof says. “His heart was bigger than he was.”
As fate would play out, a diseased heart, and other complications, felled Mandel Coleman. He died April 27, at age 33. This time, there would be no newspaper headlines.
“Coleman Hopes He Can Fulfill Radio Announcer’s Claim.” We pour tons of newsprint and truckloads of ink on young, gifted high school athletes, touting their exploits. Then their lives mostly disappear from these pages.
Newsworthy no more.
So sad, kids whose best days are past, I once believed. Sparked by memories of teammates and friends who, long after their “glory days,” stood on street corners boasting of how good their life used to be. Recently, I even had a parent say he did not wish such fortune on his son.
That got me to thinking. Mandel Coleman’s life, and death, changed my position. You know, just because a high school hotshot doesn’t go on to star on the next level, as they say, that does not equate them with failures. We just no longer tout their successes.
” ‘27 Sweep’ Pushes Mandel Coleman Into Limelight.” Far from the headlines, life flows on.
It did for Mandel Coleman.
A season at Georgia Military College was more successful on the field than off. Youthful missteps, of which details are not important, ended Coleman’s football career. It did not, though, stop his living.
He married his sweetheart, Brangela Kinaya Bell, a Grady High girl who nonetheless cheered for Mandel Coleman — No. 46 in the Meadowcreek program, No. 1 in her heart. Two children, Brianna, now 12, and Mandel Jr., 5, completed their circle.
No headlines trumpeted this Mandel Coleman, hard worker, dutiful husband and father.
Then, in 1999, Mandel complained of breathing difficulty. It took a while to diagnose, but a virus had attacked his heart. Mandel underwent a transplant in 2000, and tumors were discovered a month later. They would return, along with more heart problems.
The ultimate battle was on.
“Mandel was one of those kids, no matter what was going on in his life, when he walked on that football field — man, he was a fighter,” recalled Keith Maloof, the Norcross coach who assisted his brother at Meadowcreek. “Through his friends, I hear he kept on fighting.”
“Coleman puts it all together in Mustangs’ last game.”
“They gave up on him so many times,” says Brangela Coleman, who works for a court reporting firm, “and each time he made it back home.”
When Mandel left the hospital in February, the longtime churchgoer gave his life to Christ. “I was there when he was saved,” his wife says. “It meant so much. That’s enough comfort right there.”
Still, Mandel Coleman’s homegoing proved hard. Kevin Maloof, a tough hombre, was moved.
“Not only was it one of the saddest days of my life, but one of my proudest,” he says. “To see Mandel’s teammates grown up to be such fine people. They hugged me, … and I cried.”
Which led Kevin Maloof to offer a final tribute: “Mandel got his life in order, and it’s a great testament to a great kid. It’s a great story.”
Permalink | Comments (3) | Categories: J.C. Clemons
Decatur might make run
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Kathy Januzelli came back to part-time teaching after retiring two years ago for nights like Wednesday. This was not the ultimate occasion for the Decatur girls soccer team or its coach, but it certainly tantalized on what could be ahead.
If what the Bulldogs offered in handling Aquinas 5-0 is a barometer, there could be more memorable nights to come before this playoff run is complete.
From the start, Decatur controlled the action as much with its aggressive defense as its opportunistic offense. There was a look about the Bulldogs that was distinctly calm. And no wonder: Their team that made it all the way to the state semifinals last year had no seniors.
So, the magnitude of the playoff game seemed to faze Decatur none the least.
“The leadership and maturity of the players are crucial to this team,” Januzelli said. “It means a lot that they have played a lot of soccer together as a team.”
Although they returned all players from last year’s team, including eight seniors, the Bulldogs still have been undermanned. They have played all season without injured senior Jenny Newman and the last three weeks without forward Caroline Jones. Theirs are absences that could destroy a lesser team.
Instead of wallowing in the losses, Decatur has rallied around the girls — and Newman and Jones around the team.
“They have been our biggest cheerleaders, and they continue to lead even though they cannot play,” Januzelli said. “That says a lot about the kind of people they are.”
It also says a lot about the Bulldogs that they could withstand the loss of such talent, yet continue to play big-time soccer. From the tag-team tandem of goalies Julia Duchon and Annie Gibbs to Yates Marie Gwinn to Jessica Berry to Anna Baker to Kelsy Kuperman to sisters Jenn and Olivia Gorbatlin to wingmen Carla Farley and Susi McGhee to forwards Karmen Duchon and Hannah Hooten … the heroes are plentiful for Decatur.
And assistant coach Stephen Gathney, a former Bulldogs soccer star, has been significant as a teacher of the game.
“It has been a great collaboration,” Januzelli said. “We’ve had a very strong bench that’s really been good for us. The girls have learned so much from Coach Gathney. And now we’re here, and it’s fun.”
Aquinas (13-6) had high hopes before showing up in Decatur Wednesday. But the Fighting Irish had trouble mounting any offense as the Bulldogs’ relentless approach and commitment to defending the front prevented any true prospect of scoring.
Meanwhile, Decatur’s ball-handing was superior, and it was swift at transitioning from defense to offense. Hooten scored twice, as did Karmen Duchon, and Gabriel Lahowitch added another.
For Decatur’s success, they get to meet reigning champion Lovett in the next round.
Some prize.
It’s a good time at Decatur, though. The boys soccer team, under the direction of first-year coach Chris Hambie, has been stellar as well and has advanced to the quarterfinals to face Pace Friday night.
“With the talent and experience we have, I’d be surprised if we were not in the position we’re in,” Januzelli said of her team. “I teach part-time so I can coach these girls, and they sure make it a lot of fun.”
Permalink | | Categories: Curtis Bunn
Sport makes its big pitch at Lowndes
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
You hear Lowndes and you think dominance. You think championships. You think football.
Tuesday night at Starr’s Mill, the game was playoff soccer, and the confidence, talent and tradition usually associated with the perennial gridiron power did not translate into futbol.
It will take quite a while — if ever — before soccer at the Valdosta school rivals the championship pedigree of football. Not that the Vikings are terrible; they actually have a good program that has won multiple region championships.
It’s just that playing against the No. 5 boys team in the state showed just how far Lowndes has to go.
“I’m realistic,” said coach Paul Strassburg, a teacher at Dewar Elementary, near Lowndes. “Not for a very long time will we get the support the football program gets.”
Unlike football, where kids in Valdosta clamor to be a part of Lowndes’ (or rival Valdosta’s) youth programs in middle school, there is no such system for soccer. No feeder program. No club ball. Little recreation ball.
By the time the players arrive in high school, they are playing soccer for the first time. “So, I’m working with them to get them to be soccer players by the time they are seniors,” said Strassburg, whose only football players are three kickers.
The opposite of that is Starr’s Mill, which cruised to a 4-1 win. The Panthers are lethal and so skilled that Tuesday amounted to practice for them. All down the roster are players who understand the game, can handle the ball with grace and pass it with precision.
“They aren’t No. 5 for nothing,” Strassburg said.
Strassburg tried everything he could to compete with the prolific Panthers. He and his team arrived in Fayette County a night before the game “so we could get as much rest as we could and not make the four-hour drive and then have to play,” Strassburg said.
He and his team had lunch at Blimpie and planned on a movie to further relax and get their minds off the game. Further, Strassburg implemented a scheme for the game he had never used before, a game plan that amounted to packing in a zone defense in college basketball.
In Strassburg’s 4-5-1 setup, the Vikings deployed just one offensive front-runner while sagging many defenders in front of the goal. “To limit their opportunity to shoot,” Strassburg said.
Additionally, he implored his team to be physical and relentless. “You sit back two or three feet against Starr’s Mill,” he said, “and you’re in trouble.”
What Strassburg ultimately achieved was preventing a 15-0 blowout. Starr’s Mill was too skilled, too experienced, too good. The Panthers, despite the unorthodox defense, executed the kind of passing you might see on the fast break of a well-schooled basketball team.
Each of their four goals — scored by Shane Maroney, Riley Phelps, Phelps again and Jesse Phelps — all came off brilliant passes.
Vikings No. 1 goalkeeper James Speece sprained his ankle playing basketball, moving first-year player Matt Price into the net. Not good, although Price made some nice saves.
“In the next 10 years, we can be close to the top 10,” Strassburg said.
As for a state championship, well, the Vikings will leave that to the football team.
Permalink | | Categories: Curtis Bunn
Attitude to spell NBA success for Williams
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Further debate about whether Louis Williams made the right choice in going straight for the NBA out of South Gwinnett High is fruitless. Life has moved on.
Despite a rookie season mired on the Philadelphia 76ers bench, Louis Williams — with a secure contract reflecting management’s regard — is already sitting pretty.
“I have no regrets at all,” Williams said last week as he unpacked in his new Sugarloaf-area apartment. “I’m 19 years old, have a job I love and am able to pay rent on apartments in two cities.”
He’s truly blessed and knows it.
Which offers another reason, aside from his basketball skills, why sooner rather than later Louis Williams is destined for NBA success. In a league of far too many pampered personas — with big bank but little wisdom — Williams remains grounded.
Even while he sat as the Sixers wallowed in mediocrity, Williams refused to brood.
“Yeah, there were times I was down, because there were situations I thought I could have helped,” he said. “But I feel great. I consider my rookie season OK. I’m at a point now where I’m not going to settle on where I’m at — just being in the NBA. I’m ready to get back to work and build on it.”
But sometimes the most growth comes away from the arena.
“Probably the biggest thing is learning to make the right decisions off the court,” Williams said. “Handling the media, always carrying yourself as a businessman and to be professional.
“Just learning not to stray away from how you’ve been raised.”
In his rare moments of play, Williams exhibited daring quickness, a smooth stroke, slick passes and superb athleticism. Just as we knew he would. Now many, including Sixers bosses, are yearning.
“One thing they want is for me to be more aggressive,” Williams said.
While home at the All-Star break, he reflected, “My rookie season’s a learning experience. I wasn’t going to get a lot of playing time, obviously, with [Allen Iverson], one of the best point guards in the world, on the court.”
After a brief respite, Williams planned to be back in the gym this week to work on expanding his game. Seeking additional bulk and endurance, Williams has scheduled sessions with a personal trainer. In July, he heads back to Philly. There he’ll prepare for summer-league play in Utah.
Speculation abounds that the Sixers — with strong desire for veteran leadership —might part with Iverson, who some feel hampers development of youngsters Samuel Dalembert and Andre Iguodala.
Williams, though, spoke highly of Iverson and the team.
“I never felt like I was an outcast on the court,” he said. “After I was drafted and I made the final roster, from that point on I was an NBA player. … I was No. 23 for the Philadelphia 76ers, and coach [Mo] Cheeks and the rest of the guys expected me to compete.”
So he’ll just keep striving —and counting good tidings.
“Overall, it’s been a great experience,” Williams said. “A lot of guys don’t even get that opportunity.”
Which is all the brother ever wanted.
Permalink | Comments (5) | Categories: J.C. Clemons
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