Score Atlanta Vol. 10 Issue 14

Time to look great!

VOLUME 10 ISSUE 14 |

APRIL 11-17, 2014

|

YOUR SOURCE FOR SPORTS IN GEORGIA

Reclassification Rundown | Pg. 4 High schools prepare for 2014-2015 shift

Back In The Saddle | Pg. 8 Six-time state champion Boyd to coach East Jackson hoops

BLAZING BRAVES Braves get off to fast start to begin 2014 season | Pg. 5

sat, APRIL 12 @ 7:30PM

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Vol. 10 Iss. 14 | April 11-17, 2014

STARTING LINEUP PUBLISHER/EDITOR I.J. Rosenberg

GENERAL MANAGER Melanie Snare ART/CREATIVE DIRECTOR DJ Galbiati Blalock SENIOR MANAGING EDITOR Stephen Black

BUSINESS MANAGER Marvin Botnick

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Marcus Nabors

BEAT WRITERS Ricky Dimon (Braves)

Joe Deighton (Gladiators) Robert Tinter (Hawks) Brian Jones (KSU) Joe Deighton (UGA) Craig Sager II (Falcons) Stephen Black (Tech) Jay Underwood (GSU)

STAFF WRITERS Paige Morton Alex Ewalt Paris Freeman Robert Tinter Jalisa Smith

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Copyright 2014 Score Atlanta Publishing, LLC. All rights reserved. Score Atlanta is published in print every other week on Fridays and a digital version is posted to ScoreAtl.com in-between print issues. Views expressed in Score Atlanta are not necessarily the opinion of Score Atlanta, its staff or advertisers. Score Atlanta does not knowingly accept false or misleading editorial content or advertising nor is Score Atlanta responsible for the content or claims of any advertising or editorial in this publication. No content (articles, photographs, graphics) in Score Atlanta may be used for reproduction without written permission from the publisher.

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COLUMNISTS

SCORE LIST | NUMBERS GEORGIA STATE | KENNESAW STATE GEORGIA | GEORGIA TECH BRAVES | FALCONS HAWKS | GLADIATORS

COVER PHOTOS COURTESY OF POUYA DIANAT/ATLANTA BRAVES, TY FREEMAN AND ROB SAYE.

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ON THE COVER

ON THE INSIDE AT SCORE

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INSIDE THE PREPS

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SCORE ATLANTA | www.ScoreAtl.com

SAGER SAYS

HOW RECLASSIFICATION ENERGIZES COMPETITION

BY CRAIG SAGER II | CSAGER@SCOREATL.COM

to the 2012-13 school year, the GHSA Ptimerior expanded to a sixth classification for the first in its history while also splitting Class A into separate private and public postseasons.

This growth introduced a new era within the Georgia high school football landscape. In the first two years under the newly-formed system we saw seven of 14 football state champions win titles for the first time in their school’s history. The GHSA had crowned 294 football state champions in its 64 seasons before the 2012 reclassification and yet half of the champions in the last two seasons had never won the state crown before (Norcross, Gainesville, Jefferson, ELCA, Aquinas, Creekside, Marion County).

Changes create fresh starts for programs and the massive restructuring in 2012 provided every team in the state with a formula to use as motivation entering the new season. An in-

dividual team may be driven by a heartbreaking loss that ended the previous season but. reclassification has the power to motivate on a state-wide scale. Throughout winter workouts and on into the dog days of summer, every team in the state is impacted in some way.

COMBINING POWERS …

Before 2012, Camden County was unchallenged in its region play. The Wildcats owned a streak of 94 consecutive region wins entering the newly formed Region 1-AAAAAA. In the final region game, Colquitt County topped Camden 13-12 and served the Wildcats their first region loss since the 1999 season.

Unlike Camden County before 2012, Tucker is a school accustomed to playing in a highly-competitive region. The Tigers were reclassified up to Class AAAAAA for 2014-16 and will ignite a rivalry with Lovejoy. Tucker

MLS TO ATL

BLANK ON THE BRINK OF BRINGING MLS TEAM TO ATLANTA

BY ROBERT TINTER | RTINTER@SCOREATL.COM

in the United States has never been Sthreeoccer and probably never will be as popular as the other major sports. However, the popu-

larity of the sport has grown. Major League Soccer (MLS), the United States’ top-tier professional league, now has 19 teams. According to a 2013 Forbes article by Alex Morrell, average attendance has surged to 18,600, which is a 35 percent increase from 2000. There has never been a better time to own an MLS team.

The MLS is looking to grow, and in addition to adding a team in Orlando, the MLS is considering bringing a team to Atlanta.

The city of Atlanta is growing and its demographics will continue to change over the next 10 years. Atlanta is home to people and cultures from all over the world. Particu-

larly intriguing to the MLS is the large Hispanic population of Atlanta. Soccer is by far the most popular sport among people of Hispanic heritage. According the research by Pew Research, Atlanta has the 19th-largest Hispanic population in the United States, with around 530,000 Hispanics or close to 11 percent of Atlanta’s total population. Seven of the cities with a higher Hispanic population already have an MLS team. The more attractive number that the MLS should look at is that about 54 percent of those 530,000 Hispanics are foreign born.

The city of Atlanta has already decided to build a new baseball stadium and football stadium. The baseball stadium is planned to be moved, meaning Turner Field will be empty.

A new soccer team could inhabit Turner Field

opens the season in the 2014 Corky Kell Classic against defending Class AAAAAA state champion Norcross before hosting Florida’s 2013 Class AAAA state champion Booker T. Washington the following Saturday (August 30). The biggest test of the season might come later when new region opponent Lovejoy hosts the Tigers on Halloween. Tucker beat Lovejoy 22-7 in the 2011 Class AAAAA state championship game when Class AAAAA was still the highest classification. Lovejoy moved up while Tucker stayed the same and both schools lost in the state championship since 2012.

NOTEWORTHY MOVES …

There are plenty of storylines to watch for with the 2014-16 changes. Region 1-AAAAAA lost Coffee and Brunswick to Class AAAAA and will add Lee County. Camden County will remain in Region 1 for football only. Region 3 saw movement as Tri-Cities dropped a classification and Campbell, Pebblebrook and Westlake moved in from their current place in Region 4. Region 4 traded those three teams for North Paulding and Region 5 added Pope while Region 6 added Habersham Central and Northview.

In Class AAAAA, Region 1 got a makeover with LaGrange, Carver-Columbus and Shaw. Bainbridge and Thomas County Central will compete in Region 1 for football only.

Current AAAAAA Coffee and Brunswick are now classed into Region 3 in a sub-region with Camden County, Glynn Academy and Ware

when the Braves leave. Renovations will need to be made, but it is a much cheaper option for the city and MLS.

After losing the Atlanta Thrashers, the city of Atlanta yearns for another professional sports team to root for. The combination of the large Hispanic population and the projected growth of the population over the next 10 years make Atlanta a viable and enticing city to place a soccer team.

HAWKS FUTURES …

The Hawks are headed for their seventh straight playoff appearance. That being said, nobody should mistake this Hawks team as a championship contender. With a first-round exit likely, it is time to look to the future. The Hawks will have a mid-to-late first-round pick in next year’s draft. The 2014 draft has been widely acclaimed for its depth. The Hawks will have an opportunity to select a player that can contribute right away. The Hawks have not had a true NBA starting center since Dikembe Mutombo was wagging his finger at defenders. Drafting a center will allow Al Horford to move to his more natural power forward position. This move would keep Al fresher and could help him avoid the injury bug that has hit him over his Hawks career. After the pre-draft camps and scouting combine, a clear picture of

County. Region 7 is no longer a divided region and Cambridge, Creekview, Forsyth Central, Kell, North Atlanta, North Springs, Riverwood, River Ridge, Sequoyah and Sprayberry consist of the new 10-team region. Region 6 will divide a total of 17 teams into sub-regions with M.L. King, Miller Grove, Stephenson and Southwest DeKalb all housed in subregion A. Region 5-AAAA welcomes Woodward Academy, which is moving up from Class AAA. Carrollton, Fayette County, Grady, Pike County, Sandy Creek, Troup, Whitewater and Woodward Academy comprise a solid Region 5. St. Pius X has a new Class AAAA home and will be in Region 6 with long-time rival Marist and the pair are joined by Arabia Mountain, Chamblee, Columbia, Cross Keys, Lithonia, Redan and Stone Mountain. Region 7 welcomes newcomer (from Class AAA) Cartersville in a field with Gilmer, Heritage-Catoosa, Lafayette, Northwest Whitfield, Pickens, Ridgeland and Southeast Whitfield. Buford will be in a 10-team Region 8 with Chestatee, JohnsonGainesville, Madison County, Monroe Area, North Hall, North Oconee, Stephens County, Walnut Grove and White County. Calhoun and Jefferson and Westminster are notable schools moving up to Class AAA in 2014. Reclassification will impact every sport but football will give the first-hand look this fall.

Photo courtesy of Rob Saye.

potential prospects will appear.

The next step in becoming a championship contender is through free agency. The Hawks have 14 players on their roster; nine of those players are signed into next season, leaving six spots open. One of those spots will more than likely be filled by whoever is chosen in the first round of the draft. The other five spots can be filled by anyone the Hawks can afford. The Hawks will have $49 million in contracts next year, leaving around $11 million to spend this summer without having to pay luxury tax.

The Hawks can go over the salary cap and pay a luxury tax if necessary. The 2014 freeagent class is not as star filled as some in the past, but that is okay as the Hawks have a solid nucleus of Al Horford and Jeff Teague in the mix for years to come. Assuming the Hawks go big in the draft, targeting a wing player would help the Hawks reach another level. Luol Deng of the Cavaliers and Lance Stephenson would be expensive options. Cheaper options would be Atlanta native Jodie Meeks, or Trevor Ariza. It is most likely the Hawks will sign a few cheaper players. Danny Ferry helped San Antonio build a championship using solid role players surrounding two stars.

Photo courtesy of the Atlanta Falcons.

Vol. 10 Iss. 14 | April 11-17, 2014

ON THE COVER

BRAVES BASEBALL

BRAVES OVER .500 DESPITE EARLY-SEASON POWER OUTAGE

BY RICKY DIMON | RDIMON@SCOREATL.COM

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4-3 record seven games into the 2014 campaign may suggest that the Braves have been an average ballclub in most departments. The opposite, of course, is true. It has been a tale of two intra-squad teams making up the roster. There are the pitchers; then there are the hitters. One group is wildly outperforming expectations; the other is not even scratching the surface of what was—and still is?—thought to be great potential.

BACK-TO-BACK ACES …

Atlanta headed into the regular season with a makeshift starting rotation due to both departures and injuries. Tim Hudson signed as a free agent with San Francisco, Freddy Garcia was released and both Kris Medlen and Brandon Beachy were both lost to Tommy John surgery. Just 23-years old, Julio Teheran is already a last of the Mohicans of sorts in terms of the

Braves’ staff of yesteryear.

The right-hander has lived up to his earlyseason billing as the rotation’s ace, with two stellar performances. He gave up only two runs in six innings in a 2-0 loss at Milwaukee on Opening Day before allowing a mere three hits and two runs in seven innings in a 6-2 win at Washington last Saturday. If Teheran has set the tone, his supporting cast is following along nicely. Aaron Harang, whom the Braves signed at the end of spring training on the same day they let go of Garcia, has also turned in two outstanding starts. The 35-year-old journeyman, playing for his fifth team since the start of the 2011 season, befuddled the Brewers last Wednesday through 6.2 innings while surrendering no runs on just two hits in a 1-0 win. Harang took the loss in Atlanta’s home opener on Tuesday night, but he had nine strikeouts in six innings and gave up only two hits and one run.

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Alex Wood and David Hale have also impressed. Wood is 1-1 with a 1.93 ERA in 14 innings. The 23-year-old southpaw went seven innings against both New York and Washington, allowing one run in a win over the Mets and two runs in a loss to the Nationals. Hale blanked Washington in five innings of work during a 2-1 Braves’ victory last Friday.

“We had some young guys come up and step up and pitch real well,” catcher Gerald Laird told the Atlanta Journal Constitution following Atlanta’s 4-2 season-opening road trip.

“We have some guys in the bullpen pitching well, we have our starters. We knew what we were going to get from Julio and from what I’ve seen we’ve got guys that are going out there and competing, throwing strikes and they don’t look scared. They look like they’re in control.”

a single RBI. B.J. is hitting .138 and Justin has a .231 average. Evan Gattis and Jason Heyward, who slumped the second half of last season for various reasons, are still struggling. Gattis is batting .188 with one home run and one RBI. Heyward is 3-for-28 (.107), leaving him last among the team’s starters in average. Freddie Freeman, Chris Johnson and Andrelton Simmons are continuing to perform, but a lack of teammates on base means that each one has just two RBIs. “Just like the first week of spring training, some guys get off to a great start and some guys get off to a slow start,” Heyward told the team’s website on Tuesday. “There’s a little different bit of timing and adrenaline when you’re coming into a season. I feel we’re all showing signs of settling in and just going out there and playing.”

PANIC TIME? …

Opposing pitchers have been in similar control against a stagnant Atlanta offense. As of the completion of Tuesday night’s games, the Braves are dead last in Major League Baseball with 15 runs scored. By comparison, in one game by himself Milwaukee’s Ryan Braun drove in almost half as many runs (seven) as Atlanta’s entire season output. Only one other team, San Diego, has crossed the plate fewer than 20 times. In three losses, the Braves have scored a grand total of one run. Eleven of their runs have come in two games, a 5-2 win at Milwaukee last Tuesday and the 6-2 road victory over Washington. For those counting, that means a combined three runs have been scored by manager Fredi Gonzalez’s club in the other five games.

“The offense will pick it up, I’m sure, down the road,” Gonzalez told the AJC. “There’ll be a stretch where our pitching staff is going to need the offense to pick them up.”

That is not how it has worked so far, to put it mildly. The pitchers are getting almost no help of any kind and the primary culprits are familiar faces. After a combined 55 at-bats, the Upton brothers—B.J. and Justin—do not have

ON THE HORIZON …

Now would be a good time to start, as rival Washington is in town for a three-game series Friday through Sunday. The Braves are in the midst of a streak of 19 consecutive contests against NL East competition. Twentytwo of their first 28 games this season come against such rivals.

It’s early, but parity is the name of the game up and down the MLB standings right now. The National League East is no exception.

Separated by two games from top to bottom, it is one of four divisions in which the last place team is within 2.5 games of first. Washington (5-2) leads the way, just ahead of Miami (53), with New York and Philadelphia (both 3-4) one game back of Atlanta. While the Nationals and Braves are considerable favorites over the other three, all five teams appear to be—at worst—decent. It will be difficult to pull away, but it will not take much to fall behind.

As the saying goes at the Masters—which is currently underway in Augusta—you cannot win a title right at the start, but you can lose it.

Did you hear that, Braves’ batters? Wake up!

Photos courtesy of Pouya Dianat/Atlanta Braves.

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Braves’ Pitching

Paul Millsap

Matt Kuchar

Atlanta’s starting rotation is keeping the team competitive through seven games of the season. Julio Teheran (2.77 ERA), Alex Wood (1.93) and Aaron Harang (0.71) have each made three impressive starts. As a whole, the Braves have a 1.92 ERA—second in the majors behind only Milwaukee (no other team is better than 2.25).

The Hawks are clinging to the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, in part thanks to Millsap. He has five straight double-doubles as of Wednesday afternoon, his longest such streak of the season. The power forward went for 24 points and 17 rebounds on March 31 and he scored 24 points on Tuesday.

The former Georgia Tech star should have won last week’s golf tournament in Houston, but he still heads into this week’s Masters in outstanding form. Kuchar, who has two straight top-eight finishes at Augusta National, has seven top-10 performances in his last nine events, including two consecutive topfour showings.

SCORE LIST

By Brian Jones

NEW TEAM

It looks like the MLS will have a new team soon and it will be based in Atlanta. The team would be the 22nd franchise and would start playing its games when the new Falcons stadium opens in 2017. I don’t watch a lot of MLS, but I will be all about this team when it starts playing.

G-DAY

After losing to Nebraska in the Gator Bowl a few months ago, the Bulldogs will hit the field for their annual spring game Saturday. This is an opportunity for fans to get a glimpse of what the 2014 team will look like. I’ll be there and I want to see what the defense looks like under new coordinator Jeremy Pruitt.

TEE TIME

The golf world will head to Augusta this weekend for the Masters. It will be a different feel from the previous Masters tournaments because Tiger Woods will not be there due to a back injury. That’s unfortunate, but guys like Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Phil Mickelson and Rory McIlroy will be there, so there’s no lack of star power.

DREAM MATCHUP

Georgia State football has been taking its show on the road as the Panthers held spring practice at McEachern last Saturday. They will have another practice off-site at Lanier this Saturday. I think this is a good idea because it gives fans who don’t live close to the city an opportunity to see the Panthers up close and personal.

HONORING HANK

The Braves opened their home schedule on Tuesday, but it also marked the 40th anniversary of Hank Aaron breaking Babe Ruth’s home run record. There was a special ceremony an hour before the game and Aaron received personalized jerseys from the Braves, Hawks and Falcons.

Despite Atlanta’s loss, it was a memorable night.

WHO’S NOT

By Ricky Dimon

WHO’S HOT

SCORE ATLANTA | www.ScoreAtl.com

Braves’ Hitting

Soccer History

Masters Favorite

Atlanta’s pitching staff has been good enough for the team to be 7-0 through seven games, but its record stands at 4-3. The Braves are last in the majors in runs scored with 15. No player has more than three RBIs and three starters are hitting below the .200 line. Jason Heyward has a .107 average and B.J. Upton has fanned 13 times.

The history of professional soccer in Atlanta is not extensive, nor is it impressive. Either the leagues have struggled or the teams have performed poorly, or all of the above. But could this be different? Arthur Blank and Major League Soccer are close to announcing Atlanta as the league’s 22nd franchise.

For the first time since 1994, the Masters is taking place without Tiger Woods, who underwent back surgery last month. Phil Mickelson is still playing despite an oblique injury, but for the first time in his career, he arrives at Augusta National with no top-10 finishes in the first three months of the season.

NUMBERS

OUR TWO CENTS

By Craig Sager II

Our email newsletter is something we take a lot of pride in at Score. If you aren’t familiar with it, it is a high school sportsheavy publication that we produce each day to fill in our readers on the latest happenings in Georgia prep sports. We send it out Monday through Friday throughout the year and Monday through Saturday during the fall.

Not only do we cover popular sports like football, basketball and baseball, we also cover every other varsity sport the GHSA fields. If you like Georgia high school sports at all, sign up for our email newsletter by visiting www.tinyurl.com/scorenewsletter and enter your email address(es) that you’d like added to the distribution list.

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TRIVIA QUESTION

WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME THE BRAVES WERE SHUT OUT IN THEIR HOME OPENER? ANSWER ON PAGE 14

“

SANITY AT LAST

“We talk with a lot of institutions about future scheduling and Notre Dame is one of them.”

Georgia athletics director Greg McGarity on the possibility of the Bulldogs facing Notre Dame in football.

10

Times the Braves were shut out at home last season

1949

The first year the Masters awarded a green jacket to the champion

-18

The Masters Tournament scoring record set by Tiger Woods in 1997

.220

The Braves batting average through the first seven games

.198

Braves’ opponents batting averages through the first seven games

2008

The last time the Hawks had fewer than 40 wins prior to this year

2009

The last time Marist and St. Pius X played a football game. The rivals will share a region next season

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Schools new East Jackson hoops coach David Boyd has coached to state championships

DAVID BOYD HIRED

SIX-TIME STATE CHAMP TO COACH EAST JACKSON NEXT SEASON

BY STEPHEN BLACK | SBLACK@SCOREATL.COM

S

tate high school hoops fans will see a familiar face in gyms next season. David Boyd, who has won six boys state basketball titles at four different schools, will lead East Jackson in 2014-15. The school officially announced the hire Thursday. Boyd was at Excel Christian last year, but resigned during the season and now lives full time on St. Simons Island with his wife.

Boyd was not sure if or when he would get back into coaching until former Milton athletics director and current East Jackson principal Jamie Dixon contacted him.

“I began to realize East Jackson was close to Athens (UGA) where my daughter Christina is a junior and my wife graduated from,” Boyd said. “One of my former players, Charles Mann, is doing really well there and I have a great relationship with (Georgia assistant coach) Jonas

Hayes and I have a real good relationship with Coach Fox.”

Dixon and Boyd worked together at Milton where Dixon was the athletics director while Boyd coached the boys hoops team. It was there the pair established a relationship of mutual respect.

“David brings an ability to coach basketball unlike I have seen anywhere in my career,” said Dixon. “His ability to make kids better is phenomenal. It is second-to-none in my opinion.”

ROOM TO GROW …

While East Jackson is a relatively new school with little success on the hardwood, Boyd sees potential in the Athens-area program.

“The community seems very hungry for a winner,” Boyd explained. “The gym is very nice

especially for a AAA school. The weight room is just incredible, it looks like a college weight room. It looked like a situation where you could come in there and build a program and the community would really appreciate that. I went to one of their games at the end of the year and was very impressed with the enthusiasm of their student body and the potential of their players.”

Boyd began his head coaching career at his high school alma mater, Campbell, in 1980 and was there until 1993. He then took the job at Tucker, where he won another state championship in 1996. Boyd then moved to Gwinnett County’s Berkmar and won back-to-back state championships there in 2000-2001. After a four-year stint at Riverdale, Boyd landed at Milton in 2008, where he won state gold in 2010 and 2012. At the north Fulton school, however, Boyd was forced out in 2012 due to what was termed “undue influence.”

“A lot of families wanted to be a part of what we were doing,” said Boyd of his career at Milton. “It is an excellent school, great basketball program, guys getting scholarships, being held accountable in the classroom, and so it was a situation where people wanted to be.

And I feel like the only thing I did wrong there was care a little bit too much about making

sure that families were making the right decision for their sons.”

PROGRAM BUILDER …

Boyd sat out the 2012-2013 season, then was hired to coach at Excel Christian in Cartersville. He resigned midseason before moving to St. Simons. After a few months of rest, the Georgia State graduate is back on the hardwood. Highly experienced in rebuilding programs, this will be Boyd’s seventh head coaching job. Making a first impression is important when trying to turn around a program, according to Boyd.

“I want to make sure we get off to a great start and talk about setting goals as a team and as individuals,” he explained. “And we’ll talk about work ethic, effort and those kinds of things that you can control and just really get everybody excited going to work and I’m going to send out a grade sheet to teachers to let them know that’s going to be an important part now.”

East Jackson has not had a winning season since 2008-2009 when the Eagles went 15-14.

The hire is pending school board approval, which will meet on April 14.

Photos courtesy of Ty Freeman.

Score Atlanta/AJC Lacrosse Rankings BOYS

GIRLS

Class AAAAAA

Class AAAAA-A

1.............................. Milton 2.......................... Harrison 3................North Gwinnett 4............................. Walton 5...........................Lambert

1........................Northview 2....................Westminster 3...............................Lovett 4..................................GAC 5................Whitefield Aca.

6.......................Centennial 7............. Peachtree Ridge 8............................Roswell 9..........................Hillgrove 10................. John’s Creek

6................ Blessed Trinity 7................................ Pope 8.........................St. Pius X 9............................Decatur 10.................... Cambridge

Class AAAAAA

Class AAAAA-A

1.............................. Milton 2........................... Lassiter 3............................. Walton 4................Chattahoochee 5........................Mill Creek

1.................................. Kell 2....................Westminster 3........................Northview 4................................ Pope 5...................... Cambridge

6.............................Etowah 7.......................Centennial 8................... West Forsyth 9................... John’s Creek 10.........................Lambert

6.........................St. Pius X 7................ Blessed Trinity 8......................... McIntosh 9.......................Starr’s Mill 10............................ Marist

Vol. 10 Iss. 14 | April 11-17, 2014

Score Atlanta/AJC High School Baseball Rankings Class AAAAAA 1...................... Lambert 2.....................Parkview 3.........................Walton 4............Mountain View 5...............West Forsyth

Class AAA 6........................ Etowah 7...................Tift County 8...........Kennesaw Mtn. 9.......................... Milton 10.............. East Coweta

Class AAAAA 1................. Whitewater 2.....................Allatoona 3.......... Houston County 4....................Hardaway 5................... Loganville

6.....................St. Pius X 7..................... Callaway 8...................Chapel Hill 9....................North Hall 10........ Jackson County

Class AA 6.................. Greenbrier 7.................. Gainesville 8.................. Starr’s Mill 9..................Sprayberry 10...............Stephenson

1.....................Jefferson 2............... Westminster 3....................... Bremen 4.......................Calhoun 5.................... Wesleyan

6.......................... Lovett 7............................Cook 8.................Benedictine 9....................Fitzgerald 10.....................Bowdon

Class A

Class AAAA 1..........................Marist 2............... Crisp County 3....................Columbus 4.............. Worth County 5..........................Redan

1......................... Buford 2............Blessed Trinity 3.................Pike County 4............. Pierce County 5..................... Thomson

6.....................Columbia 7...............Locust Grove 8......................Veterans 9..........................Griffin 10..................Carrollton

1............................ELCA 2............... Mount Paran 3................ Charlton Co. 4............Pace Academy 5........ King’s Ridge Chr.

6.........Athens Christian 7...............................ECI 8.............Schley County 9................. Brookstone 10............. Hawkinsville

Score Atlanta/AJC Soccer Rankings 1..................... Brookwood 2.......................... Lambert 3.............................Walton 4....................... Mill Creek 5........................ Campbell 6...........................Lassiter 7.............. Douglas County 8................... Johns Creek 9.............Central Gwinnett 10........................... Duluth

AAAAA Boys

1.........................McIntosh 2................................Pope 3......................Gainesville 4........... Lakeside-DeKalb 5.............. Glynn Academy 6......................Greenbrier 7................ Clarke Central 8.................Lithia Springs 9...............................Rome 10...................... Clarkston

AAAA Boys

1..............................Dalton 2......Johnson-Gainesville 3.............................. Grady 4........................LaGrange 5........Southeast Whitfield 6....................... Columbus 7....... Northwest Whitfield 8......................... Spalding 9........................Chestatee 10............................Marist

AAA Boys

1........................ St. Pius X 2.............. Woodward Aca. 3............... Oconee County 4..................North Murray 5.....................Cartersville 6...............Dawson County 7........................North Hall 8.........................West Hall 9................Blessed Trinity 10...........................Buford

AA Boys

1................................. GAC 2...........................Calhoun 3................... Westminster 4................Murray County 5........................ Wesleyan 6... Chattahoochee County 7...........................Bremen 8.................... Benedictine 9...............Toombs County 10..........Westside-Macon

A Boys

1...................................AIS 2............ Hebron Christian 3.......... First Presbyterian 4...... Fellowship Christian 5........Pinecrest Academy 6..........Our Lady of Mercy 7............................Paideia 8.....................Brookstone 9............................ Walker 10.................Mount Paran

AAAAAA Girls

1..........................Harrison 2.......................... Grayson 3.........................Parkview 4.............Peachtree Ridge 5..................... Brookwood 6...........................Lassiter 7.............................Walton 8................. South Forsyth 9..............................Milton 10........................... Duluth

AAAAA Girls

1.........................McIntosh 2........................Northgate 3...................... Starr’s Mill 4................................Pope 5.......... Heritage-Conyers 6.......................Loganville 7....................... Northview 8.........................Allatoona 9......................Gainesville 10............. North Paulding

AAAA Girls

1..............................Marist 2......................... Veterans 3....................... Columbus 4.............................. Grady 5....................... Alexander 6......................... Spalding 7...........Heritage-Catoosa 8.....................River Ridge 9............................... Cairo 10..................... Chamblee

Kids’ Tickets $10!

AAA Girls

Good on All Performances

1........................ St. Pius X 2................Blessed Trinity 3.............................Buford 4...............Dawson County 5......Woodward Academy 6.................... Pike County 7............... Oconee County 8.....................Cartersville 9..................North Oconee 10.........................Decatur

Ages 2-12. Restrictions, exclusions and additional charges may apply.

Subject to availability. Excludes premium seats.

APR. 26 & 27

Buy Tickets: GwinnettCenter.com 888-9-AXS-TIX Venue Box Office

A Girls

1... First Presbyterian Day 2............ Hebron Christian 3.................... Calvary Day 4..... Providence Christian 5............................Paideia 6...... Fellowship Christian 7................Pace Academy 8.............. Holy Innocents’ 9............................ Walker 10...... Mt. Paran Christian

Sat. 7:30 PM Sun. 2:00 PM

THE ARENA AT GWINNETT CENTER

AA Girls

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ARMED AND DANGEROUS FOOTBALL

TOP QB COACH BRINGS HIS CAMP TO GEORGIA FOR THE FIRST TIME

BY JAMES REESE

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teve Calhoun is a top five college football quarterback guru according to Bleacher Report. His modest start as a QB in California has taken him from Santa Ana College to New Mexico State, and nearly ten years as a pro in Germany. He ultimately landed in coaching in 2005 and has been at it ever since teaching the art of playing quarterback and receiver as the lead instructor and owner of Armed & Dangerous Football.

Calhoun’s pupils hail from all over the country. His prize student at the time happens to be Russell Wilson, yes the Russell Wilson of the Superbowl Champion Seattle Seahawks.

His other NFL QB students include – E.J. Manual (Bills), Nick Foles (Eagles), Mike Glennon (Buccaneers), and Terrelle Pryor (Raiders).

E.J. Manual says, “Steve pushed me to

new heights in just a few workouts, and told me what I needed to hear, not necessarily what I wanted to hear. That’s what you want from your coach when you want to be great. Armed & Dangerous is the real deal.”

Every week Calhoun can be found conducting camps for QBs, WRs, TEs and RBs in and around Southern California. A visit to his website armedanddangerousfootball.com reveals the extent of his training regimen. Because he’s worked with some of the best young QBs in the nation Calhoun is a regular instructor at the Manning Passing Academy each year.

Playing QB at the pro, collegiate, high school and middle school level requires one thing – great mechanics. Calhoun provides hands on detail instructions guaranteed to improve your skills. After a brief instruction period students will have a

lot to take home to work with.

“Steve Calhoun is a great coach and great friend of mine. His passion and attention to detail in coaching the quarterback position is second to none. To this day I credit a lot of my recent success and work ethic to him”, said Keith Price, University of Washington Huskies QB (2009-13).

Calhoun has some connections to the state of Georgia through relatives, Deshaun Watson, Clemson signee and former UGA backup Christian Lemay and has always come out to conduct camps with friends at Riverside Academy in Gainesville each year. For the first time, Calhoun is conducting his own camp entitled The Premiere QB Camp in the Country at Chestatee High School in Gainesville, Georgia April 26 and 27. The camp is designed for middle school (6th – 8th grade) and high school (9th – 12th grade) quarterbacks. Space is limited to 50 QBs in each group. Players are encouraged to register online at http://armedanddangerousfootball.com.

When collegiate players are getting ready for the NFL Combine they call Calhoun. Your young QB has a chance to be instructed by the “NFL Combine Ready Coach” don’t miss out.

Photos courtesy of Armed and Dangerous Football.

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UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA

DAWGS DISCUSS SERIES WITH IRISH; BASEBALL TEAM ON ROLL

BY JOE DEIGHTON | JDEIGHTON@SCOREATL.COM

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eorgia athletic director Greg McGarity has confirmed that there have been discussions with the University of Notre Dame about a possible home-and-home series between the Bulldogs and the Irish. Sources of CBSSports.com cite possible games in 2018-19. McGarity played it cool when asked about a matchup with Notre Dame.

“We talk with a lot of institutions about future scheduling and Notre Dame is one of them,” McGarity told the AJC on Tuesday. “But we’re not going to play these things out in public unless we have something in writing, and we have nothing in writing.” Georgia’s schedules are only slated through the 2015 season, but that can change at any time.

UGA and Notre Dame last met on January 1, 1981 in the Sugar Bowl. That was probably the most significant game in UGA football history and it marked the last National Championship for the Bulldogs in football. Led by freshman running back Herschel Walker, Georgia won the game 17-10.

GEORGIA STATE

FOOTBALL TEAM MAKING STRIDES IN SPRING PRACTICE

BY JAY UNDERWOOD | JUNDERWOOD@SCOREATL.COM

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eorgia State’s football team is in its last week of spring practice and head coach Trent Miles is happy with the progress the Panthers have made. Miles likes that the team has gone back to basics and has worked hard to improve its fundamentals. He saw this as one of Georgia State’s downfalls late in games last season, when poor tackling allowed for deficits to become insurmountable and a lack run blocking kept the running game from establishing itself.

The main focus in practice has been working on technique to keep players in proper position and using the right footwork for each scenario. Last season the players understood the concepts the coaching staff was presenting, but they did not have the proper technique and fundamentals to execute what was required of them.

OFFENSIVE LINE DEPTH …

Four new players have impressed coaches along the offensive line and have made waves

DIAMOND NOTES …

The Bulldogs baseball team defeated #14 Clemson 6-2 on Tuesday. Patrick Boling tossed a career-high 7.2 innings, giving up five hits, two runs and striking out six. Pete Nagel came on in relief to complete the final inning and 1/3.

Nagel struck out two, while giving up no runs and no hits.

Hunter Cole led the hitting attack with three hits and four RBI. The third baseman hit his second homerun of the season in the first inning to give the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead. Cole would lead a two-out rally in the second inning with a big two-run single that helped UGA gain a 5-0 lead.

Shortstop Nelson Ward contributed with two hits and two RBIs. Ward hit a two-run double during the four-run second inning that essentially sealed the game early for Georgia.

Ward leads the team with 23 RBI this season.

HOOPS RECRUITING COUP …

Coach Mark Fox has been criticized for his inability to recruit big-name players to Athens, but the Bulldogs received good news on Saturday when two highly-regarded players committed to Georgia. Power forward Yante Maten of Bloomfield Hills, Mich., and Fred Iduwe of Birmingham, Ala., each pledged to sign with Georgia. Maten was especially a big pull, as he had offers from Michigan State and Indiana.

Stephen Black contributed to this report.

in practice to garner consideration for the two-deep offensive line depth chart. Freshman Alex Stoehr has progressed more quickly than coaches anticipated and probably will forgo his redshirt and play as a freshman. Junior College transfers Michael Ivory, Taylor Evans and Steve Wolgamott are also alternating between the first and second teams. Ivory and Wolgamott are competing at the two tackle positions and Evans is in the battle for the starting center spot.

Leading tackler Joe Peterson has put on 20 pounds that he is hoping will allow him the ability to shed blocks and finish tackles more effectively this season. Coaches have noticed a big difference in the linebacker during practices and scrimmages.

The final practice of the spring will occur at Panthersville this Saturday as part of Georgia State’s “All Blue, All In Day.” This will be an opportunity for the fans to see the improvements Georgia State has made this spring and see the new faces on the team.

BASEBALL SPLITS …

The baseball team took the middle contest of a three-game series at Arkansas-Little Rock last weekend. In between 14-7 and 9-2 losses, Georgia State survived a 3-2 battle on Saturday. Chase Raffield hit a home run and had two RBIs in the victory. Nathan Bates allowed no earned runs in 6.1 innings of work to get the win, while Kevin Burgee pitched 2.2 innings of relief with just one run surrendered.

The Panthers are hosting Texas-Arlington for a three-game set this weekend.

GEORGIA TECH

JACKETS END SKID, ON FIVE-GAME WINNING STREAK

BY STEPHEN BLACK | SBLACK@SCOREATL.COM

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fter a damaging four-game losing streak that included three losses to ACC-rival Pittsburgh and one to Mercer, the Jackets are back on track. Tech swept Duke over the weekend in Atlanta and dominated Georgia Southern Tuesday after beating Georgia State midweek to end the losing skid.

Daniel Spingola was the hero in two of the games over the weekend. The junior from Roswell hit a homer and had two RBIs in the series-opening 7-4 win, then knocked in the game-winning run in a 1-0 victory in Game 3.

The Jackets trailed 4-0 after three, but rallied behind Spingola’s hitting to take a 7-4 lead after six innings. Matthew Gorst, Jonathan Roberts and Sam Clay combined to shut Duke out in the final five innings of the game.

Matthew Grimes pitched six shutout innings in the third game of the series and improved his record to 4-1. Sam Clay notched his third save.

Game 2 saw A.J. Murray get three hits and knock in three runs and Matt Gonzalez

KENNESAW STATE

FOOTBALL HIRES NEW COACH; SANSING HONORS AARON

BY BRIAN JONES | BJONES@SCOREATL.COM

ennesaw State’s baseball team wanted to K end its road trip on a good note with a series win against Florida Gulf Coast last weekend.

That did not quite happen, but while Florida Gulf Coast won the first game 5-0 and the second 4-3, the Owls were able to salvage the third contest on Sunday with an 11-9 win.

The Owls managed to be productive on offense and take advantage of FGCU mistakes during Sunday’s series finale. KSU tallied 13 hits while the Eagles committed seven errors.

After two innings, the Eagles were up 3-0 and they increased their lead 6-1 after four innings.

The Owls, however, cut the lead to two after the fifth inning thanks to a two-run single by Jacob Bruce. They took the lead in the sixth inning after scoring six runs and that proved to be the difference.

Bruce, Max Pentecost, Chris McGowan and Bo Way each drove in two runs for Kennesaw State. Bruce also tallied three hits and two runs in the win. The Owls are back at home this weekend as they face Stetson for a threegame set.

also had three hits in the 5-1 shellacking of the Blue Devils. Devin Stanton (2-1) earned the win with six innings of shutout ball and four strikeouts.

Tech crushed Georgia Southern 13-2 Tuesday night in Atlanta to extended the winning streak to five. The Jackets scored seven runs in the fifth inning to bury the visiting Eagles. Ben Parr got the win after pitching six innings of one-run ball.

Next up for coach Danny Hall’s team is a weekend series in Atlanta against No. 1 Florida State.

RUNNER HONORED …

Georgia Tech runners have been recognized by the ACC in consecutive weeks after Brandon Lasater placed second in the 800-meter run and anchored the winning 800-meter relay team at the Florida Relays in Gainesville Saturday. Laseter was named ACC Track and Field performer of the week after his outstanding performance. Sprinter Broderick Snoddy won the 100-meter run with a time of 10.28 to win the event at last week’s Yellow Jacket Invitational and was also named Performer of the Week by the league.

SPRING GAME …

Georgia Tech’s football team will host its annual “Friday Night on the Flats” spring game on April 18. The inter-squad game will kick off at 7 p.m. to an ESPN3 audience. Pregame activities will begin at 5 p.m. on campus. After the game, fireworks will light up the sky.

NEW COACH …

Head football coach Brian Bohannon announced last week the hiring of Jim Kiritsy as the director of strength and conditioning. Kiritsy will be responsible for developing a player development program that will achieve three primary goals: injury prevention, athletic performance enhancement and mental discipline development.

“I am very excited to have the opportunity to help build this program with coach Bohannon,” Kiritsy told ksuowls.com. “Starting a program from the ground up is a strength coach’s dream and I look forward to all of the challenges and firsts that we will experience in the next couple years.”

Kiritsy was previously at The Citadel, where he was the associate director of strength and conditioning. He was responsible for coordinating the men’s basketball and wrestling training programs. Before that he spent two seasons at Vermont, where he was the assistant strength and conditioning coach.

SANSING HONORS LEGEND …

Head baseball coach Mike Sansing was at Turner Field on Tuesday to honor Braves legend Hank Aaron’s 40th anniversary his 715th home run. Sansing presented Aaron with specialized number 44 KSU jersey in honor of breaking the home run record. As a matter of fact, Sansing was actually in attendance back on April 8, 1974, when Aaron hit home run No. 715 at Fulton County Stadium.

Vol. 10 Iss. 14 | April 11-17, 2014 ATLANTA HAWKS

HAWKS LIKELY TO CONTINUE PLAYOFF STREAK

BY ROBERT TINTER | RTINTER@SCOREATL.COM

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his week has been an eventful one for the Hawks. They were bumped from the eighth seed by the Knicks after Wednesday’s 105-92 loss at home to the Chicago Bulls, coinciding with the Knicks’ win over cross-town rival Brooklyn. The Hawks had no time to lick their wounds, as they had to hit the floor Friday against Cleveland. The Hawks started fast, scoring 39 points in the first quarter and leading 62-49 at the half. Jeff Teague and Paul Millsap performed to their normal standards, but the story was reserve forward Mike Scott who hit 12-of-13 shots from the field in 20 minutes to score 26 points for the Hawks.

Two days later the Hawks traveled to Eastern Conference-power Indiana. The Hawks carried the momentum from their previous game and held the Pacers to just 23 points in the first half, and just 88 for the game. Jeff Teague’s 25 points led five Hawks in double figures. DeMarre Carroll’s gave a spectacular defensive performance, holding Pacers star Paul George

ATLANTA BRAVES

BRAVES LOSE HOME OPENER TO METS

BY RICKY DIMON | RDIMON@SCOREATL.COM

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he Atlanta Braves fell to 4-3 on the season with a 4-0 loss to the New York Mets in the 2014 Turner Field opener on Tuesday night. Aaron Harang, who picked up a win in a scoreless outing last week at Milwaukee, kept Atlanta in it by allowing only one run on two hits in six innings. His offense, however, could not find the scoreboard despite mustering a respectable eight hits. “[Harang] was good,” manager Fredi Gonzalez told the Atlanta Journal Constitution. “A second outing in a row which he gave us a great opportunity to win the game. He gave up two hits, punched out nine, gave up one run; I don’t think you can ask for much more than that.”

The Braves can ask for more from their hitters after seven games. Atlanta has scored 15 runs as of Wednesday afternoon, which is dead last in the majors. The Braves have crossed the plate a grand total of one time in their three losses.

to just 6-of-17 shooting. The two-game winning streak combined with a second Knicks loss gave the Hawks a two-game lead over the Knicks with just five games remaining for the Hawks and four remaining for the Knicks. Unfortunately, the Hawks could not extend their hold on the eighth seed Tuesday, as they fell to the Pistons 102-95. Former Hawk Josh Smith did not play, but Andre Drummond picked up the slack with 19 points and 17 rebounds.

PLAYOFFS PROJECTION …

With five games left and a 1.5-game lead over the Knicks prior to Wednesday’s showdown with Boston, the Hawks will face Brooklyn and Miami over the weekend. Those two teams have their seeds clinched and may rest some players against the Hawks. Miami has not yet clinched the No. 1 seed, however, Indiana coach Frank Vogel essentially conceded the one seed to the Heat earlier this week.

Heading into the weekend, the Heat may already have the one seed and decide to rest their players as well.

Although it may be unlikely, if a playoff berth came down to the last day, the Hawks would play the worst team in the NBA, the Milwaukee Bucks, and the Knicks would be faced with the Toronto Raptors, who would most likely still be battling for positioning. If you are a Hawks fan, you have to be confident in their chances to clinch their seventh straight playoff appearance.

HONORING AARON …

Prior to Tuesday’s game, the Braves honored Hank Aaron on the 40th anniversary of his 715th home run that broke Babe Ruth’s record.

Aaron received a personalized jersey from each of Atlanta’s professional sports teams and from several local universities. Signs commemorating every one of Aaron’s 715 homers were held up by fans in the outfield. Among the notable attendees were Bobby Cox, John Schuerholz, Arthur Blank, Vince Dooley, Bill Curry, Al Downing (gave up Aaron’s famous blast) and Dusty Baker (was on deck when Aaron hit it).

“I believe Hank Aaron was ideally suited to become Babe Ruth’s heir,” Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig told the crowd.

“He is the living embodiment of the American spirit. When you think of the impact, just like the impact Jackie Robinson had, here was a man breaking the most famous sports record in the world. We were lucky. Baseball was really lucky. You had this thoughtful, sensitive, really decent person [breaking the record]. So we were the ones who were lucky. He is what you hope an icon will be but often isn’t.”

“Hank is a part of our family,” Schuerholz told the team’s website. “He’s the face of our franchise and the face of baseball’s greatness.

You don’t get a chance to honor a man of this magnitude who is a part of your family and your organization very often.”

ATLANTA FALCONS

SECONDARY ADDS TWO POSSIBLE STARTERS

BY CRAIG SAGER II | CSAGER@SCOREATL.COM

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he Falcons added two capable starters to the secondary on Tuesday by signing safety Dwight Lowery and cornerback Josh Wilson.

William Moore, a 2012 Pro Bowler, was previously the only safety on the Falcons’ roster with significant experience and Lowery will add much-needed depth. Lowery is a former 2008 fourth-round pick and he put up solid numbers with Jacksonville after being traded by the Jets in 2011. The 5-11 defensive back has 41 career starts with 217 total tackles, 10 interceptions and 45 passes defensed. Jacksonville released Lowery this past season after he went on injured reserve following starts in the team’s first three games.

Wilson is a former second-round pick (55th overall) by Seattle in the 2006 NFL Draft. His career took him to Baltimore in 2010 before landing down the road with the Washington Redskins for the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons. Wilson has seen action in 102 career games and has 81 starts with 399 career tackles, 14 interceptions, 11 fumble recoveries,

GWINNETT GLADIATORS

GWINNETT FINISHING ECHL SEASON STRONG

BY JOE DEIGHTON | JDEIGHTON@SCOREATL.COM

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he Gwinnett Gladiators came up just short of sweeping a home-and-home with Greenville last week. In the first game at home on Friday, the Gladiators demolished the Road Warriors 7-3. The score was tied 1-1 after the opening period, but the Glads scored three goals in both the second and third to pull away.

Forward Mike Merrifield scored two goals and Eriks Sevcenko tallied four assists to lead Gwinnett to the lopsided win. Merrifield and Sevcenko were acquired by the Gladiators in a trade for fan-favorite Evan Bloodoff and Rob Kwiet back on March 12. In the 11 games since the trade, Merrifield has six goals and five assists. Sevcenko has seven assists.

Of note, when the Gladiators are leading after two periods, their record is 20-0. They did not have the lead after two periods when they traveled to Greenville one day later. The 4-3 contest was competitive in just about every department, with each team putting 34 shots on goal. Dirk Southern scored his 16th goal of

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nine forced fumbles, five sacks and 71 passes defensed. He started all 16 games for Washington last season and posted a career-high 93 tackles. Wilson registered four solo tackles in the Georgia Dome last season during Atlanta’s 27-26 win over the Redskins. The Falcons managed just 189 passing yards that game against Wilson and the Washington secondary.

ON THE GRIND …

Offseason workouts started for seven NFL teams on Monday. Any team that hired a new head coach this offseason was granted a twoweek head start on Phase 1 of the league’s offseason workouts, which includes meetings and conditioning work. Cleveland (Mike Pettine), Detroit (Jim Caldwell), Houston (Bill O’Brien), Minnesota (Mike Zimmer), Tampa Bay (Lovie Smith), Tennessee (Ken Whisenhunt) and Washington (Jay Gruden) are the seven teams with Phase 1 underway. The Falcons’ first day is April 21 and official team activities (OTAs) will be held May 27-29, June 2-4 and June 10-13.

COFFMAN GONE …

Reserve tight end Chase Coffman was informed last Thursday that the Falcons would not offer the five–year pro a new contract. In two seasons with the Falcons, Coffman played behind Tony Gonzalez in 16 regular-season games and caught one pass for 12 yards. Coffman’s postseason highlights included an acrobatic 16-yard catch at the goal line during the 2012 playoff win against the Seahawks.

the year and the Northern Michigan University product now has 38 points for Gwinnett this season. The Glads came up just short of tying the game in the waning moments with their goalie pulled for the sixth attacker.

BACK TO THE WELL …

Defenseman Justin Weller was reassigned to the Gladiators from the AHL’s Portland Pirates last week. Weller played in three games for Portland after being called up on March 8.

The 22-year old appeared in 41 games with Gwinnett this year, scoring two goals and adding seven assists. The Alberta native also has 34 penalty minutes while managing to stay on the plus side with a + 2 rating. The move for Weller also meant the release of defenseman Nolan Descoteaux.

LAST HURRAH …

It has been a long and at times frustrating season in Gwinnett. However, the Glads have been playing their best hockey of the year over the past month and are looking to end the season positively. The team is playing its final two games of the year against Elmira this week at home. Wednesday’s result was not available at press time, while the finale will come on Saturday. The Jackals head into Gwinnett having lost 12 of their last 13 games. These are two games Gwinnett can win and should win for all the fans who have stuck with the team throughout this season.

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