Score Atlanta Vol. 10 Issue 17

Time to look great!

VOLUME 10 ISSUE 17 |

MAY 2-8, 2014

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YOUR SOURCE FOR SPORTS IN GEORGIA

Now Hiring | Pg. 4 Brian Jones breaks down the Falcons’ needs in the upcoming NFL draft.

Soccer Playoffs | Pg. 8 Ricky Dimon breaks down the commencement of the state soccer playoffs.

POSTSEASON PUSH Hawks have Pacers on the run | Pg. 5

THEY’RE ALL INSPIRING. BUT ONLY ONE WILL BE COMEBACK ATHLETE OF THE YEAR. Help choose our Comeback Athlete of the Year. Visit choa.org/vote between May 1-15, 2014, to watch these 8 amazing stories and cast your vote.

©2014 Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Inc. All rights reserved. For official contest rules, visit choa.org/comeback.

Vol. 10 Iss. 17 | May 2-8, 2014

STARTING LINEUP PUBLISHER/EDITOR I.J. Rosenberg

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COLUMNISTS

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ON THE COVER

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INSIDE THE PREPS

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) Paris Freeman (Tech) Paige Morton (GSU

STAFF WRITERS Alex Ewalt

Robert Tinter

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

COVER PHOTOS COURTESY OF JON BARASH, JIMMY CRIBB/ATLANTA FALCONS AND GLENN MARTIN.

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SCORE ATLANTA | www.ScoreAtl.com

A WORD FROM BIG B

FALCONS HAVE PLENTY OF OPTIONS WITH THEIR DRAFT PICKS

BY BRIAN JONES | BJONES@SCOREATL.COM

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e are less than a week away from the 2014 NFL Draft and there’s a lot of anticipation over who will be taken at No. 1, a pick that belongs to the Houston Texans. Mel Kiper and Todd McShay think South Carolina defensive end Jadeveon Clowney will be chosen at No. 1, which would give the Texans a formidable defensive line with Clowney and J.J. Watt.

But the real concern for fans in Atlanta is five picks later, when the Falcons are on the clock. Earlier in the year, the Falcons were pegged by some to get Clowney because of their glaring need at defensive end. But as Clowney’s stock rose, the Falcons’ chances of getting him at No. 6 went from slim to none.

There have been rumors about the Falcons trading up to get Clowney because he

was recently at the team’s facility for a workout. However, that is protocol for the Falcons as they always have prospects coming in and going out of the facility during draft season.

So whom will the Falcons take with their No. 1 pick? Kiper has the Falcons taking Michigan offensive lineman Taylor Lewan while McShay thinks Jake Matthews will be holding a Falcons jersey on Thursday.

If there’s one thing that can be said, the Falcons won’t trade up for any player. As attractive of a prospect as Clowney is, Atlanta has many other needs, which is why both Kiper and McShay have the Falcons selecting an offensive lineman. Also another factor into why the Falcons won’t trade up is they will need their draft picks. The Falcons have 10 this year

DIMON CLUB

MOTLEY CREW OF BRAVES GOES DOWN HARD IN LOSS TO MARLINS

BY RICKY DIMON | RDIMON@SCOREATL.COM

as an Atlanta Braves game ever been in less doubt than Tuesday’s contest at Miami?

H Well, some might answer in the affirmative— pointing to pretty much any win-or-go-home playoff game since 2000. The Braves never win those. But they simply were not going to reel in the Marlins in this week’s series opener.

For the second time in eight days, Atlanta was faced with a big problem in the form of starting pitcher Jose Fernandez. And the only prescription was not more cowbell. It also wasn’t a lefty-heavy batting order. There was no prescription. Fredi turned in a lineup card that featured Ramiro Pena in for Chris Johnson at third base, Ryan Doumit in for Justin Upton in left field, Jordan Schafer in for B.J. Upton (many would considered that an upgrade, of course) and Tyler Pastornicky in for Dan Ug-

gla at second base (see the Schafer-B.J. comment). The result was a three-hit performance in a 9-0 loss, by far the Braves’ worst of the season.

The lineup may not have worked out but if nothing else, it at least gave four starters an extra day of rest. Atlanta had played 11 games in 12 days after last Sunday’s sweep-clinching win over Cincinnati. Combined with an off day on Monday, half of the team’s starting position players got two straight days on the sidelines.

One month into a 162-game grind, that’s good stuff. And with Freeman having cooled off, it’s not like any of those four had major momentum to be halted.

Fernandez, who has befuddled the Braves with 16 innings of scoreless ball since last Tuesday while allowing just five hits striking

and all should have a legitimate chance to make the team because there are a lot of positions that could be up for grabs once training camp begins.

And with those 10 draft picks, the Falcons can go in different directions when it comes to needs. If they draft a defensive lineman with their first pick, they could get a quality offensive lineman in the second or third round. If they go with an offensive lineman with the No. 6 pick, expect them to draft a defensive end like Auburn’s Dee Ford in the second round.

From there, look for the Falcons to address other needs such as tight end, defensive back and running back. And with their final three or four picks, expect the Falcons to find more depth at their positions of strength such as linebacker and wide receiver.

This will be one of the more interesting drafts for the Falcons. They have plenty of options, but in order to get back in the NFC playoff picture, general manager Thomas Dimitroff and head coach Mike Smith will need to find the right players that fit into the system.

HOW ‘BOUT THEM OWLS? …

The college baseball season is coming to an end and of the four local teams there is one that is looking to make a push into the College

World Series. After a slow start to the season, Kennesaw State has been on fire, having won its last 11 games as of Tuesday. The winning streak is the longest active streak in the NCAA and it’s the longest for the Owls since joining Division I. One of the reasons they have been able to win and win consistently is the play of Max Pentecost, who could be the best college catcher in the country. Pentecost is No. 3 in the nation in hits with 76 as of Wednesday afternoon. He also has a 26-game hitting streak, which is the longest active streak in the nation.

Pentecost’s play has propelled the Owls to becoming one of the best offensive teams in the country. They have 473 hits, which puts them in the top 15 in the NCAA. The Owls have also scored 272 runs, ranking them in the top 50.

The Owls have seven more games remaining on their regular-season schedule before they battle for the Atlantic Sun Championship. While it would be nice to see them win out before they head into the conference tournament, they need to be sure they are healthy so they don’t fall short like they did last season.

Photo courtesy of the Atlanta Falcons.

out 22, is to Atlanta what basically the entire Atlanta team is to Washington. The Braves are 17-6 this season against starters not named Jose Fernandez, including 5-1 against the Nationals. Fortunately, the Braves do not have to see him again until May 30 at the absolute earliest. In the meantime, a well-rested and inform Atlanta club should be on course for a lot more winning.

CRAZY EIGHTS …

Whether the Hawks won or lost Game 6 on Thursday (results were not available at press time), it’s worth taking a look at the history of No. 8 seeds upsetting No. 1 seeds in the NBA playoffs. After all, either Atlanta has already pulled off the feat at Indiana’s expense or it has a chance to finish the job on Saturday at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

Only five No. 8 seeds have accomplished the feat, including just three in best-of-seven series. Denver became the first to do it in 1994, when Dikembe Mutombo was left famously clutching the ball in delight after his team knocked out Seattle in five games. New York stunned rival Miami in five games en route to its surprise appearance in the 1999 NBA Finals.

Golden State (over Dallas in 2007) was the first to do it since the elongation of openinground series before Memphis (over San Antonio in 2011) and Philadelphia (over Chicago

in 2012) followed suit. An interesting fact that perhaps boded well for the Hawks heading into Thursday’s tilt is that all three teams who have scored the No. 8 over No. 1 stunner in best-ofseven series have done it in six games.

Would Atlanta beating Indiana constitute the biggest upset of them all? Probably not. It’s hard to top the Nuggets, since they were the first and proved something to a whole host of doubters who thought it might never be done.

They also finished 21 games behind Seattle, compared to the Hawks coming in 18 games back of the Pacers. The Warriors found themselves an outrageous 25 games south of Dallas in ‘07. This would, however, be bigger than New York over Miami (six-game difference in a strike-shortened season), Memphis over San Antonio (15-game difference) and Philly over Chicago (15-game difference and Derrick Rose suffered a torn ACL in Game 1). Interestingly, the Hawks would be the first No. 8 seed with a losing record to win a playoff series in NBA history.

Missing out a lottery pick may have been a bitter pill to swallow, but making history would make it all worth it—especially when the reward is a conference semifinal date with a mediocre Washington squad.

Photo courtesy of Pouya Dianat/Atlanta Braves.

Vol. 10 Iss. 17 | May 2-8, 2014 in the pre-playoff discussions but Budenholzer’s resilient bunch owns plenty of confidence.

“This has been a resilient team all season,” explained Budenholzer. “All year they have battled and bounced back and they are confident with their ability to stick together as a team.”

ON THE COVER

HAWKS PLAYOFFS

HAWKS’ FUTURE SHINES BRIGHT IN 2014 PLAYOFFS

BY CRAIG SAGER II | CSAGER@SCOREATL.COM

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or a seventh consecutive season, the Hawks found themselves in the postseason. However, this year’s Atlanta team arrived with a much different look and philosophy than in previous years. With a 38-44 record, the Hawks were the only team entering this year’s NBA playoffs with a record below .500. First-time head coach Mike Budenholzer was making his postseason debut at the top of the totem pole after spending the previous 17 seasons (19962013) as an assistant to three-time NBA Coach of the Year and Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich. Atlanta’s only game-to-game returning starter from 2013’s playoff lineup was Jeff Teague and the bench for the most part starred a completely new cast as well.

Atlanta Hawks fans understood the challenges that this newly-built team faced in its first season together and the fans were content with the level of success seen during the regular season. In fact, a couple weeks ago it was open debate in the city whether the Hawks

should even try to make the playoffs. No way could this battered team play with the topseeded Pacers or two-time defending champion Heat in the first round and they were better off tanking and hoping for a good draw in the Draft Lottery. That was the logic, and its not surprising considering the previous six seasons of underachievement and abrupt postseason exits this fan base saw.

The Hawks had to claw their way into the 2014 postseason. A losing skid from Feb. 2-March 8 hit the Hawks hard and saw them lose 14-of-15 games while sinking to 26-35 (nine games under .500). Atlanta had to win 12 of its next 19 games to even earn the No. 8 seed over the New York Knicks and a spot in the playoffs. The resiliency this team showed during this span proved the team was heading in the right direction and Paul Millsap’s breakout season and first trip to the All-Star game was also something for fans hang their hats on.

A series win over the No. 1 Pacers was not

MESSAGE SENT …

In Game 1 of the best-of-seven series, Atlanta made an early statement. The Hawks only had one previous road win all year over a team with a record or higher than .600 and it was the Pacers earlier that month (107-88 on April 6). Jeff Teague netted a game-high 28 points and Atlanta took Game 1 101-93 to carry Indiana’s late-season swoon into the postseason. The Pacers took Game 2 101-85, but were exposed by this balanced Hawks team throughout Games 3-5. The Hawks continued to look like the No. 1 seed while the Pacers continued to spiraled downward.

“I give Atlanta all the credit in the world,” said TNT analyst Charles Barkley after the Hawks’ Game 5 win. “But this is one of the worst collapses I have ever seen.”

Indiana has obvious issues going on with team chemistry but the Hawks’ new system and toughness this postseason has only made things more worse for Pacers head coach Frank Vogel’s squad.

SHOCK THE WORLD …

In 2013, Indiana opened the series 2-0 but Atlanta would tie it 2-2 after consecutive home wins. In Games 5 and 6 the Hawks trembled under the postseason pressure and the Pacers cruised to lopsided victories of 106-83 and 8173 to end Atlanta’s season.

All five 2013 Pacers starters (David West, Paul George, Roy Hibbert, George Hill and Lance Stephenson) are healthy and returned for this year’s 2014 playoffs.

The Hawks’ new cast of players has attacked Indiana’s returning starters with a barrage of three-pointers fueled by good ball movement and Paul Millsap’s physical post-play and versatility on the floor. When Hawks and Pacers faced in the first round of the 2013 playoffs, Atlanta averaged 6.3 made

5

three-pointers per game. Through the first five games of this year’s series, Atlanta had almost doubled that mark with a franchise record pace at 11.8 made three-pointers a game. Atlanta is shooting more threes than any playoff team this year and is the only team averaging more than 10 makes per game.

Paul Millsap, DeMarre Carroll, Pero Antic, Jeff Teague, Kyle Korver, Mike Scott and Shelvin Mack are each attempting more than three deep balls a game and seven players are averaging 8.4 points per game or higher this series.

STOPPING THE THREE …

Indiana’s offense has not been fluid this series and the defensive side of the ball has been an even bigger issue for the Pacers. This is a team that is supposed to be built around the interior presence of 7-foot-2 center Roy Hibbert. According to Vogel, “Hibbert is our anchor and we won 56 regular season games with him,” but that blueprint has been not worked this postseason Pacers all-star Paul George addressed the defensive problem in guarding the Hawks’ shooters after Game 5.

“We are a team that is used to playing big,” admitted George. “Atlanta has five guys on the court at all times that can all play the perimeter and that is difficult.”

When Indiana is guarding the threepointer, Paul Millsap is able to beat guys in the post down low. Atlanta has flipped the Pacers’ philosophy inside-out this series and sent them out of their comfort zone.

In 2013, Hibbert dominated the Hawks with 14.66 points per game and 8.83 rebounds.

This year, Hibbert is averaging 4.8 points per game and 3.4 rebounds through the first five games of the series, including a 0-point, 0-rebound performance in Game 5.

The basketball world is witnessing two franchises go in different directions. As the Pacers sit on the cusp of an offseason filled with more questions than answers, the Hawks have their answers and the pieces to continue building.

Photos courtesy of Jon Barash.

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Hawks Bench

Lambert Baseball

Adam Silver

The Hawks took a 3-2 series lead over Indiana largely due to their bench. In Game 5, the Hawks got 45 points from their bench on 14-of-25 shooting, including 7-of-11 from beyond the arc. Shelvin Mack led the bench with 20 points, and Mike Scott had 17 points including five three-pointers in the Hawks’ 41-point second quarter.

The Longhorns enter the Friday’s state playoffs at home against Dacula with a 26-0 overall record and a 14-0 region record. Five of those victories came against teams ranked throughout the state, and 10 of the 26 victories were by double-digit runs. MaxPreps has Lambert ranked as the second-best team in the nation.

In just his third month on the job, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver banned Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling for life after a recording was released over the weekend presenting Sterling’s raciallycharged views. Silver also asked the owners to exercise their right to force Sterling to sell his team. This decision was met with universal praise.

SCORE LIST

By Brian Jones

DRAFT DAY

The NFL Draft will take place next Thursday and the Falcons have a lot of decisions that need to be made.

They have the No. 6 pick and have a chance to select an elite offensive or defensive lineman or an elite defensive lineman. They could also trade up or trade down, which would make things real interesting.

SOARING HAWKS

Regardless of what happened on Thursday, the Hawks deserve a lot of credit for taking on Indiana and pushing the No. 1 seed to the limit. Jeff Teague and Paul Millsap have played lights out and their defense has frustrated the Pacers all series long. Can we make a push for Danny Ferry for Executive of the Year?

KEEPING JULIO

The Falcons have exercised the fifth-year option on Julio Jones and he will remain under contract until the end of the 2015 season. Jones is coming off a season-ending foot injury and is expected to be one of the top receivers in the game in 2014. This is no surprise to anyone, but the question now is when will he sign a long-term deal?

HIDALGO TO GLYNN

Former Walton football head coach Rocky Hidalgo has decided to move on and will now be the head coach at Glynn Academy. Hidalgo led the Raiders to a Class AAAAA Championship appearance in 2011 and won 40 games in five seasons. Good luck, coach Hidalgo, and I’m sure you will have success in Brunswick!

PLAYOFF BASEBALL

The high school baseball playoffs will kick off this weekend and Score will be all over it. There will be 192 games played on Friday and we’ll will have every score for you on ScoreAtl.com and AJC.com. If you want to report a score, call us at 404-246-1572 or send us a tweet at @scoreatlanta.

WHO’S NOT

By Robert Tinter

WHO’S HOT

SCORE ATLANTA | www.ScoreAtl.com

Chris Johnson

Donald Sterling

GA Tech Baseball

The Stetson University product is hitting just .077 with an on-base percentage of .200 in the past five games. He has one hit and four strikeouts in 13 at-bats. Johnson, who batted .321 in his first year with the Braves, has seen his average drop to .239, which is 17 points lower than it was last week.

The Los Angeles Clippers owner received a lifetime ban from the NBA on Tuesday. Sterling was recorded saying racist comments. Sterling has a history of racial discrimination and it finally caught up to him. The longest-tenured owner in the NBA, Sterling may be forced to sell his team. There is no place for racism in the NBA or the world.

The Yellow Jackets lost three out of four games last week including at home against instate opponent Mercer. In their three-game series against conference foe North Carolina State, the Yellow Jackets scored one total run. This series was the second series in a row the Jackets have lost and they now hold a 12-12 ACC conference record.

NUMBERS

OUR TWO CENTS

By Stephen Black

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 HAWKS WON TWO GAMES OR MORE ON THE ROAD IN A PLAYOFF SERIES? ANSWER ON PAGE 14

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SANITY AT LAST

“We can play with this team. They’re a great team, especially at home, great players, great coach, but we have a belief in ourselves as well”

Hawks guard Mike Scott after a Game 5 win in Indianapolis.

0 55.6

NBA teams besides the Hawks to have made 10 or more three-pointers in each playoff game thus far The Hawks’ three-point shooting percentage in Game 5

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Playoff wins by Atlanta in its series against Indiana, most by any Hawks team in a series since 2011

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Hawks playoff wins at Indianapolis this series

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Hawks playoff wins at Indy in last year’s first-round series

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Made three-pointers by the Hawks in the second quarter of Game 5, tying an NBA playoff record

29

Combined made three-pointers by the Hawks and Pacers in Game 5, the second-most in the history of the league

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Points by Mike Scott in the second quarter of Game 5, a career high in any quarter

SOCCER PLAYOFFS

GAC GIRLS LOOK TO SEND COACH OUT ON TOP

BY RICKY DIMON | RDIMON@SCOREATL.COM

T

he Greater Atlanta Christian girls are ranked No. 1 in Class AA and are arguably one of the best teams in the nation. At least on paper, the stars have aligned for the Spartans to send head coach Troy Bendickson out with a state championship. Last week, Bendickson announced his resignation as coach and dean of students, effective at the end the school year. He is moving to Davenport, Iowa to continue a Christian ministry started by his late father.

“He has certainly been an outstanding role model for his players in his years in the GAC girls soccer program,” school athletic director Tim Vick said in a press release. “We are currently involved in an extensive search for the next great leader.”

Bendickson led Greater Atlanta Christian to a state title in 2012 and he is looking to go

one step further than last year with his team after it finished runner-up in 2013. The Spartans look poised to do just that after wrapping up the regular season on a nine-game winning streak by beating third-ranked Westminster 2-0 on April 22. They have gone unblemished since March 4 at Lovett, a loss that was avenged with a 2-0 win on April 17. Greater Atlanta Christian will host Social Circle in the first round of the playoffs. Region 6 rivals Lovett and Westminster are on the other side of the bracket and could face each other in the semifinals for the possible right to battle the Spartans for the championship.

BOYS ACTION …

Although there were more than a few postponements, the arrival of thunderstorms held off just long enough for state tourna-

ment action to get underway on Tuesday evening. Every one of the top five teams in Class AAAAAA booked their spots in the second round. Top-ranked Brookwood beat South Forsyth 3-0 and now appears to have a tough match on its hands against No. 5 Lassiter, which got the best of Peachtree Ridge 4-2. No. 2 Mill Creek blanked Woodstock 3-0, No. 3 Campbell cruised past Alcovy 5-0 and No. 4 Walton defeated Norcross 3-1.

Chamblee endured an eventful, up-anddown conclusion to its 2014 campaign. The Bulldogs edged Grady for the Region 6-AAAA championship last week with a 1-0 victory in which Liam Ferguson notched the game’s only goal. Freshman goalie Brian Roblero preserved the shutout win with a diving stop of a Grady free kick during second-half action. Despite being the region’s top seed, however, Chamblee saw its season come an abrupt end on Tuesday. Lumpkin County, the No. 4 seed from Region 8, took down the host Bulldogs 2-1.

Winners in Class AAAAA were Greenbrier, Gainesville and Allatoona. Second-ranked Greenbrier and No. 6 Gainesville scored respective home victories over Forest Park and Tucker. Allatoona, the third seed from Region 5, went on the road to beat Pope 2-1. Both Allatoona and Pope scored goals in the first 16 minutes of the game before Gavin McCook

regained the lead for the visiting Buccaneers by delivering the eventual winner in the 77th minute with a header. They will go up against Lakeside-DeKalb or Apalachee for a place in the quarterfinals.

The Class AA proceedings will get underway on Wednesday, but one of the top three teams in the state will be knocked out prior to the quarterfinals. No. 2 Calhoun and No. 3 Westminster are on a collision course for the second round. The Yellow Jackets wrapped up their regular season undefeated with a 5-0 win over Morris Innovative last week and they will begin their playoff push against Jordan. The Wildcats, who landed the second seed out of powerhouse Region 6 behind Greater Atlanta Christian, are hosting Riverside Military.

In Class A, the No. 1 seeds from each of the eight areas have byes straight through to the second round. Paideia is not among them, but the Pythons upset then-No. 1 Atlanta International School 4-2 last Wednesday. The Eagles still snagged the top spot in Area 5, while Paideia finished second and will pay a first-round visit to Lakeview Academy. Atlanta International School awaits either Darlington or Holy Innocents’ for its state tournament opener.

Photos courtesy of Glenn Martin Photography, Richard Craine, Warren Bond and Mike Kelly.

Score Atlanta/AJC Lacrosse Rankings BOYS

GIRLS

Class AAAAAA

Class AAAAA-A

1.............................. Milton 2.......................... Harrison 3............................Roswell 4....................Johns Creek 5...........................Lambert

1....................Westminster 2........................Northview 3...............................Lovett 4............................Decatur 5.............................. Marist

6.......................Centennial 7................North Gwinnett 8................Chattahoochee 9............................. Walton 10........... Peachtree Ridge

6..................................GAC 7................ Blessed Trinity 8......................... Allatoona 9......................... McIntosh 10.......................St. Pius X

Class AAAAAA

Class AAAAA-A

1.............................. Milton 2........................... Lassiter 3................Chattahoochee 4............................. Walton 5.............................Etowah

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

6................... West Forsyth 7.......................Centennial 8....................Johns Creek 9........................Mill Creek 10........................ Harrison

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

Vol. 10 Iss. 17 | May 2-8, 2014

Score Atlanta/AJC Soccer Rankings

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

Class AAAAA 1................. Whitewater 2.....................Allatoona 3.................. Greenbrier 4.................. Gainesville 5.......... Houston County

1.................Pike County 2......................... Buford 3............. Pierce County 4..................... Thomson 5.....................St. Pius X

6............Blessed Trinity 7..................... Callaway 8....................North Hall 9................. Cartersville 10....................Ringgold

Class AA 6...................Dunwoody 7................... Loganville 8...........................Rome 9.....................McIntosh 10................Sprayberry

1.....................Jefferson 2....................... Bremen 3.................Benedictine 4.......................Calhoun 5............................Cook

6....................Fitzgerald 7............... Westminster 8........................Berrien 9.............. Union County 10.................. Jeff Davis

Class A

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

AAAAAA Boys

Class AAA 6................ East Coweta 7......... Peachtree Ridge 8...Kennesaw Mountain 9...................Tift County 10...................... Etowah

6.............. Worth County 7....................Carrollton 8..........................Griffin 9......................Veterans 10..Northwest Whitfield

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

6.................Hebron Chr. 7..George Walton Acad.

8.............Schley County 9................. Gordon Lee 10............... Brookstone

1..................... Brookwood 2....................... Mill Creek 3........................ Campbell 4.............................Walton 5...........................Lassiter 6.............. Douglas County 7.............Central Gwinnett 8............................. Duluth 9.......................... Lambert 10...........Peachtree Ridge

AAAAA Boys

1.........................McIntosh 2......................Greenbrier 3.............. Glynn Academy 4................ Clarke Central 5........... Lakeside-DeKalb 6......................Gainesville 7...................... Starr’s Mill 8...................... Riverwood 9.............. Houston County 10................ North Atlanta

AAAA Boys

1..............................Dalton 2......Johnson-Gainesville 3......................... Spalding 4....................... Chamblee 5.............................. Grady 6........Southeast Whitfield 7........................LaGrange 8...............................Perry 9.......................Jonesboro 10..................... Columbus

AAA Boys

1......Woodward Academy 2........................ St. Pius X 3.....................Cartersville 4...............Dawson County 5............... Oconee County 6.........................West Hall 7...............Coahulla Creek 8..................North Murray 9........................North Hall 10............Jackson County

AA Boys

1................................. GAC 2...........................Calhoun 3................... Westminster 4......... Westside-Augusta 5........................ Jefferson 6...........................Bremen 7................Murray County 8.......................... Spencer 9...............Toombs County 10............................Coosa

A Boys

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

AAAAAA Girls

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

AAAAA Girls

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

AAAA Girls

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

AAA Girls

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

AA Girls

1................................. GAC 2..............................Lovett 3................... Westminster 4...........................Calhoun 5.......................Armuchee 6....................St. Vincent’s 7.............................Vidalia 8........................ Wesleyan 9........................ Jefferson 10...........................Jordan

A Girls

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UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA

MEN’S TENNIS HOPING TO CAPITALIZE ON HOME COURT

BY JOE DEIGHTON | JDEIGHTON@SCOREATL.COM

T

he Georgia men’s tennis team received a No. 10 seed in the upcoming NCAA tournament and will host the first and second rounds in Athens on May 10-11. UGA will play Jacksonville State in the opening round, while Oregon and N.C. State will square off in the other firstround match. Head coach Manny Diaz was glad to hear that the team is staying at home for the first two rounds—and beyond.

“We are certainly excited about all the great tennis that’s going to be played here in Athens,” Diaz told the team website, also referring to the fact that the round of 16 through the final will also be hosted entirely by the Bulldogs. “To host the regional is a feather in our camp. We were sort of anticipating the No. 10 seed. I thought we had a great regular season, but we had more losses than in recent years.

There are so many great teams capable of winning the championship and I believe we are one of them.”

Diaz is in his 26th year as head coach and

GEORGIA STATE

SOFTBALL WINS SERIES; COLEMAN PLAYER OF THE WEEK

BY PAIGE MORTON | PMORTON@SCOREATL.COM

eorgia State’s softball team fell at LouisianaG Monroe 1-0 on Sunday. After holding off the Warhawks for seven innings, Georgia State allowed them to score on an error in the bottom of the eighth inning. The Panthers’ Kaitlyn Medlam is now 18-11 for the season after giving up just the one unearned run while scattering six hits.

GSU is currently 28-24 overall and 10-8 in the Sun Belt Conference.

Despite the loss, the Panthers still took two of three games against UL-Monroe and individual performers were able to shine.

First baseman Lauren Coleman was named Co-Player of the Week by the Sun Belt and Medlam was recognized as the Pitcher of the Week. Georgia State will return to action this weekend for a three-game home series against Western Kentucky, concluding with a doubleheader on Saturday.

BASEBALL TAKES SERIES …

The baseball team is 21-24 and 7-14 in the conference after falling to visiting Arkansas

this will be the 31st consecutive NCAA tournament appearance for Georgia. The Bulldogs are looking to add their seventh NCAA title.

DIAMOND NOTES …

The Bulldogs baseball team had a tough matchup with nationally-ranked Vanderbilt last weekend and it was handed three losses by the Commodores. Mike Bell had the lone RBI for UGA in a 6-1 loss in Sunday’s series finale. Bell was also the only Bulldog with two hits on the day. Junior outfielder Hunter Cole continues to lead the team with a .314 average and ranks second with 24 RBIs in 44 games.

Georgia has another difficult test on its hands against South Carolina this weekend in Athens.

The Bulldogs will be looking to stop an eightgame losing streak that has dropped their record to 21-22 overall this season.

SEC STORIED …

UGA gymnastics is one of the most storied programs in all of college athletics and the Gym Dogs will be featured in the next ESPN SEC Storied show this week. The documentary will focus on the rivalry between head coach Suzanne Yoculan and Alabama head coach Sarah Patterson. UGA and Alabama have combined for 16 NCAA titles and 24 SEC championships. The title of the program, set to air on ESPNU, is “Sarah & Suzanne.”

State 10-6 last Sunday. Arkansas State broke the game open with eight runs in the top of the seventh inning. Georgia State scored twice in the bottom of the eighth to cut into the deficit after trailing 10-4, but it could get no closer.

Still, the Panthers won two of the three games against the Red Wolves. Nic Wilson hit his 13th home run of the season during the series, while Chris Triplett had a career-high four hits in the finale. Georgia State will begin its final home series of the regular season this Friday at 6 p.m. against South Alabama.

SEASON ENDS, RECORDS SET …

The sand volleyball team ended its season last weekend in Birmingham, Ala. with a 3-2 loss to Alabama-Birmingham followed by a 5-0 win over Tulane. Overall, the Panthers finished their 2014 campaign with a record of 14-5 and they are ranked in the top 10 in the AVCA national poll. This was just the second season for the Georgia State sand volleyball team.

On the track, three school records were broken this past week at the Coach “O” Invitational hosted by Troy University. All records broken were by freshmen field-event athletes.

Alysiah Whittaker broke the shot-put record with a throw of 15.20 meters. Kelsey Gray improved upon her own javelin mark with a toss of 34.5 meters. In the hammer, LaPorscha Well set the record at 50.72 meters. To go along with the broken records, the Panthers had 11 first-place finishes in total.

GEORGIA TECH

BASEBALL, SOFTBALL TEAMS TAKE SERIES LOSSES

BY PARIS FREEMAN | PFREEMAN@SCOREATL.COM

G

eorgia Tech’s baseball team went on a three-game road trip to Raleigh N.C. to face North Carolina State last weekend. The Yellow Jackets won the first game on Friday 1-0 with an RBI single from Matt Gonzalez. Things took a turn, however, during the second game.

Those ended with respective 1-0 and 7-1 losses for Tech. The team faces Virginia Tech in Atlanta for a three-game series starting on Friday.

In other news, freshman Connor Justus was named to the Brooks Wallace Award watch list for best shortstops in college baseball.

After an 8-0 win at Kennesaw State last Wednesday, Georgia Tech’s softball team had a three-game road series against Florida State over the weekend. The Lady Yellow Jackets were swept by the sixth-ranked Seminoles as the Jackets lost the three games by 5-1, 4-0 and 3-0 margins. Tech ends the regular season 23-23 overall and 11-17 in conference action.

KENNESAW STATE

BASEBALL STILL ON FIRE; SOFTBALL FINISHES REGULAR SEASON

BY BRIAN JONES | BJONES@SCOREATL.COM

W

inning three straight games is good for any baseball team. Winning five straight is excellent. But the Owls have won 11straight games as of Tuesday, which puts them on another level.

In fact, their 11 victories in succession give them the longest active streak in the NCAA. Last weekend, the Owls traveled to East Tennessee State for a three-game set. They won the first game 9-6, the second game 9-5 and the final game 9-8. A victory in finale, which was played on Sunday, gave the Owls their 11th consecutive win as well as their third consecutive conference series win. They were able to come out on top on Sunday with the help of Chris McGowan, who hit a two-run home run in the top of ninth inning to lift Kennesaw State. The homer was the third for McGowan this season and it was also his third hit of the day. His team tallied 14 hits in total.

The victory also gave the Owls their 11th

NEWS AND NOTES …

The Georgia Tech men’s track and field team comes in at No. 23 in the latest U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) rankings this week. Last weekend, both men and women’s teams competed in the Penn Relays in Philadelphia, Pa. They were still awaiting the final scores of the competition as of Wednesday afternoon. Next month, the track and field teams have the Georgia Invitational and the Virginia Challenge on their schedules.

Tech’s golf team carried momentum from its April 19 win in the Capital City Club Match Play Championship over Auburn and Georgia into last weekend’s ACC Championships and won its 15th title in school history. The secondranked Yellow Jackets captured their 10th ACC title under head coach Bruce Heppler. Ollie Schniederjans shot a 3-under par on Sunday, which helped the team clinch the championship and made him the first Georgia Tech golfer to win five tournaments in one year. The team takes its championship-level play into the NCAA Championship starting on May 15.

During the ACC tournament quarterfinals, the No. 20 Georgia Tech women’s tennis team fell to No. 7 Virginia. “We lost a very tough one today to a very good Virginia team,” head coach Rodney Harmon told the school’s website. The men’s tennis team lost in the opening round of the ACC tournament to N.C. State. Both teams now look ahead to focus on the NCAA Championship starting in early May.

conference win of the season and they now have an 11-9 record in the Atlantic Sun. They are 4.5 games out of first place, which is held

by Mercer. Kennesaw State has this weekend off and it will be back in action next Friday when it travels to Northern Kentucky for a three-game series.

REGULAR SEASON OVER …

The softball team ended its regular season last Sunday with a 4-1 win over ETSU at Bailey Park. East Tennessee State opened the scoring in the second inning, but the Owls soon turned the tide. In the bottom of the second, the Owls tied the game at 1-1 when Missy Perkowski drove in Kara Chambers from second base. They broke the tie in the third inning when Natalie Rhodes drove in Sara Sikes from third base. They scored again later in that inning when Rhodes came home after a sacrifice fly from Megan Veringa. Starting pitcher Paige Matthews earned her fifth win of the season.

She allowed only one run on two hits and struck out four in the complete-game effort.

The win gave the Owls the No. 5 seed in the Atlantic Sun Conference Championship, which will take place next weekend at Lipscomb. The Owls finish the regular season with a 24-27 overall record and 13-12 record in the conference.

Vol. 10 Iss. 17 | May 2-8, 2014 ATLANTA HAWKS

HAWKS MAKE POSTSEASON NOISE

BY CRAIG SAGER II | CSAGER@SCOREATL.COM

T

he Pacers evened up the series 2-2 in Atlanta on Saturday with a 91-88 win, but the Hawks reclaimed the series lead (3-2) in Monday’s 107-97 Game 5 win at Indiana. After the Game 4 loss, Hawks head coach Mike Budenholzer addressed his team’s need to be more aggressive in the shot-clock.

“I think at times the ball movement wasn’t what we expected,” admitted Budenholzer after Saturday’s defeat. “I think we need to attack earlier and be more aggressive earlier and move the ball better and hopefully avoid late clock situations.”

The ball was moving much quicker in Game 5 and Atlanta was attacking the Pacers’ defense early in the shot clock. The Hawks trailed 21-20 after the first quarter but caught fire and outscored Indiana 41-19 in the second quarter to take a 61-40 halftime lead. The 41-point quarter was a franchise playoff-record and so were the 10 made threes in the first half.

Shelvin Mack hit four free-throws in the final

ATLANTA BRAVES

BRAVES PRECEDE LOSS TO FERNANDEZ WITH SWEEP OF REDS

BY RICKY DIMON | RDIMON@SCOREATL.COM

T

he Braves own the second-best record in baseball at 17-8 as of Wednesday afternoon and they are showing no signs of slowing down.

Atlanta has won four of its last five games and it is 5-0 in its last five against opposing starters not named Jose Fernandez. Atlanta’s only two losses since April 20 have come against Fernandez, Miami’s 21-year-old ace who is 4-1 with a 1.59 ERA to go along with an amazing 55 strikeouts in 39.2 innings. He beat the Braves 1-0 last Tuesday and 9-0 this Tuesday.

The more recent setback, however, was preceded by a home sweep of Cincinnati. Atlanta won two of those three games by one run, 5-4 last Friday and 1-0 in 10 innings last Sunday. Freddie Freeman delivered a walk-off liner in the right-field gap with two outs in the 10th to score Jason Heyward from second and clinch the finale.

MINOR ADJUSTMENT …

Mike Minor is in. David Hale is out. When

minute of the game and DeMarre Carroll made a dunk off of a Jeff Teague assist to close the Pacers out. Paul Millsap netted 18 points to go with eight rebounds, four blocks and three assists, Scott finished with 17 points and Kyle Korver added 16 points while shooting 5-of-10 from long range.

SHOOTING RANGE …

Heading into Game 5, Atlanta was the only team in this year’s playoffs to hit doubledigit three pointers in each of its games and, thanks to five Mike Scott deep-balls in the first half, they were on record pace early. Atlanta’s bench came up huge and outscored the Pacers’ bench 34-2 in the opening half.

The Pacers are the top seed in the Eastern Conference and many are seeing this series and the Pacers’ downward spiral as one of the bigger collapses in NBA history. Indiana’s deficit in the much-needed Game 5 grew to as much as 30 and many analysts questioned the mentality of this team.

Former NBA coach George Karl noted earlier this week. “If I was coach [of the Pacers] I would try to fix the attitude first and worry about the X’s and O’s later.”

First-round series that feature a No. 1 vs.

No. 8 seed do not usually attract this type of attention, but the way the Hawks are playing this postseason has made it one of the most talked about and watched matchups.

guys like Minor and Gavin Floyd returned from injury, there was always going to be an excess of starting pitching with the rotation so on fire to begin the season. To the surprise of surely no one, Hale—at least for the time being—is the odd man out. While Floyd still could be a month away from a post-Tommy John surgery comeback, Minor is ready to rejoin the Braves following a case of shoulder soreness. Manager Fredi Gonzalez announced on Tuesday that Minor will start on Friday at Turner Field against San Francisco while Hale will head to the bullpen. “(Hale) knew the circumstances going in, but he is a guy that is versatile,” Gonzalez told the Atlanta Journal Constitution. “He can do the bullpen stuff. He did a terrific job; unbelievable job to step in. Minor is a guy that was outstanding for us for the last two and a half years, so it was just a matter of time.”

The southpaw went 11-10 with a 4.12 ERA in 2012, his first full year in the majors. Last season, Minor compiled a 13-9 record and a stellar 3.21 ERA while leading the Braves with 204.2 innings pitched and 181 strikeouts. He recently made five rehab starts in the minors, sporting a 2-2 record and a 4.43 ERA. Hale, meanwhile, is 1-0 this season with a 2.31 ERA in four starts. Last Saturday against the Reds he allowed just one run on two hits—none after the first inning—in a 4-1 victory.

ATLANTA FALCONS

DRAFT DAY APPROACHES; JONES EXTENDED

BY CRAIG SAGER II | CSAGER@SCOREATL.COM

F

rom months to weeks and now to days, the 2014 NFL Draft is less than a week away (May 8-11). Atlanta holds the No. 6 pick of the draft and a total of 10 picks this year. Understandably, there is a lot of pressure on Atlanta in terms of what it should do at No. 6.

First-rounders are the best way to bolster a roster each offseason season and Atlanta has found incredible talent in past drafts with its first-round selections. Ring of honor members Steve Bartkowski, Gerald Riggs and Deion Sanders along with current Falcons Roddy White, Sean Weatherspoon, Matt Ryan, Julio Jones and Desmond Trufant were all firstround picks by the team.

GO BIG …

In the past 22 years, the Falcons have spent just one first-round pick on an offensive lineman (Sam Baker in 2008) and that pick came in a year in which Atlanta had two firstround picks and grabbed Matt Ryan 18 spots

ATLANTA DREAM

DREAM ADD THREE IN WNBA DRAFT

BY JOE DEIGHTON | JDEIGHTON@SCOREATL.COM

he Atlanta Dream had three picks in the T 2014 WNBA Draft on April 14 and they used them wisely. With the eighth pick, the

Dream chose Shoni Schimmel, a guard out of the University of Louisville. Schimmel was one of the greatest three-point shooters in the history of women’s college basketball over the course of her four years with the Cardinals. She ranks fifth in NCAA Division 1 history with 387 career three-pointers. The record is 392.

Schimmel was the Wooden Award winner as player of the year during her senior season after averaging 17.4 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game. In addition to earning player of the year honors for the 2013-14 regular season, Schimmel also had a big postseason as a junior. She was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Oklahoma City Regional in 2013 and led the Cardinals to the NCAA championship game.

COOP IS HAPPY …

Head coach Michael Cooper is already contemplating how Schimmel will fit with the

13

earlier as the No. 3 pick of the draft. The rest of the league, meanwhile, has been in a frenzy to take first-round talent in the trenches. In last year’s draft, six of the first seven picks were linemen and five out of the first 10 picks were offensive linemen.

Injuries and free agency diminished the stability of Atlanta’s offensive line last season and the offense lost its firepower and its ability to throw the deep ball consistently without protection for Ryan. In each of Ryan’s first five seasons, Atlanta was in the top 10 in fewest sacks allowed and it ranked in the top five in that category four out of the five years. In 2013, the line allowed 2.8 sacks per game and ranked 28th in the NFL in its pass protection. In the final game of the season against Carolina, Ryan was brought down a career-high nine times.

Atlanta has now surrendered 19 sacks in its last four games against the NFC South champion Panthers.

FIVE ON IT …

Atlanta’s 2011 No. 6 pick, Julio Jones, got a fifth year added to his four-year rookie contract on Wednesday. The three-year pro’s contract will run through the 2015 season. During the year Jones was drafted, the NFL adopted the rookie wage scale that requires all rookies to sign a fouryear contract. Players drafted in the first round can be given an extra year by the team.

Dream’s offense. “We are very excited about Shoni Schimmel coming to Atlanta,” Cooper told the team’s website. “She can play in an up-tempo offense like we play and is a player that can push the tempo and play multiple positions.”

Schimmel was elated to be drafted by a strong team like Atlanta. “I was very happy to hear my name called and the fact that it’s down the road in Atlanta will make the transition even easier,” said Schimmel. “I know Atlanta has a great team and was in the finals last year, and of course I know about Angel (McCoughtry) and what she’s capable of. I watched them play last year and it was awesome, and now I’m getting ready to go practice and play with them. I’m just so excited.”

SECOND-ROUND PICKS …

The 18th and 20th picks were used to draft South Florida guard Inga Orekhova and Southern Cal forward Cassie Harbarts. Like Schimmel, Orekhova is a deadly shooter. During her senior season, Orekhova shot 40.1 percent from three-point range and also 89 percent from the free-throw line in earning SecondTeam All-American Athletic Conference honors. Harbarts was named to the Pac-12 First Team her last two seasons for the Trojans. She finished her senior campaign with averages of 15.4 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. Cooper knows Harbarts well and she should be a good fit for Atlanta this season.

Overall, the Dream got three solid players who should be able to play right away and make this team better immediately.

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