Score Atlanta Vol. 10 Issue 45

Time to look great!

VOLUME 10 ISSUE 45 | DECEMBER 5-11, 2014

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YOUR SOURCE FOR SPORTS IN GEORGIA

THE FINAL COUNTDOWN Peach State Pride | Pg. 4 What’s next for the surging Yellow Jackets.

Inside the Huddle | Pg. 8 Previews of every semifinal matchup.

Georgia’s 28 semifinalists clash for spot in the finals. | Pg. 5

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Vol. 10 Iss. 45 | December 5-11, 2014

STARTING LINEUP PUBLISHER/EDITOR I.J. Rosenberg

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COLUMNISTS

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ON THE COVER

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PREP COVER

ART/CREATIVE DIRECTOR DJ Galbiati Blalock

MANAGING EDITOR Craig Sager II

MARKETING/ Lauren Goldstein PARTNERSHIP DIRECTOR

BUSINESS MANAGER Marvin Botnick BEAT WRITERS Ricky Dimon (Braves)

Matthew Cason (Tech) Brian Jones (KSU) Dan Mathews (UGA)

Craig Sager II (Falcons)

Kyle Sandy (Hawks, GSU,

Gladiators)

STAFF WRITERS Jalisa Smith

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that wanted Johnson’s head on a platter want a contract extension served to him, which is currently in discussion as of Monday according to Jeff Schultz from the Atlanta Journal Constitution. Not many coaches can possess a cast that Johnson has and see them come out of the trials and tribulations underwent to go 10-2, but that it is the greatness of the Georgia Tech head coach. He has been able to unify a team to believe in playing as one unit. Time and time again, Yellow Jacket fans have had the opportunity to witness the offense step up its game as the defense faltered and vice versa.

Never say die. It ain’t over till the fat lady sings.

This sort of relentlessness is seen only in great teams led by even better coaches, and this season proves that the 2014 ACC Coach of the

Year is indeed one of the better coaches in the FBS. However, it was not always rainbows and butterflies for the Yellow Jackets.

The Yellow Jackets offense is not one that an average Joe can jump in and perform exceptionally. That was seen with Vad Lee at quarterback last year. It proved to be the case for current quarterback Justin Thomas as well.

Growth was a necessity for him to become “the guy” under center. In his first year starting, he witnessed growing pains during Tech’s first two games, which reached a boiling point at Tulane where he was benched in favor of Tim Byerly after completing just 3-of-8 passing for 15 yards and an interception in the contest. He flashed his frustration in front of teammates, prompting Johnson to speak to the redshirt sophomore afterwards and discuss his body language as the team’s leader and its impact on teammates.

From that point on, Justin Thomas has developed into one of the best dual-threat quarterbacks in the ACC while becoming a dependent leader for the offense. The disdain and negativity that was previously there is a distant memory. He currently leads the Jackets with 861 rushing yards, third-most by a Georgia Tech quarterback in school history and currently ranks 11th nationally in Total QBR, 77.3, while passing for 16 touchdowns to just four interceptions.

TITLE HERE…

Perhaps the biggest learning experience for the entire unit occurred in Georgia Tech’s 42-38 win over Georgia Southern on Sept. 13.

After carrying 35-10 lead into the locker room at halftime, it would be easy to say the Yellow Jackets became over-confident. The offense stalled while the defense no-showed, allowing the Eagles to come all the way back and, at one point, take a 38-35 lead with four minutes remaining. Only out of sheer determination to avoid embarrassment did Paul Johnson’s squad pull off the victory as the head coach voiced his disappointment of the ordeal.

Coming from that game was a noticeable change in attitude, commitment, and unity, as the Yellow Jackets have emerge from a hive full of larva into a fearsome swarm, especially since late October. Following tough losses to Duke and North Carolina, Tech swept the rest of its ACC competitors while outscoring opponents 175-67.

The growth was well summarized in the win at Georgia. The Yellow Jackets of old could not bounce back from a 99-yard fumble return on a goal line stand. It couldn’t bounce back after allowing a go-ahead touchdown with 18 seconds left. Yet, this group did with the guidance of Paul Johnson.

Photo courtesy of Jon Barash.

Auburn stealing signs in the first half.

Fast forward to this past Saturday with some of the oldest most bitter rivalries taking place. Four games saw the disrespected ACC play the almighty SEC. Of course anyone who knows college football knows that the SEC must have dominated its little brother the ACC right? Wrong. It was the ACC bowing its chest out and going 4-0 against the nation’s most beloved conference. Louisville took care of a game Kentucky team 44-40, Clemson shellacked preseason No. 9 South Carolina 35-17, Florida State played possum again but managed to win its twenty-eighth consecutive game by beating Florida 24-19, and of course Georgia Tech stunned Georgia 30-24 in Ath-

ens. It’s fine to argue that all these teams came from the paltry SEC East, but when a conference is claimed to be the best, they can’t come up with excuses when they get shutout by an inferior conference.

BOILING BOB…

The love for the SEC spilled over into the coaching ranks and irked one big name coach last season. Oklahoma’s Bob Stoops finally had enough of the swooning over the SEC. “So you’re listening to a lot of propaganda that gets fed out to you. You’re more than smart enough to figure it out. Again, you can look at the top two, three, four, five, six teams, and you can look at the bottom six, seven, eight, whatever they are. How well are they all doing?” Stoops was right. Perception is reality and when everyone is forcing you to believe the SEC is hands down the best conference, you have to take a step back and evaluate everything. Coach Stoops led Oklahoma to a 45-31 Sugar Bowl statement win over Alabama after being a 17-point underdog.

THE GLORY DAYS…

The SEC’s strength used to be its defenses.

Those days are now over. Auburn hung 628 yards on Alabama and still lost in a shootout.

The same thing happened last year in the SEC

Championship when Auburn and Missouri combined for 101 points. The strength of the SEC has fallen back with the rest of the nation, and this season is no different. The self-cannibalization of the top SEC schools has begun.

Only Alabama remains with one loss. If Auburn was able to get a stop on defense at all during the Iron Bowl, we possibly could have seen the mighty SEC left out in the cold with no teams entering the final four playoff. The latest AP poll now has just two SEC schools in the top 10, the lowest amount in what feels like years with how much respect the SEC has been given and how much other conferences have been disregarded.

The Pac-12 and Big-12 quietly have some of the better teams in the nation. The long argued idea of “Team X wouldn’t win six games in the SEC!” is a thing of the past. The nation has finally caught up to the SEC and there is great parity amongst the landscape of college football. Last season’s Florida State team might be the last dominant bunch we will see in the college football for a while. The final four playoff came at just the right time and will give fans an opportunity to see some great games. Hopefully the committee can select the right teams and give us the chance to see a game nearly as good as last year’s championship.

Photo courtesy of Rob Saye.

CASON’S CORNER

PAUL JOHNSON’S CASE AS TOP COACH

BY MATT CASON | MCASON@SCOREATL.COM

fter a classic finish that saw Georgia Tech use “The Kick and The Pick” to defeat hatA ed rival Georgia 30-24 in overtime, the Yellow Jackets now stand at 10-2 and are currently ranked No. 11 in the College Football Playoff poll as they prepare to take on No. 3 Florida State in the ACC Championship game. A few months ago, that was something difficult to envision heading into the heart of the schedule. Georgia Tech was coming off of a season that saw them finish 7-6 and faced tremendous change with a new starting quarterback, a defense with more questions than Jeopardy and a head coach that many fans and media outlets felt has stayed past his length.

Yet, here they stand one win away from a possible Orange Bowl berth. The same fans

SANDY’S SPIEL

OUTSIDERS EXPOSE THE MIGHTY SEC

BY KYLE SANDY | KSANDY@SCOREATL.COM

rowing up and living in the south all I have G heard the last decade is how football is king and how the SEC is bar none the greatest conference in the nation. Sure the SEC has flexed its muscles the past decade winning seven of the eight BCS National Championship games and of course, believe it or not, there is such a thing as SEC bias. There shouldn’t have been an Alabama-LSU rematch in 2011 and Alabama shouldn’t have been gifted the title when the committee allowed an overwhelmed Notre Dame team to play instead of a deserving Oregon squad who got beat on a last second field goal two years prior. Florida State ended the SEC reign of dominance after shaking off a suspicious slow start that many claimed was due to

Vol. 10 Iss. 45 | December 5-11, 2014

ON THE COVER

HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL

ENTERTAINING PLAYOFFS PRODUCE INTRIGUING SEMIFINAL LINEUP

BY RICKY DIMON & CRAIG SAGER II

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nly 28 teams are still playing high school football in Georgia and that number will once again be sliced in half when semifinal competition concludes on Friday night. There is something for everyone as teams battle for spots in state championships, with games as far north as Calhoun and as down south as Brooks County featuring third-seeded underdogs like Mays and Westminster in addition to top-ranked favorites like Colquitt County and Buford.

FAVORITES REMAIN IN 6A, NOT IN 5A …

Colquitt County is the lone unbeaten team in the highest classification and the only current Class AAAAAA semifinalist to have ever won a state title (1994). Sihiem King leads Colquitt’s backfield and has 13 rushing touchdowns this postseason. Colquitt County will have to disrupt the backfield fast against a McEachern team that boasts the most dangerous aerial attack in Georgia. Sophomore quarterback Bailey Hockman has thrown for 3,272 yards and 40 touchdowns this season.

Archer was a preseason No. 1 in various

polls but dropped its first three games before recovering for a share of the Region 7 title. The Tigers head into a showdown with Etowah as arguably the hottest team in the state. In a 56-13 quarterfinal thrashing of Hillgrove, they exploded to a 56-0 lead in the second quarter as Dylan Singleton scored via reception, rush and punt return. Etowah owns a school-record 11 wins and has become the first Cherokee County representative to reach the semifinals.

Amidst the upset-filled chaos of Class AAAAA, Northside-Warner Robins is the only one of four semifinalists that has ever advanced this far. This should be an intriguing showdown between Northside running back Willie Jordan and Allatoona’s dynamic duo of Richard Halimon and Josh Bettistea.

Perhaps no team punched its ticket to the final four in more dramatic fashion than Mays.

Asahnia Aderhold, who launched a successful Hail Mary to Tayshawn Brown prior to halftime, threw an 18-yard scoring strike to Julius Whitehead as time expired to beat Jones County 44-41. Preventing the big play will be

a focal point for Stockbridge, which is allowing just 11.7 points per game in the playoffs.

METRO MADNESS …

There is a distinct metro Atlanta flavor in Class AAAA and Class AAA. Region 6-AAAA rivals Woodward Academy and St. Pius X are squaring off in a rematch of a Week 2 collision that saw Woodward prevail 42-21 at home.

The War Eagles ruled that day in part thanks to 156 rushing yards and two touchdowns by Elijah Holyfield and 116 passing yards and pair of scores via the arm of Jes Sutherland. St. Pius X, however, has found its stride and won 11 straight games while averaging 290 yards on the ground per outing.

On the other side of the bracket, the dynasty that is Buford is picking up where it left off in Class AA (four state titles in its last five years) and Class AAA (two titles in the last two years). The Wolves are led by quarterback Luke Humphrey, tight end Isaac Nauta, defensive tackle Quay Picou and linebacker Austin Smith.

Cartersville reached the Class AAA semis in 2012 before succumbing to Buford 21-10.

Region 4-AAA adversaries Blessed Trinity and Westminster are one round away from a rematch in the state championship, but both are facing significant road tests. The Titans have to go up against top-ranked Washington County, which dominated their 2013 quarterfinal encounter 46-17. A.J. Gray went wild for 442 yards and eight touchdowns in the Golden Hawks’ 62-35 rout of Pierce County last Friday.

Washington County is averaging 53 points per game while Blessed Trinity’s defense has posted three shutouts, so something will have to give. Westminster is making its first trip to the semifinals since 1996, whereas Calhoun has a state title (2011) and five runner-up showings since 2005. The Wildcats’ ground-heavy attack is paced by the school’s new single-season rushing record-holder Zay Malcome. Calhoun, led by quarterback Kaelen Riley, is much more pass-happy.

THE SMALLER SCHOOLS …

In Class AA, Greater Atlanta Christian is 13-0 but not because of a favorable schedule.

The Spartans have victories over No. 2 Vidalia, No. 3 Lovett and No. 4 Benedictine. Darius Slayton and Micah Abernathy are differencemakers on both sides of the ball. Fitzgerald, meanwhile, is 12-1 and has won seven in a row since losing to Region 1 foe Thomasville in mid-

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October. The Purple Hurricanes are highlighted by quarterback Gerald Morgan (2150 rushing yards, 26 touchdowns).

Led by two-way star Brad Stewart, Benedictine ousted defending champ Lovett to punch its bus ticket to Brooks County for the semifinals. Stewart leads the team with five interceptions and he has 1138 receiving yards and 15 touchdowns. Whereas the Cadets have won all three of their postseason contests by at least three touchdowns, Brooks County knows how to win close games. The Trojans edged Bacon County 24-17, got past Washington-Wilkes 21-14 and outlasted Heard County 35-34.

Class A-Private features a rematch between Aquinas and Mt. Paran Christian. The two teams collided in last year’s quarterfinals, when Aquinas survived 35-32 en route to its first state title. Senior running back Ruben Garrett has 1725 rushing yards and 28 scores this season.

Also undefeated, Mt. Paran Christian is making its first-ever trip to the last four. The Eagles have been powered by the unstoppable rushing attack of Dorian Walker and Emoni Williams. Calvary Day’s 12-0 mark makes for three remaining teams with unblemished records, but Eagle’s Landing Christian has a whopping six losses.

The Chargers, though, have won six straight games since starting the year 0-6, so they cannot be overlooked. Quarterback D.J. Hammond and tailback Trevor Gear were transfers who did not become eligible until October.

Three of last year’s four Class A-Public semifinalists are back, with Commerce being the only newcomer. The Tigers recorded two shutouts in their last three regular-season games and blanked Calhoun County in the quarters. Up next for Commerce is a trip to Irwin County, which saw its 2013 campaign end at this stage with a 34-33 heartbreaker against Charlton County. Like Commerce’s Caleb Brooks, Zach Tolar of Irwin County is a quarterback who does most of his damage on the ground. There will be no secrets between Region 4-A rivals Hawkinsville and Marion County in the other semi. This is their fourth meeting since Nov. 1, 2013. Last year, Marion County lost to Hawkinsville 14-10 during the regular season only to hammer the Red Devils 40-7 in the semifinals on its way to its firstever state championship. The Eagles prevailed again 13-6 on Oct. 17.

Photos courtesy of Ty Freeman and Blessed Trinity.

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Yonel Brown

Georgia Tech

Atlanta Hawks

The diminutive junior point guard is playing his best basketball ever at Kennesaw State.

He has played a huge role in KSU locking up three wins this season; half the amount they won last year. Brown poured in a career high 32 points in a win over Chattanooga this past Saturday. He is now averaging 14.3 points per game and has given Owl fans a reason to cheer.

The monkey is finally off their back; or at least for now. The Jackets stung the Dawgs 3024 between the hedges and now find themselves ranked 11th in the latest College Football Playoff Rankings. The win over UGA is just their third in the new millennium. Tech has a chance to shake up the college football landscape again as they face Florida State in the ACC title game.

The Hawks continue soar at the Highlight Factory. They are now 8-2 at home after a 30-point win over Charlotte and a come from behind victory over Boston after trailing by 23 points. They currently hold the third best record in the Eastern Conference. The emergence of a strong bench has helped Atlanta get off to a strong start this season.

SCORE LIST

By Brian Jones

STILL ON TOP

With a 5-7 record, the Falcons are still on top of the NFC South as they defeated the Arizona Cardinals 29-18 on Sunday. The offense racked up 500 yards, the defense forced three turnovers and Matt Bryant kicked five field goals. They will look to the same against Green Bay on Monday night, which won’t be an easy task.

JACKETS RUN THE STATE

That might be a little much but Georgia Tech did beat Georgia in Athens on Saturday. The Jackets rushed for nearly 400 yards of offense and the defense came up big in overtime when they intercepted a Hutson Mason pass to win the game. This is what the Jackets needed as they take on Florida State in the ACC title game this Saturday.

SAD DAWGS

For the first time since 2008, the Bulldogs lost to the Jackets and finished the regular season with a 9-3 mark.

Not only that, Missouri defeated Arkansas the day before and the Bulldogs will also miss out on the SEC Championship. To say it was a bad weekend for Bulldog Nation would be an understatement.

SEC CHAMPIONSHIP

Speaking of Missouri, the Tigers will face Alabama in the SEC title game at the Georgia Dome on Saturday. The Crimson Tide come into the game as the heavy favorite, but Missouri is one of the hottest teams in the country right now. I love the Tigers defense, but I think the Crimson Tide will roll in the Georgia Dome.

STATE SEMIFINALS

The day when the high school football state playoff semifinals takes place is always one of my favorite days of the year. A couple of games to watch for are McEachern traveling to Moultrie to face Colquitt County and Allatoona facing Northside-Warner Robins at Mercer. Be sure to log on to scoreatl.com for all the scores and recaps of all the action.

WHO’S NOT

By Matt Cason

WHO’S HOT

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Mark Richt

Georgia State

Hutson Mason

Coach has been questioned harshly after the defeat to rival Georgia Tech. Richt decided to kick the ball short with 18 seconds remaining allowing Tech to return it to the 43. Justin Thomas then scrambled into field goal range. Richt decided to call a timeout with four seconds remaining to allow Tech to line up for a game tying kick, and the rest is history.

After winning the first game of the season the Panthers dropped 11 straight and finished the season 1-11. It was a tough year for GSU in its second season as an FBS school. Freshman running back Krysten Hammon showed promise early, but was dismissed from the team and transferred after two games. The running game consequently disappeared, but Nick Arbuckle shattered passing records throwing for 3,283 yards.

Throwing a game-ending interception against a hated rival in your final home game as a senior is not the storybook ending the former Lassiter quarterback was looking for. Mason actually did a good job throughout the year limiting his mistakes. He threw 20 touchdowns compared to just four interceptions, but last week’s is definitely one he wishes he had back.

NUMBERS

OUR TWO CENTS

By Matt Cason

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

“

SANITY AT LAST

HOW MANY TOUCHDOWN PASSES HAS MCEACHERN SOPHOMORE BAILEY HOCKMAN THROWN THIS SEASON?

“It’s like I told our guys: You have to realize there’s a lot of guys who play football and a lot of schools and a lot of teams who never get this opportunity...

So make sure that you maximize your opportunities and that you have no regrets when you finish.”

ANSWER ON PAGE 14

- Georgia Tech head Paul Johnson on playing in the ACC Championship

19 189

Total takeaways by Georgia Tech defense since Oct. 25 Career-high receiving yards by Falcons wideout Julio Jones on Sunday against Arizona

28

Teams in the hunt for a GHSA football state championship

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Point deficit by the Hawks on Tuesday before a 109-105 comeback win over the Celtics

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Georgia Tech players named All-ACC

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Straight 100-yard games

by UGA running back Nick Chubb

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Straight 10-loss seasons by the Georgia State Panthers

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Three-pointers made

by Kyle Korver in the comeback win over the Celtics

Vol. 10 Iss. 45 | December 5-11, 2014

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in Class AAAAAA, Etowah has rebounded to stamp school-record 11 wins this season and rides a seven-game win streak into its trip to Archer, after suffering back-to-back region defeats in the heart of the regular season.

HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL

STORYLINES MEET IN SEMIS FOR MORE PLAYOFF DRAMA

BY CRAIG SAGER II | CSAGER@SCOREATL.COM

W

ith two weekends left in the 2014 football season, Georgia is set to wrap up one of the most competitive seasons in state history. Just looking back two years, we have seen 12 different schools win state titles, including seven first-ever state champs. Four of last year’s defending champs have already fallen out of the playoffs and there are 10 semifinalist currently sitting two wins away from capturing first-ever state titles.

CHANGE IN THE AIR…

This past offseason, we saw more than 70 head coaching changes across the state and also witnessed the first reclassification since the GHSA expanded to a sixth classification in 2012. This recipe for change was mixed with Georgia’s well-established reputation for upredictable storylines and must-see matchups.

There were 192 teams that battled for a spot i this year’s playoffs and only seven will be able to end the 2014 season with victories. By the time the semifinals are set, all of the remaining teams are riding hot-streaks. There are the unbeatens like Colquitt County, Allatoona and Buford that have been on a roll the whole season, but there are also teams that have had to find their stride in order to peak at the right time. In Class AAAAAA, McEachern opened the season with back-to-back losses and Archer dropped its first three games before sparking its current 10-game winning streak. Now, the Indians and Tigers stand as two of the most dangerous remaining teams in the postseason. McEachern has outscored its three playoff opponents by 25.3 points per game and Archer has topped its trio of adversaries by 34 points per game, including back-to-back 43-point blowouts. Also

BRACKET BUSTERS… Class AAAAA’s last two state champs (Gainesville, Creekside) were first-time champs and judging by all the upsets in this year’s Class AAAAA bracket, this classification is once again up for grabs. Mays has the talent to matchup with anyone, but it was the Raiders’ lack of playoff experience they have overcome this postseason that has been the most impressive. The Raiders’ playoff run puts them two wins away from becoming the first city of Atlanta school to win a state title since 1973. In Class AAA and Class AAAA, we have seen schools handle the reclassification ex-tremely well. All four of Class AAAA’s semifi-nalists (Buford, Woodward Academy, Cartersville and St. Pius) were classed up from AAA last year, which means a first-time AAAA champion will be crowned. Despite Class AAA losing some of it’s top teams to higher classifications, the new teams that entered it this year have made it one of the most competitive classes this season. Westminster and Calhoun both made the jump from Class AA and have made their way to the semis.

NORTH VS. SOUTH…

In Class AA, the playoffs have been a weekly showcase of North vs. South and only GAC is left from the northern half of the state.

The average distance between opponents in Class AA the past two rounds was more than 200 miles and after hosting Lamar County and Vidalia, GAC must make the 200 mile trip south to Jaycee Stadium to take on Fitzgerald.

In Class A, no school has repeated as state champs since Lincoln County in 2005-06, but both of last year’s champs (Marion County and Aquinas) are undefeated with home field advantage entering the semifinals. Mount Paran and Calvary Day join Aquinas as undefeated teams left in Class A, and ELCA is back in the semis for the first time since its 2012 state championship season, despite starting the season 0-6. Class A-Public (Marion County, Hawkinsville, Commerce, Irwin County) and Class AAAA (Buford, Cartersville, Woodward Academy, St. Pius) are the only classifications, in which all four semifinalists have won state titles before. Every classification has its own storylines and every team has its own history to make. It does not get better than this.

Photos courtesy of Sonny Kennedy, Jason Mussell, Eddie Senkbeil and Ronald Hughes.

Vol. 10 Iss. 45 | December 5-11, 2014

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Score Atlanta Pre-Playoff Football Rankings Class AAAAAA 1................. Colquitt County 2.............................Grayson 3............................ Valdosta 4...............................Dacula 5..................North Gwinnett

6.................................Milton 7..........................Mill Creek 8........................ Lee County 9................................Archer 10..............................Tucker

6................................ Lanier 7.................Houston County 8..........................Creekside 9.................... Harris County 10................................Mays

6..................Central-Carroll 7......................Westminster 8...............Westside-Macon 9........................Hart County 10................................ Cook

Class AA 1..Greater Atlanta Christian 2...............................Vidalia 3................................ Lovett 4.......................Benedictine 5..........................Fitzgerald

6...................Brooks County 7................... Macon County 8..........................Darlington 9....................Lamar County 10.....................Thomasville

1.................. Marion County 2..................... Irwin County 3..................... Hawkinsville 4................Charlton County 5.....................Dooly County

6.................. Lincoln County 7.........................Commerce 8....................Clinch County 9..Emanuel County Institute 10.............................Claxton

Class A-Private

Class AAAA 1...............................Buford 2................................Griffin 3................................Marist 4..................... Sandy Creek 5........ Woodward Academy

1.......... Washington County 2.............................Calhoun 3..................Blessed Trinity 4....................Peach County 5...........................Jefferson

Class A-Public

Class AAAAA 1..................... Ware County 2................................Coffee 3...........................Allatoona 4....................................Kell 5...................Northside-WR

Class AAA

6........................... St. Pius X 7........................Cartersville 8....................Mary Persons 9.................................. Cairo 10......................Whitewater

1..................... Mount Paran 2.............................Aquinas 3.......................Calvary Day 4.......... Savannah Christian 5....................Mount Pisgah

6..........Landmark Christian 7...Prince Avenue Christian 8.................. Tattnall Square 9................................Pacelli 10................................ ELCA

Vol. 10 Iss. 45 | December 5-11, 2014

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UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA

REFLECTING ON THE 2014 GEORGIA BULLDOGS FOOTBALL SEASON

BY DAN MATHEWS | DMATHEWS@SCOREATL.COM

L

ike most seasons in Athens, 2014 started with huge expectations by the media, fans and team. However, the way it ends in the regular season is with a 9-3 mark and no berth to the SEC Championship.

The last part that I just mentioned is the goal every season that head coach Mark Richt and the program roll out. Their first goal is to win the SEC East and get to Atlanta for the conference championship. Richt has said it numerous times before that if you “win the SEC, then you’re probably in good position for the national championship.”

The truth of the matter is that Saturday’s 30-24 loss in overtime to Georgia Tech capped off a very up and down season for UGA. The low’s seemed to far outweigh the highs in 2014.

The purpose of this piece is to look at just how low those lows were and just how high their high was this year.

In terms of the lows, you could point to the losses to South Carolina and Georgia Tech.

GEORGIA STATE

FOOTBALL CONCLUDES; BASKETBALL CONTINUES STRONG PLAY

BY KYLE SANDY | KSANDY@SCOREATL.COM

T

he 2014 football season came to an end this Saturday as the Panthers (1-11) fell to the Texas State Bobcats (7-5) to a score of 54-31. It was a bittersweet way to end the season for quarterback Nick Arbuckle who broke another record in the losing effort. The junior from Camarillo, Calif. broke the Georgia State career passing record in the second half.

Arbuckle holds the school record with 3,283 career yards passing. He also tossed a record tying four touchdowns for the third time the season. Fourteen seniors were honored prior to the game. Wide receiver Lynquez Blair finished his senior season with 536 yards receiving and six touchdowns. Arbuckle wore the number 13 on his face along with the other receivers to pay tribute to Blair. “It meant a lot. In the past the team wasn’t as close as we are now, and now it’s a completely different team,” Said Blair. “We put the team first, we’re not selfish.

And that’s something that will stay with me for my whole life.”

But, the significant low has to be the dismantling against Florida.

Lowest Point in 2014: 38-20 Loss To Florida

No loss this season seemingly hurt this team more than that one in Jacksonville. The Gators running back duo of Matt Jones and Kelvin Taylor absolutely demolished this Georgia defense that seemed to be making significant strides since their first loss of the season against South Carolina. This loss also included freshman Nick Chubb fumbling when it looked like the momentum to be re-captured by the Bulldogs. The loss also knocked you out of first in the SEC East and proved that you would never recover from that defeat.

Highest Point in 2014: Dismantling Missouri Without Todd Gurley 34-0

Seemingly it looked like you were going to be facing Missouri for the second straight season, after dealing with significant losses on your roster.

Up until this point, Georgia had been pretty fortunate on the injury front. This time it was a suspension for payment on autographs that forced running back Todd Gurley off the field. That said, Georgia was able to dominate Missouri and introduce Nick Chubb to the college football world.

Who knew that this team would seemingly peak in week seven of the football season.

2014 Grade: C

This year was not special and it wasn’t terrible. It was just a good season. This is why it gets this grade.

TURKEY BLUES…

The Lady Panthers dropped to 3-1 after losing the championship game to Liberty 73-71 in the Thanksgiving Invitational. Georgia State played well the entire tournament and was led

by Kayla Nolan. The senior guard tallied 20 points in a win against Samford last Friday. She pitched in a team-high 13 points along with Alisha Andrews in the championship game on Sunday. Liberty out rebounded GSU 46-24, but it was 22 forced turnovers and ten threes that kept the Panthers in it. Georgia State was one three-pointer shy of tying the school record for most in a game. The Panthers had a chance to secure a rebound after two missed free throws, but were unable to allowing a Liberty player to grab it with 2.5 seconds and run out the clock.

Alisha Andrews and Kayla Nolan were both named to the all-tournament team.

HEATING UP…

After dropping its first two games of the CBE Hall of Fame Classic, Georgia State rebounded and won three straight. This past Saturday the Panthers visited IUPUI and came away with a 66-63 victory to move their record to 5-2. R.J. Hunter led the way with 27 points with 21 coming in the second half. A late Hunter three and a pair of Ryann Green free throws gave the Panthers a narrow come from behind win. Ryan Harrow added 21 points. The Panthers return home on Thursday to face Green Bay at 7 pm.

GEORGIA TECH

TECH RANKED NO. 11, PREPPED FOR FSU

BY MATT CASON | MCASON@SCOREATL.COM

no Yellow Jacket fan saw this coming SACCurely back in August. Behind the newly-named Coach of the Year Paul Johnson, No. 11 Georgia Tech will enter the national spotlight Saturday night as it looks to knock off undefeated No. 4 Florida State for the ACC Championship in Charlotte, North Carolina. With the Yellow Jackets coming off of a tremendous victory at Georgia, the team has made noise throughout the nation as being one destined to knock off the Seminoles and put an end to both their 28-game winning streak and national championship hopes. Yet, Johnson’s main focus is having his squad realize the opportunity ahead of them and seize the moment.

“It’s like I told our guys yesterday: you have to realize there’s a lot of guys who play football and a lot of a schools and a lot of teams who never get this opportunity to play for a conference championship. Just look at our own league, there have been only a handful of teams that have gotten to the game. So make sure that you maximize your opportunities and that you have no regrets when you finish.”

KENNESAW STATE

MEN’S BB MAKING STRIDES, WOMEN’S BB BEATS IVY LEAGUE SCHOOL

BY BRIAN JONES | BJONES@SCOREATL.COM

T

he men’s basketball team has had its struggles the last few years, but it looks like things maybe turning around.

After only winning six games during the 2013-14 season, the Owls have already won three of their last four games. They opened the home schedule last Wednesday when they faced Samford and got an 84-71win. The Owls had another home game on Saturday against Chattanooga and won that game 77-69. Yonel Brown led the Owls with 32 points and three assists while Willy Kouassi had seven point and nine rebounds.

“I told them before we even went out there,” head coach Jimmy Lallathin told ksuowls.com. “It’s all about them. It’s our first win streak in a while and it’s their first win streak this year and it feels good to win. The history of it is one thing, but right now we’re looking toward FIU and continuing to build.

We’re taking steps even after losses, but you have to continue to take steps after wins too.”

The last meeting between these two foes featured similar circumstances. The Yellow Jackets fell to Florida State 21-15 during a 2012 ACC Championship game that ended with FSU’s Karlos Williams intercepting a pass from Tech’s Tevin Washington with a minute remaining. Yet, this is not the same Seminole squad of yesteryear. Heisman Trophy-winner Jameis Winston has struggled alongside the rest of the offense in taking care of the ball as it has committed 28 turnovers, most in the ACC. This is a welcoming sight for a stingy defense led by coordinator Ted Roof that has had 19 total takeaways since Oct. 25.

LUCKY SEVEN…

Paul Johnson being named ACC Coach of the Year was not the only great news of the week. The Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association on Monday that seven Yellow Jackets were named to the 2014 All-ACC football teams, according to the Georgia Tech’s official athletic website. B-back Zach Laskey was named second-team All-ACC along with offensive lineman Shaquille Mason, defensive tackle Adam Gotsis, and linebacker Quayshawn Nealy. Redshirt-sophomore quarterback Justin Thomas, senior wide receiver DeAndre Smelter, and junior defensive back Jamal Golden were named to the third team.

Seven others were given honorable mentions, including B-back Synjyn Days, cornerback D.J. White, and standout freshman defensive end Keshun Freeman.

On Tuesday, the Owls traveled to Miami to face Florida International and despite a great defensive effort, the Owls came up short 5938. Brown led the team once again with 16 points and three assists and has scored double figures in five of the last six games.

“We had some good looks, but could not find the bottom of the net,” Lallathin said. “We look forward to heading home and playing in the friendly confines of the Convocation Center against Kent State.”

The game against Kent State will be on Saturday at 12 p.m.

NEW YORK LIVIN…

The women’s basketball team was in New York on Saturday and got a big 66-62 win over Columbia. Jasmine McAlister who score 19 points and pulled down 10 boards led the Lady Owls. Kristina Wells added 13 points, eight rebounds and four assists.

“I am extremely proud of wining on the road,” head coach Nitra Perry said to ksuowls. com. “Any time you win on the road is a huge win. I thought we were resilient today and we out-toughed them towards the end and we executed some things that we have not even practiced, so I was really proud of everybody.

The Owls took on Georgia State on Wednesday, but the results of that game were late. They will be back at home for the first time in nearly a month when they face Murray State on Saturday at 2:30 p.m.

Vol. 10 Iss. 45 | December 5-11, 2014 ATLANTA HAWKS

HAWKS CAPITALIZE AGAINST STRUGGLING OPPONENTS

BY KYLE SANDY | KSANDY@SCOREATL.COM

T

he Hawks (10-6) continued their strong play this season as they handed the struggling Charlotte Hornets (4-14) their ninth consecutive loss this past Saturday 105-75. Atlanta stifled the Hornets with its defense, causing them to shoot just 33 percent. Six Hawks players scored in double figures, led by 18 points from Paul Millsap. Atlanta shot 53 percent from the field and drained 12 threes. As well as the Hawks shot, it was the defense that coach Mike Budenholzer praised. “The guys have really committed and were very good defensively,” Budenholzer said. “We can’t rest. We have to get better.”

Atlanta dominated the entire game and was up by as many as 44 points in the third quarter and led 64-28 at the half. Charlotte coach Steve Clifford was embarrassed by the team’s performance saying, “You have to give a professional effort, and that was not a professional effort.”

The win moved Atlanta to 7-2 at home.

ATLANTA BRAVES

BRAVES NON-TENDER MEDLEN, DROP OUT OF LESTER SWEEPSTAKES

BY RICKY DIMON | RDIMON@SCOREATL.COM

T

he Braves had until Tuesday night to decide whether or not to tender contracts to players eligible for arbitration and neither Kris Medlen nor Brandon Beachy received a contract offer. This came as absolutely no surprise, because Atlanta would have been required to offer them salaries at least 80 percent of what they made this season. That number would have been $4.64 million for Medlen and $1.16 million for Beachy. With both starting pitchers having missed the 2014 season due to Tommy John surgeries and expected to be sidelined until May, the Braves were not about to take such risks. They may still be interested in signing Medlen and Beachy as free agents with incentive-based deals.

In another unsurprising development, the Braves have dropped out of the running to land free-agent ace Jon Lester, formerly of the Red Sox and A’s. They were one of the first teams to meet with Lester, but it quickly became apparent that they would be outbid by a wide

A TALE OF TWO HALVES…

Boston (4-11) came into Philips Arena on Tuesday and started off the night on fire. The Celtics shot 61 percent from the field in the first half and held a commanding 66-50 lead at the break after scoring 42 points in the first frame.

The second half however, was a different story. The Celtics eventually cooled off and the Hawks were able to rally from 23 points down to win 109-105 in a thrilling fourth quarter.

With the win the Hawks advanced to 10-6 and 8-2 at home this season. The loss marks the fifth straight for Boston and eighth out of nine.

Atlanta managed to grab the lead for good with 7:31 remaining in the game when Dennis Schroder connected on a 20-foot jumper. The Celtics used a pair of three pointers with less than two minutes to go to cut the gap to 107-105 with 49 seconds left. Jeff Green missed a 15-footer with 16 seconds remaining and a wild scramble for the loose ball rebound ensued. After being fumbled around by the sideline, Al Horford was able to pick it up and toss it ahead to Kent Bazemore for a game icing lay-in with seven seconds left. Kyle Korver paced Atlanta with 24 points on six threes. Paul Millsap scored 19 on the night and pitched in six rebounds and seven assists. Atlanta flew to South Beach to take on the Miami Heat on Wednesday.

margin. The Cubs have reportedly offered the southpaw $138 million for six years, Boston may have raised its bid to $130 million and the Giants appear to be in a similar range. Atlanta, of course, has too much money tied up in its core (and even non-core) players to throw that kind of cash around, especially when it is not angling for a team salary spike until 2017.

THE MARKET ...

Having traded Jason Heyward to St. Louis and Tommy La Stella to the Cubs this offseason, the Braves have immediate openings in right field and at second base.

Nick Markakis, who has spent all of his nine seasons with Baltimore, is a potential replacement for Heyward. The 31-year-old has never played fewer than 104 games in any year and has appeared in at least 147 games eight times. He batted .276 with 14 homers, 50 RBIs and 81 runs scored in 2014. Markakis’ best performances came in 2007 and 2008, when he hit better than .300 and averaged 22 dingers and 100 RBIs. An intriguing possibility at second base is local product and Westminster High School alum Gordon Beckham, who was non-tendered by the Angels. He would come relatively cheap and could fill the gap in the middle of the infield until future second-base prospect Jose Peraza is ready. A first-round pick in 2009, Beckham spent five full seasons with the White Sox before being traded to the Angels in August.

ATLANTA FALCONS

FALCONS PREP FOR MONDAY NIGHT AT LAMBEAU; NEW STADIUM BUDGET SET

BY CRAIG SAGER II | CSAGER@SCOREATL.COM

T

he Atlanta defense got a boost with the return of William Moore, who had missed the last eight weeks with a shoulder injury and sealed a 29-18 victory over the visiting Cardinals last Sunday. The Falcons forced three turnovers and did not surrender an offensive touchdown until the final 1:05. Moore recorded four tackles and forced a fumble that was recovered by Desmond Trufant.

“This is my job and I love playing and competing and it was I was itching to get back on the field,” said Moore following the Week 13 victory.

The Falcons looked polished in all three phases of the game. Offensively, Atlanta tallied 500 yards and defensively the unit surrendered just one third down conversion to go with the three takeaways. On special teams, Matt Bryant set a career high with 17 points after two PAT’s and five field goals.

“I thought we had a very good performance in all three phases of the game,” said

GWINNETT GLADIATORS

GLADIATORS SLIDE DURING THANKSGIVING BREAK

BY KYLE SANDY | KSANDY@SCOREATL.COM

ver the Thanksgiving break, the Gladiators O picked up a win while dropping three more and moving their season record to 6-10-1-0. In

Gwinnett’s latest game this Sunday, Mark Guggenberger saved 40 shots but saw the Gladiators fall 3-0. The South Carolina Stingrays (7-9-0-4) outshot the Glads 43-16. Former Gladiator goalie Jeff Jakaitis saved all 16 shots that Gwinnett threw his way. Branden Gracel set the tone early for the Stingrays scoring just 47 seconds into the game. Initially it looked like Gwinnett would tie the game up sending four shots at goal in the next three minutes, but the offensive attack would slow down and South Carolina would regain control. Defenseman Garrett Haar gave the Rays a 2-0 lead to end the first period. Gwinnett looks to get back on the winning track in Toledo against the Walleye on Dec. 9th.

TOUGH LOSSES…

Gwinnett dropped the third game of a four game series against South Carolina 3-2. Brenden Walker and Dyson Stevenson both scored

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Smith. “There were some excellent plays made, and when you make those types of plays you’re going to get the outcome that you want.”

The Falcons moved to 5-7 and still control their destiny in the division over a 5-7 New Orleans team. Atlanta’s next opponent is the red-hot Green Bay Packers on Monday night.

The Falcons are 12-14 all-time against Green Bay and have lost their last three meetings. Atlanta’s last win at Lambeau was a 27-24 victory during Matt Ryan’s rookie season in 2008.

SHOW ME THE MONEY…

On Tuesday, Atlanta Falcons representatives presented to the Georgia World Congress Center Authority Board the final budget for the new Atlanta stadium. The final budget reflects the establishment of a guaranteed maximum price (GMP) of $1.078 billion by Holder Hunt Russell Moody (HHRM), the stadium general contractor joint venture, for construction of the stadium. A GMP sets the maximum price to be paid to the general contractor for construction of the new stadium. Combined with design and development expenses and other nonconstruction-related costs, the final budget for the new stadium is $1.4 billion. Construction is well underway and the completion of the new stadium is planned for March of 2017, when the new MLS Atlanta team will begin its first season of play.

on the night. Adam Brown received a spot start and saved 36 shots. The Gladiators scored on their first 5-on-3 of the season in the first period. Brenden Walker beat Jakaitis for the goal to tie the game at one. The Rays added two more goals after the Walker strike to make it 3-1. Stevenson scored in the third period but the Glads could not muster a game tying goal.

Thanksgiving with the Gladiators has become a tradition. The team’s 12th annual Thanksgiving night home game was a thrilling one, but in the end saw the home team come up short 3-2 in overtime against the Stingrays.

The overtime loss marks just the second extra frame of the season. The two rivals played with great intensity with a few kerfuffles on the ice.

Anthony Perdicaro energized the Gladiators with a goal and an assist. Garry Nunn added his 13th assist of the season. Gwinnett held a 2-1 lead in the third but Brandon Hynes scored the tying goal with less than five minutes left to force OT. Wayne Simpson nailed a game winner a minute into overtime for the Rays.

SING FOR SANTA…

Sing for Santa is back at Gwinnett for Dec. 13th’s game against Cincinnati and then again on the 14th. More than 20 elementary and middle school aged children will participate in the largest choir in the Metro Atlanta Area.

The Gladiator tradition allows 1,800 kids to come together and perform a holiday concert during the first intermission.

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Vol. 10 Iss. 45 | December 5-11, 2014

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