Score Atlanta Vol. 12 Issue 2

Time to look great!

VOLUME 12 ISSUE 2 | JANUARY 21-27, 2016

Southern Hospitality | Pg. 4 The Cobb County Classic Series brings lacrosse’s top programs to our backyard.

Back Again | Pg. 9 The defending dual state champs sweep titles in Macon.

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YOUR SOURCE FOR SPORTS IN GEORGIA

NOT SO FAST Wheeler holds off Gainesville in MLK Day showdown. | Pg. 7

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Vol. 12 Iss. 2 | January 21-27, 2016

STARTING LINEUP PUBLISHER/EDITOR I.J. Rosenberg

ART/CREATIVE DIRECTOR DJ Galbiati Blalock

MANAGING EDITOR Craig Sager II

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COLUMNISTS

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ON THE COVER

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PREP COVER

ASST. MANAGING EDITOR Kyle Sandy

MARKETING/ Lauren Goldstein

PARTNERSHIP DIRECTOR

BUSINESS MANAGER Marvin Botnick

BEAT WRITERS: Ricky Dimon (Braves)

Colin Hubbard (GA Tech) Dan Mathews (UGA) Craig Sager II (Falcons,

Kennesaw)

Kyle Sandy (Transfer Corner, GSU, Hawks)

STAFF WRITERS Tyler Andrews

Ned Kaish

TO ADVERTISE IN SCORE ATLANTA:

404.256.1572

Copyright 2016 Score Atlanta Publishing, LLC. All rights reserved. Score Atlanta is digitally published every week on ScoreAtl.com. 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.

TEAM SCOOP AND VOICES

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SCORE LIST | NUMBERS GEORGIA STATE | KENNESAW STATE GEORGIA | GEORGIA TECH BRAVES | FALCONS HAWKS | GHSA BASKETBALL

COVER PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE ATHLETIC IMAGE AND TY FREEMAN.

ON THE INSIDE AT SCORE Score Atlanta is looking for interns.

Please visit www.scoreatl.com/ internships for more information on our program.

Visit our website, ScoreAtl.com for the our weekly sports rankings. Download the free Georgia High School Scoring App www.scoreatl.com/mobile-app/ or in the app store for live scores all year long.

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NED’S NOTES

NATION’S TOP 3 TEAMS TO HIGHLIGHT COBB COUNTY CLASSIC

BY NED KAISH | NKAISH@SCOREATL.COM

enver, Notre Dame, and Duke form a log jam at the top of the college lacrosse preD season polls heading into 2016 and all three

teams will be on display at the Cobb County Classic on February 20th. College Lacrosse Productions is proud to present the third annual Cobb County Classic, which will be played at Kennesaw State’s Fifth Third Bank Stadium.

The first game of the day will feature #2 Notre Dame taking on #13 Georgetown starting at 11:30 am. Notre Dame comes into the 2016 season hungry after falling just short in overtime to Denver in the semifinals last spring. The Fighting Irish have appeared in two National Championship games since 2010 but are still looking for the program’s first title win. 2016 has the promise to be that year with the return of preseason All-Americans Matt

Kavanagh and Sergio Perkovic on offense and Matt Landis and Garrett Epple on defense.

Last season the Irish averaged 13.3 goals per game behind the play of Kavanagh who led the team with 52 points on 27 goals and 25 assists.

Perkovic has made his name known the last two years by playing his best on the biggest stage including scoring five goals against Denver in the semis last year and five against Duke in the 2014 National Championship. Perkovic returns to lead the Notre Dame midfield after scoring 34 goals last season. On the defensive side of the ball reigning ACC Defensive Player of the Year Matt Landis will be joined by preseason second team All-American Garrett Epple to protect the net.

Georgetown is looking to jump start its 2016 season with a win over a top five team

SANDY’S SPIEL

DYNAMIC DUO DOWNS THOMASVILLE

BY KYLE SANDY | KSANDY@SCOREATL.COM

I

decided to drive 217 miles down to Donalsonville, Georgia to watch two of South Georgia’s premier teams. One program, led by to established standouts and the other, off to its best start in school history loaded with size and versatility.

The four hour trip was worth it. Defending AA state champs No. 3 Seminole County (123, 5-1) never trailed in the second half and held off No. 1 Thomasville (16-1, 4-1) 71-65 to hand the Bulldogs their first loss of the season.

Thomasville’s balance of four players in double figures was not enough on the road against the Batman and Robin duo of UGA signee Jordan Harris and Anfernee King in front of a raucous sold out crowd. The Bulldogs jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead and looked

like their size consisting of 6-foot-8 brothers senior Alex and sophomore Reggie Perry and 6-foot-8 freshman Titus Wright, would overwhelm the much smaller Indians, topped by 6-foot-4 senior center Justin Washington, but the Jordan Harris show began.

Harris connected on two deep balls and scored 10 of his game-high 28 points in the first quarter to enter the second period tied at 16. Senior Jordan Willis, Thomasville’s offensive catalyst at point guard, did not start and didn’t play in the first quarter for disciplinary reasons. As he was trying to find his flow in the game, Coach Benjamin Tillman relied on Shedric Cooper and Reggie Perry to get buckets.

Perry, who finished with 12 points and eight rebounds, scored six points in the first half while

and start it’s road back to the NCAA Tournament, a road they haven’t been on since 2007.

After finishing last season with a 10-6 record, including 4-1 in Big East conference play, the Hoyas are optimistic about their return to the big dance. Midfielder Craig Berge, who finished last season with 16 goals and 21 assists, will lead the Hoya’s offense. Georgetown will also look for early production out of freshman attackmen Dan Bucaro and Chris Donovan, both of whom were top 20 recruits. On defense the Hoya’s will rely on another big year from sophomore goalie Nick Marrocco who finished second in the NCAA in saves last year with 206 and boasted a 55% save percentage.

The second matchup, which will face off at 2:00 pm, will feature the last three national champions as #3 Duke takes on #1 Denver. Denver took home the hardware last season, their first in program history, however not the first for head coach Bill Tierney. Tierney took over at Denver in 2010 after previously leading Princeton to six National Titles in the 90’s. Prior to the Pioneers win last Memorial Day, Duke coach John Danowski and his Blue Devils had captured the last two titles in 2013 and 2014. Danowski and Duke will look to get back to the Final Four this spring after missing out for the first time in eight years last spring. Last season Duke edged Denver 17-13 in the Cobb County Classic.

This matchup will feature two lacrosse titans who know a thing or two about scor-

ing goals. Last season both teams’ averaged 14 goals and don’t look to have any signs of slowing down. Denver will be lead by junior attackman Connor Cannizarro who finished 4th nationally in points and 6th in goals last season after posting 90 points on 57 goals and 33 assists. Cannizarro will be joined on the offensive end by fellow preseason first team AllAmerican, midfielder Tyler Pace who put up 49 points last year including 27 assists from the midfield. Preseason 2nd team All-American Zach Miller and his 61 points from last season give the Pioneers plenty of offensive threats. At the face-off X Trevor Baptiste looks to continue to make life easy for his offense after winning 68% of face-offs last season.

Duke will be led from the midfield as a pair of Blue Devils headlined the 1st team preseason All-American list. Seniors Myles Jones and Deemer Class combined for 120 points last spring. Jones led all midfielders in assists with 37 and added 40 goals as well. Class, more the shooter, finished last season with 34 goals. The two midfielders will be surrounded by a host of talented attackman which includes Justin Guterding who scored 52 goals last season as a freshman.

Photo courtesy of Ned Kaish.

Cooper netted seven of his 10.

Harris continued his onslaught in the second quarter hunting his own shot while still getting everyone involved. He entered the half with 18 points, swooping to the rim and cutting into Thomasville’s paint protectors. At the half the Indians held a 33-27 lead.

ous Perry slams, Harris went between his defender’s legs, re-controlled his dribble and hit a step back fade away from just inside the arc.

He pulled off the nutmeg so quickly, that most fans didn’t even realize what he had just done.

SECOND HALF ADJUSTMENTS

At the 1:40 mark, Harris picked up his fourth foul up 45-38 but King and Washington were able to carry the Indians into the fourth quarter leading 47-39. The Indians extended their lead to 49-39, their largest of the game with just under seven minutes to play, but the Bulldogs would show their bite and began clawing back, using a 8-0 run to make it 49-47.

Thomasville was in the double-bonus early in the fourth and began to pound away at the hoop, taking 16 fourth quarter free throws and sinking 12. Willis led the charge and scored 11 of his team-high 16 points in the fourth quarter and helped the Bulldogs draw even at 51, but it was short lived as King hit a layup to regain the lead. The senior guard poured in 13 fourth quarter points to finish with 21, hitting 9-of-12 free throws in the fourth quarter to help the Indians upset the Bulldogs.

Photo courtesy of Ty Freeman.

To open the third quarter, Thomasville slowed the track meet down and began looking to exploit their size advantage by dumping high-low looks to the Perry brothers. Three early attempts didn’t work with Harris coming away with a steal in Seminole County’s zone which was used to pack it in and not let the Perrys or Wright get point-blank looks.

Down 38-33 with five minute left in the third, Willis came away with a runout and tried to hammer in a dunk, but his attempt clanged off the back rim and landed in Tyreke Daniels’ hands. Daniels pushed the ball up and hit King in transition, who proceeded to bury a threepointer to make it 41-33; a five-point swing.

Alex Perry quickly answered back inside with a sweeping hook shot that resulted in an And-1, but Harris was not to be out done. In the highlight of the night, better than his alley oop dunk from the hands of King and numer-

FINISHING

©2015 Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Inc. All rights reserved. For official contest rules, visit choa.org/comeback.

Vol. 12 Iss. 2 | January 21-27, 2016

This comeback athlete had a long road back. Today it’s 8.5 miles.

Know a young athlete who overcame a serious injury or illness? Nominate them for Comeback Athlete of the Month at choa.org/comeback.

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Julio Jones

Georgia’s Attendance

With National Signing Day around the corner, the strength of Georgia’s high school football was put into perspective this week as it was calculated that 3,996 former players are currently on college football rosters.

Georgia clearly dominates the football landscape, but when you account the baseball, basketball and other talent cultivating in our backyard, it is clear how lucky we are.

The accolades are pouring in after Julio Jones’ recordsetting 2015 season. The five-year Pro added FirstTeam All-Pro AP, Sporting News & PFWA’s All-NFL to his list of honors. Jones led the League with his 1,871 receiving yards and tied Antonio Brown for second alltime with his 136 receptions.

While the decline in television ratings surrounding this year’s college football playoffs leads the national news and sparks debates, The GHSA announced the record support seen at this year’s Georgia high school football state finals. A total of 46,312 paid attendees made their way to the Georgia Dome and were treated to seven thrilling championship matchups.

By Ned Kaish

WHO’S HOT

Georgia Talent

SCORE LIST

By Craig Sager II RECORD SUPPORT

The 2015 state football championships in the Georgia Dome drew 46,312 in paid attendance for the seven games over two days, the GHSA announced Wednesday.

That surpasses the previous 2014 record of 45,744. With tickets being sold for $20 at the gate, it’s easy to see the financial impact of football in the state of Georgia. We will see what eight championship games draw in 2016.

SIGNING DAY FRENZY

The third annual National Signing Day Frenzy is weeks away as National Signing Day quickly approaches. This year’s comprehensive coverage includes the entire state as we track down every commit and signee. Visit signingdayfrenzy.com for our list of Georgia signees and all the event details as we prepare for another outstanding class of Peach State products.

DEFENDING CHAMPS SWEEP The defending dual wrestling state champions in each of Georgia’s six classifications successfully returned to the championship podium on Saturday at the Macon Centreplex. Archer won its fourth straight title in AAAAAA and Camden County clinched back-to-back crowns in AAAAA. Gilmer, Jefferson, Social Circle and Commerce round out the repeat champs.

GEORGIA STRONG In what turned out to be a thrilling national championship game with Alabama and Clemson, there were 27 former Georgia high school football players on the field. Georgia’s influence in the college landscape is clear and Steve Slay of the Georgia High School Football Historian’s Association calculated a total of 3,996 former players currently on college rosters.

MCDONALD’S ALL-AMERICANS

Two Atlanta high school basketball players have been selected to play in the 2016 McDonald’s All American Games. Alterique Gilbert of Miller Grove High School and Kobi Simmons of St. Francis High School were chosen along with 22 other top high school players from across the country to take part in the 29th edition of the game March 30 in Chicago.

WHO’S NOT

SCORE ATLANTA | www.ScoreAtl.com

Yellow Jackets

Clock Management

Friends or Foes

After signing off a signature win over the No. 4 ranked Virginia Cavaliers, Georgia Tech has lost back-to-back conference games. The Jackets will need to rebound quick as trips to Virginia Tech and Syracuse await a critical three-game home stand with ranked Duke and Miami. The inability to close out games has began to haunt Tech for another year.

Never mind the fact, that Chiefs kicker Cairo Santos kicked his onside kick directly at Rob Gronkowski (the biggest man on the field). Kansas City head coach Andy Reid took us back to his Philadelphia days as he showed the football world another disastrous attempt at clock management. With a two-possession deficit, it’s hardly the time to put guys in motion, call for substitutions and not take aggressive shots at the end zone.

The Atlanta Falcons pushed the reset button on the coaching staff last year and former head coach Mike Smith was out of a job and play caller Dirk Koetter was sent to Tampa Bay before the organization found out Jameis Winston would be a legitimate franchise quarterback. After leading a successful offense with the rookie passer, things have come full circle as Koetter is now the head coach of the Bucs and Smith was hired to lead the defensive side of the ball.

Watch out for these Bucs Falcons!

NUMBERS

OUR TWO CENTS

By Kyle Sandy

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

WHAT GEORGIA HIGH SCHOOL HAS THE MOST FORMER PLAYERS CURRENTLY ON COLLEGE FOOTBALL ROSTERS? ANSWER ON PAGE 14

“

SANITY AT LAST

“Their defensive energy is fueling everything else, so hopefully we can continue to get the starters to feed off that, too.”

- Mike Budenholzer on the bench play.

35.9

Peyton Manning’s QBR vs. Pittsburgh

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Hawks scored in double figures in their past two wins

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Bench points for Atlanta against the Magic

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Straight losses for Heritage-Conyers boys basketball

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Straight wins combined for No. 3 Calhoun and No. 7 Westminster boys

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No. 4 Gainesville was on an 11-0 run before D’Marcus Simonds fouled out at Wheeler

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Combined Super Bowl rings between Tom Brady and Peyton Manning

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Combined Super Bowl rings between Cam Newton and Carson Palmer

Vol. 12 Iss. 2 | January 21-27, 2016

ON THE COVER

COVER STORY

DOUBLE-TECH CALL DOES IN NO. 4 GAINESVILLE AT NO. 3 WHEELER

BY KYLE SANDY | KSANDY@SCOREATL.COM

S

chools were closed, but there was plenty of hoops action to celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day around the state. However, it ended up being a controversial double-technical call spoiled what was an outstanding Martin Luther King Jr. Day-game, as No. 3 Wheeler held off No. 4 Gainesville 82-69.

Gainesville (11-4) entered with just one actual loss and two via forfeit at Lanierland while Wheeler (14-5) strolled in with five straight wins. The litmus test that followed was as stiff as any in the state could face; the feisty Red Elephants at the six-time state champs, highlighted by last season’s 6A title team.

Wheeler entered the game without Cam Jordan at forward, leaving much work to do for the supporting cast. The Wildcats got everything and more from Makhai Eastmond and Kenny Aninye. Eastmond scored 13 points – nine in the first half – while Aninye netted 14 and grabbed six rebounds in his new found starting role. The 13-point final score was not a reflection of how the game unfolded however.

Georgia State signee D’Marcus Simonds

started the three-point barrage by hitting Messiah Dorsey to open the game. The Red Elephants sank five threes in the opening period, two apiece via Michael White and Dorsey.

Gainesville would finish with seven triples in the first half, but only added one more to the tally in the second half.

While the Elephants were bombing from deep, Darius Perry and unsung hero Makhai Eastmond kept the Wildcats afloat. Perry scored seven of his game-high 21 in the opening period while Eastmond hit two threes to help the ‘Cats head into the second quarter down 19-18.

GAINING GROUND

Wheeler opened the second quarter on a quick 7-0 spurt and at the 6:12 mark now up 25-19 after taking their first lead of the game with 7:11 to play, Simonds picked up his third foul. The Wildcats extended their run to 16-to-4 before Simonds checked back in, the Elephants now trailing 34-23 with 3:50 remaining in the first half. Everything seemed to click whenever

Simonds was on the floor and while Georgia Tech signee Romello White took a breather on the bench, Gainesville began to attack the basket. Tae Turner, who scored all 10 of his points in the first half, drove for an And-1 and cut the Wildcat lead to 36-30 with 2:06 left.

Momentum swung back into Wheeler’s favor when Perry drilled a straight away three at the buzzer to give the host Wildcats a 43-36 edge heading into the half.

With Simonds back on the floor, Gainesville made another push. He threw down a dunk in transition then added another bucket in the open floor to make it 47-44 before picking up his fourth foul 30 seconds later at the 4:31 mark.

The pesky Eastmond hit a jumper to stabilize things for Wheeler and would spark an 11-5 run to open up a 58-49 lead with 1:29 to play in the third. Then Simonds checked in.

The 6-foot-4 guard willed his team back into the game. Within seconds of re-entering, Simonds picked up an assist, hitting Dorsey for a three and then picked Eastmond’s pocket for a layup to bring the score to 60-54. With seconds remaining and Wheeler holding for a last shot, Simonds played the passing lane, picked off a pass and exploded for a thunderous twohanded jam right before the horn to close the gap to 60-58 entering the fourth. His return to the floor ignited an 11-0 run and gave the Red Elephants all the momentum early in the final period as Gainesville had finally caught up to the Wildcats after Simonds came away with another theft up front and boomed home another slam.

On the next possession, Wheeler was sent to the line. The crowd and Simonds still amped up about the dunk, during the free throw attempts on the other side of the court Eastmond and Simonds were jawing. Simonds, known for his fiery play and emotions, finished the back-and-forth with Eastmond and began walking up to the other side of the floor to get ready for the second free throw. While Simonds approached the play, Eastmond followed close behind… a little too close for the referees as they blew a double-technical. With the game tied at 60 with 7:30 remaining and in the midst of an 11-0 run, Simonds was fouled out on the tech.

Simonds’ final line in limited action read: 14 points, four rebounds, six assists and five steals. With the playmaker fouling out, Gaines-

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ville had to turn to Dorsey and Michael White.

The two combined for nine points in the quarter, but Gainesville would be outscored 22-to-9 with Simonds fouled out.

Anyine scored five consecutive points to push Wheeler’s lead to 71-67 with 2:54 remaining before Romello White finally began to wear down the smaller Elephant frontline.

He scored back-to-back And-1s and sparked a 14-2 run to end the game.

Photos courtesy of Ty Freeman.

BE A PART OF THE WORLD’S LARGEST

SIGNING DAY CELEBRATION

NATIONAL SIGNING DAY

Join us for an afternoon of celebration: FEB. 3 | 11am - 5pm *Schools will be assigned specific times

All Metro Atlanta High School Recruits, Coaches & Teams are Invited!

Parents, Friends, Cheerleaders, Family & Fans - Come Show Your Support!

STARS & STRIKES 8767 Roswell Rd. | Sandy Springs, GA 30350 Sign your team up for a time by calling Lauren Goldstein at 404.256.1572 or email her at lgoldstein@scoreatl.com

W W W. S I G N I N G D AY F R E N Z Y. C O M

CLASS AAAA

PREP SPORTS

DEFENDING CHAMPS SWEEP DUAL TITLES

BY KYLE SANDY | KSANDY@SCOREATL.COM

T

he defending dual wrestling state champions in each of Georgia’s six classifications successfully returned to the championship podium on Saturday at the Macon Centreplex.

In the state’s largest classification, North Forsyth challenged three-time defending state champion Archer in the class AAAAAA finals, but the Tigers’ depth prevailed in a 3730 decision to capture the program’s fourth straight dual title. Archer’s victory extends its win meet streak to 95 consecutive matches, which dates back to the 2012 season. Mountain View, which was sent to the consolation bracket with North Forsyth’s 28-23 semifinals victory on Friday, edged Lambert 38-24 to earn a spot in the consolation finals where they secured a third-place finish with a 45-16 win over Tift County.

CLASS AAAAA

Camden County won a championship rematch with Woodland-Cartersville 59-8 to win its second straight Class AAAAA title on Saturday and third all-time dual crown. The Wildcats cruised through this year’s bracket with a combined 257-26 scoring advantage over their four opponents. Cass was sent to the consolation bracket with a heartbreaking 29-28 loss to Clarke Central, but exacted revenge with a surprising 50-15 runaway victory over the Gladiators in the third-place match. Woodland held off Allatoona with a 56-12 win in the semifinals and then it was Cass that ended the Bucs’ run in the consolation bracket with a 29-25 victory.

Clarke Central faced South Paulding in the consolation semis and used a 35-24 win to set up the unsuccessful rematch with Cass.

Gilmer captured its seventh straight title with a 45-21 decision over Buford in the AAAA finals. The Bobcats’ closest test came in the quarterfinals, where they held off North Hall 40-30. Gilmer won its semifinals match over Locust Grove 50-27. Buford’s run to the finals went through a gauntlet of top programs as the Wolves edged Heritage-Catoosa 43-31 in the first round and had to survive a 42-31 match with West Laurens in the quarterfinals. Buford matched up with Marist in the semifinals and edged the War Eagles 41-24. North Hall survived a 37-36 win over Heritage-Catoosa in the consolation semis and then edged Marist 3834 to set up a third-place clinching 46-27 win over West Laurens.

CLASS AAA

Jefferson remains unbeaten in state meet action since the inception of the state duals in 2002 and brought home the program’s 15th straight title on Saturday with a 61-11 win over Jackson County in the finals. After falling to Jefferson 53-15 in the semifinals, Lumpkin County beat Calhoun 42-22 to set up a thirdplace match with Ringgold. Ringgold was able to hold off the Indians 32-29 to take third place. Ringgold advanced past Franklin County

51-23 in the first round and cruised to a 52-21 win over Blessed Trinity in the quarterfinals before runner-up Jackson County sent the Tigers into the loser’s bracket with a 45-22 win.

CLASS AA

Social Circle edged Bremen 34-31 to capture its first state title a year ago and added back-to-back Class AA crowns with a 38-25 win over the Blue Devils in Saturday’s championship rematch. After falling to Bremen 28-21 in the semifinals, Lovett used a 49-27 win over Fitzgerald and a 39-20 victory over Armuchee to take third place.

CLASS A

Commerce won its third straight Class A title with little resistance as the Tigers took a 54-15 win over Mt. Zion-Carroll in the finals.

Commerce outscored Turner County 60-10 to open the meet before a 69-6 win over Trion in the semifinals. Mt. Zion outscored Treutlen 45-34 in the semis to set up the finals rematch with Commerce, which they fell short 54-24 last year. Trion battled past Turner County 39-34 in the consolation semifinals and then edged Treutlen 47-25 in the third-place match.

Photos courtesy of the Athletic Image.

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Vol. 12 Iss. 2 | January 21-27, 2016 UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA

KIRBY SMART IS A FULL-TIME GEORGIA BULLDOG

BY DAN MATHEWS | DMATHEWS@SCOREATL.COM

T

he time has come for Kirby Smart to fully take fully take over the Georgia program, now that his duties at Alabama have some to an end. He mentioned that he’s ready for one singular job again.

“It’s great to be home,” Smart said. “It’s great to have one job.”

That one job has begun quickly for Smart, with coaching hires being made periodically throughout the last month. He had been away for the “dead period” in recruiting.

Now, he comes to Athens as a member of a coaching staff that just won their fourth national title in the last seven years at Alabama.

He’s also been able to get into more of a routine in his new job.

“I cannot explain how well I slept last night,” Smart said. “Number one, we won the national championship at the University of Alabama. To be able to finish that the right way was a relief. Obviously we did not perform the way I wanted to perform, but we won the game.

To know that those players achieved what they

GEORGIA STATE

JEREMY HOLLOWELL RECOGNIZED

BY KYLE SANDY | KSANDY@SCOREATL.COM

S

aturday afternoon resulted in a 70-55 win for Georgia State (10-3, 3-1) over South Alabama (6-9, 1-3) at the GSU Sports Arena.

Jeremy Hollowell finished with a game-high 23 points to pace the Panthers. Kevin Ware added 20 points and five rebounds. Aside from a Nick Stover dunk 23 seconds into the game, Georgia State led wire-to-wire.

“We accomplished what we wanted to accomplish this weekend in winning two games,” head coach Ron Hunter said. “We know that to be a championship team we have to win at home. I thought for the most part our defense was really good. I see us getting better because I see our offense coming around, but we still have some work to do to get where we want to be.”

On Thursday the Panthers edged Troy 7268 led by Hollowell’s 22 points, Kevin Ware’s 17 and Isaiah Williams’ 16.

Georgia State led 38-28 at the half and were never threatened by the Jaguars on Saturday. They are off to their second-best start

wanted to achieve, and then to get into this room yesterday and meet with this team, the University of Georgia team, my team. Everybody told me when you get to do that finally, and it’s the only thing you have to worry about, it would be a great relief.”

According to Smart during his Wednesday press conference, it doesn’t sound like sleep will be as readily available to him in the coming weeks. That is because a new recruiting contact period starts Thursday January 14 and goes all the way to February 3’s National Signing Day.

Smart plans on getting out to recruits immediately.

“No down time now,” Smart said. “Now’s the hottest time there is for recruiting. We’re getting ready to get back on the road. We’re going to attack the road. We’re going to try to go get the best players we can. We’re going to build this thing through recruiting, which you have to do. No down time now. It may feel like a down time to me, from what I’ve got.”

The Bulldogs now have their coaching staff fully in place, with the recent hiring of Alabama defensive backs coach Mel Tucker to be the new defensive coordinator’s coach. He will also coach that same position group at Georgia.

Newly hired Glenn Schumann will primarily coach the inside linebackers, while Kevin Sherrer will take the outside linebackers. Smart says he’ll also be hands on at times with the inside group and the two might crossover on coaching duties at times.

in program history and improved to 35-7 in Sun Belt games since returning to the league before the start of the 2013-14 season. Since that time, the Panthers are 32-1 at home and improved to 57-16 in their last 73 games dating back to Dec. 14, 2013.

JEREMY DOING HOLLO-WELL

Junior 6-foot-8 forward Jeremy Hollowell has been the go-to guy all year for the Panthers and is a key reason why Georgia State has not suffered from a hangover after last season’s magical run and loss of R.J. Hunter to graduation. The former Indiana Hoosier transferred two years ago and had to sit out this past season to become eligible. He has been an impact player, leading GSU in scoring at 15.8 points per game while posting 4.5 rebounds a night.

Over his last three games Hollowell has averaged 21 points and has garnered recognition for his play. He was named Sun Belt Player of the Week and also honored by GSU as being the Student-Athlete of the Week.

2017 FOOTBALL SCHEDULE RELEASED

The Panthers will open up the 2017 season hosting Tennessee State. Notable non-conference opponents include Penn State and Memphis. For 2016, GSU makes trips to Air Force and Wisconsin. Looming in 2018, the Panthers get their first crack at Kennesaw State at home.

North Carolina State and Memphis are also on the slate.

GEORGIA TECH

JACKETS STUMBLE AFTER SIGNATURE WIN

BY COLIN HUBBARD | INFO@SCOREATL.COM

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he Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets had never won a signature game under head coach Brian Gregory but that all changed on McCamish Pavilion on Jan. 9.

The Yellow Jackets knocked off the No.4 ranked Virginia Cavaliers 68-64 in front of their home crowd giving them their first win in ACC play in 2016.

The win in league play ended a 7-game losing streak for the Yellow Jackets. After the win, however, Tech has dropped back-to-back games.

Last Wednesday saw Tech fall at Notre Day 72-64 and this past Saturday, Tech stumbled en route to a 78-77 loss to visiting Virginia Tech.

The loss to the Hokies saw Georgia Tech blow a 43-33 halftime advantage as the Yellow Jackets allowed 45 points in the second half.

Marcus Georges-Hunt netted 16 of his careerhigh 27 points in the second half for Georgia Tech but they could not close on the defensive side.

After Georgia Tech took a 74-64 with

KENNESAW STATE

AAREON SMITH NAMED A-SUN PLAYER OF THE WEEK

BY KYLE SANDY | KSANDY@SCOREATL.COM

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fter hitting 7-of-12 shots from the field and a blistering 75 (6-of-8) percent from beyond the arc, junior forward Aareon Smith earned Atlantic Sun Player of the Week honors for the second consecutive week, the league announced on Monday (Jan. 11).

Smith dropped her second-straight 23-point effort, this time scorching North Florida on 58 percent shooting and 75 percent from deep to help Kennesaw State stay unbeaten in league play. The junior hit six of the Owls’ 10 3-pointers, which fell three shy of breaking a new single-game team record.

The Louisville, Kentucky native torched the Ospreys for 17 points in the first half and helped the Owls gain a commanding lead and led wire-to-wire for a 70-55 victory. The 70 points were the second-most points scored in a win this season.

For the season, Smith is averaging 9.7 points per game and has started in 11 of KSU’s

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4:32 left, the momentum of the game switched as Virginia Tech closed with a 14-3 run.

The run was sparked by a costly turnover as Charles Mitchell rebounded a Kerry Blackshear Jr. miss but threw the ball away. Josh Heath secured the pass and was fouled before calmly sinking both free throws to make it 7468 with four minutes left.

“When a play like that happens, it’s both guys’ fault,” said Georgia Tech coach Brian Gregory. “The guard has to come back to the ball and we have to make a better decision on the outlet. The second one was just being sloppy.”

Georgia Tech has been outscored 90-25 from the free throw line in its five ACC games.

“Obviously disappointed in our secondhalf performance,” Gregory said. “In particular, being (un)able to guard the basketball without fouling.”

UP NEXT

Georgia Tech will need to get back on track with a crucial weekend home game looming against No. 17 Louisville. Tipoff is set for 4 PM and the game will air on ESPN2. Following the contest with the Cardinals, Tech will play at NC State on Wednesday and at Syracuse on Saturday, January, 30 before coming home for a three-game stand, which includes No. 20 Duke and No. 15 Miami.

17 games. The junior is shooting 38 (35-of-91) percent from beyond the arc, and is second on the team in most 3-pointers on the season.

Smith is also 79 percent from the free throw line, which is third on the Owls’ roster.

Smith and the Owls will wrap-up their two-game Florida road trip against Jacksonville and Christin Mercer—who was named Newcomer of the Week—at 7 p.m. on ESPN3 at Swisher Gymnasium Monday evening.

MEN’S HOOP ACTION

The Owls could not hold on to a 47-42 halftime lead and suffered a 93-28 loss to North Florida as the Ospreys outscored them 51-31 in the second half. The Owls led by 14 points in the first half before North Florida used an 11-0 run to eventually close the cap to 47-42.

“The final score is not an indication of how well we played this evening,” said head coach Al Skinner. “ The first 20 minutes we played well, but foul trouble created some difficulties for us and didn’t allow us to continue to be as aggressive as we wanted to be. It’s a learning experience. It’s always tough to play on the road. To win on the road, you have to be good defensively and take advantage of your opportunities.”

The Owls return to the court Thursday to host Florida Gulf Coast.

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ATLANTA HAWKS

HAWKS PICK UP PAIR OF WINS

BY KYLE SANDY | KSANDY@SCOREATL.COM

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short two-game road trip resulted in losses at Charlotte (107-84) and Milwaukee (108-101), but upon returning back to Philips Arena, Atlanta now 25-17 and in sole possession of first-place in the Southeast Division, the Hawks have burned the Nets 114-86 and on Monday spurned the Magic 98-81.

Saturday night saw six Hawks score in double figures against the lowly Brooklyn Nets (11-30). Paul Millsap scored a game-high 21 points, followed by Kent Bazmore and Dennis Schroder’s 15 points apiece.

Millsap, who scored his 10,000th career point in the win, was pleased with the team’s overall effort.

“It was great, the way we moved the basketball, the way we played defense,” Millsap said. “The test is how do we respond Monday.”

They passed the test.

Atlanta led by as many as 25 points before cruising to a 98-81 win over the visiting Magic. The Hawks led 51-38 at the half as Orlando never threatened. Once again six Hawks

ATLANTA BRAVES

JOHNSON RETURNS TO BRAVES WITH ONEYEAR CONTRACT

BY RICKY DIMON | RDIMON@SCOREATL.COM

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eteran utility man Kelly Johnson signed a one-year, $2 million contract with the Atlanta Braves last week. This will be Johnson’s third stint in Atlanta, where he began his career after being selected in the first round of the 2000 draft. The 33-year-old played for the Braves from 2005 through 2009 and again during the first half of last season. He was shipped off to the New York Mets prior to the trade deadline.

“The people that are running the organization were there my first time through, so it’s like family,” Johnson told the team’s website. “It was just a nice feeling to come back last year and see all of those faces and just be very comfortable.

Honestly, it kind of pushes me a little bit. There’s some motivation to be at home and also to kind of show off and do well for guys who were there with me at the beginning.”

The Austin, Tex. native is a career .251 hitter with 145 home runs and 516 RBIs in 10 seasons. His best year came with the Arizona

scored in double digits paced by Al Horford’s 15 points and seven rebounds. Led by Mike Scott’s 12 points and Tiago Splitter and Thabo Sefolosha’s 10, the Hawks netted 49 points off the bench. Atlanta held Orlando to 34.5 percent shooting while Coach Mike Budenholzer’s bunch connected at a 51.3 percent clip.

“Our defense was terrible again,” Magic coach Scott Skiles said. “Overall we looked very slow out there tonight on both ends.”

Budenholzer on the other hand, was excited to see how his team’s defense played, especially the spark provided by the bench.

“Their defensive energy is fueling everything else, so hopefully we can continue to get the starters to feed off that, too,” he said. “It’s been good to see that for a few games in a row.”

The Magic fall to 20-20. Aaron Gordon posted a game-high 18 points off the bench and recorded seven rebounds. Elfrid Payton scored 16 while rookie Mario Hezonja and Nikola Vucevic both added 10.

PRIME TIME

The entire nation gets to see what the Hawks are made of on Wednesday night as they travel to the Moda Center to play the 19-25 Portland Trailblazers. In their first meeting this season back on Dec. 21, the Hawks came away with a 106-97 victory. Dennis Schroder infamously lost a cap on his tooth during the game and had to put the tooth in his sock. Schroder finished the game with a team-high 18 points to lead six Hawks that cracked double figures.

Diamondbacks in 2010, when he batted .284 while going deep 26 times and driving in 71 runs. Johnson was a regular starter for Atlanta in 2007 and 2008, a stretch that featured a .282 batting average, 28 homers and 138 RBIs. He hit .265 with 14 dingers in 310 at-bats with the Braves and Mets during the 2015 campaign. Although he played sparingly for New York in the playoffs, he at least made an appearance in the World Series (no hits in two at-bats).

BOBBLEHEAD

Mark your calendars for May 28 of the upcoming season, which will be the Braves’ last at Turner Field before moving to the new SunTrust Park in Cobb County in 2017. That is the date on which a must-have bobblehead will be handed out to the first 20,000 fans through the turnstiles. It is a “Chipper Rescues Freddie” bobblehead, commemorating the memorable moment during the 2014 snow and ice storm in Atlanta that led to Chipper Jones taking his ATV to rescue Freeman—who was stranded on a highway. One can only assume that it will closely resemble the iconic photo posted to Twitter by Jones’ wife, Taylor. In it, the two players have pulled into Jones’ driveway with Freeman on the back of the ATV clinging to the future Hall of Famer’s waist.

ATLANTA FALCONS

JONES NAMED TO ALL-NFL TEAM

BY DAN MATHEWS | DAMTHEWS@SCOREATL.COM

alcons wide receiver Julio Jones was named FFootball to the All-NFL and All-NFC teams by the Pro Writers of America on Monday.

Jones finished his incredible fifth year with the team catching 136 passes for 1,871 yards and eight touchdowns as the Falcons finished 8-8. Jones is one of three players all-time to record 1,800-plus receiving yards in a single season and he is one of five Falcons players to record 1,800-plus yards from scrimmage in a single season (1,871).

Jones and Pittsburgh wide receiver Antonio Brown each finished the season with 136 receptions, which tied them for second on the NFL’s single season reception list. (Marvin Harrison, 143, 2002).

The NFC South filled more places on the All-NFL teams as Carolina’s Cam Newton earned first team at quarterback. Tampa Bay’s Doug Martin earned first team at running back and center Ryan Kalil of the Panthers received honors. Defensively, Carolina linebacker Luke Kuechly and cornerback Josh Norman made the All-NFL lineup.

GHSA BASKETBALL

CEDAR SHOALS SNEAKS PAST HERITAGE

BY KYLE SANDY | KSANDY@SCOREATL.COM

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asketball is a 32-minute game. For 26 minutes, host No. 7 Heritage was the better team, crushing the offensive glass and sinking four first quarter threes, but as all good teams do, No. 5 Cedar Shoals was able to weather the storm and in the end found a way to pull out another Region 8 victory.

Heritage buried four three-pointers in the first quarter paced by Jordan Thomas, who would sink five on the night en route to a teamhigh 15 points, giving the Patriots a 22-11 lead at the end of one.

The second quarter belonged to Phlan Fleming and the Jaguars. Held scoreless in the first, the junior swingman hotly recruited

by SOCON schools got going. He led an 18-9 Cedar Shoals second quarter with nine of his 11 points, leading to a 31-29 halftime score; the Jaguars never holding the lead.

While it was Fleming’s second quarter, the third belonged to Cedar Shoals’ Snipe Hall.

The junior poured in 11 of the Jaguars’ 15 third quarter points, the other four being scored by

WATCHFUL EYE

The first face-to-face evaluations before draft day officially kickoffs at the Senior Bowl with the official weigh-in and measurements on Monday in Mobile, Ala. The game is set for 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 30 at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.

SEC talent will highlight the list of players as 23 of the conference’s best will head to Mobile.

The list includes Alabama running back Kenyon Drake (Hillgrove), Georgia wide receiver Malcolm Mitchell, Alabama linebacker Reggie Ragland, Mississippi State quarterback Dak Prescott and Alabama quarterback Jake Coker.

A total of eight players from the ACC have accepted invitations to the all-star game including N.C. State quarterback Jacoby Brissett.

“It’s going to be a huge emphasis, the line of scrimmage on both sides,” said Falcons head coach Dan Quinn.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR

The Atlanta Journal Constitution’s Falcons beat writer D. Orlando Ledbetter compiled a list of five players the team will have their eyes on next week. The names include Michigan State center Jake Allen, Missouri center Evan Boehm, Washington State tackle Joe Dahl, Stanford center Josh Garnett and Missouri guard McGovern.

Allen is a two-time All-American and Boehm started a school-record 52 straight games for the Tigers. Dahl is a versatile prospect at 6-foot5 that has played left guard and left tackle.

Garnett is Stanford’s first Outland Trophy Winner and McGovern is one of the strongest draft prospects on the board with his school-record shattering weight room numbers.

point guard Jerrick Mitchell. As Hall worked his way to a game-high 16 points, the Jags still never captured the lead and trailed Heritage 46-44 entering the final period.

When the going got tough, the Jaguars sank their teeth into the Patriots, clamping down and allowing just five fourth quarter points. Senior guard Greg Smith, who was held scoreless through the first 25 minutes of the game, scored back-to-back buckets to give Cedar Shoals their first lead of the game, 48-46 with 6:06 left.

Isaiah Banks hit Thomas in the corner for his fifth and final three of the night to make it 51-50 in favor of Heritage with 2:16 to play.

That bucket proved to not only be Thomas’ final points of the night, but the Patriots’ as well. Stavion Stevenson gave the Jaguars the lead back on a jumper. Banks was fouled with 1:36 to play but missed the front-end of the one-and-one.

After a jump ball with 7.9 seconds left, Abrams burned two timeouts trying to inbound the ball and on the third try, Mitchell was called for a hold on Wilkerson, sending the big man to the line with a one-and-one opportunity to tie or potentially win the game.

Wilkerson’s free throw bounced on the rim three times before falling into Fleming’s hands.

Fleming coolly sank both free throws with 6.2 seconds. Charles Moore raced up the court and pulled up for a clean look to send the game to overtime, but his shot rimmed out.

Vol. 12 Iss. 2 | January 21-27, 2016

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Vol. 12 Iss. 2 | January 21-27, 2016

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