Score Atlanta Vol. 10 Issue 25

Time to look great!

VOLUME 10 ISSUE 25 |

JULY 11-17, 2014

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YOUR SOURCE FOR SPORTS IN GEORGIA

America Gets It | Pg. 4 Stephen Black discusses the nation’s sudden interest in World Cup soccer

Reclassification Update | Pg. 8 Craig Sager II reviews some of the biggest changes in the latest GHSA shift

MAKING MOVES Hawks change roster through draft, free agency | Pg. 5

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Vol. 10 Iss. 25 | July 11-17, 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 SENIOR MANAGING EDITOR Stephen Black ASST. MANAGING EDITOR Craig Sager II MARKETING/ Lauren Goldstein PARTNERSHIP DIRECTOR

BUSINESS MANAGER Marvin Botnick

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Marcus Nabors

BEAT WRITERS Ricky Dimon (Braves) Robert Tinter (Hawks, Tech) Brian Jones (KSU) Dan Mathews (UGA) Craig Sager II (Falcons) Matt Cason (Dream) David Norwood (GSU)

STAFF WRITERS Alex Ewalt Darrin Heatherly Lia Sewell Alex Ordu

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

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ON THE INSIDE AT SCORE

GEORGIA STATE | KENNESAW STATE GEORGIA | GEORGIA TECH

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BRAVES | FALCONS HAWKS | DREAM

On ScoreAtl.com, we will continually be updating you, our readers, on the progress of the Falcons this offseason as they move towards what looks to be a promising 2014 season. We will have reporters at minicamp as well as training camp and Friday Night Lights.

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BREAKING BLACK

U.S. FINALLY NOTICES SOCCER ON TV; FALCONS FLYING UNDER THE RADAR

BY STEPHEN BLACK | SBLACK@SCOREATL.COM

have been watching the World Cup intently Icountry since 1990. Soccer was a bad word in this at that point, unless you were talking about the suburban rec leagues that were full of grade school kids. But no one really liked watching soccer on television in the U.S. It was boring, it was low scoring, it was a “communist sport”.

I didn’t understand the game at first except that when the checkered ball found the back of the net, it was a goal. The best part about the World Cup for me - and the one or two friends I knew that watched the spectacle - was the uniforms. Why did Italy wear blue jerseys if the national colors were red, white and green? Why were Germany’s road digs Kelly green, almost like Ireland? Is there a reason why Holland wore so much orange?

It was all a great big mystery to me, which attracted me even more. Adding to that spark was the passion the rest of the world showed for the game. Despite living in the Siberia of the soccer world, I could tell the sport meant everything to people in other parts of our planet. Also, who can’t appreciate the World War II implications when nations like Holland and France played Germany? Or the palpable tension when the Soviet Union played one of the Eastern Bloc nations?

For years, the World Cup remained nothing more than a nice little diversion for myself and a few other Americans every four years.

So it has been a bit of a shock when, suddenly, every bar in the country is jam-packed not only for the USMNT matches, but also for affairs like Argentina vs. Belgium and Colombia

DIMON CLUB

FALCONS USE OFFSEASON TO BOLSTER KEY POSITIONS WITH DEPTH

BY RICKY DIMON | RDIMON@SCOREATL.COM

eading into the offseason, the Falcons knew they had to address positions such as lineH backer, cornerback, safety and backup quarterback. Throw a few injuries and releases into the equation and most of those spots became even bigger needs. Atlanta wasted no time answering those questions, at least in part, and they did so with a handful of veterans.

DOBBINS DAY …

On the same day that Atlanta traded for Houston quarterback T.J. Yates, it also signed former Texans’ veteran linebacker Tim Dobbins to a one-year contract. In June, the Falcons suddenly found themselves in the market for a middle linebacker after a season-ending Achilles’ injury to Sean Weatherspoon. Enter Dobbins, who comes cheaply (for the veteran

minimum salary) but with plenty of experience. The former Iowa State Cyclone has spent eight years in the NFL and in seven of those seasons, he has played in at least 14 games.

His first four years in the League came in San Diego, where he started eight games in 2008 and recorded a career-high 46 tackles.

He made a total of 10 starts during his tenure as a Charger before heading to Miami in 2010.

With the Dolphins, Dobbins played under current Falcons’ defensive coordinator Mike Nolan.

LOWERY LOVE …

Atlanta’s overhaul in the offseason included the release of safety Thomas DeCoud and the April signing of Dwight Lowery, who had previously been with Jacksonville. Lowery has loose ties to Falcons’ General Manager Thom-

vs. Brazil. Twenty years ago, no one even knew if the U.S. fielded a soccer squad. Now, the Americans play on television in front of more than 20 million of their own countrymen.

It is good to see that mainstream America is no longer scared of liking soccer. There was never any reason to be afraid of the game our English cousins developed and spread throughout the rest of the world. While we won’t win it all for quite some time, it will be interesting to see how much this nation supports the USMNT, which is a year-round process. If you follow the team through the friendlies, qualifiers and “other” tournaments throughout the years, you know that a lot goes into becoming a competitive soccer nation prior to the World Cup.

will benefit the most from this transformation and should improve astronomically over his team-leading 543 rushing yards last year. The NFL’s best wide receiver duo returns healthy and Matt Ryan will be protected behind a revamped offensive line.

While the national media fawns over the Saints and Panthers, the league’s biggest surprise plays its games right here next to CNN.

UNDER THE RADAR …

I’ll admit it, the Falcons were a little weak last year. They needed to get back to the basics of football – blocking, tackling and controlling the trenches.

It looks like they’ve done it. The acquisitions of Tyson Jackson, Paul Soliai, Jon Asamoah and Gabe Carimi beef up the Falcons’ lines of scrimmage. They drafted linemen with their first two picks (one on offense, one on defense) and also selected a whopping four linebackers.

Bruising running back Steven Jackson

TURTLE FLIPS …

One of the good guys in all of college basketball is Georgia’s Mark Fox. He is roundly respected in the game by his peers and has never aroused suspicion from the NCAA for wrongdoing. His gameplans are routinely sound and his teams always play hard.

The one problem Fox has is talent. He never seems to get it in Athens, at least on a regular basis.

Turtle Jackson plays at Athens Christian, right under Fox’s nose. When he committed to UConn in February it looked like another one got away, which drove Georgia fans crazy.

However, Jackson flipped to Georgia Monday in a huge get for Fox. What remains to be seen is if the Bulldogs’ staff can capitalize on this bit of good fortune.

Photo courtesy of AP Images.

as Dimitroff from Lowery’s days at San Jose State while Dimitroff was the Patriots’ director of college scouting from 2003 through 2007.

The front office mastermind certainly had to like what he saw from Lowery in college.

After playing two years of junior-college ball (he had 13 interceptions in less than two full seasons), Lowery transferred to San Jose State and did not miss a beat in production despite the spike in competition. The Santa Cruz, Calif. native led the nation with nine interceptions in 2006 and he bagged four more as a senior while being named to the All-WAC team.

BEAR COUNTRY …

McKenna Sean Pascoe is more than just a player with a fun nickname, “Bear.” He is a tight end who brings sorely-needed starting experience to the Falcons in the wake of future Hall of Famer Tony Gonzalez’s retirement. Gonzalez spent his last five NFL seasons in Atlanta and played in every single game during that stretch.

He caught at least 70 passes and was targeted at least 111 times in each one of those seasons.

Gonzalez exceeded 800 receiving yards on four of five occasions and his red-zone prowess saw him snag 35 total touchdowns. Needless to say, there is suddenly a void at that position in Atlanta that cannot be filled by one single person. The task is falling upon Pascoe and Levine Toilolo, who was drafted by the Fal-

cons in the fourth round of the 2013 NFL Draft.

A five-year veteran, Pascoe signed with the Falcons as a free agent on May 1. He spent each of his first five seasons in the league with the New York Giants after being selected by that franchise in the sixth round of the 2009 draft.

GREYHOUND GREAT …

Yates is a Marietta native and former Pope High School standout. After graduating from Pope in 2006, he took his talents to the University of North Carolina. Yates spent five years at Chapel Hill (he redshirted in 2006) and his career as a four-year starter saw him set school records for total passing yards, single-season passing yards and single-season total offense. Now he is back in Atlanta after the Falcons swung a deal with Houston to acquire the backup quarterback last month.

“It was awesome news,” Yates told the Atlanta Journal Constitution’s D. Orlando Ledbetter, while explaining that he heard about the trade during dinner at Chipotle. “It was great news for me and my wife.”

The Falcons will be happy to have Yates back home, as well, in part because it ensures they will not have to go up against him. That happened once, in a Dec. 4, 2011 contest, and it did not end well for Atlanta.

Photo courtesy of the Atlanta Falcons.

Vol. 10 Iss. 25 | July 11-17, 2014 team and what he’s looking forward to when he puts on the Hawks jersey.

“I’m very excited to play in this system,” said Payne after being drafted. “The offense in Atlanta is my style of play and Coach Bud [Mike Budenholzer] is a great coach. I really am just excited and looking forward to getting down to Atlanta and getting to work.”

Payne has been in the collegiate spotlight for his work on and off the court and showcased his ability to thrive in big moments by posting a polished 41-point game against Delaware this year in the NCAA tournament. The Hawks were at the bottom of the league in rebounding this year and having a scorer with Payne’s aggressiveness on the glass is the perfect piece to take pressure off a healthy Al Horford. Payne has the versatility shared by his counterparts in the front court and the more roles he can fill, the quicker he’ll be able to make his impact.

“I’m a versatile player and that’s the way I play the game,” Payne said. “I can guard different positions. I can play inside and out, defensively and offensively.”

ON THE COVER

HAWKS HOOPS

HAWKS REINFORCE, IMPROVE ROSTER WITH OFFSEASON ADDITIONS

BY CRAIG SAGER II | CSAGER@SCOREATL.COM

n the past two weeks, the Atlanta Hawks Itors, have sent Lou Williams to the Toronto Rapsigned free-agent Thabo Sefolosha from the Thunder and added three players during the 2014 NBA draft with first-rounder Adreian Payne and second-round selections Walter Tavares and Lamar Patterson.

GROWING PAYNE …

Finding pieces that fit the team’s mold in the draft was the first challenge and the Hawks walked away from it elated with their selections.

At 6-foot-10, Payne (No. 15 overall pick) is a true power forward that starred under legendary head coach Tom Izzo at Michigan State, a program that Hawks general manager Danny Ferry says the organization is familiar with and trusts.

“Michigan State guys are guys that we like,” Ferry said during the draft press conference. “They play with a high level of competitiveness. It’s a program that we greatly respect.

Obviously, he’s been raised the right way by Tom Izzo at Michigan State. (We are) excited to have him.”

Payne improved his production every year at the school and averaged 16.4 points per game his senior season while hauling in double-digit rebounds for the second year of his career.

Payne stepped into his role with the Spartans and saw action in 34 games his freshman season while averaging just 2.5 points per game and 2.4 rebounds. The following year his production increased to 4.2 rebounds per game and he chipped in a much-improved seven points per game. By the end of his junior year, he was on both the preseason Naismith and Wooden Award watchlists. Payne’s ability to show improvement each year is one of the many qualities Ferry and the organization liked about Payne heading into the draft.

Payne’s athleticism on the boards and in the paint paired with his range makes him the ideal fit for the Hawks. The Hawks’ offense operates at an uptempo pace and uses its outside shooting and ball movement to spread the floor. Payne’s skill set satisfies both of the offense’s key ingredients and the Hawks noticed this match while making their decision to draft Payne.

“We want to play with pace and space,” Ferry said. “Adreian is someone who can do both from being able to run the court and compete on both ends while being able to shoot the basketball. He fits into the way we want to play.”

Payne went through his round of media sessions in New York after being selected and called in to talk briefly about his role on this

THE SECOND-ROUNDERS …

Atlanta went international with its next draft selection while also choosing the biggest prospect in this year’s draft with Walter Tavares. The 7-foot-3 Cape Verde native plays for Spain’s ACB League, which is considered the next best league in the world to the NBA.

Tavares is a developing prospect, but the upside and combination of size and ability was too much for the Hawks to pass on.

“We felt like it was a good risk to take,” said Ferry about drafting Tavares. “We look forward to helping him develop going forward.”

The Hawks picked up Patterson through a trade with Milwaukee that sent Atlanta’s second-round pick next year to the Bucks. Patterson is a 6-foot-5 shooting guard that was taken 48th overall. He has four years of collegiate experience under his belt while playing at Pittsburgh. Patterson posted 17.1 points per game while averaging 32.6 minutes per game last season.

Payne and Patterson each come in with a ton of experience and success at the collegiate level. Tavares on the other hand, is the young one out of the picks. However, he’ll enter the league as one of its biggest current players and his all-world size gives him an edge. Developing players is a process that the organization is very confident about.

“We develop everyone on this team,” said Ferry. “Kyle Korver got a lot better last year as an example. As an organization, we put a focus on all our players to continue developing.”

The Hawks established structure despite a string of injuries during Budenholzer’s first season with the team and their flexibility with cap space puts them in great shape heading

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into the 2014-15 season. Atlanta boasts the second longest postseason streak in the NBA with seven consecutive appearances.

FREE-AGENT MOVES …

The trade that sent Williams to Toronto also sent 2013 Atlanta draft pick Lucas Nogueira to the Raptors while importing Raptors veteran guard John Salmons. With the option to wave Salmons and use cap space to continue shopping free agency, the organization was busy hosting some of the big names in free agency. Luol Deng sits atop the Hawks’ wishlist and Atlanta has pushed hard to bring in the two-time All-Star.

While the Deng deal remains a possibility, the Hawks picked up Sefolosha. The former Thunder swingman agreed to a three-year $12 million deal that came fully guaranteed. Sefolosha is coming off a poor 2013-14 season but if he returns to form, this would be a major bargain at just $4 million per year.

Atlanta’s weakness last year was out on the wing and Korver and DeMarre Carroll were forced to play through injuries throughout the season during the Hawks’ playoff push. Sefolosha has the ability to have a significant impact both offensively and defensively on the wing and will help free up Korver and the three-point shooting of the Hawks. The native of Switzerland is known for his defense that earned him second team All-NBA in 2010 and his threepoint shooting. During the 2012-13 season with the Thunder, he set career highs with 108 3-pointers made and 7.6 points per game.

Photos courtesy of Scott Cunningham/ NBAE/Getty Images.

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Atlanta Dream

Sefolosha to Hawks

The Atlanta Braves have three players who will be a part of the 2014 MLB All-Star Game. Pitchers Julio Teheran and Craig Kimbrel will be in the rotation for the National League All-Stars. Teheran has the most wins for a Braves pitcher with 8, while Kimbrel leads the majors with 27 saves. First baseman Freddie Freeman also earned a spot on the roster due to his total of 104 hits on the season, a number that leads the Braves.

On Tuesday night, the Dream defeated the Sun 83-71 at Philips Arena. The Dream shot 50 percent from the field while holding the Sun to only 39 percent shooting. The win gives the Atlanta Dream a 13-5 record, which leads the Eastern Conference and is second in the WNBA. They have currently won eight of their last 10 and are on a twogame winning streak.

Thabo Sefolosha, a five-year starting shooting guard for the Oklahoma City Thunder, will sign a three-year contract worth $12 million with the Hawks. The Hawks needed defensive help on the wings, and the 6-foot-5 guard has the wingspan and athleticism to cover small forwards, as well.

He’ll join Kyle Korver and DeMarre Carroll in the rotation for a team with an overload of power forwards but not much on the wings.

By Stephen Black and Alex Ordu

WHO’S HOT

Braves All-Stars

SCORE LIST

By Brian Jones

ALL-STAR BRAVES

Congrats to Julio Teheran, Freddie Freeman and Craig Kimbrel for making the all-star team. They have had great seasons so far and they deserve to be part of the midsummer classic. Now if we can get enough votes to get Justin Upton there to join the other three, that would be awesome.

DOING IT RIGHT

Speaking of awesome, have you seen what the Hawks have been doing? Not only have they had a solid draft, they agreed to terms with Thabo Sefolosha and they are close to getting a deal done with Luol Deng. It would be nice to see LeBron and Carmelo here, but this team is looking more complete.

ROOKIE SENSATION

The Dream could arguably be the best team in the WNBA and one of the reasons for their success is the play of rookie Shoni Schimmel, who recently made the all-star team.

Schimmel received the third-most votes in the league and will join teammate Angel McCoughtry in the all-star game which will be played on July 19.

DAVIS INJURED

Falcons WR Drew Davis will miss all of training camp because he had to have surgery on his foot. Davis recorded 12 receptions for 216 yards and two touchdowns last season, but he will be missed more on special teams.

Let’s hope this is not the start of the injury bug for the Falcons this year.

TRAILER RELEASED

The summer blockbuster this year is not Transformers or 22 Jump Street. The trailer was released for Falcons “Hard Knocks” and it gets fans ready for the upcoming season.

There have been many to criticize the Falcons for being on the show, but this gives them a chance to show fans what training camp is really like. I’m getting my popcorn ready!

WHO’S NOT

SCORE ATLANTA | www.ScoreAtl.com

Brazil

Braves

The Sporting News

What happened to the World Cup’s greatest nation? The five-time champs looked utterly listless in a shocking 7-1 loss to Germany on Tuesday in the semifinals. It was so bad that Brazilian fans couldn’t decide whether to boo their own team or cheer for Germany as the goals kept coming. A late goal by Oscar saved the Selecao from its worst-ever defeat.

South Cobb is already home to the Mind Bender and is about to host another roller coaster. The Braves went from winning nine straight to losing three straight.

And those losses came to Arizona and the lowly Mets. Atlanta looked fantastic during the streak, but being up and down will not get them to World Series.

While we have a ton of respect for the publication usually, we are struggling to figure out why it picked the Falcons to finish third in the South division and ranked them 24th in the NFL. Did the writers not consider years prior to 2013? Our pick is the Falcons will do much better than TSN expects and by the end of the season, have their NFL “experts” eating crow.

NUMBERS

OUR TWO CENTS

By Matthew 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

WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME MARIST AND ST. PIUS X WERE IN THE SAME REGION? ANSWER ON PAGE 14

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SANITY AT LAST

“ I am sorry we couldn’t give the fans happiness. We didn’t get it and I ask all of Brazil to forgive me. I only wanted to see all of Brazil smile.”

- Brazil’s David Luiz after his team’s 7-1 humiliation by Germany in front of a stunned crowd in Belo Horizonte.

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Stolen bases by the Braves as of July 9

64

Stolen bases by the Braves during the entire 2013 season

27

Saves by Braves pitcher Craig Kimbrel, tops in MLB

18

Hits allowed by Kimbrel this year

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WNBA All-Stars on the Atlanta Dream

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Losses by the Dream over their last 10 games

$12

Estimate in millions Thabo Sefolosha will make in his three-year deal

$12

Estimate in millions center Al Horford will make in the 201415 season

RECLASSIFICATION

REGION REALIGNMENT BRINGS OLD, NEW RIVALS TOGETHER

BY CRAIG SAGER II | CSAGER@SCOREATL.COM

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eclassification drives competition and the rearranging seen this year looks poised to do the same. Prior to the 2012-13 school year, the GHSA expanded to a sixth classification for the first time in its history while also splitting Class A into separate private and public postseasons.

This growth and change introduced a new era within the Georgia high school sports landscape.

In the first two years under the newlyformed system, we saw seven of 14 football state champions win titles for the first time in their school’s history. The GHSA had crowned 294 football state champions in its 64 season before the 2012 reclassification and yet half of the champions in the last two seasons had never won the state crown before (Norcross, Gainesville, Jefferson, ELCA, Aquinas, Creekside, Marion County).

Changes create fresh starts for programs and the massive restructuring in 2012 provided every team in the state with a formula to pin to

the bulletin board and use as motivation entering the new season. An individual team may be driven by a heartbreaking loss that ended the previous season but reclassification has the power to motivate on a state-wide scale.

POWERS COLLIDE …

Throughout Georgia high school football history, certain teams have overmatched region opponents. With reclassification, you can bet that eventually these powerhouses will cross paths with equal competition. This was certainly the case with Camden County, which joined arguably the state’s most competitive region last year.

Before 2012, Camden County was unchallenged in its region play. The Wildcats owned a streak of 94 consecutive region wins before entering the newly formed Region 1-AAAAAA.

In the final region game of 2012, Colquitt County topped Camden 13-12 and served the

Wildcats their first region loss since the 1999 season. It took just one year in the realignment to end a streak that had lasted nearly 13 years.

Tucker is accustomed to playing in a highly competitive region and the Tigers face a new challenge by returning to Georgia’s highest classification after spending the last two years in Class AAAAA.

The Tigers’ jump ignites their rivalry with Lovejoy and they’ll open the season on the biggest stage in the 2014 Corky Kell Classic against defending Class AAAAAA state champion Norcross. The biggest game of Tucker’s season might come later with a visit to Lovejoy on Halloween. Tucker beat Lovejoy 22-7 in the 2011 Class AAAA state championship game. Both schools lost in the state championship game during their two years in different classifications (Lovejoy in the 2012 AAAAAA title game and Tucker in the 2013 AAAAA title game).

NOTEWORTHY MOVES …

There are plenty of storylines to watch for with the 2014-16 changes. Region 1-AAAAAA lost Coffee and Brunswick to Class AAAAA and will add Lee County. Camden County will remain in Region 1 for football only.

Region 3 saw movement as Tri-Cities dropped a classification and Campbell and Pebblebrook moved in. Region 4 traded Campbell and Pebblebrook for North Paulding and Region 5 added Pope while Region 6 added Habersham Central and Northview.

In Class AAAAA, Region 1 got a makeover with LaGrange, Carver-Columbus and Shaw. Current AAAAAA Coffee and Brunswick are now classed into Region 3 in a subregion with Camden County, Glynn Academy and Ware County. Region 6 will divide a total of 12 teams into sub-regions with M.L. King, Miller Grove, Stephenson and Southwest DeKalb all housed in subregion A. Region 5-AAAA welcomes Woodward Academy, which is moving up from Class AAA. Carrollton, Fayette County, Sandy Creek, Troup, Whitewater and Woodward Academy comprise a solid Region 5.

St. Pius X has a new Class AAAA home and will be in Region 6 with long-time rival Marist. Arabia Mountain, Chamblee, Columbia, Cross Keys, Grady, Lithonia, Redan and Stone Mountain join the pair.

Region 7 welcomes newcomer (from Class AAA) Cartersville in a field with Gilmer, Heritage-Catoosa, Lafayette, Northwest Whitfield, Pickens, Ridgeland and Southeast Whitfield.

Buford will be in a nine-team Region 8 with Chestatee, Johnson-Gainesville, Madison County, Monroe Area, North Hall, North Oconee, Stephens County and White County.

Calhoun, Jefferson and Westminster are notable schools moving up to Class AAA in 2014. Reclassification will impact every sport but football will give the first-hand look this fall

Photos courtesy of Tucker HS, Ty Freeman, Georgia Bennett and Marist HS.

Vol. 10 Iss. 25 | July 11-17, 2014 ATLANTA MOTOR SPEEDWAY

AMS CELEBRATES JULY 4; LOCALS TAKE HOME WINS ON THE TRACKS

BY DAN MATHEWS | DMATHEWS@SCOREATL.COM

F

riday night Atlanta Motor Speedway celebrated Independence Day with its weekly event ‘O’Reilly Auto Parts Friday Night Drags and Show-n-Shine.’

AMS director of marketing and promotion Dustin Bixby says that the crowds were huge for the weekly night of racing and the largest fireworks display on Atlanta’s south side.

“It went fantastic (and) it was our biggest crowd ever at our Friday Night Drags,” Bixby said. “We had a lot of new winners, which is always good to see. The O’Reilly Auto Parts Friday Night Drags and Show-n-Shine is really starting to come around now that we’ve had a couple of days with some really good weather.”

Some of the winners from the 18 different divisions of competitors are Locust Grove’s Alan Kidd in his 1969 Chevy Camaro taking home the win in the Pro Division. Also, Gary Thomas out of McDonough taking the win in the Street Out-

law Division driving his 1974 Chevy Nova and Cumming’s Brian Consaul winning the Tuner Division in his 2009 Porsche 997.

FRIDAY FUN …

The O’Reilly Auto Parts Friday Night Drags and Show-n-Shine continues to roll on from Atlanta Motor Speedway this week after another great night of racing on July 4. The Papa Johns Pizza Fireworks Extravaganza coincided with the exciting week of racing last week.

Also to be talked about with the current events at AMS is the weekly installment of the Legends and Bandolero car racing series, ‘Thursday Thunder.’ Bixby says this series is also ramping up with excitement as the weeks pass.

“We’ve some really tight points battles in a couple of different divisions right now,” Bixby said. “Especially in our 15th Street Pizza and Pub Outlaws division, Jensen Jorgensen ended up

winning the Bandolero Nationals Championship back on June 28. Our Estes Services Masters Division has seen some real challenges in that division with a couple of lead changes.”

The Estes Services Masters Division is for drivers that are over the age of 40 and Skip Nichols out of Albany is the current points leader in that division. Right now 20 points is separating four drivers near the top of the leader board. Bill Plemons, Jr. out of Locust Grove and Scott Moseley from McDonough are a couple drivers that are vying for the lead in that division.

It is never too early to start thinking about the Labor Day weekend of racing out at Atlanta Motor Speedway. This weekend of racing is of course capped off with the NASCAR Sprint Cup night race on Sunday night under the lights at the speedway.

Driver Chase Elliot and AMS are heading to his hometown of Dawsonville this Thursday

to promote the Nationwide series ‘Great Clips 300.’ They are promoting this race at the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame.

The ‘Great Clips 300’ is going to benefit Feed The Children.

Fans who want to head up to Dawsonville on Thursday can take part in a question and answer segment with Elliot as part of the day’s promotion. The event will start at 2 p.m.

AMS’s Dustin Bixby also tells Score Atlanta that fans can expect more Labor Day weekend promotion events in August, as they gear up for the annual weekend event at the end of the month.

Fans who want to buy their tickets for the Labor Day weekend of NASCAR racing at Atlanta Motor Speedway can do so right now by heading over to www.AtlantaMotorSpeedway. com. Tickets are starting for as low as $39 and more family friendly deals could be coming before that weekend of racing.

NIKE TENNIS CAMPS SERIOUS. FUN.

JUNIOR OVERNIGHT AND DAY CAMPS Boys & Girls | Ages 6-18

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Southeastern Louisiana University

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UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA

FOX FLIPS UCONN COMMIT; CONLEY MAKES STARS WARSBASED MOVIE

BY DAN MATHEWS | DMATHEWS@SCOREATL.COM

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eorgia basketball could be turning its luck around with local recruits, as Athens Christian Guard William “Turtle” Jackson flipped his commitment from UConn to the Bulldogs. Jackson’s coach tells the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Michael Carvell that his player thought about flipping his choice a couple weeks ago.

The Bulldogs are picking up the 6-foot-4, 175-pound point guard after he initially committed to the reigning national champions of college basketball. He is the sixth-ranked point guard prospect in the Class of 2015 and could have been swayed to switch his decision because of another guard commitment to the Huskies in Jalen Adams of Massachusetts.

PLAYMAKER FILMMAKER …

Earlier this week Georgia and former North Paulding wide receiver Chris Conley released his Star Wars themed short film ‘Retribution.’ Those who follow Conley on Twitter

GEORGIA STATE

HUNTER TAKES PART IN LEBRON’S ACADEMY; PANTHERS ENJOY SUMMER LEAGUES

BY DAVID NORWOOD | DNORWOOD@SCOREATL.COM

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ast Thursday, Georgia State men’s basketball junior guard R.J. Hunter was invited to the LeBron James Skills Academy, which takes place this weekend in Las Vegas, Nev. The LeBron James Skills Academy features 30 of the top college basketball players from all over the nation. Last month, Hunter attended the Nike Elite Kevin Durant Skills Academy in Washington, D.C.

Hunter earned Sun Belt Male Athlete-ofthe-Year and Sun Belt Player of the Year honors while averaging 18.3 points per game last season.

SUMMER BASEBALL …

Georgia State baseball’s junior infielder Matt Rose, junior left-hander Garrett Ford and junior catcher Joey Roach, all members of the Harrisonburg Turks - a collegiate summer baseball team based in Harrisonburg, Va. in the Valley Baseball League (VBL) - competed for the South team Sunday in the VBL All-Star Game at Veterans Memorial Park in Harrisonburg. Rose hit a RBI single in the South’s 2-1 win

knew this film was coming with the pictures he posted while shooting earlier this fall.

The film is about 25 minutes long and includes a couple of notable cameos from running back Todd Gurley and head coach Mark Richt.

Conley has voiced his love for the Star Wars series either on Twitter or in person in the past and now this film is one step closer to him personally connecting with the legendary series.

Hopefully this is not a spoiler for you all out there who haven’t seen the film, because we could be seeing another Conley creation in the future. Could we see more UGA players/ coaches used in the future projects?

AWARD NOMINATED …

Six players are being looked at for three different awards this season, as the Bulldogs will begin the regular season in a little under two months. Junior Running Back Todd Gurley is one of those players being looked at for one of these postseason awards.

Gurley is in the running for the Maxwell Award, given to the nation’s top player.

Linebackers Ramik Wilson, Jordan Jenkins, and/or Leonard Floyd could be on the watch list for the Bednarik Award. This honor is given to the nation’s top defender every season.

Rounding out the Bulldogs on awards lists are senior center David Andrews (Rimington Award watch list) and tight end Jay Rome (John Mackey Award watch list).

over the North. This season, Rose leads the Turks with a .366 batting average, three home runs and 17 RBI. On Sunday, right-hander junior Nathan Bates led the Ocean State Waves - a collegiate summer baseball team based in South Kingstown, Rhode Island in the New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL) - to a 5-0 win over the Valley Blue Sox, the NECBL team based in Holyoke, Mass. Bates pitched seven scoreless innings in Sunday’s win over the Blue Sox. TRACK NOTES …

On Monday, Georgia State women’s track and field thrower Alysiah Whittaker finished seventh in the women’s shot put event at the United States of America Track and Field (USATF) Junior National Championships at Hayward in Eugene, Ore. Whitaker’s best throw took place on Saturday when she threw for 14.3m.

“I am really excited to go to this event with a chance to make the USA team,” Whittaker told Georgia State Athletics. “I have nothing to lose and will give it my all because my whole freshman year experience has been so great.

Just getting to compete on the national stage makes this is a fantastic experience.”

Last year, Whittaker set a school record in the outdoor shot put with a 15.70-meter throw in the 14th Annual Coach “O” Invitational at Jesse H. Colley Track on Troy University’s campus.

GEORGIA TECH

TRANSFERS BOOST TECH HOOPS ROSTER; SCHNIEDERJANS IN SCOTLAND

BY LIA SEWELL | LSEWELL@SCOREATL.COM

n the upcoming 2014 basketball season the Ischolarship Yellow Jackets will be introducing seven new players, four of whom are trans-

fers.

The Yellow Jackets have added incoming freshman Ben Lammers. Lammers, who stands 6-foot-10 was the 10th-best prospect in the State of Texas as well as the 19th-best center in the nation. The Jackets also add another 6-foot-10 athlete with forward Abdoulaye “AD” Gueye of Senegal.

Guard Tadric Jackson is considered to have the best shot of all newcomers to play immediately, especially among freshmen.

Jackson, a left-handed guard, comes from Tift County and was ranked as the top guard in the state of Georgia helping his high school team to a Class AAAAAA championship state title.

Tech’s four transfers include Nick Jacobs, Charles Mitchell, Robert Sampson and Demarco Cox (once he graduates from Ole Miss later this summer). Once Cox completes his semester at Ole Miss he will be eligible to play for

KENNESAW STATE

PENTECOST EARNS BENCH AWARD; TAISLER COMMITS TO OWLS

BY BRIAN JONES | BJONES@SCOREATL.COM

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ans of the KSU baseball team knew that Max Pentecost was a great player this season. But it took an unthinkable run by the Owls to show the entire country how good he really was. Before Vanderbilt took home the College World Series title, Pentecost was awarded the Johnny Bench Award, which goes to the top catcher in the country. Pentecost is the first player from KSU to win the award as well as the first player from Georgia and the first player from the Atlantic Sun Conference.

Pentecost helped the Owls win their first conference title as well as their first NCAA Division I Regional title. He was named to five separate first-team All-America lists and was also named Atlantic Sun Player of the Year.

FIRST 2015 COMMIT …

The football team continues to grow as the Owls landed their first commit for the 2015 signing class. Linebacker Zach Taisler, an outside linebacker from Houston County, will help

Tech in the 2014-15 season. Cox averaged 3.0 points and 2.8 rebounds during his Ole Miss career. Jacobs is an Atlanta native from South Atlanta High School and transferred from Alabama where he played 93 games and made 57 starts for the Crimson Tide. Jacobs averaged 7.3 points and 3.4 rebounds per game.

Mitchell, a former Wheeler Wildcat, is transferring from Maryland where he averaged 6.0 points and 5.8 rebounds in 70 games.

Sampson transferred from East Carolina in the 2013-14 season and is now eligible to play in the upcoming season. As a forward, Sampson played in 96 games with the Pirates and averaged 6.0 points per game.

OLLIE’S WORLD …

Rising Tech senior Ollie Schniederjans’ trip to the United Kingdom got significantly longer when he accepted an offer of exemption into the Scottish Open, which takes place this weekend in Aberdeen. Schniederjans attempted to qualify for the Open Championship, but fell short after shooting 78-71 and finishing 33rd. Subsequently, he decided to take the offer of exemption into the Scottish Open. Schnierderjans has become one of the top players in college golf, ranking No. 1 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings. He is the reigning ACC player of the year and defending ACC champion.

Schnierderjans joins other Americans in the Scottish Open, including PGA pros Phil Mickelson, Ryan Palmer, Kevin Stadler and Jimmy Walker.

build the Owls into a winning program and he said the choice to go to KSU was not a hard decision.

“I met Coach Chestnut, my recruiter, last spring and KSU was the first school to recruit me,” Taisler said. “That meant a lot to me. I felt that they were the first school to truly believe in me.”

Taisler was a First-Team All-County player and he was also named to the All-Middle Georgia team. He finished with 50 tackles, three sacks and eight tackles for losses while missing three games.

“There aren’t many times during a game where I’ve been fooled,” Taisler said. “I feel I have a nose for the ball and I can sense what the offense is trying to do before they snap the ball.”

The coaches are hoping to have another successful signing class, so getting a guy like Taisler should put them in the right direction.

REED THE ADVISOR …

Women’s soccer player Brittney Reed has been selected to be part of the NCAA Division I Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, which is only given to a select number of students across the country. She will serve for two years and will be eligible to be reappointed on July 1, 2016.

“I am very excited and honored to be appointed to the NCAA National SAAC committee,” Reed said to ksuowls.com. “I look forward to proudly representing Kennesaw State University, Owls soccer and the Atlantic Sun Conference throughout this wonderful opportunity.”

Vol. 10 Iss. 25 | July 11-17, 2014 ATLANTA HAWKS

HAWKS AGREE TO DEAL WITH SEFOLOSHA

BY MATTHEW CASON | MCASON@SCOREATL.COM

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he Hawks made their first big splash in the free agent season by agreeing to terms with free agent guard Thabo Sefolosha to a threeyear, $12 million deal, filling Atlanta’s dire need for a wing player. Atlanta cannot officially sign Sefolosha until the NBA’s moratorium period expires on Thursday. The potential signing gives the Hawks a strong defender on board who also looks to be a fit in Budenholzer’s ball-movement offense. Sefolosha also pads depth for Atlanta which struggled last season when guards DeMarre Carroll and Kyle Korver were bit by the injury-bug. The deal comes on the heels of Atlanta dealing guard Lou Williams and the draft rights to Lucas Nogueira to the Toronto Raptors for guard/forward John Salmons and a 2014 second-round pick back on June 29.

The eighth-year veteran is coming off a 5.5 year stint with the Oklahoma City Thunder that saw the team make five playoff appearances and a trip to the NBA Finals in 2012 where they

ATLANTA BRAVES

THREE BRAVES MAKE ALL-STAR GAME; ATLANTA’S STREAKINESS CONTINUES

BY RICKY DIMON | RDIMON@SCOREATL.COM

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reddie Freeman, Craig Kimbrel and Julio Teheran were announced as National League all-stars last weekend. All three players were voted into next Tuesday’s All-Star Game in Minneapolis by their fellow major leaguers.

This will be Kimbrel’s fourth consecutive appearance on the midsummer classic roster, while both Freeman and Teheran will be making their All-Star Game debuts. Freeman was an all-star for the first time last year, but missed the festivities due to a badly bruised left thumb.

Kimbrel has 27 saves (tied for first in the majors as of Wednesday afternoon) this season to go along with a 2.04 ERA and a whopping 60 strikeouts in 35.1 innings of work. Freeman is batting .301 with 13 home runs, 49 RBIs and a team-high 61 runs scored. Teheran has a teambest eight wins (tied with Aaron Harang) and a 2.57 ERA in a team-high 129.1 innings.

“I just feel happy to join those guys and go with them to the All-Star Game,” Teheran told the team’s website. “I feel the hard work I’ve

fell to the Miami Heat. The Swiss native started 367 of the 368 games he played, and capped off his tenure with the Thunder by averaging 6.3 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game while starting 61 games for OKC in the 2013-14 season. The deal puts the Hawks about $11.5 million under the salary cap and opens up opportunities for additional signings.

SUMMER TIME …

Atlanta released its Summer League roster on Tuesday and it provides a mix of familiar faces and new hopefuls. John Jenkins will return to Las Vegas for a third time as he works his way back from last year’s season-ending back injury and is joined by Mike Muscala, who appeared in 20 games for the Hawks last season, as well as Dennis Schröder, who saw limited minutes while playing behind Jeff Teague and Shelvin Mack.

Hawks fans will also get their first true glimpse of all three NBA draft acquisitions in action as first-round pick Adreian Payne along with second-round picks Walter ‘Edy’ Tavares and Lamar Patterson have been included on the roster. Other notables include Abraham Millsap, brother of Hawks forward Paul Millsap, Casey Prather, who helped lead Florida to a Final Four appearance, and Trevor Releford, who earned first team All-SEC honors while playing for Alabama.

been doing has been paying off. I just want to keep doing what I’ve been doing. This was my goal at the start of this season. It’s something I’ve been watching since I was a little kid. I just feel now that my dream has come true.”

“This is truly an honor to be voted by the players,” Freeman added. “It’s something I don’t take lightly. Hopefully, we’ll make it through these next [few] games and get there healthy.”

GOING STREAKY …

The Braves are getting to the break in a familiar fashion, with a flurry of wins followed by a buildup of losses. They have been streaky this entire season and both June and July are no exception. Atlanta won nine games in a row from June 27 through last Saturday, but they have suddenly lost three in succession. After sweeping the Phillies and Mets, Fredi Gonzalez’s club won the first two against Arizona last weekend then dropped the series finale.

The Braves lost the first two of a fourgame set at New York on Monday and Tuesday (results of the next two contests with the Mets were not available at press time). They are visiting Wrigley Field this weekend before getting next Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday off for the all-star break. Atlanta will begin the second part of the season next Friday night at Turner Field versus Philadelphia.

ATLANTA FALCONS

FOOT SURGERY SIDELINES WIDEOUT DREW DAVIS

BY CRAIG SAGER II | CSAGER@SCOREATL.COM

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ide receiver Drew Davis is expected to miss six weeks after his foot surgery to an unspecified foot injury. The former Oregon wideout was placed on the physically unable to perform list for training camp which would sideline him for three weeks of training camp.

“Drew felt some discomfort in his foot at the end of minicamp,” Falcons coach Mike Smith said in a statement released by the team. “We decided to send him to the doctors for some evaluations and it was determined he had suffered an injury that would require a procedure. He recently had the procedure done and we expect him to miss around six weeks.”

Drew joined the team in 2011 as a college free agent and worked his way to a regular role last season when the receiving corps was hit with injuries. Drew started three games and hauled in two touchdowns while finishing the season with 12 catches for 216 yards.

There are 11 other receivers on the roster

ATLANTA DREAM

DREAM CRUISING IN EASTERN CONFERENCE; TWO NAMED TO ALL-STAR GAME

BY MATTHEW CASON | MCASON@SCOREATL.COM

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tlanta continues to cruise in the Eastern Conference of the WNBA after gaining wins over the Washington Mystics 86-73 on Saturday and the Connecticut Sun 83-71 on Tuesday. The Dream have built their lead in the conference to 4.5 games over the Indiana Fever and are maintaining pace to shatter the franchise record for wins in a single season, currently 20, as they boast a 13-5 record just a week before the All-Star break.

Rookie guard Shoni Schimmel and guard/ forward Angel McCoughtry were both elected via fan vote to start the 2014 Boost Mobile WNBA All-Star Game on July 19. This is Schimmel’s first All-Star appearance and McCoughtry’s sixth in her career. Chicago’s Elena Delle Donne, Indiana forward Tamika Catchings and New York guard Cappie Pondexter will join the pair in the starting lineup.

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heading into camp, including Darius Johnson who joins Davis in the competition for the fourth receiver role.

BACK TO WORK …

It is the calm before the storm around the NFL as teams enjoy their final weeks off before diving into training camp. The Falcons are set to be this year’s feature of HBO’s awardwinning Hard Knocks season and the trailer was released this week to sneak peak this year’s anticipated edition of the show. Training camp starts July 25 and Hard Knocks airs Aug. 5. Viewers will journey through the final five weeks of the offseason with the team. One of the main themes of the show is how the team cuts down to the final 53-man roster.

KEY DATES …

Camp opens July 25 and will be open to the pubic the first five days. The Falcons are off July 30 and then will hold one practice (July 31) before KIA Motors “Friday Night Lights” at Archer High School on Aug. 1. The remaining weekend will hold a pair of open practices and Aug. 4 is the team’s first combined practice with the Tennessee Titans. The combined practice is arranged to prepare each team for the customs of gameday and the Falcons’ first preseason game will be that Friday (Aug. 8) with the visiting Dolphins.

SOUNDS FAMILIAR …

Angel McCoughtry was named WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Month for June. This is the fourth time in her career she has earned the award. Angel was the main catalyst for Atlanta for the month, driving them to an 8-2 record and catapulting them to the top of the East. She led the conference in scoring with 19.6 points per game, while ranking third for the month in assists, with 3.6 per game, and seventh in steals, with 2.4 per game. Her month was highlighted by a spectacular performance against the Chicago Sky, scoring 20 points, collecting five rebounds and accumulating three steals in the 97-59 victory.

DOMINATING DEFENSE …

The Dream is carrying an 8-2 record over their last ten games and fans can give thanks in large part to a stout defense. Atlanta has held the opposition to a league-low 73.9 points per game during this span while limiting opponents to just 40.4 percent shooting, another league-low. The stats don’t end there as the dismantling defense has also bragged on carrying the largest differentials in the league in rebounding and steals per game, 5.2 and 2.0, respectively. Center Erika De Souza has been the main standout on the defensive end during this run, averaging 9.5 rebounds per game along with 1.9 blocks per game.

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