Sports
Big finish in the works
The final week of the Georgia High School Association football regular season already included some big opportunities for area teams.
It also includes what can now be billed as a top 10 matchup.
When Dalton hosts Hiram in the Region 7-4A championship game on Friday at Harmon Field — Hiram (9-0) beat Sprayberry 28-27 to win the Sub-region 7B-4A title last Friday, while Dalton won the 7A-4A crown with a 35-11 victory at Northwest Whitfield and the sub-region margin of victory tiebreaker — both will be ranked in at least one top 10 poll.
Hiram is ranked fifth in Georgia High School Football Daily’s Class 4A state top 10, while Dalton cracked the lineup at No. 10 on Monday when the e-mail newsletter’s latest rankings were released.
“Definitely, we’re glad we’re in the top 10,” said Dalton junior offensive lineman Watts Dantzler. “We’ve worked hard all offseason and in the summer and during preseason, trying to be as good as we could be, so that means a lot to be in the top 10.”
The Associated Press’ newest top 10 poll will be released today.
On the line for Dalton and Hiram is a No. 1 seed in the Class 4A state playoffs bracket. Both are already guaranteed a home game in the first round when the state playoffs begin on Nov. 13 and Region 7 matches up with Region 6.
This Friday will also feature what may or may not be the final game of the season for Northwest (6-3), which needs a win against Paulding County (4-5) in its Region 7-4A playoff game to secure one of the final two state playoff berths remaining for the league. The Bruins advanced to state in 2006 and 2007 but missed last year by finishing out of the top three in their sub-region.
This year, Northwest is the No. 2 seed from 7A-4A for the region playoffs, while Paulding County — which had just one win through its first six games before ripping off consecutive victories against South Paulding, Osborne and Sprayberry by a total of eight points — is the No. 3 seed from 7B-4A. The winner will advance to state and travel in the first round, while the loser is done for 2009.
Sequoyah (6-3), No. 3 in 7A-4A, hosts Sprayberry (6-3), No. 2 in 7A-4A, in the other region playoff game.
Southeast (4-5) was eliminated from contention for one of Region 6-3A’s state playoff berths with a 17-14 loss to Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe last week, but has a chance to end a frustrating streak on Friday in its region crossover game at Cedartown (2-7). A win would put the Raiders at .500 for the year and give them their first non-losing season — they last had a winning record in 1986, which was also their last postseason appearance — since 1992.
While Murray County (1-8) has been eliminated from the race for state for weeks, the Indians can send off their senior class with a win this Friday as they host Allatoona (4-5) in another Region 7-4A crossover game.
The visiting Buccaneers, a second-year varsity program, aren’t yet a full member of the region for football but are aligned with 7-4A for other sports and so will participate in the region crossover games to finish the regular season for a second straight year. In 2008, Allatoona beat Murray County 40-21 in Acworth.
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Adam Krohn: Plenty of highlights for NW
Though the season didn’t end the way they wanted it to, Northwest Whitfield’s Lady Bruins basketball team can look back and see a lot of success.
They reached the state championship game for just the second time in school history and the first time in 20 years. They lost to Southwest DeKalb, 65-45, in the Class 4A finals — it was the Panthers’ third-consecutive state title — but what they were able to accomplish up to that point is worth noting.
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A powerful presence
Live. Love. Laughter.
Markisha Washington, a standout senior athlete at Dalton High, says that simple three-word phrase is her favorite, and it is clear to her coaches that the smiling 17-year-old does not stray far from them.
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Larry Fleming: NGS going back to its racing roots
They’re about to crank up their engines in Chatsworth. Venerable North Georgia Speedway, a dirt-track racer favorite for decades, is under new management and partners Timmy Millwood and Tom Peters, both with racing experience, are promising more races and a more fan-friendly environment.
Anything would be better than the Monty Morrow-directed operation over the past couple of years. Morrow, who also promotes the Cleveland (Tenn.) Speedway, almost destroyed the Chatsworth operation. Morrow had only five or six races at North Georgia last spring and summer. Fans and drivers are sure to welcome Millwood and Peters with open arms.
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THE WRONG DIRECTION: Southwest tops Northwest for title
Southwest DeKalb turned in a lackluster effort in the Class 4A state basketball semifinals, but the Lady Panthers got down to business quickly against Northwest Whitfield in Friday’s championship game. Southwest hammered Northwest with a shocking 14-0 start at the Arena at Gwinnett Center and stormed past the Lady Bruins, 65-45, to claim its third straight state title.
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Lady Panthers dynasty-mite
The chant wasn’t nearly as loud as the ones Southwest DeKalb supporters would fill the Arena at Gwinnett Center with a couple hours later, but even before Friday’s Class 4A state championship game against Northwest Whitfield, Lady Panthers fans dared to dream of another big finish.
From the stands as the state finalists warmed up on the court below: “Three-peat!”
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Larry Fleming: Coley’s mom has a unique perspective
Their careers covered two generations of basketball at Northwest Whitfield and had almost parallel outcomes. A mother and daughter traveled the same paths, just 20 years apart. They were together Friday — one in the stands, the other on the court — to share an experience of a lifetime.
Baleigh Coley was almost always the smallest player on the court, but was also one who consistently came up with big performances in four years.
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Police mugged it up with Roethlisberger
The police officer who initially investigated the sexual assault complaint against Ben Roethlisberger posed for photographs with the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback an hour before his accuser filed her complaint.
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Adam Krohn: Plenty of highlights for NW
