Sports
Lions back in semifinals
Shooting for a GFCFL crown
In studying film of Dominion Christian, Christian Heritage coach Mike Vaden quickly noticed something about his Glory For Christ Football League semifinal playoff opponent — the Knights have shown significant improvement since the two teams played on Sept. 4.
The second-seeded Lions (8-1), the defending league champion, play the third-seeded Knights (7-2) at 3:45 p.m. in the second semifinal game at Riverwood High School in Sandy Springs on Saturday. Georgia Force plays the North Georgia Falcons in the other semifinal at 1 p.m.
The league championship is scheduled for Nov. 14.
“We played Dominion earlier in the season and the film I watched on them Monday when they played the Force, it’s clear they’re a much better team now,” Vaden said. “They had a very difficult end of their season. They beat the Force (26-20) and lost to North Georgia (11-8). So, they played the first- and fourth-place teams in our playoffs very close. I think we’ll be in a real dogfight with these guys.”
While the Knights were locked into competitive games down the stretch, the Lions simply rolled past their last three opponents, so much so they were able to give eighth-grade players game experience in each contest. The Lions shelled Horizon Christian, 59-14, Cumber-land Christian, 48-0, and walloped the Bartow Generals, 56-8, in the first round of the GFCFL playoffs last week.
“That is something that you’re concerned with as a coach,” Vaden said. “The primary responsibility for getting the team ready to play is mine. We have stressed this the past few days. We showed them tape of our first game with Dominion and reminded them what a struggle that was. They saw how we played, how Dominion played. And we’ve told them about how much improvement Dominion has made since we played.
“But we think we’ve im-proved as well.”
Vaden said he was supportive of the league adding the first-round playoff game, but each one a week ago was one-sided contests. Still, Vaden said the opener has more positives than negatives.
“It’s a good idea,” he said. “It gives everyone an extra game and a chance to tune up for the tougher games ahead. Each team won handily last week. We won big and Dominion won 31-0, so they had an experience similar to ours.
“Now the games will become much tougher, but that’s what the playoffs are about. The best teams are supposed to be there.”
The Lions are led offensively by fullback Terrell Wilson and quarterback Daniel Pierce. Wilson has rushed for more than 1,000 yards this season. Pierce and Wilson have also made solid impacts on defense.
Christian Heritage has outscored its nine opponents, 418-83 this season and is averaging 46.4 points per game heading into Saturday’s semifinals.
The Lions probably have more balance in their offensive attack, Vaden said, but like Dominion like to run the ball at every opportunity. The coach said Dominion’s speed at most every skill position is of concern to him.
“Now they don’t have a speedster who can’t be caught if he breaks into the open,” Vaden said, “but their quickness across the board is a major concern to us. Their skilled kids are skilled. To be successful defensively, we have to stop their run. They don’t throw the ball well enough to win ballgames. They have to run and so do we. We’ll throw it enough to loosen up their defense.”
- Sports
-
-
Cats' year had some 'feathers'
In a 15-team Region 7-4A that ran deep, Dalton High’s boys and girls basketball teams hung with the best squads throughout the season.
-
Bruins' bats still too quiet
After scoring in double digits in four of its first five games, Northwest Whitfield’s baseball team finds itself in a sudden scoring slump with just five runs in the past three games.
-
Rhodes is next stop for Northwest's Brown
Travel softball teams frequently play in “exposure” tournaments designed to give college coaches a first-hand look at top talent.
-
The awakening bats
Blake Raber’s two-run homer in the fourth inning awoke Dalton High’s bats on Tuesday and the Catamounts went on to a 4-2 non-region baseball victory over visiting LaFayette.
The Cats (2-1) had done little against Ramblers pitching for three innings. After Raber’s homer, Mitch Townsend singled and stole second and scored on Alex Blackwell’s single to cap the inning.
-
Ringgold’s Crownover holds off Northwest
A day after coming up with a 2-1 victory, Northwest Whitfield’s baseball team found itself on the losing end of that same score against Ringgold on Tuesday at Richard S. Chumley Field in Tunnel Hill.
With Region 7-4A play four days away for the Bruins, they’ll take the same thing from both of their past two games: The defense is solid and the pitching is coming along, but the hitting — scrappy as it has been — has to be a little better. -
Football managers get Valdosta grants
Kristen Smith wants to set the record straight about a certain myth regarding the duties of a football manager.
“First of all, it’s not all about just giving out water like people think,” said Smith, who along with Maryann Gutierrez has been a Bruins manager since her freshman year. “We’re fixing helmets and shoulder pads, cleaning and sterilizing the locker room, helping the trainer, taping up players and much more.” -
Cats down Raiders
Ricky Rodriguez thought he tied Dalton’s soccer game against Southeast Whitfield 14 minutes into the second half, but the goal was waved off. Undeterred, the Cats senior striker came back to tie the game with seven minutes left, sending it to overtime tied at 1.
-
Busyness is booming
Taylor Patterson may be an extraordinary athlete, but that’s not solely because of his God-given abilities.
-
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.
-
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.
- More Sports Headlines
-
