GET AHEAD WITH THE GUARD SEE BACK PAGE APRIL 16-22, 2010 FULTON S ATLANTA S HIGH SPORTS SCHOOL TALK SPORTS NEWSPAPER VOL 5 NO 27
02F I SCORE FULTON Get In The Game! STARTING LINEUP THE HIGH SCHOOL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK PUBLISHER/EDITOR I.J. Rosenberg GENERAL MANAGER Bob Houghton MANAGING EDITOR: Stephen Black ART/CREATIVE DIRECTOR DJ Galbiati BUSINESS MANAGER Marvin Botnick SALES MANAGER Mark Mayo BEAT WRITERS Josh Bagriansky (Falcons), Stephen Black (UGA), Jason Boral (Thrashers), Dave Cohen (Georgia State), Ricky Dimon (Tech), Rajesh Gupta (Hawks) Fletcher Proctor (Braves) Brian Jones (Preps) STAFF WRITERS Joe Deighton, Foster Lander, Brian Jones, Krissy Wade, Jennifer Sugarman, Mahdi Nuru, Alex Ewalt CONTRIBUTORS Tad Arapoglou, Dean Zindler, Zander Lentz, Kevin Dankosky, Mitch Evans, Matt Judy, Tony Schiavone, Richard Diamond, Joe Haines, Brian Katrek, Chris Dimino, Mike Bell, Matt Stewart, Fred Kalil, Nick Cellini, Phillip Leopold, Dave Marshall, Greg Smith, Steak Shapiro, Mike Cather, Beau Bock, Hal Lamar, Chris Cotter, Roy Hickman, Dave Cohen, John Olah, Jeff Woolverton, Chris Voss, Bob Rathbun, Courtney Capps, Bill Hartman, Chuck Dowdle, Shannon Alderman, Dan Kamal, Dennis Scott, C.C., Hal Lanier, Jeff Batten, Micah Hart, Ben Wright, Alan Vasquez, Andrew Vedlitz, Brian Jones SPECIAL CONTRIBUTORS Mitch Albom, Dave Kindred, Barry Bloom SCHOOL LISTING CHEROKEE/FORSYTH: Cherokee, Creekview, Etowah, Forsyth Central, North Forsyth, Sequoyah, South Forsyth, West Forsyth, Woodstock COBB: Allatoona, Campbell, Harrison, Kell, Kennesaw Mountain, Lassiter, Marietta, McEachern, N. Cobb, N. Cobb Christian, Pebblebrook, Pope, S. Cobb, Sprayberry, Walton, Wheeler DEKALB: Chamblee, Columbia, Decatur, Druid Hills, Dunwoody, Lakeside, Marist, Miller Grove, M.L. King, Paideia, Redan, St. Pius X, Southwest DeKalb, Stephenson, Stone Mountain, Tucker FULTON: Alpharetta, Blessed Trinity, Centennial, Chattahoochee, Douglass, Grady, Lovett, Mays, Milton, North Springs, Northview, Riverwood, Roswell, Tri-Cities, Westminster, Woodward Academy GWINNETT: Berkmar, Brookwood, Buford, C. Gwinnett, Collins Hill, Dacula, Grayson, Greater Atlanta Christian, Meadowcreek, Mill Creek, Norcross, North Gwinnett, Parkview, Peachtree Ridge, South Gwinnett, Wesleyan GORDON: Calhoun, Gordon Central, Sonoraville ERIC NYQUIST ALPHARETTA HIGH The Raiders 6-foot-2 junior pitcher has been instrumental in his team s turnaround, posting a 4-0 record and 1.30 ERA for Alpharetta. Nyquist has helped head coach Steve Bohn s team achieve a 6-2 Region 6- AAAAA record (9-7 overall), currently good enough for a second-place tie. Nyquist pitched five strong innings in the April 2 victory over then-top-ranked Roswell. LINDSAY KEMPF MILL CREEK HIGH Kempf is the first Lady Hawks soccer player to sign with a Division I program (South Carolina) and has been a starter on the team since her freshman year. The junior midfielder has helped lead her team to a 10-4 record this season, most recently two outof-state wins in a South Carolina tournament. She maintains a 3.5 GPA and is a member of the AFU Elite club team.
APRIL 16-22, 2010 SCORE FULTON I 03F PlayON! Sports, GHSA partnership to produce metro high school sports feature on Comcast This past January, PlayON! Sports and the Georgia High School Association signed a deal to televise high school sports through Comcast s On Demand feature. Everything from regular season games to playoff games and championships will be spotlighted in the features. The productions will be made available to Comcast subscribers in the metro Atlanta area. The coverage will run the gamut of high school sports in Atlanta, including baseball, basketball, competitive cheering, diving, football, gymnastics, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, track and field, volleyball and wrestling. The features began during basketball season with coverage of the Milton-Walton showdown on Jan. 5. Melanie Snare, Production and Marketing Manager at Comcast, sat down with Score Atlanta to talk about the new joint venture between Comcast and the GHSA. In the past, we had featured a lot of football and basketball shows but we really wanted to take it to the next level, explained Snare. We try to feature a much larger variety of all of the different sports that are out there. We just felt like so many different parents and fans were being left out because their sports weren t being featured. THE PARTNERS PlayON! Sports is an Atlanta-based digital media company and technology provider specializing in the production, distribution and monetization of professional-quality, low-cost video content. The company is producing the features for Comcast and in partnership with the GHSA. PlayON! Sports proprietary technology platform includes video production capabilities and a multiplatform distribution system. The company s partnership is with the GHSA, which spawned the name GHSA Digital Sports Network. The network will be brought to viewers homes on Comcast. Through this partnership, the games will be featured on the productions. The pieces will spotlight everything from the games, including what s going on in the stands. What we re trying to accomplish is trying to do highlights of games that they are featuring, said Snare. We are also featuring the bands and cheerleaders, so it isn t just about the sports. Comcast is the principal cable company in the metro Atlanta area and also is a major player in the cable game nation-wide. The company is one of the nation s leading providers of entertainment, information and communication products and services. Comcast serves 23.8 million cable customers, 15.7 million high-speed Internet customers and 7.4 million Comcast Digital Voice customers and is principally involved in the development, management and operation of cable systems and in the delivery of programming content. The Georgia High School Association is a voluntary organization composed of over 400 public and private high schools whose purpose is to promote good sportsmanship and to standardize and encourage participation in athletics and extra-curricular activities through Region and State competitions. The combination of the three entities has come together to bring metro Atlanta high school sports coverage 24 hours a day throughout the year. Snare declared that Comcast will have the content up and running within just days of the games. The way it works is that, anywhere from 48 to 72 hours after your sporting event was filmed, you can go to our On Demand site to actually watch it, said Snare. We ll leave it up (on the site) for about 70-90 days. On Demand is a type of technology that saves programming for viewers to watch at any hour of the day. HOW THE COVERAGE IS DETERMINED Snare and her colleagues at Comcast will figure out which events to cover based on a variety of criteria. The company will then record and produce the show. We ll take a look at who s in our Comcast areas who actually watch our shows on television, explained Snare. We ll take a look at what schools we haven t covered, as we try to cover as many schools as we can. We ll take into account record and big rivalries and we ll feature those type games as well. The programming is broadcast on Comcast s On Demand in the Get Local section under the Top Picks or Atlanta Sports section. Cover photo courtesy of Don Jackson. Photos to the left courtesy of Photographic Arts and David Caselli. Black can be reached at sblack@scoreatl.com.
04F I SCORE FULTON Get In The Game! A look ahead at the rest of the spring sports calendar; Mr. Basketball undecided Spring Break took place for most students in the Atlanta area this past week, which meant students had an opportunity to take some time off and enjoy the great weather. But for most student athletes, even though they did not have to go to school, they still had to continue their athletic activities. But with Spring Break over, it now marks the halfway point for most, if not all spring sports. So here s an outlook on what to expect for the second half of the season. DOGFIGHT IN REGION 6 There is no question Region 6, Class 5A is the most competitive region in the state when it comes to baseball. Roswell was the top team, winning their first 12 games of the season and were ranked the No. 1 in the gaprepcountry.com coaches poll. But they have lost their last four games and falling down the region standings fast. The Hornets are now ranked No. 9 in the state. Pope is the defending state champions and are looking to make another run with a 12-5 record and big win against Roswell two weeks ago. But all the teams in Region 6 are looking up to Milton as they are riding high with a 14-3 record. The Eagles have been led by great pitching performances all season by Alex Close, Will Thomas and Kyle Carpenter. This should be an interesting three weeks to see who comes out on top, but expect Pope to use their playoff experience to take lead them to a region title and a deep playoff run. Over in Class 4A, Lakeside Evans is looking strong with a 17-2 record, and they are looking to go further in the playoffs as they lost to Marist in the quarterfinals last year. They have a great chance to make a serious run at the state title because they are team that has a good mix of upperclassmen and can score at will. Other than Marist, Lakeside will have to watch out for Ola, Wayne County, Loganville and crosstown rival Evans. EAGLES BACK ON TOP After a tough loss to Northview on March 23, Collins Hill put together a fourgame win streak to claim the No. 1 spot in the eurosportscoreboard.com coaches poll and look to be on their way to another state title. But do not count out Walton and their veteran head coach Bucky Boozer who are No. 2 in Class 5A and won the state title in 2008. Other teams to watch for in the second half will be Northview, Lassiter and Centennial, as all are ranked in the top 10. For the girls, the top team in all classifications is Walton, who is undefeated at press time. They are looking to bounce back from a disappointing loss to Harrison in the state semifinals last year. One game to watch for is when Walton takes on Whitewater on Monday. This game could determine the best team in the state as they are tied for the No. 1 spot for the all-classification poll. THORNTON WEIGHING OPTIONS One of the bigger stories that happened over the week had to do with basketball as Westlake standout Marcus Thornton was granted his release from his Clemson letterof-intent due to Oliver Purnell resigning for the DePaul job. Thornton is now considered to be one of the hottest unsigned prospects in the country, averaging 24 points and 12 rebounds last season and leading Westlake to the state finals. Thornton is also honors student with a 3.7 GPA. Some of the schools that he is looking at are Georgia, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Florida, South Carolina and LSU. OTHER RECRUITING NEWS Over in Athens, Georgia held their annual G-Day game on Saturday and some of the top prospects of the 2011 season got an opportunity to watch the Bulldogs in action. Some of the 2011 top prospects that were in attendance were Dalton OL Watts Dantzler, Cartersville OL Justin Floyd, Washington WR Zach Witchett and Grady QB Damian Swann. Memphis product Hunter Long whose brother, Austin Long is a freshman player for the Dawgs, was also in attendance. While Georgia was wrapping up their spring session, Georgia Tech was getting more commitments as they locked up their fourth verbal pledge of the 2011 class. OL Trey Braun of Leon High in Tallahassee, Fla. committed to Tech over South Carolina, Florida and Illinois on Friday. Bruan has good size, standing at 6-foot-5, 280 pounds, and is considered a great wrestler with a 29-1 record in the heavyweight division. Braun is the second OL to commit to Tech as Monroe-Albany s Bryan Chamberlain committed recently. Another top recruit that is considering going to the Yellow Jackets is Charlton County s Chris Milton who is the cousin of NFL superstar and Georgia All-American Champ Bailey. Milton is plays quarterback for Charlton County but Tech is recruiting him to be the A-back of the future. Milton has visited the Flats and is also interested in Wake Forest, Kentucky and UGA among others. And, finally, one of the most sought after recruits is Brian Randolph as he has accumulated over 20 scholarship offers from schools such as Georgia, Georgia Tech, Tennessee, Maryland and Virginia Tech. Randolph was really considering UGA, but two safeties have already committed and the position is now full. Some of his leaders now are Florida, Mississippi State, Tech and Tennessee. His older brother, Justin played for the Yellow Jackets last year after turning down a scholarship from the Air Force. Jones can be reached at bjones@scoreatl.com. STATE LACROSSE RANKINGS 1 Harrison 2 Lassiter 3 Milton 4 Northview 5 Newnan Boys AAAAA Boys AAAA/AAA/AA/A Girls All Class 6 Walton 7 Pope 8 Peachtree Ridge 9 Alpharetta 10 Etowah 1 Lambert 2 Westminster 3 St. Pius X 4 Lovett 5 Wesleyan 6 Blessed Trinity 7 Holy Innocents 8 McIntosh 9 Woodward 10 Starr s Mill 1 Milton 2 Westminster 3 Chattahoochee 4 Northview 5 Roswell 6 Lassiter 7 West Forsyth 8 Walton 9 Alpharetta 10 Whitewater
APRIL 16-22, 2010 SCORE FULTON I 05F
06F I SCORE FULTON Get In The Game! Highly ranked baseball teams square off; Westminster, Lovett win at quad meet Milton had a tough task at hand when it faced Roswell ace Andrew Smith last week. When the Eagles entered the fifth inning, they trailed 4-0 and it didn t look like they were going to score, having stranded four runners in the previous four innings. However, in that inning, the team was able to put together base runners with a walk, a hit batsman and a fielder s choice, and scored their first run. After the Eagles scored their second run, the bases were loaded and Scott Slappey hit a single to make it 4-4. When all was said and done, 11 players had come to bat and seven runs were scored in the inning to give Milton a 7-4 lead. They would not relinquish it and they beat their cross-town rival, staying on top of the Region 6- AAAAA standings. Tyler Carpenter was the winning pitcher for the Eagles. It was a victory that was much needed after Lassiter had given the Eagles their first region loss in the previous game, 5-4. Milton followed up the win against Roswell with another region loss to struggling Wheeler, 12- Class AAAAA 1. Parkview 2. Milton 3. East Coweta 4. Mill Creek 5. South Forsyth 6. Collins Hill 7. Camden County 8. Etowah 9. Roswell 10. Pope 8. The two losses didn t hurt them in the standings, but gave them a cause for concern. The Eagles are in first place in Region 6, but if they don t play like they did the first 14 games, that could vanish very quickly. NO. 1 HORNETS ON FOUR-GAME SKID Despite losing four games in a row, Roswell remains ranked ninth in the Class 5A coaches poll (gasports.com). The losing streak sent the Hornets tumbling in the region standings, all the way to fifth. Star pitchers Andrew Smith and Zane Evans have pitched well at times and have combined for 18 strikeouts in their three starts. The runs just haven t been there. The Hornets failed to score more than four runs in any game during the losing streak. They were able to get on track against Kell on Monday, scoring eight in the 8-3 win. At 13-4, they still have a very good chance at making the playoffs and having a successful season. In Class 2A, Lovett and Blessed Trinity are ranked No. 8 and No. 10, respectively, in the coaches poll. Lovett has stayed hot in Region 6-AA, beating Avondale 16-1 and Druid Hills 15-0 to stay undefeated in the region at 6-0. The Lions can wrap up the regular season title with just four more wins in the region. Blessed Trinity had to go to South Carolina to start a winning streak. The Titans won the Hilton Head Seahawk Invitational, outscoring their opponents 52-11 in the four games. They have won five of their last six to get above the.500 mark for the first time since early March. TRACK, TENNIS AND LACROSSE NOTES At the Westminster Quad Meet, Westminster took the boys team title, while Lovett took the girls team title. Dylan Jeffay, Christian Cornell, Parker Tuthill and Ralph David Abernathy took the 4x100 meter relay for Westminster, earning five points with a time of 44.35 seconds. Abernathy also finished first in the 100-meter dash, finishing at 11.68 seconds. Chloe Johnson scored five team points for Lovett with her win in the BASEBALL RANKINGS Class AAAA 1. Lakeside, Evans 2. Alcovy 3. Wayne County 4. Loganville 5. Ola 6. Winder-Barrow 6. Hillgrove 8. Northgate 9. Whitewater 10. Marist Class AAA 1. Columbus 2. Gainesville 3. Cartersville 4. Carrollton 5. Oconee County 6. Thomson 7. Ringgold 7. Dunwoody 9. St. Pius X 10. Northside, Columbus Class AA 1. Calhoun 2. Cook 3. Toombs County 4. Appling County 5. North Oconee 6. Jefferson 7. Lovett 8. Buford 9. Adairsville 10. Blessed Trinity Rankings were compiled on April 12 and are courtesy of GaPrepcountry.com. 200-meter dash with a time of 27.41 seconds. The Westminster boys lacrosse team is ranked No. 8 (laxpower.com) after they picked up their 10th win of the season, 7-6, in overtime against Lovett. The team is scoring an average of 11.27 goals per game while it is giving up 5.36, which ranks fifth offensively and fourth defensively in the state (laxpower.com). Milton is ranked No. 4 this week in the same poll. They are 10-3 after they beat Louisville Collegiate last week. The Eagles will come back after spring break to face Charlotte Catholic and McCallie, two of the top-rated teams in the nation. Alpharetta and Northview rank first and second this week in Class 5A boys tennis (gasports.com). Both teams have only one loss between them. That is not good news for the other teams at this week s region tournament. Milton, Chattahoochee, Centennial and Roswell all rank in the top 10 in the girls Class 5A poll. Deighton can be reached at jdeighton@scoreatl.com. Class A 1. Landmark Christian 2. Calvary Day 3. Schley County 4. Hebron Christian Academy 5. Wesleyan 6. Eagle s Landing Christian Acad. 7. Lakeview Academy 8. Holy Innocents 9. Bremen 10. Savannah Christian
APRIL 16-22, 2010 SCORE FULTON I 07F Class AAAAA 1. Collins Hill 2. Northview 3. Lassiter 4. Centennial 5. Greenbriar, Evans 6. Walton 7. Norcross 8. Dacula 9. Milton 10. Alpharetta Class AAAAA 1. Walton 2. Parkview 2. Brookwood 4. North Gwinnett 5. Harrison 6. Lassiter 7. Northview 8. Pope 9. Greenbrier, Evans 10. Collins Hill BOYS STATE SOCCER RANKINGS Class AAAA 1. McIntosh 2. Hillgrove 3. Habersham Central 4. Starr s Mill 5. Marist 6. North Springs 6. Lakeside-DeKalb 8. Dalton 9. Lakeside, Evans 10. Whitewater Class AAAA 1. Whitewater 2. Starr s Mill 3. Marist 4. Salem 5. Heritage-Conyers 6. McIntosh 7. Lee Co. 8. Glynn Academy 9. South Paulding 10. Hillgrove Class AAA 1. St. Pius X 2. Oconee Co. 3. Gainesville 4. Carrollton 5. Woodward Acad. 6. Columbus 7. Perry 8. Lambert 8. Johnson 10. Riverwood Class AAA 1. St. Pius X 2. Creekview 3. John s Creek 4. Woodward Acad. 5. Lambert 6. Oconee Co. 7. Columbus 8. Grady 9. Riverwood 10. Heritage, Catoosa Class AA/A 1. Blessed Trinity 2. Thomasville 3. Aquinas 3. Walker 5. Westminster 6. Wesleyan 7. Paideia 7. Savannah Country Day 9. Decatur 10. Calhoun GIRLS STATE SOCCER RANKINGS Class AA/A 1. GAC 2. Walker 3. Westminster 4. St. Vincent s 5. Eagle s Landing Christian 6. Paideia 7. Blessed Trinity 8. Fellowship Christian 8. Pike Co. 10. Brookstone All Classes 1. St. Pius X 2. Collins Hill 3. Northview 4. McIntosh 5. Lassiter 6. Oconee Co. 7. Hillgrove 8. Centennial 9. Blessed Trinity 10. Greenbrier, Evans All Classes 1. Walton 2. Parkview 3. Whitewater 4. Brookwood 5. GAC 6. North Gwinnett 7. Starr s Mill 8. Walker 9. Harrison 10. St. Pius X Rankings were compiled on March 29 and are courtesy of Eurosportscoreboard.com. (All Classes Rankings were updated on April 12)