VOLUME 11 ISSUE 44 | DECEMBER 24-30, 2015 | YOUR SOURCE FOR SPORTS IN GEORGIA

Time to look great!

TALENT SHOWJunior Sophomore Elite Classic double-header to showcase Georgia’s talent like never before | Pg. 7

Here Comes the King | Pg. 4

Cam Newton and the 14-0 Panthers aim for perfection with Sunday’s trip to the Dome

Who Am I | Pg. 4

After six weeks of action, Kyle Sandy breaks down the parity seen in the high school basketball landscape

STAND TALL. STAND PROUD. STAND ARMY STRONG.

©2009. Paid for by the United States Army. All rights reserved.

There’s strong. Then there’s Army Strong. As a Soldier in the U.S. Army, you’ll develop the physical, mental and emotional strength to meet the challenges you may face today and in the future. You’ll gain unmatched leadership skills and on-the-job training—the kind that’s highly desired in both the military and civilian world. Plus,

recruiter, goarmy.com or call 1-800-USA-ARMY.

Earn a salary and money for your education while you gain the strength to standout. Visit your local Army Career Counselor today or visit us online atgoarmy.com/bs02

3Vol. 11 Iss. 44 | December 24-30, 2015

PUBLISHER/EDITOR I.J. Rosenberg

ART/CREATIVE DIRECTOR DJ Galbiati Blalock

MANAGING EDITOR Craig Sager II

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

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Copyright 2015 Score Atlanta Publishing, LLC. All rights reserved. Score Atlanta is published in print every other week on Fridays and a digital ver-sion 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 mislead-ing 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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STARTING LINEUP 04 COLUMNISTS 07 09ON THE COVER PREP COVER

ON THE INSIDE AT SCORETEAM SCOOP AND VOICES STAY CONNECTED!

SCORE LIST | NUMBERS

GEORGIA STATE | KENNESAW STATE GEORGIA | GEORGIA TECH

BRAVES | FALCONS HAWKS | GHSA BASKETBALL

COVER PHOTOS COURTESY OF AP IMAGES, TY FREEMAN AND TERRANCE JOHNSON.

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Despite being outscored 21-3 in the fourth quarter, the 14-0 Carolina Panthers kept

their bid for a perfect season alive with a 38-35 win over the host New York Giants last Sunday. Now, the Falcons and Panthers look to close the final two weeks of the 2015 season with back-to-back division games. Carolina has not lost in Atlanta since 2012 and Panthers quar-terback Cam Newton enters today’s matchup with history on his side. Newton is 17-3 all-time in the month of December. He has thrown 41 touchdowns and ran for 10 touchdowns in his 20 career December starts. “As far as I know, if you’ve got a shot, you’ve got a shot,” Falcons head coach Dan Quinn said Monday. “We’ve got an awesome challenge ahead this week and it’s one we’re

absolutely jacked for.” Carolina’s success in recent years has re-lied on a physical and fundamentally-sound linebacker corps that features two of the best tacklers in the NFL. Luke Kuechly posted 15 tackles in Carolina’s 38-35 win over the Giants last Sunday, but 11-year pro Thomas Davis Sr. continues what proved to be his first-ever Pro Bowl season. Davis sits three tackles away from his fourth-straight season with more than 100 tackles. He finished with seven tackles and a forced fumble in Carolina’s 38-0 win over the Falcons on Dec. 13. Offensively, Carolina was riddled with injuries to the receiving core early after Kelvin Benjamin tore his left ACL. Coach Ron Rivera was left with two journeymen: return specialist Ted Ginn Jr. and 33-year-old Jerricho

Cotchery and Cam Newton has turned them into the most explosive offense in the division. Ginn has responded by having his best season since 2008, his second year in the League, and is closing in on a career-high in receiving yards and already having shattered his former mark of five touchdowns with 10 this year. Cotchery, a 12-year veteran, has per-formed admirably and now has over 6,500 yards receiving, but the focal point of the pass-ing game has been Greg Olsen. His career-year has him leading the team in both receptions and yards. The Panthers have the No. 1 rush-ing offense in the NFL this season and are av-eraging the most points per game at 32. The Panthers are looking to capture their first ever Super Bowl after falling 32-29 in 2003 to the New England Patriots on a last second Adam Vinatieri 41-yard field goal.

WHO DAT The Saints have been dealt injuries to the running game that has called for Tim Hight-ower to return to NFL action for the first time in four years. Hightower was cut by Washing-ton before the 2012 season and was not called back until Jan. 4 of this year when the Saints offered him a futures contract. After Mark In-gram was placed on injured reserve, Hightower

was named the starter for the Saints Week 14 trip to Tampa Bay. Hightower rushed the ball a career-high 28 times for 85 yards and a touch-down in the Saints’ 24-17 win. Hightower also hauled in a 10-yard completion from Drew Brees and will look to continue taking advan-tage of this new opportunity. With Doug Martin leading the backfield, Charles Sims’ role in the Bucs can spring explo-sive plays. The speedy back out of West Virgin-ia has proven to be a dangerous change of pace in his second professional season. Sims has not rushed for a touchdown this season, but he has found the end zone three times through the air. He has carried the ball 99 times, while gaining 469 yards and has tallied 39 catches for 415 yards (10.6 yards per reception).

DIRTY BIRDS The Falcons returned to .500 (7-7) with a 23-17 win at Jacksonville last Sunday. The offense used balance to produce a 14-play game-clinching drive that resulted in a 46-yard Shayne Graham field goal. Defensively, the Fal-cons held Jacksonville to 0-8 on third down and 0-1 on fourth down. Philip Wheeler and Adrian Clayborn each posted sacks in the victory. Photo courtesy of AP Images.

SAGER SAYS

BY CRAIG SAGER II | CSAGER@SCOREATL.COM

DIVISION OPPONENTS STAND IN PANTHERS’ PATH TO PERFECTION

We are officially a month into high school basketball season. There is one prevail-

ing aspect of this year’s play that I have seen so far and it is that there is parity amongst the classifications. Outside of your top three or four teams in a handful of classes, the field is wide open for sleepers, surprisers and spoilers to all play a big role in the outcome of this sea-son’s final results. Class AAAAAA is one of the hardest to rank early in the year. Once we get deep into region play, hopefully the picture will begin to clear. The likes of Westlake, Shiloh, Norcross and Wheeler all seem like good bets to make deep runs, but you can never be 100 percent sure. Teams like Pebblebrook may be unranked right now, but have more than enough fire pow-

er to get hot and take a trip to Macon in March. By the way, who would have predicted that the last three teams to be undefeated in 6A would be No. 6 Lambert (11-0), Johns Creek (10-0) and No. 5 Tift County (9-0)? If you guessed the Longhorns and Blue Devils, I’d believe you. The Gladiators? Not so much coming off a 14-15 season. In AAAAA, No. 1 Miller Grove and No. 2 McIntosh supply possibly the best basketball in the state to watch, but No. 3 Gainesville, No. 5 Heritage-Conyers and No. 6 Cedar Shoals have an arms race going on in Region 8. Don’t sleep on No. 5 Allatoona. The Bucs made it to the state title game last year but were outsized by Brunswick. With a few strong pieces at for-ward and off guard graduated, Allatoona finds

itself at 7-0 behind Ephraim Tshimanga and sophomore Trey Doomes’ play up front. Want bang for your buck in 5A? East Pauld-ing’s “System” might not be for everybody, but you will see as many shots as possible watch-ing them play. Coach Joby Boydstone is back in Georgia and the result with the Raiders (4-7) is either very pretty or very ugly. In wins they av-erage 98.7 points per game, but in losses they allow 93.4. East Paulding’s four wins have come by an average of 23.5 points per game, but their losses are blowouts, losing by 26.7. So who is leading Class AAAA in scor-ing? Avi Toomer (25.7)? MJ Walker (22.6)? Elias Harden (22.3)? Nope. It of course is none other than Ty Pendley of Southeast Whitfield, pouring in over 28 a night. The fearless 5-foot-10 guard lives at the foul line and also isn’t afraid to pull up from beyond the arc. He has improved upon his 21.3 point per game average from 2014-15 and is currently among the top scorers in the entire state. Class AAA’s main storyline is that there has been a profusion of unexpected turn-arounds. Coahulla Creek (11-2), Douglass (10-2), Lumpkin County (9-2) and Islands (9-2) have all seen their fortunes spin into a positive direction. Coahulla Creek finished 14-11, Dou-glass 5-18, Lumpkin County 9-20 and Islands

11-16 in 2014-15. The one team who’s accel-erated growth may not be much of a surprise has been that of the Lumpkin County Indians. After a 77-12 run over three years at Johnson-Gainesville, highlighted by last year’s 29-1 campaign, Head Coach Jeff Steele decided to bring over his Midas Touch to Lumpkin and has successfully turned them into a winner, already cracking the top ten once this year. What has stood out the most in Class AA is the disappointment that Pace Academy has been. At 2-4 with the best junior in the country, the Knights are barely clinging on to the No. 10 spot with no room for error remaining. They have played a tough schedule, but losing to a banged up No. 4 GAC and a 3-8 Lower Rich-land (SC) are not good results coming off of a 27-3 season. In 1A-Private, it looks as if everyone is just playing for second place with No.1 Greenforest the clear cut favorite to win it all. If the Eagles can avoid mental pitfalls, there is no reason why they can’t go undefeated this year. 1A-Public has seen Ahmad Rand of No. 5 Lincoln County emerge as possibly the best college prospect in the classification. The 6-foot-7 junior already has compiled a streak of three straight triple-doubles. Photo courtesy of Ty Freeman.

SANDY’S SPIEL

BY KYLE SANDY | KSANDY@SCOREATL.COM

DIAGNOSING GHSA BASKETBALL

5Vol. 11 Iss. 44 | December 24-30, 2015

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

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

©20

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6 SCORE ATLANTA | www.ScoreAtl.com

OUR TWO CENTSOur 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 sports-heavy 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.

WH

O’S

HOT

WH

O’S

NOT

Russell Wilson Odell Beckham, Jr.Kansas City

ChiefsBrooklyn NetsAtlanta Hawks Saints Defense

The Seahawks quarterback has been on an absolute tear the last five weeks. Besides winning all five games, the former Super Bowl winning quarterback has thrown for 19 touchdowns to zero in-terceptions as well as com-pleted 70% of his passes in all five games. Russell is av-eraging 284 yards per game during this streak as well.

Despite racking up 76 yards on six receptions and a touchdown, Beckham made headlines for the wrong rea-sons after Sunday’s loss to the Panthers. Beckham was flagged three times for un-sportsmanlike conduct after targeting and hitting Panthers cornerback Josh Norman in the head. Beckham has since been suspended one game for his actions.

After starting the season 1-5 Kansas City have reeled off eight straight wins to put them in a position to make the play-offs. Currently the 9-5 Chiefs are one of the two wild card teams in the AFC and are only one game out of first place in the AFC West. In their wins this season quarterback Alex Smith’s touchdown to intercep-tion ratio is 13:1.

The Nets have fallen to 3-7 in their last 10 games and are currently 8-20 including 2-12 on the road this season. The Nets biggest issue this sea-son has been their inability to score where they rank 29th in the league averaging 96 points per game. They haven’t been great on the defensive side of the ball either as they rank 20th in the league giving up 102.6 points per game.

The Hawks have ripped off four straight wins, scoring 100 or more points in all four outings. These wins have also come relatively easy with only one game being within one pos-session and the average mar-gin of victory at 10.5 points. The win streak has been good enough to propel the Hawks up in the standings to the three seed in the East.

The New Orleans Saints dropped their ninth game of the year on Monday night and once again allowed over 30 points. Despite having the #1 ranked pass offense in the NFL, the Saints defense has struggled all year and cer-tainly lately. The Saints are last in points against, giving up 30.9 per game to go along with surrendering 423 yards of total offense per game.

SCORE LISTBy Ned Kaish

NUMBERSBy Ned Kaish

FALCONS WELCOME UNDEFEATED PANTHERSWith their win over the Jaguars on Sunday the Falcons moved to 7-7 and kept their playoff chances alive. This week a new challenge as they host Cam Newton and the undefeated Carolina Panthers. The Panthers pummeled the Falcons two weeks ago in Charlotte but the Dirty Birds are looking to flip the script in the Georgia Dome. Atlanta will have to win out if they want a chance at making the playoffs.

Falcon’s running back Devonta Freeman and wide receiver Julio Jones were named to the 2016 Pro Bowl team on Tuesday. Freeman, in his second year out of Florida State, has rushed for over 900 yards and scored a league leading 10 touchdowns on the ground. Jones meanwhile set the franchise record for most receptions in a season recording 118 for over 1,500 yards through 14 weeks.

JONES, FREEMAN NAMED TO PRO BOWL

MCCAFFREY NAMED AP PLAYER OF THE YEARDespite breaking Barry Sanders single season all-purpose yards record, Stanford sophomore could not beat out Alabama running back Derrick Henry for the Heisman. McCaffrey, however, did take home AP Player of the Year honors. McCaffrey ran for 1,847 yards and eight scores while adding over 500 yards and four more scores through the air. McCaffrey also accounted for a kick off return for touchdown as well as throwing for two touchdowns.

HODSKINS SCORESUniversity of Florida guard Zach Hodskins recorded his first career basket on Tuesday night in the Gators win over Jacksonville 89-65. What made Hodskins basket so special wasn’t that he is just a walk-on, but he is a walk-on who was born with only one hand. The former Milton Eagle committed to Florida as a preferred walk-on under former coach Billy Donovan. Hodskins is now 1-6 from the field in his brief career.

VALENTINE OUT 2-3 WEEKSOne of college basketball’s early season stars won’t see the court much over the Christmas holiday. Michigan State forward Denzel Valentine is expected to miss 2-3 weeks with a left knee injury. Valentine has helped led Michigan State to its first 13-0 start and a #1 ranking. Along the way Valentine has recorded two triple-doubles and is averaging 18.5 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 7.1 assists per game.

? “

ANSWER ON PAGE 14- Dan Quinn on facing the 14-0

Panthers

TRIVIA QUESTION

SANITY AT LAST

WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME THE FALCONS

BEAT THE PANTHERS?

“We’ve got an awesome

challenge ahead this week and it’s one we’re absolutely

jacked for.”

By

Ned

Ka

ish

10

26

4,368

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0.4

17-3

13

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Panthers selected to the Pro Bowl, the most of any team in the NFL.

Receptions needed for Julio Jones to break the all-time record for most catches in a year held by Marvin Harrison at 143.

Passing yards by Georgia State quarterback Nick Arbuckle, which is good enough for third in the NCAA.

Total team sacks by the Falcons through 14 games (last in the NFL).

Undefeated teams left in college basketball: Michigan State, Oklahoma, Xavier, SMU and South Carolina.

Percent chance the Falcons have of making the playoffs according to Sports Club Stats.

Cam Newton’s record in the month of December

Touchdowns passes by Cam Newton his last three starts.

7Vol. 11 Iss. 44 | December 24-30, 2015

The third installment of Georgia’s annual ju-nior all-star game will feature a sophomore

game for the first time. The newly-named Georgia Junior Sopho-more Elite Classic will see the best sophomores in the state square off before the juniors take the field in the back- end of the double-header. In just two years, the classic has presented two thrilling games, incredible individual perfor-mances and unpredictable storylines. Last year’s classic was dominated by North Gwinnett’s K.J. Hancock, who hauled in nine catches for 150 yards and three touch-downs to lead the North team to a 45-38 vic-tory. Hancock was a late addition to the classic that ended up winning the game’s overall MVP and is now set to sign at Miami (Ohio) this February.

JOINING FORCES While the individual performances are always exciting to see, watching players from all over the state and each classification come together is a true representation of the excellence of Georgia High School Football.

The Class A standouts get a chance to prove their ability with the state’s higher classifica-tions and the competiveness creates must-see matchups on every snap. Blessed Trinity’s Conor Davis quarter-backed the South team last year with his four-touchdown performance and 20-of-26 pass-ing for 357 yards. Davis hit Marion County’s Lorenzo Smothers on a crossing route that resulted in a one-handed touchdown grab that went viral around the football community. Two minutes later, the South team was on the board again as Davis connected with McEachern transfer Tyler Simmons, who then pitched back to his new Indians teammate Sam Jackson on the hook and ladder for a 55-yard touchdown. Davis also hit Colquitt County star Kiel Pollard for a 7-yard touchdown. This all-star game has boasted some of the state’s most accomplished defensive play-ers each year. Roswell’s Marcelino Ball stole the spotlight last year as he turned in 10 tackles and one tackle for loss to earn Defensive MVP. The talent filling this year’s rosters will attract recruiting attention from all over the

country. In the junior game, some of the state’s biggest names are set to star in this year’s edi-tion. Mill Creek center Tyler Fannin anchors the American team offensive line and will have Bailey Hockman (McEachern), Baron Radcliff (Norcross) and Jack Dinges (Marist) to snap to. Out wide, Northside-Warner Robins star Tobias Oliver will get looks at receiver, which will be a change of pace after quarterbacking the run-heavy Eagles offense. Four-star Brookwood standout Leonard Warner is a player to watch on the American defense. The 6-foot-4, 219-pound junior has already received offers from Georgia, Alabama, Auburn, Duke and Boston College among many others and will be able to showcase his speed against a fast National team with one of the top backs in the state this season leading the backfield. Roswell running back Sheldon Evans joins Stockbridge’s Jalen Holston and North Cobb’s C.J. Cole in the National back eld. Evans helped lead Roswell to a 14-1 season with his 1,798 rushing yards and 27 rushing touch- downs.

PROVEN PASSERS On the National Team, Grayson’s Chase Brice and Griffin’s Tylan Morton will quarter-back the offense with Woodward Academy’s Ryan Glover. Brice recently committed to Clemson and Morton is a 6-foot-5 passer that can gain momentum heading into his senior season with the Bears. Glover is coming off a breakout season quarterbacking the War Ea-gles and finished with 2,740 yards through the air, 26 touchowns and just five interceptions during this year’s run to the 4A semifinals. Bringing versatility to the National o ense will be Glynn Academy’s electrifying quarter- back Deejay Dallas (ATH). Dallas will be able to take snaps at wide receiver and running back to showcase his coveted skillset. Three-star Connor Heyward out of Peachtree Ridge will also focus his versatility into the wide re-ceiver role and at 6-foot-1, 202-pounds will challenge the American defense.

TIME TO SHINE The sophomore rosters consist of Geor-gia’s emerging Class of 2018 stars and players that have already used varsity experience to attract recruiting attention from the country’s top programs. Woodstock quarterback Gar-rett Bass leads the sophomore American team with North Gwinnett’s Cade Fortin. Ninth-grader Dominick Blaylock will get his chance to shine after stealing the show last year in the

COVER STORY

BY CRAIG SAGER II | CSAGER@SCOREATL.COM

DOUBLE-HEADER TO SHOWCASE GEORGIA’S TALENT LIKE NEVER BEFORE

eighth grade game. Blaylock nished last year’s eighth grade game with 107 receiving yards o six receptions and was named the Offensive MVP. Blaylock received his rst SEC o er before he even stepped foot in Walton High School and is considered one of the top Class of 2019 pros- pects in the nation. Mays’ receiver Jaquez Smith will line up as a 9th grader for the National team and will get a chance to attract early recruiting attention. Peachtree Ridge head coach Mark Fleet-wood (National) and Stockbridge head coach Kevin Whitley (American) will coach the soph-omore teams. The junior teams will be led by McEachern head coach Kyle Hockman (Ameri-can) and Archer head coach Andy Dyer (Na-tional). Hockman and Dyer have met in back-to-back postseasons and will open next season against each other in the final game of the 25th Metro PCS Corky Kell Classic. Photos courtesy of McEachern HS and Ter-rance Johnson.

ON THE COVER

NATIONALSIGNING DAY

WORLD’S LARGEST BE A PART OF THE

SIGNING DAY CELEBRATION

All Metro Atlanta High School Recruits, Coaches & Teams are Invited! Parents, Friends, Cheerleaders, Family & Fans - Come Show Your Support!

Sign your team up for a time by calling Lauren Goldstein at 404.256.1572 or email her at lgoldstein@scoreatl.com

Join us for an afternoon of celebration: FEB. 3 | 11am - 5pm

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

*Schools will be assigned specific times

STARS & STRIKES8767 Roswell Rd. | Sandy Springs, GA 30350

South Paulding scored an impressive 54-49 victory over Blessed Trinity at the SEBA At-

lanta Hoop Festival on Saturday. Blessed Trin-ity led 43-39 with 7:02 left in the final quarter and 45-43 with 5:42 left before South Paulding finished off a 15-6 run to clinch the win. South Paulding’s strong finish followed an impres-sive rally by Blessed Trinity that saw the Titans overcome a dreadful start. The Titans opened the game with a 12-0 deficit and did not get their first points until John Michael Bertrand scored with 1:25 left in the first quarter. South Paulding took a 14-4 lead into the second period. Blessed Trinity chipped away at the lead by getting to the foul line but still trailed 29-21 at the half. Kane Williams led South Paulding into the locker room with 13 points, seven rebounds, three assists and four steals, while Bertrand netted 10 points. Blessed Trin-ity opened the second half on a 14-4 run and

claimed its first lead (35-33) with 3:45 left in the third quarter. C.J. Abrams sparked the third quarter run with seven points off the bench. South Paulding finally reclaimed the lead with 3:19 to play at 49-47. Williams dished to An-thony Brown for a emphatic dunk that gave the Spartans some breathing room with less than two minutes to play. Brown finished with 17 points and 13 rebounds, while Williams stuffed the stat sheet with 22 points, eight rebounds, five assists and five steals. Three Titans fin-ished in double-figures with Bertrand leading the way with 16 points, Kyle Swade chipping in 12 and Abrams adding 11.

WEST ASHLEY CLASSIC Boys: East Hall 73, St. James (SC) 58: East Hall jumped to a 17-6 lead after the first quarter and added a 25-point outburst in the second quarter to grow a 42-20 halftime edge.

Tylor Brown led the Vikings with 21 points and Triston Cooper finished with 16. Mahki Brown grabbed 13 rebounds and netted 14 points and Luke Cooper chipped in 12 points.

WAR EAGLE HOLIDAY CLASSIC Boys: Woodward Academy 71, Fulton Leadership 50: Woodward Academy took a 39-18 halftime lead and grew the lead to 56-32 entering the final quarter. Junior Brennan Mc-Daniel notched a double-double with 12 points and 10 boards and junior guard Julian Cameron finished with 13 points. Senior Maxwell Ches-ter finished with a team-high 15 points and ju-nior Hunter Falconer chipped in with 10 points, six rebounds and four assists. Boys: South Atlanta 65, LaGrange 50: Or-lando Bebee scored 13 points in the second half as South Atlanta outscored LaGrange 37-26. Bebee closed the third quarter with a three-pointer that gave the Hornets a 42-38 edge and closed the game with 10 points in the final frame. Devonte Pullins finished with a team-high 16 points and teammate Devontae Dean finished with 11. Boys: Holy Innocents’ 81, Alcovy 44: Holy Innocents’ opened the game on a 15-0 run and took a 28-4 lead into the second quarter. The Golden Bears continued piling on the points and took a 50-12 lead into the second half. Jules Erving led Holy Innocents’ with 13 points at the half. The route continued as the Golden

Bears’ outscored Alcovy 25-23 in the third quarter. Erving finished with 15 points and Cole Smith netted a game-high 20 points. Girls: Chamblee 51, Starr’s Mill 50: Cham-blee’s Trinity Edwards netted the game-winner at the buzzer on a put back and finished with 13 points. Liyah Terrell led Chamblee with 15. Chamblee led 39-35 entering the final quarter and held a 27-24 lead at the half.

MORE ACTION Boys: East Jackson 91, Monroe Area 70: Travis Anderson ended the third quarter with a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give East Jackson a 72-45 lead. Anderson added six more points in the final frame and finished with a game-high 33 points. Teammate Drue Drinnon also scored six points in the fourth quarter and fin-ished with 28. East Jackson led 27-17 after the first quarter and 49-27 at the half. Boys: Stratford Academy 80, Dooly Coun-ty 63: Stratford Academy trailed 35-34 at the half but used a 24-17 scoring edge in the third quarter to grow a 59-51 lead. O’Showen Wil-liams led the Eagles with 25 points and Quin-tez Cephus finished with 24. James Mitchell chipped in 14 points in the victory. Photos courtesy of Ty Freeman.

PREP SPORTS

COMPETITION HEATS UP WITH HOLIDAY HOOPS ACTIONBY CRAIG SAGER II | CSAGER@SCOREATL.COM

10 SCORE ATLANTA | www.ScoreAtl.com

Ever since Mark Richt was let go as the Georgia Bulldogs head coach, the news around five-

star quarterback Jacob Eason has been up on the air regarding his future plans. Last Tuesday, he put those concerns of Bulldog Nation to rest. Eason announced in his home state of Washington that he would be keeping his com-mitment to Georgia, instead of jumping over to Florida. He recently visited the Gators and many thought they were going to be the future destination for him. The Lake Stevens native talked with the media soon after making the announcement on a conference call for the Gatorade National Player of the Year. “It’s been a crazy experience for a kid my age,” Eason said. “I kind of expected it. I was choosing between one of the biggest rivalries in college football. It was a crazy experience but an experience I’m glad I had.” Eason will play in the US Army All-Ameri-can Bowl coming up on January 9 in San Anto-nio, Tx. He will then report to Athens on Janu-ary 11, to enroll in classes.

Georgia State’s dream season ended on a sour note, falling to San Jose State in the

inaugural AutoNation Cure Bowl on Saturday night, 27-16. The Panthers (6-7) fell behind 10-0 early in the second quarter after the Spartans’ Tyler Ervin returned a punt 85 yards. Nick Arbuckle, the Sun Belt Conference single-season record holder with 4,368 yards pass-ing, was held to 14-of-29 passing for 208 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. He scored GSU’s first postseason points with a 38-yard strike to Donovan Harden to bring the score to 10-7 at the half. Entering the fourth quarter, the Panthers trailed 13-7 after an Austin Lopez 19-yard field goal. Georgia State would force a safety and on the ensuing possession grab its first lead of the game on a 19-yard touchdown toss to Todd Boyd with 10:46 remaining. The lead was short-lived however as quarterback Kenny Pot-ter busted a 42-yard touchdown run at the 9:15

Georgia Tech saw its three-game win streak snapped last Saturday by the Georgia Bull-

dogs 75-61. The win also napped the Yellow Jackets’ streak of four straight victories over Georgia. Tech took a 34-33 lead into the half but were outscored 42-27 in the second half as Georgia’s J.J. Frazier heated up. Frazier scored a season-high 35 points while sinking six of his nine attempted 3-pointers. “When you shoot it wrong and it still gets nothing but net. ... I knew if I could just get my hand right on the ball, it would probably go in,” said Frazier following the game. Frazier was also clutch out the foul line where he iced Georgia’s lead by making each of his eight free throws in the final 90 seconds. “Give them credit,” Tech head coach Brian Gregory said following the game. “We didn’t play very well and I think they were a big rea-

Kennesaw State traveled to take on the Indi-ana Hoosiers Tuesday night and fell 99-72.

The night provided plenty for Owls fans to be proud of as Yonel Brown dropped a game-high 26 points and reached the 1,000 career point mark. Brown needed 15 points at the legendary Assembly Hall and with 16:42 left in the game made a layup while getting fouled. He hit the free throw to reach the 1,000 points mark. The free throw cut the Owls’ deficit to seven points in the second half but eventually the Hoo-siers pulled away with a 15-2 run to make it a 19-point lead with just over seven minutes left. Now, Kennesaw State will head home for a three game home stand that starts with in-state rival the Mercer Bears on December 30. “We stuck with the things that we were doing. We executed well and showed some patience on offense. Through the execution,

SMART BRINGS IN NEW COACHES The new Georgia Bulldogs coaching staff under head coach Kirby Smart is starting to come into form, with three coaches hired over the weekend. They are new offensive coordina-tor/quarterbacks coach Jim Chaney, offensive line coach Sam Pittman and defensive assis-tant Glenn Schumann. Chaney comes to Georgia, after spending last season with the Pittsburgh Panthers. Previ-ously he spent time at Tennessee and Arkansas. Pittman worked with Chaney while at Tennessee in 2012 and then at Arkansas the following season. He served as the recruiting coordinator as well at Arkansas. Smart likes him for his work on and off the field. “He’s been able to recruit successfully, de-velop players and all the places he’s been he’s been able to run the ball,” Smart said. “I’ve just got a lot of respect for the way his offensive lines have played, when we’ve played against them. That speaks volumes to me about him as a person.”

BULLDOGS START BOWL PRACTICE Georgia’s next stop is January 2 TaxSlayer Bowl matchup with the Penn State Nittany Li-ons. Wide receivers coach Bryan McClendon is the interim head coach and is looking forward to the challenge of facing Penn State. If the Bull-dogs can win in Jacksonville, then they’ll have 10 wins for the second straight season. They would give the senior class 40 for their career.

mark to go back on top 20-16. Georgia State moved to midfield but failed to convert a 3rd-and-one with eight minutes left. The Panthers went for it on fourth down and freshman receiver Penny Hart got behind the defense, but Arbuckle’s pass was just out of his reach. “We put the ball in the hands of the best player in our conference, the best player on our offense and on our team – Player of the Year,” head coach Trent Miles said. “We had a guy that was one of the best receivers in the na-tion running wide open for a touchdown and it just didn’t work. If the ball was about six inches shorter, it’s a touchdown. We’re back in the lead and everybody says what a great play call that was made. But he over threw him, and that’s football.” The Spartans ended any hope of a come-back when they marched 11 plays and 49 yards spanning over five minutes to take a 27-16 lead with 2:40 left on a 1-yard touchdown pass to Josh Oliver. “Well my hat’s off to San Jose State,” Miles said. “They did an excellent job defensively, stopping us from rushing the ball and throw-ing the ball, moving the ball. We were unable to convert on third downs. We were one of 10 on third-down conversions. They killed us with the time of possession, and they did an excellent job of getting us off the field offensively.”

son why we didn’t. ... Frazier obviously had a great game and we struggled guarding him.”

DOUBLE-DOUBLE STREAK ENDS Charles Mitchell, who had double-dou-bles in each of Georgia Tech’s first nine games, was in foul trouble much of the game and was scoreless with four rebounds. He had two early fouls which limited him to seven minutes and no points in the first half. Mitchell bounced back on Monday to lead Tech to a 75-62 victory over the 2-10 Southeast-ern Louisiana Lions. Mitchell finished with 14 points and 15 rebounds and Adam Smith finished with 16 points. James White added 12 points. The only Yellow Jackets starter not to score in double figures, point guard Josh Heath, who nearly put up a double-digit num-ber as he finished with nine assists in addition to his two points. Georgia Tech returned home for a Wednesday out of conference game with Colgate and will host Duquesne Tuesday the 29th after the holidays. Conference play opens Jan. 2 as the Yellow Jackets visit No. 7 North Carolina. Tech has to go to Pittsburgh the following Wednesday and will return home for a Saturday showdown with No. 5 Virginia on Jan. 9th. Tech faces five ranked ACC opponents in its first 10 conference games.

we were able to score a few baskets, and that took them out of their transition game. They would have to go against our half-court de-fense and at times we were able to get stops. Then we made a couple mistakes that let them really widen the gap. I think the mistakes really showed our immaturity. We have to be a little more mature in those situations. We knew we were doing well, and then we got anxious. You have to credit Indiana because they don’t give in and they continue to fight. They did not crumble even though we made an effort to come back. Once they started to stretch it out, their transition game was effective. They are very good in transition.”

SILVER LINING The Owls finished with a season-high 17 assists in the loss and it was the second time that both Brown and Kendrick Ray (22) each scored 20 or more points this season. Brown is the first player with 1,000 career points since Delbert Love reached the milestone in 2013. Kennesaw State rides a three-game losing streak after falling to Chattanooga 78-66 on Friday and seeing Louisville cruise to a 94-57 win last Wednesday. The Owls trailed Louis-ville 41-19 at the half before allowing the Cardi-nals to outscore them 53-38 in the second half.

UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA

GEORGIA STATE

GEORGIA TECH

KENNESAW STATE

BY DAN MATHEWS | DMATHEWS@SCOREATL.COM

BY KYLE SANDY | KSANDY@SCOREATL.COM

BY CRAIG SAGER II | CSAGER@SCOREATL.COM

BY KYLE SANDY | KSANDY@SCOREATL.COM

BOWL PRACTICE GETS UNDERWAY AS NEW ERA APPROACHES

PANTHERS MISS STRIKE IN BOWLING DEBUT

WIN STREAK STAPPED BY RIVAL DAWGS

YONEL BROWN REACHES 1,000 CAREER POINTS

11Vol. 11 Iss. 44 | December 24-30, 2015

Just like that and the Hawks (18-12) are back in first place in the Southeast Division. The

cure to every team’s woe, the Philadelphia 76ers, were blasted last Thursday by the fal-tering Hawks, 127-106. That rout has proven to be a springboard as Atlanta has now won four straight games with their latest victory coming on Monday night at Philips Arena against the Portland Trail Blazers, 106-97. Dennis Schroder scored a team-high 18 points off the bench and broke off a part of his tooth in the process. Schroder said he lost the cap that had been bonded to his tooth after a collision with Meyers Leonard’s knee. He casually slipped it into his sock and remained in the game to lead six Atlanta scorers in double figures. Coach Mike Budenholzer was impressed by not only the young backup’s toughness, but play as well. “I thought the competitiveness and the toughness, you could feel it tonight,” Budenholzer said. “We could breathe again when Paul [Millsap] came back in.” Millsap, who finished with 12 points and six rebounds, tweaked his left ankle before re-

Three years removed from his retirement, former Atlanta Braves’ third baseman

Chipper Jones is returning to baseball. The organization announced last week that Jones will work for the team in an advisory role as a special assistant to the baseball operations department. “I think this is great for the Braves,” general manager John Coppolella told the team’s web-site. “Obviously, he is one of the best Braves players ever. I think he can help our young play-ers and I think he can help our scouts prepare for the draft. I think whatever we can get from him will be a very positive thing for us and our franchise.” Jones, who called it quits as a player fol-lowing the 2012 campaign, has remained in frequent contact with the Braves’ coaches and front office members. Now he will continue to do so in an official capacity. The 43-year-old plans to spend at least part of spring training with the club in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. He will also periodically assist the Braves in various capacities at both the major-league and minor-

The NFL announced Tuesday night that running back Devonta Freeman and wide

receiver Julio Jones have been named to the 2016 Pro Bowl roster. Freeman’s Pro Bowl selection comes in his first year as the Falcons starter and his second year in the NFL. He is the first Falcons running back since Michael Turner in 2010 to be named to the Pro Bowl. The 23-year old from Florida State burst onto the scene early during the 2015 campaign, catching everyone outside of the Falcons organization by surprise. In Week 5 versus Washington, Freeman became the first player with eight or more rushing touchdowns in a team’s first five games of a season since LaDainian Tomlinson (9) and Shaun Alexander (8) in 2005. After only rushing for 248 yards all last season, Freeman has more than tripled that amount and has rushed for 907 yards, which is seventh-best mark in the League; also, his 10 rushing touchdowns are tied for a League lead through 14 games.

Gainesville High athletic director Billy Kirk confirmed Tuesday that the team will be

suspended for two games, and will not par-ticipate in the annual Hall County tournament, which will begin its 56th year of play on Dec. 28 at Johnson High. This will be the first time in tournament history that the Gainesville boys will not par-ticipate in Lanierland.

COSTLY CONSEQUENCES The Courier-Journal of Louisville reported that a fight during a consolation round game Monday afternoon between members of the Red Elephants and a team from Miami Se-nior (Fla.) prompted officials to suspend both teams. The teams were playing in the Forcht Bank King of the Bluegrass Holiday Classic in Fairdale, Ky. Wanda Creel, the Gainesville City School System superintendent, said in a press release Tuesday: “We are disappointed that the situ-ation in a competitive environment became disorderly. We support and value teammates standing together. However, we believe that

turning to the game and logging 25 minutes.

DOUBLE TROUBLE Atlanta took advantage of Portland’s top two scorers being unavailable with injuries. The Trail Blazers were without starting guards Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum. Lillard has plantar fasciitis in his left foot and missed a game for the first time in his career, ending his streak of playing in 275 consecutive games while McCollum has two sprained ankles. Combined, the Blazers were missing 44.7 points per game, the one of the highest scor-ing backcourts in the league. Tim Frazier was just 25 seconds shy of playing the entire game. The undrafted free agent played in just his 27th career game and made his fourth career start. He finished with 12 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. “I was actually kind of disappointed I took him out that one possession,” Coach Terry Stotts said. “I would have liked to have had him (play) 48. But he had three fouls.”

HEATING UP? Atlanta looks to continue streaking on Wednesday night at home against the Detroit Pistons (16-12). With new found momentum, players, coaches and fans alike hope for anoth-er January to remember. Last year the Hawks finished off the perfect month with a 17-0 re-cord. The hot streak looks to be coming at the same time as last year. “It’s been a while since we have been streaking,” Kent Bazemore said. “We had a little rough patch there.”

league levels throughout the year. Coppolella has not set any specifics in terms of Jones’ time commitment or duties. “After a few years of decompressing, I came to the undeniable conclusion that I want to be around the game again and, more par-ticularly, around the Atlanta Braves,” Jones commented. “Because of what we are in the process of building for this city and our fan-base, I am extremely excited to be dipping my toe back into the water that is Braves baseball. “I look forward to working with our play-ers, as my passion for the art of hitting is some-thing I hold near and dear to my heart. My hope is that I can be an extra set of eyes on our players and help supplement an already strong baseball operations department and coaching staff.”

$1.25 MILLION FOR EMILIO Atlanta signed utility man and famil-iar face Emilio Bonifacio to a one-year, $1.25 million contract last Friday. Bonifacio was ac-quired by the Braves prior to the 2014 trade deadline before spending last season with the White Sox. In Atlanta, the Dominican Repub-lic native batted .212 and stole 12 bases in 41 games. He struggled last year in Chicago, hit-ting a mere .167 in 82 plate appearances. The 30-year-old got released in August but is now making return to what should be a comfortable setting. Bonifacio also played under current Braves’ manager Fredi Gonzalez with the Mar-lins in 2009 and 2010.

Freeman has tallied 27 rushes of 10-or-more yards, which is tied for the fourth-best total in the League, according to Stats LLC. The Miami native has also recorded a combined 1,450 rushing and receiving yards, which is the fifth-best mark in the NFL, and he also leads the NFL with 73 total first downs. Freeman has added 68 receptions, which is the second-best mark in the NFL among running backs. That catch total also ties him for the second-best single season receiving total by a running back in franchise history. His 543 re-ceiving yards rank third in the League among run-ning backs this season.

RECORD-BREAKING YEAR Jones earned his second consecutive Pro Bowl selection, and the third of his career. Jones recorded 440 receiving yards and 34 receptions through the first three games in 2015, which was the most catches in NFL history through three games, according to Elias Sports Bureau. Additionally, his 80 receptions during the first nine weeks of the season were the most in NFL history through a team’s first nine games. Jones currently ranks first in receptions (118) and second in receiving yards (1,544). He is also ranked first in targets and first down receptions. On Jones’ seventh reception of the game in Week 15 versus the Jacksonville Jag-uars, he broke the franchise record for most receptions in a single season (115). This is the second straight season Jones has recorded at least 100 receptions.

disputes should be solved in a manner that are non-confrontational and productive. Georgia High School Association rules state any play-ers removed from a game can not participate in the next two competitive games. We all have made mistakes. Our belief is that our Gaines-ville High School Boys Basketball Team can move forward and respect and honor the dif-ficult lessons learned from this experience.” According to the Courier-Journal, Gaines-ville led 20-10 with 1:26 left in the first quar-ter when the incident began. The tournament director told The Courier-Journal that he had contacted members of both the Georgia and Florida associations and was told that both teams would be suspended for two games. Bylaw 2.72 of the Georgia High School Association constitution states that the period of suspension resulting from an ejection will expire “after the individual has been withheld from the next two (2) scheduled contests at the level at which the ejection occurred.” The Red Elephants are ranked No. 3 in Georgia by Maxpreps. Gainesville High bas-ketball coach Benjie Wood did not immediately return a call for comment. George Morgan, the official tournament director and East Hall High athletic director, said in an email that “conversations are un-der way” on whether Gainesville would be re-placed in the Lanierland bracket. Officials could potentially reseed teams and/or add a new team to replace Gainesville. The Lanierland tournament has played with out-of-county teams in the past. The Forsyth County girls basketball team won the championship in 1965 and the Jefferson girls basketball team has played in recent years.

ATLANTA HAWKS

ATLANTA BRAVES

ATLANTA FALCONS

GHSA BASKETBALL

BY KYLE SANDY | KSANDY@SCOREATL.COM

BY RICKY DIMON | RDIMON@SCOREATL.COM

BY CRAIG SAGER II | CSAGER@SCOREATL.COM

GUEST PIECE BY DAVID THACKHAM OF THE GAINESVILLE TIMES

HAWKS GET HOT

HE’S BACK: CHIPPER RETURNS TO BRAVES IN ADVISORY ROLE

FREEMAN, JONES TO REPRESENT FALCONS AT 2016 PRO BOWL

GAINESVILLE SUSPENDED TWO GAMES

12 SCORE ATLANTA | www.ScoreAtl.com

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13Vol. 11 Iss. 44 | December 24-30, 2015