trublue

http://virginiapreps.rivals.com/showmsg....914&style=2 West tops East 7-0 Reply -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- With the VHSCA All-Star football game being played on July 4th this season, recap articles about the game almost beg for the word "fireworks" to appear in the headline and / or the opening paragraph. Something like "the offensive fireworks provided by the All-Stars lit up the gridiron more than the celebratory fireworks of our nation's Independence Day lit up the night skies." Unfortunately, it was only nature's fireworks -- lightning -- that made an appearance as the defenses ruled the turf at Darling Stadium in a 7-0 game won by the West. A muffed punt by the East on their own 8-yard line in the second quarter led to a touchdown pass from Powell Valley's Cedric Mitchell to Amherst County's Derrick McCoy who won a jump ball for the pigskin as Mitchell lofted a high pass into the front corner of the end zone just before being hit for the game's only score. Leading the defense for the West's shutout win was MVP Tyler Holmes from Blacksburg High School (University of Massachusetts) who recorded a big hit in the second quarter and recorded the biggest "ooh" hit of the night in the fourth quarter as he tattooed the East punt returner right as he caught a West punt. Though the scoreboard was not lit up by the players (nor would it have mattered since it wasn't working anyway), that doesn't mean that several players failed to turn in stellar performances. West Offense The most electrifying player on the West squad was Travis Tarpley (GW-Danville, Delaware State) as he exhibited fast feet and tremendous shiftiness on a 42-yard punt return during which he broke two tackles and made several others miss. He followed that by getting around the corner on the next play of the game and pieced together another couple of nice runs for the West. Powell Valley QB Cedric Mitchell (undecided) impressed with his ability to move around in the pocket and to create with his feet, especially when being pressured, as he did on the touchdown pass to McCoy. He kept his head upfield and made a number of tacklers miss throughout the night. Ethan Steward (Burton HS) showed nice accuracy on hitch routes and underneath passes as he found receivers when he had time to throw which was not terribly often. Additionally, he did a solid job with his feet to keep plays alive though nothing big broke for him all night. Perhaps the best offensive play for the West came unintentionally as OL Greg Coopwood (Woodbridge, Virginia State) scooped up a fumble and ran 20 yards to help the West earn a three-yard gain after a sack led to the ball being on the ground. Richland's Austin Fuller (Virginia Tech) did a nice job running routes and showed solid hands catching a couple of hitch routes in front of defenders for positive gains. West Defense Martinsville's J.D. Tyree (Columbia) made a nice tackle for loss early in the game helping to set the physical tone for the West squad. Richard Lockridge (Lebanon HS, Davidson) followed Tyree's lead early in the game with a big hit and Robert E. Lee defensive back Michel Steele (undecided) chipped in with an outstanding open field tackle to bust up a bubble screen in the first quarter. The biggest hitter of the night was Amherst County's Derrick McCoy (Virginia Tech) who, along with scoring the game's only touchdown, was a terror in the middle of the field coming up with a full head of steam to punish one East runner after another. He was joined by Martin Scales (Bassett, undecided) in breaking up the East offense as the aggressive Scales did a nice job in run support and broke up a beautifully thrown fade pass just before halftime. Woodbridge defensive lineman Paul Thompson (Coffeyville) played in the East's backfield most of the time that he was on the field notching a sack, a pressure, and numerous disruptions on the night. East Offense Things looked good for the East early on as Hermitage QB Ju Ju Clayton (Virginia Tech) found Phoebus wideout Reid Evans (Old Dominion) on a fade pattern down the sideline for a 40-yard pass to open the game. Clayton had good zip on the ball all night but didn't get much help from his receivers throughout the game likely because they really didn't have much time to work together in the one week of practice. Tommy Reamon, Jr. (Gloucester, Old Dominion) showed ability to make plays with his feet keeping the East on the field by saving himself with his scrambling ability and led the East's most effective drive of the night in the third quarter with a 10-yard scramble, a connection with James Monroe's Paul Hayden (Norfolk State) followed by a completion to Powhatan's Emmett Brown (Elizabeth City State), but the drive stalled when a scrambling Reamon came up inches short on a fourth down run. Perhaps the quickest feet of the night were under Meadowbrook's Torrean Crowell (Union College of Kentucky) who broke off a couple of nice double-digit yardage runs on the night and always seemed to be one block away from breaking a game-tying run. He earned the MVP award for the East offense and showed more life than most players in the game as he was as animated as anyone on the field. East Defense The game's first big defensive play came courtesy of Monticello's Jake Miles (Wofford) who slashed through the West line to slow down any momentum that the West was building after a couple of sweeps had them driving. While the East was getting beat to the outside early in the game defensive linemen Calvin Ruffin (Kecoughtan), William Jefferson (Hampton HS, undecided) and Aaron Harper (Courtland, James Madison University) were helping control the middle of the line where the East was stuffing everything the West tried between the tackles, so much so that Jefferson and Harper (2 sacks, forced fumble) earned co-MVP honors for the East defense. Jefferson's Hampton teammate Anthony Wardrett was a late addition, as evidenced by his name being painted on the back of his jersey, but he proved that he belonged on the field by recording a sack and a pressure that led to an incomplete pass. The East defense almost rose to the occasion after the muffed punt as Jabrel Mines (Caroline Co., William & Mary) and Terrence Pugh (Indian River, Norfolk State) recorded back-to-back sacks pushing the West back nearly 15 yards. Mines later recorded a tackle for a loss jamming up a running play in the middle of the field and Pugh showed a nice ability to run by chasing down a screen pass from behind. Jamel Davis (Hermitage, Coastal Carolina) did his part for the East defensive line by notching a sack in the fourth quarter. The secondary's best play may have come from Marcus Cooperwood (Bethel, Norfolk State) who flew into the backfield and upended a West runner who was trying to reverse field. Though rain dampened the night and the low-scoring game lacked big offensive plays, the players on the field put forth a great show of effort, sportsmanship and ability which is what the night should be all about anyway.

ajc.com > Sports > High school GEORGIA HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS Gas prices have Georgia schools rethinking sports travel Cobb spent $450K on transport in '07-'08, expects 20-25% cost hike this year By TODD HOLCOMB The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Published on: 07/01/08 With diesel fuel prices 34 percent higher than they averaged in 2007-08, the state of Mississippi has cut high schools sports schedules by 10 percent. The state of Tennessee is radically changing its league structure to limit cross-state travel. In Georgia, there is currently no plan to address rising fuel prices that could cost each high school thousands of dollars more in the upcoming academic year. However, officials want ideas to cope with the issue. "Do we have to do something drastic? If we don't, I'm not sure we'll be out there traveling," said Earl Etheridge, chairman of the Georgia High School Association's reclassification and football committees. "Gasoline's getting to be a tough situation. It's the responsibility of schools to do their fair share to decrease the number of trips we have." Ideas discussed at the reclassification committee's meeting last month included cutting back junior varsity and freshman schedules, playing more double-headers and tournaments and even adopting the Tennessee plan so that neighboring schools can compete against each other in the same region regardless of enrollment size or classification. Exactly how much more money school systems will spend to bus their sports teams in 2008-09 is hard to quantify, but most estimates put it in the thousands of dollars per high school. Cobb County, which has 16 high schools, spent $450,000 on sports transportation in 2007-08, according Jay Dillon, Cobb's director of communications. The county expects to spend 20-25 percent more, or about $100,000, in the coming year. That's about $6,000 extra per high school. With 22 sports sanctioned by the GHSA, high schools can field dozens of teams at the varsity through freshmen levels. For example, Buford, which has 28 sports teams, took more than 200 road trips in 2007-08. Loganville, a middle-sized school east of metro Atlanta, typically spends $30,000 to $35,000 on transportation each year, according to athletics director Tommy Stringer, who nixed a holiday basketball trip to Florida last year because of rising costs. The average price of diesel fuel, which powers school buses that get only 6-10 miles per gallon, is now around $4.65 — 34 percent higher than the $3.48 average for the '07-08 school year. It was only $2.85 when school started last August, according to the Energy Information Administration. But only a few school systems are planning to restrict their schools from sports travel. One is Troup County in west Georgia, which now will pay for only 150 miles per trip. The school's athletic departments must fund the rest. That means that Troup High's football trip to Washington County — 450 miles on three buses — will cost the athletics department about $425. The county will pay the rest, about $200. For one trip, that's no big deal, athletics director and football coach Bubba Jeter said. But it can add up when multiplied by several sports. "It's going to get interesting when we get around to baseball," he said. "This [past spring], we had to go to South Carolina, to Augusta. Then when you get into the playoffs. That's when it's going to get expensive." In May, at the request of the state's superintendents, Mississippi reduced by 10 percent the number of varsity contests that its public schools may schedule. Herb Garrett, the executive director of Georgia's superintendents association, said he would meet with GHSA executive director Ralph Swearngin this month in Jekyll Island to discuss transportation concerns. "The fallout [in Georgia] for sports, my guess, is it would occur at the sub-varsity level, where all of sudden have to look at how many JV, freshman, eighth-grade games you need to play," Garrett said "I'm sure that will become issue as price of gas continues to become a hot topic." In the meantime, school systems may act on their own. In 2005, when gas prices first passed $3 per gallon, a few schools, including Columbus and Westside-Macon, canceled one or more JV football games. This summer, a school district in Fort Mill, S.C., voted to charge high school and middle school athletes $50 apiece to help pay transportation costs. In Florida, a few school districts aren't letting their JV teams travel outside the county. The six-school St. Lucie district recently cut schedules 10 percent and eliminated middle school teams. Lucia Norwood, executive director of the Georgia Athletic Directors Association, suggested more creative scheduling should be the first step, not cutting teams. "Maybe put them all [JV and freshman teams] on one bus and play them all at the same time," Norwood said. "That would be more viable than doing away with programs for kids." In Region 5-AAAAA, mostly in Cobb County, freshmen and JV football games will be played as double-headers this year, meaning only one school travels and their freshman and JV teams ride the same bus. Traditionally in Georgia, JV and freshmen games are played simultaneously at two sites, meaning twice the travel. Another idea is to schedule more tournaments and double-headers in sports such as baseball and softball. The most drastic solution would be to group schools more closely in regions. This year, in Georgia's Region 1-AAAA, schools are spread from Macon to Columbus to Bainbridge, making for some mandatory 300-mile round trips. To address those kinds of problems, Tennessee has adopted a plan for football that groups bigger schools with smaller schools. Arkansas is considering combining its highest two classifications for similar reasons. Doing that in Georgia could put neighboring schools such as Douglass (Class AAAAA) and Carver (AAA) in the same region but allow them to qualify for the state playoffs in their own classifications. The GHSA's Swearngin said it's a radical idea but worth studying. "There's no question that what it costs to drive a bus a mile these days is so costly that if we're spending all our money on transportation, you've got to cut it out somewhere else," Swearngin said. "Whether it's uniforms or the number of people you can carry on a team, it's a domino effect. It may be time now to recognize that the world has changed so radically that we may have to look for some new procedures."

Darren McFadden RB Raiders has a good start on the "skin art"

Bailey is going with Coach Mance, Fuller, and Wicks to the game. I think they will know him.....

.....drip,drip,drip.....the sound of tears in my sweet tea....

Pleeezzzz tell me why......is it having his DNA, desire to have something eaten by someone famous....I'm at a loss for words. Let's hope Tiger's garbageman doesn't get any ideas...

http://www.gwinnettdailypost.com/main.asp?SectionID=7&SubSectionID=7&ArticleID=16524

As the board is a little slow at this time (pre-football season cranking up) thought I would post this. Following is article for any high school basketball FAN. I saw this today and was SHOCKED. He just had another kid transfer from a local high school and has a very good team coming back to Norcross. Norcross (AAAAA) is recognized as the premier school in GA for basketball talent. I guess this speaks/bodes well for GAC(AA) (have a small relative starting school there this fall). http://www.gwinnettdailypost.com/main.asp?SectionID=7&SubSectionID=7&ArticleID=16473 here is a link to view GAC campus http://greateratlantachristian.org/cr/VideoTour.htm

Makes sense. Gwinnett's population is over 757,000...(larger than 4 states and DC) median household income little over $66,000. Forsyth's population is over 158,000 w/median household income of $83,000 (ranked by Forbes as 13th richest county in nation). Gwinnett used to be much smaller....in 1990 population was about 350,000. Forsyth's population in 1990 was about 44,000. Forsyth will be changing drastically in the years to come too. (BTW Gwinnett and Forsyth are neighbors.) My thinking is they (Gwinnett) will eventually allow turf...but when....who knows. We're in an extreme drought situation here (level 4).....so, it would only make sense to allow the TD Clubs to raise the money to have it installed.

I'm thinking you should petition to be an "at large" entry in the next RPS tourney at the Ted....however, you might have to progress beyond the shotgun format.

Forsyth has 4 high schools....Gwinnett has 16 w/ a couple of more being built....Gwinnett does not want to be responsible for maintaining/upkeep of that much turf even if the TD Clubs can afford to have it installed. Forsyth has just started their rapid growth...give it a few years. I've lived here since 1987....I've seen changes in all the counties. BTW, 11 of the Gwinnett High Schools were ranked earlier this year by Newsweek in the top 1300 in the nation.....

All you college kids start practicing..... http://www.ajc.com/living/content/living/stories/2008/06/20/rock_paper_scissors.html

Yeah, we just drive like maniacs.....and traffic is ALMOST as bad here.... but, not much horn honking....maybe a few gestures. Honestly, horn honking out there will drive you nuts.

Beckham has been assigned to the Princeton team per BDT story: http://www.bdtonline.com/localsports/local_story_171232313.html He, also, quit baseball for a brief period: http://www.gwinnettdailypost.com/main.as...ionID=7&S=1

[ QUOTE ] why is he going all the way to the west cost? [/ QUOTE ] ..... following BDT article on his decision and why. He'll like the Santa Monica area....the surroundings are very appealing to the eye; however, LA is just the opposite IMO. (LA has to much traffic, cars honking their horns constantly, must be a requirement to get your driver's license out there to demonstrate that skill) http://www.bdtonline.com/localsports/local_story_171231922.html

"This is the equivalent of signing the nation’s No. 1 recruiting class, only in this case you already know all three guys can really play and will fit your system." Read full article by Mark Bradley AJC: http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-...ill_end_on.html

Thanks Ryan....I was hoping someone would post results.

Missed one (SWD)....sorry. Honorable mention: Nathan Hagy Abingdon OF

http://virginiapreps.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=817088 Congrats to Jordy Barnett of Richlands. Virginia High School Coaches Association Classification AA 2008 All State Selections Player of the Year Mikey O'Brien Hidden Valley Sr. Coach of the Year Greg Conner Powhatan First Team (Player, School, Year) Pitcher Mikey O'Brien Hidden Valley Sr. Pitcher Jordan Barnett Richlands Sr. Catcher Dylan Smith Park View Sr. First Base Zac Helgeson Hidden Valley Sr. Second Base Joey Phillips Blacksburg Sr. Shortstop Adam McConnell Tabb Sr. Third Base Brent Mikionis Powhatan Sr. Outfield Will Lamb York Sr. Outfield Kenny Fleming Louisa Sr. Outfield Daniel Bowman Turner Ashby Sr. Utility Player Mark Manthe Blacksburg Sr. Designated Hitter Steve Holt Alleghany Jr. Honorable Mention: Justin Malone Abingdon SS

I didn't have a clue what "hoodrat" was/meant.....and now that you have enlightened me H7....my vocabulary has a new word that I didn't even know existed...thanks. ha-ha It's hard to believe this kid is only 7.....I would guess he's been "hoodratting" (sp) before.

Some of you may have seen this....if not here's an interesting read: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25108973/&GT1=43001

......don't know how much worse things can get....can anyone on here pitch??????? I'm hoping Huddy stays healthy. ----------------------------------------------------------- Adding this .....partial article. UNBELIEVABLE.... By DAVID O'BRIEN The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Published on: 06/11/08 Chicago — The way things are going for the Braves, they might want to transport Tim Hudson to the ballpark in a protective bubble for his start Thursday. The team's rash of pitching injuries spread to rookie right-hander Jair Jurrjens, who has been scratched for tonight's start against Chicago after spraining his right ankle walking down dugout steps after Tuesday's loss to the Cubs.

[ QUOTE ] Looks like one of those power-trip things ... if turf goes in, everyone in the community will want to play on it, which would lead to things like higher insurance & lighting costs for the school system, and we can't have that now, can we ?? [/ QUOTE ] I didn't quote all the blogger said....to finish it...he said the county stated "if one school gets it, ALL schools will get it and that is NOT going to happen." There are currently 16 high schools in Gwinnett w/2 or 3 being built to reduce overcrowding. I believe MANY of the TD clubs could raise the funds but possibly not ALL ....so, if ALL can't get it ....NONE will get it per the county according to the blogger. I think with many of the high schools in surrounding counties getting it....the TD Clubs will keep harping for the turf and not taking NO for a final answer. Time will tell......

What is so strange.....Gwinnett County, (largest school system in state) does NOT have turf. A blogger dad said North Gwinnett HS ((played for 5A state championship in 2007) approached the county about raising the money to put in field turf on their own (thru community and sponsors w/o any county dollars involved)....Gwinnett County said NO. Go figure.

I think Smoltz would have retired if he had made it through this season. However, IMO he will have the surgery and he will TRY to come back next season..... I believe, as a reliever not a starter. I think next year will be his last year. He's still gonna travel w/the team after he has his surgery this year. He's very involved in a Christian school (King's Ridge) that he helped start up..... and does alot of other community work. It will be a SAD day for Braves fans when he does retire.... Cooperstown will be on his travel agenda 5 years after that day.