SportsWeek
October 2 3, 2QQ3
Eagles
fly over
North
Forsyth
Rucker not enough
to propel Vikings
BV ANTHONY HILL
THE CHRONICLE
North Forsyth ninth-grade
tailback Michael Rucker runs
to the left, then to the right,
then up the middle.
That was the scene for the
North Forsyth junior varsity
football team (now 3-4, 1-2)
during its game against East
Forsyth (5-3) last Thursday
night. Rucker finished the
game
with an
amazing
161 rush
ing yards
on 28
carries.
But that
wasn't
enough
to propel
t h e
Vikings
over the
Eagles, as East won 17-14.
"I think No. 20 for North
Forsyth, Mr. Rucker, is a pretty
good player," East head JV
coach Greg Tuttle said. "We
didn't stop him tonight. We
didn't even contain him. A
penalty here or there was what
really helped us tonight. We
did enough to win. And after
being 4-1 and then dropping to
4-3, (this) made us really want
to win."
The entire game seemed to
have a nice flow to it. Neither
team really jumped out to a
commanding lead the whole
game. Both teams battled back
and forth all the way until the
final horn.
"Yeah, the game did have a
nice flow to it," said North
head JV coach Joe Wade.
North got on the board
early when the talented Rucker
capped a six-play, 27-yard
chive with a 7-yard gallop into
the end zone with 11:54 to go
in the second quarter. East did
n't take long to answer as soph
omore quarterback Nick Corak
burst through the Viking
defense for the score with 9:10
See Eagles on Bit I
Rucker
Photo by Bruce Chapman
Vikings running back Michael Lawrence tries to fight off a Falcon defender during a Peewee game last Saturday. The Pop
Warner playoffs will begin on Saturday.
Pop Warner teams finish in style
Falcons take out Vikings;
Indians dust Grayhounds
BY ANTHONY HILL
THE CHRONICLE 2
Most of the Pop Warner teams
Finished their seasons last Saturday
in style. And the players on various
squads got in gear for the playoffs,
which will begin on Saturday.
One of the most exciting
games of the weekend had to be
the Junior Peewee game between
the Tiny Vikings and the Falcons.
It was one of the better defensive
games in recent memory, with
both teams battling each other for
four quartets, and eventually over
time. Too bad both teams couldn't
have left Mineral Springs as win
ners. The Vikings pulled out the
12-6 win in overtime.
"The team played tough, and
hard." said Viking Junior Peewee
coach Pat Payne. "We've had great
practices this week. Our guys did
what they had to do to pull out the
victory. 1 think the defense brought
us through the game. If it wasn't
for them, we would not have even
been in the game.
"When we scored in the fourth
quarter, I wasn't really worried
about overtime. We almost had a
game go into overtime earlier this
season. I just told my coaches to
get prepared for it, and we did.
We're on a high nght now. I told
the goys that we cdOldn't let them
take our hearts out. because we'd
be on a low ride next week (Satur
day). I told them to play hard, and
take their hearts out. and we did."
The Junior Peewee Vikings
will have to face those same Fal
cons in the first round of the play
offs at 9 a.m. Saturday at Gray
hound Field.
The rest of the games were
pretty much dominated by the tal
ented and well-coached Falcons.
The Falcons won the Flag, Mitey
Mite. Peewee, Junior Midget and
Midget games. Information about
the Flag and Mitey Mite games
was not immediately made avail
able. but the Falcons were able to
win those games. Another one of
See Pop Warner on Bll
What ever happened to
middle school football?
The kids really give it
their all on Saturdays, don't
they? I'm not talking about
the college guys either. I'm
talking about the young
future stars of the gridiron
who
play in
the Pop
Warner
nation.
I t
doesn't
matter
i f
you're a
fan of the Vikings, Tiny Indi
ans, Packers, Falcons or
whomever. All of the teams
have a lot of talented players
who can do some amazing
things during the course of a
single play. Don't get me
wrong, some of those teams
have a lot more talent than
others, but, for the most part,
no team is really left talent
less.
One thing that I am notic
ing more and more with the
P n n
r
Warner
players
is their
lack of
funda
mental
skills.
I ' m
s e r i -
ous. I never thought I would
see the day when I would get
more excited over a great
block over an amazing run.
I'm still being serious. It's
just so rare that you see a
good .block, a play that was
Sec Hill on B11
FROM THE
HUDDLE
Anthony Hill
WFU
players
capture
honors
CHRONICLE STAFF REPORT
Last week was a good one
for the Deacs of Wake Forest.
T k r ?
1 III t t p
Demon
Deacons
- run
n i n g
back
Chris ?
Barclay,
line
backer
Ke 11 e n .
Brantley
and cen
ter Blake Lingruen - were
named ACC Players of the
Week for their performances <
in WFU's 42-13 win at Duke
last Saturday.
Bar
clay Was
Barclay
named
A C C
Offen
s i v e
Back of
t h e
Week
after tal
lying a
career- <
best 163
., .. - ,1 ..
y a i u a
and three touchdowns on 22
carries, all of which came in
the first half. Barclay carried
the ball seven times for 71
yards on the Deacs' opening
drive of
Lingruen
t h e
game,
and
notched
his sec
o n d
straight
100-yard
game in
the first
minute
of the
second
quarter. He added to his total
with a career-best 47-yard TD
run just before halftime.
It was the highest rushing
total by a Deacon back since
Morgan Kane had 224 against
Georgia Tech in 1998. It was
also the second time in Bar
clay's career that he scored
Sec WFU on B1 I
Brantley
Big 4 games bring nostalgia
Older bailers put
on show for
classmates, fans
BY ANTHONY HILL
THE CHRONICLE j
What a scene it was at the
old Atkins gymnasium last Fri
day night, when the Big 4
geared up for a showcase of
skills on the basketball court.
The alumni basketball games
were as good as advertised, and
more exciting than anyone
could've expected.
"We're so extremely
pleased." said Patricia Sadler
Day. event coordinator and
Anderson High alumna. "This
really exceeded our expecta
tions. We were hoping that peo
ple came out and supported this,
and they came out in large num
bers. We had to turn people
away. This was a major suc
cess."
One of the reasons why the
event was such a success was
the level of skills the older play
ers exhibited on the court. A lot
of the guys on all four teams
looked as if they still had a little
bit of the talent that made them
famous once upon a time, espe
cially former Anderson star
Robert Little. Little literally put
on a show on his way to scoring
mote than 10 points in Ander
son's 19-18 victory over Paisley.
Little did it all, from skying over
Panthers for rebounds to dishing
the rock to teammates.
A number of players on both
teams had great games, though.
Anderson also was led by
Eugene "Genie Boy" Griffin,
Hantzel Hentz. Rodney Massey,
Dewayne Aikens and Harrison
Davis. Paisley was held down
by the very talented Isaiah
"Butch" Black Jr. Black paced
an impressive Paisley run in the
second half that almost gave the
Panthers the victory by stroking
the nets from the outside.
"I've run the AAU basket
ball program at Winston Lake
for the last 10 years," Black
said. "I also coach at a charter
school here in Winston. So 1
work out with the boys there.
I've also got two grandboys that
keep me running. This really
took me back over 30-some
thing years.
"I think this is something
that the city needs, because this
is something we'll never get
back. As you can see. the crowd
is here tonight. The word got
out. and I think this was a sell
out. There's no doubt this is big
for the city. I hope the tradition
keeps on."
William Butler. Anderson
See Big 4 on B3
Photo bv Anthony Hill
An Atkins player shows Carver's Waldo Hauser some love after the Camels beat the Yellow
jackets 42-30 last Friday night.
Carl Russell, Crosby's
traveling basketball
teams to hold sign-ups
Leagues available for kids of all ages
BY ANTHONY HILL
THL CHRONICLE
One of the hottest leagues
in the city last year, Carl Rus
sell Community Center's
Generation Best Basketball
League, is set to hold registra
tion for the upcoming season.
The center has already started
sign-ups and will continue
through Dec. 19. The league is
for kids 4-5, 6-9, 10-12 and
13-15 years of age.
"This year will mark the
first year of the 4-5 age
group." said Carl Russell
director Aaron Bailey. "The
expectations for this year are
high, with an amazing year
last year and a high talent
level. This year will be
extremely exciting."
The league not only con
centrates on increasing bas
ketball skills, but improving
academics as well. Along with
regular practice schedules, the
players will have the avail
ability of computers to com
plete homework or other
school-related work. The
price of the league will be the
same as previous years: $25.
"That (price) will include
trophy, jersey and banquet,"
Bailey concluded. "We're also
looking at getting more
coaches with the addition of
more teams."
For more information
about the Generation Best
basKet
b a tl
League,
contact
Aaron
Bailey at
the Carl
Russell
Commu
n i t y
Center at
7 2 7 -
2580.
Footnote:
Hubert Crosby is set to
hold registration for his trav
eling basketball teams. Cros
by is holding sign-ups for two
different teams.
"We're doing what we can
to get kids in our league,"
Crosby said.' "We feel good
about it. and we're ready to
get it started."
There will be registration
St* Basketball on B2
?E S <?
Bailey
] WSSMok sUbSCttlPTIONS CAU (336)