East JV hands
Page first loss
BYANTHONY HILL
THE CHRONlfl .E
Nothing has come easy for
the East Forsyth JV boys squad
(4-5) this season.
Each Eagle victory has
seemingly come down to the
* wire. So has most of their
- defeats. Tuesday night's game
was no different. The Eagles
refused to let a win slip away,
though. East handed Page (12-1)
its first defeat of the season with
a 37-28 win in the JV Game of
the Week.
"1 didn't know that was their '
first loss," said East head JV
coach Eric Jones. "They're a
well coached team. They came
out kind of sluggish at first, just
like us. But I'm extremely proud
of the way my kids worked
through this game. I'm proud of
everyone on the team."
Both squads displayed solid
defense throughout the opening
half. East only allowed 5 points
from Page in the first quarter,
and 2 points in the second quar
ter. Page actually kept East
without a single point in the sec
ond quarter, though.
"We definitely had a tough
time adjusting tonight," said
Page head JV coach Cleaver
Rennie. "But we played good
defense. We simply couldn't
score. We lost our best player to
the varsity, and we're a little
erratic without him. No one
stepped up for us tonight."
East took a slim 7-3 lead in
the first quarter behind the play
of Dominique Harris, Jamal
McNeil and Jeremy Bethea. But
Chris Perkinson and Antwan
Comwell tried to lead a charge
; for Page in the second quarter,
helping their squad tie the score
. at 7 at halftime.
! "I was very confident that^
; my guys would get things going
;in the second half," Jones said.
? "We had to sit some guys out in
! the first half for disciplinary rea
| sons. But the gtfys that did play
) took care of business and kept
? us in the game. They stepped up
! for us. That's what a team is all
Photo by Charlie Pfaff
East's Chris Gwyn drives past Page player on Tuesday night.
about. We're a team in every
aspect. Like I said, I am proud
of everyone."
Chris Gwyn gave the Eagles
a well-needed offensive spark to
start the second half with a 3
pointer to make the score 10-7.
Ije scored four more quick
points to make the scofe 14-11.
DeQuan McKinney also played
huge for East in the second half,
breaking through the dangerous
Page press to get the offense
started. Players like Harris,
Shane Hickerson, McNeil, Ty
Cooper, Jon Brown D and Gwyn
led a stifling defensive effort to
keep Page off balance. East
took leads of 20-15, 23-16, 29
J 20, 31-20 ? before winning the
contest by a score of 37-28.
"I thought we were going to
turn thingSKpund in the second
half," saidRennie. "But their lit
tle point guard. That number 20
(DeQuan McKinney) did a good
job against our press in the sec
ond half. And, I was very
shocked they were able to step
us with a zone defense. We've
beaten eveiy other zone team,
handedly. That really surprised
me. But hats off to them. They
did what they had to do. We'll
see them again."
Jones added: "We can't take
anything for granted. We do
have to play them again. But
I'm confident in my guys. They
work extremely hard in practice,
so I feel like they can adjust to
anything that goes on in a game,
or any situation. I expect us to
continue to improve through the
season. So, we should be all
right."
McNeil led East with 12
points, 11 rebounds and two
blocks. Gwyn finished with 10
points, two steals ? all coming
in the second half. Harris fin
ished with 8 points, five assists
for the Eagles. East also
received good play from Chad
Fielder, Hickerson, Jon Brown
II and Dylan Swaim.
D-II all-star game to
take place on Friday
CHRONICLE STAFF REPORT
The 2008 Valero Cactus
Bowl, which tabbed as the
2008 Division II All-Star
game , will be played at
Javelina Stadium in
Kingsville, Texas on Friday,
at 7 p.m.
TTie Valero Cactus Bowl
! will be regionally televised in
! up to 8 million homes on Fox
; Sports Southwest.
The selection committee
picked from among the best
.seniors in NCAA Division II
.'football.
Headlining the East team
is Harlon Hill Trophy finalist
Michael Eubanks. Eubanks is
a linebacker from Delta State
(Miss.) and is one of only two
players in the history of the
award, given annually to the
best player in NCAA Division
II, to make the^ three finalists
as a jl^nsive'' player. Other
standouts on the East team
include Shepherd (W.va.) run
ning back Drevon Wallace
who finished second in the
nation in rushing with 2138
yards and 24 touchdowns.
The two quarterbacks for
the East team tore the Players
of the Year in their respective
conferences. Mark Nicolet of
Hillsdale (Mich.) was the
Player of the Year in the Great
lakes Intercollegiate Athletic
Conference after throwing for
3,335 yards and 31 touch
downs. Brad Roach of
Catawba (N.C.) was' the
Offensive Player of the Year
in the South Atlantic
Conference after compiling
3,332 yards and 32 scores. .
The West team includes
wide receiver Nick Smart of
Southwest Baptist (Mo.) who
set the NCAA All-Division
record for most pass catches
in a season ^tith 143.
Cttawbt photo
Catawba's Brad Roach will be Tone of many Dll players trying
to get a look from NFL scouts during game.
West quarterbacks include
Daniel Polk of Midwestern
State (Texas), who was the
only player in college football
to pass for at least 2,000 yards
and rush for at least 1,000
yards, and Ben King of
Minnesota State-Mankato
who led NCAA Division II
with 4,096 yards passing.
<, Photos by Charlie Pfaff
East Forsyth's Dominique Harris goes up for a score during a win over Page on Tuesday night.
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