VOLUME 11 ISSUE 29 | SEPTEMBER 10-16, 2015 | YOUR SOURCE FOR SPORTS IN GEORGIA

Time to look great!

REASON TO BELIEVECan the Falcons new additions to the offensive line be the missing pieces they’ve been waiting for? | Pg. 7

I’m on Fire | Pg. 5Tyler Andrews breaks down Week 1 of the college football season and the teams that deserve the early hype.

The Rising | Pg. 10Red-hot Newnan’s trip to Sandy Creek earns Falcons High School Game of the Week

3Vol. 11 Iss. 29 | Sept. 10-16, 2015

PUBLISHER/EDITOR I.J. Rosenberg

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ASST. MANAGING EDITOR Kyle Sandy

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BEAT WRITERS: Ricky Dimon (Braves) Colin Hubbard (GA Tech) Dan Mathews (UGA) Craig Sager II (Falcons, Kennesaw) Kyle Sandy (Dream, GSU, Hawks) STAFF WRITERS Tyler Andrews, Ned Kaish

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5Vol. 11 Iss. 29 | Sept. 10-16, 2015

College Football opened its season last week and once again took center-stage. There were

some upsets, a few nail biters, and a ton of blow-outs. But what did we learn?

1. Week one brings even more “too early to predict” predictions than the offseason does. Turn on SportsCenter two weeks from the start of the college football season and one will find an analyst breaking down the Heisman Tro-phy favorites going into the season. Now, after last weekend’s opening games, you will not only find more Heisman talk but you will also get ev-ery analyst’s final four playoff teams. Isn’t it a little premature to be talking about the playoff when the first playoff committee rankings do not even come out until November 3rd? I under-stand it sparks interest in fans and the average fan can feel like his team actually has a chance

this season, but everybody who has followed college football knows that nothing matters until November. Take Mississippi State last season for example. They were ranked No. 1 until Novem-ber 15th and by the time they made it to Miami for the Orange Bowl against Georgia Tech, they were an after-thought in the minds of the playoff committee. Get excited that football is here, but please pump the brakes on getting that 2015-2016 national championship tattoo that you’ve already picked out.

2. The running backs in the SEC are beasts. Coming into the season, everybody knew that the SEC could run the football. Like dominant defenses, running backs have been a staple of the league for decades. But, talking about the backs and actually seeing them play this past weekend confirms the notion that this will be the year a

running back wins the Heisman. Alabama run-ning back Derrick Henry stole the show Saturday rushing for 147 yards on just 13 carries (11.3 aver-age) against a top 25 team in Wisconsin. Tennes-see’s Alvin Kamara went for 144 and two scores. In fact, the conference had seven running backs eclipse the 100-yard mark on Saturday. Heisman hopeful Nick Chubb, from UGA, breezed to 120 yards and two scores. And all of this came with-out Leonard Fournette playing. It is safe to say the SEC will be making a statement on the ground this year.

3. Ohio State is really, REALLY good. 42-24. Reading that score you may think the Buckeyes must have taken a step back defen-sively, and maybe they aren’t as good as people thought. Well, the scoreboard does not tell the whole story. Picture this: you’re sitting on your computer doing a fantasy football draft and you have the option between picking Andrew Luck, Aaron Rodgers, or Tom Brady at quarterback. Better yet, this example may help the 90’s audi-ence understand the situation a little bit better. You are playing backyard baseball and you have the option of drafting Pablo Sanchez, Kiesha Phil-lips, or Achmed Khan to bat cleanup. In the end you get all three, and they get to use the home-run bat every time they are up. This is what Ohio State is like. Their two-time Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year Braxton Miller is not good enough to play quarterback, so he’s going to play

wide receiver and score a touchdown. Their Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year from last season J.T. Barrett is not good enough to start the game, so he’s going to enter the game in the fourth quarter and throw a touchdown. Their third-string quarterback from a year ago Cardale Jones is now going to be their starter and account for three touchdowns on the road in a hostile envi-ronment. Did I mention that the Buckeyes’ best defensive player Joey Bosa and offensive threat Jalen Marshall didn’t even play because of sus-pension? I think Ohio State could be better than they were a year ago, and that is scary.

4. Some things won’t change. From year to year people try to show how this year is going to be different from the last. I am here to say that there are some things that just won’t change this season: The SEC may not be as dominant as it used to be, but it will once again end the season as the top conference. The Big 12 will be on the outside looking in until it gets a confer-ence championship game. The Big Ten as a con-ference is weak, but somehow it benefits them. Ohio State will steamroll through league play and give the conference a representative in the play-off. The Pac-12 will continue to inch up on the SEC, and then one of their top teams won’t get it done. Lastly, the signs at College Gameday will continue to blow up the Internet each weekend. Photo courtesy of Rob Saye

It is a rebuilding year. We knew going into the season that Atlanta would take its lumps under

new leadership and their sights fixated toward 2017, but did we really think it would get this bad? A once proud franchise that has recently been mired in mediocrity has officially hit rock bottom, losing 12 straight games and an unfathomable 19 out of 20 games. Atlanta holds just a one-game lead over Philadelphia for the worst record in the entire Major League. It has gone from bad to worse. A pathetic effort on the field, now fans falling to their death in the stands. Just brutal. The Braves are void of talent, but it is nearly impossible to play as bad as they have. Where is the heart? Where is the effort? Most importantly, where is the pride? This team does not compete

at all. They take the field, take their whooping – and their pay check – and go home. Journeymen and young players liter the field, given a golden opportunity to seize the moment and jump start – or revitalize – their careers. Nah. Instead this group of taxi-squad players just disappoint aside from the few professionals that have busted their butts all season. Nick Markakis has been zapped of all his power after offseason surgeries and rehab, but he has still managed to hit a team-high .295. A.J. Pierzynski has been a leader in the club-house and has hit .294, but hasn’t been dealt to a contender yet to help add to the farm system. The 38-year-old is on his last wheels and this will likely be the last productive season of his long career as he won’t be able to help the club

much moving forward. Cameron Maybin was off to his best season ever, but has tapered off. Freddie is still Freddie and Nick Swisher has played well and hopefully has gained some value on the trade market even with his inflated contract. The rest of the offense hasn’t done much of anything. Atlanta has hit an MLB-low 83 homers, 18 less than the second-to-last place Marlins and also have the fewest runs scored. Only Freddie Freeman and Maybin have cracked double-digit long balls. Jace Peterson ran into a hot streak and looked like the second baseman of the future, but after a .174 month of July and .238 August, he is hitting just .236 on the year. NOT YOUR 90’S BRAVES... The pitching, like the hitting, has been just as bad. Atlanta’s 4.58 team ERA ranks 27th out of 30 teams. Shelby Miller is 5-13, but sports a 2.81 ERA and hasn’t won a game since May 17th when he almost threw a no-hitter and advanced to 5-1. Alex Wood was shipped away in a 13-man deal that netted Atlanta Hector Olivera, a 30-year-old Cuban rookie that hit .178 in the Braves farm sys-tem. Olivera has subsequently hit .133 so far with the big league club. Swing-and-a-miss. Another big miss has been Julio Teheran. Former General Manger Frank Wren inked the

24-year-old to a long term deal. Teheran has been the gift that keeps giving as he has rewarded the since fired Wren and current GM John Hart with a 4.51 ERA. The bullpen was steady early on, but Jason Grilli tore his achilles and Jim Johnson was sent away for prospects which was the correct move. Atlanta has run out slop that even I have never heard of, with ERAs so astronomical, you would think it is a misprint. In Atlanta’s inspiring 15-1 loss to Washing-ton last week in which they collected two hits, here are the ERAs of the Braves pitchers that appeared: 5.97, 6.05, 6.23, 7.00, 7.07, 6.00, 5.06 and 5.82. Important rookie pitchers and hitters that were expected to help the team out in the long run have flamed out spectacularly so far. Top in-field prospect Jose Peraza was given up on and shipped to Los Angeles. Matt Wisler was sup-posed to be the gem in the Craig Kimbrel trade, but has a 5.81 ERA in 15 games. Williams Perez? 5.65. Flamethrower Mike Foltynewicz? 5.71 ERA. Manny Banuelos’ stock is still down with a 5.13 ERA. Patience is paramount with a rebuilding team, but it has gotten out of hand and new blood might be needed to lead the Braves next season.

SANDY’S SPIEL

TYLER TELLS ALL

BY KYLE SANDY | KSANDY@SCOREATL.COM

BY TYLER ANDREWS | INFO@SCOREATL.COM

WHAT TO DO ABOUT THE BRAVES?

WHAT WE LEARNED FROM COLLEGE FOOTBALL’S OPENING WEEK

6 SCORE ATLANTA | www.ScoreAtl.com

EAA_10.125x9.321_Corky_Kell.indd 1 8/18/15 12:36 PM

7Vol. 11 Iss. 29 | Sept. 10-16, 2015

Head coach Dan Quinn and the 2015 Falcons made a strong debut this preseason, in-

cluding victories in both games at the Georgia Dome. The exhibition setting gave Atlanta’s rookies a chance to shine and fifth round pick Grady Jarrett posted a seven-tackle perfor-mance as the Falcons held on to a 20-19 victory in the preseason finale with the Ravens. Jarrett added a sack and three of the team’s six tack-les for loss. Running back Tevin Coleman got his first start against the Ravens and took eight carries for 56 yards, including a game-long 26-yard run. After the roster was finalized to 53 play-ers, however, it is clear that we are yet to see the team in regular season form. Offensive lineman Andy Levitre was acquired by Atlanta via a trade with Tennessee on Saturday. The veteran offensive lineman has been thrust into a starting spot at left guard by head coach Dan Quinn. His first snaps as a Falcon will come on Sept. 14 in Atlanta’s Monday Night Football showdown with Philadelphia. The 29-year-old battled nagging injuries over the past couple seasons, but heads into

2015 healthy. He’s yet to miss a regular season contest in his six-year NFL career. Levitre studied the zone-blocking scheme during his time with the Bills. “It’s similar,” Levitre said of Atlanta’s of-fense and the one from Buffalo. “There’s a lot of carryover, but there’s also some differences—different techniques and things you might see that are different between different staffs and how the way the offense is structured. So it just kind of depends what play is called. I’ve already learned a lot the first few days I’ve been here, so just trying to fine tune these things and make sure I have a complete understanding of everything going into the game.” Levitre can move well with his 6-foot-2, 302-pound frame and at guard, he will need to use the speed to get into position as a lead blocker. Quinn noticed these traits in Levitre’s ear-ly work with the team. “I think it’s just really the initial quickness off the ball,” Quinn said when asked what he likes about Levitre. “At this guard position, the way we try to feature those guys, that initial quickness—

both on the wide zone (and other plays)—and he’s really strong in terms of protection.” Building good chemistry up front will be a defining aspect of this season and Levitre has done what he can to speed up the process. “We’re around each other a lot. I’ve already been around these guys a bunch in the last two days,” Levitre said. “So it’s just kind of devel-oping relationships in the meeting rooms, the locker room and carrying it on the field.”

DIGGING DEEP… The Falcons added another piece to the offensive line over the weekend with center Gino Gradkowski. The 98th overall pick of the 2012 NFL Draft was a teammate with starting linebacker Paul Worrilow at the Uni-versity of Delaware. As a rookie, Gradkowski helped the Ra-vens win Super Bowl XLVII. He played in all 20 of Baltimore’s games that year, mostly on special teams. The following season, he earned a job as the Ravens’ No. 1 center and started every regular season contest. Gradkowski left Baltimore for Denver this offseason and played 109 offensive snaps dur-ing the 2015 preseason. The 26-year-old re-ceived a positive Pro Football Focus grades in all four exhibition contests and finished with the second-best run block grade (3.2) on Den-ver’s roster. The Falcons parted with veteran center Joe Hawley to make room for Grad-kowski. Mike Person is slated to start at center Week 1 with Gradkowski providing depth be-hind him. Person played guard for most of the preseason so there could still be shuffling in the lineup as the season progresses.

DIVISION OF QUARTERBACKS… The quarterback play within the NFC South is sure to standout this season and Tam-pa Bay’s top pick, Jameis Winston, will com-pete for the division crown against three of the League’s top passers. Winston’s collegiate resume as a Heisman Trophy winner and Na-tional Championship quarterback is shared by Carolina’s five-year starter Cam Newton, the No. 1 overall pick of the draft four years prior to Winston. Matt Ryan has 2008 Rookie of the Year, three Pro Bowl appearances and 2010 All-Pro honors dotting his long list of accom-plishments and Saints quarterback Drew Brees has nine Pro Bowls and a Super Bowl MVP highlighting his career achievements. When it comes to quarterback play, the NFC South might have the most talented group of passers in the League this season.

FALCONS FEATURE

BY CRAIG SAGER II | CSAGER@SCOREATL.COM

LATE ACQUISITIONS COULD DETERMINE FALCONS SUCCESS IN 2015

Tampa Bay: After a 2-2 preseason finish, the Tampa Bay Bucs kick off their regular sea-son on Sunday against the visiting Titans. Their opening week showdown is a much-needed test before a critical road trip that will start in New Orleans a week from Sunday and head west to Houston the following week to face the AFC South’s Texans. New Orleans: The Saints have been one of the League’s most productive passing attacks for the past several seasons but this year’s backfield has shifted the playbook to a more balanced attack. As the Saints narrowed down their final 53-man roster, five running backs re-mained on the roster, including last year’s lead-ing rusher Mark Ingram and offseason acquisi-tion C.J. Spiller. Panthers: One of the storylines Carolina is anticipating seeing early this season is the return of a healthy Star Lotulelei. The defensive tackle has been a big part of the team’s defen-sive success the past two seasons, disrupt-ing opposing offenses and freeing up space for two-time Pro Bowler and 2013 AP Defen-sive Player of the Year Luke Kuechly. Lotulelei missed all four preseason games with a stress reaction in his foot, which was surgically re-paired in January and has been resting since the first week of training camp. Photos courtesy of The Atlanta Falcons

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8 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

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NOT

U.S. Open Braves Georgia Tech NFL Kennesaw State Buford

Tennis royalty has gathered in Flushing, New York for the annual Grand Slam tourna-ment. Serena Williams is the odds on favorite to win yet again on the women’s side after taking out sister Venus in the quarterfinals. On the men’s side, Novak Djokovic cruises into the semifinals with either Stan Wawrinka or Roger Federer looming in the championship.

Atlanta has lost 20 out of 22 games, but at least their miserable 12-game losing streak has finally ended. It has been a long and pain-ful year for the Braves and the light at the end of the tunnel seems much far-ther away than fans would have hoped entering this season.

The Jackets hung a school-record 34 points in the first quarter against Alcorn State and cruised to a 69-6 vic-tory. Freshman running back Marcus Marshall, the younger brother of UGA back Keith Marshall, stole the show gaining 184 yards on eight carries and finding the end zone twice.

The “No Fun League” has now turned into the “No Discipline League” with the absolve of Tom Brady’s suspension. Now Outside The Lines has released a brutal report detailing all the cheating Bill Belichick and the Patriots have done over the past decade. If there was ever a reason or a way to give a franchise the death penalty like in college athletics, this would be the opportunity.

What’s that sound? It might be the students in Kennesaw hooting out their battle cry after the Owls routed East Tennessee State in their first ever football game, 56-16. Brian Bohannon’s triple option offense worked to perfection and gained 512 yards of total offense, 416 yards coming via the ground.

All good things must come to an end. The Wolves’ dominant 42-game winning streak came to a close as the McEachern Indians grabbed a 37-14 victory in impres-sive fashion. Buford was missing Xavier Gantt and Shug Frazier and the Indians were able to take advantage, using their explosive play-makers to keep the Buford defense guessing all game long.

SCORE LISTBy Ned Kaish

NUMBERSBy Ned Kaish

BRAVES CONTINUE LOSING WAYSThe Braves have now lost 20 of 22 games and sit just one game above last place in the NL East. The Braves have given up an average of 7.27 runs per game over this abysmal stretch which has included giving up 15 or more runs three times. At this point in the season the only thing the Braves should be playing for is pride, and maybe a win for Shelby Miller.

No Gurley, no problem. Georgia has become a new Running Back U in college football. Not only is Nick Chubb one of the best backs in college football but also he has great support around him with Sony Michel and Keith Marshall. All 3 backs combined for nearly 250 yards on Saturday. This group could get even stronger next year with the recent commitment of local product Elijah Holyfield.

NEW RUNNING BACK U

WHITE IN TIMEWith the Falcons season opener Monday night the team got some positive news as wide receiver Roddy White practiced with the team on Tuesday. White who had surgery on his right elbow in late August will look to strengthen the receiving corps and create a dynamic duo again for quarterback Matt Ryan alongside Julio Jones. White finished last season with 80 catches for just over 900 yards and seven touchdowns.

STATE WIDE SHOWDOWNIn a match up of state powers McEachern handed Buford its worst loss in 16 years as the Indians knocked off the Wolves 37-14. McEachern improved to 2-0 behind the play of quarterback Bailey Hockman who threw for 3 touchdowns in the win. Buford will look to regroup and win its 4th consecutive state championship. Meanwhile McEachern looks poised to finally break the 48-year state championship less drought for Cobb County.

OWLS SOAR TO 1ST WINKennesaw State won its inaugural football game last Thursday by taking down East Tennessee State 56-16. The Owls dominated the third quarter out scoring ETSU 21-0 out of the locker room. KSU rushed for 416 yards and were led by quarterback Trey White who finished the day with 95 yards. The Owls will look to keep the longest winning streak in school history going Saturday as they take on Edward Waters.

? “

ANSWER ON PAGE 16Head Coach Dan Quinn

on new Falcon Andy Levitre

TRIVIA QUESTION

SANITY AT LAST

HOW MANY DIFFERENT

KENNESAW STATE OWLS SCORED

TOUCHDOWNS LAST THURSDAY’S

56-16 WIN OVER EAST

TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY?

“I think it’s just really the initial quickness off the ball. At this guard position, the

way we try to feature those guys, that initial quickness—both on the wide zone (and

other plays)—and he’s really strong in terms of protection.”

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Total rushing yards by the Falcons last season.

Combined wins by 10 different Braves starters in 2015

Calhoun quarterback Kaelean Riley’s total yardage including 3 total touchdowns in their win over Carrollton

Completion percentage of Georgia Southern quarterback Favian Upshaw as the Eagles were shut out by West Virginia Saturday 44-0

Average attendance of Braves home games this year, roughly half the capacity of Turner Field.

SEC teams in the first AP Top 25 Poll of the 2015 season

Touchdowns Blessed Trinity quarterback Conor Davis threw to his brothers, Ryan and Colin, in their win over Sequoyah

9Vol. 11 Iss. 29 | Sept. 10-16, 2015

A TWO-TOUCHDOWN DEFICIT IS NOTHING AFTER YOU’VE COME BACK FROM CANCER.

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

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Newnan’s trip to Sandy Creek Friday night is the Atlanta Falcons High School Game of

the Week. Newnan (2-0) is one win away from matching last year’s win total (3-7) and with a 20.5 average margin of victory the first two weeks, the Cougars should not be taken lightly. Mike McDonald’s seventh year at the helm started with a 34-13 win at Carrollton in the season opener and was followed with a con-vincing 27-7 victory at Marietta last Friday, as the Blue Devils christened a newly renovated Northcutt Stadium. Newnan faces Sandy Creek for the fourth straight season and will be looking for the first win against the Patriots in school history after narrowing the margin of defeat from 31 points in 2012 to 27 points in 2013 and to 17 points last year. Newnan has dominated the turnover margin its first two weeks and has gotten solid quarterback play from Chancellor John-son. The 6-foot-6 pro-style quarterback is a

pitcher for Newnan’s baseball team and has showcased his power and accuracy in the pocket this year. Johnson found P.J. Harris for a touchdown last Friday night and led the Cougars against Carrollton with a game-high 116 yards passing and one touchdown off 13-of-19 passing. Newnan’s freshman kicker Rad Wyrick connected on both attempts last week and Marquis Hill and Darryel Hines balance the offense on the ground with their ability to find the end zone. Hill is coming off a two-touchdown performance against Marietta. After blanking Creekview 41-0 in the Corky Kell Classic, Sandy Creek saw a 13-0 lead disappear the following Friday as Jones-boro rallied for a 17-13 come-from-behind vic-tory. Each of the Cardinals’ two touchdowns came in the form of passes from Zerrick Coo-per to Jordan Griffin, the last one coming with 53 seconds remaining. Jonesboro’s game-winning drive was kept alive when the visitors benefited from a pass-interference call after an

incomplete pass on fourth down. Expect the Patriots to gameplan for shutting down John-son and his favorite target Harris. The Sandy Creek offense followed up its 13-point outing against Jonesboro with a 49-6 win over Hampton last Friday. Bryant Walker and Javon Jackson can both take reps at quarterback and present entirely different challenges for opposing defenses. Walker is more of the pocket passer, where Jackson can scramble and spark big plays. Underclassman wide receiver Major Weems has emerged as a reliable target this season and 6-foot-4, 290-pound offensive tackle Chandler Tuitt is a mismatch on nearly every play with his expe-rience and talent. Linebacker Elijah Gilmore is the heart and sole of the Patriots defense and is the centerpiece of their aggressive style. Sandy Creek has won at least 11 games seven straight seasons and will get a bye next week before an away game against Alabama powerhouse Auburn High School. The Patriots enter their five-game region slate with a trip to Whitewater on Oct. 9. Newnan, which is 2-0 for the first time since 2012, will also take a bye next Friday before opening region play at South Cobb on Sept. 25, the school’s third straight road game.

BEST OF THE REST The No. 4 Jonesboro Cardinals (3-0) en-joyed a bye this past week after knocking off Sandy Creek in a statement victory. Now the Cards will hit the road for already their fourth time as they visit the high-powered offense of Eagle’s Landing. The Eagles (2-0) are paced by senior Antonio Gibson, who has played under center, at receiver and also running back. He scored three times and totaled 148 yards of total offense in a 39-21 win over Union Grove and followed it up with a 19-yard touchdown pass, 108 yards rushing, four catches and an interception return for a touchdown. Gibson’s strong play has already gotten him notice as he received his first offer from Tennessee State on September 2. If the Eagles want to remain un-defeated and pick up a signature win, they will have to shut-down Montralious Mosley, who is coming off a 181-yard and three touchdown performance on the ground in Jonesboro’s win over Westover. A Top 10 showdown in Class AAA pits No. 3 Elbert County (2-0) against host No. 6 Westminster (1-1). Mecole Hardman leads the charge for the Blue Devils. The No. 1 ranked athlete in the nation according to 247Sports ran for 124 yards and three touchdowns to go with 44 yards passing in Elbert’s 34-30 win over Stephens County. Westminster looks to rebound after being upset at home by Laney last week, 10-3. Class AAAAAA’s No. 1 Archer (2-0) hits the road to face the hard-nosed No. 4 Grayson Rams (2-0). The Tigers are loaded with play-makers across the board in Jamyest Williams,

Kyle Davis and Dylan Singleton to name a few, but the Rams have a few studs of their own. Grayson racked up 553 yards of total offense in last week’s 56-21 rout of Langston Hughes. Junior quarterback Chase Brice has emerged as one of the best in the state and comes off a 17-of-23 performance in which he threw for 274 yards and three touchdowns. Ernest Tiller III gained 231 total yards and Cameryn Brent went for 137 as the talented backs torched the Panthers with both their legs and hands. Peachtree Ridge (0-2) entered the season with possibly the most talented defense on pa-per, littered with four and five-star prospects, but all the Lions have to show for three weeks into the season is two losses. The defense was shorthanded but held its own against Archer on ESPNU, but the offense sputtered as the Ridge lost 26-10. The defense will be tested again as No. 3 McEachern (2-0) rolls into town. The explosive offense of the Indians led by quarterback Bailey Hockman has al-ready notched wins of 50-14 over Tucker and snapped Buford’s 42-game winning streak this past week, 37-14. Sam Jackson ran for 96 yards against the Wolves and has been a star thus far. Four-star receiver Tyler Smith left in the second quarter with a knee injury and status remains up in the air for this Friday. Photos courtesy of Pouyat Photos, Itoro Umontuen/FansFavoriteFan.com and Sonny Kennedy

PREP SPORTS

WEEK 4 PREVIEW: COUGARS LOOK FOR FIRST-EVER WIN OVER SANDY CREEKBY CRAIG SAGER II | CSAGER@SCOREATL.COMBY KYLE SANDY | KSANDY@SCOREATL.COM

11Vol. 11 Iss. 29 | Sept. 10-16, 2015

12 SCORE ATLANTA | www.ScoreAtl.com

The saying for most football teams is for them to go “1-0 every week.” Well Georgia is 1-0 for the

season after their 51-14 weather-shortened game against ULM. The Bulldogs had a strong day on the ground with running backs Nick Chubb, Sony Michel, Keith Marshall and Brendan Douglas all combin-ing for 243 yards on the day. Chubb got most of the work, with 16 carries for 120 yards and two touchdowns. The main story of the day, was junior Grey-son Lambert making his first start at quarterback for UGA. He would go on to finish the day with eight completions in 12 attempts for 141 yards and a pair of touchdowns. A feel good story also happened in the game,with Keith Marshall getting back on the field for his first significant action in almost a year and a half. He finished the day with 10 carries for 73 yards and two touchdowns. He was also given loud ovations from the Sanford Stadium crowd on two different occasions.

The Panthers (0-1) defense racked up four sacks and forced five turnovers on Friday, but

a missed 44-yard field goal to open the fourth quarter came back to haunt GSU as they fell 23-20 to the Charlotte 49ers. With the win, Char-lotte (1-0) claimed its first ever FBS victory. Trailing 20-3 at the half, senior Nick Arbuck-le rose to the occasion and led the comeback. He threw for 299 yards and completed 25 of his 43 attempts for a pair of touchdowns and one inter-ception. Arbuckle spread the ball around and hit nine different receivers, headed by Robert Davis who led the team with 57 yards off five catches. Wil Lutz added field goals of 29 and 50 yards to bring the lead to 23-6 entering the fourth. In the fourth, Arbuckle hit Taz Bateman for a 24-yard score with 9:39 left and then a 53-yard bomb to Penny Hart with 53 seconds remaining in regulation. The Panthers lined up for an onside kick, but Lutz’s attempt went bouncing out of bounds, handing the ball back to the Niners, who

Georgia Tech opened its season with the hopes of getting off to a fast start in a

matchup with Alcorn State. The Yellow Jackets had never faced the Braves, but that didn’t mat-ter as Justin Thomas and Marcus Marshall led Tech to a 69-6 victory. Georgia Tech scored on its first seven possessions of the game including a rushing touchdown from Thomas and a 19-yard passing touchdown to wide receiver Michael Summers. Thomas was pulled after the first quarter, a quar-ter in which the team set the school record for most points scored in a quarter with 34. Marshall, the younger brother of Georgia Bulldogs’ running back Keith Marshall, stole the show for the Yellow Jackets. Marshall rushed for 184 yards on just eight carries and found the end zone twice. Marshall scored on plays of 49 and 64 yards in the game. “He’s got ability,” Georgia Tech head coach Paul Johnson said. “He’s got good feet.

It was an emotional season opener for the Owls, as the brand new program shined in

a decisive 56-16 victory over East Tennessee State University. “It’s been a long time coming,” said Bo-hannon of the first game and the win. “The work these kids have put in, and this staff has put in, over the last two and a half years for me and some others and for them to come out and have a positive night that we can build on – hugging each one of them after the game – that’s what it’s about.” More than 500 fans made the trip to Johnson City, Tenn. to witness a game of firsts. Quarterback Trey White recorded Kennesaw State’s first touchdown on a 6-yard run late that capped off a long drive on the Owls’ first-ever offensive possession. The first intercep-tion came near the end of the first half, when defensive lineman Nick Perrotta not only se-cured the pick, but rumbled in 19 yards for a

The game ended with 9:54 left in the fourth quarter, after their second lightning/weather de-lay of the game. Head coach Mark Richt and ULM coach Todd Berry decided to call the game, espe-cially following the hour long delay they experi-enced earlier.

VANDERBILT UP NEXT Georgia is already into SEC play, with their first game of the season coming this week on the road against the Vanderbilt Commodores. Unlike UGA, the Commodores are 0-1 on the season fol-lowing their 14-12 loss to Western Kentucky on Thursday night in Nashville. All this being the case, Nashville has not been a pleasant place for the Bulldogs during the last two trips. Mar Richt knows this, but isn’t ex-actly sure why that is the case. “I don’t know,” Richt said during his Tuesday press conference. “That’s something we’ve got to work on, we’ve got to solve. We’ve got to play bet-ter at Vanderbilt than we have been playing, and that’s one of our big challenges.” Georgia lost their last visit 31-27 in a game that featured costly special teams mistakes, an ejection and losing wide receiver Chris Conley for a few games to an ankle injury. In 2011, the game ended with then Vanderbilt head coach James Franklin and then UGA defen-sive coordinator Todd Grantham nearly getting into a fight on field. Georgia won the game 33-28.

were able to seal the game with a knee.

HANGING AROUND Georgia State and coach Trent Miles have the defense to thank for giving the Panthers a chance to win. Charlotte only recorded one offensive touchdown on a 63-yard Matt Johnson to Aus-tin Duke connection in the second quarter. Blake Brewer knocked home three field goals and Ter-rance Winchester returned a 43-yard fumble early in the first quarter to get the 49ers on the board. UAB-transfer Bobby Baker was the star of the Panther defense, picking off two passes from his safety position and recovering three fumbles. He became the first player in school history to grab more than two turnovers in a game. His three fumble recoveries are a school record, while his two interceptions tie the GSU mark held by two other players. “The defense in the second half was out-standing, we gave up three points,” head coach Trent Miles said. “But you can’t turn the ball over three times in the first quarter and expect to win. Offensively, we need to do a better job as a coaching staff in helping these kids get points on the board.

UP NEXT Georgia State visits New Mexico State (0-1) on Saturday at 8 p.m. The Aggies fell 61-13 in the Swamp against the Florida Gators last Saturday.

He’s got good speed.” Stanford transfer Patrick Scov made his Yel-low Jacket debut as well and had a career night. Scov rushed for 72 yards on 12 carries, more than he had in his entire career while at Stanford. Scov found pay dirt three separate times in-cluding a 21-yard run. “It’s a new role,” Skov said. “After four years as a traditional fullback, I’d say this is a unique opportunity. I love Justin Thomas. He commands the offense and really gets us going. I can’t wait to keep getting the ball from him this year.”

SOME THINGS NEVER CHANGE As a team, the Yellow Jackets rushed for 476 yards on the ground which is nothing new for the triple-option offense of Johnson. Georgia Tech was second in the nation in rushing yards per game in 2014, only trailing Georgia Southern. Another big note for the Jackets’ first game was the lack of penalties. Georgia Tech did not account for a single penalty in the game, just the second time that has been done while Johnson has been head coach. Georgia Tech doubled Alcorn State in total yards with 553 to the Braves’ 272, but Johnson wasn’t satisfied. “We still have a lot of things that we need to work on and improve going into game two,” John-son said. “We fumbled the ball tonight and had some bone-headed plays that we can’t afford to have going forward, but we will work on those things and learn from them.”

touchdown. The second half opened with a 69-yard reception by Justin Sumpter, who trotted in for the program’s first receiving touchdown. “They fought and fought,” Bohannon said. “We talked at halftime; coming out, we were going to finish things off. They did a great job of that. I’m extremely proud of them and our staff as well.”

THE INAUGURAL GAME PT. 2 Last Thursday’s road victory was a historic and memorable first game for the program, but Saturday sets up the most anticipated moment so far. The Owls will take on Edward Waters at 4 pm at Fifth Third Bank Stadium in the school’s first-ever home football game. The sold out game will be televised on WUPA-TV CW69. Edward Waters opened its 2015 season with a 76-7 win over University of Faith and dominated visiting University of God’s Chosen 57-8 the fol-lowing week. Kennesaw State will host Shorter the following week before visiting Dayton to close off a busy month of September. Adding to the pageantry of Saturday’s first home game, however will be The March-ing Owls, Kennesaw State’s marching band. The roughly 300 musicians and color guard mem-bers are under the direction of Debra Traficante.

UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA

GEORGIA STATE

GEORGIA TECH

KENNESAW STATE

BY DAN MATHEWS | DMATHEWS@SCOREATL.COM

BY KYLE SANDY | KSANDY@SCOREATL.COM

BY: COLIN HUBBARD | INFO@SCOREATL.COM

BY CRAIG SAGER II | CSAGER@SCOREATL.COM

UGA STRONG IN SEASON OPENER, VANDERBILT IS NEXT

MISSED FG LOOMS LARGE IN SEASON OPENING LOSS

TECH RUNS PAST ALCORN STATE IN SEASON OPENER

OWLS SET FOR HOME OPENER AFTER HISTORIC VICTORY

13Vol. 11 Iss. 29 | Sept. 10-16, 2015

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Sports Illustrated released its Top 100 NBA players and five Hawks made the list. Al

Horford was the highest ranked Hawk at No. 21, while Paul Millsap was No. 32, Jeff Teague No. 41, Kyle Korver No. 46 and Tiago Splitter No. 74. Here is what SI had to say about each play-er: Tiago Splitter: “Don’t be fooled by his mod-est per-game numbers: Splitter is an effective contributor on both ends who should mesh well with Atlanta’s San Antonio-like pass-heavy of-fensive philosophy and with its two All-Star big men: Al Horford and Paul Millsap.” Kyle Korver: “The game of basketball warps around Korver. Wherever he goes, mul-tiple defenders follow: His own man trailing closely, several others inching toward him out of instinct, and more tracking Korver’s move-ment with their eyes. So precise is his jumper that opposing coaches scheme around the very possibility of its use.” Jeff Teague: “Experience has made Teague a more patient player, which is to say that it made him a better one. The young guard

A 12-game losing streak left the Atlanta Braves in danger of becoming the worst

team in Major League Baseball by the time this week’s series against the Philadelphia Phillies came to an end. Heading into the three-game set between the struggling National League East rivals, Philadelphia was in the cellar at 53-84 but just one game behind 54-83 Atlanta. A sweep in the Phillies’ favor would leave their opponent as the league’s worst, while two out of three wins for Philadelphia would make for a tie at the bottom of the MLB standings. The first two contests earlier this week did little to solve the shuffle. The Braves finally ended their extensive skid by picking up a 7-2 road win on Monday. Cuban third baseman Hector Olivera struck out twice early but re-bounded for the first extra-base hit of his ca-reer—a two-run double in the fourth inning—before hitting a two-run homer in the ninth. Olivera finished 2-for-4 with four RBIs and a

Chip Kelly brings his highflying offense to the Georgia Dome with a team that fin-

ished last season averaging just a tick less than 400 yards per game. This year’s edition of the Eagles could be even more powerful. The addition of DeMarco Murray to the back-field makes Philadelphia’s offense even more dynamic after he broke the Dallas Cowboy single-season rushing record and led the NFL last year with 1,845 yards and 13 touchdowns. Other key moves in the offseason landed quarterback Sam Bradford in the City of Broth-erly Love. Bradford coming off his second ACL tear didn’t scare Kelly away from swapping Nick Foles for the former No. 1 overall pick. Kelly also revamped his backfield. The Eagles return Darren Sproles and have added Ryan Mathews from San Deigo. Sproles is a scat-back who will be used not only in the run game, but also in the passing game and as a return man on special teams. Since 2007, Sp-roles leads the NFL in all-purpose yards with over 15,000. Matthews, much like Bradford, is

A long disappointing season will finally come to a close this upcoming Sunday, or will it?

The Dream (13-18) have three games remain-ing and are currently slotted last in the Eastern Conference after entering last year’s postsea-son as the conference’s No. 1 seed. But, with a 73-67 win over the Washington Mystics on Sunday, the Dream hold the tie breaker after defeating Washington three times. The two teams will meet for the fourth and final time this year in Atlanta on Sept. 13. The Mystics, 16-15, will need to pick up a win in their final games to avoid the tiebreak scenario.

NEW YORK STATE OF MIND Last Tuesday Atlanta fell in overtime in New York against the first place Liberty, 80-75. Angel McCoughtry scored a game-high 25 points and added four steals, but it was Sugar Rodgers who stole the show. She dropped ca-reer-high tying 23 points to power New York. Rodgers thanked director of player develop-ment Teresa Weatherspoon for her help after a late-night shooting session propelled her to

who moved faster than his brain could follow is gone. In his stead is a smooth practitioner of the pick-and-roll who waits for his screen to be properly set and pauses briefly before explod-ing into action. That recalibration steadied the Hawks and brought Teague to All-Stardom last year, as well as a career-best campaign at the helm of a successful offense and top defense.” Paul Millsap: “Compared to his fellow All-Stars, Hawks forward Paul Millsap isn’t the biggest, the fastest or the strongest, and his no-nonsense style doesn’t inspire adula-tion worthy of the leading scorer on a 60-win team. Nevertheless, Millsap excels at making basketball look easy in so many different ways. The former second-round pick fits like a glove in Mike Budenholzer’s pass-heavy, spread-ori-ented offense, and his inside/outside versatil-ity is the key that unlocks Atlanta’s pick-your-poison offense.” Al Horford: “Some NBA teams play in a way that’s fast and free, others in a way that’s slow and structured. All could make great use of Al Horford, a terrific big man whose game knows no stylistic bounds. Versatility comes naturally for a player who does almost ev-erything well; ask Horford to spread the floor, defend in space, post up, hit the glass, set screens, facilitate offense, wall off the rim, work the baseline, or run the floor and you’ll get the same blanket capability. To call him a ‘jack of all trades’ undersells the point.”

run scored. “It was a good finish to what could have been a bad night because of how it started,” the 30-year-old said through an interpreter. “After I gathered myself, I was just happy to contribute and help the team win. I feel that it builds more confidence and the more we get going, I’ll start feeling better. All in all I’m just happy we were able to get the win.” That is something Atlanta did not do on Tuesday. Although Ryan Weber made a solid debut on the mound, he did not get any sup-port from the offense. Weber went six innings while allowing only two runs on four hits, but the Braves failed to cross the plate a single time in a 5-0 loss. Wednesday’s result that could leave Atlanta and Philadelphia tied for last place was not available at press time.

MAYBIN STILL HOT … Center fielder Cameron Maybin has not played since last Saturday because of a corne-al abrasion and he could miss this entire week. Maybin missed the series finale against the Washington Nationals and the first two games against the Phillies. The Braves do not expect to see him in the lineup any earlier than the tail end of this weekend’s four-game series at the New York Mets. Maybin has been one of the bright spots in a disappointing season, sporting a .268 average with 10 home runs, 52 RBIs and 21 stolen bases.

often banged up but produces when healthy. He had a career year with 1,255 yards in 2014.

AIRING IT OUT… Challenging Atlanta’s secondary will be Jordan Matthews, who looks to be the top option at receiver after finishing his rookie season with 67 catches. The receiving corps also includes former Cowboy Miles Austin, Riley Cooper and USC rookie Nelson Agholor. Tight end Zach Ertz adds another threat in the passing game. The Eagles defense did not fly as high in 2014 as they allowed over 375 yards per game and finished 22nd in the league giving up 25 points per game. The defense also lost defensive back Nate Allen who finished last season with four interceptions. The addition of cornerback Byron Maxwell should be a ma-jor help to the secondary. The strength of the Eagles defense lies at the linebacker position where Connor Barwin will look to continue his dominance following last season’s 14.5 sack campaign, which was good enough for fourth-best in the NFL. Kelly shipped LeSean McCoy to Buffalo for former Oregon Duck linebacker Kiko Alonso, who is coming off a torn ACL which sidelined him for all of last season. In his rookie season of 2013, he made 159 stops and picked off four passes.

her best game of the season. “It’s great to know she’s there whenever I need her,” said Rodgers. “To be able to work out with one of the legends of this game at any time is such a great thing. She showed me a few pointers.” Atlanta used a 15-2 surge sparked by Sho-ni Schimmel in the third quarter to take a 55-45 lead. Schimmel scored nine of her 13 points during the run to give the Dream the lead, but New York chipped away and cut the deficit to 56-54 entering the fourth. In overtime, Tanisha Wright connected on four free throws to put the game out of reach.

DREAMS COME TRUE Atlanta has had the Mystics number this season and the Dream’s strong play against Washington could help propel them into the postseason. In their latest meeting, the Dream scored a 73-67 victory. Tiffany Hayes poured in a team-high 19 points and Sancho Lyttle post-ed a 16-point, 10-rebound double-double to go along with her six assists. McCoughtry pitched in 18 points and four steals in the win. Former UNC guard Ivory Latta led all players in scoring with 22 points. Emma Mees-seman added 15 points and five rebounds in the loss.

THE FINAL STRETCH Atlanta hosts the Sparks and the Fever on Wednesday and Friday respectively this week before wrapping up the season with a potential playoff implication game with Washington on Sunday at 4 p.m.

ATLANTA HAWKS

ATLANTA BRAVES

ATLANTA FALCONS

ATLANTA DREAM

BY KYLE SANDY | KSANDY@SCOREATL.COM

BY RICKY DIMON | RDIMON@SCOREATL.COM

BY CRAIG SAGER II | CSAGER@SCOREATL.COM

BY KYLE SANDY | KSANDY@SCOREATL.COM

FIVE HAWKS HEADLINE SI’STOP 100 LIST

OLIVERA HELPS BRAVES END 12-GAME LOSING STREAK

EAGLES ARRIVE FOR MONDAY OPENER WITH FALCONS

NIGHTMARE SEASON HAS LAST CHANCE AT DREAM ENDING

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