VOLUME 9 ISSUE 23 DIGITAL | NOVEMBER 1-7, 2013 | YOUR SOURCE FOR SPORTS IN GEORGIA

Time to look great!

INSIDE MATTY

ICE

Finals Preview | Pg. 8

Wanted: Winners | Pg. 4

We preview the softball and volleyball state championship tournaments.

Alex Ewalt comments on the yearning of Atlanta sports fans for a winner in college basketball.

We discuss the Falcons QB and how he became the

NFL star he is today. | Pg. 5

©2013 Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Inc. All rights reserved. For offi cial contest rules, visit choa.org/comeback.

NOMINATE NOW

THIS COMEBACK ATHLETE HAD A LONG ROAD BACK.

TODAY IT’S 8.5 MILES.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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3Vol. 9 Iss. 23 | November 1-7, 2013

PUBLISHER/EDITOR I.J. Rosenberg

ART/CREATIVE DIRECTOR DJ Galbiati Blalock

SENIOR MANAGING EDITOR Stephen Black

BUSINESS MANAGER Marvin Botnick

DIRECTOR OF SALES Melanie Snare & MARKETING

BEAT WRITERS Ricky Dimon (Braves) Joe Deighton (Dream) Jay Underwood (Hawks) Brian Jones (KSU) Chris Nieman (UGA) Craig Sager II (Falcons) Stephen Black (Tech) Chris Schutter (GSU)

STAFF WRITERS Ryan Caiafa Alex Ewalt

TO ADVERTISE IN SCORE ATLANTA:404.256.1572

Copyright 2013 Score Atlanta Publishing, LLC. All rights reserved. Score Atlanta is published in print every other week on Fridays and a digital version 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 know-ingly accept false or misleading editorial content or advertising nor is Score Atlanta responsible for the content or claims of any advertis-ing or editorial in this publication. No content (articles, photographs, graphics) in Score Atlanta may be used for reproduction without writ-ten permission from the publisher.

Score Atlanta is looking for writing interns. Please e-mail Stephen Black at sblack@scoreatl.com or call 404-256-1572 for more information.

Football All-Star Games will never be the same! The Georgia Elite Junior Classic will be held at McEachern High School on Dec. 28.

STARTING LINEUP 04 COLUMNISTS 05 08ON THE COVER INSIDE THE PREPS

ON THE INSIDE AT SCORE STAY CONNECTED!

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SCORE LIST | NUMBERS

GEORGIA STATE | KENNESAW STATE GEORGIA | GEORGIA TECH

BRAVES | FALCONS HAWKS | SILVERBACKS

COVER DESIGN BY DJ GALBIATI BLALOCKCOVER PHOTOS COURTESY OF SONNY KENNEDY, DOUG RICK AND THE ATLANTA FALCONS

0612

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4 SCORE ATLANTA | www.ScoreAtl.com

The college basketball season is getting un-derway with the usual scrimmages, exhibi-

tions and fan events across the country. It’s a time of hope for followers of the sport’s pow-erhouses, with visions of net cuttings, and late March (and early April) basketball dancing in their heads. My one modest hope for Division I men’s basketball in Georgia? Relevance. It’s been nearly 10 years since Georgia college hoops experienced its highest high, Georgia Tech’s run to the national champi-onship game in 2004. Since then, the state’s basketball teams have mostly struggled. Tech failed to take advantage of its historic March run, and Georgia failed to build on its improb-able SEC Tournament championship of 2008. Georgia’s Mark Fox is in his fifth year at the school. Tech’s Brian Gregory is in his third.

Each has benefited from facilities upgrades (a renovated Stegeman Coliseum for Georgia and the gorgeous new McCamish Pavilion for Georgia Tech). Georgia loses Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, the school’s best player in years. Georgia Tech returns almost everybody of consequence, but may not have the firepower of the ACC giants. At this point in their tenures, however, Fox and Gregory should have their programs posi-tioned for success. But will we see more of the same under-achievement in 2013-14?

BORN TO RUN ... Though basketball plays second-fiddle to football in Georgia, the high school talent that has left the state over the years is undeni-able. Georgia and Georgia Tech have struggled

mightily to “build a fence” around the state and convince top prospects to stay close and compete in the ACC or SEC. The biggest home-grown recruit to choose the Jackets or Dawgs recently was Tech’s Derrick Favors, and in his one year, 2009-10, the Jackets could only reach the second round of the Dance. It seems that Georgia Tech has a better chance of competing for the postseason (at this point, I’d just love to see a local team make the NIT). Promising sophomores Robert Carter Jr. and Marcus Georges-Hunt should be im-proved, seniors Kammeon Holsey and Daniel Miller will hold down the paint, and Tennessee transfer point guard Trae Golden (a McEach-ern product) was granted an immediate waiver to play this season. Georgia has senior big man Donte Williams, point guard Charles Mann with another year under his belt, and a new re-cruiting class that should add athleticism and shooting prowess. Anything short of a .500 conference re-cord for each team should be cause for concern.

CONTENDERS, PLEASE ... This underachievement isn’t perpetrated only by the “should-be” powers. The state also badly needs a national mid-major presence. While the likes of Wichita State, Virginia Com-monwealth and St. Mary’s have turned them-selves into perennial Tournament contenders, the lack of a Georgia team in that next-tier mix is glaring.

Georgia State may be ready to take up the mantle of mid-major contender. The Panthers seem to be on the verge of a breakthrough in a new conference, the Sun Belt, and have the most star power outside of Atlanta or Athens. Head coach Ron Hunter’s son, R.J., was the Co-lonial Athletic Association player of the year last season and was one of five freshmen to average 17 points and five rebounds per game. The Pan-thers are considered a favorite in the Sun Belt. It’s tough to project for Georgia Tech. The ACC is becoming a behemoth of a bas-ketball conference with this year’s addition of Syracuse, Pittsburgh and Notre Dame, and the 2014-15 addition of last season’s champ, Louisville. The reality is that the Jackets may not, even with a strengthened, more consis-tent program than was being run under Hewitt, be in the mix for the Big Dance every season. That’s okay, as long as there is improvement and the Jackets are able to at least compete with the top teams in the conference. Georgia has less of an excuse for contin-ued mediocrity. In a relatively weak SEC, the Bulldogs have to elevate themselves to the top half of the conference, or else Fox will go the way of Dennis Felton and the program will have to reboot once again. Here’s hoping that someone – anyone – steps up and gives us college hoops fans (we do exist!) a chance to cheer come this March. It’s long overdue. Photo courtesy of UGA Athletics.

It’s 2013 and you’re rooting for your Hawks who made the playoffs for the sixth year in a

row. They’re playing a Pacers team that is lit-tered with players casual basketball fans don’t know, so maybe the Hawks have a chance this year. Maybe after five disappointing playoff “runs” they’ll figure it out. Maybe Josh actu-ally focuses on playing defense instead of jacking up three’s to the crowd’s screams of “NOOOOOO”. Maybe Teague can help run the offense more efficiently than a washed up Mike Bibby and actually give this team a chance. Maybe, just maybe, the ball will bounce At-lanta’s way for once.

CHANGE IS GOOD ... It didn’t. The Hawks lost 4-2 to a strong Pac-ers team, but that doesn’t make the loss hurt any less. Injuries crippled Atlanta, but by May, every-one is either playing hurt or they’ve already been eliminated. This is a franchise that has never seen the third round of the playoffs. All too often they get bumped before May or in the first half of May. The good news is, for those of you who hibernate through the summer waiting for basketball to start up again, this is a totally new Hawks team. Atlanta brought in Danny Ferry two years ago, who got rid of two of the more annoying contracts in Atlanta. See ya, Joe Johnson and

your outrageous contract. Don’t let the door hit you on the way out, Marvin. He brought in the sharpest of shooters, Kyle Korver, who had the second-best three-point percentage last year and was second in three’s made behind Steph Curry. Steph is not a bad person to follow, as Curry is on another planet as far as shooting three’s go. Korver prefers to stay on this planet, specifically in the corner and right wing, which Atlanta fans are just fine with. Ferry also brought in former Spurs coach Mike Budenholzer to help bring this team to the playoffs. Budenholzer has been in the play-offs with the Spurs for the past 16 seasons in a row. His first year with San Antonio was a rough one as they rebuilt and eventually got to draft Tim Duncan. After that they made the playoffs every year he was there including three NBA titles and four Finals appearances.

GET EXCITED ... There are plenty of reasons to be really, really excited for this Hawks team. For one, the guards are some of the most electrifying and underrated players in the game. Jeff Teague is

probably going to break out this year, so much that former coach Larry Drew was lobbying for Milwaukee to sign him before the Hawks did. Lou Williams is back this year after missing most of last year with an ACL sprain. He’s mentioned in a Meek Mill song, so he’s a pretty big deal. Finally, the golden child Dennis Schroder. I’ve been irrationally excited to see guys play be-fore, but none come close to the delusional, blind love I have for Schroder. His catch-and-shoot abilities are among the best in his draft class. He won’t see many minutes with the one’s, as he’ll primarily back up Teague, but one of his best qualities according to scouts is his ability to cre-ate off the pick and roll. Hopefully, we’ll see him sliding off a high pick to hook up with Korver in the corner, Horford spotting up for a long two, or Paul Millsap, who can bully his way to the hoop. This team isn’t winning 60 games, but they probably won’t lose 60 either. They’re in a nice situation as the locker room can take an “us against the world” mentality. Fans will be pleasantly surprised by January, and excited for the playoff chase come March. Photo courtesy of DJ Galbiati Blalock.

THE A-TRAIN

SCHUTTER’S STANCE

BY ALEX EWALT | AEWALT@SCOREATL.COM

BY CHRIS SCHUTTER | CSHUTTER@SCOREATL.COM

PEACH STATE COLLEGE HOOPS LEAVES MUCH TO BE DESIRED

HAWKS REBIRTH FILLED WITH OPTIMISM, EXCITEMENT

5Vol. 9 Iss. 23 | November 1-7, 2013

Everywhere around the NFL, folks are look-ing at the Atlanta Falcons. The Falcons are a

team on the rise (please pardon the pun). The Falcons have been reaching greater heights ev-ery year since 2008. Not coincidentally, it was 2008 when general manager Thomas Dimi-troff and head coach Mike Smith joined the Falcons fold. Dimitroff and Smith are among the most respected leaders in the League. Under the direc-tion of these two rising masterminds, the Falcons are 58-29 over the last five-plus regular seasons and have made the playoffs four times over their joint tenure. That said, Dimitroff and Smith don’t wear cleats or pads, and they’ve never thrown a touchdown pass in the NFL. Both of these lead-ers will readily admit that they could not have brought the Falcons to their unprecedented level of success without star players.

LEADING MAN ... Unquestionably, the player that has had the biggest hand (and arm) in the Falcons’ as-

career marks for yards passing (3,705) and quarterback rating (91.0). He also continued to rally his team to fourth quarter victories. Most quarterbacks help their teams pull out close victories several times in their career, but Ryan orchestrated six comebacks in 2010 alone. Ryan had arrived. He led his team to a 13-3 record, their third straight winning season and earned his first trip to the Pro Bowl. In 2011, Ryan continued his progression to the elite level of NFL quarterbacks. Coming off his first Pro Bowl, season he somehow found a way to improve his stats again. Ryan upped his touchdowns for the fourth consecutive year and improved his quarterback rating. He also threw for a career high 4,177 yards. Ryan, never settling for good enough, con-tinued his full-blown ascent to superstardom last fall. Statistically, he was unreal, throwing for 32 touchdowns, 4,719 yards and upping his quarterback rating to 99.1, but that’s not all. Ryan, now the face of the franchise, led the team to a 13-3 regular season record. And he did it all in typical Matty-Ice fashion, crafting seven game winning drives in the regular sea-son, a personal and league best. Fans will never forget the game-winning drive against the Carolina Panthers last Sep-tember. Ryan and the Falcons trailed Carolina 27-28 with the ball on their own 1-yard line with just 59 seconds remaining in the game and only one timeout. Ryan promptly fired a 59-yard bomb out of his own endzone to Roddy White splitting defenders in Carolina territory. He then completed two more passes before Matt Bryant’s game-winning field goal sailed through the uprights. Ryan’s enthusiasm and emotion as the team left the field after-wards cemented his leadership status. Now, Matt Ryan is set to be the Falcons’ leader for years to come, but he’s not satisfied. This summer he commented, “The expecta-tions that we set for ourselves as a football team, and myself personally, are higher than what everyone else is going to try and put on you. My goal and my mindset has been the same since 2008. It’s about winning a cham-pionship, and it’s about getting rings.” As Ryan enters the prime of his career, he’s poised and prepared to lead the Falcons to greatness. Photos courtesy of the Atlanta Falcons.

cent to the NFL elite is quarterback Matt Ryan. Ryan pilots the offense. Ryan wins. After five professional seasons, Ryan has become equal parts leader and playmaker. After his prep graduation, Ryan followed the footsteps of his uncle John Loughery and signed on to play quarterback for Boston Col-lege in 2003. After a year of learning the sys-tem and redshirting, Ryan began his path to collegiate stardom. As a redshirt-freshman in 2004, Ryan played in ten games at quarter-back, starting five. He also proved himself as a leader, winning the BC Freshman Male Schol-ar-Athlete Award. Dimitroff at that time was transition-ing from the New England Patriots director of college scouting to his current role of Falcons general manager over the winter. Along with owner Arthur Blank and team president, Rich McKay, he brought on Smith as the team’s new head coach. The leadership thought highly of Ryan, very highly of Ryan, and drafted the 6-3, 215 pound right handed quarterback with the

third overall pick of the 2008 NFL Draft. While Ryan was unquestionably a star in his prep and college years, he has also proven to possess the “non-measureable” qualities that teams in the League covet dearly. Ryan simply finds a way to win football games, and as he enters his sixth NFL season, he has nev-er stopped finding ways to make himself and those around him better. In the summer of 2008, the Falcons were very clear with their rookie quarterback. He would be the starter on opening day … if he could earn the job. Ryan did just that. He not only took over the reigns of the offense, he led a team that finished fourth in the NFC South just the year before to a wild-card birth, all while learning the complexities and speed of the NFL game. Matty-Ice didn’t even need two plays into his career to start getting attention from all around the league. On his third play from scrimmage (and his first pass) Ryan connected with wide receiver Michael Jenkins for a 62-yard touchdown. Ryan and the Falcons would go on to win his first start over the Detroit Li-ons 34-21 in the Georgia Dome.

CLUTCH PERFORMER ... In his rookie year, Ryan threw for 3,440 yards and 16 touchdowns with only 11 intercep-tions. He was good enough to capture the AP’s 2008 Offensive Rookie of the Year Award. Af-terwards, New Orleans Saints linebacker Scott Fujita told the AP reporters, “For somebody to do that that early in their career and have that much maturity and that much control of the of-fense, and be able to dictate to us the things that they wanted to do, I was impressed with him, and frustrated and ticked off at the same time.” Not only did Ryan win games (the team went 11-5 in his first pro season), he often won the contests in dramatic fashion, crafting four game winning drives in 2008. In his second season, Ryan picked up where he left off in 2008. Despite missing two starts while battling a turf toe injury, Ryan upped his touchdown total from 16 to 22 and led the franchise to their first ever back-to-back winning seasons. In year three of the Dimitroff, Smith and Ryan era, the Falcons and Ryan took another step forward. Ryan upped his touchdown total again by another half dozen to 28, and also set

MATTY ICE

BY SEAN CONWAY | SCONWAY@SCOREATL.COM

FALCONS LEADER MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE

ON THE COVER

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

Todd Gurley Anemic RushingWorld Series One year lateZach Laskey Gold on hold

He’s back, finally. Gurley had 377 yards and four touch-downs through UGA’s first three games before going down against LSU with a high ankle sprain. He missed the last three contests, one an overtime win and the other two resulting in losses. Gur-ley has returned to practice and has three green light for Georgia-Florida.

In the last 30 years (and pos-sibly longer), every team in the NFL has finished with at least 1000 rushing yards every season. Don’t look now, but the Falcons are on pace to finish this season with 998 yards. Yes, after their 27-yard per-formance against Arizona they have 437 yards through seven games. Needless to say, that’s last in the league in 2013.

Analysts are bashing the two teams for repeated mistakes in the field and on the bases, but while there were some miscues, the series was awe-some through five games (as of press time). After Game 1, each of the next four games was decided by no more than two runs. Furthermore, a se-ries for the ages was being turned in by David Ortiz.

The BCS did well to establish a four-team playoff, but it can’t come soon enough. With Ala-bama, Oregon, Florida State and Ohio State undefeated and look-ing impressive, the system that will arrive next season would work perfectly—as it presently stands—right now. Just watch the scenario be the complete opposite next season.

One running back who has been on the field and doing plenty of damage is Georgia Tech’s Laskey. After rushing for no more than 51 yards in any of his first six games this season, the former Starr’s Mill standout gained 75 against Syracuse and 133 at Virginia. Laskey has five touchdowns in his last two outings.

Jason Heyward was a finalist for the National League Gold Glove award in right field, but he did not defend his 2012 title when results were announced on Tuesday. Hey-ward, of course, was robbed by injury throughout the sea-son—limiting him to just 104 games (only 86 in right field). Arizona’s Gerardo Parra took home the honor.

SCORE LISTBy Brian Jones

Interceptions by Matt Ryan in the second half of Falcons loss to Arizona4

Games the Falcons have played this year decided by eight points or less7Games the Falcons have remaining against teams under .5003Receiving yards by former Georgia Tech star Calvin Johnson in Detroit’s win over the Cowboys329Miles from Sanford Stadium to Everbank Field in Jacksonville342

Miles from “The Swamp” to Everbank Field63

NFL first-round draft picks who have played in the Georgia-Florida game70Losses Buford’s softball team has suffered this season1

NUMBERSBy Chris Schutter

SLIPPING AWAYThe Falcons suffered another disappointing loss to the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, making their overall record 2-5. Now they have some serious work to do if they want to reach the playoffs. It starts this Sunday when they face the Carolina Panthers. The Falcons can win if they can run the ball, but that has been a huge deficiency for this team all year long.

It’s Georgia-Florida week and both teams are looking to get a much-needed win to stay in the SEC East race. The good news for the Bulldogs is Todd Gurley will be back in the lineup after missing the last three games with an ankle injury. I think he will be the difference in this game and will lead the Bulldogs to victory.

PARTY IN JACKSONVILLE

HOMECOMING NIGHTIt’s Homecoming for the Georgia Tech and the Jackets will face Pittsburgh on Saturday night. Tech has looked strong of late, winning its last two games. This showdown is another must-win contest because it is the Jackets’ next to last ACC game of the season. And I do think they will take down the Panthers at the Flats.

SEASON OPENERThe Hawks will have their home opener on Friday when they face the Toronto Raptors. This will be the first season Al Horford will be playing without Joe Johnson and Josh Smith. He, along with new head coach Mike Budenholzer, will try to lead a young team to new heights. Can the Hawks be one of the surprise teams in the Eastern Conference?

BATTLE IN 4AIn what could be the game of year, Sandy Creek will travel to Carrollton to take on the Trojans. Both teams will fight to see who is not only the best team in Region 5-AAAA, but also who may be one of the best teams in the state regardless of classification. Make sure to watch the game on CSS and get all the rest of the scores on scoreatl.com.

? “

ANSWER ON PAGE 14Georgia Tech basketball coach Brian Gregory

on his team’s preseason preparations.

TRIVIA QUESTION

SANITY AT LAST

GOING INTO SATURDAY’S GAME AGAINST FLORIDA, GEORGIA QB

AARON MURRAY IS 29 YARDS SHY OF BREAKING THE SEC’S ALL-TIME RECORD FOR TOTAL

OFFENSE. WHAT PLAYER’S RECORD WOULD HE BREAK?

“We are a much improved team, but that’s on October

29. That’s not going to be good enough down the road so we need to keep attacking every day and keep getting

better every single day.”

By

Ric

ky

Dim

on

SCORE MORE

1. Colquitt County2. Norcross3. Camden County4. North Cobb5. Collins Hill

6. North Gwinnett7. Hillgrove8. Lovejoy9. McEachern10. Archer

6. Gainesville7. Creekside8. North Paulding9. Ware County10. South Paulding

6. Marist7. Mary Persons8. Stockbridge9. Cedartown10. Burke County

Score Atlanta Football Rankings

Class AAAAAA

1. Buford2. Washington County3. Cartersville4. Carver-Columbus5. North Hall

6. Callaway7. Appling County8. Elbert County9. Woodward Academy10. St. Pius X

Class AAA1. Northside-WR2. Tucker3. Kell4. Stephenson5. Thomas Co. Central

Class AAAAA

1. Lovett2. GAC3. Lamar County4. Calhoun5. Washington-Wilkes

6. Brooks County7. Benedictine8. Jefferson9. Bowdon10. Heard County

Class AA1. Sandy Creek2. Carrollton3. Griffin4. Statesboro5. Monroe Area

Class AAAA

1. ELCA2. Landmark Chr.3. Aquinas4. Mount Pisgah5. Prince Ave. Chr.

6. Darlington7. Mount Paran8. Calvary Day9. Christian Heritage10. Athens Academy

Class A-Private

1. Marion County2. Seminole County3. Johnson County4. Irwin County5. Clinch County

6. Trion7. Charlton County8. Dooly County9. Commerce10. Mitchell County

Class A-Public

The GHSA state softball tournament moves into the semifinals Thursday as the eight

teams left in each classification will play what essentially is a double-elimination tournament through Saturday in Columbus. The brackets are divided into a winners and losers bracket with the championship games being played Saturday. Only three defending champions made the semifinals, led by Buford in Class AAA. The Wolves have won state championships each year since 2007 and have been ranked No. 1 all season. Coach Tony Wolfe’s team enters the state tournament at 33-1 and has won 21 con-secutive games. Northwest Whitfield in Class AAAA and Gordon Lee in Class A-Public are the only other defending state champions to make the semifinals.

In Class AAA, Pike County’s Marley Stow-ers brings a .592 batting average with her to the four-team playoff. Stowers also has 13 wins in the circle and a 1.37 ERA for the Pirates, who started the season 6-11 only to win eight straight games coming into today. Creekview used two complete-game per-formances by pitcher Gracie Dorr in the quar-terfinals series against Apalachee. This is the third time the Grizzlies have been to Colum-bus. Also in Class AAAAA, Pope returns for the second straight year and second time in Columbus overall. In Class AAAAAA, Gwinnett County has three teams (Brookwood, Collins Hill, North Gwinnett) in the semifinals while Cobb brings four (Harrison, Hillgrove, Kennesaw Mountain, Lassiter). Gwinnett County teams, including Archer last season, Collins Hill from 2009-

2011 and Mill Creek in 2008, have won the past five state championships in the state’s largest classification. In 2007, Lassiter won the last state championship of any Cobb team. Collins Hill is the current No. 1 in Class AAAAAA and is the lone team in the state to have beaten Buford.

ON THE COURT ... The 2013 GHSA volleyball season comes to a conclusion this week with championship action on Saturday. The semifinals are being held Wednesday and results were not available at press time. Just two quarterfinal matches throughout the entire state went the distance, one in Class AAAAAA as South Forsyth treated its home crowd to a 3-2 triumph over Harrison to punch its semifinal ticket. South Forsyth’s reward is a rematch with top-seeded Walton, three-time defending state champ. The teams faced each other on Sept. 14 when Walton scored a 25-16, 26-24 victory. Johns Creek is even more familiar with its semifinal opponent, Area 5-rival Chattahooch-ee. After splitting a pair of regular-season en-counters, Chattahoochee beat the Gladiators 16-14 in the fifth set for the area championship. Familiar foes will also do battle in Class AAAAA as top-seeded McIntosh is set to host Region 4-rival Northgate. The Chiefs have won 18 consecutive sets in their current eight-

match winning streak. Sequoyah is on 29-match surge heading into its semifinal clash against Dunwoody. In Class AAAA, Sandy Creek is bidding for its third straight state title. The Fighting Patri-ots won it all in this classification last season after triumphing in Class AAA in 2011. On the other side of the bracket, Marist is looking for its first title since 2006. The War Eagles are going up against a River Ridge squad that is in the school’s first semifinal in any sport. A trio of Area 3 teams in Blessed Trinity, Buford and St. Pius X are part of the Class AAA final four. St. Pius X senior outside hitter Leah Hardeman set a school record earlier this sea-son with 28 kills in a match. Woodward Academy, an Area 2 represen-tative, has faced both Buford and St. Pius X this season, but has not yet clashed with Blessed Trinity. The four remaining teams in Class AA are from Area 4 (Westminster and Lovett) and Area 6 (Jefferson and Wesleyan). Westminster is still bidding for its first state crown since 2008 (Class AA/A) after losing a 3-2 heartbreaker to Lovett in last year’s championship match. Class A No. 1 seed Holy Innocents’ is fac-ing Eagle’s Landing Christian for the second time this season after winning the matchup 25-14, 25-16 on Aug. 24. Photos courtesy of Sonny Kennedy, Doug Rick and Lisa Kingree.

PREP SPORTS

BY STEPHEN BLACK AND RICKY DIMON

SOFTBALL, VOLLEYBALL PREPARE TO CROWN STATE CHAMPIONS

With over 30 vitamins and nutrients, peanuts are a Superfood.

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The knee is arguably the most important joint in young athletes. From basketball

players to cross country runners, just about every athlete needs a healthy knee to be able to compete. More kids are competing in sports than ever before and the number of knee injuries in young athletes has steadily been on the rise. This is especially true for injuries involving the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), which is lo-cated in the middle of the knee and stabilizes the joint. Most ACL tears, either full or partial, occur without contact. Because more and more athletes are par-ticipating in sports at all levels, the focus for many physical therapists has shifted from the treatment to the prevention of ACL injuries. The Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta ACL Injury Prevention Program is designed to re-

duce knee injuries in young athletes while also improving their sports performance. Statistically speaking, male athletes ex-perience more sports-related injuries than females, but ACL injuries occur five to six times more often in females. One out of ev-ery 100 high school females suffers an ACL injury each year. This is often attributed to their different skeletal anatomy, including a wider pelvis and bones that are not perfectly aligned. Differ-ences in how males and females train also con-tribute to the high rate of ACL injuries in young female athletes. Each of these differences can be ad-dressed and improved upon with an organized training program designed by knowledgeable physicians, therapists and certified athletic trainers.

The Sports Medicine team at Children’s features an experienced, multidisciplinary team that includes orthopaedic surgeons, sports medicine physicians, certified athletic trainers and physical therapists. In 2012, they managed more than 38,000 sports physical therapy patient visits. Created by the Sports Medicine team, the ACL Injury Prevention Program provides a col-lection of tips, exercises and stretches to both male and female athletes. It aims to improve young athletes’ speed, strength and agility while teaching proper mechanics for sports-related activities. The team’s goal is not just to get young athletes back on the field, but to get them back on the field and playing better than ever. Visit choa.org/ACL for more information about the Children’s ACL Injury Prevention Program. This is general information and not specific medical advice. Always consult with a doctor or healthcare provider if you have questions or con-cerns about the health of a child. Some physicians and affiliated healthcare professionals on the Children’s Healthcare of At-lanta team are independent providers and are not our employees.

CHILDREN’S HEALTHCARE OF ATLANTA

CHOA.ORG/ACL

CHILDREN’S TEACHES KIDS HOW TOPREVENT ACL INJURIES

11Vol. 9 Iss. 23 | November 1-7, 2013

1. Walton2. South Forsyth3. Johns Creek4. Harrison5. Chattahoochee

1. McIntosh2. Sequoyah3. Starr’s Mill4. Pope5. Whitewater

1. Marist2. Columbus3. River Ridge4. Veterans5. Heritage-Catoosa

6. Roswell7. East Coweta8. North Gwinnett9. North Cobb10. Centennial

6. Northgate7. North Springs8. Union Grove9. Harris County10. Apalachee

6. Sandy Creek7. Carrollton8. Southeast Whitfield9. Woodland-Stockbridge10. South Effingham

Pre-Playoff Score Atlanta/AJC High School Volleyball Rankings

Class AAAAAA1. St. Pius X 2. Blessed Trinity3. Woodward Academy4. Buford5. Sonoraville

6. North Hall7. North Oconee8. Oconee County9. Hart County10. Morgan County

Class AAA

Class AAAAA1. Westminster2. Wesleyan3. Lovett4. GAC5. Jefferson

6. Kendrick7. Calhoun8. Westside-Augusta9. St. Vincent’s Academy10. Coosa

Class AA

Class AAAA1. Landmark Christian2. Walker3. Holy Innocents’4. Hebron Christian5. Savannah Christian

6. ELCA7. Mt. Paran8. Savannah County Day9. Athens Academy10. Fellowship Christian

Class A

12 SCORE ATLANTA | www.ScoreAtl.com

The Georgia Bulldogs (4-3, 3-2 SEC) travel to Jacksonville, Fla. to take on the Florida Gators

(4-3, 3-2 SEC) at Everbank Field in the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party on Saturday. The contest will be nationally televised via CBS. This storied rivalry, which the Bulldogs lead 49-40-2 overall after winning the last two meetings, dates back to 1904. This year marks the first time since 2010 that both the Dawgs and Gators are unranked. With a win on Sat-urday, Georgia would win three consecutive meetings with the Gators for the first time since 1987-1989.

MURRAY’S MOMENT … Senior quarterback Aaron Murray can kill more than two birds with one stone on Sat-urday. Murray has an opportunity that hasn’t been attainable in recent memory. The Bull-dogs’ signal-caller has the chance to not only become the first quarterback in more than 30 years to beat the Gators three straight times, but he can also do so in style by breaking

Georgia State’s men’s soccer team rallied past in-state rival Mercer on Tuesday with

a 2-1 victory. Eddie Wilding was the hero as he scored the game-winning goal in the 76th min-ute. This was the Panthers’ sixth straight home win and lifted them to 8-7-1 overall. After starting the season 0-5-0, the Pan-thers have gone 8-2-1 in their last 11 matches. GSU had the lead early off on an Amiri Abraham goal in the 26th minute. Mercer held the edge in shots in the first half (7-4), but some stellar goalkeeping by CJ Cochran kept the lead with GSU. Mercer’s Jose Morales tied the match three minutes into the second half with a chip over Cochran. In the 76th minute, a Georgia State pass was redirected to Wilding, who shot off the outside of his foot into the back of the net. Georgia State didn’t let Mercer get a shot off for the rest of the match. Panthers return to the pitch Saturday to host Incarnate Word in the last game of this home-stand at 7 p.m.

Georgia Tech is on a little roll. After suffer-ing a three-game losing streak in October,

Tech has now won two straight ACC games. The Yellow Jackets’ latest triumph was on the road Saturday at Virginia, a wild 35-25 victory in which the teams combined for 29 fourth-quarter points. “It was kind of a crazy game with all of the turnovers and penalties,” said Tech coach Paul Johnson. “I have to give the kids credit for find-ing a way to win. We couldn’t get ourselves off the field defensively, but yet we weren’t giving up a lot of points. So we were able to hang in.” Tech leapt to a 14-3 lead midway through the second quarter, but Virginia kept it close throughout the contest. A 29-yard fourth-quarter touchdown run by David Sims clinched the Jackets’ fifth win. “We had to look ourselves in the mirror individually and make up our minds on how we wanted this season to go,” said defensive tackle Emmanuel Dieke. “It was up to us to de-cide whether we wanted to salvage our season

The soccer team ended its regular season in Jacksonville, Fla. with a double-overtime

win against Jacksonville last Friday and a loss against North Florida on Sunday. After trailing 1-0 in the second half of Friday’s match, the Owls started their comeback in the 67th min-ute when freshman Maggie Gaughan scored off a cross from freshman Brittney Reed. That was Gaughan’s third goal of the season. The second and game-winning goal came in the 104th minute when freshman Shannon Driscoll scored with the assist going to Katrina Frost. With the win, the Owls moved into sec-ond place in the Atlantic Sun with 16 points. They looked to clinch the conference tour-nament No. 2 seed with a victory against North Florida on Sunday, but that did not happen as the Owls fell 4-1. The Ospreys took a 1-0 lead three minutes into the second half then added another goal two minutes later. Frost was able to cut the lead to one, scoring a goal in the 70th minute, but North Florida scored again in

Danny Wuerffel’s SEC passing touchdown re-cord (114) against the team for which Wuerffel played. It would be somewhat of a redemption, considering Tim Tebow broke Herschel Walk-er’s SEC rushing touchdown record against the Bulldogs in 2009. Murray needs three touch-down passes to surpass Weurffel. Murray can also break Tebow’s conference-record for total offense with just 30 yards of offense Saturday. Legends are made in this rivalry and the pressure can be unbearable. The Bulldogs’ field general made it clear that he’s not focused on going for the three-peat. “We just have to go out there and play ball and have fun,” he as-sured. “You can’t be worried about whether you’ve lost this many in a row, or won this many in a row, because every year is different. It’s a new team, new players and new circum-stances when it comes to injuries or how the season is going for each team, so we just have to go out there, play ball and have fun.” As far as injuries are concerned, head coach Mark Richt has confirmed that tailback Todd Gurley will play against Florida. This is great news for the Bulldog faithful. Gurley was on a roll with 377 rushing yards and four touch-downs through Georgia’s first three games be-fore sustaining a high ankle sprain against LSU. He gained 118 yards and scored a touchdown on 27 carries in last year’s 17-9 win over the Gators. Wide receiver Michael Bennett was also running full-speed and making cuts in practice, according to Richt.

FOOTBALL AND HOOPS … The Panthers host Western Kentucky on Saturday in hopes of stopping their eight-game losing streak and getting Trent Miles his first win as Georgia State’s head football coach. GSU’s own Albert Wilson ranks second among FBS players in all-purpose yard with 5,444. The one player who ranks above him is Western Kentucky running back Antonio Andrews, who sits at 6,082 career yards. With a good perfor-mance receiving, Wilson could bump yards per game average to 100 or more, as he sits at 99.8 right now. WKU’s total offense per game and total defense per game are both in the top 30 nationally. The last time Miles faced WKU was with Indiana State when ISU beat the Hilltop-pers 44-16. Saturday’s game set for 1 p.m. at the Georgia Dome. Georgia State basketball played Shorter in an exhibition game Monday, but there weren’t any Panthers taking the night off. Led by Curtis Washington, who nearly had a double-double after playing only 11 minutes his first three seasons, the Panthers punished Shorter with a 90-60 shellacking. Five Panthers finished in double figures, including Washington’s 12, and they managed to hold Shorter to 29.2 per-cent shooting. GSU added 14 blocks—eight by Washington—and nine steals to set the tone on defense. This team is for real and it is anx-ious to start its regular season.

or continue to lose. So as a team and coaching staff, we got together and we decided that we have to take control of our season.” Tech dominated the war in the trenches by rushing for 394 yards to Virginia’s 68. How-ever, the Jackets kept their hosts in the game by giving up five turnovers. “It was just unforced turnovers, like drop-ping the ball,” said Johnson. “It was hard to ex-plain. We cleaned it up a little bit in the second half, but at times it wasn’t smooth. We pitched one over our heads, so we have a lot of work to do. I thought we were getting better at some of that stuff.” Next up for the Ramblin’ Wreck is Pitts-burgh Saturday night at Bobby Dodd Stadium for Homecoming. It is the first-ever meeting in conference play, but the programs have played seven times altogether with Pitt holding a 5-2 lead. The last game between the Jackets and Panthers came in 1976 with Pitt, the eventual national champion, taking a 42-14 win. SPIKING JACKETS ... The volleyball team ended a six-game los-ing streak by defeating host Boston College three sets to two Sunday in Chestnut Hill. Tech improved to 8-14 overall and 2-8 in ACC play. Senior Jennifer Percy led the Jackets with 15 kills. Coach Tonya Johnson’s team will host Vir-ginia and Virginia Tech this weekend.

the 74th and 83rd minute. With the loss, the Owls snagged the No. 3 seed in the Atlantic Sun Tournament.

FREE SOCCER … The good news for the soccer team is it will host its first-round contest since it is one of the top four seeds. Kennesaw State will face No. 6 Lipscomb with kickoff set at 7 p.m Satur-day. Additional good news for fans is they don’t have to pay to see the Owls in postsea-son action. The KSU athletic department an-nounced earlier in the week that the first-round contest will be free for everyone. If the Owls win the match on Saturday, they will travel to Fort Myers, Fla. to face Jacksonville on Nov. 8. “We are excited about being able to host,” head coach Rob King told ksuowls.com. “We worked hard to get to this point and we are looking forward to that game. We will take a couple days rest and we will be ready to go for that home game on Saturday night.”

FALL BASEBALL … The baseball team was in action last weekend as it held its annual Black and Gold series, which consisted of three seven-inning games. Kennesaw State’s roster was split into two teams with the black team defeating the gold team twice in the three-game series. The Owls will open the 2014 season on Valentine’s Day with a home series against MTSU.

UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA

GEORGIA STATE

GEORGIA TECH

KENNESAW STATE

BY CHRIS NIEMAN | CNIEMAN@SCOREATL.COM

BY CHRIS SCHUTTER | CSCHUTTER@SCOREATL.COM

BY STEPHEN BLACK | SBLACK@SCOREATL.COM

BY BRIAN JONES | BJONES@SCOREATL.COM

GEORGIA-FLORIDA RIVALRY RENEWED

MEN’S SOCCER TEAM STILL RED HOT

JACKETS BACK ON TRACK IN ACC PLAY

SOCCER TEAM HEADED TO POSTSEASON

13Vol. 9 Iss. 23 | November 1-7, 2013

The NBA season is underway and the new-look Hawks have much to look forward to

in 2013-14. General manager Danny Ferry and head coach Mike Budenholzer have a bright outlook now and for the future. Specifically, there are three things to watch this season.

POINT GUARD … The Hawks matched the Milwaukee Bucks’ four-year offer sheet on Jeff Teague. He is set to make $32 million over the next four years. Ferry also decided to draft German point guard Dennis Schroder, who wowed during summer league. As the season goes along, it will be interesting to watch Schroder’s devel-opment and how he adapts to the physicality of the NBA. If his maturation goes well and he adapts quickly, Teague could be shopped at the trade deadline. In all probability the Hawks will keep both point guards to allow Schroder to develop throughout the season and learn from a veteran in Teague.

Andrelton Simmons wasted no time picking up one of baseball’s top honors. In his first

full season in the majors, the Braves’ shortstop earned the National League Gold Glove as the NL’s sweetest fielder at his position. Interest-ingly, Simmons is the first shortstop in Braves’ franchise history to earn the award. He is the team’s first infielder to win it since third base-man Terry Pendleton in 1992. “It’s an honor,” Simmons said in an in-terview with ESPN when the awards were an-nounced on Tuesday night. “I’ve always been praised growing up. But to do it on the biggest stage is the biggest of honors.” He and Jason Heyward were Atlanta’s two finalists in the Gold Glove voting. Heyward, a right fielder, was nominated despite playing in just 104 games—including only 86 in right field (the rest mostly in center field). Arizona’s Ge-rardo Parra ended up the winner. “I saw him in places as a center field that I’d never seen another center fielder be,” man-

The Arizona Cardinals handed the Falcons a 27-13 loss on Sunday and last season’s 7-0

start seems like a long way away for the now 2-5 Falcons. Matt Ryan was sacked four times and intercepted on four occasions by Arizona and the running game was abysmal. Ryan con-tributed a game-long 13-yard run to the team’s total effort of 27 yards rushing. Running back Steven Jackson returned from his hamstring injury to tally six yards on 11 carries. Atlanta is last in the NFL in rushing with just 62.4 yards per game. “We’ve got to give our backs a chance,” said offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter about the run game. “If you’re going to run the foot-ball, we’ve got to give them [the backs] good design.... We’ve got to give them good design of what the plays are. And, at the point of at-tack, we’ve got to move somebody.” Moving the football against Carolina this Sunday will not be any easier. The Panthers have a top 10 pass defense and boast the No. 2

The Silverbacks lost yet another match this past week, getting blown out 4-0 on the

road against Carolina. There may be some cause for concern as this is the second match in as many weeks that Atlanta has lost by four goals. The hot New York Cosmos offensive at-tack will be looking to feast on Atlanta’s slack defense when they play each other twice in the next two weeks.

EARLY DEFICIT ... It took only 10 minutes for Carolina to find a goal, as the Railhawks were finding chanc-es early and often. Defender Henry Kalungi scored first on a pass redirected from Zack Schilawski across the goal. The Atlanta back-field was in shambles most of the match and Austin Da Luz was able to add to the Carolina lead to make it 2-0 in the 20th minute. This second goal forced Atlanta’s hand and they tried to make a substitution to change the look of the defense. The Railhawks also made a change after they saw two of their players have to leave the game with injury.

AL HORFORD … With Joe Johnson and Josh Smith both gone, the team is finally in the hands of Horford. He has been Atlanta’s leader for years, but now he unquestionably owns that title. Horford is a versatile player on offense who operates with a high basketball IQ. With his ability to knock down the midrange jumper, he can stretch the opponents’ bigs outside to open up the lane for the point guards and Paul Millsap. As for Millsap, he is one of the top offensive rebounders in the league, getting about 2.5 a game for his career.

BUDENHOLZER … With a new coach comes new philosophies; Budenholzer is no exception. He has spent the past 19 years in San Antonio and was in charge of the defensive assignments in his final seasons there. With him he brings a defensive scheme that has been a little difficult to adapt to. It is op-posite of a basketball player’s natural instinct. The plan is to not give up open corner threes, so the wings can’t leave their men to help the point guard on penetration plays. That means that they have to trust the big men to contest cutters at the rim to take away easy points at the basket. On offense the players have been slower to pick up all of the schemes. The plan is for the team to ultimately pressure the strong side and quickly swing the ball back to the weak side to the shooters to knock down open threes. This will also open up the paint for Horford and Millsap to operate in space.

ager Fredi Gonzalez told the Atlanta Journal Constitution of Heyward. “That was refresh-ing. I don’t know if he played better than he did in right field but he sure didn’t play any worse than any other center fielder in the major leagues. The only thing that looks out of place is he’s 6-5, 245.”

OUT ON THE FARM … Atlanta’s season may be over, but action is continuing in the Arizona Fall League. Second-base prospect Tommy La Stella, who hit .343 in 81 games with Double-A Mississippi this year, continues to turn heads. Through 11 games with the Scottsdale Scorpions as of Wednesday af-ternoon, La Stella is batting .351 with eight RBI and he has hit safely in all 11 contests. In other farm-system news, up-and-com-ing pitcher J.R. Graham is still rehabbing in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. He suffered a shoulder strain in May while pitching for Mississippi. Graham has not yet reached triple-digits on the radar gun like he was doing in the Grapefruit League this spring, but the righty is on course to be 100 percent for 2014. “I thought this year was going to be my year,” Graham told the Braves’ website. “I was doing good things. I showed what I could do in camp. I think the Braves have plans for me. I just had a little freak accident. If I come back healthy, there should be no reason I shouldn’t be up in Atlanta.”

run defense in the NFL at 79.3 yards per game. Linebackers Luke Kuechly and Thomas Davis are two of the best in the league. Kuechly led the NFL in tackles in 2012 and posted 16 total tackles in the Panthers’ 30-20 win over Atlanta last year. Ryan was sacked nine times in two games against Carolina in 2012 and pass rushers Greg Hardy and Charles Johnson are once again having productive seasons. The duo has accounted for 11.0 of Carolina’s 22.0 sacks through its first seven games.

STOP THE BLEEDING … The Falcons defense is ranked 22nd in the league in both the pass and the run and big plays by Arizona last week exposed it. Oppos-ing quarterbacks have completed 65.9 percent of their passes this season and Cardinals rookie running back Andre Ellington, a sixth-round pick, escaped outside for an 80-yard touch-down run. Arizona scored two touchdowns and kicked a field goal in three red-zone trips and opponents have now scored points in all 24 red-zone trips this season against the Falcons. Cam Newton comes off three straight games with a 100-plus quarterback rating and he has been successful when facing Atlanta in the past. Last season, Newton completed a combined 64.4 percent of his passes for 502 yards and four touchdowns and gained 202 rushing yards on 18 carries for three touch-downs against the Falcons.

The Railhawks were elite on defense, clearing any chances that Atlanta found in Carolina territory. Shortly after halftime their offense picked up again, capitalizing on good defense. Schilawski intercepted a pass and was able to play it forward to Nick Addlery who beat the Atlanta defense and made it a 3-0 game in the 66th minute. The Silverbacks tried substituting again, but it yielded the same result. The Railhawks finished off the game with a penalty kick from Shriver.

ON THE DOCKET ... Atlanta needs to do what it can to get this game out of its head. The Silverbacks will be facing the Cosmos next Saturday for the regular season finale, and New York has domi-nated the fall league all season. A week after that game Atlanta will play host to the Soccer Bowl where they will face off against the Cos-mos again. This championship game between the Spring champion and the Fall champion is looking bleak for Silverbacks fans as they have not been able to beat a winning team since May 18. The Silverbacks have the second-fewest goals scored, the second-most goals allowed, and the second-worst goal differential. Their probable opponent for the Soccer Bowl is the Cosmos who has the second-most goals scored, the least goals allowed, and the best goal differential. The Silverbacks will need to muster up their best game in nearly four months if they have any chance at bringing the title to Atlanta.

ATLANTA HAWKS

ATLANTA BRAVES

ATLANTA FALCONS

ATLANTA SILVERBACKS

BY JAY UNDERWOOD | JUNDERWOOD@SCOREATL.COM

BY RICKY DIMON | RDIMON@SCOREATL.COM

BY CRAIG SAGER II | CSAGER@SCOREATL.COM

BY CHRIS SCHUTTER | CSCHUTTER@SCOREATL.COM

HAWKS OPEN SEASON WITH MOSTLY NEW FACES

SIMMONS SNAGS GOLD GLOVE

SINKING FALCONS VISIT SURGING PANTHERS

ATLANTA BLOWN OUT AGAIN, FACES SEASON-FINALE

14 SCORE ATLANTA | www.ScoreAtl.com

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