Talking with the AD

Talking with the AD, part 3 - This year’s football schedule; how did you come up with the first three games for this year?

I looked at it with an eye of winning.  I don’t care who you are, the Atlanta Falcons or the Atlanta Braves, if you don’t win people are not going to come out.  If you’re not winning you’re not going to sell tickets.  Johnson of Gainesville is a AAAA school [they went winless last year] and I want the kids to have the opportunity for some success early.  We scheduled Harlem because I know the coach over there, they are a struggling program and he thinks we may be an easy one for him.  I hope to change his mind about that.  Fellowship Christian is a private school out of Roswell.  They didn’t do too well last year.  But the thing is, we might not win these games but I expect to win.  I want to win big and have that going into the region.  I also want to be able to give our younger kids some playing time so they can get game experience they can’t get anywhere else. 

What about the rest of the region?

The two top teams in the region will be Jefferson and Wilkes.  They always have good teams.  Wilkes is genetically gifted.  They always have big, fast and strong players.  You always have to look out for Wilkes.  But Rabun has a new coach; Riverside Military now has a new coach, so does Social Circle. So you’re looking at a region with some new coaches who will light a fire under their teams.  But we hope to be in the mix, we better be in the mix at the end of the season. 

Will there be region play-in’s like last year?

We’re in an eight team region this year with no sub-region.  So the top four teams will go on to the play-offs.  IF there are two teams tied we have a tie breaker system to settle the issue.  There won’t be any play-off in the region which is wonderful.  Either you’re in or you’re out. 

Thanks for your time, coach. 

 

 

Mid-Week Updates

Mid-Week Updates – The varsity softball team’s game against Social Circle slated for this past Tuesday was canceled due to rain as was the middle school game against Commerce.  The middle school game has been rescheduled for Thursday, September 13^th. 

        Varsity softball travels to Johnson of Gainesville today.  The last time these two teams met two weeks ago OC came away the victor 11-1. 

        All of high school cross country will be at Athens Academy Thursday, September 30^th, at 4pm.  These meets usually have eight or ten schools involved.  Good luck guys.

        The middle school softball team will be Athens Christian Thursday, September 30^th, to play the Eagles. 

        Of course, Friday, the Patriot varsity football team travels to Johnson of Gainesville, (3305 Poplar Springs Rd, Gainesville, GA) to take on the Knights in the first regular season football game.  Johnson (8-AAAA, 0-10 last year) defeated West Hall (7-AAA, 2-8 last year) 19-13 this past Friday night.  According to the Gainesville Times, their senior running back, Cedric Harris, had 39 carries for 178 yards.  Knight’s quarterback Zach English had 138 yards passing and 81 yards rushing.  This win stops a 12 game losing streak for the Knights.  The Knights also have a new head coach this year. 

        This game, unlike OC’s scrimmage against Georgia Military, was the home opener for Johnson.  They will be looking to add another check in the win column.   Hope to see you there. 

        Golf coaches Robert Goodwin and Ed Rock sent out an email this week highlighting the 5^th Annual Patriot Golf Fundraiser tournament to be held Saturday, October 20, 2012, at Jennings Mill Country Club.  Lunch will start at noon for all participants and the will be a shotgun start at 1pm.  The tournament will be Lauderdale/best ball with 4 person teams.  That is, everyone will hit their ball but will only county the best ball of the four. 

        Cost to enter the tournament is 70 for individuals or $280 per team.  First and second place will be awarded prizes as well as closest to the hole and longest drive.  There will be door prizes and a putting contest. 

        This is the main fundraiser for both the middle school and high school golf teams.  Due in part to the great success of OC’s varsity golf team last year, who came in third in the state tournament just one stroke behind the second place team, the middle school has nearly 30 golfers on their team.  The varsity will be returning four of the six golfers from last year’s team, so great things are expected this year. 

        But as in all things sports, winning takes funding.  Funding doesn’t come from the Board of Education; it comes from fundraisers like this one, and the hard work of parent volunteers.  So when a kind comes to your door to sell you a coupon book, or a raffle ticket or asks you to participate in a golf tournament, please be as generous as you can. 

        Come back tomorrow when I’ll post the last part of Talking with the AD.

Talking with the AD

Talking with the AD, part 2 –

Now that school has started how you do see athletics at the school?

I think it’s real positive.  I heard a lot of the kids saying the other day we are going to win in football, we are going to win in softball, and we are going to win in basketball.   That’s what you want to hear.  The better softball does, the better football does, the better cross country does it will have an effect throughout the year. 

How does football look this year?

I really like their work ethic.  This senior group has been with us for four years.  They know what we expect from them, they seem to really like each other, they have a good work ethic and they seem to like playing with each other as far as being a team.  I can’t ask for better attitudes out of that senior group. 

Softball?

I got the opportunity to watch the play the other day [their 11-1 win over Johnson of Gainesville].  They are a young team, they have a group of kid that like playing together, that makes it exciting and fun, and they will be really good in a couple of years.  

Cross County, how do you replace Justin Whitman?

Somebody like Justin only comes around once in a while.  But we have a couple of young kids that should do pretty good in a couple of years.  The coach [Jim Norton]told me the other day they if they get bigger and stronger then they’ll do well.

How are the finances?

Hurting.  From all our sports, that’s 13 sports, we took in $51,000 in gate receipts.  Officials cost us between $15,000 to $20,000; football alone was $5000 to $6000.  Then the cost of just doing athletics, the stuff you have to have just to do an athletic event [OC spent nearly $2000 last year on field paint] was another $10,000.  So when it’s all said and done you have about $20,000 to split between 13 sports. And I’ll just tell you, football is the most expensive sport you can play.  When you pay $200 for a helmet and $200 for shoulder pads, and that’s just two of the items that go on a football player.  It’s just expensive.

So football makes money, basketball breaks even and all other sports loose money.

Track and field makes money.  Not a lot, but they are always above.  See, there are no officials we have to pay.  We charge five dollars to get in and there are no expenses, so they make money every time.  Baseball breaks even; they have a little bit of a gate but they have officials they have to pay.  Softball is the same way.  Soccer usually loses money because it’s a sport that’s played in the worse weather of the year.  The big money comes from football and basketball.  Basketball can generate money if they are good.  But the last couple of years basketball and football hasn’t been that good to draw the crowds.  So the pressure is on football and basketball.

There were times when I first got to Greene County where football wasn’t very good but basketball was packing the house, so they would carry the other sports.  Then, when football got to be pretty good it just so happened that basketball was down a little bit so football carried the other sports.  What you really want is for both of them to be good so they can carry athletics. 

You know, there is nothing better to do in this county than to come watch these kids.  Whether it’s a football game, or a baseball game, softball or soccer, there’s nothing better to do than to come out and watch these kids compete.  We don’t do a great job of packing the stadium on a Friday night.  The softball game the other day [OV vs. Johnson of Gainesville] didn’t have many people there and there should have been.  We have to get Oglethorpe County to come out and support these kids.  I hope we can support that this year by starting off winning. 

Check back later on in the week for the final part of Talking with the AD. 

Cross Country

Cross Country Results - Cross country head coach Jim Norton sent the following:

The boys and girls cross country teams got off to a good start to their season
at Athens Christian Saturday morning. The boys were entered in both the
"Championship" and "Varsity" divisions, so the standings for the races don't
really reflect how well the boys did. At any big meet, you go up against a lot
of larger schools, so what really matters is how your runners fair against teams
in your classification and region. With that in mind, Oglethorpe's boys' results
on Saturday place them as the top team in Region 8AA and a top 10 team in the
state in 2A as their top boys times beat those of Jefferson, Social Circle, and
Riverside Military. The boys were led by junior Otoniel Padilla and a handful of
freshmen and sophomores who will certainly make Oglethorpe a cross country
threat for the next few years.

The girls' results were a solid start. Newcomer Sarah Chastain did really well
and will be a great addition to a small girls' team that consists of all soccer
players. They have a real chance of making that top 4 in the region and
qualifying for the State meet, but there is still a lot of work to be done.

The teams will compete Thursday at Athens Academy in the Spartan Ekiden. The
event has an unusual format in that there are coed relay teams competing in a 3k
meet. Those not on a relay will race a 3k, which will be a welcome change of
pace.
Thanks to Coach Norton and congratulations to both boy's and girl's teams.

Varsity Softball

Varsity Softball – OCHSSPORTS last update on the softball girls was their 7-3 win over Putnam County.  Since then the Lady Patriots have played in a three day tournament in Danielsville and traveled to Union County.  Today they travel to Washington-Wilkes. 

The tournament didn’t go so well for the Patriots; however, they were playing 4, 5 and 6A schools and came away with a win over Lumpkin County (8-AAAA). 

Tuesday of this week the softball girls traveled to Union County to take on Panthers in their first region game of the season.  Until Tuesday the Panthers had a 6-1 record.  OC put a 2 in the Panther’s loss column with a 6-5 win.  Today they travel to Washington-Wilkes (3-3 overall, 0-1 region) to take on the Tigers in another region game.   

On Saturday, August 25^th, OC hosts Athens Christian at 10:00am.  OC lost to Athens Christian in the Danielsville tournament 4-1 and have a chance to return the favor Saturday.  Everyone should turn out Saturday to support the Lady Patriots.

Update - The lady Patriots lost a close one to WW on Thursday 2-1.  Don't forget, they play again Saturday against Athens Christian.

Also, both high school and middle school cross country will be at Athens Christian on Saturday. 

Update to the Update - Both the Union County and Washington-Wilkes game went into extra innings.   Rebekah LaFleur said today that both games were decided under the International Tie Breaker (ITB) rules for softball.  Those rules state: Under this rule, each team starts the inning with the player who completed the last official at bat, as a base runner on second base. Each subsequent inning will start the same until a winner has been determined.   Softball stops at 7 innings and ITB rules take over.  OC won against Union County using this procedure and lost to Washington-Wilkes under the same rules.

 

 

 

Interview with the AD

Talking With the AD – I sat down with Athletic Director and Head Football Coach Larry Milligan last week to discuss the state of athletics at Oglethorpe County High School.  We had a good conversation about sports, athletics, funding and the new region.  This is the first segment.

Quickly covering last spring’s sports, boy’s baseball and boys soccer didn’t do so well, but girls soccer and boys and girls track did real well. 

“Taking baseball first, I thought that baseball was in a real tough region but I also though there were some real bright spots, which I think will lead to big success this year.  Girl’s soccer was right on the edge of getting into the playoffs.  It was real disappointing that they didn’t get in, but, once again, I think they’ll get in this year.  Boy’s soccer, like baseball, was in a tough region, but they are a young team, like baseball, and hopefully they will improve. 

Track and field has always been a staple in OC athletics.  Looking back they have always been good in track and field.  That tradition has continued with Coach Minish and Coach Finch.  Anytime you finish in the top five in the state you’re pretty good. “

Were there any surprises in the spring sports?  

“Being involved in track and field I was surprised that we didn’t win it all.  We were disappointed by that.  I think all those programs are headed in the right direction.  It will be interesting to see how we do in the new region.”

What are your thoughts on the summer workouts?

“I think that’s the biggest improvement area that I can think of.  When we started the weight room two years ago we can now start to reap the benefits.  I think you are seeing more use of the weight facility by the other sports.  I can see it by the size kids we are putting on the field and their strength has improved every year.” 

What about other sports using the weight facility?

“When I first got here, as AD, I made the other sports use the facility but I have kind of gotten away from that.  I feel like it’s the coaches responsibility to train their athletes and if they don’t use the weight facility it tells me about their work ethic, what they think of weight training, and perhaps, their lack of knowledge of weight training.  I think we did have good participation by other sports.  Girl’s basketball did not participate in weight training this summer but I think that they had situations that need attention that was more important than weight training.  Coach Rindone had her soccer girls here a lot over the summer.  That to me tells me her work ethic and how she wants here program to go.”

Stay tuned for the next segment of Talking with the AD later on this week. 

Football - OC v GMC

Football – The Oglethorpe County Patriots hosted Georgia Military Friday night in a preseason scrimmage.  By the end of the night the Bulldogs went home with a 36-14 win and gave head coach Larry Milligan and his staff a laundry list of work for next week’s practice.

The Bulldogs (7-3 last year) opened the game with a big run down the sidelines on their first play from scrimmage starting at their own 30 yard line.  They scored on their second play and thirty seconds was off the first quarter clock. 

In this scrimmage kickoffs and punts were not covered or returned.  Touch backs and scores would bring the ball out to the thirty yard line to start play.  Also, the third quarter would be given over to the second teams to not only give them playing time but also rest the first string players.

OC scores.

OC started their first attempt at offense on their own 30 after GMC’s kickoff.  OC basically marched the ball down the field on a variety of plays and matched GMC’s seven points on a nice 25 yard run by quarterback Kendrick Presley.  Griffin Giles booted the extra point to even the score. 

Following OC’s kickoff the Bulldogs first play from scrimmage was a run to the outside for a 70 yard touchdown.  Following the extra point GMC was ahead 14-7.



Anthony Thornton gaining yards; Matt Beyatt blocking.

The first play from scrimmage for the Patriots saw Anthony Thornton, a sophomore, run for 43 yards to the GMC 27 yard line.  It would take several more plays but OC would score on a pass from Presley to receiver John Mathews.  The point after was good and the quarter would end with OC and GMC tied at 14 each.

The second quarter saw GMC really take command of the game by scoring 22 unanswered points.

The third quarter had both team’s younger players on the field for playing time.  There were some bright spots for OC in the form of Thornton, quarterback Tyler Hooper and Cody Smith and Taylor Liedberg. 

Both team’s first strings came back on the field for the final quarter, and to OC’s credit, they didn’t allow GMC into the end zone. 

The fact that OC was defeated handily might on the surface be depressing.  However, this was a scrimmage designed to test strengths and weaknesses.  It did reveal that the Patriots need to work on tackling and containing the outside runs.  The real test will come in two weeks when OC travels to Johnson of Gainesville for their season opener. 

You can see the pictures here:  http://hdgp.photoreflect.com/store/thumbpage.aspx?e=8642651

Softball – Putnam County came to Lexington Tuesday for a non-region game against our Lady Patriots.  They left with a non-region loss falling to OC 7-1 (3) (at the top of the 7^th inning. I learned this morning from Dr. Wetherington that the final score was 7-3.)

        The game started as a pitching duel.  OC’s Jenna McElheney had the honors and quickly retired Putnam’s first three.  Putnam’s pitcher did the same for OC’s first three batters, too. 

        At the top of the second McElheney left one out over the middle of the plate for Putnam’s second batter to hit over the fence.  McElheney made quick work of Putnam’s remaining batters.  OC’s second and third inning were three up, three down as was Putnam’s after their one run homer.

        The top of the 4^th was quick for Putnam with a fly ball to right, a tag on poor Putnam running by third baseman Rebekah LaFluer and a fly to Dottie Wray in center field.  But it would be five Putnam errors that OC took advantage of to score four runs. 

        Errors would go on to plague Putnam throughout the remainder of the game allowing OC to score three more runs in the fifth and sixth innings.  Madison Blocker’s double in the fifth put two of those three runs on the board but it was Putnam’s errors that put OC’s runners in scoring position.  

        McElheney pitched the entire game striking out 7 and proving once again why she has been OC’s ace hurler since middle school.

        The Lady Patriots take part in Madison County’s Leadoff Classic in Danielsville Thursday, Friday and Saturday.   

OC Patriot 5K Fun Run/Walk

Cross Country – OC played host to the annual Patriot 5K Fun Run/Walk this past Saturday at OCHS.  “I’m pretty excited,” said cross country coach Jim Norton. “We have more runners this year than last year.  I’m worried about running out of tee shirts.”   

        The Patriot 5K is a fund raiser for the cross country team.  If you recall, OC’s cross country hosted and won the Region 8AA crown last year.  Many of the same runners are on the team so OC should do well again this year.

The Start of the Patriot 5K.

        For the girls, first over the line for OC was Molly Gilbert, second was Sarah Chastain followed by Jeri Wilcox.  The top three OC boys to cross the line was Austin Garmin followed by OT Padilla with Quinton Nash. 

        OC’s first meet will be Saturday, August 25^th, at 8:00am at Athens Christian. 

        You can see all the pictures here:  http://hdgp.photoreflect.com/store/thumbpage.aspx?e=8635313

Varsity Softball

Varsity Softball - The OC varsity softball Patriots had to postpone the game with Johnson of Gainesville for an hour to give Johnson time to get to Lexington.  The delay didn’t help Johnson who lost to OC 11-1 for OC’s season opener.    

OC Softball Patriots

Jenna McElheney, starting pitcher for OC, was really just too much for Johnson; McElheney pitch all five innings scoring four strike outs for the game.  The Patriots started the first inning with centerfielder Dotty Wray striking out batting left handed.  After that glitch OC started putting runs on the board.  McElheney was walked and then catcher Tanya Huckaby hit a triple to the fence scoring McElheney.  First baseman Jessica Pulliam got a hit scoring Huckaby.  Up next was Brooklyn Poole whose hit moved Pulliam to second.  Madison Blocker was put out at first but both Pulliam and Poole advanced.  Tristan Ogle, the Patriots 7^th batter of the inning, was at bat when Johnson’s catcher couldn’t handle a pitch, and, while committing a couple of throwing errors, Johnson allowed both Pulliam and Poole to score. 

Jenna McElheney on form.

Ogle was walked to first and promptly stole second. This put third baseman Rebekah LaFleur at the plate.  LaFleur hit the ball to Johnson’s shortstop who over threw first base, which not only allowed LaFleur to be safe at first but Ogle scored all the way from second.   At the end of the first inning the score was OC 5, and Johnson 0.

Johnson would score their only run in the top of the second inning due to a couple of throwing errors by OC.  Johnson’s first three hitters got on base scoring the second batter.  McElheney, helping her won cause, struck out the next two Johnson batters.  Johnson’s inning closed with the batter out at first leaving two runners on base.    

Rebekah LaFleur diving for the ball.

OC would score three runs in the bottom of the second and the top of the third saw only four Johnson batters come to the place before OC retired the side.  OC would send five batters to the plate in the bottom of the 4^th scoring two more runs giving the Patriots an 11-1 lead.  For the top of the fifth Johnson went three up and three down, two of which were hit right back to McElheney on the mound, who threw them out at first ending the game. 



This is OC’s first regular season win for the 2012 softball season.  The Patriots next game is against Jackson County at Jackson County on Monday, September 13^th. 

You can see all the pictures here:  http://hdgp.photoreflect.com/store/thumbpage.aspx?e=8632723



Cross Country

Oglethorpe County
Patriot 5K and Fun Run/Walk

Date: Satuday, August 11,2012
Time: 8:00 am

Where: Oglethorpe County High School in Lexington, Georgia. Why: Fundraiser race for the OCMS and OCHS Cross Country teams.
The Events:
Patriot 5K The 3.1 mile race will be run on the cross country course (95% grass, 5% roads), which is a moderately hilly course that winds around the high school campus. The race begins behind the softball field and ends on the track. Patriot Fun Run/Walk
: For those less serious runners, the 1.5 mile run/walk consists of one lap around the cross country course. Those participating will start just after the 5K participants.
Parking: Will be available in the large parking lot by the high school gymnasium. Limited parking at the stadium
Awards: For 5K participants only: (M and F) Overall winner, (M and F) Winners of each division: (OC Teachers/Staff, HS Students, MS Students, Community).
Race Times: Race times will be tabulated by Athens Running Company. Results will be posted on the OCHS Cross Country website.
Refreshments: Water, fruit, and other munchies will be provided at the end of the race for participants. Water will be provided at the half-way point in the race.
Short Sleeved T-shirts: Guaranteed to all pre-registered participants
Registration Cost: only $10.00 – adults and school-aged kids (Cost is lower due to last year’s t-shirt error)
1. Fill out and mail the entry form below. Make checks payable to "OCABC-Cross Country"
Mail To: Oglethorpe County High School
C/o Cross Country
749 Athens Rd.
Lexington, Ga. 30648
---------------------(One entry per form)-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Name ____________________________________
Date of Birth _____________________ Sex: M F
Phone___________________________
Event (Circle one): Patriot Fun Run/Walk Patriot 5K
Race Division (5K only): OC Teachers/Staff HS students MS students Community
Shirt Size: S M L XL XXL
Waiver: I hereby release the hosts, sponsors, volunteers and officials of the Oglethorpe County Patriot 5K and Fun Run/Walk from all claims of injury or damages resulting from my participation in said event. I further state that I am in proper physical condition to participate in this strenuous event.
Runner’s Signature or Parent (if under 18):_____________________________ Date: _____________