Streaks live and die as weather becomes biggest foe

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Posted 8:54AM on Sunday, September 15, 2002

The streaks live on. The legacy does as well. Parkview pushed Brookwood around for most of Friday's game, and in the end the Broncos were 80 yards and a handful of minutes from a victory for the ages. It didn't happen. Brookwood scrapped to the end, but Parkview never yielded, taking a 17-10 victory. The No. 1-ranked Panthers notched victory No. 32 in a row and the fourth consecutive in this most heated of rivalries. ``Now, I can brag for the rest of my life,'' Panthers senior fullback/linebacker Sean Dawkins said. ``I never lost to those guys. Coach (Cecil) Flowe told us at halftime when were down, that we needed two touchdowns and a field goal. And that's what it took.'' Only the Broncos' grit kept the game within reach. ``I learned a lot about our team,'' Brookwood first-year head coach Mark Crews said. ``We have a lot of heart. We never gave up. We just lost to a very good football team.'' MORE STREAKING: Brantley County of region 2-AA broke a 24-game losing streak with a 48-14 win over the visiting Lanier County Bulldogs. The Brantley County Herons (1-1) broke a long dry spell here Friday night by soaking the previously unbeaten Lanier County Bulldogs 48-14. The Herons capitalized on five Bulldog turnovers and three touchdowns from speedster Rodney Green including an 80-yard kickoff return. SCARE FOR THOMAS COUNTY: In one of the wildest and greatest games of the series, Thomas County Central overcame a 28-7 halftime deficit to beat archrival Thomasville 29-28 in overtime. The Yellow Jackets committed five turnovers in the first half four in the second quarter alone to fall behind early. The Bulldogs turned three of the four second quarter turnovers into touchdowns to jump out to a 28-7 halftime lead. But Thomas County Central came out fired up in the second half. The Yellow Jackets pounded the Bulldogs with the run, as Thomasville was overmatched at the line. The Jackets eventually tied the game 28-28 on a 56-yard touchdown run by Moses Cochran. The game went into overtime. Thomas County Central took advantage of a Bulldogs' fumble and drove to the twelve-yard line. Though the Yellow Jackets did not score it turned out to win in penetration. Central head coach Ed Pilcher was astounded at what had transpired. ``I just can't say enough about these kids,'' Pilcher said. ``We refused to give in. I told them at halftime that we dug a hole, and we're going to have to scratch and claw our way out of it.'' WEATHER GROUNDS THE PASS, TESTS THE RUN: One might have predicted that the Stephens County-Oconee County game would feature a showdown between the Indians' Kurt Robinson and the Warriors' Clay Callaway. But it took the rain to turn the contest into a contest of who could make the best use of their legs. With both teams' passing games limited by a steady drizzle, Robinson ran for two touchdowns and led his team to a 28-point third quarter that stole Oconee County's momentum and pushed the Indians to a 34-16 victory at Warrior Stadium Friday night. ``Earlier in the year, Oconee County had talked about using this game as a stepping stone for its season,'' Robinson said. ``But we turned it into a stepping stone for us.'' Stephens County (3-0) finished the night with 189 yards of rushing on 30 carries, but the Indians made their appearances in the red zone count. After enduring a sluggish first half, they scored every time they moved inside the Warriors' (0-2) 20-yard line in the third quarter. NO. 8 TROUP REBOUNDS: It was a gloomy, dreary evening at Columbus Memorial Stadium but spirits were bright on the Troup sideline following the Tigers 27-0 manhandling of Kendrick Friday. The victory gave Troup (1-1) a victory in its first Region 2-AAAA game of the season. ``This was our biggest game of the year right here,'' said Troup coach Tommy Walburn. ``The games we play from here on out determine whether we play 10 games or 11 games.'' A heavy rainstorm before the game left the field sloppy and wet, and occasional rain bursts as the action went along didn't help. Despite the conditions, the Tigers didn't turn the ball over once, while Kendrick had a pair of turnovers. ``We preach ball security, and that's something we went back and really worked on in the past two weeks,'' said Walburn, whose team had some costly turnovers in its season-opening 24-0 loss to Class AAA No. 1 LaGrange. AAA OVER AA IN MEETING OF RANKED TEAMS: Two ranked teams from different classifications came into Friday night searching for some offense, but only one team found what it needed on the soggy turf at Washington-Wilkes High School. Laney, ranked No. 6 in Georgia Class AAA, pounded Washington-Wilkes to the tune of 214 rushing yards and a 35-6 win at Tiger Stadium in coach Eric Parker's return to the school he once coached in football and basketball. It was the first meeting in the history of the two schools. ``Any time you come in here and beat Washington-Wilkes, that's a big victory,'' said Parker. Class AA No. 5 Washington-Wilkes dropped to 1-2 after starting the season against three ranked teams from different classifications. Worse for the Tigers, star linebacker/running back Clinton Willis injured his right knee and was to go to Athens to have it examined Saturday. BIGGEST SCARE OF THE NIGHT: Michael Sapps' 22-yard touchdown pass from Thomas Arnold with 25.2 seconds left lifted the Cook to a 34-28 win Friday night over Pelham. That score ended a nip-and-tuck game that saw big plays on both sides of the football, as well as numerous lead changes. ``I knew this was the type of game that whoever had the ball last would win,'' said Cook head coach Michael Pollock. Even though his team came in ranked No. 4 in the state Class AA poll, Pollock said he did not take the Pelham Hornets, ranked No. 9 in Class A, lightly. ``A lot of folks only notice the A's behind someone's classification,'' Pollock said. ``But, a good football team is a good football team, so I knew going in we would have our work cut out for us. They play really well and I fully expect to see them in the Georgia Dome this year.''