MOULTRIE —
The Colquitt County seventh-grade girls’ basketball team ran its season record to 11-0 with a 32-19 victory over Tift County Saturday at the 8th Street Middle School Gym.
The seventh-grade boys avenged an early-season loss with a 39-36 win, and remain tied with Coffee Middle School atop the region standings.
The Lady Packers relied on their stifling defense and the hot outside shooting of Za’Nautica Downs to steadily build a 30-10 lead through three quarters of play. Downs hit on nine of her seventeen shots from the field – including four 3-pointers – to finish with 24 points. She also recorded nine steals and only committed three turnovers.
“Za’Nautica was on today,” coach Jon Scroggins said. “Her game started on the defensive end – as it usually does; but then she played great in transition, worked to get other players involved, and didn’t force up bad shots.”
Eight Lady Packers recorded at least one steal. Twelve players grabbed at least one rebound, led by Michaela Bennefield with nine and Kiarra Lovett with eight.
Bennefield added four points, and Lovett and Abiyah Spencer each scored two.
“Michaela and Kiarra worked really hard on the inside for us,” Scroggins added. “Michaela hurt them last time, so they were committed to defending her, and several times Za’Nautica was the beneficiary of that.”
Keysha Jackson — a sixth-grader and a late-season addition for the Lady Devils’ seventh-grade team — led Tift County in scoring with six points.
In the second game, Colquitt County used a steady dose of J.J. Peterson and Cameron Singletary to attack Tift County’s tough defense, while working tirelessly to defend the perimeter, as the Blue Devils took more than half of their field goal tries from behind the 3-point line.
“We practiced a new defense this week, concentrating on defending against the outside shot,” Coach Josh Purvis said. “We did a pretty good job, really, even though they still hit some shots. We didn’t give up the corner ‘threes’ that killed us last time.”
The Packers held a small lead most of the game, but every time it looked like they were going to be able to build it, a gutsy Tift County team fired back and tightened the gap. Trailing by five at halftime, the young Blue Devils worked even harder to set screens and create space for their shooters, and took three separate leads in the final period.
Each time the Packers fell behind, Singletary found the answer. The first time, he hit back-to-back jumpshots.
The second time, he fed Peterson in the post, who scored to re-gain the lead. Finally, he hit a slashing JaQuan Willis, who scored to cut a three-point deficit to one. Then, at the 1:15 mark of the fourth quarter, Jarvis Christopher hit a go-ahead 3-pointer, and the Packers were able to preserve the lead the rest of the way.
“Jarvis did a great job defending their best player all day,” Purvis added. “I was glad to see he had the legs to rise and hit that big shot.”
Peterson had a game-high 15 points, while Singletary added 11. Christopher added eight, and Christopher finished with five.
Both coaches noted the outstanding support of their players’ parents, estimating that Colquitt County fans nearly outnumbered hometown Tifton fans.
The seventh-grade teams close out the regular season Thursday versus Newbern Middle School at the Willie J. Williams Middle School gymnasium.
The Colquitt County eighth-grade boys played one of their best games of the season and made a long trip to Douglas a successful one with a 36-22 victory over Coffee.
After an 0-3 start, the eighth-grade Packers have won seven of eight and will take a 7-4 record into Wednesday’s game at Hahira.
Colquitt trailed 11-9 at the end of the first quarter, but never let Coffee have a double-digit quarter the rest of the game.
And the contest was close until the fourth quarter when the Packers hit 9-of-13 free throws.
Tory Ponder was 10-for-12 from the free throw line for the game and hit six in the fourth quarter.
“And Da’Nas (Andrews) controlled boards, Allen Key was solid defensively and Tyrese (King) played his usual solid floor game,” eighth-grade coach Roger Jones said. “We played pretty good today. Our defense was stellar.”
Ponder led the Packers with 12 points. Key had eight, King and Dankerius DeBruce each had six and Andrews had four.
The eighth-graders will return to the Charlie A. Gray Junior High gymnasium next Saturday to play host to Lowndes at 10 a.m.
The eighth-grade girls fell 45-6 and are now 2-7.
Ty’asia McNeal, Shelby Pinero and Ashunte Stewart each had two points.
“Listening is a skill that we have yet to acquire,” said coach Tiffanie Young.
Local Sports
Seventh-graders sweep; eighth-graders split
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State champion flag football team
Colquitt County won the gold medal in the Senior/Master Traditional Flag Football competition at the recent 2013 Special Olympics Georgia State Summer Games last weekend. Colquitt County defeated Gwinnett County 26-0 in the opening round and defeated Gwinnett again in the championship game 24-0. The team includes, front, from left, Quan Ballard, Joseph Bentley, Wayne Cooley, Jonathon Barnett and James Moxley; back, assistant coach Nick Edge, Shane Jacobs, James Palmore, Jack Hipps, Local Coordinator Grant Hammack, Donta Merritt, Kelvin Holmes and head coach Dennis Eubanks.
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8 Packers named All-Region in baseball
For the third season in a row, Colquitt County High has had one of its baseball players named a region Player of the Year.
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Giddens named to Rimington Trophy watch list
Arkansas State sophomore center Bryce Giddens is one of 44 players across the country who have been named to the 2013 Rimington Trophy’s spring watch list, announced Tuesday by the Rimington Trophy committee.
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Dawson resigns as Colquitt County athletic director
Darius Dawson, who has served as Colquitt County’s athletic director since 2006, has resigned to take a job as assistant principal at Charlie A. Gray Middle School.
And Dawson, who has held several coaching positions at his alma mater since -
South Georgia Youth Shooting Club excels
The South Georgia Youth Shooting Club overcame chilly and wet conditions to take two first-place and two third-place finishes at the Georgia State Trap Shooting championships held May 4 at the South River Gun Club in Covington.
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Packers finish tied for fourth in state golf tournament
When Colquitt County won the Blue Devil Invitational at Spring Hill Country Club in Tifton on April 8, the Packers did so with a round of 294, their best score of the season.
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Tournaments open
Levi Stanfill helped lead Liberty Tax into the Farm League baseball tournament that opened on Monday at the Magnolia Sports Complex. Tournament play in both the Farm League and Midget League will continue tonight with the championship games set for 6 p.m. Thursday. In Monday’s Midget League games, Davis Insurance defeated Mobley Plant 9-3; Quality Employment downed Hutchinson Traylor 13-5 and Southwest Georgia Insurance eliminated Ameris 20-4. In Farm League games on Monday, Farm Bureau defeated Lazarus, 17-6; Ameris won over Southwest Georgia Bank 13-2; Liberty Tax defeated Rocky’s 8-2; and Davis Insurance won over Paradise Pool and Patio 17-2. Stanfill is shown slamming a double in a recent Liberty Tax victory over Lazarus.
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Lady Packers third at state golf tournament at Sunset
Colquitt County coach Matt Key said he thinks his Lady Packers might have place little too much pressure on themselves at Monday’s Class AAAAAA golf tournament at Sunset Country Club.
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Packers head to Tifton to chase state golf championship
When the Colquitt County High golf team tees off in Monday’s state tournament, the Packers will be playing a course that it sometimes plays better than its own.
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Davis Insurance, Hutson Motors win boys baseball championships
Davis Insurance edged Liberty Tax 13-12 on Thursday at the Magnolia Sports Complex and claimed the Farm League baseball championship.
Hutson Motors won the Tiny Mites championship after defeating Holman Supply 15-0 to finish its season undefeated.
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