Colquitt rifle team finishes second in state

Published 10:45 pm Monday, April 3, 2006

MOULTRIE — Nothing like a little drama in a state championship matchup.

Ian Young of Northside High of Columbus needed to shoot a 9 or a 10 on the last shot of the match against Colquitt County on Saturday to give the Patriots their second straight championship.

And Young responded with his second straight 10 to give Northside a 1,149-1,147 victory over the Packers in the Georgia High School Association’s state championship match at the Fort Benning pool range.

The Colquitt County High rifle team beat all comers but one in 2006 and that one opponent was defending state champion Northside, leaving the Packers just two points short of what would have been the school’s first state rifle championship.

The Patriots shot a 1,142 to win the 2005 championship, but that would not have been enough on Saturday.

In addition to Young’s heroics, Northside got a 293 from Courtney Scott.

It was the first time Colquitt County had been defeated in a high school match this season.

The Packers went through the regular season unbeaten nine matches, then defeated the other nine Area 2 schools in the area championships on March 16, shooting a school-record 1,163. Colquitt County duplicated that score when it defeated Rutland in its sectional match.

Northside beat Colquitt County by one point each in the prone and standing positions. Each team shot a 285 in the kneeling position.

Lt. Col. Paul Nagy, who heads up the Colquitt County JROTC program and works closely with the rifle team, said “the place just erupted when Young hit his 10.”

“If he shoots an eight or lower, we beat them because we had the tie-breaker,” Nagy said. “He didn’t even know it.”

Young and Colquitt County’s Yohann Brinson shot the final relay and Brinson made up six points for the Packers.

“He shot well, especially when you consider the pressure,” Nagy said.

The first relay started at 11 a.m. Those in the third relay had to wait until after 2:30 p.m. to begin shooting, Nagy said.

“We couldn’t be prouder of these kids,” Nagy said. “At the beginning of the season, Northside was the odds-on favorite to win this thing.

“And we made it close.”

Nagy said Saturday was “a great day of shooting and very, very competitive. It went down to the bitter end.”

Northside was shooting on its home range in the state championship match.

“They have a tremendous advantage,” Nagy said.

Jessica Corona had a 288 to lead Colquitt County in her final competition.

Her score included a team-high 99 in the prone position and a team-high 97 in the kneeling position.

Brinson and Shontae Robinson each had a 287. Victoria Dampier had a 285.

Also for Northside, Forrest Klein had a 287, Kevin Lawton had a 286 and Young posted a 283.

Scott’s 293 included a 98 in the prone position, a 96 in the standing position and a 99 in the kneeling position.

She and Corona represented the top two teams in the finals, which was won for the second year in a row by Spalding High’s Phillip Huckaby, who had a 394.3.

East Coweta’s Evan Young was second with a 392, followed by Scott, who had a 390.7. Corona was eighth with a 381.7.

East Coweta finished third in the team competition with a 1,141. The Indians’ score was bolstered by the 294 turned in by Evan Young. McEachern was fourth followed by Eagle’s Landing.

The Colquitt County rifle team began preparing for the season last June when it went to camp.

The Packers sent notice of what was to come when it won the Gary Anderson Invitational, a top national competition held in December at Fort Benning.

Colquitt defeated Northside by five points in that match.

The team, which is made up entirely of members of the school’s Marine Corps Junior ROTC program, also qualified for the National ROTC championships with a second-place finish in East Championships.

Colquitt finished second in the National Championships, just seven points behind the Marine Corps Junior ROTC team from Shelby County, Ky.

This year’s team also produced the school first All-State shooter in Victoria Dampier.

The team will lose Dampier, Corona and Brinson, all seniors.

“We are going to miss every one of them,” Nagy said. “That is just a great group of kids.”

The 2006 team, in addition to having great shooters, also had great chemistry and a great attitude, Nagy said.

“Frankly, we’ve had other teams that were just as talented,” he said. “The difference in this team was its mental outlook. They never got upset and they never lost focus.”