Monday's Central Georgia Daily News 'n Notes: Your full Sugar Bowl preview info; Falcons fired three; Tech adds coordinators
Monday's Central Georgia - and of interest to Central Georgia - news and notes, compiled from staff reports, email reports, the web, and social media.
High School basketball and wrestling coaches: You should have received an email from The Sports Report through your AD on season info. Please check with your AD. Regardless, all should send their schedule to centralgasports@gmail.com for Central Georgia’s only schedule, and sent postgame results and information as soon as possible to centralgasports@gmail.com.
Happy New Year, you’re fired; Falcons cut loose coordinators, special teams coach
Gone are Steve Sarkisian, Marquand Manuel, and Keith Armstrong, fired by the man who hired them only a few years ago to replace another batch.
Sugar Bowl: Georgia vs. Texas
It hasn’t exactly been a quiet month for Georgia between the SEC Championship game and the Sugar Bowl. Kickoff Tuesday is 8:45 p.m.ish, and Georgia is favored by 11.5.
The UGA QB controversy that sort of wasn’t
Campbell ready to replace Baker
Horn fans adopt Georgia Tech’s motto
Herman’s final press conference
Is UGA the Horns’ toughest opponent this year?
Honor Roll
Mercer forward Amanda Thompson is the latest Southern Conference player of the week.
The senior recorded her third straight double-double, finishing with 20 points and 12 rebounds in the 61-47 win over UNC Asheville. The Hayesville, North Carolina, native was 8-of-13 from the field, and passed Kate Bosma in career rebounds (744), moving into eighth all-time in program history.
It's her second straight POW honor, and third in four weeks. The preseason all-conference pick leads the conference in rebounding (8.8 per game) and is second in steals (2.4 per game). She is in the top 10 in scoring, field goal percentage, offensive rebounds, defensive rebounds, and minutes played.
Mercer is at Jacksonville on Wednesday and hosts Columbia on Thursday.
Honor Roll (a rerun, ICYMI)
Valdosta State senior offensive lineman Jeremy King of Westside was the runner-up for the Gene Upshaw Award, which goes to the top Division II offensive or defensive lineman. He was the top offensive lineman on the list, the award going to Angelo State defensive end Markus Jones, who beat King by only 42 points. ...
Warner Robins senior quarterback Dylan Fromm was named the Atlanta Touchdown Club's Mr. Georgia Award as the top senior football player in Georgia.
Fromm passed for 4,375 yards and 46 touchdowns for the state runners-up, and finished his career with 7,899 yards, unoffically good for 18th all-time in Georgia.
Demon wideout Marcayll Jones was named co-winner of the club's Little Peach Award to the state's top underclassmen. He set the state single-season receiving yardage mark a few weeks ago and passed 2,000 yards in the GHSA 5A state title game, in which he had a whopping 14 catches for 179 yards and a touchdown. ...
Veterans baseball alum Gabe Holt has been named a preseason All-American by Collegiate Baseball.
The Texas Tech sophomore made the second team after earning Freshman All-American honors last year with a .348 average, six homers and 44 RBI to go with 29 steals.
Mercer's Le Bassett was named to the third team. The sophomore shortstop hit 17 homers and drove in 60 runs, batting .282. ...
Former Peach County standout Darrell White of Middle Georgia State is the latest SSAC men's player of the week.
The senior guard averaged 24 points, 4 assists, 3.5 steals, and 3 rebounds in two games, going 43 percent from the floor and 92 percent from the line. ...
Mercer forward Amanda Thompson has been named the Southern Conference women’s basketball player of the week for games played Dec. 4-10 after averaging 14.0 points and 7.5 rebounds as the Bears went 1-1 on the week.
She made a career-high nine field goals and scored 18 points, tying a career high, in a 57-56 loss to ACC foe Florida State on Dec. 5. Thompson added eight rebounds, three assists and two steals in the one-bucket home loss.
She then scored 14 points and had seven rebounds in a 57-40 win over Charlotte.
The preseason all-conference selection is third in the Southern with 7.4 rebounds, fourth with 2.3 steals, and 10th in scoring with 9.9 points. ...
Bleckley County grad and Georgia softball signee Hannah Coulter recently graduated from Gordon State Magna Cum Laude.
Around Georgia
Tech’s Collins retains coordinators from Temple
Pat Swilling likes Collins hire, and position move for son