Friday's Central Georgia Daily News 'n Notes: Harden out at Dooly County; Scoreboard (HS and colleges); Braves, Falcons, colleges
Friday’s Central Georgia - and of interest to Central Georgia - news and notes, compiled from staff reports, email reports, the web, and social media.
Update: The Peach State College Football Report doesn’t appear. Catch up with Saturday’s preview page.
Ashley Harden on the move again, ousted at Dooly County
Moving around is nothing new for Ashley Harden.
This time, it’s a little different.
Harden’s Dooly County career lasted a game, last week’s 37-7 loss to Worth County, a team that went 1-19 the past two seasons
The school announced on Wednesday that Harden was being replaced by assistant Quinnen Peavy.
Dooly County superintendent Dr. Craig Lockhart issued a statement Wednesday simply announcing the change.
“Effective September 4, 2019, Coach Quinnen Peavy will serve as the Interim Head Football Coach of the Dooly County Varsity Bobcats. We would like to sincerely thank Coach Ashley Harden for his service to the Dooly County Bobcats and wish him the best in his career.”
He detailed part of Peavy’s background, and asked for support. It also said the school will look for a permanent head coach after the season.
Peavy is also the Bobcats’ head baseball coach. He was an assistant at Howard under Bobby Hughes when the program started.
Harden, meanwhile, to Cordele-based South Georgia Television that there was a meeting on Tuesday with players and administration held without his knowledge to discuss the football program.
He said he asked to be reassigned, and cited in his statement many problems since he took over.
Harden was introduced on June 5, after he was hired to replace Corey Jarvis, who left after one season for Lithia Springs. Jarvis was on the staff of former head coach Jimmy Hughes, who resigned to become athletics at Crisp County.
Harden has a 41-53 record in three seasons at Butler, two at Jenkins County and Twiggs County, and one each at Northeast and Stewart County before taking the Dooly County job.
The Bobcats went four coaches who last at least four years – Joe Salas, Bill Clark, Darryl Silas, and Hughes – with Hughes topping the list with eight seasons.
The next head coach will be Dooly County’s fourth – excluding Peavy as interim – in three seasons, and 15th since the program started in 1981. The last time the Bobcats failed to make the playoffs was 2009.
Despite going 4-6 overall in the regular season in 2002, Dooly County went 4-1 in region play and embarked on a stunning run to the Class A championship game, losing to finish 8-7.
Coming Saturday
A look at Georgia, Georgia Tech, Mercer, GMC, Georgia State, Georgia Southern, and Kennesaw State’s games, including who from Central Georgia is on rosters. Look for it around lunchtime in The Latest Coverage.
Football, football, football
In The Latest Coverage is Central Georgia’s most comprehensive high school football coverage, with updates coming Saturday morning, including more on Peach County’s humbling of Lee County.
Scoreboard
Friday
High school
GMC 12, Chapel Hill 9
Chapel Hill thought it was in decent shape with a 7-3 lead late. Then GMC scored nine runs in the sixth, and that was that. Chapel Hill had three errors in that sixth, the Bulldogs scoring seven two-out runs on six singles. Whitley Ward had three hits, three RBI, and two runs, while Riley Barsby and Mallory Watts had two hits each. Nine runs were unearned. Bella Herring and Lea Jannakos handled the pitching.
Houston County 9, Northside 1
The Bears improved to 13-2 on a two-hitter from Olivia Brown, boosted early by a five-run second. Alice Thomas and Bobbi Poff had two hits and two runs, while Kendall Huelsman and Rylee Lamb drove in two runs each Brown struck out six with a walk in the six-inning complete-game.
Oconee County 5, GMC 3
GMC led 2-1 and 3-2, but Oconee County eked away in the fourth and the fifth to win despite four errors.
College
VBALL: East Carolina 3, Mercer 1
VBALL: Georgia College 3, Tusculum 2
VBALL: Middle Georgia State 3, FVSU 1
WSOC: Eckerd 1, Georgia College 0
WSOC: GMC 3, Gordon 3
WSOC: Mercer 2, Gardner-Webb 1 (2 OT)
Braves Report
The endearing-himself-to-fans plan for Josh Donaldson continued, thanks this time to his homer that finished Atlanta’s scoring in a 4-0 win over Washington.
Atlanta has won eight straight, and 12 in a row at home to tie the modern franchise record. The magic number is 13, and they’ve beaten Washington in eight of the last 11 meetings.
Dallas Keuchel threw six shutout innings, and the Braves had to hold on after Washington scored three in the eighth off Luke Jackson, the third of five pitchers. Shane Greene got his 23rd save.
Next: Saturday, vs. Washington, 7:20 p.m., FSSO, Sunday, vs. Washington, 1:20 p.m.; FSSO; Monday, at Philadelphia, 7:05 p.m., FSSE/MLB; Tuesday, at Philadelphia, 7:05 p.m., FSSE; Wednesday, at Philadelphia, 7:05 p.m., FSSE; at Philadelphia, 7:15 p.m., FOX; Friday, at Washington, 7:05 p.m., FSSO
Ready to snowboard at SunTrust?
Falcons Report
Around/About Georgia
UGA getting an $80 million football home
Tech mourns loss of team dentist