Thursday's Report: Scoreboard; Warner Robins' Burley, Upson-Lee's Walker, Mercer soccer, HS 🏈 starts; Henley-BMW, FPD's Cox, FVSU fueled; Braves/Acuna, UGA, Falcons; WNBA, colleges, Blind Side, golf
Coming every day: The only place in Central Georgia with daily high school scores in basketball, soccer, baseball, tennis, and the only place with college – Mercer, FVSU, Georgia College, CGTC, MGSU, GMC, Wesleyan – coverage (when info is offered).
In Coverage: This year’s Central Georgia high school football master schedule, and this week’s slate of games
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High School
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Central 22, Westside 7
John Milledge 6, FPD 2
Jones County 13, ACE 12, 9 inn.
After seven innings, it was 4-4, both teams scoring in the seventh. Then the Greyhounds and Gryphons scored 17 runs inI the next two innings. Jones County scored three in the top of the ninth, then watched ACE counter with two in the bottom half and put runners on the corners with two outs only to end the game with a pickoff at first. Jones County won despite being outhit and striking out 12 timers. Tranasia Parker had two hits, and Leah Betts drilled an eighth-inning grand slam. The Greyhounds scored sixth in the top half, and the Gryphons matched it. Laney Bridges had five of ACE’s 12 hits, while Avery Stone added four.
Piedmont 5, Loganville Christian 1
Warner Robins 11, Dublin 8
Dublin led 6-0 after two, Warner Robins finally tying it with four in the fifth. The Demons put three across in the bottom of te sixth and got out of the seventh after a walk and single. Eight Warner Robins runs were unearned, thanks to seven Dublin errors.
Pro
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Alumni Update
Warner Robins’ Burley may miss opener for Clemson
Jaguars’ Walker (Upson-Lee) plans to use his ‘superpower’ in Year 2 as he eyes gold jacket
Honor Roll
MSOC-Mercer pair makes all-conference
Around/About Central Georgia
Central Georgia high school football season starts tonight
Three area teams – all in Bibb County – are among nearly 30 opening the 2023 football season a day early.
Rutland is on the road to face Towers, while Southwest and Howard will go at it at Ed DeFore.
Most of the rest of Central Georgia gets going Friday, with two games on Saturday.
Towers is in Region 5-AA, and looks to avenge the Hurricanes’ 15-0 win last year. The Titans managed only 38 points in going 0-9-1, their ninth straight losing season and 15th consecutive non-winning season.
Teams led by a pair of former Georgia Southern standouts face off when Howard and Southwest kick off.
Howard’s Paul Carroll was a record-setting linebacker in Statesboro, and Southwest’s Joe Dupree transferred to the Eagles after starting his college career at quarterback at Georgia.
Howard, which leads the series 6-4, has a solid defensive group back, led by its linebackers. Southwest scored more points last year, in going 3-7, than it has since 2008, when the 8-3 Patriots put up 326. And they bring back most of their firepower.
Southwest is looking for its first win over a higher-classification team since beating Class AAA Central 34-33 in 2019. Howard is 7-3 in its last 10 games against Bibb County public-school teams.
Henley set for BMW Championship
Russell Henley carries his No. 15 ranking in the FedExCup rankings into the PGA’s second playoff tournament, the BMW Championship in Illinois.
Henley has made all seven cuts in the tournament, with three top-40 finishes, topped by tied for 25th in 2020. And that was at the North Course at Olympic Fields, hosting for the first time since 2020. The tournament started in 2007 and hasn’t been on the same course two years in a row since 2010-11 in Cog Hill, Ill.
The Stratford grad is 51 under par in his last eight tournaments, including the lone missed cut, a 7-over trip to the British Open. In that stretch, Henley has shot in the 60s in 19 of 32 rounds, and 65 or under four times.
He has finished tied for second and for sixth in his last two tournaments. That’s his best two-tournament run in finishes since tying for third and fourth in October of 2020.
The top 30 FedEx ranked players advance to the Tour Championship next week in Atlanta.
He tees off Thursday – weather permitting – at 10:43 a.m., playing with No. 16 Nick Taylor.
‘It gives us extra fuel:’ Fort Valley State looks to prove preseason doubters wrong
Around/About Georgia/Southeast
Morton in command to lead 2nd straight shutout, sweep of Yankees
Mets' Acuna's older brother Ronald says 'watching him play feels like watching myself play'
Atlanta’s Acuña Jr. is approaching a new power-and-speed frontier - the 30-60 club
No. 1 Georgia ready for season after tragic offseason
Georgia showing some toughness on experience defensive line
Atlanta defensive line passing the eye test
Falcons G Hennessy out for season: knee
Mental Health
Athletes with fear of flying have greater resources than predecessors
MLB/Baseball
Raley races for 1st pinch-hit, inside-the-park HR in Rays’ history
Detmers takes no-hitter into 8th inning, Ohtani hits 42nd homer as Angels beat Rangers 2-0
Dominican investigation of Rays’ Franco is led by gender violence & minors division
College Realignment
Inside the Pac-12 collapse: four surprising moments that crushed it
Spurrier: Bowden wanted none of the SEC when FSU had the chance
Conference realignment shakes up recruiting landscape as Big Ten, Big 12, SEC widen footprints
College Football/South
South Carolina, QB Spencer Rattler are expecting another step forward this season
Brohm is back home coaching Louisville with much expected of the Cardinals in first year
Swinney happy with camp so far, survives ‘must see TV’ fire alarm
Virginia Tech seeks explosiveness on offense and defense in Pry’s second year of rebuilding
College Football
Notre Dame QB Hartman heads list of transfers who could make impact this season
Fewer college football programs are leaving campus for training camps even in portal era
Northwestern coach expects cheers at home despite scandals
Not enough players fought against teammates, says Sanders
O-Line questions continue at Ohio State
High Schools
Devastated Tuohys ready to end conservatorship for Oher, lawyers say
Golf
Tweaks, trains, and implications to watch at BMW
Column: Small fields in FedEx Cup is a dangerous comparison with LIV
The cup that matters to some Americans at BMW Championship has nothing to do with money
NFL/XFL/USFL/Football
For Cowboys, 5-foot-5 rookie RB Deuce Vaughn's potential impact is no small thing
Bucs’ Gage may be done for the year
Ravens teammates remember Collins: 'Tell your people you love them'
Cook signs his deal with Jets, looks forward to being ‘part of something special’
Patriots announce signing of Elliott
NBA/WNBA/Basketball
Liberty beat the Aces WNBA Commissioner’s Cup
USA Basketball’s coaching staff for this year’s World Cup is a star-studded mix
Soccer
England fans back home celebrate their team’s spot in the Women’s World Cup final
US women’s national team coach Andonovski resigns after early World Cup exit, AP source says
Auto Racing
Chase Elliott needs a win, and he's the Watkins Glen favorite
Boxing/UFC/MMA
This big-money matchup with Álvarez is no mismatch, says ‘little brother’ Charlo
UFC 292: Sterling isn't looking past O'Malley as move to featherweight looms
Scoreboard