Central Region | Archive | January, 2008

by Stephen M. Lewis
DigitalSports Richmond

John Marshall’s got it.

The creation of atmosphere. The swagger. The confidence. The players. The it.

They put all of it on Henrico Thursday night, defeating the homestanding Warriors 97-70 to launch themselves into the upper echelon of the Central Region with Highland Springs and Petersburg, the two top-ranked squads in the DigitalSports Top 10.

JM (13-2) is No. 3, and the way coach Frank Threatts‘ young guys have played, they won’t be giving the spot up anytime soon.

“They’ve been playing well the last two or three weeks,” Threatts said. “We wanted to get out fast ourselves. I knew they were not a fast-paced club. I wanted to get them to play fast. We pushed our defense up and put pressure on different places on the floor.”

The Justices’ 2-2-1 halfcourt defense wreaked havoc on Henrico’s guards, causing many turnovers.

When the ninth-ranked Warriors did advance past halfcourt, an imposing back line of 6-7 Travis McKie, 6-6 Darryl Lee and 6-5 Maurice Johnson were there to block or change shots or rebound caroms.

A 4-4 tie with 4:00 left in the first quarter changed into a 25-8 lead at the end of the period in favor of JM.

Henrico gave up seven turnovers in the run, each of which ended up in points for the Justices on layups from Devon Thornton (22 points) and powerful jams from super sophomores McKie (20 points, 11 rebounds) and Johnson (19 points).

When the Justices did set their offense, an open shot either went in or was rebounded by Lee and put back in. He had 10 points, eight in the first half, and 10 rebounds.

Henrico coach Vance Harmon called two timeouts in the period, one down 8-4, the other down 15-4. Nothing could work as JM unleashed a fury reserved for elite squads.

“They steamrolled us,” said Harmon, as Claude Summers put in 20 points for the Warriors. “From the opening tip. Just completely dominated. Right now, to me, it looks like they have that it factor. They looked poised out there and they are playing with a purpose.”

The lead ballooned to 25 on a nasty McKie spin move before the Warriors trimmed the lead to 17 against JM’s bench. Threatts brought out the first five in the second half, and the advantage crept up again.

Thornton nailed two of his four 3-pointers and McKie hit another and an old-fashioned three-point play to lead by 27 going into the fourth, 74-47.

The lead eventually got to 33 points before Thornton and the rest of the starters rested up for their big Colonial District tilt at Deep Run Friday at 7:30 p.m.

“Coach told us to pressure them from the jump,” Thornton said. “That’s all we had to do. Run ’em. We heard they don’t like to be pressed.”

Threatts likes this team, but loves 1997’s version. He makes sure to keep that 28-1, region champion and state semifinalist at the top of his 2008 team’s mind.

It’s pretty easy to do with C.T. Thornton and Lamar Taylor, two studs off the historic team, on the bench beside him.

“The only thing I can hope is to keep their heads straight,” Threatts said. “They can lose their focus quick. I’m trying to keep their minds right. There are bigger things ahead.”

J. Marshall 25 22 27 23 – 97
Henrico       8 22 17 23 – 70
John Marshall (13-2): Farrar 7, Ward 2, Johnson 19, Jefferson 2, Brownlee 0, Brockington 5, Vaughan 0, Thornton 22, McKie 20, Brown 0, Braxton 8, Lee 10, Jackson 2. Totals: 39 12-15 97. 3-point goals: Thornton 4, McKie 2, Brockington.
Henrico (12-6): Prentiss 2, Summers 20, Davis 8, Robinson 0, Folden 10, McNeil 10, Wansley 9, Cooper 4, Jones 0, Zavelsky 3, Holmes 4. Totals: 23 22-30 70. 3-point goals: Davis 2.

[!] Flag as Inappropriate

Processing your request, Please wait....

Report as:	Violent or Repulsive Content|Hateful or Abusive Content|Harmful Dangerous Acts|Child Abuse|Spam|Infringes My Rights
Write in Words: (Optional)

Girl’s High
Jump
5-5, Corinna Brown (Prince George, Sr.)
5-4, Briana Hudson (Deep
Run, Jr.)
5-2, Marlena Daly (Deep Run, Jr.)

Girl’s Long
Jump
18-4, Nikki Nunn (Manchester, So.)
17-7 1/4, Ashley Orr (Deep
Run, Sr.)
17-4, Corinna Brown (Prince George, Sr.)

Girl’s Pole
Vault
12-0, Emma Dejarnette (Atlee, Jr.)
11-6, Rachael Hawks (Atlee,
Sr.)
10-9, Hillary Parsons (Douglas Freeman, Sr.)

Girl’s Shot
Put
36-1, Kristen Greene
(Thomas Dale, So.)
34-11, Sachet Wormley (Midlothian, Sr.)
32-9, Jasmine Van Story (Matoaca, Sr.)

Girl’s
Triple Jump
38-8, Jasia Richardson (J.R. Tucker, Jr.)
37-1, Ashley
Orr (Deep Run, Sr.)
36-7, Briana Hudson (Deep Run, Jr.)

Girl’s 4 x 800 M Relay
9:30.72, Midlothian
9:45.02, Maggie Walker     
9:51.08,
Douglas Freeman     

Girl’s 55 M
Hurdles
8.79, Erica Caldwell (Manchester, So.)
8.79, Regina Davis
(Lee-Davis, Sr.)
8.94, Cecily Young (Armstrong, Sr.)

Girl’s 55 M
Dash
7.27, Dionna Daniels
(Clover Hill, So.)
7.33, Shae Wilbon (Colonial Heights, Sr.)
7.38, Desiree Russell (Manchester, So.)

Girl’s 4 x 200 M
Relay
1:46.06, Manchester
1:47.08, Deep Run
1:49.40, Maggie Walker

Girl’s 1600 M Run
5:02.70, Kathleen Lautzenheiser (Midlothian, So.)
5:12.76, Barbara Strehler (Trinity, Jr.)
5:14.51, Amy Witt (Midlothian, So.)

Girl’s 500 M Run
1:17.46, Kacen
Delphin (Manchester, Sr.)
1:19.65, Paige Johnston (Midlothian,
Jr.)
1:21.71, Megan Sinclair (Colonial Heights, Jr.)

Girl’s 1000 M
Run
3:00.27, Paige Johnston (Midlothian, Jr.)
3:04.51, Sammy Dow
(Midlothian, Sr.)
3:05.24, Casey Fowler (Douglas Freeman, Sr.)

Girl’s 300 M Dash
41.54, Jayvonne Bowman (Deep
Run)
41.54, Shae Wilbon (Colonial Heights, Sr.)
41.81, Cecily Young (Armstrong,
Sr.)

Girl’s 3200 M Run
11:00.86, Kathleen Lautzenheiser
(Midlothian, So.)
11:07.50, Leia Lautzenheiser (Midlothian, So.)
11:17.77, Barbara Strehler (Trinity, Jr.)

Girl’s 4 x 400 M
Relay
4:06.38, Manchester      
4:10.03,
Colonial Heights
4:11.07, Midlothian

* Maggie Walker coach Jim Holdren compiles these
rankings. For adjustments, email him at jimholdren@aol.com.

[!] Flag as Inappropriate

Processing your request, Please wait....

Report as:	Violent or Repulsive Content|Hateful or Abusive Content|Harmful Dangerous Acts|Child Abuse|Spam|Infringes My Rights
Write in Words: (Optional)

by Seneca Contomanolis
DigitalSports Richmond

Manchester is starting to serve notice that they too can be a player in the powerful Dominion District.

A week after knocking off then-ranked No. 3 Monacan, the Lancers defeated No. 8 Midlothian 39-37 on Tuesday night.

“That’s two big wins,” Manchester coach Jerry Gibbs said. “In the first half of the season we played almost every team in the top 10 accept Atlee. We are inexperienced but we are 16 games into the season now so we can’t use that as an excuse anymore.”

Gibbbs wasn’t joking either as the Lancers have already played eight teams that are currently ranked in the DigitalSports Top 10.

Porche Bentley has been huge all season for Manchester, especially in the past two wins. She scored a game-high 24 and had 15 rebounds against the Trojans to follow up a game-winning shot and 21 points against the Chiefs.

“Sometimes you just have to do what you have to do to get the win,” Bentley said. “You have to takeover sometimes if you have to takeover…don’t be selfish with it but if you feel like you can make the shot then like coach always says, ‘a player makes plays.'”

Bentley made a number of plays early as she scored all eight Manchester first quarter points. The Lancers (7-4 Dominion, 8-8) still trailed after the first 11-8 with Brittany Harris scoring five points for Midlothian (6-5, 10-7) in the opening period.

After the Lancers evened the score three times in the second quarter, they finally took their first lead of the game when Dre’deir Roberts nailed a 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer to put Manchester up two at the break. The Trojans only scored seven points in the period.

“We started out poorly,” Midlothian coach Doug Garrett said. “We should have been way ahead but we didn’t do many of the little things well.”

Midlothian’s Rachel Mathews (19 points) became more aggressive on offense in the third quarter, scoring nine points but the tough Lancer man-to-man defense didn’t allow Trojan guards Brittany Harris or Jermile Batten to get going on offense.

With the game knotted at 30 entering the fourth, Bentley started to make plays again.

The 5-9 junior scored eight straight to begin the period as the Trojans had no answer inside. Gibbs employed the strategy of taking the air out of the ball by running a motion offense around the perimeter and having his team wait for the right time to attack the basket.

The strategy greatly limited Midlothian’s chances on offense and when they did have the ball the Lancer defense kicked it up another notch. They did not allow Midlothian to get their first points of the quarter until Brooke Leonard hit a 3-pointer with 1:26 remaining to make the deficit five.

An out-of-bounds five second violation gave the ball back to the Trojans and Mathews cut the lead to three but Jessica Clanton (eight points) secured the victory for Manchester with a free throw with 22.6 seconds left to create the final difference.

“I am proud of the defense,” Gibbs said. “We played man-to-man the full game. That is not what Manchester does.”

The Lancers held Harris to only seven points, as she didn’t score it the second half, and Batten to only four.

Manchester will now play another top 10 team on Wednesday, No. 9 Deep Run, while Midlothian has a date with No. 3 Cosby on Thursday.

“They are usually really good at bouncing back,” Garrett said of his team. “We will be ready to play Thursday.”

Midlothian   11  7 12 7 – 37
Manchester  8 12 10 9 – 39
Midlothian (6-5 Dominion, 10-7): Leonard 3, Thompson 0, Batten 4, Edmunds 4, Klement 0, Harris 7, Nunn 0, Mathews 19. Totals: 12 4-6 37. 3-point goals: Harris, Batten, Leonard.
Manchester (7-4, 8-8): Bentley 24, Clanton 8, Hendricks 0, Hines 2, Roberts 3, Stargardt 2. Totals: 15 6-7 39. 3-point goals: Roberts.

[!] Flag as Inappropriate

Processing your request, Please wait....

Report as:	Violent or Repulsive Content|Hateful or Abusive Content|Harmful Dangerous Acts|Child Abuse|Spam|Infringes My Rights
Write in Words: (Optional)

Performance: Registerd 18 points, 15 rebounds and eight blocked shots to lead Meadowbrook over Thomas Dale 65-63.

Position: Center   Height: 6-4

On 15-1 record: We thought we were going to keep it going. We had to take that one. We’ll go far.”

Want to see Atlee?: “I saw them for a half against Highland Springs. They’re a pretty decent team but we’re a good team, too. Whenever we meet them it will be a good game.”

Best trait: “My rebounding and changing shots. Defense I would say.”

Invite three to dinner: “My mom [Dana] Andrews, my uncle Victor Andrews and Pop-Pop, rest in peace.”

On commitment to Radford: “They really focus on their post players. They have a good post coach. I spoke with her. It just felt like a family there, so I liked it when I visited.”

On offseason improvement: “I played with [Meadowbrook] coach [Mike] Knight during the offseason (AAU). He taught me some new moves. He taught me a lot. He got me in the weight room. It just worked out.”

Something most wouldn’t know: “I guess that I can sing. I don’t think people know that.” Middleton won first-place at a statewide talent show for Health Occupation Students of America (HOSA).

Funniest teammate: “Courtney [Coleman] and Crystal [Smith]. Crystal is always dancing and Courtney dances, too. Courtney makes jokes. It’s all of us together.

Describe one-two punch with Crystal Smith in one word: “Problems.”

– Stephen M. Lewis

[!] Flag as Inappropriate

Processing your request, Please wait....

Report as:	Violent or Repulsive Content|Hateful or Abusive Content|Harmful Dangerous Acts|Child Abuse|Spam|Infringes My Rights
Write in Words: (Optional)

by Seneca Contomanolis
DigitalSports Richmond

There is no better way to get your toughest week of the season started off than with a huge win over your rival.

Especially when it could be your coach’s last time on the sidelines for the contest.

Meadowbrook defeated L.C. Bird 66-62 Monday night in a matchup of teams less then four miles apart.

Monarchs coach John B. Gordon III is stepping down after the season after six years at the helm of Meadowbrook. He will be looking to become a principal somewhere in the Central Region.

“This one was for the coach,” Gordon said. “The rivalry continues. We have basically split our games over the past four years. We got a big game from Paul Finn down the stretch, he really helped us.”

Finn scored a team-high 17 points, grabbed a crucial rebound and hit two free throws to seal the victory with 5.3 seconds remaining.

The Monarchs (11-5), ranked seventh in the DigitalSports Top 10, ended the No. 4 Skyhawks’ nine-game winning streak. The next four days won’t get any easier for Meadowbrook as the team travels to No. 2 Petersburg on Tuesday and No. 5 Prince George on Friday.

“If we are serious about winning the district we have to win both,” Gordon, whose team is two games back of the Crimson Wave in the Central, said. “Petersburg is king of the hill right now but I want it back in my last season.”

Even an outsider with no knowledge of the Meadowbrook-L.C. Bird rivalry would have sensed the passion in the teams and fans Monday night.

With the score knotted at four in the first quarter Rico Ferguson (game-high 21 points) helped L.C. Bird grab a 12-8 lead by scoring eight straight. Finn responded with his own 7-0 run that was followed by Meadowbrook’s Andrew Simmons scoring eight in a row.

That gave the Monarchs a 23-14 advantage early in the second quarter and the lead was extended to 12 by the half behind guard Ahmad Bizzell‘s seven second period points.

Meadowbrook’s full-court pressure also had a hand in helping them control the first half.

“Most of the time when you press you are trying to get turnovers,” Gordon said. “We try to make teams take quick shots. We play accelerated basketball.”

In the third quarter, L.C. Bird (14-3) cut the lead to four then Meadowbrook got it back to 12 but by the end of the period the Skyhawks had chopped it down to only five.

A 12-6 streak over the first seven minutes of the final quarter put the Monarchs comfortably ahead by nine with a minute remaining.

That is when things got interesting and maybe a little complicated to follow.

After a Ferguson free throw the Skyhawks put on their own full-court pressure and Everette Jasper (13 points) stole the inbounds and scored a layup while being fouled with 51.7 seconds left.

He converted the free throw and again the L.C. Bird pressure forced a Meadowbrook turnover under their own basket. That led to a Kendrick McClary (10 points) layup and suddenly the lead was only three.

The Monarchs finally got the ball in cleanly and the Skyhawks were forced to foul Bizzell. He hit both of his free throws but Ferguson came right back down the floor, was fouled and hit both of his foul shots with 36.5 on the clock.

Another L.C. Bird foul led to another Meadowbrook charity-stripe trip but this time only one shot was converted and the lead was four. Travis Keels was able to cut the lead to two with a layup and then L.C. Bird fouled Bizzell with 7.9 left.

This is where Finn’s heroics came into play. Bizzell missed both free throws but Finn crashed the boards and grabbed the rebound. He was fouled and hit both free throws to ice the game.

“Last year I had two free throws and I missed them and we lost by two,” Finn said. “So this year I was saying, ‘don’t be the goat, be the hero.’ “

L.C. Bird coach Chuck Tester was proud of his team’s effort but would have preferred the win.

“We did a good job of coming back but we waited too long to do it,” Tester said.

Quinton Doggett had 14 points, Bizzell finished with 11 and Simmons had 10 for Meadowbrook.

L.C. Bird          14 10 20 18 – 62
Meadowbrook 19 17 13 17 – 66
L.C. Bird (14-3): Ferguson 21, Woodley 0, Harris 0, Martin 6, Palimore 4, Jasper 13, McClary 8, Keels 10. Totals: 23 16-21 62.
Meadowbrook (11-5): Doggett 14, Martin 0, Aiken 3, Bizzell 11, Brewer 7, Williams 2, Finn 17, Simmons 10, Jackson-Davis 2. Totals: 21 18-26 66. 3-point goals: Finn, Simmons.

[!] Flag as Inappropriate

Processing your request, Please wait....

Report as:	Violent or Repulsive Content|Hateful or Abusive Content|Harmful Dangerous Acts|Child Abuse|Spam|Infringes My Rights
Write in Words: (Optional)

by Stephen M. Lewis
DigitalSports Richmond

Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mrs. Hyde.

When she’s not playing basketball, Ruthanne Doherty is soft-spoken, shy and nice. Basically just a cool, laid-back person.

When L.C. Bird’s star is on the hardwood, it’s a whole different story. Monday night’s bedtime story was read by Doherty, as she put Meadowbrook to sleep in a 64-51 victory, the Monarchs’ first loss of the season.

Doherty snatched 23 rebounds – a career high – and scored 19 points to lead the No. 4 Skyhawks over the No. 2 Monarchs, as ranked in the DigitalSports Top 10.

“I don’t know how many points she had,” Bird coach Chevette Waller said. “But I think she did a pretty good job on the boards. The big thing is she came up with 23 rebounds. I don’t know how she got open that often.”

One explanation is effort. One is ridiculous athleticism. One is heart.

Put the trio together and you have the 5-10 Doherty more than holding her own in the paint versus Medadowbrook’s 6-4 Deja Middleton, who also had a stellar night with 16 points and 17 rebounds.

“I wasn’t scared,” Doherty said. “I just played my hardest. I played like I was her size. Height doesn’t mean everything, but you have to have the heart.”

Doherty and her teammates did in the first half, especially fellow team leaders Bianca Vaughan and Barbara Sitton.

Sitton sliced Meadowbrook’s lane with a Magic Johnson fake and a nifty layup for a 7-2 lead early. Then Doherty hit Vaughan who hit a 3-pointer from the corner, her first of four bonus shots on her way to 17 points.

“She hasn’t shot the ball like that all season,” said Meadowbrook coach Mike Knight of Vaughan, his AAU player.

It gave Bird a 15-9 lead going into the second quarter that quickly ballooned to 15 points on Doherty’s fifth field goal of the second quarter. Bird went into the break ahead 36-22 as Meadowbrook was stunned.

“Basically I told the girls that this is a stress-free game,” Waller said. “We really didn’t have anything to lose.”

Meadowbrook didn’t either, except for their unblemished mark.

The Monarchs came out the second half like they wanted to keep it that way, going on a 12-0 run to cut the deficit to 39-34 with 4:26 left in the third quarter.

Meadowbrook PG Crystal Smith (18 points, six assists) had five points and an assist in the run.

“I think Crystal Smith,” Waller said, “hands down, is a very talented young lady.”

Bird (12-4) found their scoring touch once again after a Waller timeout, but the Monarchs (14-1) were still within seven heading into the final period.

Doherty started that stanza with an old-fashioned three-point play, giving Bird a 52-42 lead.

Meadowbrook would decrease the lead to seven numerous times, but couldn’t get any closer as missed free throws (8 for 21), layups and turnovers plagued Knight’s ladies.

“Just one of those games,” Knight quipped. “Monday’s are our worst days of practice and I knew one of these Monday games would catch up to us. I want to credit L.C. Bird tonight, they came to play.

“All I can say is we played bad, and we picked the wrong game to play bad.”

Meadowbrook  9 13 20   9 – 51
L.C. Bird         15 21 13 15 – 64
Meadowbrook (14-1): Smith 18, Arnold 2, Forrest 0, Cunningham 3, Kat. Marks 4, Coleman 6, Middleton 16, Holmes 2. Totals: 20 8-21 51. 3-point goals: Smith, Cunningham, Coleman.
L.C. Bird (12-4): Vaughan 17, Robinson 2, Reynolds 8, Doherty 19, Sitton 12, Smith 6, Coles 0, Harris 0. Totals: 21 17-26 64. 3-point goals: Vaughan 4, Reynolds.

[!] Flag as Inappropriate

Processing your request, Please wait....

Report as:	Violent or Repulsive Content|Hateful or Abusive Content|Harmful Dangerous Acts|Child Abuse|Spam|Infringes My Rights
Write in Words: (Optional)

Records as of Sunday, Jan. 27
Previous ranking in parenthesis
 
1. Atlee 13-2    (1)

2. Meadowbrook 14-0   (2)

3. Cosby 12-4   (5)

4. L.C. Bird 11-4   (4)

5. Monacan 13-5  (3)

6. Thomas Dale 11-3   (7)

7. Mills Godwin 14-3   (6)

8. Midlothian 10-6   (10)

9. Deep Run 12-3   (8)

10. Highland Springs 10-3   (9)

Others receiving votes:

Manchester (7-8)

[!] Flag as Inappropriate

Processing your request, Please wait....

Report as:	Violent or Repulsive Content|Hateful or Abusive Content|Harmful Dangerous Acts|Child Abuse|Spam|Infringes My Rights
Write in Words: (Optional)

Records as of Sunday, Jan. 27
Previous
ranking in parenthesis

1.
Highland Springs, 15-1   (1)

2.
Petersburg, 14-2   (2)

3.
John Marshall, 11-2   (3)

4.
L.C. Bird, 14-2   (4)

5.
Prince George, 13-3   (5)

6.
Huguenot, 10-6   (7)

7.
Meadowbrook, 10-5   (8)

8.
Cosby, 13-3   (9)

9. Henrico,
11-5   (NR)

10. Douglas Freeman, 11-5   (NR)

Others receiving votes:

Deep Run, 12-3 (6)

Mills Godwin, 11-6

[!] Flag as Inappropriate

Processing your request, Please wait....

Report as:	Violent or Repulsive Content|Hateful or Abusive Content|Harmful Dangerous Acts|Child Abuse|Spam|Infringes My Rights
Write in Words: (Optional)