FIREBIRDS: The Phoenix Nation said goodbye to 3 seniors….Cody Kuhn, Sam Wells & Andrew Lockhart….on Tuesday night in our final home match of the season. While some teams might schedule light for Senior Night, not the Firebirds. We hosted two 7-AAAA teams in Heritage & NW Whitfield. Here is Mrs. Farist usual stellar report.
On Tuesday evening, the Firebirds faced Heritage High School for the first time this season and turned up the heat on the Generals with a decisive 46-25 win. Austin Bowen, Kyle Chastain, Matt Charles, Cody Kuhn, and Sam Wells dominated their opponents and recorded pins for the Firebirds while Ryan Farist, Jarrett Derryberry, Andrew Lockhart, and Jaccob Bagwell all won by major decision. In all, the Firebirds gave up only 5 matches to the Generals, with 2 of those coming as forfeits in the 120 and 220-lb weight classes.
Before the match-up against Northwest Whitfield, Cody Kuhn, Andrew Lockhart, and Sam Wells were recognized on the mat in Senior Night ceremonies.
Wrestling under the spotlight against Northwest Whitfield, the Firebirds continued dominating the mat, with Austin Tillman, Matt Charles, Cody Kuhn, and Jaccob Bagwell pinning their opponents. Kyle Chastain won with a major decision, and Abel Diaz won by decision. Recording forfeit wins were Ryan Farist and Sam Wells. With a double forfeit at 220 and a forfeit at 120, the Firebirds once again gave up only 3 more matches to defeat the Bruins 46-21.
Coach Hamilton’s Firebirds will line up against cross-town rivals Gordon Central and Calhoun this Thursday, January 24 at Calhoun.
BASKETBALL: All four Phoenix teams hit the road on Tuesday with our first Region 5-AAA trip down to Cartersville. We faced the Hurricanes at The Inferno back on December 11th and won 2 of the 3 games(JV & Varsity Girls won, Varsity Boys lost). Though Tuesday was a weeknight, Cartersville has an auxiliary gym which allows both JV games to be played simultaneously and still start the Girls Varsity at 6pm.
JV Girls: Coach Beemon and our Lady Phoenix collected their 10th victory of the season with a tight 38-37 win over the Lady Hurricanes. Taryn Hickey had a game high 17 points while Evie Delp contributed 9. With the win our JV Girls sweep the season series and are now 10-2 on the year.
JV Boys(4-8): Playing in the auxiliary gym, Coach Martin's boys lost a tough one, 86-81 in overtime. Patrick Thurman had a Phoenix Varsity & JV high 37 points. Austin Carter chipped in 13 and Fila Davis had 11. The loss drops the Phoenix to 4-9 on the season.
Varsity Girls: In a game between the top two teams in Region 5-AAA, the Lady Phoenix, ranked #5 in the state by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, won their 10th consecutive game with an easy 72-39 victory over the Lady Hurricanes. Carrie Cheeks had 25 points & 15 rebounds. Payton Smith had 8 points, 6 steals & 5 assists. Heather Vess had a career high 18 points. The win moves Coach Caudell's girls to 19-1 overall and 9-0 in the region, and even more significantly, it was Coach Caudell's 100 victory! Congrats Coach!
If you didn't see it, check out Tuesday's AJC high school hoop blog about our Lady Phoenix!
Varsity Boys(3-16, 2-6) The Phoenix faced off against the #1 team in the state in the AAA classification and lost 63-28. After a tight 1st quarter that saw us down by only 5 poins(11-6), the game got away from us in the 2nd quarter and we trailed the Hurricanes 31-10 at halftime. Shane Dickey led all Phoenix scorers with 7 points, followed by Chris Baker's 6 and Andrew Slaton's 6. The Phoenix fall to 3-17 overall and 2-7 on the season.
The Phoenix are back on the road on Friday when we travel down the street to Gordon Central. All four teams will be in action starting with the JV Girls at 4:15pm. The Phoenix took 3 of the 4 games back on December 14th with our only loss coming in a heartbreaking but thrilling Boys Varsity game.
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 23RD
SMS Hoop: vs Woodland 4:30pm(Girls away, Boys home)-Final regular season game
THURSDAY, JANUARY 24TH
Wrestling: @ Calhoun 5:30pm
FRIDAY, JANUARY 25TH
Hoop: @ Gordon Central 4:15pm-JV(both) 7pm-Varsity
Wrestling: Pickens County Tournament TBA
SMS Wrestling: League Traditional @ Cartersville MS 4:30pm
SATURDAY, JANUARY 26TH
Wrestling: Pickens County Tournament TBA
SMS Wrestling: League Traditional @ Cartersville MS 4:30pm
SMS Hoop: BGMSAA Tournament begins @ South Central
TUESDAY, JANUARY 29TH
Hoop: @ North Murray 4:15pm-JV(Girls) 6pm-Varsity