Page 4B THETHE TOWNS TOWNS COUNTY COUNTY HERALD HERALD January January 1, 2020 1, 2020 Towns County Sports Towns County’s Leader In Sports ooolgofk[gmflq`]jYd\f]lÛÝÛ<¤eYad‘Ûl[`]jYd\³oaf\klj]Yef]l Indians power past Hiwassee Dam, overwhelmed at Andrews By Jerry Kendall the Wildcats sank a deuce near Towns County Herald the half minute mark for a 46-19 Staff Writer lead at intermission. The Indians held a slight The Indians and their advantage of 7-6 for a 52-26 followers learned that the unde- deficit by the 5:32 mark of the feated Wildcats were every bit third quarter before the Wildcats as capable as had been indicated extended their lead to 63-32 by their winning their first six entering the fourth quarter with games by an average of 36.1 Berrong contributing six points points as they took quick con- and Crowder five for the Indians trol and took an 86-41 victory during the quarter. Four differ- over the Indians. The Wildcats ent Indians entered the scoring improved their record to 7-0 column in the fourth quarter with the victory while the Indi- with senior Ali Momin con- ans fell to 4-3 with both of the tributing a trey and junior Seth previous losses having been Kinsey and freshman Caleb very competitive until the clos- Berrong a deuce each for their ing minutes of the games. first high school varsity points The Indians rebounded as the Wildcats closed out an from the decisive loss at An- 86-41 victory. drews the night prior with Nine of 12 Indians play- perhaps their most consistent ing in the game entered the performance of the season in a scoring column with leaders resounding 69-49 victory over being Aidan Berrong with 14 visiting Hiwassee Dam. The points, Crowder with 9, and Eagles had used an 18-2 finish Kolby Moss and the Indians would bounce back from the loss at Andrews with four straight wins and a BOTS title. Photo/Lowell Nicholson senior Jacob Kinsey and junior in taking a come from behind and two for two free throw with 4, and Oakes with 3 while sion came for the Indians when the remainder of the first half, Kolby Moss with 4 each while 56-49 victory in a foul infested shooting by Crowder. The In- nine Indians provided at least the Andrews Wildcats blistered however, with six straight points leaders in assists were Oakes game in last dians’ only scoring lull in the one rebound with leaders being the nets from all angles during a between the 5:29 and 4:36 with 5 and Crowder with 3. month with very productive game followed, however, with Crowder with 8, Hampton with 34-5 opening run in barely more marks and an eventual overall Leaders in rebounds were Jacob junior Aidan Berrong absent. the Eagles finishing the quarter 7, and Moss with 6. Moss took than ten minutes of playing time 14-10 run for a 44-19 Wildcats Kinsey with 8 and Oakes with Indians 69, Hiwassee on a 12-5 run interrupted only the lead in steals and blocked by the 5:58 mark of the second lead by the forty seven seconds 5 while five different Indians Dam 49 – It required just twenty by a free throw by senior Jacob shots with 4 of each and Oakes quarter. It seemed during this mark of the second quarter. contributed one steal each. All seven seconds for the Indians to Kinsey and two deuces by Moss contributed 2 steals. The Eagles scoring run that radar might be The Indians scoring run was 11 Wildcats seeing action in build a 6-0 lead at the 7:33 mark for a 34-24 Towns lead at inter- were led in scoring by Radford attracting the Wildcats shots in highlighted by eight points by the game entered the scoring of the first quarter against Hi- mission. Cheek and Connor Davis with pulling them through the net junior Aidan Berrong and four column with leaders being ju- wassee Dam on a steal and dash The Indians returned to 14 points each as they saw their while rejecting shots by the by sophomore Collin Crowder niors Kabe Elis with 22 points, for the basket by junior Aidan their prior consistency in the record fall to 3-4 with the loss. Indians. with sophomore Kyle Oakes Tucker Holloway with 19, and Berrong, a putback basket by third quarter as they outscored Several mentions have The Indians struck back contributing three assists before Gage Gillespie with 11. sophomore Collin Crowder, and the Eagles 21-15 for a 55-39 been made about the early a second Indians steal and field lead entering the fourth quarter season game at Hiwassee Dam Is Gone goal by junior Kolby Moss. with Moss including a trey when so much light touch con- By Gerald Hodges/the Racing Reporter The early onslaught con- among nine points and Berrong tact resulted in foul calls with tinued following an Eagles adding six and junior Reace the Eagles receiving thirty Junior Johnson, racing putback basket on a trey by Hampton four. The Indians five free throw attempts and icon and winner of 50 NASCAR Berrong and a coast to coast races passed away last week at closed out the 69-49 victory especially benefiting from foul the age of 88. run and field goal by Crowder with Crowder scoring six points trouble costing Indian play- Robert Glenn Johnson Jr., for an 11-2 Towns lead. A trey in the fourth quarter and the ers lots of playing time. They better known as Junior John- and a deuce by Hiwassee Dam crowd erupting when inexpe- again exceeded the hightest son, was a NASCAR driver of got the Eagles within 11-7 but rienced but very athletic senior number of free throw attempts the 1950s and 1960s. He won the Indians struck again with Ali Momin placed an exclama- of fourteen by opponents in six 50 NASCAR races in his career deuces by sophomore Kyle tion point on the victory when prior games as they were twelve before retiring in 1966. In the Oakes, Crowder, and Moss he sank actually his second trey for nineteen but with this being 1970s and 1980s, he became a and Berrong’s second trey of in two nights during the final misleading as they were five NASCAR racing team owner, the quarter for a 20-7 Indians minute of play. sponsoring NASCAR champi- for eight during the final 2:42 ons and Darrell lead which became 20-10 at Scoring leaders for the of the game while both teams Waltrip. He produced a line of quarter’s end. Indians for the game were Moss had less experienced player in fried pork skins and country ham. The Indians resumed the with 22 points, Berrong with 17, the game. He is credited as the first to use early scoring prowess with a Crowder with 16, Oakes with Andrews 86, Indians 41 the technique in stock 9-2 run by the 4:59 mark of the 6, and Hampton with 4. Seven – There are actually quite rare car racing. He was nicknamed second quarter for a 29-12 ad- different Indians contributed occasions when sports teams are “” and vantage highlighted by a trey by at least one assist with leaders forced to simply tip their hat to his autobiography is of the same Moss and four points on a deuce being Moss with 5, Crowder an opponent and one such occa- name. In May 2007, Johnson teamed with Piedmont Distillers of Madison, North Carolina, to Cale Yarborough and Junior Johnson in 1979 Championship... continued from Page 2B introduce the company’s second onships — three straight by Cale Speedway and Richmond Race- others recalling the previously Berrong and Moss for just a an insurmountable Indians lead moonshine product, called “Mid- Yarborough (1976-1978) and way. However, a late-race penalty night Moon Moonshine”. three by (1981, at the mentioned 20-4 Union finish 50-41 Indians lead. The Indians of 67-61 at twenty one seconds Johnson was 14 when he in Blairsville. An old fashioned opened the fourth quarter with a and the Panthers could not dent 1982 and 1985). Roval eliminated his chances of started hauling liquor for his fa- Johnson was arrested in advancing to the Round of 12. 3-point play by Crowder on a slight 9-8 advantage on a deuce the scoreboard again with the ther’s moonshining operation. 1956. He had gone out to his fa- Newman was one point ahead of baseline drive at the 7:09 mark of by Moss, two deuces by Ber- Indians having the long coveted He was famous for the ‘bootleg ther’s still on foot, unaware that the cutoff on Lap 106, but was as- the second quarter and a pair of rong, and ending with a trey by championship. turn’ or ‘about-face,’ in which, agents had it staked out. The rev- sessed a 30-second penalty after three point plays by Moss at 4:43 junior Luis Quijada at 3:16 for a Moss led the Indians in if the Federal agents had a road- enuers couldn’t catch him in a failing to perform a stop-and-go and 3:54 had the Indians ahead 59-49 Towns lead. scoring with 23 points with other block up for you or were too car, but he could not outrun them for missing the chicane. 22-15 and a runner by sopho- The Panthers would in- leaders being Berrong with 18, close behind, you threw the car on foot. He was sentenced to two “I felt like I made a lot of more Kyle Oakes and a drive for clude a trey and two free throws Crowder with 15, and Qakes up into second gear, cocked the years in prison on moonshine and mistakes trying too hard,” New- two points by Crowder during in a 9-2 run, however, between with 8 while Oakes and Moss wheel, stepped on the accelerator bootlegging charges. man said after the Charlotte race. and made the car’s rear end skid He served 11 months in “We did not have the race car and the final minute of the quarter the 3:01 and 1:00 marks for just led in assists with 3 and 2 re- around in a complete 180-degree spectively. Leading in rebounds a federal reformatory in Chilli- that’s what I had to do. I felt like more than offset a 4-1 Union a 61-58 Indians lead. The Indi- arc, a complete about-face, and cothe, Ohio — time away that he we were in a position at one point mini run for a 27-19 Towns lead ans proved that they could bend were Crowder with 7 and Moss tore on back up the road exactly called a turning point in his life. and then just kept trying too hard at intermission. but not break from this point with 6 while Oakes contributed the way you came from. “I learned a lot of discipline and trying to keep the 10 car behind The Indians appeared, forward, however, as Berrong 4 steals, Quijada 3, and Crowder There are several stories to listen to people and evaluate us and missed the curbs. That again to some viewers, to be sank two free throws at 45.7 2. The Panthers were led in scor- about how he got his start in rac- their ideas and stuff. I didn’t do was unfortunate.” taking complete control of the seconds for a 63-58 Towns lead ing by seniors Kyle Morlock ing, and this is one of them. that before I went there,” he told His best finish of the sea- game when they opened the and Moss responded to a Union with 19 points, the previously One summer day in 1949, Sporting News.” son came in the 31st race of the third quarter with a 15-5 scoring trey at thirty two seconds for a mentioned Sawyer Drake with Johnson was plowing a cornfield Pres. Ronald Reagan season at Talladega Superspeed- barefoot behind a mule on his granted him a full and uncondi- way when he placed second to run for a 42-24 lead at the 3:24 63-61 score with two more free 18, and Pierson Allison with 10 family’s farm in Ingle Hollow, mark highlighted by a trey and throws at 29.6 seconds for a and sophomore Lake Hughes tional pardon in 1986. in the sixth closest NC, when his brother pulled up Johnson was inducted into finish (0.007 sec.) in NASCAR two deuces for seven points by 65-61 Indians lead with one ad- with 8. in one of the family’s moonshin- the first class of NASCAR’s Hall history. Crowder and two deuces and ditional heroic act to follow for The Indians placed Aidan ing . He said a local racetrack of Fame in 2010. As part of the “I mean, we just came up two free throws for six points by the Indians. Berrong and Collin Crowder on needed cars to fill out the field for Hall of Fame’s opening, he built that little bit short,” Newman said junior Aidan Berrong. With the game still in the All Tournament Team and a race. a moonshine still as an exhibit. It after the race. “I don’t know what The Panthers would how- doubt with just a four point Kolby Moss was named the Junior, pushing 16 at the would have worked had he fired else to say. I could have pinched ever end the third quarter on a Towns lead, Oakes came up Most Valuable Player in this time, tied the mule to a fence, it up. him some more. I could have 17-8 run of their own interrupted with a steal near mid court and year’s Battle of the States. found some shoes, drove to , one of John- probably took the aero. You can North Wilkesboro Speedway son’s most celebrated rivals, was go back and bench race that three only by a deuce by sophomore took the ball to the basket for (North Carolina) and entered the Kyle Oakes and two treys by a layup and what proved to be once quoted by The Tampa Tri- weeks from now. It was a good race. He finished second, launch- bune as calling him “the toughest, race until the end.” ing one of the most colorful and most stubborn driver” he knew. Racing Joke: During a celebrated careers in American NEW CREW CHIEF slow day at the race shop, Jeff history. FOR TRUEX and one of his crew members de- Long before NASCAR James Small will be call- cide to drive into Charlotte and grew into a force in auto racing, ing the shots for Martin Truex, take a walk in one of the neigh- the good old boys of the hard- Jr.’s No. 19 team. He is replacing borhood parks. scrabble rural South in the 1940s Cole Pearn who left the team to They pass an old man sit- were racing souped-up autos at spend more time with his family. ting on a park bench with tears in small-town dirt tracks. Johnson The 36-year-old Austra- his eyes. Jeff stops to talk with was among the fastest and most lian has been Truex’s lead engi- him. daring of them all. neer the past two seasons at both “I’m ninety years old,” He entered his first NA- and Furniture the old man said. “Last week I SCAR race in 1953, and became Row Racing, married a woman half my age. known as a driver who would Small was previously an in- She does everything for me. She come home with either a trophy for terim crew chief for in cooks my meals, washes my winning the race, or the steering 2017. While that role only lasted clothes, shops for me, and will do wheel with nothing else remain- two races, the results were good anything I ask in the bedroom.” ing of the car, because he wrecked as Jones finished 10th at Watkins “Oh, replied Jeff. “Well, it in pursuit of the trophy. Glen and third at Michigan. that doesn’t sound bad at all. Why He was just as aggres- “Having the confidence of are you sitting here crying?” sive on the track. He slid his cars Coach (Joe Gibbs), Martin and “Because,” the old man through curves instead of riding everyone at JGR means a lot to sobs loudly, “I can’t remember the brakes so he could quickly re- me,” Small said. “I moved to the where the heck I live.” gain speed when he was back on United States six years ago to Racing Trivia Question: a straightaway. work in NASCAR and I wanted What year was the first race held “I was good on the high- to work my way up to become a at Daytona International Speed- way and good on the back roads,” crew chief. I’m ready for this and way? he told The News-Journal of I am excited about working with Last Week’s Question: Daytona Beach, FL, in 2008, re- Martin and the foundation we Bill France Sr. is the man that is calling his old-time moonshine have in place on the 19 team with credited with starting NASCAR deliveries. “The track was not the group of guys we have.” racing. What was his profes- quite as exciting as it was run- Before moving to Amer- sion before he became a race car ning from the revenuers. If you ica, Small spent several years driver? Answer. He was a me- got caught, you knew you was working in V-8 Supercars as a chanic and service station owner going to jail.” race engineer. in Washington, DC. When cars He won 50 races in 313 Meanwhile Ryan Newman started racing on the beach near starts at NASCAR’s top level is hoping to improve on his 2019 Daytona Beach, FL he moved before retiring from driving at racing season. south. 35. He was bored of endless left After recording nine top Gerald Hodges is a syndi- turns, and he instead became 10s in the regular season, New- cated NASCAR writer and au- owner of his own race team. Nine man entered the playoffs 16th. thor. His books may be viewed future NASCAR Hall of Famers He started the playoffs strong and ordered online at Amazon. drove for him. In one 10-year with finishes of 10th and fifth, com. You may contact him by e- Collin Crowder drives to the basket for a layup during the win over Union. Photo/Todd Forrest span, his teams won six champi- respectively, at Las Vegas Motor mail at: [email protected].