Page 14 THE NORTH GEORGIA NEWS January 6, 2016 THE NORTH GEORGIA NEWS January 6, 2016 Page 14 Union basketball photos from the first half of 2015-16 season

Resilient Panthers... continued from Page 13 Candler Colwell scored Kaden Moore. stages of the third period. a pair of baskets in the fourth to The Panthers were unable give him a total of 8 points. Panthers 44 to threaten as Hayesville main- The only other Panther to Hayesville, NC 63 tained a cozy margin throughout reach the scoring column was the final stanza. Mancuso, who had 2 points in the A 16-6 Hayesville run in However, the Yellow Jack- third period. the third quarter overwhelmed ets would fall in the Champion- Shook stuffed the stat sheet a Panthers’ squad that scratched ship Game of the tournament to with 9 boards, 4 steals, and 2 and clawed to remain within 10 Lumpkin County, 46-43. blocked shots to compliment his points of ’s 8th Baenninger and Crawford 15-point outing. ranked Yellow Jackets. Colwell led Union with 15 points Crawford Colwell con- The outburst left Union and 5 rebounds each vs Hayesville tinued his solid all-around play. on the wrong end of insurmount- but as a team, the Panthers were NASCAR 2016 This time he hauled in 7 boards, able 48-30 score with 8 minutes just 1-for-14 from long distance By Gerald Hodges/the Racing Reporter snagged a pair of steals and to play. with junior Parker McCombs hit- blocked a shot. Once again, Hayesville leapt out to a ting Union’s only trey. Candler Colwell led the team in 19-8 advantage after a quarter Candler Colwell had 2 Winners and Losers of 2015 assists with four while matching While there are many driv- Mile High Sports award would but the Panthers battled their way points and 6 boards, Shook scored ers and teams that could be con- never have been possible if it his brother with 2 steals. back to remain within 10 points 5 points with 3 boards, Mancuso sidered “winners and losers” dur- weren’t for the talented and dedi- Baenninger shared the for the majority of the second and added 2 points, senior Lance Rich ing the 2015 racing season, Joey cated group of people at our Den- team lead with 4 assists while third quarters. recorded 2 steals and senior Mat- Logano, , and Kevin ver shop for giving me fast race knocking down Union’s only two At the break, Union was thew Rich had 2 assists. Harvick had to be three of the big- cars throughout the season.” shots from beyond-the-arc. still within striking distance at Hayesville’s Zach Cottrell gest losers. MARVIN PANCH The Eagles were led in 32-24, but the Yellow Jackets scored 19 points. Logano’s problems started PASSES AWAY scoring with 20 from junior found another gear in the latter during the Hollywood Casino on Marvin Panch, a hard- Oct. 18 at Kansas Speedway. charging NASCAR driver died With four laps remaining, last week. Panch will always be Kenseth and Logano were racing remembered as the driver that for the lead. As they approached took ’s 1959 Pon- slower lapped traffic, Kenseth tiac and won the 1961 Daytona tried to block Logano, but Logano 500. The win infuriated Pontiac tapped Kenseth’s No. 20 in the left executives, because they wanted rear, sending Kenseth into a slide the 1961 model driven by Fireball and bringing out the caution flag. Roberts to win. Pontiac personnel Logano went on to win the refused to stand in victory lane race, while Kenseth finished 14th. with Panch, saying, “We want “It’s just good hard racing,” people to buy our new cars, not Logano said of the incident with the old ones.” Kenseth. “He raced me hard, so I sport; some days you’re the bat It would seem like Cali- raced him hard back. The fact that and some days you’re the ball. I fornia would be an awful long we’re the only team that can relax was the ball a few weeks ago and distance for a Wisconsin native now (with Talladega looming) is I was the ball again today, so that to begin his racing career. But going to pay big dividends going part of it is never fun.” that’s where it all started for him. into Martinsville. To make a lot of His deliberate wrecking of Panch was born May 26, 1928 in these guys nervous going into Tal- Logano drew him a two-race sus- Menomonie, Wisconsin, a small ladega is part of the strategy.” pension from NASCAR. Kenseth town about 20 miles west of Eau However, Kenseth viewed said he would have handled the Claire. the incident much differently. payback differently had he known “I had a good friend that “I pulled up in front of him he’d draw such an unprecedented was in the Merchant Marine (to block Logano on the high line penalty. and sailed out of Oakland,” said of the track), and he lifted my But in a telephone inter- Panch in a 2015 interview. “He tires off the ground and wrecked view with The Associated Press, was ready to go back out on a ship me,” Kenseth said. “I won’t talk Kenseth said he would do it and he asked me to ride with him to Joey. I don’t have anything to again. to the west coast. When we got to talk to him about really. I mean, “I really stand by my ac- Oakland, my friend wanted to sell you make decisions every minute tions,” he said. “I feel like there’s his car and we worked out a deal Andrew Brown (25) and Parker McCombs (3) defend a Hokes Bluff ball handler. Photo/Todd Forrest behind the wheel. To me, strategi- a breaking point. It wasn’t just and I bought it.” cally, that doesn’t seem like such about being mad, it was about get- Panch built a 1950 Mercu- a great decision for him. But that’s ting this fixed. It was time to make ry and asked a local driver, Loyd how they wanted to win. I’m one it stop.” Reagan to drive it for him at Bal- Tuning Up... continued from Page 13 of the only guys that hasn’t been Neither Kenseth nor Loga- boa Stadium. Reagan did real well Tenn., 39-37. A basket by Lawn in the Panthers would need. into it yet with Joey. I always no recovered from the two sepa- in Panch’s car, but one night he A 12-7 first quarter ad- third quarter was the only other Layne Colwell would raced him with a ton of respect. I rate incidents and did not make didn’t show up. vantage turned into a 21-16 points scored by Union. contribute 8 points, Coyne actually have been one of his big- the final chase round. “I wanted to race, so I de- gest fans. I’m not anymore.” finished cided to give it my best shot,” con- disadvantage at the break. Layne Colwell finished scored 6 points, Lawn hit a trey Logano was already guar- second in the points behind Kyle tinued Panch. “I finished third and Trailing by as many as with 8 boards, Fair grabbed 6 for 3 points, and Fair, Dockrey, anteed his spot in the next round Busch. Most drivers would con- from then on, I was the driver.” seven, Layne Colwell and boards with 2 steals, and Daniel and Jordan Rogers added 2 of the Chase after his previous vic- sider it a great year, but for the He won a championship Coyne hit treys in the third had 5 boards and a game-high points each. tory, a week before at Charlotte. Harvick team it was nothing short on the West Coast and entered period to bring Union within 5 steals. Union led 17-4 after one Kenseth’s team arrived at of a bitter disappointment. Har- five NASCAR races, before Bill two at 30-28 entering the final Coyne led the team with quarter and 26-8 at the half. Kansas knowing they needed to vick and his team thought they France Sr. talked him into coming frame. 3 assists and 4 blocked shots, The lead stretched to 38- win. would win a second consecutive east and racing with NASCAR. Daniel and Coyne while Busse added 3 blocked 14 entering the fourth. The incident left Kenseth Sprint Cup championship. He had His first race was at Darlington. knocked down threes while shots. Busse’s 12 rebounds 12th, the last spot of the remain- three wins, but a couple accidents He finished 28th out of a 59-car Layne Colwell added a pair of ing Chase drivers and put him in and bad pit stops cost him posi- field. gave the senior a double-dou- a must-win situation at Talladega tions. He was in contention for Panch went on to claim 17 baskets to give the Lady Pan- Lady Panthers 50 ble. Layne Colwell dished off the following week, if he was to his second championship going NASCAR victories, but one of his thers the slight edge, 11-7 over Piedmont, AL 22 5 assists for a game-high, Fair’s advance to the next round of the into the final race of the season, most cherished wins was the 1966 the final 8 minutes, despite a 3 steals were tops in the larceny Chase. He did not win, and was but did not have the car to out run World 600 (now the Coca Cola horrid 1-for-10 performance at With 17 points from category and Busse was four eliminated from the Chase. . 600} at Charlotte. the foul line during the fourth Daniel and 10 from Busse, that blocks short of a triple-double Kenseth’s anger apparently Despite finishing second he “ had an old quarter. was all the offense the Lady with six. seethed until the Martinsville race, had race winnings of over $9-mil- setting in the yard, and when it reached a boiling point. lion, more than any other driver. (Petty’s crew chief), During the early part of the Clearly the biggest win- asked me if I would like to run it,” Martinsville race Logano’s team- ner of the 2015 season was Kyle said Panch. “The car didn’t look mate, Brad Keselowski got into Busch. He missed 11 races at the too great, but since I didn’t have Kenseth, damaging his car on a beginning of the season due to a anything to drive, I took it. restart. This aggravated Kenseth wreck at Daytona that left him “That car turned out to even more. with a broken ankle and foot. be one of the best cars I’ve ever During lap 454 of the 500- He won five races and the 2015 driven. lap race, Logano was leading. Championship. “A lot of people thought After passing Kenseth on the out- One of the biggest success I got out of racing too early. But side, Kenseth moved up the track stories of the season was that of I had decided that when I turned and into the rear of Logano’s No. Martin Truex Jr. and his “Little forty, I would retire. My last race 22. Kenseth continued to push Lo- David” team. Truex’s Furniture was at Charlotte in that Petty gano into the wall, further damag- Row Racing of Denver, Colo- Plymouth.” ing his car. rado is a single car operation that Racing Trivia Question: Logano was out of the race lacked funding, engineers, and Who was the first NASCAR and so was Kenseth. other technical know how avail- champion? “It’s a chicken-you-know- able to the multi-car teams. Last Week’s Question: what move to completely take out Still Truex managed to fin- Where was the first official NA- the leader when your race is over,” ish fourth in the Chase with one SCAR race held? While Bill Logano said. “We’ll move on.” win and 22 top-10s. France Sr. had promoted several Kenseth said the incident In addition he was been races before forming NASCAR, was “definitely my fault”. named the 2015 Colorado Profes- the firt official NASCAR race was “I got into him,” Kenseth sional Athlete of the Year by Mile held on the old Daytona Beach/ said. “The right front was drag- High Sports Magazine. Road Course on February 15, ging down there ... and man (I) “I am deeply honored to be 1948. The race was won by Red couldn’t get it to turn and col- recognized in the home state of Byro in a Raymond Parks Ford. lected him. our Furniture Row Racing,” said You may contact the Rac- “I know it’s got to be dis- Truex. “Though it will be show- ing Reporter by e-mail at: hodg- Photo/Todd Forrest Coach Tucker and Coach Dockrey (far right) during a timeout at Battle of the States. appointing for him. It’s a tough cased as an individual honor, the [email protected]. NT(Jan6,Z13)CA