THE TELEGRAPH
Sunday, July 1, 2012
9C
macon.com
Coming up in The Numbers Game The Numbers Game continues throughout the summer: July 8: The 60s July 15: The 50s July 22: The 40s July 29: The 30s Aug. 5: The 20s Aug. 12: The 10s Aug. 19: Single digits
online BEAU CABELL/bcabell@macon.com
Stratford product Trevor Jenkins went on to start 37 consecutive games at Middle Tennessee State.
NUMBERS from 8C I-AA quarterfinals and earned AP All-America honors. Lucas played two seasons for the Carolina Panthers and later three seasons in the Arena Football League. He made the AFL All-Rookie team while helping the Tampa Bay Storm win the ArenaBowl in 2003. While playing with the AFL’s Los Angeles Avengers, Lucas died in 2005 after injuries suffered during a game. Why we picked him: Lucas was a dominant player on the field, particularly at Troy and later in the AFL. But his legacy has been just as great. The AFL renamed its Hero Award the Al Lucas Award, and the Al Lucas Memorial Scholarship Fund continues. Others to consider Tony Guyton, Dublin, football: A standout at Dublin, Guyton earned three letters at South Carolina and earned All-South Independent honors in 1985. Kelvin McDavis, Northside, football: McDavis was a four-year letterwinner at Valdosta State and started on the Blazers’ 2004 national championship team. Red McDaniel, Central, football: Playing at Georgia Tech, McDaniel won the John Heisman Award as the Yellow Jackets’ best defensive lineman in 1975. He started two years for Tech. Seth Watts, Washington County, football: The two-time all-state offensive lineman and top-level recruit played at Georgia.
Bill Spivey, Warner Robins, basketball Bio: Spivey started out at Jordan in Columbus, came to Warner Robins and attended school in Bonaire. He later was cut from the team at Lanier and played on the first teams at Warner Robins, according to Telegraph archives, where he averaged 22 and 29 points during two seasons. Spivey then headed to Kentucky to play for Adolph Rupp, becoming one of the first prominent 7-footers
in NCAA basketball. Spivey led Kentucky to the 1951 NCAA championship game against Kansas State. Spivey was named Most Outstanding Player of the tournament to go along with All-America honors and two AllSEC teams. He broke the school record for single-game scoring, and his 31 rebounds in a game in 1951 remains a school record 61 years later. Spivey, however, was later implicated but not convicted in a point-shaving scandal, which ended his college eligibility and killed a chance at a NBA career. Kentucky retired Spivey’s number posthumously, and he was also inducted into the Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame. Why we picked him: The potential scandal notwithstanding, Spivey is one of the most dominant basketball players to ever come out of Middle Georgia. Can there be many bigger honors than having your jersey retired by Kentucky basketball? He didn’t appear to be finished progressing as a player before he received a lifetime ban from the NBA. No one will ever know just how great Spivey might have been in the NBA. Quotable: “(Spivey) had the potential to be one of the top five centers to have ever played the game,” former Kentucky head coach Joe B. Hall was quoted as saying to CBS SportsLine.com reporter Gregg Doyel in 2005. Others to consider Ben Claxton, Dublin, football: After an all-state senior year at Dublin, Claxton started 37 games at Mississippi, and he made two AP All-SEC second teams before playing for the Atlanta Falcons and Arizona Cardinals. Neil Jordan, Monticello, football: Jordan scored 25 touchdowns for Monticello in 1956 as the team went 12-0 and won a state championship. Willie McIntee, Dooly County, football: McIntee earned four letters at South Carolina beginning in 1983 after a strong prep career. Victor Perry, Fitzgerald, football: Perry was all-state in 1982 before earning starting on the offensive line for three years at Georgia. He played in the NFL
To see even more athletes we considered, go to Jonathan Heeter’s blog at macon.com/heetsblog.
NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS
Ballard-Hudson product Julius Adams, center, played 15 seasons with the New England Patriots.
Trevor Jenkins, Stratford, football
with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1987.
Antwoin Daniels, Mary Persons, football Bio: Daniels earned an all-state selection as a senior after totaling 35 pancake blocks as a senior. He allowed only two sacks in 30 career high school games. He went to Auburn, where he earned three letters as an offensive lineman. Why we picked him: Daniels followed a solid high school career with three years of productive play at Auburn.
Bio: Jenkins capped a standout prep career with 27 tackles for loss and eight sacks as a senior at Stratford. He won state titles in track and field and later earned won the Selby Buck Award as Middle Georgia’s top high school athlete. Jenkins started 37 consecutive games at Middle Tennessee State. He finished his career with 47 games played, most by any player in the FBS era, and with 25 tackles for loss, which was tied for eighth most in school history. He was
WOODY MARSHALL/wmarshall@macon.com
Before entering coaching, Rutland football head coach George Collins, left, was a two-year starter at Georgia and played in the NFL and the USFL.
voted Middle Tennessee Student Athlete of the Year in 2008, and he earned second-team All-Sun Belt Conference honors and was a finalist for the Rudy Award. Why we picked him: Jenkins is one of the most dominant players in GISA history. Sandwiched between the other two highly recruited Stratford defensive linemen in Le Kevin Smith and Michael Lemon, Jenkins might have had the best college career of the three. Others to consider Walter Rouse, Crisp County, football: Rouse landed on an all-state team in 1991 before earning two letters at Georgia. Ben Harden, Perry, football: Harden made an all-state team in 2005 before signing with Georgia.