Heard football

CLAY WEBB RALEIGH THOMPSON

By Kevin Eckleberry

Nothing was going to keep Clay Webb from crossing the finish line first, not some talented pursuers, or a soggy, muddy course at Pyne Road Park.

On a rainy October afternoon, Webb raced to the top spot in the Troup County Championship, finishing ahead of LaGrange’s Bo Beall, who claimed the number two position.

Earlier in the season, Webb bested all the runners from LaGrange and Callaway during a race at Lafayette Christian School, but he took nothing for granted in the rematch.

“I was thinking, I won last time, and I knew they’d been training really hard, and I knew they’d come out swinging,” Webb said. “I knew I was going to get that time down, and I did.”

Indeed, Webb finished the 3.1-mile race in 18 minutes, 23 seconds, which was a personal-best time.

While Webb was in control the entire way, Beall remained close behind until the finish line. “I kept turning around seeing him,” Webb said. “That was definitely helping.”

Webb has made dramatic strides during his time at Troup, and he enjoyed a phenomenal junior season that included a county title.

“You don’t have to tell him to work hard. He does it on his own,” said Troup coach Rusty Taylor. “He’s a great kid. Anything you tell him to do, he does it, and he does it with pride.”

While Webb’s primary focus during a race is on continuing to lower his personal-best time, he does enjoy the challenge of going toe-to-toe with other strong runners.

“Me personally, I like testing myself and getting better,” Webb said. “It’s fun getting to test yourself against the other schools.”

While Webb was the individual winner, LaGrange took the team title, with Troup coming in a close second.

Webb and Beall captured the top two spots, Troup’s Caleb Lynd was third, Callaway’s Colton Alsobrook finished fourth, and LaGrange’s Gabe Shaw was fifth.

Troup’s Tim Dunn was sixth, and LaGrange’s Javon Harris, Marcus Franklin, Cameron Clay, Joseph Haywood and Hollis Stephens snared the next five spots.

Troup’s Ephrem Davidson, Brayden Hutchins and Jacob Walker were 12th through 14th, respectively, and Callaway’s Avery Brooks was 15th.

While Troup was unable to unseat LaGrange as the county champion, Taylor is pleased that the gap between the two teams has closed considerably.

“I’m very proud of them,” Taylor said. “I preached to them how important four and five are. That’s where it all matters. We were so good with our top three, and four and five we’ve got to get better. But I’m proud of them. We’ve done really good, and we’re at least competing with them now. They know we’re here now.”

By Kevin Eckleberry

It has been a smooth transition for Raleigh Thompson.

Thompson, who a year ago was an eighth-grader at Gardner Newman Middle School, enjoyed an exceptional freshman season that included a victory in the county championship at Pyne Road Park.

Thompson, LaGrange coach Chase Wilson noted, is always willing to go above and beyond to succeed.

“She has reached out to me and said I don’t feel like I’m getting better,” Wilson. “What else do I need to do? She has taken the initiative on the few days we’ve had off to go out and run herself. She is by far the most mature freshman we’ve had.”

At the county championship, Thompson posted a time of 23 minutes, 33 seconds to win the title, with Long Cane eighth-grader Grace Johnson (competing for Troup High) placing second.

Troup High’s Allie Foster was third, and LaGrange’s Ivorie Smith, Alyssa Rhaney and A’dayshia Blakes were fourth through sixth, respectively. Troup’s Kendal Cornett, Callaway’s Amani Askew, Troup’s Kellie Sprayberry and LaGrange’s Gabi Martinez rounded out the top 10.

Thompson, who earlier in the season finished fifth in the LaGrange Invitational at Pyne Road Park, took the lead from the get-go, and she never gave it up, although Johnson stayed in her shadow the whole way.

“When someone’s right behind you, it motivates you, because they’re really pushing you,” Thompson said.

Thompson began running cross country in middle school, and after some initial hesitation, she embraced the sport.

“This is my third year doing cross country,” said Thompson, whose older sister Caroline Thompson was a soccer standout at LaGrange High. “It’s hard, but I like it. I joined my seventh-grade year, and my dad made me do it. I didn’t want to do it. I was too scared, but I’m glad I did. I like it.”

Thompson ended up racing three times at Pyne Road Park during the season, and it’s a setting she enjoys.

“It’s very difficult, but I like it,” Thompson said. “I like going in the woods. It’s really shady back there, and it’s kind of peaceful and quiet.”

Thompson is a part of a LaGrange girls’ team that should be set up for success in the future.

Of LaGrange’s top six runners this season, only Ivorie Smith is a senior, and some gifted runners from Gardner Newman, which won the middle-school championship, are on the way.

Wilson’s hope is that the team will enter the 2022 season ready to roll.

“We’ve got to hit it hard in the summer,” Wilson said. “We’re a little bit behind because we didn’t have anybody show up over the summer. Hopefully now that we’ve got them all together, we can get them out during the summer.”

Photo: Kevin Eckleberry

CALLAWAY FISHING

By Kevin Eckleberry

It didn’t take a whole lot of arm-twisting to convince Ken Mapp to return to coaching.

Mapp has decades of experience in the coaching business, and he enjoyed a successful tenure leading the Callaway High softball program.

Mapp is retired now, although he has gladly filled in as a substitute teacher this school year.

When one of the teams at Callaway High needed a head coach, Mapp gladly accepted the call.

Glenn Goodson stepped down as the Callaway fishing coach following the 2020-2021 season, and Mapp has been tasked as his replacement.

“Peace, and relaxation, I’m not that kind of person,” Mapp said. “I like to be active, involved in something, and this is it.”

The Callaway High fishing program has been thriving since it started a few years ago, so Mapp knew he was stepping into a positive situation.

“The organization was already set, they just needed to have somebody teacher certified,” Mapp said. The 2021-2022 season got underway in early September with Callaway competing in a tournament on West Point Lake.

The season continues through next May when the Georgia High School Association state championship will be held at Clarks Hill Lake in Lincolnton. At the September tournament, Callaway had three two-person teams competing.

Seniors Krystyn Garrett and Caden McMillian joined forces for one of the teams, and the other teams were sophomore Nathan Odom and freshman Dawson Foster, and freshmen Hayden Nixon and Billy Bozeman.

Callaway Middle School also had three teams participating in the tournament, Drake Bishop and Kaleb Garrett, Jackson Adams and Tripp Glover, and Nathan Searels and Ryder Crawford.

While everyone is trying to win, Dawson Foster said “it’s a friendly competition” between all the anglers from the different schools. it,” Foster said. “You see them in the morning, and you say good luck.”

As for the Callaway High team, Foster said everyone is close, which makes tournament days enjoyable.

“The most fun thing about it is the bond between all the anglers,” said Foster, who fished competitive at Callaway Middle before making the transition to high school. “It’s like a brotherhood. We all just love each other.”

One of the team parents, Sandy Odom, enjoys seeing the camaraderie the schools have at the competitions.

“We loved it, and it’s so family-oriented,” she said. “You’re not just clapping for your team, you’re clapping for the other team. Everybody claps for everybody. When we’re out of town, we’ll meet up with the kids from Heard County, or Harris County, and stay out in the parking lot.”

The most fun thing about it is the bond between all the anglers.”