Sports Editor

The basketball season is winding down. The regional

tournaments begin a week from next Monday and all of the games

up until that point will give the team's a look at possible opponents.

On Tuesday, as this edition went to press, McIntosh hosted their

rivals the Fayette County Tigers, Sandy Creek hosted Forest Park

and Starr's Mill hosted Woodward Academy. All of those results

will be published in Friday's paper.

As for games this weekend,McIntosh has their

biggest game of the season to date on Friday as they play host to

Griffin. McIntosh wins over both the boys and girls teams from Griffin

give the Chiefs a good chance for a top seeding in the upcoming

regional tournament. The Lady Chiefs (15-2) moved up two rankings in

the AJC Atlanta Tip-off Club Rankings to 12th, but still trail Griffin

(11-3) by a spot. The last time the Lady Chiefs and Bears met,

McIntosh won by 10. The Lady Chiefs defeated East Coweta as well.

Both the Indians and Bears are ranked teams and tough sub region

opponents.

As for the McIntosh boys,they proved you can't go 16-2 and

stay unranked for long. They vaulted to number eight in the polls this

week and face the Griffin team that handed them one of their

losses. The Chiefs are playing exceptionally well, firing on all cylinders

and playing at home. It will definitely be worth the price of admission.

On Saturday, McIntosh hosts Sandy Creek. The Lady

Chiefs should have no problem securing a win, as they usually have four

or more girls scoring in double figures. Jessi Prahl has been

dominating the boards lately too. She grabbed 11 in the win over

Starr's Mill on Saturday. The boys should be able to handle Sandy Creek

but if the Patriots rise their level of play to the level of the Chiefs, it

could be a very interesting game.

The Fayette County Tigers travel to Newnan on Friday. The last

time these two teams faced, the Lady Tigers walked off with a win

and the boys team got beat by 10. Expect the Lady Tigers to control

the pace with Becca Grizzard and Abby Snauwaert. The girls have

a lot of size and speed, as well as senior leadership and good

shot selection. Expect the boys to come out fired up for their

rematch against Newnan. In games where the Tigers have come out hot

and scored early, they won. Andrew Doggendorf has stepped up

his play and William Moore is typically the catalyst on offense for

this team.

Sandy Creek travels to Riverdale on Friday. When these teams

met earlier in the season the Lady Patriots played well but

eventually lost to the Lady Raiders. Sandy Creek has been playing better

of late. If they can control the pace and Ashley Lott can get

inside, scoring and rebounding, this one could go down to the wire.

The boys are playing well lately, too. L.T. Lockett has emerged as a

consistent offensive threat but all of his teammates can score too.

Recently, Jermaine Harris and Andre Green have been igniting the offense

and often the crowd. Get the Patriots in the game early and the

Raiders may have a tough time fending them off.

Starr's Mill travels to North Clayton on Friday to face

the Eagles. North Clayton has dominated it's opponents this year

and defeated both Starr's Mill teams the last time they faced. The Lady

Panthers played North Clayton even in the second half of their last

game. If they can play two good halves of basketball, anything can

happen. The boys team has played some great teams lately and played

really well. For the Panthers to pull one out Friday, they must put

bodies on North Clayton's big guys, try to draw fouls and shoot the

lights out. On Saturday, Starr's Mill travels to Salem. If the Panthers

can stay focused and patient, they should beat the Seminoles.

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