04.29 Ledger 01 - The Cherokee Ledger-News

LEDGER-NEWS
SPORTS
18 THE CHEROKEE LEDGER-NEWS SPORTS EDITOR: BRANDON MICHEA | 770-928-0706 x203 FAX: 770-928-3152 APRIL 29, 2009
PREP STATE SOCCER PLAYOFFS
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PREP STATE TENNIS TOURNAMENT
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Creekview claws out victory
Singles’ wins lead Grizzlies
over Morgan County, 3-2
BY BRANDON MICHEA
sports@ledgernews.com
What a difference a year can make.
After finishing with just two wins a season
ago, the Creekview Grizzlies entered their
April 23 date with Morgan County in unchartered
territory – the opening round of the
Class AAA state playoffs.
By the time the match came to an end,
the Grizzlies found themselves at a new
high – heading to the sweet sixteen.
Riding the dominating performances of its
singles play, No. 7 state-ranked Creekview
knocked off the visiting Bulldogs, 3-2, in
Canton to draw a second-round bout against
No. 3 St. Pius, that was to be played April 28.
“After last year, to only have two wins and
to come this far this year, we just don’t even
know what to do with ourselves,” Grizzlies
coach Alysia Dicks said following a sigh of
relief. “It’s exciting.”
With junior Cameron Murphy (6-1, 6-2) and
sophomore Craig Borne (6-1, 6-1) cruising to
straight-set victories at No. 1 and 2 singles,
respectively, Creekview jumped out to a 2-0
advantage.
Morgan County, however, battled back to
even the match at 2-all, after knocking off the
Grizzlies No. 1 doubles team of senior Dylan
Egeland and sophomore Cory Natoli 6-4, 4-6,
6-2 and the No. 2 pairing of juniors Thomas
Martin and Campbell Rowland 3-6, 6-2, 6-4.
That left the fate of Creekview’s season on
the shoulders of Payton Hutto.
And having already cruised through
his first set at No. 3 singles by the time
the doubles matches were complete, the
freshman Hutto did not disappoint, closing
The Grizzly grind
Nielsen’s save in shootout sends Creekview into second round
BY BRANDON MICHEA
sports@ledgernews.com
It was a battle to the very end,
and one in which the Creekview
Grizzlies lived to fight another
day.
After Markus Nettesheim converted
a penalty kick to give the
Grizzlies a one-shot edge in a
shootout, senior Ryan Nielsen
denied Eastside’s Caleb Kernan’s
game-tying penalty kick, as
Creekview edged the Eagles 4-3 in
PK’s to secure a 3-2 victory in the
opening round of the Class AAA
boys state playoffs, Friday night
in Canton.
“I’m proud of our boys,” Grizzlies
coach Shawn McClellan
said. “They’ve worked very hard,
stepped up and they’ve done
themselves proud.
“For some of my guys that
normally carry our team,
(Friday) didn’t work out as well
for them. But some of our other
guys stepped up to be the heroes,
so it was very nice. The team is
maturing all the way around.”
Knotted 2-all following overtime,
Creekview (11-4-1) and
Eastside (12-3) each converted
BRANDON MICHEA | LEDGER-NEWS
Creekview freshman Payton Hutto makes a return during his No. 3 singles match against Blake
Brand of Morgan County in the opening round of the Class AAA state playoffs, April 23 at
Creekview. Hutto defeated Brand 6-0, 6-1 to give the Grizzlies a 3-2 victory.
out the victory with a 6-0, 6-1 showing.
“When it comes down to our Line 3 singles,
I have so much confidence in Payton,” Dicks
said. “For a freshman, he has a tremendous
amount of maturity. He’s level-headed, and
he doesn’t let the moment get to him.
“He just does what he does best – forces
his opponent to make mistakes and hits
winners.”
Despite drawing the state tournament sea-
three of the first four penalty
kick attempts, with Nathaniel
Martinez, Pepe Penaloza and
Cole Fraser putting away shots
for the Grizzlies.
But after Nettesheim buried
his shot into the back of the
net, it was up to Nielsen to seal
the win.
Nielsen, who to become eligible
to play goalie for the shootout
relieved starting keeper Josh
Felton with less than 20 seconds
remaining in overtime, did just
that, diving left to block the Georgia
State-bound Kernan’s shot.
“We’ve been practicing this,”
McClellan said of his move to
swap Nielsen for Felton. “It
wasn’t something that I just did
arbitrarily.... Some goalies work
better in congestion, with a lot of
people coming at them, and that’s
where Josh does a wonderful job.
Ryan is super quick, and that's
who we needed in goal (for the
penalty shots).”
After a defensive struggle for
much of the first half, Creekview
got on the board with less than
40 seconds remaining before
intermission.
Working from the left sideline,
Nettesheim took a pass from Josh
Lietch and lofted a pass of his
own out in front of the goal.
But instead of finding a teammate,
Nettesheim’s pass, carried
into the net for a 1-0 Grizzlies
advantage.
Creekview struck again in the
48th minute, when Penaloza
centered a pass from the left side
of the penalty box to a streaking
Jeffrey Hunter, who banged
home a short-range shot in stride
for a 2-0 edge.
The Eagles, however, would not
go away, scoring on a header with
19:54 remaining before tying the
match, 2-2, with 6:11 to play when
Tyler Edmison gained control of
a Felton kick at midfield and
quickly sailed a shot over the fingertips
of a back-pedaling Felton
from nearly 50-yards out.
“It was really just a fluke,”
McClellan said of the goal.
“[Edmison] was able to capitalize
on a long shot. It was absolutely
perfect from their part.”
The Grizzlies pressured in the
closing minute of both regulation
and overtime, but could not
soned Lions for the second round, Dicks said
she believed her team would be up for the task.
“They lost quite a few this year, but they
had a lot of tough non-region matches,” she
said of St. Pius (10-6). “So, they’re not going
to be going into it thinking they have a cake
walk in front of them.
“But I think we’ll give them a good run, as
long as we keep our heads up and go in with
confidence.”
SEE GRIND, PAGE 20
Eagles
advance
Etowah’s girls and
boys each post 3-0
first round wins
FROM STAFF REPORTS
One down.
Dismantling their opponents in
what has become traditional
Etowah fashion this season, both
the Eagle girls and boys tennis
squads advanced out of the opening
round of the Class AAAAA
state tournament last week.
Hosting Lassiter on April 21,
the No. 4 state-ranked Lady
Eagles cruised to a 3-0 victory,
winning all three matches in
straight sets.
A day later, the top-ranked
Etowah boys (19-0) did the same to
Milton, battling through some
hard-fought points on the way
to three straight-set wins in a
3-0 victory.
Junior Jessica Thaggard put
the Lady Eagles (16-2) on the board
with a 6-0, 6-2 win at No. 2 singles,
before sophomores Jacqui Horn
and Jessie Swan took the No. 1
doubles match 6-0, 6-1.
Freshman Nicole LaDuca then
wrapped up the win with a 6-2, 6-2
No. 1 singles victory.
SEE EAGLES, PAGE 20
BRANDON MICHEA | LEDGER-NEWS
Creekview’s Pepe Penaloza prepares to send a cross to teammate Jeffrey
Hunter for a Grizzlies goal in the second half of their Class AAA opening
round state playoff game, Friday night at Creekview. Making their first
postseason appearance, the Grizzlies defeated Eastside, 3-2, in a
shootout, and will face No. 4 state-ranked St. Pius in the sweet sixteen.