Football
The Ware County Gators’ football team started spring practice as May rolled in. Coach Franklin Stephens’ team had good weather to work on blocking, tackling, and ball-carrying drills as they prepared for their May 12 game against Burke County in the Swamp. Preceding the 7 p.m. kickoff between the Gators and the Bears, Ware Middle School will face Waycross Middle School.
Tennis
The boys tennis team of coach Ross Bedford saw their season come to an end in the state playoffs in April. The Gators entered as the No. 3 seed from Region 2-AAAAA after finishing behind Statesboro and Wayne County.
“The team showed a great deal of improvement overall this season,” Bedford said. “This was a growing year for some of our team and a final season for seniors Matthew Bagley and Bailey Tatum, both whom have been on the varsity team since their freshman year.”
Bagley was the team’s No. 1 singles player this year. He put in a great deal of work in the offseason, and it showed. Brock Anderson was at No. 2 singles, while Tatum was at No. 3 singles. Dawson Goddard and Joe Robertson were the No. 1 doubles team, and Maddox Hall and Ladue Raulerson made up the No. 2 doubles team for the Gators.
“Dawson Goddard’s dedication to learning the sport has been one thing that has impressed me the most,” Bedford said. “Dawson has only played tennis for two years, but by the end of the season, he played like a veteran of the sport. He has improved significantly, along with freshmen Joe Robertson and Brock Anderson.”
As the No. 3 seed, the Gators traveled to McDonough, Georgia, to play Ola High School, the No. 2 seed from Region 4. The two teams battled with the Gators, winning two of three singles matches. The doubles teams then went down to the wire, forcing three sets and a tie breaker in each match. It came down to a 9-7 tiebreaker in the final set of the No. 2 doubles match, but the Mustangs defeated Ware 3-2.
The Gators will lose three seniors, so they will be a young team next year. Still, Bedford is confident.
“I feel like we have some talent coming up from the middle school,” Bedford said. “One player in particular is Robert Jacobs. He shows a lot of promise, and I’m excited to have the opportunity to work with him and his brother Richard Jacobs next year.”
The Lady Gators tennis team of coach Nate Mooneyhan also had an outstanding season, qualifying for the state playoffs as the No. 3 seed. The team is made up of singles players Raven Green, Megan Tyre, and Annabeth Hatfield and the doubles teams of Jayme Russell and Kiersten Moye at first doubles and Haley Cannon and Maggie Tyre at second doubles.
As the No. 3 seed from Region 2-AAAAA, the Lady Gators traveled to play Eagles Landing High School, also in McDonough.
Ware took 3 out of 5 from the Golden Eagles to win their first round state playoff matchup and advance to the second round for the second time in three years. With the match tied at 2-2, the No. 1 doubles team of seniors Jayme Russell and Kiersten Moye won their match in three sets to give the Lady Gators the win.
Ware County then advanced to the second round of the state playoffs, the Sweet 16, to play Riverwood International Charter School, the top seed from Region 6, in Sandy Springs. The Lady Gators’ season ended in a 3-0 defeat.
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By Rob Asbell
Spring Football Begins as Tennis Ends
