LEVY COUNTY JOURNAL LEVY COUNTY SPORTS THURSDAY, JANUARY 31, 2008 Page 7 Williston Quarterback Club Continues To Build Champions By STEVE JARBOE Sports Epitor The Williston Quarterback Club held a banquet at the Thomas Cattleman’s Clubhouse on Friday evening to continue placing strong emphasis on student athlete academics in the classroom. ° Head Football Coach Jamie Baker began the banquet by welcoming several new students who did not participate on the Red Devil football team last season. “We are trying to get the message across to our football players that we expect a certain level of accomplishment in the classroom and the importance of academics in their everyday life. We hold these Steak Dinner Banquets to honor our student athlete champions. We have invited those of you who have expressed an interest in coming out for football this spring to let you know what being a Red Devil Football Champion is about,” Baker said. To become a member of the Champions Club, a student athlete on the football team must maintain a minimum 2.8 grade-point average in the classroom. Baker and the Williston quarterback club officers at the banquet used a very effective technique for the ‘returning Champion Club team members. The athletes that have maintained their 2.8 grade point average the last nine weeks were fed a very large steak diner, with all the trimmings. Those who had slipped. below the required 2.8 grade point average in the past nine weeks dined on hamburgers with all the _ trimmings. Journal photo by Steve Jarboe. The Williston Quarterback Coach Baker gets a chuckle as he watches the homemade Club atid Coach Baker peach cobbler and ice cream start to disappear. - have continued to build a football program at Williston High School with the einphiasis on real life issues and academic accomplishments in the ‘classroom. The coaching staff is also trying to get more students out for the football team this spring. It is very hard for a school the size of Williston to compete year in and year out against -the Dunnellons, North Marions, Santa Fes, and West Ports. I have watched firsthand for the last three seasons as Williston will show up with 23 or 25 players and look across the field at the opponents’ 45 to 50 players. Coach Baker is hoping to maintain a varsity roster of 35 to 40 Pests for ai an entire season. novay ‘| Oi Afiviway t 8 “Most importantly,” ‘ Baker, continued, ‘ ‘we’ want every team member to be a Champion Club member. tremendous group of" young THER. AMOS ~ AOOAD H Journal photo by Steve Jarboe. Champion Club members Deonte Welch, Brandon Scott, Dalton Edwards and Kelcey Coleman pick their steak and add the steak sauce. Spring football practice will be here before you know it, and those of you who will be eating hamburgers tonight have the next nine-week grading period to make a difference on your report cards if you slipped this grading period,” Baker concluded. Returning running back Travis Evans, a member of the Champions Club, led the team in prayer to bless the food as everyone locked arms in a large circle. Hopefully we will see a large turnout of students who wish to become a part of-Williston football and:a os 2 to. oiticewiget Gatioues Journal photo by Steve Jarboe. Williston Quarterback Club President Brad Etheridge talks to some of the football players while they enjoy either a steak or hamburger dinner. VINO YVE Fort dirignwol oS mouse io NW er BOO! CSUs to ieonsG a MO Those aoe Middle School Lady Red Devils are Champions Again By ANGEL FLOYD For THE JOURNAL [| doubt if when the Atlas Map Company prints a new map, the City of Williston will have larger type or an asterisk that says “Home of the Mighty Lady Middle School Red Devils,” but it should. oo The Lady Middle School Red Devils have simply dominated North Central Florida middle school sports for the last four years. Each of the last four years the Middle School Lady Red Devils have reloaded with talented and athletic young ladies to dominate the middle school sports scene. _. . The Williston Middle School Lady Red Devils just won their fourth straight SMAC basketball championship. This comes on the heels of thear fourth straight volleyball championship won earlier in the school year. - These young ladies not only excel on the fields and courts in sports, but most are also honor roll students in the classroom. Last season, the Williston Middle School Lady Red Devils swept the volleyball championship going undefeated. They went on to post a 14-0 record in basketball, taking this championship also. To top that accomplishment, last year’s team of unbeaten volleyball and basketball Lady Red Devils went on to go undefeated in softball, scoring a season total of 227 runs to just 17 runs for their opponents. This group of middle school ladies made Williston Middle School history while going undefeated in all three sports. .. After graduating a host of eighth graders sending them to Williston High School to continue their athletic and academic dominance, there were some questions facing this © year’s Middle School Lady Red Devils teams. _ This-year’s Middle School Lady Red Devils have responded, taking the SMAC volleyball championship, and now the SMAC Basketball Championship. I know they will continue their winning streak as the softball season approaches. I know I would certainly not count these young ladies out in any sport this season. In the SMAC championship tournament played in Lake Butler the Williston Middle School Lady basketball team were able to make their free throws in the closing minutes of a close and exciting championship game against the Lake Butler Middle School Lady Bulldogs. With the score'tied 6-6 after the first quarter and 12-12 at the half, Ericka Floyd and Cinnamon Robinson took over the game for the Middle School Lady Red Devils. Going into the second half of the game, Floyd followed Levy Animal Clinic Wade Bullock, DVM Kendra Philman, DVM LARGE AND SMALL ANIMAL PRACTICE MINOR SURGICAL * New Hours M-Th 7:30-6 F 7:30-5 Sat 9-1 (352) 528-4840 505 S.W. 7TH STREET WILLISTON FL. 32696 “SOuTH OF THE HospitaL” U.S. 41 SOUTH Quality Health Care For The Entire Family FLAND EDICAL ENTER, LLC. 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Williston Middle School Boys Win SMAC Championship The Williston Middle School boys moved into the championship game after downing Chiefland Middle School. The middle school boys were matched aeons a very good Bradford Middle School boy’ s team. The Williston Middle School boys took a hard-fought 15-10 lead at the end of the first half of play. As the third quarter started the middle school boys from Williston blew the game wide open as they outscored the Bradford boys 16- A, taking a 31-14 lead into the fourth quarter of the championship game. Behind the 15-point performance by Red Devil Detereon Ross, the Williston Middle School boy’s went on to win the game 38-22 claiming the SMAC Championship. | Congratulations to both the Williston Middle School Ladies’ and Boys’ teams. Wholesale Tile | iF REE Porcelain Fixture Set with any | ’ Bathroom Tile Purchase! 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