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2008-2009 STORIES
ELITE 8 BOUND !!!
David
Dawson, Rome
News-Tribune, Photo by Lindy Dugger Cordell, RN-T
Not content with simply surprising the Greater Rome community,
the Coosa boys have decided to shock the state.The
amazing Eagles, who seemed so downtrodden just three weeks ago, continued
their remarkable postseason ascension Wednesday night by downing Decatur
64-48 in the second round of the Class AA state tournament.
 The
victory sends Coosa into Saturday’s Elite Eight at The Forum, where the
Eagles (14-16) will face No. 2-ranked Greater Atlanta Christian at 8:30 p.m.
Coosa, which beat GAC in last year’s state tournament, will be making its
second consecutive appearance in the Elite Eight — an accomplishment that not
even the most optimistic Eagle fan would have dared to predict a few weeks
back. Coosa, after all, was only the
fifth-best team in their six-team subregion during
the regular season. Now, the Eagles can lay claim to being one of the best
eight teams in the state. Amazing. “This feels good, man, really good,” said Trey Foster, the senior post player who had a
ferocious performance in Wednesday’s win. “We’ve had some situations this
year where we didn’t really come together as a team, but we’re definitely
doing it now.” Foster finished with 16 points, 12 rebounds and a pair of
3-pointers — the first 3s of his career — during his impressive showing. Demetrius
Hunter scored a team-high 20 points and Desmond Curtis added 12 while helping
the Eagles roll to a victory that was even more convincing than the final
score suggests. They built an 18-point lead midway through the third quarter
and led by as many 26 in the fourth period during an utterly dominating
effort. “I think this (the postseason surge) says a lot about the character
of our team,” said Coosa coach John McFather. “It says that these kids understand that when
you get knocked down, you get back up.” Coosa
began its turnaround at last month’s region tourney. The Eagles won three
straight games, and grabbed the attention of the local area by advancing to
the title game before losing to Dade
County.
“I think the biggest thing is that this team had to learn how to
win,” said McFather. Coosa
will be viewed as considerable long-shots on Saturday — but that’s nothing
new for the Eagles. They were perceived by many to be underdogs Wednesday
night against a talented Decatur (18-12) team
that had stunned top-seeded Manchester
in the first round.
And yet, the Eagles took the fight right at the Bulldogs.
With stifling defense that contested virtually every shot, Coosa
held Decatur
without a field goal in the first quarter and built a 10-5 lead.
Coosa
stretched the advantage to 23-13 at the half, and then used a 14-2 run in the
third quarter to build a comfortable cushion that remained the rest of the
night. The decisive run featured seven points by Foster, a fastbreak bucket by Curtis and a 3-pointer from Quinton
Cotton.
“We preached all week long that we were going to have to execute
tonight, and the guys really came out and did that,” said McFather.
Decatur was
0-for-9 from the floor in the first period, and never really heated up. The
‘Dogs finished just 12-of-53 (23 percent) from the floor overall. For Coosa,
Foster, Hunter and Curtis were the instigators much of the way, as the three
combined to ensure that Coosa maintained its
momentum from start to finish. Foster pulled out a few surprises along the
way by showcasing his shooting range. He drained a buzzer-beating 3-pointer
at the end of the first quarter, and added another for good measure in the
third quarter. After the second one, he glanced at the Coosa
bench, shrugged his shoulders and smiled. “I don’t know what got into me
tonight,” he said. “They told me to shoot it, so I did. And the shots fell.” Trumon Jefferson finished with 13 points for Decatur and Nic Wilson
added 12. “Don’t let this game fool you,” said McFather.
“Decatur is a
very good basketball team.”
So, too, is Coosa — and the
rest of the state is taking notice.
Coosa
wins for a trip to the Sweet 16
by David Dawson, Rome
News-Tribune Sports Editor
Photos by Ken Caruthers, Rome
News-Tribune
  Appropriately enough, the post players are shining in the
postseason for the Coosa boys basketball team.As a
result, the resurgent Eagles are quickly forgetting about their rocky regular
season.Desmond Curtis, Demetrius Hunter and Trey
Foster — the heart of Coosa’s inside attack — have helped the Eagles engineer
a remarkable February run, which continued on Saturday with an impressive
65-54 win over East Jackson in the opening round of the Class AA state tournament.Coosa now heads into the Sweet 16, where the
Eagles (13-15) will play host to Decatur on Wednesday night. (Fourth-seeded Decatur stunned top-seeded Manchester on Saturday night).“It’s exciting to be moving on,” said Coosa
coach John McFather. “Tonight’s win is big for us,
obviously … and it feels really good. It’s like we told the kids in the
huddle several times tonight: This team isn’t going to be pulled apart.” As
has often been the case in the past three weeks, Saturday’s win was spurred
by Coosa’s post players: Curtis scored a season-high 17 points, Hunter added
16 and Foster contributed a key fourth-quarter basket for the host Eagles,
who have rolled up a 6-1 record since Feb. 10 after going 7-14 prior to that
point.“I think we’ve really just come together,” said Curtis, who provided
energy and emotion. “It’s like coach always says: Some teams peak early and
then kind of just die out. But with us, we are peaking at the right time.”Coosa never trailed in Saturday’s game, but the victory
didn’t come easily. The score was tied at 37-37 with two minutes to play in
the third quarter before Coosa put together
a 7-0 run to build a narrow lead that they protected
the rest of the way. Now they can shift their focus toward trying to reach
the Elite Eight for a second straight season. Doing so would be a remarkable
feat for a team that lost seven of eight games during one stretch this
season, and finished fifth in 7-AA South.“We said many times during the
season that this team had all the necessary parts to do some special things,”
said McFather. “It was just a matter of maturing.
And really, it took us most of the year to mature — but we’re seeing (the
benefits) now.”The Eagles’ late-season surge included a strong run at last
week’s 7-AA tournament, where they posted three straight wins and advanced to
the championship game before losing to No. 3-ranked Dade County.The
confidence they gained last week seemed to carry over into Saturday’s game
against third-seeded East Jackson (15-13).Coosa opened the contest with a
10-1 run, and enjoyed a 20-7 cushion late in the first period. The Eagles
eventually carried a 35-25 lead into the locker room.Curtis
scored 10 first-half points, going 5-of-7 from the floor. Hunter also had 10
points, including two big baskets in the final 39 seconds before the half.
“We knew if we came out and played some hard-nosed defense, we would have an
opportunity to get out of the blocks in good shape. And that happened,” said McFather. East Jackson, however, opened the second half with a
12-2 run to tie the game at 37-37 — the lone tie of the night — with 2:34 to
play in the third period. East Jackson’s Kolby
Gilbert, who finished with a team-high 11 points, scored back-to-back baskets
to propel the run and get the East Jackson
crowd rocking. Then, Coosa freshman Quinton
Cotton delivered one of the biggest plays of the night. He came up with a
steal on the defensive end and converted into a lay-up to put Coosa back in front. The bucket sparked a 7-0 run that
was facilitated by a 3-pointer from Ethan Lambert and two foul shots by
Cotton (after a technical foul on East Jackson’s coach). Although East
Jackson made one last push — drawing within one point early in the fourth
quarter — Coosa was able to maintain a narrow lead throughout the fourth
quarter. The Eagles pulled away late by going 7-of-8 at the foul line in the
final 35 seconds.
“I was proud of the way we
regrouped and regained our composure after they made their run,” said McFather.
Eagles Finish Second in
Region
By Jeremy Stewart, Rome News-Tribune, Photos by Ken Caruthers, Rome News-Tribune
 For one half of Saturday night’s Region 7-AA boys’
championship game, the Coosa Eagles were a dominating force.And
while their effort fell short of eclipsing the Herculean lead that Dade
County had already built, it capped off what has  certainly been the best week of Coosa’s season.And they’re not done yet. In front of a highly
energetic crowd at Georgia
Highlands College,
the Eagles were hit early by the No. 5-ranked Wolverines and lost 74-63.
Coosa outscored Dade
County 43-26 in the final two
quarters as they found the basket from the perimeter but a 48-20 halftime
deficit proved too much to overcome. “I really believe that we are peaking at
the right time,” Coosa coach John McFather said. “There is no doubt about that.” The Eagles
(12-15) were 7-14 at one point of the regular season and came in as the No. 5
seed from the South subregion. As the No. 2 seed from 7-AA, Coosa will
host the No. 3 seed from 8-AA, East Jackson,
on Saturday. “This has been an amazing
season. Absolutely amazing,” McFather said. “I told
the guys that this game epitomizes our season. The kids fought and I’m proud
of them for fighting like that.”
Saturday snapped their season-high five-game winning streak that
included three wins in the region tournament. “We didn’t play our game in the
first half and I think that’s because our kids got caught up in the moment,” McFather said. “We didn’t execute what we talked about
doing.”
Dade County
(25-3) won their first-ever boys’ basketball region title and will host Union County,
the No. 4 seed from Region 8-AA, in the first round of the state tournament
Saturday. “I’m so proud for our seniors,” Dade County
coach Glen Hicks said. “When they were freshmen we went 7-19 but they hung in
their with us and they’ve done everything and more
than we’ve asked them to.” The Wolverines had five players reach double
digits. Tournament MVP Andrew Houts had 14 while
Jesse Moore scored 19 and Jake Bell had 15 points, all by way of 3-pointers. Coosa senior Demetrius Hunter put together one of his
best performances of the season and finished with a game-high 30 points,
including three 3-pointers. In all, Dade
County had seven treys — six of which came
in the first half — while Coosa had eight,
all in the second half. While they had been slow to get their rhythm going in
the first half, the Eagles got off to a fast start in the second half. Coosa scored more points in the first four minutes of
the third period than they had in either of the first two periods. With the
Wolverines ahead 59-33, the Eagles settled into a 13-0 run that lasted more
than six and a half minutes and made the score 59-46 with 6:09 left in the
game.
The 13-point gap was chipped at some more and a 3-pointer by Zac Hale put Coosa
within 11 of Dade Co. The Wolverines then went 4-for-4 at the line to make it
74-59 before Hale hit one of his two free throws with 8.5 seconds left and
Hunter stepped out from behind a defender to sink one last trey at the buzzer
to make the final difference 11.
“All he kept saying down the stretch was, ‘The game is not over yet,’ a
hoarse McFather said.
“I love that about him and this team. That never-quit attitude is why we were
able to play in this championship game.” Ethan Lambert had a trio of
3-pointers and fouled out with 23 seconds left in the game and a total of 12
points for the Eagles. Coosa, which has
reached the finals of the region tournament for 13 straight seasons, was also
unable to make a repeat run as the 7-AA champions. “The thought I have right
now is we’re not No. 1 this year,” Hunter said after the game. “But we played
hard until the end. Dade was just the better team today.” But the Eagles
proved that they are determined to have the better season.
  Eagles Make it to the Region Finals
Coosa, Dade Co. to meet in boys’ 7-AA championship game
by Jeremy Stewart, Rome
News-Tribune Sports Writer Photos by Ken Caruthers, Rome News-Tribune
The Coosa Eagles have
turned the region tournament into a coming out party — or rather, a coming
back party.
After suffering hard
losses and close calls during the regular season, the traditionally strong
Eagles defeated the No. 6-ranked Chattooga Indians 60-53 Friday in the 7-AA boys semifinals at Georgia Highlands College.
Coosa will take on No. 5 Dade County in the
region championship game tonight at 8:30 p.m. at GHC after the Wolverines
came from behind to beat Pepperell 54-42 in Friday’s nightcap.
The Dragons and Chattooga
will play for third place and seeding in next week’s state tournament at 7
p.m.
For the Eagles, their
upset over Chattooga puts them in the region championship game for the 13th
year in a row, a run that was in jeopardy before Coosa
pulled off three wins in this week’s tourney.
“The thing we’ve talked
about since this tournament started is how this is a new season,” Coosa coach John McFather
said.
 “Now, it’s been a learning process with
the mix of younger kids and experienced players that we’ve had. But they’ve
bought into what we needed to do.”
That new
attitude surfaced a number of times in their victory Friday as the Eagles
held a 14-point lead near halftime and were able to produce a 13-0 run in the final
period to clinch the win.
“We’re more fundamentally
sound now and we’re playing great team defense,” McFather
said.
Coosa senior Demetrius Hunter, the lone
returning starter from last season’s region championship team, talked about
coming back from a 7-14 record near the end of the season to playing for the
region title
“It feels wonderful,”
Hunter said. “Tomorrow, I’m going to give my best effort, play with my
teammates and try to bring another win to Coosa.”
Hunter provided the boost
that the Eagles needed Friday as he scored a game-high 23 points, 17 of which
came in the first half, and was a driving force inside.
“As you know and I know,
this season has been tough,” Hunter said. “But one of the things we did was believe.
“Once we learned how to
stay together, we learned to never pull apart.”
Ethan Lambert added 11 for
Coosa, who were the No. 5 seed heading into
the tournament, and Desmond Curtis had nine.
The Eagles (12-14) kicked
off the second period with an 8-3 run and took a 25-14 lead with 5:44 on the
clock.
Chattooga (19-4) recovered
some following a time out but found themselves down by 14 with 1:30 left
before the break.
However, Rashad Ramsey, who paced the Indians with 22 points and
13 rebounds, went 4-for-4 at the line down the stretch to narrow the gap to
36-26 at halftime.
A 10-0 run by Chattooga in
the third helped them get within one at the end of the period and a 3-point
play by Ramsey gave them the lead, 46-44.
That’s when Coosa held the Indians scoreless for nearly six minutes
as the Eagles took off for a 57-49 lead that stuck.
Perie Finley sank four treys for Chattooga
and had 16 points.
Eagles Shock Indians
 Underrated Coosa
Heads to the State Playoffs for the 12th Straight Season.
Coosa 54, Armuchee 51
 Article from Rome
News-Tribune/ David Dawson
Photo Ken Caruthers, RNT
CLICK HERE FOR
VIDEO ( Rome News-Tribune)
The quarterfinals of the boys’ Region 7-AA tournament
perfectly illustrated both the beauty and the cruelty of postseason
basketball.
Coosa erased the
images of its up-and-down season and kept alive its hopes of repeating as
region champs. The season we’ve had –– it’s been tough; been frustrating,”
said Coosa second-year coach John McFather, who took the Eagles to the AA Elite Eight last
year. “We replaced four seniors, and it took some time for us to mature. But
today’s win really says something for these kids.”
The Eagles (10-14) will now look to extend a prestigious
streak: They have advanced the region tourney finals for 12 straight years.
Freshmen are no longer really freshmen at this stage of
the season. And Quinton Cotton proved it. The ninth-grader made 5-of-6
pressure-packed free throws in the final 30 seconds to help Coosa
preserve a slim lead and pull off the upset. Simply put, Cotton was as smooth
as silk –– which is a bad pun, but an accurate statement. “I was nervous,
real nervous,” said Cotton. “But I just tried not to think about it. … This
(win) is a big step for our team, and now we just need to keep doing what we
did today.” Coosa didn’t make a field goal
in the final 5:29 of the fourth quarter, but the Eagles went 11-of-14 at the
foul line in that stretch to win it. Demetrius Hunter scored a team-high 17
for Coosa, and Cotton had 10.
Wilson finished with
a game-high 25 points for Armuchee, which had
handily defeated Coosa twice during the
regular season. Thursday’s game was tight from start to finish, with neither
team owning more than a four-point lead over the final 2½ periods. Armuchee held a 45-41 lead with 6:08 to go, but Coosa reeled off a 7-0 run (with five points coming on
free throws) to take a 48-45 lead.
Coosa never trailed again,
though Armuchee pulled within two points with four
seconds left after Wilson
drained a long 3. Cotton then hit 1-of-2 free throws, and Armuchee’s
Jake Nix missed a desperation half-court shot at the horn.
Eagles Advance to Second Round of Region Tournament
Coosa 61, Adairsville
52
by Jeremy Stewart, Rome News-Tribune
Sports Writer
 The Eagles rebounded from a slow first half and built a
decent lead over Adairsville to pick up a victory against the No. 4 seed from
7-AA North.
After heading to the locker room with a cautious 26-25 advantage, Coosa (10-14) opened the third period with an 8-0 run
that provided the cushion it needed to take the win.
“This was a huge win because it puts us a step closer to the state tournament
and that’s definitely been one of our goals since day one,” Coosa
coach John McFather said.
Trey Foster and Desmond Curtis combined their efforts in the final eight
minutes and helped the Eagles put up 24 points compared to the Tigers’ 18.
Curtis finished with a game-high 17 while Foster added 14 and teammate Demetrius
Hunter had 11.
Pat Printup paced Adairsville (11-14) with 14
points, nine of which came by way of 3-pointers, while Vic Beasley finished
with 13.
“For the most part, except late in the fourth quarter, I thought our defense
was exceptional,” McFather said. “To win
championships, you have to play defense and that’s something our guys have
gotten better at in the last few weeks.” Coosa
meets subregion foe Armuchee,
the top seed from the South, at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday.
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