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This site is the
online home of the Coosa High School boys basketball team. CHS has
participated in the state playoffs the last 5 years and are well on their
way to a repeat appearance. This website is maintained by the CHS Sports
Information Department with a majority of the News Articles placed courtesy
of the Rome News-Tribune.
LATEST NEWS
ELITE 8 HERE WE COME !!!
Eagles upset No. 3 GAC to earn trip to The Forum
David Dawson, Rome News-Tribune Photo by Ken Caruthers, RN-T
CLICK HERE TO SEE ROME-NEWS VIDEO OF SWEET 16 UPSET
Earning respect wasn’t enough for the Coosa boys on Tuesday
night. They also earned a colossal win — and a spot in the Elite Eight.
Sparked by Quinton Wood’s dynamic 33-point effort, the Eagles
stunned No. 3-ranked Greater Atlanta Christian, 85-82, in the second round
of the Class AA state tournament at the Eagles’ Nest. Wood, a senior guard,
went 4-for-4 from the free throw line in the final 32 seconds, including
sinking the game-clinchers with six seconds left to set off a wild
celebration among the Coosa faithful.  The victory was
the latest surprise for arguably the state’s most surprising team. The
unranked Eagles, who were originally perceived to be in a rebuilding mood
this year, have now won 11 straight games and 20 of their last 24.
“I think we were the only ones who believed in ourselves
(tonight),” said Wood. “Now we just want to keep on winning.” Coosa (21-7),
the Region 7-AA champs, will face Lovett on Friday night at 8:30 at The
Forum in the Elite Eight.
“This was a great win for our kids,” said Coosa first-year
coach John McFather. “When I took over the program last summer (after Larry
Bing’s retirement), I saw something special in these kids. I saw their
passion.” It was on full display again Tuesday.
Undaunted by GAC’s high ranking and heritage of success, the
Eagles showed powerful resolve and composure during a game that contained
14 ties and 15 lead changes.
“When you begin to win big games, like we’ve done lately, you
start to get confident,” said McFather. “And I think that showed tonight.”
The teams torched the nets throughout the contest — hitting
nine 3-pointers each, and combining for 61 field goals — during the
highly-entertaining game.
Wood provided much of the offensive firepower for Coosa, going
10-of-17 from the floor, including 6-of-10 from 3-point range.
Teammate Corey Williams added 20 huge points, highlighted by a
clutch basket with 1:23 left in the fourth quarter. Williams was also an
emotional leader, showing excitement one minute and poise the next.
Demetrius Hunter added a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds, and
Nick Moore had 11 points, all in the first quarter. For GAC (26-4), Taylor
Metzger hit six 3s and finished with a team-high 25 points. Brett Johnson
added 23 and Jake Mitchell had 13.
“Both teams hit big shots,” said McFather. “But in the end, we
got after them with our quickness, and I think that was the difference.”
Coosa trailed 65-62 with 5:25 to play in the fourth after a
long 3 by Metzger. But the Eagles quickly put together a 9-0 run, capped by
Wood’s sixth and final 3 of the night, to go up 71-65 with exactly four
minutes left. One minute later, Wood hit a floater in the lane for a 75-68
lead. GAC drew within one point on two occasions in the final two minutes,
but baskets by Williams and Hunter kept Coosa in front. The Eagles, who
missed five of six free throws to open the fourth quarter, went 6-for-6
from the line in the final minute to hang on.
Wood, appropriately, hit the final two. “I had some butterflies,”
said Wood, “but I knew I had to step up there and make them.” And with
that, the Eagles won the game the old-fashioned way — they earned it.
GWINNET DAILY POST ARTICLE
Coosa outlasts No. 3 SpartansGAC falls 85-82 in second round
By David Friedlander, Gwinnett Daily Post
Staff Writer
Special Photo: Ken Caruthers/Rome
News-Tribune
ROME - Greater Atlanta Christian and Coosa stared down each
other eyeball-to-eyeball in their second round basketball game in the Class
AA state tournament.Unfortunately for the No. 3 state-ranked Spartans, the
host Eagles refused to blink.And when GAC's offense briefly stalled in the
fourth quarter, Coosa took that small opening to outlast the Spartans 85-82
on Tuesday at Coosa."(Coosa) shot the ball so well," GAC boys
coach Mike Mitchell said after his team's season ended at 26-4. "For
the most part, I thought we did a good job of getting out on them.  You've got to
give them credit. They just played a great game."Both teams actually
shot the ball extremely well. While GAC was a solid 31-for-64 (48 percent)
- including 9-for-17 (43 percent) from 3-point range - Coosa was just a
little bit better, hitting 30 of their 56 shots (54 percent), including 9
of 17 (53 percent) behind the arc.But it was the fourth quarter that proved
to be the difference for Coosa, which advanced to take on either Manchester
or Lovett in the state quarterfinals Saturday down the street at The
Forum.The Eagles (21-7) shot a sizzling 83 percent (10-for-12) in the final
frame, which helped them rally from a 65-62 deficit after the last of
Taylor Metzger's six 3-pointers with 5:34 to play.The Spartans then went
without another point for the next 1:49. While that seems like a short
time, the way both teams were shooting, it turned out to be an eternity."I
would think that if we'd score 82 points (Tuesday) night, we'd win,"
Mitchell said. "One of the things we've preached all year long was
defense. We had a few breakdowns (in the fourth quarter), and at this point
in the season, you don't get a second chance."But it wasn't a drop in
GAC's shooting that stopped its offense. Instead, the Spartans turned the
ball over on four straight possessions.And Coosa turned that brief lapse
into nine straight points - including five of Quinton Wood's game-high 33
points - to vault into the lead for good at 71-65 with 4:06 left.Eagles
coach John McFather said the difference was getting in the face of Metzger,
who finished with 25 points and nine rebounds on the evening, during the
critical stretch."We just dug in deep," McFather said. "I
told (guard Jason) Kirk to stay with (Metzger). He's the kind of guy who
can really shoot when he gets set, so you've got to crowd him."I knew
GAC has won so many close games because they're so poised. But by taking
the lead late in the game, I think we put them in a situation that they're
not used to being in often."The Spartans tried to respond with an 8-2
run that pulled them as close as 77-76 after a pair of Chase Hudson free
throws with 1:07 left.But Demetrius Hunter answered with a baseline jumper
and Coosa came up with a stop on the other end before hitting six straight
free throws in the final 32.4 seconds to seal the win.While Metzger was
GAC's high scorer, Brett Johnson played an equally big role in keeping the
Spartans close, finishing with 23 points, six rebounds and a team-high five
assists. Joining those two in double figures were Jake Mitchell with 15
points and Hudson with 10, while Trent Wiedeman added nine rebounds.Coosa
also got a big night from Corey Williams with 20 points, while Hunter added
12 points and 10 rebounds and Nick Moore chipped in 11 points, six rebounds
and five assists.
EAGLES WIN ROUND
ONE !!
The Callaway Cavaliers didn’t perform like
a typical No. 4 seed on Friday night. The Coosa Eagles, conversely, performed
exactly like a No. 1 seed. Facing perhaps their most-talented opposition of
the year, the host Eagles held their poise at all the right times and hit
an array of clutch shots to gain a 76-68 overtime win in the opening round
of the Class AA state tournament. It was the 10th straight win for the
Region 7-AA champs, who will host Greater Atlanta Christian on Tuesday in
the Sweet 16. “We knew tonight was going to be a tough test,” said Coosa
first-year coach John McFather, “but I really believed in these young men,
and I’m extremely proud of them.” Coosa’s Demetrius Hunter scored a
team-high 21 points before fouling out in OT. He almost won the game at the
end of regulation, but his 10-footer rimmed out at the buzzer.  Quinton Wood finished with 17 and Jason
Kirk had 13 for the Eagles (20-7), who saw an eight-point lead evaporate
over the final 4½ minutes of regulation, but regrouped to outscore Callaway
13-5 in overtime. Hunter opened the extra session with a 3-pointer and a
basket in the paint to put Coosa up 68-63. Callaway (19-6) eventually
pulled as close as 70-68 with 1:33 left, but Coosa hit enough free throws
(going 6-of-11 in the final 1:11) to win it. A technical foul on Callaway
in the final minute helped Coosa clinch the win. “I think in overtime, it
came down to who wanted it more — and it was us,” said Coosa’s Corey
Williams, who finished with 11 points. The Eagles, who lost in the second
round last year, have now won 15 of their past 16 games, and are 19-4 after
a 1-3 start. “Nobody thought we’d get this far,” said Williams, “so it’s
nice to prove everybody wrong.” Friday’s game was all about scoring runs.
Callaway had a 12-0 spurt in the first quarter to build an 18-15 lead, but
Coosa closed the first half with a 12-3 run to grab a 36-31 lead at the
break. Coosa stretched the lead to 43-33 in the third quarter before
Callaway scored 11 straight to re-take the lead. But Coosa eventually had
the night’s most meaningful run — the 13-5 surge in OT. “This was a huge
win, and everybody was hyped (when it was over),” said Coosa’s Nick Moore.
“Now our goal is to keep going.” Callaway went 0-2 in last week’s Region
5-AA tournament but had won eight of its final nine regular-season games,
including a 102-91 win over region-champion Rutland. “Callaway was a No. 1
seed going into the region tournament, and that tells you a lot,” said
McFather. “We just beat a very, very good basketball team. This was a sweet
win.” No pun intended.
EAGLES WIN REGION
CHAMPIONSHIP!!!
CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO (Rome News-Tribune)
David Dawson, Rome News-Tribune Photo by Ken Caruthers
The Coosa boys will forever remember this
season as the year they dethroned Darlington. Twice.
And the second time was clearly the
sweeter of the two. It happened Saturday at Georgia Highlands College,
where the Eagles overcame an 11-point halftime deficit to knock off the
Tigers 70-66 in the Region 7-AA tournament championship game. The victory
gave Coosa its first region title since 2005,  and ended Darlington’s two-year reign as
tourney champs. Coosa had lost to Darlington in the finals in each of the
past two seasons. “This feels good. It feels real good,” said Coosa big man
Demetrius Hunter, who had 16 points and a key blocked shot in the game’s
closing seconds. “We felt confident that we could do it … and I’m proud of
my teammates.” Coosa’s Nick Moore scored 17 of his team-high 25 points in
the second half to help the Eagles (19-7) post their second significant win
over the Tigers (20-5) this season. Six weeks ago, Coosa ended Darlington’s
December dynasty by beating the Tigers in the Rome News-Tribune Festival
semifinals to end Darlington’s two-year reign in that event, too.
“Darlington has a great basketball team. They wouldn’t have been here today
if they weren’t,” said Coosa first-year coach John McFather. “But we wrote
on the board before today’s game that this was our chance to leave our mark
… And I believe the kids took that to heart.” Coosa and Darlington will
both host first-round state tournament games next weekend against opponents
from Region 5-AA. Coosa will be a No. 1 seed; Darlington No. 2. “It’s
disappointing that we weren’t able to (three-peat),” said Darlington’s
Tyson Betts. “But we’ll put this behind us as quick as we can. I felt like
we matched Coosa’s energy today, but they finished the game well.” Tyshawn
Good scored a game-high 26 for Darlington, and Derricus Ellis added 16.
Corey Williams finished with 16 for the Eagles, who trailed 38-27 at the
half but opened the third quarter with a 20-5 run to take the lead for
good. The Eagles’ halfcourt trap created numerous turnovers during the
surge, and transformed the game’s complexion. With the win, Coosa stretched
its winning streak to nine, and improved to 13-1 in the past 14 games.
Coosa’s only loss in that stretch came on Jan. 22 — against Darlington. The
Tigers had also beaten Coosa early in the season during the first meeting
between the teams. “I feel like our team has just gotten better and better
all year long,” said McFather of the Eagles, who’ve gone 18-4 after a 1-3
start. “We’ve stayed the course.” And now here the Eagles are — region
champions for the fourth time in the past six years, and the sixth time in
the past nine. All of the previous titles had come under coach Larry Bing,
who retired last spring. “With the way we’d been playing (recently), we
were expecting to come out and win the region this week,” said Moore. “We
believed we could do it.”
Eagles Head to Region Championship
Coosa boys 55, Pepperell 46
David Dawson, Rome News-Tribune, Photo by
Ken Caruthers
Even though the tempo didn’t suit their
fancy, the Eagles managed to generate their traditional blend of  balanced scoring while earning their third
win over Pepperell this season. In the process, the Eagles unveiled a
new-look defense that might soon become a mainstay. “Our half-court trap is
what got us going in the first half,” said Coosa coach John McFather. “It
was a new wrinkle, and we liked (the results).” Four Coosa players finished
in double figures: Corey Williams had a team-high 12, Quinton Wood and Nick
Moore had 11 apiece, and Jason Kirk 10. Kendric Cheeks led Pepperell with
16 points and Jonathan Watters had 11 for the Dragons, who upset top-seeded
Calhoun on Wednesday. “We played hard today,” said Pepperell coach Steve
Horne, “and if one or two things had gone our way, it could have been a
different outcome. We played well; we just didn’t win.” Trailing 10-3
early, Coosa went on a 25-3 run to take a 28-13 lead with 4:20 left in the
first half. Pepperell trimmed the deficit to six points on five occasions
in the second half, but the Dragons could never get over the hump.
EAGLES DEFEAT DADE , EARN TRIP TO STATE PLAYOFFS
By Jim O’Hara, Rome News-Tribune, Photo by Ken
Caruthers
Having entered the season with a new coach
and without several key starters from a state-playoff team, there were some
who wondered whether the Coosa High boys’ basketball team could continue
the Eagles’ postseason tradition. After Wednesday night’s Region 7-AA
tournament thriller against Dade County, Coosa proved the nay sayers wrong.
Thanks to a follow-up basket by Corey Williams with four seconds left to
play, the Eagles handed the Wolverines a 77-76
defeat at Georgia Highlands College to advance to Friday’s tournament
semifinals and earn a return trip to net week’s Class AA state tournament.
“That was a major, major goal for us when I got here,” Coosa first-year
coach John McFather said after the victory. “We knew we had lost four
starters and that there was a new coach, but the kids wanted to keep the
tradition going. “These kids deserve it,” he added, “but we’ve got a lot of
work left to do.” The win sends Coosa into Friday’s semifinals at 4 p.m. at
Georgia Highlands against Pepperell, which upset No. 9-ranked Calhoun 68-46
in Wednesday night’s finale
With Coosa holding a shaky 56-54 advantage
entering the final period, the two teams wound up trading the lead the rest
of the way, with the Wolverines taking a 76-75 lead with 1:05 to play when
Tommy Grisham, who led all scorers with a 31-point effort, scored in the
lane.
That set the stage for the final flurry as
Coosa opted for the last shot, which wound up being four shots after three
attempts at the basket missed the mark. The Eagles, however, crashed the
board each time, pulling down the offensive rebound with Williams hauling
in the final carom and sticking the ball back in for the game-winner.
Coosa’s Quinton Wood led the Eagles with 24,
while Nick Moore added 11.
Eagles Down Yellow Jackets
Coosa 78, Rockmart 47--
With a 41-26 lead at the half, the Eagles went on to take a 7-AA South win
in Rockmart. Quinton Wood sank four treys on his way to a game-high 18
points while teammate Corey Williams added 14. Rockmart (6-18, 3-8) was
paced by Lamar Mitchell with eight. Coosa (15-7, 9-2) hosts Temple Friday
for Senior Night.
Eagles Down Model
Coosa
69, Model 49 -Quinton Wood scored 19 points and Demetruis Hunter added 11
to help Coosa (13-7, 7-2) post an impressive 7-AA South win on the road.
Coosa opened the game with a 15-5 spurt, and never allowed the lead to dip
below double figures. “Setting the tone early is real important to us,”
said Wood. “It’s something we (stress) a lot in practice, and it carries
over into the games.” Zach Mathis scored 17 points and Fernando Lemus had
15 for Model. The Devils were without the services of starting guard Ben
Hawkins, who was sidelined by bronchitis. Model’s Adam Crump drained a
48-foot buzzer-beater to end the first half, but that was among the few
highlights for the home team on Senior Night at the M-Dome.
Confident Coosa Downs Tribe
David
Dawson, Rome News-Tribune, Photo by Ryan Smith
For
most teams, the rebuilding process takes about a year or longer. For the
Coosa boys, it took about a month. The Eagles, who lost four starters from
last year’s Sweet 16 team, struggled through December, but they have since
turned on the jets. They’ve won seven of their past eight games, with
Tuesday’s 73-53 win at Armuchee being the latest triumph. The victory kept
Coosa (12-7, 6-2) in second place in 7-AA South behind front-running
Darlington. “I wouldn’t say that our team was young when the season
started, but we were very inexperienced,” said Coosa first-year coach John
McFather. “Each game has been a learning process. We took some lumps early
on, but now we’re starting to put some things together.” Coosa has gone
11-4 in its past 15 games after a 1-3 start.  Balanced
scoring and sticky defense have been the biggest keys to the turnaround —
and those elements were present again Tuesday. Demetrius Hunter scored a
game-high 23 points, and he was joined in double figures by Quinton Wood
with 14 and Corey Williams with 11. “At the beginning of the year, we
weren’t playing as a team,” said Hunter, who did a great deal of his damage
by finishing strong on fast breaks. “But now, we’ve adjusted to each other,
and we’ve learned how to play together.” Coosa has seven seniors on the
roster, but only one of them — Nick Moore — was a starter last year. Still,
it was those mostly-green seniors who took it upon themselves to get the
Eagles pointed in the right direction. “It all started with them,” said
Hunter. “The seniors came in one day and said they were tired of playing
around. After that, we all got going.” Added McFather: “After our seniors
got on board with what we were doing, everyone else got on board, too.” The
Eagles were in command against Armuchee (5-14, 1-9) from start to finish.
They opened the game with an 11-4 run, stretched the lead to 44-21 at the
half and sailed home from there. Kyle Wilson finished with 21 points for
Armuchee. Adam Patrick added 11 and Davante Hudson had 10.
Eagles Fall To Tigers
Excerpts from
Article by Jeremy Stewart, Rome News-Tribune
Photo by Ryan
Smith, Rome News-Tribune
CLICK HERE FOR ROME NEWS-TRIBUNE VIDEO BY LESLIE HOUK
Coosa was down by
10 at halftime and losing 57-43 with 5:49 to go in the third when they went
on a 16-3 run and cut Darlington’s lead to 62-59. The lead changed eight
times in the final 8:52 of the contest and the teams tied five times before
Betts’ free throws gave the Tigers the edge. 
“Their trap hurt
us tonight a little bit,” Van Es said. “They got back in it and that gives
us something to work on. And any time you can work on something after you
win you’ve got to be happy.”
Darlington's
Tyson Betts went to the line with 19 ticks left in the game with the Tigers
down 87-86 and made each of his free throws to put Darlington on top 88-87.
Derricus Ellis
then pulled down a rebound on Coosa’s end of the court and passed it to
Tyshawn Good at half court who went down for a lay-up with five seconds
remaining.
After a Coosa
timeout, Eagle Jason Kirk took a shot from behind the arc that bounced off
of the rim at the buzzer.
"It was a
total team effort and one thing I liked tonight is that everybody on the
sideline was involved tonight too,” Darlington coach Jim Van Es said. The
win keeps Darlington (14-3, 8-0) in first place in the 7-AA South standings
while Coosa (10-7, 4-2) remains in second.
“When you don’t
play defense consistently, things like this happen,” Eagles coach John
McFather said. “Right now, we need to get our focus together for the rest
of the season and finish as strong as we can.”
Quinton Wood led
the Eagles with 23 points, Corey Williams added 20, and Demetrius Hunter
and Nick Moore had 16 and 15, respectively.
Eagles Bring Down Temple
by
Quinton Wood
The
Eagles struggled to get their rythm against a fiesty Temple team but were
able to pull off an 85-80 win.
Demetrius Hunter led the Eagles with 25 points, Corey Williams added
23 and Quinton Wood chipped in 16.
Coosa 94, Rockmart 58
Rome News-Tribune Staff
Reports
Coosa held
visiting Rockmart to just four points in the second quarter to take command
and cruise to the 7-AA South victory. Corey Williams led the Eagles (9-6,
3-1) with 23 points, Demetruis Hunter added 22 and Jason Kirk had 14.
Rockmart (4-9,
2-2) was led by Lamar Mitchell’s 18 points and Lorenzo Johnson had 10.
Eagles Down Model
01/08/08
Rome
News-Tribune Staff reports
Click here to see a Rome
News-Tribune video from Tuesday's game between Coosa and Model.
When
he’s in a groove, Coosa’s Quinton Wood can be one of the most dangerous
players in the area. And he was in a groove Tuesday night. Wood drilled
seven 3-pointers and scored a game-high 30 points to lead the Eagles to an
83-69 win over Model in a 7-AA South game at the Eagles’ Nest.
“Quinton
is one of the best pure shooters in the state, in my opinion,” said Coosa
coach John McFather. “He found a rhythm tonight, and really shot it well.”
Three additional players reached double figures for Coosa (8-6, 2-1) in the
win. Nick Moore scored 22, Jason Kirk 13, and Demetrius Hunter 10.
Model
(5-8, 2-2) was paced by freshman Craig Calhoun with 26 points. Zach Mathis
added 20 and Fernando Lemus had 15 for the Devils, who put together a
frantic late-game push before running out of steam in the final minute.
Trailing 67-49 with 6:30 left, Model generated a 20-7 run to draw within
74-69 with 1:15 remaining. Calhoun scored 10 points during the surge,
including a pair of 3s.
But
Coosa spoiled the comeback bid by scoring the game’s final nine points. Two
consecutive fastbreak baskets by Kirk and Wood fueled the game-sealing run.
Coosa hosts Rockmart on Friday; Model hosts Temple.
Eagles Roll Over Chattooga
by Quinton Wood, Coosa High School
Saturday
the Eagles continued their winning streak by defeating Chattooga
98-74. Quinton Wood paced the Eagles
with 19 points, Demetrius Hunter added 18 points and 17 rebounds and Corey
Williams chipped in 16 points respectively
Eagles pull away, 80-57
01/05/08
David Dawson, Rome News-Tribune Sports Writer
Photo by Ryan Smith , Rome
News-Tribune.
The Armuchee boys played Coosa straight up for about 2½
quarters Friday night. Then the host Eagles changed their mode of attack —
and completely changed the game, too. Choosing to abandon their perimeter
shooting, the Eagles instead used their speed and inside strength to pull
away for an 80-57 win over feisty Armuchee in a 7-AA South game that was
far more compelling than the score indicates. Quinton Wood finished with 25
points for the Eagles (6-6, 1-1) and sophomore center Trey Foster
registered a career-high 13. Nick Moore, Jason Kirk and Corey Williams
added 10 each for Coosa, which outscored Armuchee 35-12 over the final 12
minutes to break open what had been a 45-45 tie. “In the third quarter, we
finally started pounding the ball inside, and that made the difference,”
said Moore, the Coosa senior guard. 
Armuchee, which was paced by Kyle Wilson’s game-high 26
points, fell behind 13-2 in the game’s first three minutes, but then put
together a spirited 30-10 run to take a surprising 32-23 lead midway
through the second quarter.
A 3-pointer by Adam Patrick, who finished with 18
points, capped the charge and energized the Indians.
The game remained competitive for the following eight
minutes, with the teams eventually forging a 45-45 tie on a 3-pointer by
Armuchee’s Wilson with 4:13 to play in the third quarter.
But the rest of the night was all Eagles.
With Foster coming alive inside and the Coosa guards
setting the tempo by forcing a stream of turnovers, the Eagles closed the
third period on a 14-2 surge and never slowed down after that.“Once we
started pushing the ball, (Armuchee) didn’t have an answer for us,” said
Moore. Coosa spent much of the first half jacking up quick 3-pointers, but
the Eagles were far more selective in the second half. As a result, they
finished with just one 3-pointer on the night — which was just fine with
head coach John McFather.
“And the kids got the message,” McFather added. “They
played fundamentally-sound basketball down the stretch.”
Eagles finish 3rd in
Comcast Classic
Excerpts from Article by
Scott Herpst, Rome News-Tribune
Coosa claimed third place with an easy 89-57
win over Gordon Central in the consolation game.
Demetrius Hunter had 29 points for the
Eagles while Adrian Harris paced Central with 13 points. Coosa’s Quinton
Wood made the All-Tournament Team.
Eagles Head to Consolation
game of Comcast Classic
Staff Reports/Rome
News-Tribune
The Coosa Eagles are headed to the
tournament’s third-place game after suffering an 80-67 loss to Northwest
Whitfield during Friday’s semifinals at LaFayette High.
Coosa was outscored 23-12 in the fourth
quarter of its loss to Northwest Whitfield.
The Eagles (4-5) trailed only 57-55 at the
end of three quarters before NW Whitfield used its fourth-quarter surge to
pull away.
Quinton Wood scored a game-high 24 for
Coosa, and Corey Williams added 19. Bradley McAdams had 16 to pace NW
Whitfield.
Eagles Defeat Lakeview-Fort
Oglethorpe in Comcast Classic
Excerpts from Article by
Scott Herpst, Rome News-Tribune, Walker County Messenger
Coosa used a 9-0 run at the start of the third
quarter to break at 41-41 tie and hold off scrappy, 69-63. Corey Williams
led the Eagles with 19 points while Chris McNelly led all scorers with 29
points for LFO.
Eagles Fall to Rome in
Tournament Final
Excerpts from Article by
Jeremy Stewart, Rome News-Tribune
Rome News-Tribune Video of Coosa loss to Rome
6th Ranked Rome High defeated Coosa 77-50 in
front of the customary packed house at Georgia Highlands College.
The Rome boys (7-1) made no secret that they
had an agenda as they captured the audience’s attention with a thundering
ally-oop by JaMalcolm Griffin, with the assist from Terrell Burley, to
start the contest with a bang.
A pair of 7-2 runs in the opening quarter
catapulted Rome to a 24-15 lead after eight minutes as the Region 7-AAAA
team worked to extinguish any boost Coosa tried to get.
“I thought that we got away from some of the
fundamental things that we’ve been doing the last two or three games,”
first-year Eagles coach John McFather said. “I think that to start, our
kids got caught up in all of the hoopla of playing against Rome.
“Our kids know their kids very well and they
know us too and it kind of got to the point where we did not execute and
Rome did.”
Coosa (3-4) got some leverage from Nick
Moore and Jason Kirk in the second and third periods as Moore led the
Region 7-AA South squad with 13 points, including three 3-pointers, and
Kirk had 11.
With the Wolves on top 39-27 at the break,
each team worked on developing their plan for the second half.
“We knew we had an advantage inside and so
what we decided at halftime is we had to start taking advantage of where
we’re good,” Jones said.
T.J. Helton, who had 16 for Rome and was
named All-Tournament, picked up two quick shots to start the third period
but Coosa began to inch closer to the Wolves, cutting their lead to six
with 3:23 to go before the fourth.
“I thought, ‘Man, we’re right here,’”
McFather said. “I felt them getting a little tense and I just think that we
took two or three shots that were not probably good shots and we just never
recovered from that.”
A 16-0 Rome run cut Coosa’s comeback bid
short, and the Wolves led by 30 points before Coosa hit a few final shots
to close the gap.
Griffin finished with 14 points and two 3’s
for Rome while Burley had 10.
“I’m extremely proud of them though because
we weren’t even picked to be in the finals,” McFather said, adding how the
Eagles have become a perennial favorite to make it to the championship game
in recent years.
“It says a lot about these guys wanting to
carry on that tradition and they certainly represented Coosa well in this
tournament.”
ROME (77)
Woods 17, Helton 16, Griffin 14, Burley 10,
De. Carter 9, Da. Carter 6, Dallas 2, Watkins 2, Barton 1. Totals: 34 7-19
77.
COOSA (50)
Moore 13, Kirk 11, Wood 9, Williams 5,
Foster 5, Hunter 4, Tolbert 3. Totals: 21 1-6 50.
Eagles Take Sweet Revenge
Over Tigers
12/22/07
Jeremy Stewart, Rome
News-Tribune Sports Writer
Photo by Ken
Caruthers
Rome News-Tribune Video of Coosa defeat of Darlington
 Coosa’s boys rallied early and finished
strong to overtake Darlington 71-66 and make their appointment for 8:30
p.m. today for a showdown with Rome for a shot at the Gold Ball trophy. In
today’s consolation finals at GHC, the Lady Eagles will play Darlington at
1:30 p.m. while the Tigers meet Pepperell at 7 p.m. Darlington’s week-old
rematch with Coosa proved to be a game that was deceiving from the start as
the Eagles stormed out of the gate and took a 38-26 lead at the half. The
Tigers (8-2) were able to adjust after the break and outscore them 43-33 in
the second half, but after Darlington took a 62-59 lead with 1:56
remaining, Coosa (3-3) took advantage of a string of turnovers and went on
a 10-0 run to seal the win. “In the first half, we did a really good job of
playing sound full-court man and drew five charges early in the first half
and I think that got them frustrated a little bit,” Coosa coach John
McFather said. “We were doing a good job of just containing. “As the game
went on, they started picking up some and went to a 1-3-1 and it took us a
little while to adjust to that and that’s good coaching on their part.”
Quinton Wood, who scored eight of the Eagles final 11 points, finished with
20 and three of Coosa’s eight 3-pointers. “I really feel like we were
playing not to lose,” McFather said. “In the last minute and half, we
played to win and that was the difference.” The contest, a rematch of last
year’s Holiday Festival championship game, saw Darlington’s Tyshawn Good
limited in the first half and only five players score for the Tigers. “They
finished better than we did this week. That was about it,” Darlington coach
Jim Van Es said. “I was proud of our kids for coming back from a big
deficit.” Good, who had all four of the Tigers’ 3-pointers, had 26 points
while teammate Derricus Ellis had 21. “It feels good to get a win after
getting beat by them last week,” McFather said. “It’s big for these kids
and it’s big for this program.”
EAGLES WIN CLASSIC OPENER
CLICK HERE TO VIEW VIDEO OF THE COOSA vs. WOODLAND GAME
(Rome News-Tribune)
12/19/07
excerpts from Article by Jeremy Stewart, Rome News-Tribune Sports Writer
Photo
by William T. Martin, Rome News-Tribune Sports Writer
 The Coosa Eagles stepped up to the line for their first game of the 54th annual tournament and took a convincing win at Georgia Highlands College. The Eagles (2-3) took on the 5-AAAA Woodland Wildcats and
built a lead of almost 30 points during the second half. The foundation for
the win began with a 17-2 run in the opening quarter and defensive stand in
the second that kept Woodland from making a field goal until 4:29 left in
the period. “The biggest thing for this game is we really got out to full
court and you could tell they weren’t comfortable with that pressure,”
Coosa Coach John McFather said. “We just kept taking advantage of that and
that’s what we’ve been preaching.”
Another big run during the third and fourth quarters propelled the
Eagles to a 67-39 lead over Woodland (6-3) prior to the Wildcats gaining
some ground with a 19-4 run in the final three minutes. “We had what might be a school record for
turnovers,” Woodland coach Mike Tobin said. “I thought we were ready for
the pressure but, obviously we weren’t.
“We didn’t lay down and die but … that’s some good humble pie for
us.” The Wildcats lead the 5-AAAA
boys’ standings with a 4-0 record in the region. They were paced by Michael
Janusek’s 11 points. Vincent Mitchell and Adam Williams both scored 10
points apiece. The Eagles were led by Corey Williams’ 23 points while
Demetrius Hunter had 17 and Quinton Wood had 14. Coosa, who had lost three
games in a row including a 79-65 loss to Darlington last Friday, was glad
to get back in the win column, especially to start their attempt at picking
up a Gold Ball trophy at the end of the week. “Our main goal in this game
was just to come out and get a win under our belt,” Williams said. “We’ve
been practicing hard, we were 1-3, we just wanted to come out and prove to
everybody that we’re a contender in this region.” The Eagles will face 7AA rival Darlington
Friday night at 8:30pm at Shorter College. “These two schools are big
rivalries and so I’m not going to have to do anything extra to get them
fired up for Darlington,” John McFather said of his players. “They will be
ready. You don’t have to worry about that, they will be ready to play.”
EAGLES LOSE TO DALTON
From the
Dalton Citizen...Staff Reports
—
Dalton 76, Coosa 65: The Catamounts had four players in double figures and
went 13-for-13 at the free throw line — a night after shooting 40 percent
at the stripe — in coasting past host Coosa.
Junior Caz Cole and sophomore Kelly Phillips co-led Dalton (3-3, 2-2) with
16 points each, Lemond Searels pitched in 14 points and Kareem Hawkins
tossed in 11. Searels pulled down 10 rebounds for a double-double and Cole
had eight boards.
“We played real well on the road,” said Cats coach Mike Duffie. “Coosa’s a
tough place to play. They closed it to four points with three minutes left
and we were able to finish them off.”
Dalton shot 16-for-18 from the free throw line in the game.
EAGLES DEFEATED BY TIGERS
Jeremy
Stewart, Rome News-Tribune Sports Writer, Photo by William T. Martin
Click here to see a video from Friday’s boys
basketball game between Coosa and Darlington.
As
visions of the Rome News-Tribune Holiday Festival danced in their heads,
Darlington took on Coosa at the Huffman Center Friday night in a new
edition of the rousing rivalry. And with a packed house for the Region 7-AA
South tilt, they defended their home court and bettered their record to 7-0
with a 79-65 win over the Eagles. “It was a typical game I guess,”
Darlington coach Jim Van Es said. “But once again, we finished better than
they did.”  And it was the
finish that took up the most share of the night’s excitement. Coosa (1-2,
0-1) lagged behind just slightly for most of the game and closed to within
one point of the Tigers with 5:39 to go. With first-year Eagles coach John
McFather leaping to his feet, Coosa’s fans were reinvigorated to rally on
their team. But Darlington (7-0, 3-0) got the game back on their side with
a 21-8 run to close out the game and finish with their biggest lead of the
night at 14. “They really outran us a little bit there right at the start
of the fourth quarter and we got a little tired,” Van Es said. “But we
revived ourselves over here and finished real well.” Now the two teams will
wait to see if they’ll get a rematch in one week as both squads could be
headed to a semifinal bout with each other in the 54th annual Festival
tournament. “I thought we played with great intensity tonight and I thought
we played great team defense,” McFather said. “We played much, much better
than we did Tuesday night.” The Eagles fell 71-62 to Calhoun on Tuesday
after a three-week lapse between games. “I feel like the guys played with
the hearts of champions tonight, I really do.” For Darlington, the tandem
of Tyshawn Good and Derricus Ellis had all the right moves as Good led all
scorers with 33 points and Ellis came up with 20. Freshman Jay Stephens
tacked on 10 for the Tigers. Coosa was led by a mighty trio as well with
Corey Williams pacing the Eagles with 21 followed by Nick Moore with 18 and
Quinton Wood with 14. “We were fighting a lot of obstacles tonight, with
three key players fouling out, and our kids off of the bench just kept
playing,” McFather said, referring to Moore, Williams and Demetrius Hunter
getting their fifth fouls in the fourth. “It’s early but I think we made a
statement tonight that we’re ready to contend and it’s going to be a war.”
The Eagles began the game down 11-2 but used some sly rebounding to go on a
10-2 run themselves and pull within one of Darlington. Coosa took an 18-15
lead with 6:10 remaining in the first half but a string of fouls, including
one that turned into a three-point play for Good, got the Tigers back on
top and they remained there for the rest of the night. While Darlington was
19-of-39 at the line for the night, they were 5-of-8 in the final 1:17 to
add to their lead. “We stepped it up and got the ball out and down the
floor and finally made a few foul shots toward the end because we sure
missed our share tonight,” Van Es said. “But that’s basketball.” Darlington
hosts Calhoun today at 6:30 p.m. while Coosa hosts Dalton at 5:30 p.m.
EAGLES FALL TO CALHOUN
By David Dawson, Rome News-Tribune Sports Writer
CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO
Casey Baxter used to
cause Coosa problems with his jumpshot. Now he’s doing the same with his
clipboard. Baxter, the first-year Calhoun coach, directed the Jackets to a
71-62 non-region win over the host Eagles on Tuesday night. The victory was
Calhoun’s first at the Eagles’ Nest since the 2001-2002 season — when
Baxter was a senior and team captain at Calhoun.  “This is a special
win,” said Baxter. “Coosa has a great program, and anytime you can get a
win here, it’s big. We hope this is a step in the right direction for our
team.” Tyler Arnold poured in a game-high 26 points and Tim Fortenberry
added 19 for Calhoun (2-3), which used a 14-5 run in the third quarter to
break open a tie game and stay in front from there. “We wanted this win
really bad,” said Fortenberry. “We had a good defensive plan going into the
game, and we executed it. We played as a team tonight, and had fun.” Coosa
(1-1), playing its first game in three weeks, was led in scoring by Quinton
Woods and Corey Williams, who finished with 16 apiece.Only three other
Coosa players scored: Jason Kirk had 12 points, Nick Moore 10 and Demetrius
Hunter 8. “I felt like we were a little edgy tonight, and that was due to the
long layoff,” said Coosa first-year coach John McFather. “There is only so
much you can do in practice, and there is no way to simulate an actual
game. That showed at times tonight.” The teams played to a 34-34 tie at the
half, and were knotted at 38 early in the third quarter before a strong
drive and lay-up by Arnold ignited Calhoun’s game-changing 14-5 run. Arnold
scored eight points during the surge. Calhoun eventually pushed the margin
to 65-48 with three minutes to play, but then had to withstand a late Coosa
charge. The Eagles drew within 66-60 after a 3-point play by Kirk with 1:04
remaining. Calhoun, however, went 5-of-6 at the foul line in the final
minute to secure the win.
EAGLES DOWN
CHATTOOGA IN SEASON OPENER
11/20/07 by JEFF GABLE, ROME NEWS-TRIBUNE,
Photo by William T. Martin, Rome News-Tribune
The
curtain went up on Tuesday for the Coosa boys’ basketball team, and for the
most part, the Eagles drew pretty good reviews. Coosa won its season opener
94-83 over Chattooga, giving new head coach John McFather a win in his
debut on the Eagles’ sideline. Coosa’s girls also picked up a win, beating
the Lady Indians 76-37 to improve to 2-0 on the year. While the boys’ game
wasn’t a perfect performance, it was enough to leave McFather encouraged about
the rest of the season. “We’ve got a good group of athletes, and they’re
not meshing quite yet, but it’s still early,” said McFather, who took over
the Eagles’ program this spring when Larry Bing retired after 22 years at
Coosa. “I think we showed signs of being a really, really good basketball
team, but I also saw signs of what we need to work on and improve. The most
important things are our team defense, and we’ve got to be more
consistent.” Chattooga coach Shane Tucker saw his team fall to 0-2, but the
Indians are a more skilled and more athletic team than last year. “We
played at Cherokee County (Ala.) on Monday and then here at Coosa tonight,”
Tucker said. “We wanted to test our young guys early against some very good
teams. “We have a young team, with only one senior, but it’s a mature
group.” Coosa’s Corey Williams led all scorers with 26 points, while
Demetrius Hunter had 25, Nick Moore scored 19 and Quinton Wood added 14.
Rashad Ramsey led Chattooga with 22 points, while Perie Finley added 18 and
Nic Perry chipped in 12.
McFather Era Begins, Eagles Down Ridgeland
By Trey Foster, 9-15-07:
Last night in the Eagles Nest was the first home game for new
head coach, John McFarther. The Eagles played a scrimmage game against the
Ridgeland High Panthers defeating them by 26. Starting slowly, the score was 12-16 at the end of the
first quarter. The momentum increased during the 2nd quarter as
the Eagles went on a 32-18 run putting the home team ahead by 19.
After halftime the pace was quick. The Eagles upped the tempo and defeated the opponent 87-61. Demetrius Hunter led all scorers with 23.
Corey Williams added 19, and Quintin Wood contributed 12. Nick Moore came in with an ankle injury
and moved the ball well. While he failed to score, Moore had several
assists.
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