Albany Herald

Deerfield-Windsor Super 6er Ramello Carter is a big reason the Knights have won 12 straight games in 2013.

ALBANY — Every coach wants his team to play its best in the stretch run, and that’s one reason Deerfield-Windor’s Gordy Gruhl is so pleased with his Knights, who seem to get better each week.

They have won 12 in a row since losing in a Christmas tournament in Alabama and make their debut in The Herald’s Fab 5 Poll at No. 4 this week.

The Knights have been on the bubble for a while, and No. 4 Seminole County and No. 5 Bainbridge both suffered two losses last week and dropped out of the poll.

That left room for two spots in the boys poll, and DWS moves into the No. 4 spot with a 17-3 record. The Knights are blowing teams off the court of late and look like a contender for a state title with a fast-paced offense and a group that can burn down the trey and is led by Herald Super 6er Ramello Carter.

The Pelham Hornets make their debut in the No. 5 spot after a big week, which saw Pelham beat perennial powerhouse Thomasville on Friday and Early County on the road on Saturday. Those two wins nailed down the top seed in the Region 1-AA tournament and also put the tournament at Pelham.

The Hornets are young — only one senior starts — and they had to make the move from Class A to Class AA this year. But Laron Smith’s kids haven’t been bothered with the move up in class or a youth movement and enter the poll with a 16-7 record.

The biggest shock of the week came in Dawson, where Terrell County upset Herald No. 1 Monroe, 48-47, in overtime on Friday. Monroe (19-3) stays at No. 1 in the poll because of its remarkable season. The Tornadoes had not lost a game to a team from Southwest Georgia and were 19-1 against teams from Georgia (the only loss to a Georgia team was a loss to Class AAAAAA Luella) before the upset. Monroe has beaten No. 2 Westover three times, and had beaten Terrell County twice before Friday’s loss.

Monroe coach Marquis Davis hopes the loss will ignite his team for the stretch run. Monroe has already wrapped up the No. 1 seed and will host the Region 1-AAAA tournament next week.

The win for Terrell County could help the Greenwave qualify for the Class A state playoffs, which have a field of only 16 teams. Only the region champions and teams ranked in the top 16 will qualify for the state playoffs. Terrell County was sitting at No. 20 when the Greenwave beat Monroe.

The No. 2 team in the Class A state rankings is Herald No. 3 Mitchell County. The Eagles (20-3) won twice last week to ensure they will be the top-seed in the upcoming Region 1-A tournament next week at Randolph-Clay, because the R-C girls won the right to host.

Randolph-Clay’s girls are the No. 1 ranked Class A team in the state and have been ranked No. 1 in The Herald Fab 5 Poll for more than a month.

They have won 20 of their last 21 games and have two games left in the regular season, including a huge showdown with rival Calhoun County Saturday night in Cuthbert, where the Lady Red Devils are expecting a “blackout” in the Joe Williams Gym for the game.

Randolph-Clay trailed Calhoun in Edison with 20 seconds left in the game before pulling out a 53-51 win earlier this season.

Dougherty remained the No. 2 team in The Fab 5, but the Lady Trojans face a big test Friday at Darton, where they meet rival Westover. The four Albany schools face off at Darton, where Dougherty plays Westover in girls and boys games, and Monroe meets Albany High in girls and boys games.

The Dougherty-Westover girls game tips off the day at 4:30 p.m., and Monroe and Albany High’s boys will play the finale at 9 p.m.

The Monroe girls stayed at No. 3 in the poll and Pelham stayed at No. 4 after winning its biggest game of the season on Friday against Thomasville. The Lady Hornets lost, 40-39, in Thomasville earlier, but avenged the loss last week. Pelham (20-3) has lost only to Monroe in OT, Class AAAAAA Colquitt County and Thomasville, which was 18-1 before losing to Pelham.

Mitchell County beat Seminole for the second time this season and stayed at No. 5 in the girls poll.

FAB 5 Poll

BOYS

1.) Monroe 19-3

The Nadas had a long layoff last week and were upset by Terrell County in OT but stay at No. 1 because of their season-long resume. Next: vs. Albany at Darton, 9 p.m., Friday.

2.)Westover 16-5

The Patriots won their second game in overtime in a row, beating Crisp, 77-69, and finish the season Friday against rival Dougherty. Next: vs. Worth County, 7:30 p.m., today.

3.) Mitchell County 20-3

The Eagles are ranked No. 2 in the state and are the top seed in Region 1-A after beating Seminole. Next: at Lee County, 7:30 p.m., Friday.

4.) Deerfield-Windsor 17-3

The Knights make their debut at No. 4 after winning 12 in a row in GISA, where they are hoping to make a run at a Class AAA state title. Next: vs. Brookwood, 8 p.m., today.

5.) Pelham.......................................................................16-7 The Hornets debut in the poll after clinching the top seed and earning the home site for the Region 1-AA tournament. Next: at Fitzgerald, 7:30 p.m., today.

GIRLS

1.) Randolph-Clay 21-2

The Lady Red Devils are averaging 62 points a game while allowing just 36 and have won 11 in a row and 21 of the last 22. They have two games left, including a showdown Saturday at home against rival Calhoun County.. Next: at Webster, 6 p.m., Friday.

2.) Dougherty .................................................16-5

The Lady Trojans beat Worth, 71-19, to win their eighth in a row and face a big test Friday against rival Westover to end the regular season. Next: vs. Cairo, 6 p.m., today.

3.) Monroe.................................................................17-6

The Lady Tornadoes had two romps, beating Crisp, 71-34, and Terrell County, 71-32, and are 10-2 in Region 1-AAAA. Next: vs. Albany at Darton, 6 p.m. Friday.

4.) Pelham.....................................................................20-3

The Lady Hornets avenged their only Class AA loss with a 48-47 win against Thomasville and have won seven in a row. Next: at Berrien, 6 p.m., today.

5.) Mitchell County...................................................15-8

The Lady Eagles stayed hot with wins against Seminole County and Brooks County. Next: at Lee County, 6 p.m. Friday.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“I told everyone at halftime that this is not the way we play. I told them we have to think about what we’re doing and go out and get our revenge.’’

Gary McRae

Randolph-Clay sophomore who gave a halftime speech and scored 23 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and blocked four shots, including two at the end of OT, to help the Red Devils overcome a 21-point deficit and beat rival Terrell County. Randolph-Clay lost to Terrell County, 67-47, earlier in the season.

By the Numbers

1

Number of losses by Monroe’s boys in SW Georgia. The Tornadoes’ only losses were to Class AAAAAA Luella and Florida power Oakland Park Northeast until Terrell County upset Monroe in OT last Friday. Terrell County managed to beat Monroe, 48-47.

81

The number of points the Deerfield-Windsor Knights are averaging during their current 12-game winning streak.

Schedule

Today

6 p.m.

Worth girls at Westover

Albany girls at Am-Sumter Terrell County girls at Webster

Early County girls at Miller County

Pelham girls at Fitzgerald

Hardaway girls at Lee County

Thomas County Central girls at Bainbridge

Crisp County girls at Tift County

Quitman girls at Seminole County

6:30 p.m.

Brookwood girls at DWS

Tiftarea boys at Southland

Crisp Academy girls at Grace Christian

Valwood girls at TAE

Westwood girls at SGA

7:30 p.m.

Worth boys at Westover

Albany boys at Am-Sumter

Terrell County boys at Webster

Early County boys at Miller County

Pelham boys at Fitzgerald

Hardaway boys at Lee County

Thomas County Central girls at Bainbridge

Crisp County boys at Tift County

Quitman boys at Seminole County

8 p.m.

Brookwood boys at DWS

Tiftarea boys at Southland

Crisp Academy boys at Grace Christian

Valwood boys at TAE

Westwood girls at SGA

Friday

4:30 p.m

Dougherty girls vs. Westover at Darton

6 p.m.

Monroe girls vs. Albany at Darton

Miller County girls at Seminole County

Mitchell County girls at Lee County

Americus-Sumter girls at Crisp County

Bainbridge girls at Cairo

Randolph-Clay girls at Webster

Brooks County girls at Pelham

Miller County girls at Seminole County

Terrell County girls at Quitman

Stewart County girls at Calhoun County

6:30 p.m.

DWS girls at Tiftarea

Valwood girls at Westwood

TAE girls at Sherwood

SGA girls at Southland

Grace Christian girls at Highland Christian

Fullington girls at Crisp Academy

7:30 p.m.

Dougherty boys vs. Westover at Darton

Miller County boys at Seminole County

Mitchell County boys at Lee County

Americus-Sumter boys at Crisp County

Bainbridge boys at Cairo

Randolph-Clay boys at Webster

Brooks County boys at Pelham

Miller County boys at Seminole County

Terrell County boys at Quitman

Stewart County boys at Calhoun County

8 p.m.

DWS boys at Tiftarea

Valwood boys at Westwood

TAE boys at Sherwood

SGA boys at Southland

Grace Christian boys at Highland Christian

Fullington boys at Crisp Academy

9 p.m.

Monroe boys vs. Albany at Darton

Saturday

6 p.m.

Monroe girls at Worth County

Calhoun County girls at Randolph-Clay

Seminole County girls at Bainbridge

Mitchell County girls at Baker County

7:30 p.m.

Monroe boys at Worth County

Calhoun County boys at Randolph-Clay

Seminole County boys at Bainbridge

Mitchell County boys at Baker County