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- 1. sportshenryherald.com Section B ? Saturday/sunday, February 13/14, 2016 MCDONOUGH ¡ª Eagle¡¯s Landing Middle School pulled off an impressive 48-42 win over Woodland Middle School Wednesday night at Wood- land High School to claim its second straight Henry County Middle School championship. Eagle¡¯s Landing got out to an early 18-9 lead after one quarter, but Woodland responded to tie the score at 24 by halftime. The Lady Wolfpack maintained that momentum in the third quarter, taking a 36-34 lead into the final frame. But the Lady Eagles, hoping to repeat as county champions, made crucial plays in the fourth quarter to ultimately seal the win. Chelsea Aalim scored a team-high 14 points on the night to lead her team to victory. Woodland¡¯s Nia Law- rence scored 18 points to lead all players on the night. In a 15-game season including two pre-season games, Eagle¡¯s Landing averaged 47 points a game while holding their oppo- nents to 17 points a game. Behind starters Mariyah Fletcher, Briana Madi- son, Jaleah Storr, Jasmine Atkins and Chelsea Aalim, the Lady Eagles recorded a 30-0 record and back- to-back county champion- ships. Check out our photo gallery from Wednesday night¡¯s championship game. By Darius Goodman dgoodman@henryherald.com Girls middle school basketball gets 2nd straight title Special Olympics Georgia honors two Henry locals MCDONOUGH ¡ª Two Henry County citizens were recognized by Special Olym- pics Georgia this week. Tavis Crawford of Stockbridge High School was namedAthlete of the Month, while Celeste ¡°Lore¡± Griffin was voted as the GeorgiaVolunteer of the Month. Crawford is known as a ¡°gentle giant¡± who has a never-give-up mindset that has rubbed off on his teammates. Crawford has been participating in the Special Olympics with the Henry County School System since 2008. His sportsman- ship and behavior is unlike many of his other teammates. If his team is winning, he is seen high- fiving his teammates and his coaches. If his team begins to lose, Crawford attempts to do anything he can to lift his team¡¯s spirits using his signature phrase, ¡°Come on guys, we can do this!¡± Crawford cheers all Special Olympics participants on no matter what sport they¡¯re participating in. He is also the first person to shake hands and greet his opponents af- ter the game whether his team won or lost. Crawford¡¯s demeanor wasn¡¯t even inhibited by inclement weather that recently came through and caused many extra- curricular activities to be suspended for the entire weekend, including the Special Olympics Georgia State Indoor Winter Games. Instead of being upset or heartbro- ken, Crawford simply said to his coaches, ¡°We¡¯ll get ¡¯em next year.¡± A longtime volunteer, Griffin has been voted as the Special Olympics Georgia Volunteer of the Month for February. A fellow volunteer told the Special Olympics staff that ¡°Griffin doesn¡¯t just show up to chaperone and watch the athletes play. She helps clothe them, feed them, provide them with meals and has been seen going out and buying shorts, underwear and toiletries for them.¡± Griffin first started volunteering with Special Olympics bowling teams. Her two sons, Matt and Nicholas, were a part of Unified Partners, peers without intellectual disabilities who compete alongside the Spe- cial Olympics athletes. When Griffin¡¯s two sons got older, she moved to the Special Olympics basketball team and became the team mom. Griffin was asked to find Partners for the Special Olympics Georgia State Indoor Winter Games and was able to get partners from the Jackson County High School Football team, where she is currently a Booster Club member. She drove the athletes to Henry County for practice and to meet the players. The Henry Herald would like to con- gratulate both Crawford and Griffin on their accomplishments. By Darius Goodman dgoodman@henryherald.com Goodman ready to tackle Clayton, Henry sports JONESBORO ¡ª The Clayton News and Henry Herald are pleased to an- nounce the hiring of Darius Goodman as their new sports reporter. Goodman will work in both Clayton and Henry counties, covering high school sports as part of the Clayton News and Henry Herald sports departments. A recent graduate of South Carolina State Univer- sity, Goodman returns to the metro-Atlanta area where he has lived most of his life. While in college, Goodman participated in a variety of jobs that have helped hone his sports writing skills. ¡°I decided this was going to be my career path when I was asked to go cover a women¡¯s softball game at South Carolina State Univer- sity in my freshman year,¡± said Goodman. ¡°From there, I knew I wanted to write about sports.¡± Before interning with the Office of Wendy Brown and Associates inAtlanta in a public relations capacity, Goodman interned with the Atlanta Phoenix, a profes- sional women¡¯s football team. With the Phoenix, Goodman drew up PR plans, ran the team¡¯s Facebook and wrote press releases. Before graduating from South Carolina State, Goodman worked with the university¡¯s Office of Sports Information. His duties included being a statistical spotter at volleyball games, writing pre-game reports, live-tweeting games, assist- ing with game day manage- ment duties and gaining live press box experience. Goodman, a rabid NAS- CAR fan, also has experi- ence writing about the sport he loves through online blogs. His knowledge of NASCAR andAtlanta Mo- tor Speedway will come in handy whenAMS hosts its annual race later this month. ¡°It¡¯s really cool,¡± said Goodman. ¡°I get to go out and live a dream and hope- fully meet some drivers and cover the sport in a different way. Goodman will work in both counties but will focus primarily on Henry sports. He said he hopes to bring a more in-depth view into the stories of local players, coaches and programs. ¡°I don¡¯t want to just provide generics,¡± he said. ¡°I want to go in-depth to help the reader understand about the players, the coaches and the coaching philosophies.¡± Luke Strickland, sports editor at the Clayton News and Henry Herald, said he believes Goodman¡¯s enthusiasm regarding the position makes him an ideal candidate. ¡°Not too long ago, I was just beginning my career as a sports journalist,¡± said Strickland. ¡°Darius reminds me of myself in the fact that he¡¯s eager to learn and grow as a writer. He¡¯s excited about the opportunity to join our staff and continue the elite coverage we provide our readers in terms of local sports. We¡¯re excited to have him aboard.¡± From Staff Reports Darius Goodman will join the sports staff of the Clayton News and Henry Herald. (Staff Photo: Luke Strickland) Tavis Crawford won a silver medal with his State Summer Games Flag Football team. (Special Photos:Special Olympics Georgia) Celeste ¡°Lore¡± Griffin, seen here in a Torch Run shirt, was named Special Olympics Georgia Volunteer of the Month for Febru- ary. The Lady Eagles show off their Eighth Grade Championship Trophy after a 58-42 victory over the Woodland Wolfpack. (Special Photos: Ben Ennis) Eagle¡¯s Landing¡¯s Briana Madison looks to the bench for in- structions while bringing the ball to the frontcourt during sec- ond-half play. Eagles repeat Eagle¡¯s Landing¡¯s Jaleah Storr dribbles past Wolfpack defenders during second-half action. Woodland¡¯s Nia Lawrence goes up for a score during first-half action against the Lady Eagles.