Championship Game

Austin Road MS “Jaguars” vs. Henry County MS “Hawks”

Henry County wins Championship

Hawks end Jaguars perfect season

Henry County MS – McDonough, GA

Myron White hit some big shots for Henry County.

The Jaguars hit the floor running and gunning behind the play of point guard Kammal Hatter and his running mate Javon Brandon; there other teammate, highly touted 6-3 center Greg King started slow offensively but did a nice job on the glass which allowed Hatter and Brandon get out on the break as they opened up a 9-2 lead.

Henry County’s “Big Three” of Reggie Warren, Issac Wilson and Charles Stokes got off to a slow start but teammate Myron White had their backs scoring a couple of baskets to help them stay close.

 

Brandon would finish with 8 first quarter points and his Jaguars would take a 15-8 lead.

 

Austin Road's 6-2 Greg King could develope into a special player in years to come.

Henry County had no answer for King on the rare occasions Austin Road’s decided to feed the “Big Dog” in the first half; his four points were the bright spot for the Jaguars in an otherwise dismal second quarter when they only scored 6 points.

Henry County reserve Matt Hammers came off the bench and drilled back-to-back jumpers as the Hawks fought their way back to tie the score at 17-17.

With 55.5 seconds left in the half Wilson completed a three-point play to give Henry County their first lead of the game 20-17. The lead was however short lived as King scored at the buzzer to give Austin Road a 21-20 lead heading into the half.

 

The action really started heating up in the third quarter and you could feel the excitement in the gym as the teams took turns trading baskets and the lead.

 

Henry County's Issac Wilson pushes the ball up the court; wilson scored 11 points in the game.

Midway through the quarter foul trouble started plaguing Austin Road and you could sense that Coach Latham and his players were starting to become agitated and somewhat frustrated behind what they were feeling as excessive fouls being called against them.

A technical foul against Hatter sent him to the bench after he picked up his forth foul with a little over 4:00 minutes left in the third quarter and the Jaguars trailing 28-24.

TJ Freeman may not get as much ink as the “Big Three” but his contribution is just as key because he really gets after it; his lay-up gave Henry County their biggest lead of the game 35-26 with 2:27 left on the clock, forcing Austin Road to call a timeout. The frustration continued to mount for the Jaguars as Brandon joined Hatter on the bench with his third foul.

The Henry County players continued attacking the basket as they increased their lead to 39-28. King feeling the pressure starting to fall on his shoulders to be everywhere and do everything was called for a technical foul. After an encouraging word from his coach he settled back down and started dominating the paint scoring back-to-back baskets that cut the Hawks lead to 39-32 as the third quarter came to a close.

Austin Road PG Kammal Hatter is one of the better young PG's I've seen this year.

Thing would go from bad to worst for Austin Road when King picked up his fifth foul with 3:41left to play in the game and his team trailing 39-35. Brandon would join his teammates a few seconds later with his fifth, making that three key starters who had fouled out. Before the game would end two more Jaguars would be disqualified from the game on fouls, making it five in all.

Henry County stayed cool down the stretch, working the ball around eating up the clock; they also canned their free-throws as they went on to capture the 2009 Henry County Middle School Championship.

The Final Score:
Henry County MS 52 – Austin Road 42

Scoring Recap:

Henry County MS: Issac Wilson scored 11 to pace the Hawks; Reggie Warren added 10, Myron White 9, Charles Stokes 8 and Matt Hammers chipped in with 6.

Austin Road MS: Greg King scored 16 to lead the Jaguars. Kammal Hatter and Javon Brandon each finished with 9 and Justin Waldrop chipped in with 5.