Smashers win championship
Syrup City Smashers – front row, kneeling, l-r: Kamen Moore, Christopher Harrison, Landon Toole, Cameron Cooper and Blake Touchton; standing, Hurston Waldrep, Charlie Bedingfield, Dalton Dollar, D.J. Collins, J.T. Andrews and Garrett Gainous. Coaches, l-r: Barry Gainous, Dusty Moore and Guy Dollar. Not shown is coach Hansell Bearden.
The boys claimed the district title two weeks ago in Cordele, going 3-1. Grady County lost to Thomasville, but came back, beating Thomasville to claim the district championship, which gave them a bye in round one of the state tournament held last weekend in Cordele.
The wins over their opponents in the state tournament left little doubt that the Grady County team is the state’s best. Grady County defeated Dublin 14-7 for its first win of the tourney. The Grady County all-stars then defeated Thomasville 23-5 and finished by defeating Dublin once again, 19-11, to bring home the state championship title.
The team, an all-star traveling team, has played hard all season, losing only one game during their traveling team schedule. The team is coached by Guy Dollar, Barry Gainous and Dusty Moore. “We’ve played a lot of ball this year. They have worked hard in practice and in games, and had a good time, too,” said coach Barry Gainous.
Another secret to success for the team has been parents. “We have a lot of parent volunteers who put in a lot of time helping us all season. We couldn’t have done it without them,” added Gainous.
Hard work and dedication paid off for the team as they now claim the 7 & 8 year old state championship title.
