2007-11-15 JOHNS CREEK HERALD
Georiga Tech, Georgia rivalry feature local standouts
by Mike Blum
(SPECIAL/www.northfulton.com) Travis Bell’s kicks are like money in the bank. A true scholar-athlete he’s an ACC Academic All-American. (click for larger version) November 21, 2007 When Georgia and Georgia Tech resume their annual rivalry Saturday in Atlanta, three recent local high school football standouts will be playing prominent roles for the two teams. Georgia's offense, which rolled up more than 40 points in three consecutive wins over Florida, Troy State and Auburn, features two north Fulton products among its 11 offensive starters – senior wide receiver Sean Bailey from Milton and freshman offensive lineman Clint Boling from Chattahoochee. Georgia Tech's local standout doesn't spend quite as much time on the field, but he is no less a vital contributor. Senior placekicker Travis Bell from Roswell has already broken some of the school's kicking records, and will likely have more before he concludes his career. Bailey is enjoying by far his best season in Athens, leading the Bulldogs in receptions (31), receiving yards (487) and touchdown catches (4) through 10 games. Bailey will likely catch more passes this season than he did in three previous seasons combined, with his career at Georgia limited by injuries. The 6-1, 175-pound senior missed much of his freshman season, and was part of a deep receiving corps his sophomore and junior seasons, catching a combined 30 passes for 588 yards and 7 touchdowns. He served as the team's main deep threat, catching two touchdown passes his junior season against Boise State and two more in the SEC Championship win over LSU. But an injury suffered during bowl practice kept the high school All-American sidelined for the entire 2006 season, and he may be headed for knee surgery again after this season while he attempts to play through another injury. Bailey was one of the state's most highly recruited players as a senior at Milton. He caught 86 passes that season for 1,382 yards and 18 touchdowns, and made just about every high school All-America team. Boling has made an impact in Athens significantly sooner than did Bailey, moving into the starting lineup at offensive guard just a few games into his freshman season. The 6-5, 290-pound Boling has started all but two games for the Bulldogs at right guard, and has been a solid contributor to a line that has created plenty of running room for redshirt freshman standout Knowshon Moreno. After beginning his career at Chattahoochee as a tight end, Boling played offensive tackle and defensive end his last two seasons with the Cougars, earning all-state honors as a senior. Boling also was one of the main players on the Chattahoochee basketball team that reached the state playoffs last year. Bell has already set the Georgia Tech record for field goals in a season (20 going into last week's game against North Carolina) and also is first all time in career percentage of kicks made (73 percent). With two games left in the regular season, Bell's 58 career field goals trailed the school record of 60 held by Scott Sisson, and he is also nearing the Tech single season and career records for points scored by a kicker. Bell missed only three field goals in Tech's first 10 games to ranks among the top percentage kickers in the country. He has converted on all 129 career extra point attempts. Among Bell's highlights this season are four field goals in the season opener against Notre Dame; three field goals against Virginia including a career best 51-yarder; a pair of 40-yard-plus field goals against both Clemson and Army; and the game-winning field goal in the fourth quarter against Miami. Bell, who made the team at Georgia Tech as a walk-on, was second team all-ACC and first team freshman all-America kicker in 2004, when he enjoyed a streak of 15 consecutive field goals made. He has made the ACC all-academic team each of the last three years, and will be in line for post-season honors again this year. Saturday's game kicks off at 3:30 p.m. and will be nationally televised on ABC. - www.northfulton.com

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