Renegades win second state title

A team of local middle and high school students clinched a state title in wheelchair football this weekend, the second championship win this year for the group of disabled athletes.

The Northeast Georgia Renegades, made up of public school students from Clarke and Oconee counties, beat the Gwinnett Heat on Saturday by a narrow 23-18 at the American Association of Adaptive Sports junior varsity championship game held at Clarke Central High School. Five months ago, they took home another state championship in wheelchair handball.

"It was a tight game," said Richard Scott, the team's coach. "If they would have marched down the court and got a touchdown, we would have lost the game."

The Renegades, first established as a team in August, wrapped up their 7-1 season in wheelchair football by defeating the only team they lost to this season, Scott said.

Gwinnett was one of the toughest teams they faced this year, and the teams met on three separate occasions, Scott said.

"They knew everyone of our misdirection plays," Scott said. "We could have killed anyone that didn't know us, but they knew us very well."

Members of the team included Brittanae Clark of Clarke Central High School; Sanchez Elder and Dwight Wicks of Clarke Middle; Matthew Dooley and Brent Gelfand of Oconee County Middle; Treyvon Smith of Malcom Bridge Middle; and Bren Jones from Loganville High School.

In the fall, the team beat the Augusta-based Richmond County team in wheelchair handball, completing their undefeated season in sudden-death overtime.

Both wheelchair handball and football are played on a basketball court, where players use either manual or power wheelchairs to shoot or pass a ball to score a goal or touchdown.

In each sport, coaches find a way to use each player's talents, even if they can only move one hand.

"(The Renegades are) very competitive," Scott said. "They like to win. They've got big hearts, and we're lucky to have some pretty athletically gifted kids."