Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

Wednesday, December 5, 2007 The Braselton News Page 3B Bovs’ Hoops Panthers win first clash with rival Eagles CONTESTED SHOT Jackson County’s Will Wolter (20) goes up on defense during last Saturday’s win at East Jackson. Photo by Brandon Reed BY ALLEN LUTON The Jackson County boys bas ketball team picked an ideal time to grab its first win of the 2007-08 season last Saturday night. The Panthers traveled to East Jackson for the first of a home- and-home set of games between the two schools, and although the Eagles are only in their first year of existence, it’s clear that the two schools have already formed a fierce rivalry. In front of a raucous crowd, the Panthers emerged with a hard- fought 64-59 win. They rode the hot shooting of Joseph Smith to the win. He netted a team-high 21 points and grabbed eight rebounds. In addition to shooting a stellar 71 percent from the field on the night, he was also 10-of-12 from the free-throw line. For first-year head coach Britt Beaver, the triumph over the Eagles was a sign that his youth laden squad is already adjusting to the system the new skipper has installed. “I was very proud of my kids,” Beaver said. “They have only had two weeks to attempt to adjust to a new coach and a completely new style of play.” Because many of East Jackson’s students were at JCCHS last year, the rivalry is one between two teams that certainly are familiar with one another. It was one rea son the game was a big one for both teams despite coming at such an early juncture in the season. “This was a hug victory for us,” Beaver said. “My kids had the courage to stay at JCCHS and play a very, very tough Class AAAA schedule instead of going over to a brand new 40-million dollar facil ity and dropping to a much easier AA schedule. My sophomores beat the kids that would have played at JCCHS as seniors. “They beat the kids that they had to sit on the bench and watch play here last year.” In addition to Smith’s scoring out-put, J.B. Baxter also turned in a double-double performance, scoring 14 points and pulling down 11 rebounds. Marquice Gillispie, one of the few returning players for the Panthers this season also added 14 points, five steals, and like Smith, was solid at the charity stripe, going 7-for-10 at the line. T.J. Sims also chipped in with five points and had three assists. “The kids are starting to buy into my system and you could see that Saturday night,” Beaver explained. “They played smart, disciplined basketball.” With a difficult schedule ahead this season, particularly in region play, the Panthers may have to deal with some growing pains, but wins like the one over the Eagles will go a long way toward helping the team’s confidence. “They played with a ton of heart Saturday,” Beaver said. “It was a great night to be a Panther! We have a long way to go, and this is going to be a tough year, but we are build ing the foundation of a winning program here at Jacksson County. I will have every player back next year and most players back the fol lowing year and that is exciting.” Girls' Hoops Jackson County knocks off East Jackson BY ALLEN LUTON It hasn’t taken this year’s Jackson County girls’ basketball team long to find its form. Just two weeks into the current campaign, the Lady Panthers have already picked up several non region wins. This past Saturday’s win may have been the biggest. That’s when the Lady Panthers traveled over to East Jackson and knocked off the rival Lady Eagles for their third win this season. This year’s JCCHS team is a young one that appears to be gain ing confidence, which could mean even bigger things lie ahead for the squad. But considering the circum stances surrounding the game, last weekend’s win over the Lady Eagles was certainly the highlight of then- season thus far. East Jackson’s student body is largely made up of transfers that were at Jackson County last school year. That makes the two schools immediate rivals despite EJCHS being in just its first season of exis tence. “I think it’s one of the biggest wins this school’s had in a while,” seventh- year Jackson County head coach Chad Pittman said. “Everybody’s excited. It seemed like it was more Public Auction Sf ■3 Auc '|«ni. JlPigltarynu PMlrry. KDStau'arTl, Njratry Ur: :• t ■■ i Dttiu, FJbbnijl kanrlrllnq t : .41. UhliimMi IJL 1 . J ILLqU.hi ■ Jpip Id tin Pull>e r F a mu r J T ha f 1 stI iyy ’ lHflWRHi Urimnt, &A.JTC29 .■■■•■ 'd EidntnUuiin nf-Ejiu'-riLi HhnlFUra =\rg. Itt.upn sq*1l than a basketball game.” The Lady Panthers prevailed 60-48 in the contest thanks to a solid collective effort by a host of players. Freshman Ashley Skelton led the way for the Lady Panthers with 17 points. Katie Rodriguez added 12 points and Alyssa Esco had nine in the win. One of the best all- around performances of the night was turned in by Breanna Drew, as the freshman guard tallied eight points, eight rebounds and seven big steals in the game. Pittman could not have been more pleased with the effort of his team in the road victory and he said he was glad to see their hard work pay off with in the end. “They were out there busting then- guts to try and win the game not only for their school, but almost for their community as a whole,” he said. “It seemed like it was a little bit bigger than just a basketball game. There’s no doubt about it, it was a big win and I was real proud of the kids.” Jackson County went ahead 35-22 before East Jackson cut the lead to 41-35 in the second half. The Lady Panthers then pushed the margin up to 45-36 followed by a 53-39 difference. In the end, the team had enough to hang on down the stretch and pick up a third win this season. “We played well in stretches,” Pittman said. “It was a game of runs for us and thankfully, we had enough of those to get us over the hump... It was pretty even really, I think we shot the ball better than they did and that was the difference really.” East Jackson will come to JCCHS for a return game at The Pit on Dec. 15. Saturday’s win sent the Lady Panthers into this week’s play with a 3-1 record. They are in the midst of a five game road stretch that also includes away contests at Alcovy and Habersham Central before the squad returns home on Dec. 14. Last Friday night at Apalachee saw the Lady Panthers also come out on top in their first road test of this season. In addition, the 58-45 triumph over the Lady Wildcats sent JCCHS above the.500 mark on the season. Jackson County led 56-35 late in the game before Pittman emptied the bench the rest of the fourth quarter. Drew led the way with 20 points and nine rebounds and Skelton chipped in with 13 points and five steals. Pittman said the win was yet another night when his team was collectively solid. CARHARTT-LARGEST INVENTORY LOWEST PRICES ANYWHERE! One of Georgia’s largest Carhartt dealers. Winter clothes just arrived! CARHARTT COATS, PANTS, BELTS, CAPS, GLOVES, VESTS, THERMAL UNDERWEAR, INSULATED & UNINSULATED OVERALLS & COVERALLS Carhartt IF CARHARTT MAKES IT, IRVIN’S HAS IT! Sizes from 2T for kids to 60 and 4XXXL IRVIN’S STORE & HUNTING SUPPLY Located 6 miles South of Baldwin on Old 441. Look for the signs. 4964 Hwy 441 N, Baldwin • 706-778-6116 Hours 9:00-5:00 Mon-Sat, December Hours: Sun 10:00-4:00 Wrestling PANTHER INVITATIONAL Jackson County’s Andrew Blackwell (top) positions an oppo nent this past weekend during the Panther Invitational. Photo by Lyn Sengupta Jackson Co. takes third as host of Panther Invitational The finish by Jackson County was an improvement on last year’s placing at the event, as the Panthers were fifth a year ago. The improvement is even more impressive when consid ering that the Panthers have seen a host of grapplers gradu ate and transfer to East Jackson during the offseason. “I was very pleased with our performance at the tour nament.,” first-year Jackson County head coach Jason Powers said. “We put six in the finals and three finished first.” In addition to those JCCHS grapplers that made their way through the brackets to Saturday night’s finals, Powers said he was also pleased with some of the other less-experienced wrestlers that also excelled during the event. Among them was freshman Ryan Shekey who placed third in 103-pound weight class. “I am very proud of our team and how we performed...” Powers said. “I was especially pleased with our two under classmen placing in the tourna ment (Howe and Shekey).” Up next for the Panthers is a trip down to South Effingham where they will take part in the Rebel Invitational this week end. The event begins Friday and concludes on Saturday. BY ALLEN LUTON The Jackson County wrestling team rode on the strength of its leaders last weekend as host of the annual Panther Invitational. And that core helped the squad secure a top-3 finish amidst a 24-team field full of some of the more talented wrestling teams in the state. The squad’s five team cap tains — Ben Lesniak, Justin Best, Andrew Blackwell, Kevin Spicer and Jose Carrillo-Garcia — all advanced to the finals of their respective weight divi sions. In all, the team had six grapplers in the finals and was in contention throughout the tournament. That could be a sign of some good things to come this season for the Panthers. Carrillo-Garcia (215 pounds), Lesniak (130) and sophomore Ryan Howe (189) all brought home individual titles from the event. Placing second for the Panthers after making it into the finals of their respective weight divisions were Best (135), Blackwell (152), and Spicer (160). Overall the Panthers third- place showing was behind only second-place Gilmer County and the event’s winner, Jefferson. DRIVING RIGHT Jackson County’s Ashley Skelton (21) drives to the basket last Saturday at East Jackson. Photo by Brandon Reed DEW AMD 0t5£D FU£MirU££, harr££SSES, aion-ws, Hoyget iolp aooos, ere. 335-6084 2IS)n. F.lcn St Cfiriuwn*. {& Your patronage helps provide, for :h:se in need.