Newspaper Page Text
7B
September 6, 2023
Friday preview
Panthers facing ‘probably the most talented team we’ve played to this point’ Friday
Jackson County appears
to have saved its toughest
non-region challenge for last.
The Panthers will trav
el to Class AAAAAAA
Mountain View Friday
(Sept. 8, 7:30 p.m.) in their
final non-region contest of
the season before embark
ing on Region 8-AAAAAA
play. The Bears are 1-2, but
their two losses are to Class
COMING UP
•lackson Co, at Mountain View, Friday
[Sept 8], 7:30 p..m.
AAAAAAA No. 1-ranked
Gainesville and Lambert,
which are a combined 6-0.
“Yeah, it’s probably the
most talented team that we’ve
played to this point,” Jackson
County football coach Korey
Mobbs said. “Up front, on de
fense, are maybe as good as
we’ll see, so it will be a great
test for us.”
Mountain View’s defen
sive front is anchored by
Justin Greene, a 6-foot-4,
260-pound, four-star prospect
who has committed to the
University of Georgia.
Meanwhile, Mobbs said the
See Game, page 8A
Jackson County is preparing this week for a road battle Friday (Sept. 8) at
Class AAAAAAA Mountain View in its final non-region contest.
Softball
JCHS softball
team now 6-4
The Jackson Coun
ty High School soft-
ball team earned a pair
of region victories
last week, splitting a
doubleheader against
reigning region cham
pion Apalachee and
earning a single-game
victory on the road at
Habersham Central.
With the victories,
the Panthers now stand
at 6-4 overall on the
season and 2-1 in re
gion play.
Jackson County
hosts North Forsyth
on Thursday, Sept. 7,
at 6:30 p.m., before a
doubleheader on the
road at Gainesville on
Tuesday, Sept. 12.
Following a 7-3
loss in game 1 against
Apalachee last week,
the Panthers earned a
7-4 victory behind a
complete game from
Emery Shiffman in the
circle. Senior Audri-
anna Lindquist drove
home two runs and
scored another at the
plate, while fellow
senior Kylen Hewell
drove in a run in the
win.
Against Habersham
Central, the Panthers
took a 4-1 lead into
the bottom half of the
sixth inning before
withstanding a two-
run comeback bid by
Habersham, claiming a
4-3 region victory.
Senior Raeghan
Thompson was 2-for-
4 in the win, driving
home a run and Marley
Grounds was 2-for-3
with an RBI. Hewell
and junior Katelyn
Czetnar also drove in a
run in the victory.
Senior Maegan
Brownlee earned the
victory in the circle, al
lowing two earned runs
with six strikeouts in
the victory.
Miabella Lee swings at a pitch during recent
Jackson County softball action.
Jackson County’s M.J. Spurlin cuts toward the end zone on his game-winning 9-yard touch
down run in double overtime against Central Gwinnett. Spurlin rushed for 209 yards and scored
five touchdowns in a dominant performance.
Recap: Jackson Co. 32, Central Gwinnett 26 / 20T
‘Almost like poetic justice’
Jackson Co. stuns Central Gwinnett in double
overtime following last week’s heartbreaking loss
Jackson County an
swered one of its most
gut-wrenching losses with
one of its most elating wins,
capping a whirlwind seven
days for the Panthers.
M.J. Spurlin scored on
a 9-yard touchdown run in
the second overtime period
to lift Jackson County to a
32-26 win over the visiting
Black Knights in a double
overtime thriller Friday
(Sept. 1). The Panthers (2-
1) lost to Duluth 35-34 in
two overtimes last Friday
(Aug. 25) after leading
by two touchdowns in the
fourth quarter.
“It was almost like po
etic justice because we’re
down, really, the same
score that we were up last
week,” Jackson County
coach Korey Mobbs said.
“So, it’s about finishing,
and we’re just kind of
learning how to win right
now. We’ve got a really fun
group of kids to coach, and
they didn’t quit.”
Not only did Jackson
County show its mettle by
rallying from a two-touch
down, fourth-quarter defi
cit, it persevered through
a chaotic overtime that
included blocking an ex
tra point to force a second
overtime.
Mobbs said his team’s
week of practice delivered
the win.
“Tonight was about the
week that we had,” he said.
“For us, this (the game) is
about 5% of what we do
throughout the week. This
is the public one, the one
you can’t get back. But it’s
about the week that we had
after last week’s results that
created tonight.”
Spurlin’s game-win
ning run capped a monster
five-touchdown, 209-yard
night for the 240-pound se
nior running back. Spurlin
has accounted for 10 touch
downs over the past two
weeks.
“He’s a warrior,” Mobbs
said. “I’ve seen that kid
grow up a ton, really since
January in the weight
room, how he practices
with his practice habits, and
tonight was a result of that.
He gets better as the game
goes on.”
Mobbs added that
Spurlin “has finished three
games in a row for us run
ning the football into the
end zone.”
“I’m really proud of
him,” he said.
Led by Spurlin’s effort,
the Panthers rushed for a
season-high 271 yards.
Central Gwinnett (2-
1) appeared positioned to
move to 3-0, taking a 20-6
lead in the opening mo
ments of the fourth quarter
when Andre Cooper scored
on a 14-yard touchdown
run and Darren Coleman
added a two-point conver
sion.
But Spurlin rallied Jack-
son County with scoring
runs of 10 and 11 yards as
the Panthers tied the game
20-20, forcing overtime.
Spurlin then scored on a
9-yard touchdown run in
the first overtime period,
See Win, page 8A
Volleyball
JCHS volleyball now 19-1, showdown with North Forsyth ahead next week
The Jackson County
High School volleyball
team pushed its record to
19-1 with three more wins
as it nears a pivotal region
matchup with North For
syth next week.
The Panthers rolled past
Archer (25-20, 25-19),
Mountain View (25-13,
25-8) and Madison County
(25-11, 25-15, 25-15) last
week.
Ruthie Fowler led the
Panthers over Archer with
13 kills. Paisley Gillespie
added eight kills and 16
digs. Sydney McCutcheon
recorded a double-double
with 18 assists and 10 digs.
Allyson Page tallied
10 kills in the lopsided
win over Mountain View.
Gillespie had seven digs,
and McCutcheon finished
with 17 assists.
Paisley Gillespie
sparked Jackson County
with 12 kills against Mad
ison County. Andrea Sea-
graves, Ava Lesniak and
Fowler all recorded seven
assists. McCutcheon to
taled 18 assists.
The Panthers have a
Thursday (Sept. 7, 6 p.m.)
match at Apalachee before
a matchup with co-region
leader North Forsyth. The
two teams are undefeat
ed in region play and will
collide Tuesday (Sept. 12)
at 6 p.m. at North Forsyth
(15-8).
Jackson County defeat
ed North Forsyth for the
region title last year, but
the Raiders advanced to
the Class AAAAAA semi
finals.
The Jackson County High School volleyball team has moved to 19-1. It will face Apalachee Thursday
(Sept. 7) and North Forsyth (Sept. 12). Both matches are road contests.