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thejenkinscountytimes.com
The Jenkins County Times
Friday, May 19, 2023- Page 9
Under the
Bleachers
Spring sports have
either finished or will
be finishing in the days
ahead. Graduation is
right around the comer.
Believe it or not, the
Jenkins County War
Eagles football team will
be on the practice field in
less than four weeks. In
less than three months,
we will be talking about
football Friday night and
cheering on “the boys
of fall.” Next week, I
will unveil the football
schedule, and then
the week after that the
softball schedule. One
sport will end, and the
other is quickly around
the comer.
The NBA playoffs
are fully underway.
The final four teams
remain, and they include
Boston Celtics, Denver
Nuggets, Miami Heat,
and Los Angeles Lakers.
If the Lakers and the
Celtics were to meet
in the championship
game, it might have a
“throwback” feel to the
days when the two teams
would meet and greats
like Larry Bird and
Magic Johnson had to
faceoff. I cannot promise
the games would be as
good as those classics,
but if you like basketball
it would be fun to watch
a seven-game series
between the two.
Just a few weeks ago
the Jenkins County
Times reported on the
good success of Bill
Knight who is playing
for the low-A Mariners
affiliate the Modesto
Nuts. Knight has had a
tremendous start to the
young season; however,
he had a setback with
an injury to his hand.
Hopefully, Knight will
only be sidelined for
a short time and will
quickly start working
his way back towards
the “Big Show” and live
what is no doubt a dream
to play in Major League
Baseball.
The Atlanta Braves
have had their share of
bad luck in recent days.
Two of their starting
pitchers, Max Fried and
Kyle Wright went down
with long-term injuries.
Wright had over twenty
wins last season and
Fried was considered
a top candidate for the
Cy Young Award this
season.
In addition to their
long-term injuries, the
Braves have suffered
many injuries in the
early season, yet they
are still regrouping each
week to hold one of the
best records in baseball.
Yet, it was the comments
by the Braves manager,
Brian Snitker that stuck
with me the most.
Amid a press
conference after a very
difficult three-game
losing streak, Snitker
could have played
on the emotions of
having injured players,
bad losses, and other
circumstances. Snitker’s
response was, “No
one feels sorry for
us.” He was speaking
specifically about the
Braves’ opponents.
In sports, our
opponents do not feel
bad when losing streaks
occur. While opponents
would never wish
injuries on someone,
they will use injuries
and bad days to take
advantage and win!
This is athletics, but it
should not be like this in
life. Romans 12:15 says,
“Weep with those who
weep, and rejoice with
those who rejoice.” This
is the call of the local
church. When life falls
apart, we hold up the
broken together. When
life is full of rejoicing,
people should gather to
rejoice.
We are not called to
“feel sorry” for another,
but we are expected to
crawl out from under the
bleachers and uphold our
brothers and our sisters.
And, even if that person
is an enemy of ours, we
are called to do good to
our enemies and even
pray for them. We do not
learn our tactics from
the field of play, under
the bleachers, or even on
the bleachers; we learn
our ways through the
Scripture either read or
spoken to us. May we
look more like Jesus than
a baseball player; may
we show more grace
than our favorite team.
To those in Christ, we
belong to His kingdom!
Comes to a Close
Just as fast as the season began this year, the season was
quickly over. With teams playing 9-11 games through the
month of April and the first days of May, it has been a busy
2 months of practices and games. Trophies were presented,
at the end of the final games.
For some of these players in machine pitch and live pitch,
there will be another month of play as All-Star teams were
picked concluding the final game. Kids chosen for All-stars
will play teams from around surrounding counties, they will
participate in tournaments, and then in the first of June, they
will play in the district tournament with the hope to play for
the state championship. If you have pictures of the JCRD
teams or if you have pictures once All-star games begin
email me at pastorbradasbury@gmail.com.
The 8U team sponsored by Lighthouse Lawncare
prepares to take the field. The team gathered
for a pep talk from the coach. Photo submitted.
One of the t-ball teams discusses strategy as the opposing
team comes up to bat. Or, they may be seeing who has the
best shoes or discussing the snack at the end of the game.
Whatever the occasion, they were having fun. Photo
Submitted
A player gets down to make the play at first
base. Photo Submitted.
Around the
Region
The GHSA State Playoffs
are still going on as play
has entered the Final Four.
From the War Eagles
region, there are still
two teams that remain.
Both ECI and McIntosh
County Academy are
seeking a berth in the state
championship game. To
have two out of the four
teams from the same region
in the final four says much
about the competition in
Region 3 in baseball.
ECI played a doubleheader
on Tuesday, May 16 th
. At the time of writing,
only the results for game
one were available. In
game one, ECI defeated
Schley County 6-2. To get
to the final four, ECI has
defeated Hawkinsville,
Lanier County, and Towns
County. ECI has not lost
a game in the playoffs,
remained undefeated
through regional play, and
only lost a total of eight
games this season.
McIntosh County
Academy lost their first
game of a doubleheader
by a score of 11-1 against
Charlton County. To get
to the final four, MCA
defeated Wheeler County
in two games, it took three
games to defeat Seminole
County, and three games to
take out Bowdon.
The 10U Champions was the team sponsored by Front Street
Fitness. Photo Submitted
The GHSA State Track and Field meet took place
the during the week of May 8 th . The meet was held
in Columbus, GA at Kinnett Stadium. The Jenkins
County War Eagles were part of more than forty teams
competing for the medals in the near twenty events
that were offered.
The War Eagles boys’ track team finished in 8 th
place out of all teams in the state tournament!
Individually, both the
boys’ and girls’ teams
finished exceptionally well.
JT Moye, a sophomore at
Jenkins County finished
as runner-up in the 300M
run and he finished in
3rd place in the 110M
hurdles, and he was part of
the 3rd place finish relay
team of Javarius Gilmore,
Gemarion Newton, and
Marion Young.
The 4x200 Relay team
of Rob Coney, Christian
WAR
BRAD ASBURY
By Brad Asbury, Sports Editor
for
'l l 11 : Times
pastorbradasbury@gmail.com
JCHS Track
and Field Wins
Big at State
JCRD Season
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Junior Nevaeh Campbell took 6th place
in the 100M dash. This was one of
two medals that Campbell won. Photo
Submitted.
Wilson, Marion Young,
and Calvin Adams also
finished as Runner-Up in
the state meet. McIntosh
County Academy
finished less than one
second faster to capture
the championship. Other
winners on the boys’
side included Christian
Wilson who was 7th in
the Triple Jump.
The girls’ team
finished with some
hardware of their own
at the state meet. Junior
Nevaeh Campbell was
the big winner of the day,
medaling in three events.
She was 4 th place in the
200M dash, 6th place
in the 100M dash, and
teamed up with Katari
Badie, Alaya Scott, and
Ladaeshia Williams for
an 8th place finish in the
4x400 race. Katari Badie
got a second medal
on the day when she
finished 7th place in the
state 400M dash.
The War Eagles
team features mostly
freshmen, sophomores,
and juniors and will
look forward to big
days ahead next season!
Congratulations to
Coach Hil Johnson and
his team for outstanding
performance on the state
level. War Eagles’ track
and field teams are part
of the overall success of
the War Eagles athletics
during the 2022/2023
school year. As the
school year comes to
a close, we will recap
all the great moments
in War Eagles sports
over the past year as we
look forward to the new
school year ahead.
