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jenkinscountytimes.com
The Jenkins County Times
Wednesday, September 6, 2023 - Page 9
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BRAD ASBURY
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By Brad Asbury, Sports Editor
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pastorbradasbury@gmail.com
Football Wins Again
The Jenkins County War Eagles won big over Johnson
County in an upset, last-minute touchdown pass. However,
that win is in the rearview mirror. If that was the
championship game, players could sit back and talk about
the win for months and even years to come. However, early
in the season, there is a next game. For the War Eagles,
it would be the Class A Divison 1 East Laurens Falcons.
Last season the War Eagles defeated the Falcons big on the
opening day in the Falcons’ new stadium.
It appeared that the Flacons were poised for a revenge
victory. The game started with a defense battle. Then, the
War Eagles got a big interception. The War Eagles were
forced to punt and the Falcons would return the punt for a
touchdown. The score would put the Falcons up 7-0 as the
game got started.
The War Eagles would not be kept down. They would
quickly score with quarterback Christian Wilson running
in for a touchdown. The extra point would be no good,
but the War Eagles’ defense would then come out what
appeared to be angry! Robtravious Coney would force a
turnover on downs and Robtravious Coney began his
assault on offense. He would run for a 72-yard touchdown
extending the lead to 12-7.
The Falcons would not score again until the 5-minute
mark in the 3 rd quarter. By that point, the War Eagles
had run the score to 28. With a 28-14 lead, TyTy Williams
would run the kickoff return for a long distance, and a
couple of plays later the War Eagles would score again.
In the end, the War Eagles put up over 500 yards of
offense. The offense was led by Robtravious Coney who
had three total touchdowns, one receiving, and two rushing
touchdowns. In the end, he had nearly 300 total yards. The
final score was a blow out win for the War Eagles with a
48-14 win!
The War Eagles will be on the field again this week at
home against AAA Cross Creek out of Augusta. The game
will take place at Roy Head Stadium and will start at 7:30!
Around the Region Week 3
With football and softball cmising into week 3, it is
time to look at what is happening around the area and the
region. First, the Edmund Burke Academy Spartans have
started off their new season at 2-0. This past week they
defeated Trinity Christian by a large margin with a final
score of 47-3! In the first week, they won 34-18. In two
games, they have outscored their opponents 81-21 and have
jumped to a number 5 ranking in the Georgia Independent
Athletic Association Class AAA. The Spartans will travel
to Piedmont Academy in Monticello, GA on Friday night.
In Region 3, the War Eagles division in football, ECI
suffered its second loss of the season, this time losing 28-0
to Lincoln County. Portal is now 2-0 after a big win over
Twiggs County 44-0. McIntosh County Academy dropped
their first game of the season. They lost to Glynn Academy
in a close 14-6 battle. Montgomery County moves to 0-2
after a loss to Taylor County.
Softball teams were supposed to have started regional
play this past week. Hurricane Idalia had different plans for
our local teams. All of the regional games were postponed
and will be made up at a later date. There were some games
played on Monday. Those included McIntosh County
Academy getting its 2 nd win of the season with a 12-11 win
over First Preparatory Christian Academy. Montgomery
County fell to 3-5 with a loss to Robert Toombs Christian
Academy, this was their 5 th loss in a row.
Hopefully, the weather will cooperate, and the teams
will get some games in this week. Jenkins County and
Montgomery County are scheduled to play in Millen on
Thursday night for the only regional matchup of the week.
The EBA Spartans are now 2-0 after a big win over Trinity Christian
by a score of 47-3! The team prepares to run onto the field Friday
night before running over their opponent. Photo
Submitted.
Waters Leading the Way
In his second season as the head coach of the
War Eagles, Charley Waters has his team rolling
on and this team believes this could be one of the
most special years in War Eagles’ history. Coach
Waters returned in 2022 to his alma mater to the
excitement of fans and players alike. Waters had
previously coached at Jenkins County and had
stepped down after a successful 2017 season.
The team, charged by a veteran team loaded
with juniors and seniors, has the polls taking
notice across the state. Depending on which
poll you are looking at, the War Eagles are in
the top 10 in all of them. The Atlanta Journal-
Constitution has them at 10 th , Georgia Public
Broadcasting at 4 th , and Max Preps at 5 th .
All of this leads to a composite ranking for the
War Eagles of 9 th in the state. McIntosh County
Academy is the only other team in Region 3
with a top 10 ranking and they are at 8 th in the
composite rankings. The top 10 ranking is the
first time the War Eagles have been in the top 10
since 1999.
In addition to the top 10 rankings earned by
this War Eagles team, the Georgia High School
Football Daily named the War
Eagles the team of the week for
Week 2 in the state of Georgia.
This award, given weekly
throughout the season came
because of the War Eagles’
victory over then-number six
Johnson County. According to
GHSF Daily, this was only the
second victory over a ranked
team since 2000. The first was
over ECI last season.
The team understands that
this top-10 ranking is not the
final goal. Their eyes are not
even set on the playoffs, yet.
Their eyes are set on each
game they play every week. This was evident on The War Eagles were ready to kick off on Friday night under the lights. After the
Friday night in the blowout victory, 48-20, over 48-20 victory over East Laurens the War Eagles are at home once again, this time
East Laurens. Talking with the players, they look against Cross Creek at 7:30 PM.
at each opponent, prepare for each opponent, and
never look beyond the week they are in. This laser-like focus has the War Eagles poised for the long haul.
The 3-0 War Eagles will be at home against Class AAA Cross Creek from Augusta on Friday night. The game begins at
7:30 at Roy Head Stadium.
Head Coach Charley Waters paces the sidelines for the War Eagles Friday Night. The War
Eagles are in the top 10 and pressing forward through the season. Photo by Dillon Fields.
JCHS Lady War Eagle Softball Ranked #5
The Lady War Eagles have had a
great start to the 2023 softball season.
They have a record of 7-3 and the polls
have taken notice of this year’s squad.
In the most recent Max Preps poll,
the Lady War Eagles were ranked #5
in Class A Division 2. With a lot of
season left to play, the War Eagles are
looking to continue building on the
success thus far with this young team.
As the week began last week, the
Lady War Eagle softball team had
three games scheduled, two of which
were to be regional games. However,
Hurricane Idalia had other plans for
the Lady War Eagles and caused the
postponement of games on Tuesday
and Thursday. Before the hurricane,
the Lady War Eagle softball team
traveled to Alamo, GA for a battle
with Region 1 Wheeler County.
Wheeler County held a 7-5 record and
was ranked in the top 20 when the
War Eagles matched up with them on
Monday.
Early in the top of the 1 st, the Lady
War Eagles jumped out to the early
lead 1-0. With bases loaded and two
outs, Lohgan Walker was walked for
an RBI and the lead. The Lady War
Eagles would never trail again. Even
though Wheeler County would score
three runs in the bottom of the third,
the Lady War Eagles had already
taken a 4-0 lead before Wheeler
County’s runs came in. The Lady War
Eagles would score 1 in the fourth,
and 1 in the seventh to take a 6-3 win.
Shania Lake and Laura Gayle
Dailey led the way hitting with 2 each.
Mya Abraham and Lohgan Walker
both had two RBIs. Katie Bell was on
the mound. She gave up 5 hits and 3
runs in 7 innings pitched.
The War Eagles will play Wheeler
County on Tuesday at 5:30 at home
and then they will play their first
regional game on September 7 th
when they host Montgomery County.
Above:
Kynlee Wallace makes the catch
in rightfield while Mya Abraham
(left) and Lohgan walker
(right) watch. The Lady War
Eagles won 6-3. Photo by Lisa
Dailey.
Top Left: Laura Gayle Dailey
dives for the catch on Monday
night against Wheeler County
and gets the
out! The Lady War Eagles won
a close matchup and are now 7-3
on the season. Photo by Lisa
Dailey.
Left:
Katie Bell on the mound for the
War Eagles throws a strike to a
Wheeler County opponent. Bell
threw 96 pitches, 68 were for
strikes as well as 4 strikeouts.
Photo by Lisa Dailey.
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