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jenkinscountytimes.com
The Jenkins County Times
Wednesday, October 18, 2023 - Page 9
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BRAD ASBURY
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By Brad Asbury, Sports Editor
for
IT 11 : Times
pastorbradasbury@gmail.com
Under the
Bleachers
The fall weather has officially settled in. Leaves are
changing, cool breezes are blowing, and there is no better
place than the stands of a Friday night high school football
game. The bands, the cheerleaders, the hard hits on the field,
and the cheers from the stands provide for a perfect ending
to a busy week. Saturday brings about boiled peanuts, fire
pits, and gameday snacks as you watch your favorite team
battle it out on the field. Baseball closes it all down in the
next few weeks as a new champion is crowned.
Baseball is now a step away from the World Series. The
ALCS began on Sunday night. The Texas Rangers and the
Houston Astros squared off for game one. The Rangers
came out on top in game one, winning 2-0. The NLCS will
begin on Monday night featuring a matchup between the
Arizona Diamondbacks and the Philadelphia Phillies. Now
that we are at the final four of baseball, there is one team
that was supposed to be there but is missing. The Atlanta
Braves were defeated by the Philadelphia Phillies for the
second year straight.
The Braves, all season, had dominated in nearly every
category statistically speaking. Not only statistically
speaking, but the Braves record was also the best in baseball.
After securing the best record in baseball, the Braves put in
an abysmal performance in the playoffs. Many have stated
that this Braves team will go down as one of the biggest
disappointments in Braves history. As with the other 26
teams with their season over, the Braves will begin to
prepare in the offseason and echo the words of those teams,
“There is always next year.”
In other professional sports around Georgia, the NBA has
begun its preseason games. The Atlanta Hawks are ranked
16 th in the early preseason power rankings. Last season
they finished 41-41. They will look to build upon that
season and return to the playoffs. The Atlanta Falcons are
presently 3-3 and trying to get some momentum going but
have yet to get a lot of traction in the early season.
There is one thing for certain when it comes to sports, there
are many days that will leave you completely disappointed.
Honestly, there are times you just want to crawl under the
bleachers, close your eyes, and wait for the next season.
Thursday night of last week was like that for me as I
watched the World Series favorite the Atlanta Braves come
crashing down. At first, it was like being punched in the
stomach and then the reality set in. I wanted to throw away
the shirts, bum the jerseys, and find another team to follow.
Honestly, I did not think of any of those things. I went to
bed and started looking forward to next year!
The reality is that sports are fun to watch. Sports provide
an opportunity to have hours of entertainment. However,
they are not the end. In 2020, when sports shut down for
several weeks the world kept going. One thing that will
never end is the goodness and greatness of God. While we
use our breath to shout the praises of our team, let us use
our voices and every breath in us to do what Psalm 150:6
says, “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord! Praise
the Lord!” Go under the bleachers and declare His praises,
and then go to the top of the bleachers and shout it louder!
Softball On Their Way to Super Regionals
The regular season has
now ended for the Lady
War Eagles. The historic
season will now be carried
over into the postseason.
The Lady War Eagles
finished the season with a
16-6 record and as regional
mnner-up in Region 3. This
is the best record in Lady
War Eagle history and their
first-ever regional mnner-
up finish. In addition, they
finished with a top 15
ranking by Max Preps.
On Monday night,
October 16 th the Lady
War Eagles will travel to
Wilcox County where they
will be the second seed in
the super regionals. Last
year, GHSA introduced
the Super Regionals to
high school softball. Every
regional winner hosts
the super-regional. There
are a total of 4 teams in
each super-regional and a
total of 8 super-regionals.
The Lady War Eagles
will play the third seed.
Clinch County, and the
host and number one seed
Wilcox County will play
Pataula Charter. The super
regionals are played in a
double-elimination format.
The super regionals will
take place on Monday and
Tuesday.
The Lady War Eagles
will look to take their
dominant offense and
defensive performance
to Wilcox County and
hopefully advance to the
playoffs. The Lady War
Eagles dominated their
opponent 164-91 over the
season!
Good luck to our Lady
War Eagles as they seek
to continue their historic
season with a ran at the
state championship.
Katie Lynn Bell leads the way on the mound for the Lady
War Eagles. On Monday, October 16th, the Lady War
Eagles will travel to Wilcox County for the first game of
the Super Regionals. Photo by Christina Coleman.
Jakhaila Oglesby has been part of the dominant defense
this season for the Lady War Eagles. Oglesby plays third
base for the Lady War Eagles. This season the over 22
games they have only allowed 91 runs scored. Photo by
The Jenkins County Lady War
Eagles recently celebrated
senior night. This year three
seniors were celebrated.
Katie Lyn Bell, Shanya Lake,
and Lohgan Walker, all four-
year players for the Lady War
Eagles were shown with their
families. On Senior night, the
Lady War Eagles defeated
McIntosh County Academy
8-0 and the game was held
on October 4 th . Photo by
Christina Coleman.
Three Games Remain
The much-anticipated season has panned out far better
than most could have imagined. Fans knew that this season
was going to be special, and some statewide polls had the
War Eagles ranked in the top 10 in the preseason. Now, with
only three games remaining the War Eagles have soared to
number seven in the composite poll which is a combination
of several different statewide polls. The Georgia Public
Broadcast (GPB) has the War Eagles as number two in their
poll.
The high rankings and even better performance on the
field have set the War Eagles up for a great finish to the
season. The War Eagles have three regional games left to
play. They will play Montgomery County, followed by
senior night against ECI, and a final road game at Portal.
The last three games of the season will be anything but
easy as ECI is always tough competition, and Portal has
been playing great in the last couple of weeks. Montgomery
County will be an opponent that the War Eagles should not
overlook, even with Montgomery County being 0-8.
The War Eagles have dominated both sides of the field
thus far this year. The War Eagle defense has allowed very
little in the way of scoring and yards allowed. In the shut
out win against McIntosh County Academy the War Eagles
held the Buccaneers to under 70 yards of offense and they
did not score for the game. The offense is averaging over
forty points per game. The team brings a running attack that
has been hard to stop.
The War Eagles are on the road this week at Montgomery
County. The game will begin at 7:30 PM and take place in
Mt. Vernon, GA. The next home game will be on October
27th against rival ECI. The War Eagles will look to win for
the third time over the last four years against ECI. The ECI
game will also be on senior night.
Top Left:
Quarterback Christian Wilson looks to hand the ball off to one of his
speedy running backs. The War Eagle defense has been dominant, but
the offense has been equally dominant. They have averaged 41 points per
game this season. Photo by Christina Coleman.
Above:
Two War Eagles fall on a fumble during a recent game against McIntosh
County Academy. In 7 games this season the War Eagles have only allowed
87 points. That is just under two touchdowns per game through the season
thus far! Photo by Christina Coleman.
Left:
The Jenkins County War Eagles will travel to Montgomery County this
week for their second regional matchup of the season. With only three
games remaining the War Eagles will look to continue their dominance. In
this photo, the War Eagles go onto the field after a touchdown to kick the
extra point. Photo by Christina Coleman.
Representatives of Core Civic were on hand at football practice this week giving a check
for $5000 that was given for the purchase of new helmets for the War Eagles football team.
Photo Submitted.
Scotbilt Homes recently donated to the Jenkins County High School football team by
donating $2500 for the purchase of new helmets. The War Eagles are shown with their
coaches and the check from Scotbilt Homes. Photo Submitted
