About The Jenkins County times. (Millen, Ga.) 2023-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 25, 2023)
jenkinscountytimes.com The Jenkins County Times Wednesday, October 25, 2023 - Page 9 is cz) ’■rt S w o m t: ts <D <Cj •£ ^ O g -a pq « t: l-s Ch £ BRAD ASBURY EAGtfi RTS By Brad Asbury, Sports Editor for IT 11 : Times pastorbradasbury@gmail.com MEETTHECOACH Season Ends for Lady War Eagles After the game against PCA, the Lady War Eagles would travel back to Wilcox County where they would have to face Clinch County one more time. This time it was all Lady War Eagles. The Lady War Eagles won 13-0 in 4 innings. The game was near flawless in its execution. This win would put the Lady War Eagles against host and 5 th ranked Wilcox County. In order for the Lady War Eagles to advance to the final 8, they would need to win two games in a row over the top ranked Wilcox County. Wilcox County came out firing and took an early 3-0 lead. The Lady War Eagles cut the lead to 3-1, but reality began to set in soon after the second inning. Wilcox County used their power to take over the game and soon after end the Lady War Eagles historical season. One player from Wilcox County hit the ball out of the part not just once but twice in the game and Wilcox County won 11-1. Again, there is nothing to hang their head low about after this season. The Lady War Eagles will have three missing spots in their lineup next season. They will lose Katie Lynn Bell, Shanya Lake, and Lohgan Walker; all of which graduate this year. As you can never just simply replace what these girls leave behind, the young lady War Eagles team from this year will build upon this success and do great things in the years to come. Congratulations to head Coach Renee Heam, Assistant coaches Callie Dailey and Kolbie Motes. Congratulations to the Lady War Eagle players, this was truly a great season. Callie Dailey The Jenkins County softball program has seen great success this past season. The Lady War Eagles finished the season with an 18-8 record and 7-1 in regional play. In addition, they were the regional runner-up in Class A Division 2 Region 3. The Lady War Eagles had a great coaching staff to lead these girls along. One of those coaches is Callie Dailey, who is in her third year as an assistant coach for the Lady War Eagles. In addition to her time coaching softball at Jenkins County, she has been the Head Coach for the middle school Lady War Eagles basketball team and an assistant coach for the high school Lady War Eagles basketball team. She also spends much time in the travel ball circuit as she coaches for East Georgia Crossfire. As a former player and someone who grew up in Millen, Callie sees coaching as a way to give back to the community that has given so much to her. "I love sharing the sport I love with the players.” Callie graduated from JCHS in 2012 and went on to earn a bachelor's degree in Human Development and Family Science and a certificate in Disability Studies from the University of Georgia in 2016. Callie also earned a master's degree in Special Education in 2017 and currently serves a dual role as a special education teacher and art teacher at Jenkins County High School. Callie stated, “I really enjoy what I do at JCHS, and I will tell anyone that this place is the best-kept secret in the area.” Returning home to coach has been a special opportunity for Callie, who believes in the power of community support. She says, "It's always special when you have the support of the people around you on a daily basis- the people who have watched you grow up, make mistakes, and provide guidance in life. Small town Georgia holds a special place in my heart, making it even more special being back in my hometown coaching a game I love" One of the highlights of Callie’s coaching experience has been coaching her sister, Laura Gayle Dailey. "Being able to coach my sister has been very special in that I get to spend time with her and share a sport we both love" she shares. "I am very thankful to the school system for allowing this opportunity to not miss a game of hers since I have moved back" With a successful season under their belts, the Jenkins County softball program has set its sights on continuing its winning ways for the seasons ahead. "This group is tightly knit and are genuinely having fun playing a game they love," Callie says. "It 's such a special group of young ladies who are successful both on and off the field, and I couldn't be prouder of them and how hard they have worked this season." Callie’s passion for this team, her school, and this community is always on display. Her excitement and that of the other coaches is shown every game. Callie says. "If you were in that dugout on a big play, you'd see the excitement as all three of us coaches tend to jump off our buckets." Growing up playing and coaching on the same field that I played on also means a lot in the sense that we have had the opportunity to change previous beliefs about our program to positively impact our community. Hopefully, I have been a part of creating that change over the past few years, and I am looking forward to what the future holds for the Jenkins County Softball Program. Tuesday night, at about 9:00 PM after four games in two days, and over 500 combined round trip miles the Lady War Eagles saw their season ended. While the season came to an end, this Lady War Eagles team has nothing to hang their head about. This Lady War Eagles team will go down in the record books of Jenkins County sports as the winningest fast-pitch softball team in Lady War Eagle history. The final record for the Lady War Eagles was 18-8, and 7-1 in regional play. They finished as regional runners-up, and a second seed in the Super Regionals. In addition, this week the Lady War Eagles finished ranked 12 th in Class A Division II. The first game of the Super Regionals was against Clinch County. The Lady War Eagles had finished with a better record, but in this game the Clinch County offense and defense could do no wrong. Clinch jumped out to an early lead and everywhere they hit, it fell perfectly where the Lady War Eagles were not! Offensively the Lady War Eagles could. Not get the bats hot. Clinch County made some amazing plays defensively and the Lady War Eagles could not overcome the deficit and lost 7-4. The tournament was double elimination, and the Lady War Eagles would face Pataula Charter Academy (PCA). The game was played about 30 minutes after the Clinch County game was finished. The Lady War Eagles were anything but tired in that game. They came out from the start seeking revenge. The War Eagles jumped out on top and defeated PCA by a final score Of 18-0 and it only required 3 innings of play. Above: Hillary Garvin steps up to bat against Patuala Charter on Monday night. The Lady War Eagles lost the first game of the Superregionals on Monday night. However, they came back with a vengeance against Patuala Charter and won 18-0. On Tuesday they got revenge on Clinch County 13-0, but would lose to Wilcox County in the double-elimination tournament to end their season. Photo by Lisa Dailey. Top Right: Assistant Coach Callie Dailey stands coach first base while her sister, Laura Gayle Dailey prepares to run to second! Photo by Lisa Dailey Right: Jakhaila Oglesby warms up on third base during the GHSA Super Regionals last week. The Lady War Eagles were 2-2 in the Super Regionals and was eliminated on Tuesday night by Wilcox County. The Lady War Eagles finish with a record of 18-8, completing the best season in Lady War Eagles softball history. Photo by Lisa Dailey. Assistant Coach Callie Dailey (left) has a fun moment with her sister Laura Gayle Dailey (right) who is holding senior Katie Lyn Bell. Photo Submitted. War Eagles Keep Soaring Jenkins County Athletics, during the Fall sports season has been very successful. One of those teams that has soared to the top 10 of the rankings since week one of the season and continues undefeated is the Jenkins County War Eagles. The War Eagles entered Friday night 7-0 and 1-0 in the region. The Montgomery County Eagles entered the game 0-8. The War Eagles were off and running in the opening minutes and as with every week since week 2, they took the lead and never looked back. Montgomery County tried to get the ball back quickly on an onside kick, but the War Eagles fell on top of the ball and began the drive. In three plays, starting at their own 45-yard line, the War Eagles quickly marched down the field for a touchdown. At the end of the first quarter, the lead had grown to 21-6. While Montgomery County would score two more touchdowns in the game, it was never close. At halftime the lead had swelled to 35-6, and by the end of the game the War Eagles had won 55-19. Robtravious Coney led the way again this week on the offensive side. This time he had 12 carries for 162 yards and four touchdowns. He had an impressive yards per carry of 13.5. The War Eagles dominated in the total yards category. They finished with 566 total yards; 30 of those yards were through the air, but they had an unbelievable 536 yards on the ground. The War Eagles held Montgomery County to a total of 200 yards. Tyrone Martin finished with 7 carries and 97 yards rushing, finishing with 13.9 yards per carry. ZZ Wilson had 3 carries for 70 yards with 23.3 yards per carry. Derrick Grier had 2 interceptions in the game, Coney and Ty ’Ty Williams had 1 interception each. With one more win this season the War Eagles will at least tie the best record in Jenkins County sports history. I have been told this year that the best record of a War Eagle team was in 1955 when the War Eagles finished 9-1 but did not qualify for the playoffs that season. The War Eagles have two remaining games this season before playoffs begin. Both games will be against two fierce rivals ECI and Portal. ECI will be on Friday night at home, the War Eagles have won the last 2 out of 3 matchups. The Portal game will take place on November 3rd at Portal. With a win in both games, the War Eagles will secure the number one seed and a regional championship. The game against ECI will start at 7:30 PM with Senior Night festivities beginning at 7:00 PM. Arrive early at the game! Fill the stands! Make a lot of noise. Let’s cheer our War Eagles on to a Regional Championship over the next two weeks! i r J" iT|i j Javarius Gilmore, a Junior for the War Eagles stretches out for one of the best catches of the night and most likely one of the best catches for the War Eagles this season. The War Eagles took down the Eagles of Montgomery County in Mt. Vernon Friday night by a score of 55-19. Photo by Crisalyn Frawley. Right: ZZ Wilson has come up big for the War Eagles numerous times this year. He has even been nominated for play of the week for the second time this season. Yet, it may have been this play that was most impressive. Wilson stops to help a Montgomery County player who had a cramp in his leg, and this is true sportsmanship. Photo by Crisalyn Frawley.
