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jenkinscountytimes.com
The Jenkins County Times
Wednesday, December 6, 2023- Page 9
BRAD ASBURY
pastorbradasbury@gmail.com
Under the
Bleachers
College football is now officially over, except for the
playoffs and the bowl games. Fourteen weeks of college
football quickly passed by and in the end, it was full of
drama. Saturday was conference championship games,
and all eyes were on Georgia vs Alabama. Fans are still
scratching their head about that game as Alabama ended
the 29-game win streak held by the Bulldogs.
It looked like Georgia could not be beaten. Their last loss
came in December of 2021 at the hands of the Alabama
Crimson Tide. A few weeks later, the Bulldogs got revenge
and defeated Alabama in the National Championship game.
Since that loss to Alabama, Georgia has won two national
championships and appeared unstoppable. However, on
Saturday, the streak ended. With a final score of 27-24
Alabama defeated Georgia.
The drama was not over after all the games were played
on Saturday. The drama took place not on a field of play
but in a board room. The group that met in the board room
was the committee that was chosen to decide which four
teams would be in the playoffs. What came from the board
room was Alabama vs Michigan and Texas vs Washington.
The teams left out were Georgia and Florida State. Georgia
was not so much of a shock as it was disappointment
setting in as fans were looking for a third straight national
championship. However, Florida State was an undefeated
team that came from a Power 5 conference. This is the first
time in playoff history that an undefeated, power 5 school
was left out.
The hard part about sports is that there always must be
a winner and a loser; not everyone comes home with a
trophy. There were so many “deserving” teams, but in the
end, a committee decided who the best four teams were
based on certain criteria. It all boils down to who had
the most wins, the best resume, or the most quality wins
during the season. Next season, the NCAA will go to a 12-
team playoff format cutting down on some of the drama.
However, there will always be disagreements on who the
top 12 are. There are 133 teams in the NCAAFBS division,
which means next season 121 teams will be excluded from
an opportunity to compete for the National Championship.
Some will “deserve” to be there while others never had a
chance, yet the debate will go on.
Tying the playoff selection to our faith is rather easy at
this point. We are now presently in a season of Advent
in churches across the world. The word “advent” means
arrival. Advent celebrates the arrival of Jesus. Thankfully,
Jesus did not just come to the earth for the very few who
were good enough to “cut.” Jesus came to the earth to bring
salvation to all, who would repent of sins and trust by faith
in Him. May we, this season of Advent turn ourselves to
Him who is mighty to save and give thanks that we did not
have to be “good enough” or have it all together before He
would save us.
Lastly, now that college football is at the end and
basketball is in full gear; baseball will be just around the
comer. Before writing this article, it was announced that the
Atlanta Braves traded to acquire left fielder Jarred Kelinic.
The Braves have not made many moves this offseason as
they have only added a few players to the team in recent
days, but nothing of major headlines. With a few weeks of
free-agent signings left it will be interesting to see where
the big names land and how teams like the Braves finish
out.
Until next time, get out and enjoy the sports through
the winter months. You have less than 30 days in the year
to accomplish your New Year’s resolutions from last year.
You might want to crawl out from Under the Bleachers and
finish those up, or just pretend you did not make any last
year and aim to do better in 2024!
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ABOVE: Tyrone Martin (right) and Tyler Williams (left) will look to
contribute big for the War Eagles during the 2023/2024 season. The
War Eagles enter the season ranked 10th in the state and will look to
build on the Regional Runner-up finish from last year. Photo Submitted.
rm J j
ABOVE:
James Allen will be looking to lead
his War Eagles to become the top
team in the region this season. Allen
finished last season as a first-team
all-region selection and so far
this year scored 20 points against
Claxton and put up 23 points against
Treutlen. The War Eagles are now
2-0 to start the season and will hope
to keep the streak alive with three
games this week. Photo Submitted.
ABOVE:
Nevaeh Campbell, a senior for
the Lady War Eagles drives for
a layup in a game last season.
Campbell was also a first-team
all-region selection last year.
The Lady War Eagles and
War Eagles will host Jefferson
County Tuesday night, will
travel to Johnson County
Thursday, and conclude the
week on Saturday at Screven
County. Photo Submitted
RIGHT:
Sha’nya Lake drives past an
opponent last season during a
playoff game. The Lady War
Eagles finished as regional
runner-up and are expected to
have a great season again this
year. Lake finished as a first-
team all-region team and joined
the 1,000-point club last season.
Photo Submitted.
EBA Spartans Football Are State Champions
For the first time in school history, the Edmund Burke
Academy Spartans are GIAA State Champions. The Spartans
from Waynesboro traveled to Macon, GA on the campus of
Mercer University and played in the 10,000-seat Five Star
Stadium. They would face a familiar opponent Gatewood
Gators.
EBA entered the game with one loss during the season
and that was to Briarwood Academy in the regional
championship game. They had previously defeated
Gatewood 20-14. With seven minutes remaining in the first
quarter, EBA would put up the first points of the game and
take an early 7-0 lead. Gatewood would respond with a
score of their own on a 32-yard field goal bringing the score
to 7-3.
The score would hold at 7-3 until late in the second quarter,
with under one minute to play, EBA would kick a 27-yard
field goal to take a 10-3 lead into the locker room. The
Spartans would hold that lead until late in the third quarter
when Gatewood would score a game-tying touchdown
bringing the score to 10-10. Then with 9 minutes remaining
in the game, EBA was able to rush for a 15-yard touchdown
giving the Spartans the lead.
As time expired, the Spartans would hold onto a 16-10
win and claim the GIAA Class AA State Championship!
Congratulations to EBA on this great accomplishment.
Millen resident Gauge Oglesby was part of the EBA
State Championship team. He is shown holding the
State Championship trophy! Photo Submitted.
The EBA Spartans finished the season 12-1 and won the GIAA Class AA State Football Championship on Friday night by
a score of 16-10 over Gatewood. Photo Submitted.
