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Inside: Eagles host Dragons Saturday — page 3B
JANUARY 21,
2009
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Section B
JHS WRESTLING
Eight is great: JHS takes eighth duals title in a row
GET A GRIP
Virgil Appleby (top) tries to get an advantage over an opponent during Saturday’s
final match at the state duals tournament in Macon. Photo by A! McLeod
JCCHS GIRLS BASKETBALL
They're good kids, good wrestlers, and a very
good, competitive team. We had our hands
full in the semis.”
Thurmond said he really couldn't pick
out any one standout from the title winning
effort.
“Honestly, it was pretty much a team effort.
They all really pulled their weight and did a
great job.”
Thurmond said his wrestlers were very
excited about the victory, and the statement it
made about the team.
“They were excited about winning the first
title since we moved to AA. They were also
excited about not breaking the streak, they
didn't want to be the team that did that. But
the statement of winning it in AA is really
nice. They always wrestle a lot of bigger
schools throughout the year, but I think this
was a good statement for the kids. They did
a real good job.”
Now the team's attention turns to the
remainder of the schedule, and to the tradi-
tionals later in the season. Thurmond said
there's really no difficulty in turning to that
format.
“You get one under your belt, then take a
breath and start working towards the other
one,” he said. “Our kids are excited. They’re
happy that they’ve done this, but they know
their work isn’t done. They've starting work
ing towards their particular weight class, and
placing at state individually, which helps the
team.
“They want to do well, not just as an indi
vidual, but for the team.”
The Mat Dragons were scheduled to travel
to host Elbert County and Tucker at home on
Tuesday. Results were unavailable at press
time.
JHS BOYS BASKETBALL
By Brandon Reed
IT WAS another record setter for the Mat
Dragons of Jefferson, as they recorded their
eighth straight State Dual title, not to mention
the twentieth overall title for the JHS wres
tling program.
The Mat Dragons now launch into the heart
of their traditional meet schedule, as they
travel to Habersham County this weekend to
take part in the Sham Slam event, which gets
underway Friday afternoon.
Jefferson picked up the latest hardware for
their trophy case, the first since their move to
class AA, with a solid win over Lovett 48-19.
The Mat Dragons moved out to an early 9-0
lead, and never looked back as they went on
to win the title.
“We were real pleased with them,” said
coach Doug Thurmond. “They really got up
and wrestled real well. Cam (Thurmond) won
by decision and Wayne Elliott won by a pin.
Jay Fowler pinned, Virgil Appleby won, (Zac)
Crosby pinned and it went from there. They
would sporadically get one every now and
then, but our kids really got on them.”
Jefferson started out their weekend with a
crushing 78-6 victory over Monticello, then
had a similarly domination performance over
Blessed Trinity, winning 60-9.
The biggest challenge the Mat Dragons
faced came in the semi-final round, where
they faced fifth ranked Sonoraville.
Sonraville moved out to an early 6-0 lead,
but Jefferson came back to defeat them before
moving on to the Championship finals.
“We knew they were going to be tough,
and in fact they came back through and beat
Henry County for third,” Thurmond said.
“They were very tough. Their team, to me, is
a lot like our team. They're a scrappy bunch.
Lady Panthers face Eastside Friday
GET OPEN
Breanna Drew looks for an opening during a recent
game. Drew led the Lady Panthers in scoring against
Oconee County last week with 15 points.
Photo by Justin Poole
Jefferson wins three in a row
Dragons travel to East Jackson Friday
By Brandon Reed
IT WAS a tough week for
the Lady Panthers of Jackson
County, as they dropped region
games to Franklin County and
Oconee County, dropping
them to 0-6 in the region as
they continue to search for
their first region victory of
the year.
That first win could come
Friday night, as the Lady
Panthers travel to Eastside
to face the Lady Eagles in
Covington.
The Lady Eagles entered
play on Tuesday with a 2-4
region record, and an 8-8 over
all record. Eastside has been
the winner the last two times
the two teams have met, in
December of 2004 and again
in December of 2005.
Tip-off is scheduled for 7
p.m.
If Tuesday’s game against
Franklin County had been
only 12 minutes long, it may
well have had a good outcome
for the Lady Panthers. Out of
the box, Jackson County was
doing well, taking an 8-6 lead
by the end of the first quarter.
They continued on that path
into the second quarter.
But with about three min
utes left in the first half, the
wheels came off for the Lady
Panthers.
The Lady Rebels went on a
sudden tear scoring 18 points
in the last minutes of the sec
ond quarter to go up 28-13 at
the half.
Things fared no better for
the Lady Panthers, as Fannin
County went on to win 65-22.
“We just didn't play well,”
said coach Chad Pittman.
“We didn't play well, we
didn’t coach well, we didn’t
do anything well for the last
21 minutes of the game. It’s
hard to learn from those expe
riences. You just get on the
bus, have a long ride back
home, try to forget them and
move forward.
“It was a long game.”
Up next was a home stand
O
against Oconee County, a
team that measures up well to
Jackson County.
Oconee County came out
strong, taking a 13-6 lead at
the end of the first quarter.
But the Lady Panthers start
ed fighting back, and closed
the lead down to two points,
26-24, at the half.
Both teams continued to
fight hard in the third quar
ter, and found themselves tied
35-35 at the end of the quarter.
As the teams continued to
match each other, the Lady
Panthers tied the score 47-47
with about 27 seconds left.
But with three seconds
remaining, an eight-foot jump
shot by Oconee County gave
them the lead and the 48-47
victory.
Breanna Drew led the Lady
Panthers in scoring with 15
points, while Ana Rodriguez
scored 14 points, including
four three point shots, and
Ashley Skelton scored 13.
Pittman said Rodriguez's
game was her best of the
season, and possibly of her
career.
“Ana really came on in the
second quarter,” he said. “She
rebounded, she stole the ball,
and she made some good deci
sions. She really ignited us in
the second quarter. It was her
best game this season, and she
did a really exceptional job.”
See JCCHS on page 2B
By Brandon Reed
LAST WEEK proved to
be a successful one for the
Jefferson Dragons, as they
recorded three wins in a row,
defeating Rabun County,
Oglethorpe County and
Oconee County to improve
their record to 12-3 overall,
and 2-1 in the region.
Up next is a trip across
the county to East Jackson,
where the Dragons will face
the Eagles for the first time in
school history.
The Eagles hit the court
fresh off back-to-back region
wins against North Oconee
and Fannin County.
Tip-off is scheduled for
8:30 p.m.
Jefferson started out their
strong week with a trip to
Rabun County to face the
Wildcats.
Jefferson started out strong,
going up 21-8 by the end of
the first quarter.
But something happened in
the second quarter, as Rabun
County came alive, and out-
scored the Dragons 15-5,
leaving Jefferson with a slim
three point lead, 26-23, at the
half.
The score would remain
close throughout the rest of
the game, with Jefferson mov
ing out to no further than a
five or six point lead though
the third quarter.
Early in the fourth, Jefferson
had an opportunity to blow the
game wide open. With the
lead moved out to ten points,
the Dragons offense became
inpatient, taking several quick
shots despite the lead and the
clock being on their side. The
Wildcats answered by scoring
on a couple of occasions, and
tying up the game with about
a minute and a half left on the
clock.
Jefferson rallied, and in the
end pulled off a five-point
win, 66-61 at the final buzzer.
Darius Minor scored 18
points to lead the Dragons
that night, while Tab Martin
scored 13 and Chris Beck
scored 11.
“It was great getting the
win, but really and truly, after
the first quarter, I didn't think
we played particularly well,”
said coach Bolling DuBose.
“Late in the game, we didn't
handle that situation of having
the lead and having the ball
and having a chance to run
some time off the clock well.
We've got to learn from that.”
Next up for the Dragons
was a home stand against
Oglethorpe County in
Jefferson’s first sub-region
pairing of the year.
The Dragons took control
early, using their press to force
several turnovers, and con
verting those turnovers into
points. After building an early
lead in the second quarter,
Jefferson continued to build
on that lead for the rest of the
game. The Dragons would go
on to win 71-44.
Minor led in scoring against
the Patriots with 24 points,
while Jamie Sexton scored
See Dragons on page 4B
SCORING BIG
Darius Minor (14) led the Dragons in scoring against
Rabun and Oglethrope County last week, as Jefferson
defeated both teams, as well as Oconee County.
Photo by Blair Buffington