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Inside: Mat Panthers take third at area — page 4B
FEBRUARY 11,
2009
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Section B
JHS BOYS BASKETBALL
JCCHS GIRLS BASKETBALL
Jefferson locks up number one seed
Dragons defeat East Jackson 59-48 on senior night
OFF THE GROUND
Darius Minor (14) puts one up during Saturday’s game against East Jackson. Minor
scored 17 points against the Eagles. Photo by Blair Buffington
By Brandon Reed
THE JEFFERSON Dragons
are now locked in as the num
ber one seed for next week’s
region tournament.
A win Saturday against East
Jackson capped off a suc
cessful week, and made the
Dragons 6-0 in the subregion.
Jefferson will wrap up their
regular season on Friday with
a trip to North Oconee to face
the 4-7 Titans, who are cur
rently ranked fourth in the
subregion.
Tip-off is scheduled for
8:30 p.m.
DAWSON COUNTY
The Dragons started off a
strong week on Tuesday with
a home stand against Dawson
County. The Tigers came to
town hoping to snap a seven
game losing streak.
Jefferson took control early,
and by the half, held a 31-22
lead. The Dragons had the
opportunity to stretch that
lead in the third quarter, and
put the game away early.
But that didn’t happen, as
Dawsonville made a surpris
ing run, outscoring Jefferson
7-6.
“Offensively, we took some
bad shots, got out of sync
a little bit, and we quit run
ning with the ball,” said coach
Bolling DuBose. “When we
don’t run with the ball, we
don’t tend to shoot the ball
very well. I thought the third
quarter was not a good effort
offensively.”
Despite the slip by Jefferson,
they still led 37-29 at the end
of the third.
The fourth quarter made all
the difference, as the Dragons
outscored the Tigers 19-10,
taking home the 56-39 vic
tory.
Darius Minor led the team
in scoring with 15 points,
while Demetri Robinson
scored seven, and J.J. Damons
and Jamie Sexton scored six
each.
“It was a typical game that
we’ve had against the other
subregion teams this season,”
DuBose said. “I really expect
ed Dawson County to hold the
ball a little more than they did.
If we get them in the tourna
ment, I’m sure we’ll see them
See Dragons on page 4B
JHS WRESTLING
JHS takes top honors at area tourney
Jefferson hosts sectionals tournament beginning Friday
By Brandon Reed
THE JEFFERSON Mat
Dragons took another step
towards adding another state
title to their already impres
sive resume last weekend by
taking top honors in the area
tournament, and by qualifying
all 14 wrestlers for this week
end’s sectionals tournament in
Jefferson.
Jefferson scored 293 points
to take the top spot, followed
by Banks County with 201.50
and East Jackson with 168.50
Nine Dragon grapplers took
home firstplace honors, includ
ing Cason Thurmond, Daniel
Barber, Clay Richardson,
Cutler Finch, Cam Thurmond,
Jay Fowler, Zac Crosby, Zach
Allen and Patrick Allen.
Others placing in the tourna
ment include Ben Knight, Cain
Finch and Cole Hightower.
“(Things) went pretty good,”
said coach Doug Thurmond.
“Of course, you always feel
like you could have done bet
ter in a couple of spots, but
we did get them all through to
the sectionals. Now our goal
will be to try to get them all
through to the state.
“That’ll be pretty hard,
because our sectionals are
pretty tough.”
The sectional tournament
begins Friday at Jefferson.
Thurmond said it will be
nice being able to wrestle on
the team’s home turf.
“It’ll be nice to be home,
and we hope a good crowd
comes out,” he said. “We’ve
got some tough opponents to
deal with, and we’ve got to get
our kids up and ready.
“If you falter here, then you
don’t get to go to the dance
next week.”
Next week, teams will trav
el to Gwinnett County to take
part in the state tournament.
Jefferson hopes to bring home
an unprecedented ninth cham
pionship title in a row.
Earlier this year, the Mat
Dragons won their eighth title
in a row when they took top
honors in the state duals tour
nament.
IN CONTROL
Jefferson’s Daniel Barber (top) takes on an opponent at a recent match. Barber was
one of nine Dragon wrestlers to take first place honors at last weekend’s area tourna
ment. Photo by Ai McLeod
FIND AN OPENING
Ashley Skelton looks for a way around an opponent at
a recent game. Photo by Brandon Reed
Jackson County to
host Eastside Friday
By Brandon Reed
WITH THE end of the regu
lar season just ahead, the Lady
Panthers of Jackson County
are hoping to end their season
on a high note.
Right now, they find them
selves in the midst of a five
game losing streak after giv
ing up games last week to Hart
County and Oconee County.
Jackson County will host
Eastside in their final regular
season game on Friday. The
3-9 Eagles were the last team
to be defeated by the Lady
Panthers, and since that Jan.
23 game, Eastside has gone
3-3.
Tip-off is scheduled for 7
p.m.
Friday night will also mark
the announcement of the first
“Sweetheart” court for the
school.
“It’s basically the same thing
as football, but for basketball,”
said coach Chad Pittman.
“There will be a sweetheart
court with both boys and girls,
and there will be a king and
queen. It’s voted on by the
students, and it’s school wide,
so it’s not just for basketball
kids.”
The court will be announced
during the break between the
girls’ and boys’ games.
HART COUNTY
The Lady Panthers began
their week with a trip to Hart
County to face the 7-5 Lady
Bulldogs, who had defeated
Jackson County last month.
Early on, the Lady Panthers
worked to control the tempo
See JCCHS on page 4B
JCCHS BOYS BASKETBALL
I I
ON THE MOVE
Jackson County’s Nick Oney moves down the court
during a recent game. Photo by Brandon Reed
JCCHS closes season
Friday against Eastside
By Brandon Reed
TIME IS running out on the Jackson County Panthers regular
season, and the team is still hoping to add a few more wins to
their record before it’s all over.
Last week didn’t go their way, as they lost to Hart County on
Tuesday and to Oconee County on Friday.
The Panthers hope to pick up a win in their regular season
finale on Friday, as they’ll play host to the Eastside Eagles.
Tip-off is scheduled for 8:30 p.m.
HART COUNTY
On Tuesday, the Panthers traveled to Hart County to take on
the number three Bulldogs, a team that had defeated them last
month.
Things started out well for Jackson County, as they took a
16-12 lead in the first quarter. Things started to go downhill in
the second quarter, as the Bulldogs held the Panthers to seven
points while they added 25 to their total to take a 37-23 lead
See Panthers on page 4E