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THE JACKSON HERALD
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2009
JCCHS WRESTLING
Mat Panthers take third in area tourney
GOTCHA
Charles Smothers (top) works over an opponent at a
recent match. Smothers placed second in his weight
class a the area tournament last weekend.
Photo by At McLeod
By Brandon Reed
THE JACKSON County
Mat Panthers brought home
a third place finish from the
Area 8-AAA Individual tour
nament Saturday in Morgan
County. Jackson County fin
ished behind overall winner
Eastside, and just 20 points
behind Oconee County.
Eleven of the 12 Mat
Panthers placed in the top
four, which will send them to
next week’s sectional tourna
ment at the Gwinnett Arena.
The tournament placers
include Kevin Spicer, who
placed first in the 152 lb.
category; Ryan Howe, who
placed first in the 189 lb.
category; Cole Meaders, who
placed second in the 130 lb.
class; Izzy Carrillo-Garcia,
who placed second in the
135 lb. category; Charles
Smothers, who placed second
in the 160 lb. class; Jamari
Davis, who placed third in
the 171 lb. category;
Ryan Shekey, who placed
fourth in the 103 lb. catego
ry; D.J. Ledford, who placed
fourth in the 119 lb. catego
ry; Tre' Horton, who placed
fourth in the 125 lb. category;
Brandon Espinal, who placed
fourth in the 140 lb. cat
egory; and Jacob Hyder, who
placed fourth in the 215 lb.
category.
“I was very pleased with
how the boys wrestled,” said
coach Jason Powers. ‘‘We
really wrestled well all day
long and many of our young
er wrestlers wrestled above
their head to make it to the
sectional tournament.”
Powers pointed to a few of
his wrestlers that he said had
excellent performances.
“Cole Meaders wrestled
great all day long and came
up just short, losing in the
last seconds of his finals
match 5-6. Kevin Spicer had
a very tough finals match and
found a way to pull out the
win with less than 20 seconds
left on the clock in his finals
match.
“Ryan Howe was domi
nant in his performance pin
ning Tommy Palmer in the
third period during his finals
match.
“Cole, Izzy, Kevin, Charles
and Ryan have set themselves
up well heading into the sec
tional tournament by finish
ing in the top two of their
weight classes.”
Only eight wrestlers will
make it to the state tourna
ment out of the 16 that quali
fied for the sectional tourna
ment. Powers said he expects
to qualify six or seven wres
tlers to go to state.
“I think we should have
a couple of wrestlers in the
finals this weekend and those
wrestlers should be sitting
nicely headed into the state
tournament.”
JCCHS SOCCER
JCCHS soccer starts season with wins
By Brandon Reed
THE JACKSON County
boys and girls soccer teams
got their seasons underway
Monday night, as they played
host to Social Circle.
The Lady Panthers came
away with an 8-0 win. Amelia
Thompson, Mary Collin,
Sydney Raster, Ka Xiong,
Jeanette Gee, Lexi Miller,
Naly Thao and Kristina
Galbauch each scored goals,
while Dana Burzo earned
an honorable mention on
defense.
Later in the evening, the
Panthers squared off against
Social Circle, and picked up
a 5-3 victory.
Kevin Perez scored and had
an assist. Daniel Mendoza
scored a game tying goal,
while Jessie Xiong scored a
hat trick with three goals.
Sunny Lee had an assist.
“I was proud of the way our
team responded after going
down one in the second half,”
coach Joseph Brubaker said.
“It was definitely a time when
the guys could have dropped
their heads and given up. “I
think our fitness attributed to
our ability to keep playing
and fighting to get back in the
match and turn the momen
tum of the game. I am proud
of the guys for that.”
Both teams travel to Banks
County to face the Leopards
on Friday.
JCCHS continued from IB
of the game, and were able to keep the Lady
Bulldogs in check through the first quarter,
which ended with a tie, 11-11. The Lady
Panthers continued their strong game in the
second quarter, and going into the half, held a
two-point lead, 26-24.
But in the third quarter, Hart County out-
scored the Lady Panthers 17-8, including hit
ting three three-point shots. By the end of the
quarter, the Lady Bulldogs led 43-42.
The Lady Panthers worked hard to hang on
and try to get the lead back, but in the end, it
was Hart County taking the 68-57 victory.
Breanna Drew led Jackson County in scor
ing with 23 points. Ashley Skelton scored
12, Ana Rodriguez scored seven and Jessica
Stevens scored six.
“Overall, it was a pretty good game,”
Pittman said. “Just a couple of things that
have been plaguing us for a couple of weeks
now continue to do so. But overall I was
proud of the effort.”
OCONEE COUNTY
It was another road trip on Friday for
Jackson County, as they traveled to Oconee
County to face the 5-7 Lady Warriors.
Again, the Lady Panthers took control
early, as Skelton hit two three-point shots and
Katie Rodriguez hit one in the first quarter.
That helped Jackson County take an 11-5 lead
at the end of the quarter.
Things didn’t go as well in the second
quarter, as the Lady Warriors came on strong
and outscored Jackson County 15-4, taking a
26-15 lead into the half.
Ultimately the 11-point lull in the second
quarter made the difference in the game. The
Lady Panthers managed to cut the lead to
35-28 by the end of the third quarter, but they
could not close the gap, as the Lady Warriors
went on to win 46-35.
Skelton led Jackson County in scoring
with 18 points, while Katie Rodriguez scored
seven.
“I thought we played hard,” Pittman said.
“We only had a handful of turnovers. Our
shooting was really good against Oconee,
going 13-48 from the field.
“To play as well as we played and to do
some of the things we did, I thought we did
well. The ball just didn’t go in. That’s just
how it goes.”
The Lady Panthers were scheduled to host
Franklin County at home on Tuesday. Results
from that game were unavailable at press
time.
Panthers continued from IB
into the half.
Things didn’t get much bet
ter in the third quarter, as
Jackson County picked up 11
points to Hart County’s 23,
extending the lead to 60-34.
The Panthers would end up
on the short end of an 80-45
final score.
Joseph Smith led Jackson
County in scoring with 10
points, while Nick Oney and
Will Tallent had six each.
OCONEE COUNTY
Next up for the Panthers was
a trip to Oconee County to face
the Warriors in Watkinsville.
Jackson County again came
out strong, taking a 15-13 lead
in the first quarter. Oconee
County came on strong as
well, adding 15 points to their
score to take the lead, but the
Panthers hung in there, add
ing ten points of their own to
make it 28-25 at the half.
The game stayed close
through the fourth quarter,
with Oconee County holding
a slim advantage, 40-37, at the
end of the quarter.
The Panthers tried to come
back in the fourth quarter, but
just couldn’t close the gap as
the Warriors went on to win
52-47.
Joseph Smith led Jackson
County in scoring with 32
points, going 10-10 from the
free throw line.
Jonathan Holton scored
seven points and had five
rebounds, while Nick Oney
scored six points.
“We played a good game
and I was very proud of the
kids. I felt like we played a
complete game and just came
up short.”
The Panthers were sched
uled to host Franklin County
at home Tuesday night.
Results were unavailable at
press time.
Dragons continued from IB
hold the ball more than they did.
“It was a pretty good game for us. I thought
defensively we played really well.”
OGLETHORPE CO.
Next up for the Dragons was a trip to
Oglethorpe County to face the Patriots. In their
last meeting, Jefferson had dominated the game,
winning 65-18. With that in mind, it appeared
Jefferson would have a smooth game ahead.
The Patriots, however, had other plans.
After jumping out to an early 13-2 lead,
Oglethorpe began fighting back, and by the end
of the first quarter, the Patriots had cut the score
down to 17-13. In the second quarter, the game
went back and forth, with the Patriots tying the
score 34-34 by the half.
In the third quarter, Oglethorpe took control
of the game, outscoring the Dragons 16-12,
holding a 50-46 lead going into the fourth quar
ter. Jefferson didn’t give up, and started claw
ing their way back into the game. With three
minutes left, the Dragons found themselves
down by four. With 30 seconds left, Jefferson
took the lead, and was up by three when the
Patriots hit a shot, cutting the lead to one point
with 20 seconds left. As close as they were,
Oglethorpe could not find the opportunity they
needed, as Jefferson won 61-60.
Minor again led in scoring with 23 points,
while Cody Smith had 10 and Chris Beck had
eight. Derek Milsap had a tip-in with about 35
seconds left that ended up being the difference
in the game.
“Offensively, I thought we played pretty
well,” DuBose said. “We were running with the
ball, we were taking good shots. Defensively,
their quickness gave us some problems. They
do have a lot of quickness out front with their
guards. We were having a hard time stopping
them. They made some key shots in the second
quarter to get them back in the game.”
DuBose also pointed to the performances of
Tyler Bailey and Tate Chesser of the bench as
being a key in Jefferson winning.
“It was a tough win for us. You have to
give Oglethorpe credit. I thought they played
great.”
EAST JACKSON
Saturday night at JHS was a big one for sev
eral reasons.
It was a rematch with in-county rival East
Jackson, who sits number two in the subregion.
The previous game between the two teams had
been a spirited, exciting affair.
A win for Jefferson would make them 6-0 in
the region, and lock in their status as the num
ber one seed in next week’s region tournament.
It was also senior night, which is always an
emotional one for the players.
With a packed gym, every senior started
the game, adding Tab Martin and Demetri
Robinson to the starting lineup, joining usual
starters Chris Beck, Cody Smith and Derek
Milsap.
But the excitement of the night may have
been a hindrance early on, as the Eagles jumped
out to a 13-2 lead early in the first quarter. A
decision to go to a man-to-man defense halfway
through the quarter proved to be a good one, as
the Dragons cut the lead to 17-10 by the end of
the quarter.
Jefferson then went on to outscore East
Jackson in the second quarter, and by the half,
held a 29-24 lead.
The Dragons stretched that lead to 45-32 in
the third quarter, outscoring East Jackson 16-8.
Late in the fourth quarter, the Eagles cut the
lead to 11 points, but couldn’t’ get any closer,
as Jefferson won 59-48.
Minor led in scoring with 17 points, while
Beck and Martin both scored 10.
“I really felt like from the late third quarter
on, we had control of the game," DuBose said.
“It was mainly because we were playing so
good on defense. We were not giving them any
open shots.”
Now with tournament play set to begin on
Tuesday, DuBose said he and his team might
not have seen the last of the East Jackson
Eagles.
“I said all year that I thought us and East
Jackson could be the best two teams in the
region by the end of the season, and that may
very well be the case now. That’s no guarantee
that both of us are going to get to the region
championship game, because we’ve got a lot
of games to win before then. But we could see
them again in the region championship game if
we both get there.
“If we do, it will be a tough game, because
they’re good.”
Tournament play for Jefferson gets started
Tuesday at North Oconee.
The Dragons were scheduled to host Banks
County Tuesday night. Results were unavail
able at press time.
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