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Inside: Eagles defeat West Hall — page 3B
SEPTEMBER 2,
2009
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Section B
JHS FOOTBALL
Dragons defeat Commerce 30-16
TAKE IT AND RUN
JHS quarterback Darius Minor (12) hands off to Lucas Redd during Friday night’s
game against Commerce. Redd had 11 carries for 73 yards, while Minor had 10 car
ries for 51 yards. Photo by Justin Poole
JCCHS SOFTBALL
SAFE AT HOME
Jackson County freshman Madison Whitmire scores
during a recent game. Photo by Brandon Reed
Lady Panthers remain
undefeated in region play
AS GAME time approached,
it appeared that rain might
put a damper on the annual
Jefferson-Commerce game
Friday night.
But as kickoff grew nearer,
the rain stopped, the clouds
parted and fans were treat
ed to another strong match
up, as the Dragons won their
third game in a row over the
Commerce Tigers, 30-13.
Up next for Jefferson is
another home stand, this time
against the Tigers of Dawson
County for their region open
er.
Dawson comes to town
on the heels of a 13-0 loss
to Lumpkin County in their
opener.
Last season, the Dragons
handily defeated the Tigers
19-0, as Dawson County went
on to record a 3-7 overall
record, and 2-7 in the region.
Kickoff Friday night is slat
ed for 7:30 p.m.
RIVER WAR
The Tigers had control of
the ball first, and would draw
first blood by scoring on a
five play, 94-yard total pos
session.
Jefferson tried to even the
score with just under a min
ute left in the first quarter,
as the Dragons were able to
break through the Commerce
defense and into the end zone.
But a flag called the touch
down back, and Jefferson
trailed 7-0 going into the sec
ond quarter.
The Dragons finally got
their first points of the night
on the board in the second
quarter, as quarterback Darius
Minor got off a 55-yard pass
play to senior Sky Porter for
a touchdown. A bobble on
the snap led to a miss on the
JCCHS FOOTBALL
By Brandon Reed
FOR THE second year
running, the Jackson County
Panthers have opened up their
season with a victory over Our
Lady of Mercy, coming away
with a whopping 44-0 win.
It was a historic game for the
Panthers. The win was the first
shut out for JCCHS football in
19 years, and the largest margin
of victory for the Panthers in
16 years.
Next up for the Panthers is
their home opener, as they'll
play host to the Sonoraville
Phoenix on Friday.
Last year, Sonoraville
squeaked out a win over the
Panthers, 16-14.
They would go on to have a
7-3 overall record, and go 3-2
in their region.
But if momentum counts for
anything, the Panthers should
have the opportunity for a
strong showing Friday night.
extra point, and Commerce
continued to lead 7-6.
Jefferson wasn't done yet.
The Dragons would get pos
session of the ball again, and
pushed their way to within
20 yards of scoring. The
Tigers’ line held tight, deny
ing Jefferson entry into the
end zone. Jefferson kicker
Asher Orr put a 32-yard field
goal through the uprights, giv
ing Jefferson a 9-7 lead.
As the Dragons defense
continued to deny Commerce,
the offense again moved
Jefferson into scoring posi
tion, and with a 15-yard pass
play from Minor to Hoytez
Damons, Jefferson increased
their lead to 16-7 at the half.
JHS TAKES CHARGE
Jefferson continued to con
trol the game in the second
half. After a five-minute pos
session, the Dragons scored
Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30
p.m.
BOBCAT CHALLENGE
After making the long drive
to Fairbum, the Panthers took
possession of the ball first, and
after their opening drive, punted
to Our Lady of Mercy.
As the Bobcats tried to
work their way up the field,
the Jackson County defense
attacked.
“Coach (Jay) Reid did a great
job with the game plan,” said
JCCHS head football coach
Billy Kirk.
The Bobcats had to punt back
to the Panthers, and on the next
series, Jackson County broke
into the end zone for the first
time on the night.
Jackson County immediately
began to work some strategy,
pulling off an on-side kick to
retain possession of the ball.
They would score again on the
next series, and pull out to a
again on a four yard run by
senior Caleb Meek to make
it 23-7.
The rest of the third quarter
was spent by both teams try
ing to make ground on the
other, but neither could break
through the opposing defenses
to find the end zone.
Commerce tried to mount a
comeback early in the fourth
quarter. After starting on the
Jefferson 18-yard line, the
Tigers would drive to within
inches of the goal line. A
loss on a quarterback sack
and an imcomplete pass had
Commerce staring at fourth
down, but Commerce broke
into the end zone to score on
a three yard run. Commerce
was stopped on a two-point
conversion, and trailed the
Dragons 23-13.
A short return kick gave
the Dragons a start from the
14-0 lead.
Our Lady of Mercy again
took possession, but were
denied field position again by
the Panthers defense. On their
nextpossession, Jackson County
pushed deep into Bobcats terri
tory, but then stalled. A field
goal attempt was successful,
and the Panthers increased their
lead to 17-0.
From there on, the Panthers
had control of the game, and
went on to win 44-0.
BY THE NUMBERS
Backup quarterback Jalen
Banks went 3-3 for 56 yards,
connecting for two touchdowns
in the process.
Quarterback Alex Crawford
went 7-16 for 90 yards, and
ran two touchdowns in him
self. Charles Smothers twice
scored, once on one of his nine
carries, and once on a 45-yard
pass play.
Crawford had five carries for
47-yard line. With just over
five and a half minutes left on
the clock, Jefferson began to
drive. A quarterback sneak
by Minor allowed him to pull
out a 51-yard run to score,
pushing the Dragons ahead
30-13. The Tigers would get
no closer, and Jefferson went
on to record their third win
over Commerce in as many
years.
NUMBERS GAME
Quarterback Darius Minor
had 10 carries for 85 yards,
completing four out of six
passes for two touchdowns.
Lucas Redd had 11 carries
for 73 yards, with one recep
tion for 10 yards.
Zac Allen had 16 carries
for 101 yards, J.J. Damons
had five carries for 15 yards
and Caleb Meek had eight
See Dragons on page 2B
33 yards. Devion Ledford went
5- 17. Michael Pesaresi went
6- 11. Ryan Howe went 2-3,
and Dustin Scott went 1-2. In
all, the Panthers rushed for 135
yards.
Pesaresi had three catches for
26 yards. Zac Stitcher had two
catches for 43 yards. Smothers
had one reception for 45 yards.
Charlie Waycaster had one
reception for 11 yards. Rob
Williams had one reception for
10 yards. James Parks had one
reception for nine yards. Nick
Oney had one reception for two
yards and a touchdown.
Kicker Garret Daglis nailed
a 27-yard field goal, and was
successful on five extra point
attempts.
Defensively, the Panthers
gave up no yards in the first
half, and 19 total for the game.
“It was pretty impressive to
watch the kids play,” Kirk said.
Kirk and his team now turn
their attention to the task at
hand - dealing with Sonoraville
Friday night.
Kirk said that despite the
outcome, he's seen a definite
difference in his team this year
from last.
“We may come out, and
they may shut us down. But
there’s a major difference in
our kids that have bought into
what we’re doing. The kids
that didn’t buy in and the dis
tractions that we had last year
aren't here anymore. It's been a
refreshing thing, because these
kids want to be here, they want
to be at practice and they want
to learn and do well.
“It's been very impressive to
watch the last two weeks.”
IT’S BEEN a good start
to the 2009 season for the
Lady Panthers softball team
of Jackson County. Going
into play on Tuesday, Jackson
County was undefeated in
region play at 2-0, and was 5-5
overall.
The Lady Panthers will
play host to Franklin County
Thursday afternoon. Going
into Tuesday, the Lady Lions
were 1-1 in the region and 4-5
overall.
First pitch Thursday is slated
for 5:55 p.m.
ELBERT COUNTY
The Lady Panthers traveled
to Elbert County on Thursday
to face the Lady Blue Devils
in their second region game of
the season.
Jackson County started out
solid at the plate, putting base
runners in scoring position
early. The Lady Panthers’ run
ners capitalized on mistakes
JHS CROSS COUNTRY
made by Elbert County to score
two runs in the first inning.
Jackson County would add
two more runs over the next
five innings to lead 4-0.
Elbert County made a run
at a comeback in the seventh
inning, scoring three runs, but
a strike out and two defensive
plays slammed the door on the
Lady Blue Devils, as Jackson
County won 4-3.
Haley Shinall recorded the
win from the mound and,
along with Brooke Griggs, led
at the plate with base hits.
Both also scored. Madison
Whitmire also had a notable
appearance at the plate, while
freshmen Andrea Ledford and
Kristen Anderson both picked
up RBIs.
The Lady Panthers were
slated for travel to Stephens
County Tuesday to face the
Lady Indians. Results were
unavailable at press time.
OPENING WIN
The Jackson County Panthers celebrate their second win in as many years over Our
Lady of Mercy. Photo by Katrina Algard
TOP THREE PERFORMANCE
Team members from the Jefferson girls cross country
team pose with the third place trophy from Saturday’s
NEGA Classic Invitational at Athens Christian. Team
members include, pictured left to right, Kathy Buffington,
Alison Missler, Lauren Phillips, Jessica Runkel, Laura
Price and Cara Smith.
JHS girls place third
at Athens Christian
THE JEFFERSON High School cross country team took
part in the NEGA Classic Invitational at Athens Christian
over the weekend, with the varsity girls placing third out of
16 teams. The varsity boys, meanwhile, placed 15th out of 23
teams. Over 1,800 runners participated in the event.
The Dragons will be back in action Saturday, Sept. 12,
when they travel to Jekyll Island to take part in the GA-FL
Challenge.
Top performers for the girls included Alison Missler, who
placed 11th at 22:41, Lauren Phillips placed 14th at 22:53,
Cara Smith placed 16th at 23:10, Laura Price placed 25th
at 23:49, Jessica Runkel placed 27th at 23:52 and Kathy
Buffington placed 30th at 24:13. Other runners included
Maggie Adams at 25:45, and Zoe Crown at 28:52.
For the boys, Trae Timmerman placed 37th at 19:09, Jake
Sherman placed 68th at 20:03, Jake Marlowe placed 77th at
20:16, Cannon Joiner placed 121st at 21:31 and Matt Deremer
placed 127th at 21:47. Other runners included Caleb Edwards
at 23:06, Carter Mixon at 25:31 and Andrew O’Cock at
26:04.
Coach Allen Thompson said the coaching staff was very
pleased with the team’s initial performance for the season.
Panthers pummel Bobcats for 44-0 win