Newspaper Page Text
Inside: East Jackson defeats Fannin Co.
page
SEPTEMBER 9,
2009
3B
Phone: (706) 367-5233
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Section B
JCCHS FOOTBALL
JHS SOFTBALL
Panthers go 2-0 with Sonoraville win
By Brandon Reed
THEPANTHERfaithfulwere
hoping for a strong follow-up to
last week’s season opening win
when Jackson County hit the
field Friday night.
The last time the Panthers
were 2-0 was back in 1981.
Their team delivered, defeat
ing the Phoenix of Sonoraville
42-7 in a rough game that was
riddled with personal fouls.
The Panthers have this Friday
off. Their next game is slated
for Sept. 18, when they will
play host to Prince Avenue
Christian. Kickoff is scheduled
for 7:30 p.m.
SONORAVILLE
The Panthers started out
Friday’s game by getting
on the board first. Jonathan
Holton made his way into
the Sonoraville end zone just
four minutes into the game,
and Jackson County took a 7-0
lead.
Late in the first quarter,
Sonoraville began to drive deep
into Panther territory. That
drive continued until the buzzer
sounded, ending the first quar
ter. Five seconds into the sec
ond quarter, the Phoenix broke
into the Jackson County end
zone, tying the game 7-7.
For much of the next quarter,
the Panthers worked to find
traction against the Phoenix.
When Jackson County took
possession of the ball with
about three and a half minutes
left in the half, back-up quar
terback Jalen Banks went in for
Alex Crawford.
One minute later, Banks put
together a 57-yard pass play to
Charles Smothers for the second
Jackson County touchdown of
the night, as the Panthers took
a 14-7 lead.
About 15 seconds into their
next possession, Sonoraville
JCCHS SOFTBALL
fumbled the ball. The Panthers
recovered on the 17-yard line,
with Crawford returning to the
game.
With a little over a minute
remaining in the first half,
Jackson County’s Michael
Pesaresi made his way into the
end zone, giving the Panthers a
21-7 lead going into halftime.
Both teams would push back
and forth, fighting for field
position through the third quar
ter. With just over seven and a
half minutes left in the quarter,
the Panthers made a big stop on
Sonoraville on fourth down to
take over on their own 28-yard
line.
About a minute later, as the
Panthers attempted to punt,
Sonoraville was called for
roughing the kicker, giving
the Panthers an automatic first
down.
Despite the efforts on both
sides, the third quarter ended
with neither team having added
to their score.
The standoff ended a little
over three minutes into the
fourth quarter when Josh Spanks
intercepted a Sonoraville pass
and ran it in for a touchdown.
The extra point was successful,
and Jackson County now had a
JHS FOOTBALL
28-7 lead.
About a minute later,
Sonoraville fumbled the ball,
which was recovered by
Jackson County’s Alex Garcia.
Two minutes later, the Panthers
scored again as Holton made
his second touchdown of the
night. The extra point gave the
Panthers a 35-7 lead.
With just over two minutes
left, the Panthers would make
their final touchdown on the
night as Zane Cochran made
his way into the end zone. The
extra point made it 42-7. The
score would stay the same until
See Panthers on page 4B
COMING THROUGH
Jackson County’s Charles Smothers (34) works through Sonoraville’s defensive line
during Friday night’s game. Photo by Brandon Reed
PERRY PITCHES
Jefferson junior Kara Perry sends a pitch to the plate
during a recent game. Photo by Brandon Reed
Lady Dragons falls
to Banks County 6-1
By Brandon Reed
THE LADY Dragons of Jefferson lost their first region game
of the series last week to Banks County.
Jefferson next plays host to Fannin County on Tuesday. First
pitch is scheduled for 5:55 p.m.
The Lady Dragons played host to Banks County last
Wednesday. Banks County came out swinging from the start,
putting three runners across in the top of the first inning. They
added two more in the top of the fifth, and another in the top of
the sixth. Jefferson’s lone run came in the bottom of the sev
enth, as the Lady Leopards went on to win 6-1.
Kara Perry recorded the loss. She pitched just over four and
a half innings, striking out five while giving up seven hits and
five runs. Morgan McKinney pitched just under two and a half
innings, striking out one while giving up two hits and one run.
Paige Pate went 1-3 at the plate with a run scored. Anna
Alexander went 2-4. Jordyn Whitfield went 2-4. Kasey
McDonald went 1-3. Morgan McKinney went 1-3. Brittney
Smith went 1-3. Cason Anderson went 1-3.
The Lady Dragons were slated to travel to Walnut Grove on
Tuesday. Results of that game were unavailable at press time.
WE HAVE CONTACT
Brooke Griggs connects with the ball during a recent
game. Photo by Brandon Reed
Lady Panthers defeat
Franklin, Stephens Co.
Dragons defeat Dawson Co. 56-16
THE JACKSON County
Lady Panthers softball team is
on a roll, having won their last
four games and going unde
feated thus far in region play.
Their next match up comes
on the road, as they’ll travel to
Hart County to face the Lady
Bulldogs. First pitch is sched
uled for 5:55 p.m.
Last Tuesday, the Lady
Panthers traveled to Stephens
County to face the Lady
Indians. Jackson County came
away with a 4-1 victory.
Haley Shinall recorded the
win, striking out eight batters
while allowing only one run.
Junior Brooke Griggs went 2-4
at the plate with two RBIs,
while junior Jessika Laird went
2-2 with two stolen bases.
Madison Whitmire went 2-4.
O
Victoria Fontana also had a key
hit in the game.
Next up for the Lady Panthers
was a home stand Thursday
against Franklin County.
A defensive error and an
earned run put Jackson County
behind early, as they trailed 2-0.
The Lady Panthers answered
by scoring a ran in the second.
From there, both teams seemed
stalled, until the sixth inning
when Jackson County put run
ners in scoring position. The
bases were loaded when a hit
from sophomore Macey Latty
brought home two runs, making
it a 4-2 ball game. The Lady
Panther defense shut down the
Lady Lions in the top of the
seventh, giving Jackson County
the win.
See JCCHS on page 3B
By Brandon Reed
THE JEFFERSON Dragons
took their first steps towards
defending their region title
Friday night, as they knocked
off their first region opponent
of the year handily, defeat
ing the Dawson County Tigers
56-16.
Up next is another region
opponent, the Fannin County
Rebels.
The Dragons will have to
make the long journey to Blue
Ridge Friday night to face
the Rebels, who are coming
off of a 35-21 loss to region
opponent East Jackson.
Fannin County enters the
match up 1-1 overall, and 0-1
in the region.
The Dragons have the defi
nite advantage over the Rebels
on paper. So far, Jefferson has
scored 86 points overall, and
has allowed only 29 points to
be scored against them.
Fannin County has scored
45 points overall this season,
and has allowed 53 to be
scored against them.
In last year’s game, which
was held at Jefferson, the
Dragons decimated the Rebels
41-6. The Dragon Nation is
hoping for a repeat of history
on Friday night.
Kickoff is scheduled for
7:30 p.m.
DRAGON DOMINATION
The Dragons flexed their
muscles early on against the
Tigers of Dawson County,
scoring four straight touch
downs on four straight posses
sions in the first seven minutes
of the game.
Lucas Redd was the first
Dragon to score, giving
Jefferson an early 7-0 lead.
On their next possession, the
Dragons drove down the field,
and six plays later, Redd broke
through the Dawson County
line to put Jefferson ahead
14-0.
After holding Dawson
County at bay on their next
possession, J.J. Damons
fielded the Tigers’ punt, then
returned it for a 56-yard
touchdown.
The next Dawson County
possession resulted in another
Tiger punt. This time, quar
terback Darius Minor field
ed it, and returned it for an
84-yard touchdown.
The Tigers took posses
sion again, but fumbled on
their own 31-yard line. The
Dragons recovered and on
their next play, Minor ran the
ball in for a 31-yard touch
down.
The Dragons would score
again before the half, as Minor
made a 19-yard pass to J.J.
Damons for a touchdown.
Despite Minor sitting out
the second half of the game,
things did not get any easier
for Dawson County.
First, a Tiger pass was inter
cepted by Andre Daniel. One
See Dragons on page 2B
O
ON THE MOVE
Senior Caleb Meek, seen here from earlier action, had four carries for 69 yards
against Dawson County Friday night. Photo by Blair Buffington