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Inside: Eagles remain undefeated — page 3B
SEPTEMBER 16,
2009
JCCHS SOFTBALL
READY AND WAITING
Jackson County’s Andrea Ledford watches for the next
pitch at a recent game. Photo by Brandon Reed
Lady Panthers defeat
Mountain View, Hart Co.
THE LADY Panthers of Jackson County rolled on last week,
continuing undefeated in region play while dropping two games
in non-region tournament play that leaves them with a 13-7-1
record overall.
Next up is more tournament play, as Jackson County contin
ues in the North Fall Classic this week.
The Lady Panthers traveled to Lawrenceville last Tuesday
to face Mountain View. After a solid defensive game, Jackson
County held a commanding 7-0 lead until the bottom of the
seventh.
That's when the Lady Bears got a two-run homer, and fol
lowed it with four more runs. The Lady Panthers held their
ground and stopped the rally to record the 7-6 victory.
Haley Shinall picked up the win from the mound.
Next was another road trip, this time to Hart County to face
the Lady Bulldogs on Thursday.
It was a tight game that saw the Lady Panthers chip away
steadily at Hart County throughout. Madison Whitmire, Erica
Parker, and Andrea Ledford picked up hits while Macey Latty,
Victoria Fontana, Haley Shinall and Jessika Laird all found ways
to get on base. In the end, Jackson County came away with a
4-3 win, with Shinall recording the win from the mound.
Next up, the Lady Panthers traveled to North Oconee to take
See JCCHS on page 2B
JHS CROSS COUNTRY
SOLID RUN
JHS Sophomore Trae Timmerman ran the course at
Jekyll Island in 20:00 over the weekend.
JHS places third and
seventh at Border Clash
THE JEFFERSON High
School cross country teams
traveled to Jekyll Island over
the weekend to take part in
the first annual Georgia-
Florida Border Clash.
Jefferson performed well,
with the girls placing third
overall, while the boys placed
seventh out of 14 teams.
Top times for the girls
included junior Alison
Missler taking 11th overall
with a 23:16. Freshman Cara
Smith placed 12th overall
with a 23:17.
For the boys, sophomore
Trae Timmerman turned
in a 20:00. Freshman
Jake Sherman ran a 20:14.
Freshman Jake Marlowe ran
a 20:14.
Jefferson will be back in
action this Saturday, as they
travel to Suwanee for the
Gwinnett County Meet.
JHS FOOTBALL
Dragons best Fannin County 42-27
By Brandon Reed
AFTER A game that seemed
touch and go for a while, the
Jefferson Dragons came away
with their first road win of the
2009, defeating the Rebels of
Fannin County.
With their record now 3-0
overall and 2-0 in the region,
the Dragons will again be on
the road this Friday, as they
travel to Oglethorpe County
to face the Patriots.
The Patriots are 1-2 over
all, and have yet to pick up
a region win this year. Last
week, they fell 28-14 to the
East Jackson Eagles.
On paper, Jefferson has the
clear advantage going into
Friday night. The Dragons
have scored a total of 128
points so far in 2009, while
Oglethorpe County has scored
67.
The stats are a little closer
in the points allowed cat
egory. While the Patriots
have allowed 69 points to be
scored against them this year,
an average of 23 per game,
the Dragons have allowed 56
total, or 18.7 per game.
If history is any indicator,
Jefferson holds the advan
tage there as well. Jefferson
defeated Oglethorpe 48-20
last year, and has defeated
the Patriots in their last five
meetings.
Kickoff is slated for 7:30
p.m.
FANNIN COUNTY
The Dragons traveled north
to Fannin County to face the
Rebels in region play Friday
night.
The Dragons got on the
board first, just under seven
minutes in the first quarter,
when they broke into the
JCCHS FOOTBALL
Panthers host Prince Avenue Friday
scored 87 points in three
games.
Prince Avenue has allowed
66 points to be scored against
them thus far in the sea
son, while the Panthers have
allowed only seven points to
be scored.
Last year, the match up
between the two teams
ended in a 12-12 tie. The
Wolverines built up a 12-0
lead going into the half dur
ing last year’s game. The
Panthers fought to make up
the ground and came close to
winning their second game
of 2008.
Coach Billy Kirk said last
week that he and his coaches
have to remember that their
team has never been in this
position before.
“We’ve got to do a great
job as coaches to keep their
heads in it and stay focused
for four quarters,’’ he said.
“Prince Avenue is a good
football team. We’re going
to have to come in and play
well to beat them.”
Kirk said last week’s off
time would be spent working
on fixing what he called the
“sloppy play” he had seen
from the team in their first
two games.
“Our kids have not graded
out well, and we’ve missed a
lot of things,” he said.
Regardless, the Panther
Nation has come to life with
the team’s resurgence on the
football field.
Kirk said the community
response to the team’s per-
See Panthers on page 2B
By Brandon Reed
IT’S BEEN a big week for
the Panther Nation.
First, the Jackson County
Panthers entered a bye week
undefeated, going 2-0 for the
first time since 1981 after
a victory over Our Lady of
Mercy and a hard fought win
over Sonoraville.
Then they were honored
by WAGA, the Fox televi
sion affiliate out of Atlanta,
as the “High 5 Sports Team
of The Week.”
The award was present
ed to coach Billy Kirk and
his team last Thursday live
on television. Kirk and his
team were featured promi
nently throughout the chan
nel’s Thursday morning
broadcast.
Now the Panthers must
turn their attention towards
Friday night, and their next
challenge, Prince Avenue
Christian.
It will be a special game,
as the Panthers look to
remain undefeated during
their homecoming game.
The Prince Avenue
Wolverines come to Jackson
County off of a 38-24 vic
tory over Glascock County.
So far this season, Prince
Avenue is 2-1 overall, and,
like the Panthers, has yet to
play a region game.
Going in, the advantage
seems to be in favor of the
Panthers. In two games,
the Panthers have scored 86
points. The Wolverines have
PANTHERS HONORED
The Jackson County Panthers were honored last Thursday as the team of the week
by WAGA Fox 5 in Atlanta. The award was presented by James Leigh, who has
worked for the Jackson County school system for 33 years. Leigh maintains the
lines on the football field as part of his job. Pictured are, left to right, Jonathan
Holton, Rob Williams, Leigh, coach Billy Kirk and Ryan Howe.
Photo by Brandon Reed
GET OPEN
Darius Minor looks down the field for an open receiver during Friday night’s game at
Fannin County.
Photo by At McLeod
Rebels’ end zone to take a
7-0 lead.
Fannin County went to
work, and with just over two
minutes left in the quarter,
the Rebels scored their first
touchdown of the night, and
tied the game 7-7 with a suc
cessful extra point attempt.
The Rebels would take their
only lead of the night six min
utes into the second quarter,
when a touchdown put them
ahead 14-7.
But just seconds later, Cain
Finch ran a kickoff back for
a touchdown to tie the game
again 14-14.
Jefferson would then retake
the lead three minutes later
on another touchdown, mov
ing out to a 21-14 lead. The
Dragons would add to that
lead with 23 seconds remain
ing in the first half with
another touchdown, making it
a 28-14 game at the half.
In the second half, the
Rebels began working on a
comeback of their own.
Fannin County would
force two turnovers in the
third quarter, and with just
under three minutes remain
ing, would break into the
Dragons’ end zone to make
it a 28-21 game. The Rebels
then pulled to within a point
See Dragons on page 2B