Newspaper Page Text
Inside: Improved
volley Panthers off to a
strong start — page 3B
www.MainStreetNewsSPORTS.com
AUGUST 18,
2010
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Section B
SENIOR STANDOUT
Jackson County cross
country runner Brittany
Aikens catches her breath
after a race last year.
Photo by Lyn Sengupta
Prep Tennis
Bost getting even better
JHS junior enjoys big
summer tennis court
By Ben Munro
ZACH BOST continues to
prove that one of the state's
rising tennis talents resides
in Jefferson.
The 16-year-old Jefferson
High School junior enjoyed
a successful summer stint in
singles and doubles play at
the state and regional levels
The Zach Bost file
•Age: 16
•Grade: Junior at Jefferson H.S.
•Sport: Tennis
•What else: Bost is ranked no.
3 in the state in the 16-year-old
boys’ division. He played in
the exclusive USTA National
Championships in Kalamazoo,
Mich., earlier this month
and even competed in a pres
tigious national tournament.
Riding a hot streak that
started before last school year
ended, Bost is ranked no. 3 in
the state in the 16-year-old
division.
“It’s possibly one of the
hardest things to do, to crack
the top 10 because that’s the
best players in the state .... I
was excited to see my hard
work payoff,” said Bost, who
went 14-0 as a sophomore
in his high school matches
last year.
See Bost on page 3B
ONE
OF THE
STATE’S
BEST
Jefferson’s
Zach Bost,
who’s ranked
no. 3 in the
state in the
boys’ 16s,
continued his
stellar play
on the tennis
court over the
summer. Bost
is a junior
at Jefferson
High School.
Submitted
photo
Scrimmage: JCCHS vs. Athens Christian, Sat., 7:30 p.m.
Prep Football
Cross Country
Lady Panther
runners
eyeing region
title in 2010
By Ben Munro
THE JACKSON COUNTY
girls' cross country team
enjoyed runners-up honors in
Region 8-AAA the past two
years, so the objective this year
doesn’t change even though the
school has switched regions.
“Our goal is to win the
region,” coach Joseph Brubaker
said.
Now mem
bers of 8-AA,
Jackson
County
begins its sea
son Saturday
with a meet
at Buford,
followed by
the annual
Northeast
Georgia Championships Aug.
28 at Athens Christian.
The team has 10 regular sea
son meets to get into shape
for the late October Region
8-AA meet which will be held
a stone's throw from Jackson
County's campus at Crow’s
Lake.
In fact, the team already
holds some of its practices
there.
In seeking a region title,
Jackson County — which fin
ished 16 th in Class AAA last
year — returns runners with
state meet experience from
2009, led by senior standout
Brittany Aikens.
Aikens finished seventh
last year in Class AAA with
a 19:39. She has offers to run
collegiately.
Others with experience are
sophomore Sydney Baird, who
finished 69 th at state last year
with a 22:10, and junior Rachel
Pasko, who was 96 th at state
with a 23:07.
Added to the fold are a group
of freshmen that Brubaker hopes
have an immediate impact. The
new runners include Michayla
Scollon. Kourtney Axelberg
and Maddie Newton.
“Hopefully, we’ll fill the
slots of the seniors that left.”
Brubaker said.
Though the Lady Panthers
have experience, they only
have eight runners on the ros
ter, which could present an
obstacle for a team seeking a
title.
“We’re not very deep at all,”
Brubaker said.
The key is everyone running
at their peak in late October
and early November — and
staying healthy.
“It should be interesting if
we progress throughout the
year and peak at the right time
without getting hurt.” Brubaker
said.
See cross country on 3B
COMING UP
•@Buford,
Saturday
•@NE Ga.
Championships
(Athens
Christian),
Aug. 28
Prep Football
QUARTERBACK CANDIDATES
Jackson County quarterbacks Kyle Daniel (left) and Jalen Banks (right) con
tinue to compete for the starting job. Photo by Ben Munro
Competition continues
JCCHS quarterback race carrying over to Fri. scrimmage
By Ben Munro
ACKSON County’s Lriday
night scrimmage against Athens
Christian will be the last pre
season opportunity for Jalen Banks
and Kevin Daniel to state their case
for the starting quarterback job.
Panther coaches are still trying to
settle on a first-team signal caller to
run their pass-friendly spread offense
heading into the scrimmage.
“We'll see what they can do under
live fire,” coach Billy Kirk said.
Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m.
Jackson County will operate off of a
script on offense. Banks will get the first
10 snaps and Daniel will get the next 10.
While both are competing hard in prac
tice and bringing a lot to the table, that’s
where the similarities end. “They’re
really completely opposite.” Kirk said.
In fact, the coach uses the differing
styles of NLL hall of fame and Super
Panthers at a glance
•Scrimmage Athens Christian Friday
night at home, 7:30 p.m.
•Open at home against Johnson
Aug. 27 at 7:30 p.m.
Bowl winning quarterbacks John Elway
and Steve Young to illustrate the point.
Banks — the quieter of the two players,
according to Kirk takes more of the
Elway approach to the position. He has the
better arm, is a playmaker and thrives on
instinct. Banks also has six games of start
ing experience, taking over for an injured
Alex Crawford last year at quarterback.
Daniel, by contrast, would be the Steve
Young in the analogy. Daniel is a mobile
quarterback who thinks through a play
and is good at making his reads.
See Panthers on page 3B
Eagles look to learn
from scrimmage
By Brandon Reed
THE EAGLE NATION got its first look at what the East
Jackson Eagle football team might look like on the gridiron Friday
night, as the Eagles faced off against the Knights of Johnson in
Gainesville in a scrimmage match-up.
All in all, it was a good outing for East Jackson, which won
22-18.
But that doesn’t mean the pre
season work is anywhere near
done, according to head football
coach Frank Caputo.
“I think in spots, we looked
OK,” he said. “We turned it over
four times, but was still able to
hang on and come out of there
with a win, which was fortunate
for us. We have a long way to go
and a short time to get there.”
That short time - nine days remain until opening kick-off for
the 2010 season - means the Eagles will have to hustle to fine-
tune their effort before they take the field against White County
on Aug. 27.
“We did have an opportunity to play all of our kids,” Caputo
said. “Every kid had a chance to get in there and play, which was
one of our goals, so we could get them on film and look at them.
All in all, I just think we’ve got a lot of work to do to get shored up
for that opening game against White County.”
Caputo said the team was able to get a good film of the game,
which will help as coaches work to iron out the rough spots over
the next week.
See Eagles on page 2B
Eagles at a glance
•Beat Johnson 22-18 in
a scrimmage Friday
•Coming off a 10-2 sea
son, East Jackson opens
the season Aug. 27
against White County
ELUSIVE EAGLE
East Jackson’s Jermain Davis slips past a Johnson
defender during Friday’s scrimmage game.
Photo by Brandon Reed
JUST OUT OF REACH
Jefferson’s Chris Jackson reaches for Lumpkin
County’s Ian McIntosh Saturday. Photo by Ben Munro
Prep Football
JHS plagued by turnovers in scrimmage
By Ben Munro
JEFFERSON LOOKS to sharpen its play after
a lackluster night in its lone dress rehearsal for
the season.
The Dragons turned the ball over three times
in the first half in Saturday’s semi-regulation
scrimmage at Lumpkin County in which no score
was kept.
Jefferson trailed 21-0 unofficially at halftime
before scoring twice in a simulated overtime seg
ment to start the third quarter.
The Dragons have just over a week to pre
pare for their Aug. 27 season opener against
Commerce.
Turnovers weren’t the only thing that needed
correcting, Jefferson coach T. McFerrin said,
when assessing the preseason game.
Dragons at a glance
•Go back to practice following scrimmage with
Lumpkin County with nine days remaining to pre
pare for rival Commerce on opening night (Aug. 27)
“We made an awful lot of mistakes,” McFerrin
said. “We made mistakes everywhere.”
The Dragons put the ball on the ground on their
first two offensive possessions, leading directly to
Lumpkin County points.
Jefferson fumbled the ball at its own 37 on the
second play of the game, which set up a three-play
scoring drive for Lumpkin County. The Indians
jarred the ball loose from quarterback Bryant
See Dragons on page 3B