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AUGUST 25,
2010
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Section B
The Jackson Herald
SUPER SENIORS
Chris Jackson (left) and Kyle
Mosley (right) are two of the
senior leaders on this year’s
Jefferson football team. The
Dragon seniors go for a
career sweep of Commerce
• this Friday.
Photo by Ben Munro
- Jefferson at Commerce, Friday, 8 p.m., Tiger Stadium
Can Dragons keep win streak intact?
By Ben Munro
EFFERSON'S seniors
don’t know what it’s like to
lose to Commerce and cer
tainly don’t want to find out now.
With three straight wins in the series
to its credit, this Dragon class goes for
the career sweep of Commerce Friday
when the two teams meet for the 65 th time.
When asked at practice Monday,
Jefferson running back-linebacker
Chris Jackson said the chance for this
group to go undefeated against its arch
rival presents a great opportunity.
“It would be a great honor to actu
ally beat them again and just beat
them one more time for our senior
class and then try to have another year
of bragging rights,” Jackson said.
The fact that Jefferson has had the
recent upper hand in the series - win
ning the last three contests by an aver-
Friday night’s games
Jefferson @ Commerce, 8 p.m.
White Co. @ East Jackson, 7:30 p.m.
Johnson @ Jackson Co., 7:30 p.m.
age of 24.3 points - gives the Dragons
no false sense of confidence as they
strive for that fourth straight win.
Kyle Mosley, an all-region offen
sive lineman and linebacker, said this
week of practice is extra intense, espe
cially given the rivalry implications.
“We don’t underestimate Commerce
at all,” said Mosley, who is unlikely to
play Friday as he recovers from an ACL
injury. “We "re not going to come in
thinking we’re going to walk over them.”
Jackson said the team is hard at
work getting ready for this one,
“Last week, we conditioned a lot
to make sure we’re in shape and
play hard, and this week we’ll get
really physical,” Jackson said.
Riding a 20-game regular season win
ning streak, Jefferson is coming off an
11-1 campaign in 2009, but lost several
of the stars - including all-state selec
tions Darius Minor and Lucas Redd
— that were on the field during last
year’s 30-13 victory over the Tigers.
Commerce, which leads the series
with Jefferson 41-18-5, went 7-5
last year and advanced to the second
round of the Class A playoffs. It too
lost some key personnel, including tal
ented running back Deon Brock who
rushed for over 1,600 yards in 2009.
While both teams will have their
region schedules to tend to later this
year, bragging rights between the
two city schools in Jackson County
are on the line in week one.
See Dragon seniors on page 3B
Coach’s Take On JHS-CHS
McFerrin expects
another slobber-knocker
By Ben Munro
DON’T LET the final score
fool you. Jefferson’s 30-13
victory over Commerce was as
physically demanding as any
game on the schedule in 2009,
Dragon coach T. McFerrin
said.
‘They played us as physi
cal as anyone did last year,”
McFerrin said, noting that the
game essentially came down
to three big plays.
McFerrin anticipates nothing
less Friday when his Dragons
renew their long-standing feud
with Commerce, which resides
nine miles down the road.
McFerrin points to
Commerce’s six returning
starters on defense and to
junior Tiger quarterback Cody
Streetman, who poses a threat
both running and passing as a
third-year starter.
“We expect a tough, hard
fought, physical game,”
McFerrin said.
See JHS-CHS on page 3B
LITTLE ‘E’ IN JEFFERSON
NASCAR Sprint Cup series racer Dale Earnhardt Jr. was
in Jefferson last week, testing his Hendrick Motorsports
Chevy at Gresham Motorsports Park in preparation for
some future NASCAR events. Photo by Brandon Reed
Racing
NASCAR returns to GMP
NASCAR has a long history of racing in Jackson County,
and on Saturday night more history will be written at Gresham
Motorsports Park, as the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East will
make its only Georgia appearance of the season in the American
Fence Association 150.
Drivers expected to take part includes 2009 series champ
Ryan Truex, Max Gresham. Eddie MacDonald, Ty Dillon and
Mike Olson, Jr.
While it may be the latest page in the track’s NASCAR his
tory, it’s far from the first.
When it opened as Jefco Speedway (a name combining
Jefferson and Commerce) in July of 1967, it was a NASCAR
sanctioned facility.
See Gresham on page 2B
Prep Football
Panthers prep for
Johnson following
sloppy scrimmage
By Ben Munro
JACKSON COUNTY figures the best way to
shake off a disappointing scrimmage is to play
well in the game that actually counts.
The Panthers await Friday’s season opener with
Johnson-Gainesville following an error-filled
20-14 preseason loss to Athens Christian.
“We definitely have a lot of work to do ...
Granted, the result isn’t want we wanted but we
did some good things,” senior Jackson County
safety Alex Crawford said.
Crawford said the team will continue to focus
on its assignments and game plan as it prepares
for the real thing.
“If we would have played like we practiced, the
result would have been a lot different,” Crawford
said, referring to the scrimmage.
As for Johnson, Jackson County expects to
see a big, physical team coming into Panther
Stadium. The Knights went 3-7 last year as mem
bers of Region 8-AAA.
“We’ve got to fix us to get ready for Johnson,”
coach Billy Kirk said. “Johnson is a big, athletic
team. Last year our (opening schedule was) Our
Lady of Mercy, Sonoraville, Prince Avenue.
See Dragon seniors on page 3B
ATTACK MODE
Nick Oney, Billy Manis, K.J. Washington and Miguel Guereca
swarm an Athens Christian ball carrier Friday. Photo by Ben Munro
O