Newspaper Page Text
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2011
THE JACKSON HERALD
PAGE 3B
Friday Night Countdown
Region 8-AA
REGION 8-AA SOUTH
Team
Subregion
Overall
Elbert Co.
1-0
40
Jeffeison
m
40
East Jackson
1-0
3-1
North Oconee
0-0
3-0
Hart Co.
0-1
2-2
Oglethorpe Co.
0-1
2-2
Jackson Co.
01
1-3
REGION 8-AA NORTH
Team
Subregion
Overall
Fannin Co.
0-0
3-1
East Hall
0-0
2-2
Banks Co.
0-0
2-2
Rabun Co.
0-0
1-2
Union Co.
0-0
1-2
Dawson Co.
0-0
1-3
Region 8-AA: This week
Elbert Co. at Jackson Co.
Hart Co. at North Oconee
Oglethorpe Co. at East Jackson
Dawson Co. at Fannin Co.
Rabun Co. at East Hall
Banks Co. at Union Co.
Jefferson is off
Region 8-AA: Last week
Elbert Co. 38, Oglethorpe Co. 0
North Oconee 69, Rabun Co. 0
East Jackson 21, Jackson Co. 12
Jefferson 57, Hart Co. 29
Adairsville 26, East Hall 3
Athens Christian 27, Banks Co. 21
Union Co. was off
Fannin Co. was off
Last week's leaders
•Passing — Bryant Shirreffs,
Jefferson, 19-25,317 yards, 4 TDs
•Rushing — Dustin Scott, Jackson
County, 31 carries, 189 yards, 1 TD
•Receiving — Cole Givens,
Jefferson, 9 catches, 140 yards, 1 TD
• Defense —Wesley Simonton,
Jefferson, 11 tackles
Class AA rankings
1. Buford (5-0)
2. Calhoun (4-0)
3. Carver-Columbus (3-1)
4. Lovett (3-0)
5. Greater Atlanta Christian (4-0)
6. Brooks County (3-1)
7. Elbert County (4-0)
8. Cook (3-1)
9. Fitzgerald (3-1)
10. Dublin (3-0)
“We’re a pretty dang
good football team,” Kirk
said. “But at the end of the
day, we’re still 1-3.”
Jackson County would
love to continue to move
the ball on the ground like
it has the past two weeks.
Against Fannin County,
the Panthers rumbled for
227 yards. Then Jackson
County gashed East
Jackson for nearly 300
yards on the ground this
past Friday. The Panthers
want to be able to mn
the ball, move the chains
and keep Elbert County’s
offense off the field as
much as possible.
Eagles continued from page IB
SHOWING THEIR BLUE PRIDE
East Jackson students came decked out in their school colors and
body paint Friday night before the Eagles’ game with cross-county
rival Jackson County. East Jackson won the game 21-12.
Photo by Ben Munro
Friday night capsules
Oglethorpe Co. at East Jackson
•When: Friday, 7:30 p.m.
•Where: Eagle Stadium
•Last year: East Jackson 39, Oglethorpe Co. 12
•Records: Oglethorpe Co. 2-2, East Jackson 3-1
• Last week: Elbert Co. 38, Oglethorpe Co. 0; East Jackson
21, Jackson Co. 12
•East Jacksons coach: Brian Smith, 3-1 at East Jackson,
first season; overall, 99-74,16 seasons
•Oglethorpe County's coach: Larry Milligan, 7-17 at East
Jackson, third season; overall, 75-69,14th season
•Series: East Jackson leads 3-0
•What else: East Jackson coach Brian Smith is shooting
for his 100th career victory... East Jacksons 3-0 record against
Oglethorpe County is its best against any opponent in its short
history... East Jackson has won each game in this series by
at least two touchdowns. The Eagles beat Oglethorpe County
38-7 in 2008 for their first region win in school history ...
Oglethorpe County is trying to snap a streak of five consecutive
non-winning seasons... The Patriots haven't reached the state
playoffs since 1998...
Elbert Co. at Jackson Co.
•When: Friday, 7:30 p.m.
•Where: Panther Stadium
•Last year: Elbert Co. 54, Jackson Co. 8
•Records: Elbert Co. 4-0, Jackson Co. 1-3
•Last week: Elbert Co. 38, Oglethorpe Co. 0; East
Jackson 21, Jackson Co. 12
•Jackson County's coach: Billy Kirk, 10-34 at Jackson
Co., fifth season
•Elbert County's coach: Sidd Fritts 13-2 at Elbert Co.;
overall, 112-25-2,12 seasons
•Series: Elbert Co. leads 5-0
•What else: This will be the third consecutive home
game for Jackson County ... Jackson County has never
beaten Elbert County but came very close in 2008 and
2009, losing 25-23 and 28-27 respectively ... Elbert
County coach Sid Fritts is in his second season with the
Blue Devils. Fritts has had a stellar 12-year coaching
career overall with eight 10-win seasons between his
stints at Vidalia and Rome. Fritts guided Elbert County to
a region title last year, its first since 1996
“We’ve got to develop the throwing game a little bit,”
Smith said. “We know that. It’s not something that we’re
overlooking. It’s just something that we’re struggling
with right now.”
Still, East Jackson could surpass its win total from last
year with a victory Friday on homecoming night against
Oglethorpe County, which is off to a 2-2 start after a
winless 2010. The Eagles are trying to move to 2-0 in
subregion play.
‘We’re sitting up in a high place,” said East Jackson
defensive back Trent Dowdy, who picked off two passes
in the win over Jackson County. “We’ve got some tough
teams on the schedule coming up, so we’ve got to pick
up the intensity in practice.”
Smith is impressed with what he said looks like a reju
venated Oglethorpe County program.
“They’re much improved, very athletic,” Smith said.
“They play hard. They’ve got some big kids and a big
receiver that runs really good.”
Smith compares Oglethorpe County’s option offense
to that of Georgia Tech and Georgia Southern. The
coach said his defense must play disciplined, assignment
football.
“Their quarterbacks and running backs run hard, I
mean they run doggone hard,” Smith said. “It’s one of
those things that we’ve got to make sure we stop the
option. When you play an option team, it’s something
that, all it takes is one snap and you’re down seven and
two snaps and you’re down 14.”
While East Jackson will try to win on homecoming
night, it could also be a milestone evening for Smith
who’s sitting on 99 career coaching victories. Smith is
taking the possibility of his 100 th win in stride.
“I’m just getting old,” said Smith, who has a 99-74
record in 16 seasons, including two in college. “That’s
all that means. That means I’ve done this a while.”
Smith added that 100 wins for him — whenever it
happens — is not a big deal, giving credit instead to
assistant coaches and players.
“I just hope the second 100 comes a lot quicker than
the first 100 did,” he said.
Panthers continued from page IB
“That’s one of our keys
to this week — doing
what we’ve been doing,
controlling the clock,
controlling the tempo and
realizing that a punt is not
a bad thing,” Kirk said.
The Panthers are
hoping for yet another
huge night from Dustin
Scott. Scott enjoyed
a career game against
East Jackson with 189
yards on 31 carries and
a touchdown. “He was
on fire,” Kirk said. “He
had 189 yards rushing
and over 200 all-purpose
yards ... We knew he
could be special.”
It’s possible, however,
that Jackson County will
play multiple quarterbacks
Friday. Kirk said that the
Panthers have installed
packages for current start
er, Kyle Daniel, as well as
Jalen Banks and Xavier
Harper.
The coach said the key
to Friday’s game for the
Panthers is simply not
themselves. “If we play
like we have the past two
weeks and can eliminate
the mistakes, we’ll have
a chance to play with
Elbert County,” Kirk
said.
So, now, after a Friday
of serious frustration last
week, Jackson County is
embracing this Friday’s
challenge.
“Elbert County is a great
opponent,” Kirk said. “As
I told our kids, we’ve got
a great opportunity to play
a top 10 team in the state
of Georgia.”
TURNOVER
East Jackson’s Austin Beauchamp (no. 3)
and Zach Hembree (no. 15) celebrate after a
Jackson County turnover Friday.
Wayne Garrison Believes in
Jackson and Banks Counties.
TOUGH RUNNING
Jackson County’s Jalen Banks picks up yard
age against East Jackson in Friday night’s
Panther-Eagle match-up. Jackson County fin
ished with 288 yards rushing.
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Jefferson
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