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The Jackson Herald Sports www.mainstreetnewssports.com INSIDE East Jackson football’s record tying victory over East Hall PAGES 4B Septem ber22,2021 Phone:(706)367-5233 Fax:(706)387-5417 sports@mainstreetnews. com Section B Volleyball Panthers dominant in sweep of Apalachee Photo by Kyle Funderburk Cadence Thao (right) hypes up teammates Gracie Herrin (left) and Carys Thao (middle) before Jackson County’s third set against Apalachee on Tuesday (Sept. 21). By Kyle Funderburk kyle@mainstreetnews.com WINDER - After winning the first two sets against re gion rival Apalachee, head coach Ron Fowler had one request of the Jackson County volleyball team: don’t take your foot off the gas. The Panthers responded by mauling the Wildcats 25-4 in the third set to de feat Apalachee 3-0 on the road. “We really didn't want them to let up.” Fowler said. “In the past, we have had sets where we played really well and we get the wins. I feel like we let up some times. We told them, ‘we have to stay disciplined.’ I think that’s ultimately what showed there. We stayed disciplined. “Every point mattered. We’ve been saying it doesn’t matter if we’re up 24-0 or down 24-0, every point matters. As long as we stay disciplined and we’re where we need to be on the court, that’s the end result. I think we made a lot of really good adjustments just from last week to this week.” None of the three sets were close by the end, and Jackson County (12-11, 1-1 Region 8-AAAAA) only trailed once all evening. However, the beginning of the first two sets were very competitive. In the first set, Apalachee kept the Pan thers from extending their lead past three points. That was until an eight-point ser vice run by Sophie Harris gave Jackson County a 21- 10 lead. Apalachee (12-13, 0-2 Region 8-AAAAA) still had some fight left in it in the form of an eight-point service run which includ ed a few aces. Fowler had to call timeout twice to re group the team. Following the second timeout, the Panthers clamped down on the set and scored four- straight points to win 25-18. See Volleyball, page 2B Cross Country Jefferson boys win first place at Apalachee, girls finish second Matthew Schroeder’s fourth-place finish at Apalachee on Saturday (Sept. 18) led the Jefferson boys cross country team to a first-place finish out of 23 schools. Jefferson’s girls’ team completed a great day for the Dragons by finishing second out of 18 schools. Kiley Powell led the Fady Dragons with a ninth-place finish. Schroeder completed the 5K course in 16:58.09, less than three seconds behind the winner, Nathan Solomon from Shi loh High School. Ben Davis finished 13th (17:50.03), Nate Ferguson finished 15th (17:52.59) and Garrison Fee finished 22nd (18:14.09) rounding out the list of Drag ons who finished in the top 25. Zachary Day (26th - 18:25.13). Char lie Cosmano (30th - 18:32.05) and Luke Marooney (42nd - 18:50.21) each ran the course quick enough to finish in the top third of a field consisting of 151 runners. With its top five runners finishing 26th or better, Jefferson scored 80 points and defeated Archer High School by just two points. See Cross country, page 2B Volleyball Dragons extend winning streak By Kyle Funderburk kyle@mainstreetnews.com Jefferson has now won five-straight games to close out Region 8-AAAA play following victories over Chestatee and Ce dar Shoals on Tuesday (Sept. 21). Chestatee gave the Dragons a scare, but ultimately Jefferson won 2-0; 25-21 in the first set and 25-22 in the second set. Cedar Shoals didn’t out up as much of a fight. Jefferson defeated the Jaguars 2-0; 25-2 in the first set and 25-10 in the second set. Jefferson (15-8, 5-1 Region 8-AAAAA) will likely enter the Region Tournament as the No. 2 behind Flowery Branch. Before the Dragons can worry about the post sea son, they still have five non-region games. Jefferson returns to action on Monday (Sept. 27) at home against Brookwood and Hebron Christian. JEFFERSON 2 NORTH OCONEE 0 Jefferson was caught with its best offen sive weapons on the sidelines in the third set Thursday (Sept. 16) at North Oconee. Trailing 13-12 after failing to hold a seven-point lead, and needing a big play to force a rotation. Jefferson finally got it from its young front line. Olivia Burrage and company returned to the court to lead one final charge for Jefferson to win 16-14. Burrage scored the game-winning point on an emphatic block. ‘It’s the hardest thing ever, to watch the team suffer like that,” Burrage said. “Once you get on the court, you really have to play your best to get the whole team back See Jefferson, page 2B Photo by Kyle Funderburk Jordan Perry pumps up the Jefferson crowd ahead of the Dragons season opener against Rabun County on Aug. 20.. Jefferson starts region play against Flowery Branch Flowery Branch at Jefferson Who: Flowery Branch at Jefferson (Memorial Stadium) When: Friday, 7:30 p.m. Records: Jefferson 4-0, Flowery Branch 3-1 Coaches: Gene Cathead, Jefferson (fifth season at Jefferson, 44- 9; 17th season overall 153-51); Ben Hall, Flowery Branch (fifth season at Flowery Branch, 36-14; ninth season overall, 80-22) What else: Flowery Branch head coach Ben Hall previously coached at Jefferson from 2013-to-2016. He led the Dragons to a 44-8 record and a pair of Region Championships, one in Region 8-AAA and another in Region 8-AAAA. In Hall's last season, Jefferson ventured to the state semi-finals, but came up short in a rematch to Thompson... Friday will be Hall's first trip back to Jefferson since 2017. When he left Jefferson for Flowery Branch, the Dragons were in the middle of a home-and-home non-region series with the Falcons. Gene Cathead's Dragons defeated Hall's Falcons 35-29. By Kyle Funderburk kyle@mainstreetnews. com While state media and na tional recruiting sites made a pilgrimage to Memorial Sta dium for Jefferson’s season opener, the true biggest game of the season is this Friday at home against Flowery Branch. The Falcons are Jefferson’s first Region 8-AAAA oppo nent of the season and the re sult of the game will surely resonate throughout the rest of the season. Flowery Branch is currently 3-1 with its lone loss coming from a shootout with Gainesville. Fast year, the Fal cons were Region 8-AAAA runners-up with their only blemish in region play being a 40-10 loss to Jefferson. With North Oconee, East Hall and Cedar Shoals all pos sessing losing records, all signs point to Friday being a must- win game for both squads. However, as of this week, no one’s record matters according to Jefferson head coach Gene Cathcart. See Dragons, page 3B Tigers look to get into a rhythm against Mount Paran Mount Paran at Commerce Who: Mount Paran at Commerce (Ray Lamb Field at Tiger Stadium) When: Friday, 7:30 p.m. Records: Commerce 1-2; Mount Paran 2-2 Coaches: Mark Hollars, Commerce (first season at Commerce, 1-2; sixth season overall, 31-27); Mitch Jordan, Mount Paran (14th year at Mount Paran, 97-52) What else: Last year was the first time Commerce and Mount Paran had ever met. The Tigers were victorious 41 -9... Head coach Mark Hollars is somewhat familiar with Mount Paran from his time at Nodh Cobb Christian. Both schools were in the subdivided Region 6-A Private. However, North Cobb Christian was in Division A, while Mount Paran was in Division B. The two schools did meet in 2018, with Hollars's squad winning 28-10. By Kyle Funderburk kyle@mainstreetnews. com 2021 has been a disruptive year for the Commerce football team thus far. After five weeks, the Tigers have only played three games since one was can celled and a new opponent was scheduled for a later date. Plus, they’re on a two-game losing streak with their last outing be ing a 27-14 loss at Elbert Coun ty- Now, Commerce has a chance to enter what head coach Mark Hollars calls a “football rhythm.” The Tigers have sev en-straight weeks of football to play not counting the A-Public State Playoffs. “Right now we’re looking forward to getting in a rhythm of playing.” Hollars said. “Over the next seven weeks we won’t have a bye week now. We can See Tigers, page 3B Panthers hope to bounce back against speedy Clarke Central team Clarke Central at Jackson County Who: Clarke Central at Jackson County (Panthers Stadium) When: Friday, 7:30 p.m. Records: Jackson County 2-2; Clarke Central 1 -2 Coaches: Rich McWhorter, Jackson County (third year at Jackson County, 9-15; 32nd year overall, 297-94-2); David Perno, Clarke Central (sixth season at Clarke Central, 40-23). What else: In seven tries, Jackson County is yet to beat Clarke Central. The two school's (then separated by just 20 miles) played ev ery year between 2002-2007. The closest the Panthers came to beat ing the Gladiators was 2003. Clarke Central won that contest 24-14 on route to a Region 8-AAAA Championship. Jackson County and Clarke Central have only met as region rivals. By Kyle Funderburk kyle@mainstreetnews. com Jackson County’s region schedule doesn’t get any easier following a heartbreaking loss last week at Walnut Grove. The Panthers host Clarke Central, the defending Region 8-AAAAA Champions, this Friday (Sept. 24) night with hopes of pulling off the upset. To do, the Panthers have to find a way to match what head coach Rich McWhorter believes is the fastest team in the region. “No question, this will be the fastest football team.” McWhorter said. “Football is a game of speed. If you’ve got it, it’s a great thing. If you don’t have it, you need to figure out other ways to play the game and play it smarter. “When we have the ball, we need to keep the ball. We can’t punt it over after three downs. We have to have great field See Panthers, page 3B o