PAGE 4B
THE JACKSON HERALD
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2023
JCHS football
Jackson Co. stuns Central Gwinnett in double
overtime following last week’s heartbreaking loss
Jackson County’s M.J. Spurlin cuts toward the end
zone on his game-winning 9-yard touchdown run in
double overtime against Central Gwinnett. Spurlin
rushed for 209 yards and scored five touchdowns
in a dominant performance.
Jackson County answered
one of its most gut-wrenching
losses with one of its most elat
ing wins, capping a whirlwind
seven days for the Panthers.
M.J. Spurlin scored on a
9-yard touchdown ran in the
second overtime period to lift
Jackson County to a 32-26 win
over the visiting Black Knights
in a double overtime thriller
Friday (Sept. 1). The Panthers
(2-1) lost to Duluth 35-34
in two overtimes last Friday
(Aug. 25) after leading by two
touchdowns in the fourth quar
ter.
“It was almost like poetic
justice because we’re down,
really, the same score that we
were up last week,” Jackson
County coach Korey Mobbs
said. “So, it’s about finishing,
and we’re just kind of learning
how to win right now. We’ve
got a really fun group of kids
to coach, and they didn’t quit.”
Not only did Jackson Coun
ty show its mettle by rally
ing from a two-touchdown,
fourth-quarter deficit, it perse
vered through a chaotic over
time that included blocking an
extra point to force a second
overtime.
Mobbs said his team’s week
of practice delivered the win.
“Tonight was about the week
that we had,” he said. “For us,
this (the game) is about 5%
of what we do throughout the
week. This is the public one,
the one you can’t get back. But
it’s about the week that we had
after last week’s results that
created tonight.”
Spurlin’s game-winning ran
capped a monster five-touch-
down, 209-yard night for the
240-pound senior running
back. Spurlin has accounted for
10 touchdowns over the past
two weeks.
“He’s a warrior,” Mobbs
said. “I’ve seen that kid grow
up a ton, really since January in
the weight room, how he prac
tices with his practice habits,
and tonight was a result of that.
He gets better as the game goes
on.”
Mobbs added that Spurlin
“has finished three games in a
row for us running the football
into the end zone.”
“I’m really proud of him,”
he said.
Led by Spurlin’s effort,
the Panthers rushed for a sea-
son-high 271 yards.
Central Gwinnett (2-1) ap
peared positioned to move to
3-0, taking a 20-6 lead in the
opening moments of the fourth
quarter when Andre Cooper
scored on a 14-yard touchdown
ran and Darren Coleman added
a two-point conversion.
But Spurlin rallied Jackson
County with scoring runs of
10 and 11 yards as the Panthers
tied the game 20-20, forcing
overtime. Spurlin then scored
on a 9-yard touchdown ran
in the first overtime period,
though a missed extra point
kept the score at 26-20.
Central Gwinnett just missed
pulling out a win with a wild
play as quarterback Makhi
Cunningham, on fourth-
and-14, scrambled to his right,
broke a tackle and lofted a 14-
yard touchdown pass to Zavion
Plunkett in the middle of the
end zone to tie the game 26-26.
But Jackson County blocked
a low PAT attempt from Lar
ry Singleton to force a second
overtime.
After the Black Knights
came up empty on their next
overtime possession, Spurlin
ended the game on his second
cany of the second overtime
period with his 9-yard score.
Jackson County trailed mid
way through the first quarter
after Coleman took a short
pass 46 yards for a touchdown
on the Black Knight’s second
possession. A failed two-point
conversion kept the score 6-0.
Central Gwinnett, however,
wouldn’t score again in the first
half, and Jackson County tied
the game midway through the
second quarter with a 3-yard
touchdown ran from Spurlin,
followed by a failed PAT.
The Black Knights broke the
tie with 3:36 left in the third
quarter when Cunningham hit
a wide-open Xavier Tates in the
endzone on fourth-and-eight
for a 12-yard touchdown pass,
putting Central Gwinnett up
12-6. The Black Knights again
failed on a two-point tiy.
A high snap over the head
of Jackson County punter
Carson Odom later gave the
Black Knights the ball deep
in Panther territory, setting up
Cooper’s 14-yard touchdown
ran to open the fourth quarter.
But Jackson County
flipped the previous week’s
script with Spurlin scoring
at the 9:31 and 3:09 mark in
the fourth quarter to fuel the
rally.
Mobbs said the win was
meaningful “because you
want to see results.”
“We’re so focused on re
sults that sometimes we for
get about the process that it
takes, but results always mat
ter,” he said. “Tonight’s big
for us because the kids need
ed to see tangible evidence
of the hard work that they’ve
put in, and we’re so glad that
we were able to do that.”
Jackson County travels to
Mountain View next Friday
(Sept. 8).
JHS softball
JHS defeated Winder-Barrow 12-6 in recent soft-
ball action.
Dragons roll over WBHS
The Jefferson High School Dragons softball team de
feated Winder-Barrow 12-6 in play on Aug. 31.
The Dragons are now 9-1 overall and 5-0 in region
play.
After the Labor Day break, the team will face Flowery
Branch at home on Sept. 6, Eastside away on Sept. 7,
followed by Heritage and Clark Central the next week.
JHS Dragons in action against Winder-Barrow.
CHS volleyball
CHS football
Tigers drop to
Hebron 31-21,
off this week
The Commerce dropped a heartbreaker last week to He
bron Christian Academy 31-21.
The Tigers are off this week and will hit the road again
on Sept. 15 to face Lincoln County before returning home
to host rival Banks County on Sept. 22.
In last week’s loss, the Tigers (2-1) went into half-time
ahead 7-6, but found themselves outscored in the third
quarter 18-14. Hebron put another 7 points on the board in
the fourth quarter for the final.
%
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CHS Tiger Tyson Wiggins breaks free during action
last week against Hebron. Photo by Amy Flint
CHS VOLLEYBALL KESHIA PRUDE
CHS volleyballer Keshia Prude in recent action
for the Tigers. The team will face Prince Avenue
Christian and Elbert County in region action
Sept. 7 (Thursday) and Loganville and St. Fran
cis in non-region play Sept. 12 (Tuesday).
City of Hoschton 2023 Special Election Notice and Qualified Candidates
The Municipal Special Election will be held on Tuesday, November 7, 2023 at the Hoschton Community
Center located at 65 City Square, Hoschton, GA 30548. The polling location will be open from 7:00am
until 7:00pm. The Mayoral candidate with the highest number of votes will fill the unexpired term of
Lauren O'Leary, through December 31, 2025. The City Councilmember candidate with the highest
number of votes will fill the unexpired term of Scott Mims (Post 1), through December 31, 2025.
The Voter Registration deadline to be eligible to vote in the City of Hoschton election is October 10,
2023.
If you wish to vote by Absentee Ballot, contact the Jackson County Elections Office at 706-367-6377.
Applications for absentee ballot will be accepted until Friday, October 27, 2023. A voted absentee ballot
must be returned to the Elections Office no later than 7:00pm on Tuesday, November 7, 2023.
Advance Voting will be held at the Jackson County Elections and Registration Office located at 441
Gordon St. Jefferson, GA 30549 on the following dates:
Monday, October 16, 2023 through Saturday, October 21, 2023—9:00am to 5:00pm
Monday, October 23, 2023 through Saturday, October 28, 2023—9:00am to 5:00pm
Monday, October 30, 2023 through Friday, November 3, 2023—9:00am to 5:00pm
Qualified Candidates:
Michael Beck
Mayor
Debbie Martin
Mayor
Nicholas Lee Sutton
Mayor
David W. Brown
Councilmember (Post 1)
Montie Ray Robinson, Jr
Councilmember (Post 1)
Tammy Sweat
Councilmember (Post 1)
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