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PAGE 2B PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS THURSDAY. OCTOBER 17. 2013
PHS_ XC_ Report
Dragons dominant at Sharptop Invitational
The Dragon varsity squad is shown running en masse at Saturday ’s Sharptop Invitational
at Roper Park. Sean Parker, Turner Moranos, Wyatt Ingram, Tyler Ledford and Gabe Spedale
place 1st, 3rd, 4th, 6th and 1 Otli respectively to lead the Dragons to the team win with a minis
cule team score of 24 points.
Amy Miranda (right) of PHS turns on the gas to motor past
Ana Padilla of Southeast Whitfield at the finish of the varsity
girls race on Saturday. Miranda placed 24th with a time of
22:54.
PHS hosted their annual
Sharptop XC Invitational last
Saturday at Roper Park, and the
home folks got to see some
strong performances by athletes
from PHS, PCMS and JMS
alike. This year’s meet included
10 high schools and 7 middle
schools as the weather was per
fect for runners and spectators.
The middle school (MS)
boys’ race (3200 meters) was the
first of the day as runners from
PCMS and JMS faced off against
the Jr. Hawks, Jr. Hoyas, Jr. War
riors, Jr. Mustangs, Lovinggood
MS and Wildwood Christian
Academy. Connor Moranos of
PCMS got out to a relatively
quick start but trailed a group
from Kennesaw Mountain as the
field headed towards the tunnel
and loop through the woods be
hind PCMS. When the runners
re-entered Roper Park, it was
clear that Moranos was top dog
as he distanced himself decid
edly from the field to win in
11:32.14. In doing so, Moranos
also eclipsed the former PCMS
record held by current PHS var
sity runner Tyler Ledford.
Also running well for the
home crowd in the MS boys’
race were PCMS’ Steven
Malacek (6th/12:03) and Tyler
Vreeland (14th/12:48), from JMS
- Seth White (17th/13:03), Brett
Riley (18th/13:06) and Jon Paul
Faix (20th/l 3:14) and from
JYSA football
and cheerleader
players of the
week
llu football - Boz Gay den
5/6 cheerleader - Alexis
Grizzle
5/6 football - Jeremy
Westbrook
7u cheerleader - Leighton
Drain
7u football - Biggun (snick
ers) Browning
8u cheerleader - Skyler
Weaver
8u football - Mason Powell
9u cheerleader Taylor Davis
9u football - Wyatt Olsen
lOu cheerleader - Paige
Elwamer
lOu footbal -1 Andrew Burrell
lOu cheerleader - Brionna
Mumphrey
lOu football- Camron
Mumphrey
llu cheerleader Sara Ramsey
1 lu football - Josh Cook
Wildwood Christian Academy -
Oscar McMullen (4th/12:01)
who all finished in the top 20 out
of 108 competing in the race.
The boys from Kennesaw Moun
tain showed that they were a
force to be reckoned with as they
won the overall team title with
35 points and an average time
(top live finishers) of 12:05. Lo
cally, the MS boys from PCMS
with 91 points (team avg. 12:59)
were just a little better than the
JMS Boys who totaled 96 points
(13:13 team avg.).
The MS girls were up next as
107 girls anxiously toed the start
ing line for their 3200 meter con
test. When the race commenced,
Bailey Stewart of PCMS fol
lowed Kira Stanley of Loving-
good closely all the way around
the course until Stanley stood a
little taller to win in 12:31 to
Stewart’s 12:51. Sabrina Young
of JMS was not too far off that
pace, finishing 6th (13:18). Other
local talent finishing in the top 20
were Wildwood Christian’s Faith
Bobak (10th/13:48) and PCMS’
Lauren Pitkins (12th/14:04). The
Cherokee Jr. Warriors took the
MS girls’ team title, winning
with 52 points and a 14:09 aver
age time. The JMS girls placed
4th with 116 points (15:13 team
average) while the PCMS Girls
were 6th with 131 points (15:32
team average).
The varsity boys’ race (5K)
featured teams from Heritage-
Catoosa, Duluth, Meadowcreek,
Fannin, Johns Creek and South
east Whitfield in addition to the
Dragons of PHS. The Dragons
ran in pack formation through
most of the first 2 miles and the
group of Sean Parker, Turner
Moranos, Wyatt Ingram, Tyler
Ledford and Gabe Spedale re
mained together and were collec
tively in about 3rd place as the
runners re-entered Roper Park
for the last 1 1/4 miles of the
race. After the pack dispersed
over the last mile, Parker tracked
down Judd Bates of Heritage-
Catoosa for the individual win in
17:01. Moranos nearly caught
Bates as well, finishing in 17:14
to Bates’ 17:13 while Ingram
was 4th in 17:20. Ledford
(6th/17:45) and Spedale
(10th/l8:30) finished in quick
succession as the Dragons to
taled a miniscule 24 points to
win over 2nd place Heritage (61
points).
The varsity girls’ race (5K) in
cluded the same teams as did the
boys with the addition of the
team from St. Pius X. PHS’
Alyssa Weaver did not have any
one to follow except the lead 4-
wheeler as she went on to scorch
her closest competitor from Her-
itage-Catoosa by 33 seconds to
win in 19:27.63. Heritage
showed why they are the girls
team to beat in Region 7AAAA
as they placed 5 runners within
the top 9 to lead the Generals to
the team win with 24 points. The
PHS Varsity girls placed 4th with
87 points with the help of Sarah
Ballard (15th/ 21:52), Savannah
Miller (19th/ 22:25), Amy Mi
randa (24th/ 22:54) and Abbie
Sawyer (38th/ 25:50) in addition
to Weaver.
Leading the way for the JV
boys from PHS were Julian Har
ney (2nd/19:34), Adrian Vree
land (4th/19:40), Sean Mullett
(5th/19:45) and Joe Cunningham
(10th/20:29). For the girls’ JV,
CiCi Ramirez (48th/28:14) and
Olivia Lee (51 st/28:44) set the
pace. Full results for all races
held at Saturday’s Sharptop XC
Invitational can be found at
http ://ga.milesplit.com/
meets/13 9921 -sharptop-invita
tional-hs-ms
PHS XC would like to thank
all of the volunteers who made
this year’s Sharptop Invitational
a success along with this year’s
sponsors: Steve Moranos All
state, PS Paper, Jasper Counsel
ing Associates, Communications
Consulting Group, Comprehen
sive Healthcare of N. GA, ETC,
The Last Catch, the Ledford fam
ily, and the Jacobs family. The
varsity and JV teams will race
again this Saturday at the Coach
Wood Invitational which will be
held at North Georgia Univer
sity’s Gainesville campus. PHS
will also be hosting this year’s
Region 7AAAA Cross Country
championships at Roper Park on
Nov. 1.
American Legion Post 149 charity Golf-a-thon
Golfers from the annual American Legion Post 149 charity Golf-a-thon relax after playing
Monday. Those on the course said they had a good day with nice fall weather at the Bent
Tree course.
Young and Stewart take home medals
Eighth graders Sabrina
Young, left, of Jasper Middle
School, and Bailey Stewart,
PCMS, both posted personal
best times at Saturday’s
Sharptop Invitational Cross
Country meet. Stewart led the
way placing 2nd overall in
the middle school girls 3200
meter run with a time of
12:51.61. Young placed sixth
overall with her time of
13:18.88.
Connor Moranos of
PCMS placed 1st overall in
the middle school boys 3200
meter run with a time of
11:32.14. Steven Malecek of
PCMS placed 6th with his
time of12:03.08.
Firearms deer hunting season opens Oct. 19
The wait is almost over for
hunters as firearms deer hunting
season begins Saturday, Oct. 19,
and lasts through Jan. 1 in the
Northern Zone and in the South
ern Zone through Jan. 15.
“Regulated hunting is the
most cost effective and efficient
means of managing the deer
herd,” says John W. Bowers,
chief of game management for
the Wildlife Resources Division.
“In addition, deer hunting pro
vides an economic benefit in ex
cess of $890 million to the state.”
During the 2012-13 firearms
deer season, more than 295,000
licensed deer hunters harvested
more than 315,000 deer in Geor
gia. Georgia’s deer herd remains
a stable and healthy herd with an
estimated statewide population
of about one million deer.
Beginning this season, the
number of firearms either-sex
days is reduced in most counties.
Biological data indicating a de
clining statewide trend in the
number of fawns that survive
into the fall and a steady increase
in doe harvest rates informed this
science-based decision. Addi
tionally, these biological trends
were echoed in concerns ex
pressed through public comment.
These factors warranted regula
tory changes to reduce the doe
harvest. For more information on
this change, visit www.eregula-
tions. com/georgia/hunting/why-
fewer -either-sex-days/
More than one million acres
of public hunting land is avail
able to hunters in Georgia, in
cluding more than 100
state-operated wildlife manage
ment areas. In addition to tradi
tional hunts, many special hunts
are offered, including ladies-only
and adult/child hunts. Dates and
locations for these hunts, as well
as WMA maps, are available in
the 2013-14 Georgia Hunting
Seasons and Regulations guide
at www.gohuntgeorgia.com/
hunting/regulations
Hunters may harvest up to 10
antlerless deer and no more than
two antlered deer (one of the two
antlered deer must have a mini
mum of four points, one inch or
longer on one side of the antlers).
To pursue deer in Georgia,
hunters must have a valid hunt
ing license, big game license and
a current deer harvest record. If
hunting on a WMA, a WMA li
cense is required. Licenses can
be purchased online at www.go-
huntgeorgia. com/licenses-per-
mits-passes, by phone at
1-800-366-2661 or at a license
agent (list of agents available on
line).
All deer hunters must wear at
least 500 square inches of fluo
rescent orange above the waist to
legally hunt during firearms sea
son except on archery-only
areas.
For more information on deer
hunting seasons and regulations,
visit www.gohuntgeorgia.com/
hunting/regulations
North Georgia Falcons top league
for passing, rushing and receiving
Tevon Valdez — leading the GFC West Division for passing
yardage.
By Maria Peagler
The North Georgia Falcons,
coached by Roger McDaniel, top
the Glory for Christ (GFC) West
Division for passing, rushing and
receiving yardage. Tevon Valdez
threw a 77-yard pass - the
longest in the GFC West Divi
sion’s season this year - connect
ing with Jake Sena in the Oct. 4
away game against the Anderson
Cavaliers.
Valdez threw for 105 yards, 2
touchdowns and ran for 40 yards.
The Falcons’ dynamic duo of
Valdez and Sena proved to be un
stoppable against Anderson Cav
aliers, as they were the top passer
and receiver in the league last
week. Despite the passing gains,
North Georgia fell to the Cava
liers 37-13, the largest margin of
any game.
On the ground, Valdez con
tributed 40 yards. Matt Howard
helped North Georgia’s passing
attack by receiving five passes
for a total 52 yards. Zack Wad
dell has thrown for 590 yards and
1 touchdown this season, while
Howard has 22 catches for 253
yards.
The Falcons last regular sea
son game is Oct. 25 at Grace
Christian Academy at 7:30 p.m.
The Falcons organization of
fers high school and middle
school football to private school
and homeschooled boys in an
eight-county north Georgia area,
including Fulton, Cherokee,
Forsyth, Pickens, Gilmer, Daw
son, Bartow and Hall. They com
pete in the Glory for Christ
(GFC) football league in the At
lanta area.
For more information on
North Georgia Falcons football,
visit their website at http://north
gafalcons.com/ and become a
Facebook fan at North Georgia
Falcons.
JYSA’s Morgan named
scholar-athlete of the week
Zade Morgan
Zade Morgan who plays foot
ball for JYSA (Jasper Youth
Sports Association) was recently
awarded Scholar Athlete of the
week for NGYFA (North Geor
gia Youth Football Association),
a football league that has 26
counties and multiple age groups
participating in competitive foot
ball.
The article from NGYFA.
ORG follows:
Beginning with the 2013 sea
son the NGYFA has inked a deal
with BSN Sports (www.bsn
sports.com) to recognize one
nominated athlete per week for
the NGYFA Scholar Athlete of
the Week presented by BSN
Sports. The Scholar Athlete for
week 4 of the NGYFA season is
8-year-old Pickens County cor-
nerback Zade Morgan.
In a week 4 win over Union
County, Zade led the Dragons
with 9 tackles, 7 for a loss to en
sure a 16-0 shutout victory. The
win helped the Dragons even
their record at 2-2 and start the
conference slate with a positive
note.
While Zade may be an ag
gressive, sure-handed tackier on
the field, he is even more aggres
sive and a better tackier off of it.
Recently tested and placed into
the gifted program at Harmony
Elementary School in Pickens
County Zade finished the 2012-
13 school year on the Principal’s
List each quarter for locking
down an A in every class each
quarter.
Showcasing his all-around
ability, Zade is a member of the
Helen Ruff Reading Bowl team
for the 2013-14 school year.
“Zade is a fantastic kid,” said
one of his coaches. “His work
ethic and intelligence are assets
for our team. He is one of the
most coachable kids and every
thing he does is top notch.”
For Zade’s hard work and se
lection as the week 4 NGYFA
Scholar Athlete of the Week pre
sented by BSN Sports, BSN
awards Zade Morgan with a $50
gift certificate to www.bsn
sports.com
Zade is the son of Derek and
Chrissie Morgan and attends 3rd
grade at Harmony Elementary
School.