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Inside this section • Classifieds • Legals • Real Estate January 7,2016
Holiday Classic round-up
Dragons Head Coach Brad Steinhauer sets up a play during a timeout.
photo/Damon Howell
Both basketball teams finished
up in the Annual Holiday Classic
hosted by Pickens High School
this past week. This tournament
saw teams from all across North
Ga and different classifications
come together to compete on the
court.
The Nettes would find them
selves 0-2 heading into their final
matchup last Wednesday
evening, taking on Cherokee
High School.
The Nettes began the game
with a solid offense, trading bas
kets with the Lady Warriors.
Pickens would trail 7-9 after the
first quarter of play. Cherokee
would find their game in the sec
ond and begin pulling away from
the Nettes with a 19-4 offensive
run. Pickens would trail 11-28
heading into the break.
The Nettes would make some
critical halftime adjustments that
would pay off on the offensive
side of the ball in the third, but
their defense would not be
enough to hold back the Lady
Warriors. Pickens would put up
17 points, but allow 16 by
Cherokee. The Lady Warriors
would close the game out in the
fourth quarter with their over
powering offense to take the win
55-28.
Mackenzie Hampton would
give the Nettes 10 points and 8
rebounds followed by Madison
McClure and Shelby Cook with
9 points each.
The Boys Team would find
themselves in a similar situation
after two tough loses to start the
tournament, facing Maynard H.
Jackson High School in their
final game.
Both teams would have a hot
hand during the first quarter,
leading to a 14-14 tie after one.
Pickens would take the lead over
the Jaguars in the second, but a
late run gave Jackson a 37-34
lead heading into halftime.
The third and fourth quarters
would belong to Jackson how
ever, as the Pickens offense from
the first half could not be repli
cated in the second. The Jaguars
would outscore the Dragons 19-
6 in the third quarter to push their
lead to 56-30. Then in the final
quarter of play, Jackson would
again outscore Pickens 16-9. The
Jaguars would take the victory
73-49.
Holden Roop would score 16
points with 5 assists. Trent Rizoti
gave the Dragons 10 points and
3 rebounds while Joseph Gossett
put up 8 points for Pickens.
FMC Offroad Club distributes holiday cheer
The First Mountain City Off-road club had six
of their members on Christmas Eve deliver home
made goodies and pizza to emergency personnel
who were working on the holiday.
They made it to all the local stations in their
Jeeps decorated for the season.
For more information on the off road group see
their Facebook page, FMC Off-road or e-mail them
at fmcoffroad@gmail.com
Denny the Firewood guy
predicts cold winter,
says get your wood now
Mixed hardwood, seasoned. $130 per load.
No Delivery charge for anything within 15
minutes of Jasper Main Street.
706-502-1756
Sports Fanatic
The Sedative Games
By Tommy Gartrell
The entire 2015-16 college
bowl season especially, the New
Years Eve and New Years Day
bowls, should have been dubbed
the “sedative
games.” The
plethora of
poor match
ups and horri
bly one-sided
football
games had the
same effect as
a gigantic meal with a Valium
based dessert and Xanax fla
vored coffee.
Certainly, several of the 40
bowl games were exciting and
competitive, but the two biggest
days of the season stunk to high
heaven. Of the eight games on
NYE and NYD, all of them were
decided by an average of four
touchdowns. By the second half
of each of them, fans were snor
ing in their recliners, flipping
channels to Ryan Seacrest’s
countdown show or arriving
fashionably late for parties. To
imderstate the obvious, the bowls
were a bust!
The decision by the College
Football Playoff Committee to
hold both semifinals on New
Years Eve seemed to rob the
other bowls of luster, and the tel
evision ratings for the two games
fell 36 percent from last year.
The outcome of the games illus
trates that this system is flawed.
Great pairings on paper does not
mean great football game on the
field.
The cumulative data from the
key bowls clearly indicate that
rankings mean nothing, which is
no suiprise to veteran observers.
Michigan State had no business
playing in a national semi; Ala
bama destroyed the Spartans 38-
0. Ohio State and Michigan are
the best teams in the Big Ten, but
State won the conference cham
pionship on two miraculous
plays.
In the other semifinal, Clem-
son routed Oklahoma 37-17, and
although TCU, Baylor and Texas
Tech won their games, none of
the Big 12 deserved a spot in the
final four. The Tigers’ perform
ance and Florida State’s 38-24
drubbing in the Peach Bowl
showed us that only one ACC
team is elite.
Stanford proved to the Cardi
nals that they were one of the
best teams in football with a 45-
16 thrashing of Iowa, and the
game was not as close as that
score would indicate.
Alabama dominated teams all
season with the exception of a
turnover-filled loss to Ole Miss
early in the season, so this team
is the favorite to win the cham
pionship next week against
Clemson. All of the college foot
ball season boils down to a sin
gle game. Will it smelt to pure
gold in a classic nail-biter or will
we be left with hard cracklins
and excess lard from another
boring blowout?
This snoozefest of a bowl sea
son is another indication that an
eight team playoff is needed not
only to determine a clear cham
pion and expose the highly over
rated teams who have not beat
anybody but to also keep fans
engaged in the games. Even a
runaway win in a game with
championship implications is
more interesting than a meaning
less bowl blowout. It is time to
rethink this system because it
ain’t working!
Twenty lesser bowls and then
the eight team playoff games is
enough. College football is so
convoluted now that fans are los
ing interest. Money makes it all
run though, and the cash from 40
bowls is too hard to decline, un
fortunately. More’s the pity!
Hiking Report
Blood Mountain on the shortest and most difficult route
Photos by Mike Pilvinsky
A good winter outing on Blood Mountain - (l-r) Joe Kelly. Kathleen Kelly, Tom Sewell,
Ken Cissna, Everett Womack, Wilhelm Smith, Clayton Webster, Mike Pilvinsky, Brian Bo-
vard, Clare and Ed Sullivan.
By Mike Pilvinsky
BMTA Hiking Director
On a cool morning in early
December five BMTA mem
bers and eight first time
BMTA hikers headed up the
highest mountain on the
Georgia section of the Ap
palachian Trail. There are
several trail combinations
leading up to the top of Blood
Mountain, but this morning
we chose the shortest and the
most difficult route. Starting
at the Byron Reece parking
area we climbed for about a
mile before turning south on
the Appalachian Trail, where
we continued up hill for an
other 1.5 miles. Along the
way we stopped for some of
the most magnificent views
we have ever seen in North
Georgia. The visibility was
remarkable. From the south
ern cliffs we could easily see
Lake Lanier and what we
thought to be Stone Mountain
and Atlanta. To the North we
clearly saw Brasstown Bald.
Once at the top, Clayton
Webster talked about the his
tory of the Blood Mountain
Shelter and its renovation by
the GA ATC. A possible
“Trail Tree” was also identi
fied by Mike Pilvinsky. Af
terward the hikers had a lunch
with million dollar views in
the warm sun at one of the
overlooks. After the chal
lenging hike to the top, we
relished the down hill walk
and finished the hike in the
Mountain Crossings parking
lot at Neels Gap.
The hikers experienced a
lot of AT lore that day. They
climbed the highest mountain
on the Georgia Section, ex
plored the stone shelter, built
by the CCC in 1932 and
which is now on the National
Register of Historic Places.
They saw a “Trail Tree.” And
they followed the Ap
palachian Trail through the
only man made structure on
the entire trail. Everyone
agreed, with the help of the
weather, it was one of the best
hikes ever!
Start the new year with hikes
with Benton MacKaye group
January 14 Turtletown
Falls (TN) Easy 3.7 mile
loop with two beautiful
falls; short uphill on the re
turn leg. Contact hike leader
Ken Cissna at kcissna@
usf.edu or 813-310-6084
January 18 BMT/AT
Upper Loop at Springer
Mountain (GA) Moderate
4.5 miles. Contact hike
leaders Travis or Shirley
Crouch at travis@
hikenorthgeorgia.com or
stop by North Georgia
Mountain Outfitters just
north of Ellijay on Highway
515.