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Section
December 17, 2020
After all the delays,
stops, starts, pauses, and
conjecture the college
football regular season is
essentially over because
no regularly scheduled
matchups of consequence
remain, and the various
conferences move to
wards their championship
games. In short though, all
of this fuss is strictly
about generating revenue
because the national
crown is Alabama’s to
lose.
Yes, this consummate
Georgia fan stated the ob
vious and if the reason for
that projection is not obvi
ous, you simply have not
watched many football
games in 2020. Still,
champions are not
crowned on paper, so the
games must be played.
Mark it down though;
Nick Saban wins another
title. His top ranked and
unbeaten (hardly even
challenged) Crimson Tide
(10-0) must dispatch a
flimsy Florida (8-2) squad
in the SEC Championship
game on Saturday night at
8 p.m. Then, it is onto the
semifinals on New Years
Day.
In another intriguing
contest, second ranked
Notre Dame (10-0) faces
third ranked Clemson (9-
1) at 4 p.m. in the ACC
Championship Game. It is
a rematch from November
7 when the Irish prevailed
47-40 in overtime against
a Tigers team which was
depleted by COVID quar
antined, including quarter
back Trevor Lawrence.
Clemson will not lose this
one though. As with the
previously ballyhooed
Oklahoma in big games,
the Irish are paper tigers
and the Tigers should
shred them. If any team
can possibly best Bama,
Clemson might, and it’s
certainly seeking revenge
from ND. The winner ab
solutely gets into the final
four, but what about the
loser?
USC (5-0) battles Ore
gon (3-2) in the PAC-12
Championship Game on
Friday night at 8 p.m. The
game has little or no play
off implications despite
the Trojans’ unbeaten
record. Again, the world
witnessed enough lacklus
ter performances on big
stages by this conference
and has little faith in the
abilities of its members.
The Big 12 as previ
ously mentioned falls into
a similar category yet
Iowa Sate (8-1) and Okla
homa (6-2) play in their
conference championship
at noon on Saturday. Per
haps, the one loss Cy
clones could get a sniff of
a semifinal although I
doubt it.
The late to the party
Big Ten which only re
considered even playing
football in 2020 after the
other conferences were
over a month into their re
spective season give us a
matchup between fourth
ranked Ohio State (5-0)
and Northwestern (6-1).
Naturally, the sports world
Continued on Page 5B
This week in
Sports History
by Ethan Swiech
PHS boys basketball charging into region play
Nettes on 3-0 roll in region play
Sports
Fanatic
By
Tommy
Gartrell
Columnist
Championship
Week
The boys basketball team has had
a very busy week as they entered re
gion play. Last Tuesday, December
8th the Dragons hosted the Heritage
Generals in the region opener.
The game was a nail biter the en
tire way. Heritage clung on to a one-
point lead at the end of the first
quarter with the score at 14-13. In the
second frame, the Generals expanded
their lead to 29-25 before the half.
The third quarter saw another battle
as the Dragons were once again
outscored by only a point. In the
fourth quarter, the Dragons came
charging back to take the lead with
time running out on the clock. Unfor
tunately for Pickens, Heritage con
nected on a last second 3-pointer to
finish the game 57-56.
Owen Moss led the way with 17
points for the Dragons. Tucker Lowe
and Noah Sutton both added double
digit points in the loss.
The team then hosted Ridgeland
for their Senior Night. Because of un
certain times, the Dragons chose to
recognize the accomplishments of
their seniors early in the season. The
Dragons seniors include Tucker
Lowe, Owen Moss, Will Roland, Ean
Goodwin, Clay Shoffer, Noah Suttan,
and Whit Peirce. After being recog
nized, this crew led the Dragons to a
resounding victory over the Panthers.
The Dragons jumped out to an 18-
10 lead in the first quarter. They grew
the lead to 41-25 at the half. Ridge
land was able to keep the Dragons
from expanding their lead in the sec
ond half, but the damage of the first
two frames was too much for the
Panthers. The final score came to 67-
53 with the Dragons on top. Tucker
Lowe lead the Dragons with 19
points. Moss and Sutton both scored
in double digits as well.
Last Tuesday, the Dragons made
the trip down to Carrollton to take on
Central High School. The Dragons
jumped out to an early 14 to 11 lead
to start the game. Pickens caught fire
in the second quarter, outscoring the
Lions 19 to 9. The score at the half
was 33-20.
The Dragons came out of the
Continued on Page 5B
photo/Robin Dunn
Owen Moss goes up for two
against Ridgeland Friday as the
Dragons get off to a hot start this
season.
PHS trounces Ridge
land 78-7; second low
est points allowed in
team history
The Nettes had a very pro
ductive week heading into
the Christmas break.
The Heritage Lady Gen
erals came to Jasper on Tues
day riding a three game win
streak and a 2-0 region
record. The Nettes sent them
back home with a 27-73 loss
and a blemish on their region
record.
The Nettes defense was
stingy, holding Heritage to
single digit scoring in each
of the four quarters. They
also forced the Lady Gener
als into 25 turnovers. On the
offensive side, Senior Kealy
Hillhouse led the way with
15 points. Hillhouse con
nected on 4 three’s and went
5 of 6 from the floor for the
game. Senior Marlee Mc
Clure followed with 10
points, with 2 three’s of her
own. Eleven Nettes would
score in the game. Cassidy
Richards led on the boards
with 7 rebounds. Amanda
Nelson led in assists with 6.
The Nettes improved
their region record to 2-0
with the win.
On Friday, the Nettes
hosted Ridgeland for their
Continued on Page 5B
December 13 -
December 19
December 13th:
On this day in 1936, the
Green Bay Packers won their
fourth NFL championship
after defeating the Boston
Redskins, 21-6. Both teams
combined for 15 first downs
and 15 completions in 46 at
tempts, but Packers' quarter
back, Arnie Herber, made
enough of a difference. Her
ber threw for a pair of scores,
including a 48-yarder to Don
Hutson, who finished with
five receptions. Bob Monnett
added a rushing touchdown
while Green Bay's defense
allowed 147 total yards and
registered three takeaways.
This game was also the Red
skins' last as representatives
of Boston, as they moved to
Washington, D.C. the fol
lowing year.
December 14th:
On this day in 1941, the
National Football League
saw its very first divisional
playoff game, when the
Chicago Bears hosted the
Green Bay Packers at
Wrigley Field. Prior to this
contest, the postseason for
mat saw one championship
matchup between the win
ners of the Eastern and West
ern Divisions. Chicago and
Green Bay both finished the
regular season at 10-1, so a
one-game playoff was
needed to determine the win
ner of the West. The Bears
easily seized the crown, scor
ing 30 unanswered points en
route to a 33-14 pasting of
the Pack. Chicago quarter
back, Sid Luckman, only
threw the ball nine times be
cause the Bears' running
game worked early and
often. Hall of fame halfback,
George McAfee, gained 119
yards on only 14 carries
while Norm Standlee carried
15 times for 79 yards. Stan
dlee also scored twice and
Bob Swisher added another
touchdown to cap Chicago's
convincing run. This string
was ignited by Hugh Gal-
lameau, who returned a punt
81 yards into the end zone
for the Bears' first score.
Meanwhile, Chicago's de
fense intercepted two passes,
forced four takeaways over
all and limited Green Bay to
33 yards on the ground. The
Bears dominated their way
into the championship game,
where they destroyed the
New York Giants, 37-9.
December 15th:
On this day in 1935, the
Detroit Lions won their first
NFL championship in fran
chise history following a 26-
7 victory over the New York
Giants. This contest was
played on a cold, wet and
windy day at University of
Detroit Stadium. Despite the
sloppy field, the Lions' of
fensive line had no problems
clearing the way for their
running game. Detroit called
65 runs and produced 246
yards along with all four of
its touchdowns. Ace
Gutowsky, Dutch Clark,
Ernie Caddel and Buddy
Parker all found the end
zone. Clark, a future hall of
famer, scored his from 40
yards out before finishing the
day as the Lions' top rusher
with 80 yards on seven car
ries. The rest of Detroit's
Continued on Page 5B
photo/Robin Dunn
Carmyn Mullins fights through the squad from Ridgeland to get to the basketball.
Wrestlers secure close region win
The PHS wrestling team had a busy week
as the season ramped up. On Wednesday, the
team traveled to Heritage to take on the Gen
erals. The match was originally scheduled to
be a tri, but Dade County was unable to at
tend. Led by pins from seniors Andrew Bur
rell, Julian Jacobs, and Wesley Sultan, the
Dragons were able to secure a close 39-32 re
gion victory.
On Saturday, the team traveled to the
Wildcat Duals at Villa Rica High School. The
Dragons defeated Calhoun, Landmark, and
Paulding County on their way to placing 3rd
in the tournament.
Kaleb Nicholson and Eli Rittenberry both
went undefeated on the day, alternating
matches at heavyweight. Freshmen Chris
Knight and Dylan Gonzalez also had a great
day winning multiple matches each.
The Dragons will be back in action this
Saturday at the Fight Before Christmas tour
nament at Denmark High School.
GOP Turkey Shoot Saturday
This event was rescheduled from last
week due to rain
The Pickens Republican Party is hold
ing a turkey shoot from 9 a.m.- 3 p.m. on
Saturday, December 19th at 144 Hyde Rd
Jasper, Ga. Multiple prizes, Gun raffle
and more.
Food provided by Shade Tree BBQ.
All proceeds go to the Maxine Westbrook
Moore Scholarships which are awarded
yearly to deserving high school seniors
in Pickens County.
PHS basketball senior night photos 10B