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The True Citizen, Wednesday, October 8, 2025 — Page 9A ©SPORTS The Spartans’ defense lines up against Brentwood under the lights during EBA’s Homecom ing game on Friday night. M/N X Q 5 o 3 3 I > o Bears suffer first region loss against Thomson Spartans compete hard in game against Brentwood LILLY HERRINGTON EBA Sports Contributor The Edmund Burke Acad emy Spartans hosted the Brent wood Eagles on Friday night for Homecoming, falling 35-7 in a hard-fought matchup. While the final score didn’t go their way, the Spartans contin ued to show persistent effort and toughness on both sides of the ball. Brentwood built momentum early, scoring in each of the first three quarters, but the Spartans continued to battle throughout the night. EBA found the end zone in the fourth quarter on a strong offensive drive, capped off by a successful PAT from Ryan Reddick, giving fans plenty to cheer for late in the game. Offensively, EBA totaled 148 yards on 33 plays, includ ing 95 on the ground and 53 through the air. Sam Hickman led the rushing attack with 78 yards on 8 carries, breaking multiple tackles and keeping the Spartans moving down- held. Quarterback Noah Hick- man added 17 rushing yards and went 5-of-12 passing for 53 yards. Cohen Felix had a 20-yard catch, Rylan Miles hauled in three receptions for 16 yards, and Bryce Chancey added a 17-yard grab. Defensively, the Spartans played physical football and continued to fight through all four quarters. Ryan Reddick Lady Spartans Take Win Over Burke County CARLY JOHNSON EBA Sports Contributor The Edmund Burke Acad emy varsity softball team (9-9, 1-6 Region 4AA) faced Burke County on Monday at Burke County High School, earning a 17-7 win in five innings. EBA took an early lead in the first few innings and held on to fin- ish the game by run rule. The Lady Spartans scored first with six runs in the first inning. EBA stayed patient at the plate, bringing in runs from both base hits and walks to build their lead. Sadie Chance and Leila Eastmead both Lady Bears softball drops huge game against Thomson BRANNON BRADDOCK Jbraddo4@gmail.com Lady Bears Softball went 2-2 in the past week, with wins over ARC and Hephzibah, but tough losses against Thomson and Screven County. Last Wednesday, Thomson secured the region title with their second win on the season against the Lady Bears. Still, though, the Lady Bears will host the first round of playoffs on October 15 in the Bear Den. Their opponent will be deter led the defense with 10 tack les, one tackle for loss, and a sack, while also connecting on EBA’s PAT. Sam Hickman had 7 tackles, a forced fumble, and a pass breakup, while Bryce Chancey, Matthew Hood, and William Reindl each added 6 tackles. Cooper Whitledge contributed 4 stops, and Asher Hammett added 3. The Spar tans held Brentwood scoreless in the fourth quarter, showing grit in front of their home crowd. “Friday night was a tough defeat to the hands of a very talented Brentwood team,” said head coach Andy Woodard. “Our team did a lot of good things, but the mistakes were just too many to beat such a quality team.” The Spartans now turn their focus to a key region matchup against Augusta Prep, which will also mark Senior Night at Rogers Field. “We are excited to be home again with a re gion game with Augusta Prep and celebrate Senior Night,” Woodard said. “Our senior class of Matthew Hood, Asher Hammett, Cooper Whitledge, and Rylan Miles have won 31 games so far throughout their EBA careers. It will be a great night of recognizing this group of football players, cheerlead ers, softball players, and cross country runners. Augusta Prep has a big, physical team that will create a great challenge for our team, but I know our scored three runs. Six players earned RBIs, including Chance and Emma Whinghter, who had two RBI singles. Chance and Whinghter also hit doubles. EBA’s offense stayed strong throughout the game, with most of the team scoring at least two runs. Burke County continued to fight and earned six runs in the third inning. EBA’s defense also played a big role in the win. Pitching was strong throughout most of the game, keeping Burke County from closing the gap. The infield was especially strong, with every player mak ing plays. Chance backhanded mined by the Power Rankings on October 10, so stay tuned for that. Alexis Mullis led the Lady Bears in hits over last week’s four-game streak. She had seven hits, two doubles, and six RBIs. She carried a .636 batting average and a .714 on-base percentage during that time. Madeleigh James, Saylor Norton, and Malia Washington have also been on fire with .417, .455, and .455 batting averages, respectively. Leigha Boynton has led the players will be ready for this region matchup.” PLAYER STATS Noah Hickman: 8 rushes for 17 yards; 5-of-12 passing for 53 yards, 1 INT; 5 tackles Sam Hickman: 8 rushes for 78 yards; 7 tackles, 1 FF, 1 PBU Cohen Felix: 1 catch for 20 yards Rylan Miles: 3 catches for 16 yards; 3 tackles Bryce Chancey: 1 catch for 17 yards; 6 tackles, 1 TFL Cooper Whitledge: 4 tack les Ryan Reddick: 10 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 sack; 1-for-l on PAT Asher Hammett: 3 tackles Matthew Hood: 6 tackles William Reindl: 6 tackles Jaxson McKenzie: 1 tackle TEAM STATS Brentwood Offense: 23 rushes for 177 yards; lO-of-16 passing for 161 yards, 4 TD; 49 plays for 338 total yards; 11 first downs EBA Offense: 21 rushes for 95 yards; 5-of-12 passing for 53 yards, 1 INT; 33 plays for 148 total yards; 4 first downs EBA Defense: Recorded 1 sack, 2 tackles for loss, and a forced fumble; held Brentwood scoreless in the fourth quarter a line drive for a close out, while Eastmead, playing sec ond base, made a standout play at Erst, catching a close throw to record the final out. Burke County continued to fight at the plate, but EBA’s consistent fielding helped them finish the game in five innings. EBA closes out the regular season today, Wed October Sth, vs. Screven County. The Lady Spartans have earned an invitation to this year’s GIAA AA state tournament. Seed ings will be announced Sunday afternoon for the tournament which will be played in Colum bus next Thursday - Saturday. Lady Bears on the mound with thirteen strikeouts in ten innings pitched. This week will wrap up the Lady Bears’ regular season. They hosted EBA on Monday, had Screven County in the Bear Den on Tuesday, and traveled for an away game at Cross Creek today. "This is still a very young team with a bright future," says Coach Flowers. "I pray that they continue to improve every day!" BRANNON BRADDOCK Jbraddo4@gmail.com Burke County suffered its first region loss at the hands of the Thomson Bulldogs last Friday night. The Burke and Thomson rivalry is one that extends back decades, and for the past three matchups, Burke County has come out on top. However, this past Friday night, they fell to the Bulldogs in Thomson by an overall score of 14-24. The Bears didn’t play bad football by any means. In fact, they went into halftime with a 7-3 lead. That lead was extended to 14-3 in the third quarter after an interception by Bruce Rackins. However, after a failed fourth-and-one and what some are calling “questionable” penalty calls, momentum swung The Bears were never able to recover. Of these calls, there was a Burke County interception that was called back, a chop block on offense, and a pass interference call in the second half. Head Coach Franklin Stephens said, “Pointing to penalties tends to be a copout. You’ve just got to focus on the next play. ” I tend to agree with him, and some blame does lie on Burke County, as they did have a costly fumble in the second half. Thomson scored twenty- one unanswered points in the third and fourth quarters. “We wanted to slow them down offensively,” said head coach Franklin Stephens. There was a huge emphasis MORRIS SOPHOMORE JUNIOR Sponsored by: A Touchstone Energy® Cooperative AT The sophomore had seven tackles, four assists, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery. REDDICK . 4 The junior had 10 tackles, 1 tack for loss, one sack, and one for one PAT Planters Electric Membership Corporation EDMUND DURKE ACADEMY FOOTDALL - 2025 DURKE COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL FOOTRALL - 2025 BRINSON'S Tree & Stump Removal © Expert Trimming Storm Clean Up Skidsteer Work BRINSONSTREE.COM © Tree Removal • Stump Removal V 2 R Vie s on defense going into the game. “Our defense has been playing well, and they played well Friday night,” Stephens said, “one aspect of the game they’ve been excelling in this season at is their ability to create turnovers.” This theme continued Friday night with one interception and one forced fumble. The game plan going in was to contain Thomson's wide receiver Jaris Sinkfield (#2) and to limit their quar terback’s scrambling. “The old saying rings true, ‘the best defense is a good offense,”’ Stephens said, “you’ve got to keep explosive offenses off the field.” Unfortunately for the Bears, the passing game was nonex istent Friday night, as Sean Vandiver went 0/3 under cen ter. “We probably didn’t put the ball in the air as much as we wanted to,” Stephens said, “but we also weren’t able to run as many plays as we wanted to.” This points back to his earlier quote, “the best defense is a good offense.” Burke County did do well running the ball, though, but it was running via committee, as no single player had a huge impact on the out come of the game. Senior Ja mari Reeves and junior Landen Wright led the way with 70 and 67 yards, respectively. Sean Vandiver (56), Rashad Carter (23), Cordarious Free (15), Talon Heath (11), and CJ Flournoy (2) also contributed to the run game. Vandiver and Reeves were responsible for Burke County’s lone scores. Defensively, the Bears played well. Quay Morris had a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. Bruce Rackins had an interception, which set up a score in the second half, and Rashad Carter had an interception that was unfortu nately called back. The team as a whole had 63 tackles, with Quay Morris leading the way for the Bears by a substantial margin. Morris had 11 tackles, and the Bears’ second-place tackler had 7. “One thing I like about the loss Friday night is that it’s helping this group of students learn adversity,” Stephens said. I think those are wise words from Coach, and just a simple life lesson. To be a good win ner, you’ve got to learn how to be a good loser. “All is not wasted on one loss,” he con cluded. Stephens and the Bears are focused on their next op ponents. “Thomson taught us that we have to be disciplined and limit penalties moving for ward,” he said, “Laney’s got a good team that will punish you for that.” He’s referring to the last game of the season, which he’s been able to watch some film on. However, their next game is actually against Josey, which will be this Friday night at home. This game is also home- coming, where BCHS will crown a homecoming queen! Be sure to come out to show your support for the Bears and these beautiful ladies.
