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The Commerce News
Sports
CONTACT US: Brandon Reed / brandon@mainstreetnews.com / (706) 367-5233 or (706) 335-2927
Tigers Head To The Playoffs
Inside
14th In Class AA
EJCHS’ competition cheerleaders made the
state and came in 14th in their first season.
PAGE 3B
1B
THE COMMERCE (GA.) NEWS
WEDNESDAY,
NOVEMBER 14, 2007
Game Plan: No Turnovers, No Penalties
Coach Steve Savage watches his Tigers run a passing play as they prepare for Gordon Lee.
Leave Early — It's A Long Drive
Tiger fans had best leave early if they plan to make the 7:30
kickoff, because Gordon Lee Senior High School is darned
near in Tennessee.
Directions
Take Interstate 85 south to I-285, turn north (toward Chat
tanooga). Turn north on I-75. About 91 miles later, take Exit
350 for Battlefield Parkway (Hwy. 2) toward Fort Oglethorpe
for about 6.4 miles. Turn left at U.S. 27 (Lafayette Road), go
five miles through Chickamauga and Chattanooga National
Battlefield and turn right at Lee and Gordon Mill Road. The
road changes to Five Points Road, then Lee Avenue (Ga.
341), then Cove Road, a total of about 2.5 miles. Turn right at
Lee Circle.
The drive is approximately 173 miles from Commerce.
The Commerce Tigers will travel
almost 175 miles Friday to open
the Class A state football playoffs
against Gordon Lee, the second-
place team in Region 6-A Game
time is at 7:30.
The game plan is simple: in con
cept if difficult in execution: elimi
nate the turnovers and penalties.
The Trojans are 5-5, having fin
ished the regular season with a
15-0 shutout of Trion. The Tigers
and Trojans have never met on the
gridiron.
The winner of Friday’s game will
advance to play the winner of the
Wilkinson County/Fellowship
Christian contest.
“They’re a well-coached, hard-
nose fullback-oriented team,” ex
plained coach Steve Savage. “They
play sound defense and have a
good kicking game.”
The Trojans utilize three differ
ent fullbacks — Paden Harris and
Jacob Groce, who also play at
linebacker; and Michael Tillison.
When they’re not devising a way to
get the ball in the hands of one of
those, they’ll throw the ball to wide
receiver Jordan Afman, who also
handles safety duties on defense.
Typically, Gordon Lee throws the
ball fewer than 10 times a game,
“but they are effective when they
do throw it,” said Savage.
“They’ve got better than average
size, about 235-250 on the line,”
Savage commented. Commerce
averages about 200.
Gordon Lee works out of the
Wing T on offense and runs a 50
defense.
Commerce is coming off a rare
two-game losing streak following
losses to Athens Academy, 27-24,
and Jefferson, 42-7.
“We’ve had a couple of good
practices,” Savage commented.
“They’ve had a good attitude.
Please Turn to Page 4B
East Jackson Football
Eagle Inaugural Season Ends 5-5
By Brandon Reed
The East Jackson Eagles had hoped to top off their first season on
the football field with a victory during the school’s first homecoming
game.
But it wasn’t to be, as the Eagles went up against a stronger West For
syth team than they had faced earlier in the year, and in the end, East
Jackson lost to the Wolverines 41-21.
That gave the Eagles a final record of 5-5, with back-to-back losses at
the end.
Good Start
Things started out well Friday night as the Eagles scored early. Ricardo
Zaraguza picked up a West Forsyth fumble, ran it back in for a touch
down, and the extra point put the Eagles up 7-0 with just over eight min
utes left in the first quarter.
But four minutes later, the Wolverines answered with their own touch
down and extra point, tying the game with just over four minutes left in
the quarter.
Another drive by West Forsyth early in the second quarter put the
Wolverines ahead 14-7.
From there on, the Eagles worked hard to stay within shouting dis
tance of a stout West Forsyth offense, but time and time again, the Wol
verines’ defense held East Jackson at bay.
West Forsyth again found its way into the end zone, this time with 6:20
remaining in the half, going up 21-7.
But East Jackson started looking for a rally, and with 41 seconds re
maining in the half, it seemed they had found it. After marching deep
into Wolverine territory, Zach Gilbert broke into the end zone for the
second East Jackson touchdown of the night. The PAT was no good,
however, and East Jackson trailed 21-13.
Please Turn to Page 4B
Tory Lamb arrives too late to stop a West Forsyth touchdown
Friday night. Lamb had two kickoff returns for 32 yards.
Cheer Tigers Win
Third At State Meet
A fall during a stunt cost the
Commerce Competition Cheer
leaders a shot at their sixth state
Class A championship last Satur
day, but the Tigers finished third
out of 16 teams.
Trion won the Class A crown,
with Bremen taking second.
“With the routine only lasting
two and a half minutes, it does
not allow for any mistakes,” ob
served Coach Dianne Cotrell.
“You only get one shot for the
title. We had a good season, and
I’m very proud of the girls. They
worked hard and have nothing
to be ashamed of. We’ll be back
next year, ready to go.”
On Friday evening, before the
tournament, Mayor Gary Fuller
of Opelika, AL, honored the
Cheer Tigers with a proclamation
naming them “honorary citizens
of the City of Opelika.” The pre
sentation took place at a banquet
at an Olive Garden restaurant.
A hotel’s snafu last year left
the 2006 squad without a place
to stay in Columbus, so they
crossed the river and stayed in
Opelika, AL. This year, instead
of booking rooms in Columbus
for the state finals, the Tigers re
turned to Opelika.
Opelika, AL, Mayor Gary Fuller, right, presented the Commerce
High School Cheer Tigers with a proclamation declaring them
“honorary citizens of the City of Opelika.”
The Commerce High School Cheer Tigers placed third in Class
A at the state tournament last Saturday in Columbus. A fall dur
ing a stunt doomed their chances of winning a sixth state title.
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