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Commerce Middle School Boys Are 4-1
The middle school Tigers are 4-1
after dropping one to Buford.
2B
THE COMMERCE (GA.) NEWS
WEDNESDAY,
DECEMBER 24,2008
Commerce Wrestling
Mat Tigers Win Madison County Duals
By Justin Poole
Commerce’s Mat Tigers are sit
ting on two wins as the team takes a
break for the holidays.
After picking up the champion
ship at the Madison County duals
on Saturday, the Mat Tigers com
peted in the Social Circle Redskin
Duals on Tuesday. Results from
Social Circle were unavailable at
press time.
Commerce will return to the
mat for the Amicalola Classic at
Dawson County Jan. 2, and Jan. 3.
The match starts at 5 p.m on Friday
and 9 a.m. on Saturday.
Coach Kendall Love is confident
that with the recent wins and the
progress the team has made thus far,
the grapplers will be ready for the
Amicalola Classic.
On Friday Dec. 19, Commerce
hosted White County and Stephens
County.
AAA White County defeated the
Mat Tigers 39-25. Commerce had to
forfeit one weight class and ended
up on the short end of the stick
in some back-and-forth matches.
Winning for Commerce were
Doug Maloch, Casey Drinkard,
Nick Arostegui, Phillip Edwards,
Terrance Martin and Josh
Streetman.
Commerce beat Stephens County
50-18. Winning matches came
from Commerce grapplers Addison
Davis, Doug Maloch, Trea Edwards,
Casey Drinkard, Nick Arostegui,
Phillip Edwards, Justin Askey, Tyler
Austin, Andrew Minish and Jake
Hill.
Commerce accomplished a major
goal on Saturday. Not only did the
Mat Tigers win the Madison County
Duals, but according to Love, evety
one of the Commerce wrestlers was
able to compete in a match.
The Mat Tigers defeated each of
their opponents, winning 63-18 over
Elbert County, 59-18 over Madison
County, 49-21 over Greenbrier,
66-18 over Cedar Shoals and 54-15
over Athens Christian. Athens
Christian won second place and
Madison County came in third.
“We are still not in the right
weight classes yet,” said Love. “I
feel like that by Amicalola we will
be where we need to be.”
Commerce grappler Doug Maloch (top) overpowers an opponent during Saturday’s
Madison County Duals. Photo by Ben Munro
Commerce Basketball
East Jackson Basketball
CHS Falls To Apalachee, Enters Break At 2-4
Lady Eagles Play Into Holiday Break
By Justin Poole
The Commerce High
School boys have a few days
to recoup after Saturday’s
54-42 defeat by Apalachee.
The Tigers remain unde
feated in region play and
2-4 overall as the team
takes a short break for the
holidays.
Commerce will jump
back into the fray next
Monday and Tuesday at
the Jackson County Jingle
Jam Tournament. The
Tigers’ first opponent in the
tournament is Providence
Christian on Dec. 29. Tip-
off is scheduled for 4:30
p.m.
Saturday night started
out well for the Tigers
against Apalachee. Coach
Chad Bridges said the boys
did a good job defensive
ly but gave up too many
rebounds.
“We played extremely well
for spurts but we didn’t put
a complete game together,’’
said Bridges.
After outscoring
Apalachee 13-9 in the first
quarter, the Tigers found
themselves trailing by
two at the end of the half.
Apalachee scored 15 in
the third quarter to extend
its lead 36-27, and in the
final quarter, Commerce
was unable to catch the
Wildcats whose defense
held the Tigers to 15 points.
Commerce lost 54-42.
“Mentally we didn’t han
dle some things that they
did to us that we had not
seen,’’ Bridges said. “They
played a good game.’’
Bridges hopes the
Apalachee game prepared
the Tigers for the chal
lenges they will face as
the team advances into its
region schedule.
Anthony Norris and
Brandon Romans led
Commerce in scoring with
nine points apiece. Drake
Cash picked up eight,
Channing Anderson and
Bubba Bonds scored four
points apiece followed by
Tyler Gamble and Cameron
Anthony Norris (35) does a backward
lay-up for two points during Saturday’s
home game against Apalachee. Norris
tied with Brandon Romans to lead
the Commerce offense at nine points.
Photo by Justin Poole
Billings, each picking up three, Torrance
Wilcher added two points for Commerce.
Bridges pointed out that the Tigers were
able to pick up some three-pointers during
Saturday’s game but will have to focus on from
the lane and around the basket if they hope to
have further success.
Shelby Johnson brings the ball back down the
court at a recent game. Photo by Brandon Reed
By Brandon Reed
Fresh off back-to-back wins over
Commerce and Washington-Wilkes,
the East Jackson Lady Eagles now
have the opportunity to play on a
larger stage, as they were scheduled
Tuesday to travel to Atlanta to face
North Hall at Philips Arena prior to
an Atlanta Hawks game.
“We are extremely excited to
be playing at Philips Arena,” said
coach Amy Larimer. “Hopefully
this will be an experience that we
will never forget.”
It will also be a chance for a little
revenge for East Jackson over the
Lady Trojans. In their last pairing
at the East Jackson Thanksgiving
tournament, North Hall won 52-50
on a buzzer beater.
“I am looking for the same type
of competitive game from both
teams,” Larimer said.
The opportunity to play came about when
the coach for North Hall asked EJCHS boys’
basketball coach Brian Turner about the two
schools facing off at Philips.
“He simply asked us if we would be inter
ested and we jumped on the opportunity,”
Larimer said.
Continued on page 2B
East Jackson Wrestling
Justin Griffith pins his opponent at a recent match. East Jackson took top honors Saturday
at the Rumble on the Ridge in Blairsville. Photo by Brandon Reed