Newspaper Page Text
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 17, 2016
THE COMMERCE NEWS • THE BANKS COUNTY NEWS
PAGE 3B
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Air Adair
East Jackson quarterback throws on the run in the
Eagles’ 10-8 scrimmage victory over Social Circle. Adair
scored the game-winning touchdown with 3:14 remain
ing in the game.
Photos by Ben Munro
Eagles win scrimmage
under new coach
BY BEN MUNRO
Christian Hunnicutt was quick not to revel in the moment.
Though proud of his players in East Jackson’s 10-8 scrim
mage win over Social Circle Friday, Hunnicutt certainly wasn’t
singing his own praises after his unofficial coaching debut.
“We’ve got so much to clean up, and we as coaches got to
coach better,” he said. “The kids are playing hard. The kids are
flying around. The kids are trying to be physical. We just have
to coach better.”
Hunnicutt then specified that he must do a better job.
“1 did not do a good job at all,” Hunnicutt said. “When I say
‘we,’ I mean I have to coach better. The assistant coaches did
a great job. The players did a great job. I did a bad job. All the
mistakes are on me.”
Nevertheless, it proved to be a happy evening for an Eagle
team and fan base on the heels of three-straight one-win
seasons. East Jackson quarterback Josh Adair scored the
game-winning touchdown with a 1-yard keeper with 3:14 left in
the game and the Eagle defense forced a fourth-down stop to
clinch the victory.
East Jackson’s defense dominated the night, recording
seven 3-and-outs to start the game and holding Social Circle
without first down in the first half. The Eagles finished with four
sacks and recovered two fumbles—the second of which came
on a big gainer from Social Circle inside the Eagle 10-yard line.
“Our key to defense is communicating,” senior defensive
end Cody Parr said. “Everybody has to communicate, from the
nose guards to the safeties and cornerbacks. That’s one thing
that coach (Brady) Sigler emphasized, and we couldn’t have
done it any better today.”
Hunnicutt said the players “did what they were coached to
do.”
“The kids executed and the kids played hard,” Hunnicutt
said. “Our kids, I can’t say enough about our senior leaders.
They’ve really done an outstanding job all summer of buying
in and being really really compliant. Our kids just ran with the
plan.”
East Jackson’s first points came in the third quarter when
Ronan Veal booted a 25-yard field goal at the 6:25 mark. After
being stymied all night, Social Circle went up 8-3 with 6:14
left in the game after a penalty-aided drive ended in a 26-yard
touchdown pass and a 2-point conversion.
But the Eagles answered with a 7-play scoring drive, helped
in part by consecutive Social Circle personal fouls and capped
with Adair’s one-yard mn.
Though only an exhibition, the contest took on the feel of an
actual game. Neither team used the fourth quarter to play their
younger players as originally planned.
“I just looked over there and saw all their (Social Circle’s)
older guys, and I just kind of said ‘well, I guess we’re not going
(with the) younger guys,”’ Hunnicutt said.
Parr agreed that this was more than a scrimmage.
“Oh, it was a real game since kickoff,” Parr said. “The coach
es said have fun but us players we wanted to get after it. ... It
was a game to all of us.”
Preview for Hebron Christian Academy
The Eagles will travel to Hebron Christian Academy this Fri
day after beating the Redskins 10-8 in their preseason warm-up.
“We just needed to get as much as we could on tape for
(this) week because we play a really talented Hebron team
that’s got a lot of outstanding players and things of that nature,”
Hunnicutt said of the scrimmage win. “We just needed to get a
lot of stuff on tape.”
Hebron Christian, a Class A private school in Gwinnett
County, went 64 a year ago but missed the playoffs. The Lions,
coached by Kevin Shaffer, are led by junior quarterback Troy
Allen, junior receiver-defensive back Bryce Riley, sophomore
tight end Micah Harden, senior defensive lineman Kendarius
David, senior offensive lineman Michael Sullivan and all-pur
pose senior Victor Gipson, a mnning back, linebacker and
defensive back.
Like East Jackson, Hebron Christian is still a relatively new
football program, fielding a team only since 2007. It did not play
a full schedule of games until the 2010 season under coach
Brian Smith, who would later serve as East Jackson’s coach
for two years (2011-2012).
Meanwhile, the Eagles are going for their first season-open
ing win since Aug. 30,2013, when East Jackson downed Banks
County 14-10.
East Jackson will look to build upon last Friday’s scrimmage
success against Social Circle. The victory included a late
forth-quarter score from quarterback Josh Adair to seal the win
and an Eagle defensive effort that included four sacks.
Defensive end-mnning back Cody Parr said the preseason
victory gives the team a jolt heading into the season.
“I’m a senior now, and we’ve just been working so hard,”
he said. “This is just going to be a good confidence booster,
letting those people on the team know that we can actually be
something and do something and not let outsiders determine
what we can do and can’t do.”
East Jackson’s Desiree Green hits a serve during last Thursday’s volleyball matchup. Photos by Charles Phelps
Volleyball...
as two costly errors by the Lady Panthers and an ace helped
tie the set at 13-13. The Lady Eagles got the go-ahead point on
a put-away shot by Desiree Green (18-17). She also ended the
set with an ace (25-20).
Allen said the girls came out slow against Clarke Central
Cont. from IB
compared to the match against Jackson County.
“They picked it up and I put the challenge on them,” he
said. “They rose to the occasion. I’m really proud of them.”
The Lady Eagles next match is Saturday, Aug. 20 at Stephens
County.
Running... Cont. from IB
had as much success the
past couple of seasons. The
team finished 11th at the state
meet in 2015, down from a
fifth-place finish in 2014.
What can change this
trend? The younger runners,
Hale said.
“We’ve got some good
young talent,” he said. “One
of the things we battle against
is numbers.
“The more people we can
get out here, the better the
chance we can get five good
runners.”
All six Commerce runners
finished last year’s state meet
in under 25 minutes. Two
mnners finished in under 22
minutes: Jael Heredia and
Chase Bridges.
“Chase Bridges had the
most successful year of any
freshman last year, and he’s
mnning pretty good in prac
tice right now,” Hale said.
Seniors Mitchell Patton
and Ethan Leffew return
experience to a younger
team. They will be re-joined
by fellow senior Austin Black,
who missed all of 2015 due to
academic ineligibility.
Junior Jose Verde and
sophomore Jackson Purvis
have run well in opening
practices, Hale explained.
They are part of the “speed”
that is coming from the
younger runners.
Chaz Thomas is joining
the team. He mns track for
the Tigers. John Bradley also
returns for the Tigers.
“We will see what we got,”
Hale said.
Hale feels good about both
teams, but it is all a matter of
dropping time from now to
the end of the season.
“It doesn’t have to be done
by the first meet. Our goal is
not to run our best times in
the first meet, it is at the state
championship,” Hale said.
“You hear that from every
coach, but it’s the truth.
“The goal is to be mnning
our best at the end of the
season. It is a process. Get
ting out here in the hot days
of August and logging some
miles.”
“St.
works miracles.”
Isabelle was born 15 weeks early, weighing
1 pound, 15 ounces. Her parents, Chrissy and
Joseph, feared for her life. With the technology,
expertise and love of the doctors and nurses of
St. Mary’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Isabelle
thrived. Today, she is a happy, healthy 1-year old.
St. Mary’s level II NICU provides lifesaving
care for infants who need extra care, from minor
illnesses to life-threatening conditions such as
premature birth. In tune with the natural rhythms
of day and night, St. Mary’s NICU is a warm,
soothing place for love and healing.
See Isabelle’s story at .vww.stmarysathens.org
“I couldn’t be happier. She’s our
little miracle. It’s a miracle how
St. Mary’s NICU works.”
—Chrissy Bridges