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THE BANKS COUNTY NEWS • THE COMMERCE NEWS
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2016
Coming through
Commerce’s Will Thomas breaks a run against Towns County last Friday. Thomas
rushed for 130 yards in the 56-20 win. Photo by Wesleigh Sagon
Tigers ... Cont. from IB
Volleyball...
ing going out in the Sweet 16 round. Their
dreams were “set high,” he said
“We’re going to work really hard this
offseason as soon as we can to try and
take that next step next year,” he stated.
“The seniors this year deserved it. The
seniors that were on the team last year
deserved it. We owe it to them to contin
ue the tradition and to better the program
here at East Jackson.”
The Lady Eagles led only twice in any
of the sets. Both times came in the third
set at 1-0 and 2-1.
The Lady Trojans led early in the first
set, 74, but a point from Sydney Mathis
cut the deficit to 7-5. But four-straight
points from the Lady Trojans bumped the
lead to 11-5.
The Lady Eagles went on a 3-1 run to
cut the deficit back to four, 12-8, including
a point from Abbe Boswell, but the Lady
Trojans closed the set out on a 13-1 mn to
put it away at 25-9.
The Lady Eagles kept things close
early in the second set, trailing by two,
7-5. But another huge mn, 10-2, broke the
set open for the Lady Trojans and they
closed the set at 25-12.
The Lady Eagles couldn’t hold an early
third-set lead as the Lady Trojans went on
a 7-1 mn to build a 9-3 lead. The closest
Cont. from IB
the match remained was 10-6, and the
Lady Trojans closed the match out on a
15-3 run.
“They have really good hitters, I mean
solid,” Allen said. “They hit the ball
hard. Sometimes, even when you’re in
position, you still can’t make those plays,
because those balls were smokin’. That’s
one of the advantages they had over us.
Serving, we kind of struggled serving. We
didn’t hit our spots as well as we would’ve
liked to. Overall, it was a really good
effort. They’re a super good team and
we’re right there. We’re neck-and-neck
with them. We’re going to get there.”
Allen added the outgoing seniors,
Lacey Beauchamp, Boswell, Shelby
Groover and Emi Melendez, will always
have an open-door policy to help future
Lady Eagle teams.
“It’s a successful season, it really is,”
Allen said. “We didn’t reach the next level
that we wanted to. We didn’t go all the
way like we wanted to, but that’s going to
be our end goal from now on. I feel like
as long as we have that as our goal and
we keep working hard to cultivate these
players to have that mindset, we will get
there. The girls, I know, want it. It’s going
to be a challenge but I think everybody
is up for it.”
cuted. They got us on a few plays. Our kids did a
good job of not panicking. They settled down and
we made a few adjustments and we played a lot
better after that.”
Commerce allowed 214 total yards in the first
quarter but yielded just 70 yards over the final
three.
The Tigers’ offense was steady all night, with
a total of 381 yards, with 135 and 130 yards from
Chancey and Will Thomas, respectively. Chanc-
ey had five total touchdowns — three rushing and
two on defense.
Chancey had a lot to say about how the team
played Friday.
“It all starts up front. This offense takes all 11,”
he said. “One player messes up and it messes up
the plan. Everyone got their jobs done tonight and
it was a successful night. We started slow and had
a few difficulties but we rebounded. The coaches
got us right, put us in the right position and we
executed in the second half.”
Towns County opened the game with an
80-yard touchdown mn by Kobe Denton but he
left the game due to an asthma attack. Towns
missed the point-after kick and settled for a 66
lead.
Commerce countered with a 43-yard mn by
Chancey to take a 7-6 lead.
Quarterback Trent Bradshaw led the Indians
downfield with a pair of long passes and a 4-yard
touchdown mn to retake the lead for Towns
County. They failed on the two-point conversion
and led 12-7.
Commerce then went on a 79-yard, Will Thom
as-heavy drive. Thomas had a 43-yard mn to set
up a first-and-goal. Lane Sorrow threw a 9yard
pass to Kyre Ware to regain the lead, 14-12.
Then, Russell Cox put Towns County back out
in front with a 58-yard touchdown mn. Bradshaw
completed a pass to get the twopoint conversion,
setting the score at 20-14.
Will Thomas took off for a 48-yard mn to take
Commerce from their own 34yard line to the
Towns County 18yard line. Two plays later Sor
row scored from five yards out to take a 21-20 lead
that the Tigers never relinquished.
Towns County’s ensuing possession ended
with the scoop-and-score touchdown by Chanc
ey extending the Tigers’ lead to 28-20.
The Tiger defense made the first three-and-out
of the game and Chancey scored on a 46yard
mn to give the Tigers a 35-20 lead at halftime.
By the time Commerce scored again with a
couple of short runs from Chancey and Austin
Brock, the outcome was no longer in doubt.
A second scoop-and-score touchdown by
Chancey in the fourth quarter was icing on the
cake in the Tigers’ 56-20 win.
Leopards ... Cont. from IB
Finding third
East Jackson’s Mary Hollis takes off to third base during Game 1 last
Wednesday against Appling County. The Lady Eagles are in the Elite
Eight of the Class AAA state playoffs in Columbus. Photo by Charles Phelps
Softball... Cont. from IB
the team just had to stay “positive,” espe
cially with a young team as the Lady Eagles
started their playoff mn.
“Just have to keep them focused,” she
said.
Grooms is having a monster year on
offense as she has 58 hits, including three
home mns, 33 RBI and 48 mns scored.
She has a .464 batting average and a
slugging percentage of .704. Even more
impressive is her 48 stolen bases. She’s
only been caught stealing three times this
season.
Ally Petering, senior outfielder, said
she’s “super excited” and “glad” that her
last mn as a Lady Eagle is going to end in
Columbus.
“It’s going to be a good last mn,” she
said.
She didn’t dream her high-school
career would end in Columbus with all the
“bumps” along the way.
“Everybody doubted us,” she said. “It
was great to pull it out in the end and say
we went back to back.”
Petering made the region-winning-div
ing catch in right field to defeat Morgan
County. She hopes to have another crack
at a play like that.
“That would be a great memory,” she
said.
Byrom said when you look back through
the season to this point, every girl has had
a moment where they’ve stepped up and
made a “big play” or had a “big hit.”
“Different girls have stepped up but
that’s how we practice. We practice as a
team,” he said. “There’s no special mles
for special players.
“We are consistent. They all work hard.
They understand it’s got to be ‘Next man
up.’”
He sums it up as a “team effort.”
“You need your stars to shine but you
also need their teammates to be the
glue that helps it all stick together,” he
explained. “As a coach, it’s my job to teach
those things.”
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Bryce Bennett
Banks County High School
Banks County wide receiver Bryce
Bennett collected four catches for
44 yards and one touchdown in
last week’s 42-21 win over Social
Circle.
over Social was a “big win” for the season as it
clinched a playoff spot.
“That was a game we thought we could win and
we could compete in. I knew we could. We had to
win the game and that’s exactly what we did,” he
said.
Shoemaker credited turnovers at the right times
helped propel the team to victory.
The defense and special teams wreaked havoc on
Social Circle, creating four turnovers—three fumbles
and one interception.
“It was big for our kids, for the defense (and spe
cial teams) to get some turnovers to keep us in the
game,” Shoemaker said.
Goodwin put together a strong performance,
passing for 182 yards and two touchdowns. He also
caught a 19-yard touchdown pass.
“This feeling, it’s awesome,” he explained. “I can’t
wait till the playoffs but right now we just have to think
in the moment, soak it all up and get ready for next
week.”
He called winning on a Senior Night a “big deal,”
because it may be the final home game of 2016.
Wide receiver Kayne Berryhill caught four passes
for 83 yards to lead the Leopards’ receiving corps.
Bennett caught four passes for 44 yards and one
touchdown.
Tight end Nate Galloway hauled in one catch for
41 yards and a touchdown.
Dykhouse rushed for 95 yards on 22 carries and
two scores. He also threw for a score.
The Leopards’ offense started rolling on the sec
ond possession as Goodwin connected with Ber
ryhill three times, the last of which was an 18yard
completion that Berryhill fumbled at the Redskins’
21 yard line. But Jeffrey Straub scooped up the fumble
and took it for a touchdown and a 74 Leopards’ lead.
The Leopards’ next score came via Dykhouse
when he broke loose on a 17yard touchdown run.
On the ensuing kickoff, a Redskins’ fumble was
recovered by the Leopards at the 19yard line. One
play later, a halfback pass found Goodwin in the
end zone.
The Leopards got the go-ahead score when
Goodwin connected with Galloway on a 41-yard
touchdown strike.
Dykhouse bumped the lead even further when he
scored his final touchdown on a 3-yard run.
The Leopards’ final score came when Goodwin
found Bennett for a 13-yard touchdown.
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