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About The Commerce news. (Commerce, Ga.) 1???-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 28, 2016)
PAGE 4B THE BANKS COUNTY NEWS • THE COMMERCE NEWS WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2016 Piickett... Cont. from IB The two state championship teams, 1981 and 2000, were two of his favorite teams in Commerce history. “The 2000 team has a special place in a lot of peoples’ hearts at Commerce, because they beat two powers twice that year. They beat Buford twice and they beat Lincoln County twice,” Prickett said. “Both of those were teams that played for the Final Four and state championship games for a number of years. Football prowess so to speak. That was a feather in our cap.” Prickett didn’t choose a favorite team, though. Prickett saw Moon set the state rushing record for career yards. The record fell to Herschel Walker. Then, along came Monte Williams to Commerce. Williams rushed for 8,844 yards over his four years, scored 105 touchdowns and started as a freshman. “They were two different kinds of runners,” Prickett said about Moon and Williams. “Runt was more of a power run ner. Monte was the lateral, quickness, joy-stick runner.” No matter the formation on offense, the fullback has been the dominant player with tailbacks that complement. “We’ve been an option offense my entire 45 years,” Prickett said. Another thing Prickett sees that has been there through out his 45 years, stability. The Tigers have had only four head coaches: Lamb, Steve Savage, Marvin Justice and current coach Michael Brown. “Kids have stability,” he said. The stability trickles down from high school to the youth programs as the kids know from around fifth grade “You enjoy your family. That was my feel ing. The feeling of being around the athlet ic teams, you support your family. My job was to keep the stat records of the family. People enjoy being around their family and I enjoy being around the Commerce foot ball program.” — Jeff Prickett what the schemes on both offense and defense are in high school. Prickett said Jefferson was Commerce’s biggest rival during his time as statistician. “Many, many classic games over the years between Commerce and Jefferson,” he said. Prickett recalled two games that ended in 0-0 ties in 1960 and 1963. He also remembered the 22-7 upset Commerce pulled off in 2012 to open the season. Jefferson won the state title that season. Along with being statistician, Prickett was the golf coach for Commerce for 18 years and an assistant basketball coach for 29 years. He was also an eighth-grade history teacher for 31 years. That was his “calling,” he said. “I had been trained by my father all through grade school and high school when you play on a football team or a basketball team, there’s a camaraderie between players that’s akin to being in a family, and me coaching basketball for 29 years and being around football for 45 years, it’s just family,” he said. “You enjoy your family. That was my feeling. The feeling of being around the athletic teams, you support your fami ly. My job was to keep the stat records of the family. People enjoy being around their family and I enjoy being around the Commerce football program.” Prickett will still go watch his team play. And he will occasionally help out on the radio pre-game show. His last game as statistician was the 44-0 loss at Clinch County in the quarterfinals of the state playoffs. He said it was “bittersweet.” “We got beat, but that’s part of life,” he said. “You have ups and downs in life. You have good times and bad times. Everybody gets knocked down, but champions get back up. Commerce got knocked down, but next year they will get back up and go again. That’s the way it is for a Christian and that’s the way it is for a football fan, football player. That’s one good thing about sports, everyone is going to get beat somewhere along the line. Sports teach es you when you get knocked down, you get back up and go again.” The football team finished the 2016 season with a 9-3 record. Cole Chancey rushed for 1,473 yards and 19 touch downs. Lane Sorrow rushed for 734 yards and 13 touch downs. These two players, along with the entire 2016 team, will be the last players added to the stat book by Prickett. Northeast Georgia’s Business Directory Accounting 1 ■ Automotive Parts Concrete B&B Bookkeeping & Tax Service Inc. 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