Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

July 23,2008 Section B The Banks County News Sports Editor: Chris Bridges Contact: 706-367-2745 www.mainstreetnewssports.com First & Ten ★ ★ ★ chris@mainstreetnews.com BY CHRIS BRIDGES Work, dedication will equal success for Leopards D ay by day we are get ting closer. With the dawning of each new morning, the echoes for a new gridiron campaign can be heard more vividly. Yes, the new high school foot ball season is just around the comer. For players and coaches at Banks County High School, that means the tempo of preparation will only continue to increase as the days draw shorter to the first game against Washington-Wilkes on Aug. 29. So much has been going on for the Leopards this season it takes a notebook with blank pages to keep track. Members of the team have ventured to lineman competitions and to various other camps. There are the numerous weight lifting sessions and condi tioning drills. What makes all of this so impressive? It’s the fact that all of the work turned in by the play ers is voluntary. Members of the BCHS program know, however, that this level of work and dedica tion is a must if success is going to happen on the football field. If you don’t think players at Washington-Wilkes aren’t work ing hard this summer then you are mistaken. The Leopard players know their opponents are work ing hard and that’s why they have decided they are going to outwork them, outprepare them and be as ready as possible when they meet on the field. This is an exciting time to be a part of the BCHS football com munity. The players are excited. The coaches are excited. The booster club members and fans are excited. So much work has been going on since the end of the 2007 season that even the most casual of fan has had to take notice. It’s almost as if a new attitude has emerged from within the program. Several of the football players and coaches returned from camps this past week. Head coach Blair Armstrong was trying to catch his breath Sunday night as he talked about the overall air of excitement which is surround ing his program. “We are excited about what the whole county is doing when it comes to our football program,” the second-year Leopard men tor said. “Everyone from the recreation department to the high school to the middle school is doing everything they can to make our varsity program suc cessful. That is what it takes to build a winner.” Several of the returning BCHS football players have shown they have what it takes be leaders this summer during offseason work outs. Armstrong knows these play ers have the potential to carry over that level of leadership into preseason practice and into the season. The official countdown to the first game of the 2008 season is now down to just over a month. The Leopard players and coaches will accomplish a great deal in that amount of time. One thing I know for sure, opponents on the BCHS schedule for 2008 had bet ter be doing the same. Chris Bridges is sports editor of The Banks County News. Contact him at 706-367-2745 or by e-mail at chris @ mainstreetnews. com. Recreation All-Stars Banks 13-14 All-Stars battle tough foes at state play BY CHRIS BRIDGES The Banks County 13-14-year-old All-Star baseball team seemingly faced tough odds the entire time it was in the postseason. After competing in the regional tournament in Blue Ridge, the squad advanced to the state tournament in Rome. In the opening round, Banks County held on for a 7-6 victory against Acworth. The local team had to deal with bad weather all weekend and fell in the second round of state play. Banks County attemped to regroup but also dropped its third game at the state tournament. The local 13-14 All-Star squad was assem bled at the end of the regular season with only nine players and began postseason play fol lowing three weeks of practice. Coaches said the team came together and worked hard to achieve the milestones it accomplished in a short amount of time. Banks County should be proud to have such a •See Team Photo on Page 2B this week. great group of players, coaches said. Team members include Jay Coen, Thomas Ward, Jared Clark, Tyler Hellmeister, Jameson Flynn, Tyler Hewell, Taylor Foster, Blake Allen and Avery Christian. Jeff Coen and Cranley Ward coached the team through the regional and state tourna ments. With the 13-14-year-old All-Star team com pleting play at the state level, the recreation baseball and softball season is now complete for the season in Banks County. Recreation department officials are now preparting for fall sports which include football, soccer and cheerleading. For information on these activities, con tact the Banks County Parks and Recreation Department at 706-677-4407. Off To Camp: Preparing for Season Opener A CAMPING WE WILL GO Several members of the Banks County High School football team are shown during a camp held last week at the University of West Georgia in Carrollton. The camp is one of several events members of the football team have taken part in this offseason in an effort to improve for the upcoming season. 'To go against this type of competition will only make us better' Leopards venture to West Georgia for camp BY CHRIS BRIDGES The offseason work continues for the Banks County High School gridiron Leopards. Last week 34 members of the BCHS football team loaded up and ventured to the University of West Georgia in Carrollton for the Southeastern Defensive Camp. Eight Leopard coaches also attend ed. BCHS was one of 12 schools which participated. Coach Blair Armstrong’s Leopards were the lone AA pro gram at the camp which featured two AAA programs along with AAAA and AAAAA schools including Camden County and Peachtree Ridge. The camp lasted four days and there were three prac tices a day divided into individual teaching time as well as inside and outside drills and team time. Brandon Law, Bill Redmon and Nick Sosebee competed in the defensive back competitions and made it to the finals in some events. Tramaine Mayfiled and Tyler Hulsey advanced deep into the competition of the defensive pass rush drills with Hulsey taking second in the entire camp which featured 250 linemen. “All of the Leopard players did an outstanding job and held their own in this dynanmic camp,” Armstrong said. The Leopard coach said he was expecially pleased with how his players held up against Peachtree Ridge, a AAAAA program where Armstrong previously coached. “This is our second year attend ing the camp and we have really improved,” Armstrong said. “To go against this type of competition will only make us better. We competed very well against all of the teams including one AAAAA school from Tennessee. The team work and togetherness you achieve in this type of environment can’t be dupli cated at home. We are so proud of the committment and hard work our team has shown this summer. This is what it takes to be a champion ship program.” Junior Leopard camp scheduled BY CHRIS BRIDGES In an ongoing effort to develop a feeder system for the varsity pro gram, the Banks County High School football program will host a Junior Leopard Football Camp July 29, 30 and 31 from 6-9 p.m. each evening. The camp will be after the varsity and junior players complete their sum mer workouts. The camp will be at the BCHS football practice field. Parents are asked to park and drop off and pick up their Junior Leopard players on the bascball/tennis court side of the stadium. The purpose of this camp is to introduce recreation level players the techniques, skills, drills and fundamentals that are expected at the middle school and high school levels. By coordinating the programs at BCHS, BCMS and at the recreation department, Leopard head coach Blair Armstrong said he hopes to develop a higher caliber player for each of the programs. The varsity Leopard coaches will direct the camp. The cost is $50 for three days and parents with two children in the camp will be charged $80. Forms are now available at the Banks County Parks and Recreation Department on Thompson Street or at BCHS. Checks should be made payable to BCHS. They may be be mailed to BCHS, attention Coach Armstrong, 1486-A Homer Highway, Homer, Ga. 30547. High School Football Next chapter of Gladiator Wars set for Friday BY CHRIS BRIDGES Part of the goal of high school football coaches during offseason work is to make the players have at least some level of fun. That keeps the offseason condi tioning from seeming too much like work. One way Banks County High School head coach Blair Armstrong has done this is with the addition of Gladiator Wars. In these competitions, members of the Leopard football team divide up and battle in events such as a 55-gallon drum roll, relay races while carrying buckets of water, dumbbell relay races, sled pushing, old fashioned tug-of-war and more. The latest chapter in this old fash ioned type of battle will take place Friday morning at the BCHS prac tice field from 9 a.m. until noon. Armstrong said recently the play ers have enjoyed competing in the Gladiator War battles and it helps with offseason conditioning while adding a fun element to it as well. High School Softball BCHS preseason drills scheduled to begin Aug. 7 The Banks County High School varsity softball team is scheduled to begin preseason practice Friday, Aug. 1, coach Josh Lord said this week. The first practice session is sched uled to begin at 11 a.m. The Lady Leopards will continue to compete in Region 8-AA this fall. Several members of the team competed on a summer league squad in June gain ing experience for the upcoming season. The Lady Leopards will begin play in the Lanier Point Tournament Aug. 15 against Flowery Branch. The team will also play Providence Christian that day. Following a game against Pickens in the tournament, the team’s first regular season game is set for Aug. 19. Local Racing Commerce racer emerges as winner of'Wally Trophy' BY AMY GLOVER Special to the BCN Every race weekend is an impor tant one, but this weekend’s event took on special significance out at the Atlanta Dragway, as the National Dragster Challenge and Junior Dragster Challenge was held on Saturday. The annual event provides a chance for bracket racers to pick up an NHRA Wally Trophy, the ultimate prize to represent the best drag racers. Mark Hancock of Commerce earned his first Wally in the Sportsman class, a long-overdue triumph after previously running in four other finals competing for the trophy, three of them in the motor cycle rank and one in the same ’00 Jeep Cherokee with which he won Saturday’s race. After his competitor in the finals, Harold Wilson of Winder, fouled at the start, Mark gave a surprisingly solid run with his street car, pulling off a .004 light and a dead-on dial- in at 16.28. Scott Reynolds of Cartersville and Jeff Wagner of Jefferson placed third. Two-time track champion Thomas Bell of Toccoa claimed his third Wally in the Super Pro category, defeating Maysville’s Ed Nalley for the win. The round began with a staging battle, with neither man pulling through the beams first. It’s a strat egy often applied against Bell, who is known for his habit of staging last. See Dragway on page 3B TROPHY WINNER Mark Hancock and his wife, Paula, pose with the Wally trophy Mark received for his win in the Sportsman class at the Atlanta Dragway Saturday. Photo by Amy Glover