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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2008 THE BANKS COUNTY NEWS PACE 3B BANKS COUNTY LEOPARD FOOTBALL 2008 2008 Schedule Aug. 29 @Wash.-Wilkes L14-39 Sept. 5 Riverside* L 28-56 Sept. 12 Dawson County W 48-27 Sept. 19 @ Rabun County W35-6 Sept. 26 North Oconee* L7-12 Oct. 3 @ East Jackson* 7:30 p.m. Oct. 10 OPEN Oct. 17 Jefferson* 7:30 p.m. Oct. 24 Fannin County 7:30 p.m. Oct. 31 @ Oglethorpe Co.* 7:30 p.m. Nov. 7 @ Union County* 7:30 p.m. •denotes Region 8-AA game Region Roundup 8-AA Standings Team Reoion Overall Jefferson 4-0 5-0 Union County 3-1 4-1 North Oconee 3-1 4-1 Riverside 3-1 4-1 Fannin County 3-1 4-1 Banks County 2-2 2-3 Rabun County 1-3 1-4 East Jackson 1-3 1-4 Dawson County 0-4 1-4 Oglethorpe County 0-4 1-4 Last Week's Scores Rabun County 26, Dawson County 18; North Oconee 12, Banks County 7; Fannin County 55, Oglethorpe County 17; Riverside 44, East Jackson 6; Jefferson 50, Union County 14 This Week's Games Banks County @ East Jackson; Jefferson @ Riverside; Union County @ Fannin County, Dawson County @ Oglethorpe County; Rabun County @ North Oconee. Class AA Top 10 1. Buford 2. Westminster 3. Fitzgerald 4. Jefferson County 5. Appling County 6. Pepperell 7. Blessed Trinity 8. Charlton County 9. Flenry County 10. Brooks County 8-AA battle: Leopards fall in defensive slugfest RUNNING FOR DAYLIGHT Banks County High School’s Brandon Law runs upfield during a kickoff return last Friday against North Oconee. Law had a solid night on returns but was injured later in the contest. The Leopards will return to action this week at East Jackson. Photo by Randy Crump/Rudeseal Photo BY CHRIS BRIDGES ike two proud box ers who refused to yield an inch, the Banks County High School and North Oconee High School football teams went toe-to-toe in an old fashioned defensive struggle last Friday night in Homer. After slugging it out for four quarters, both teams had only 129 yards of of fense. BCHS scored its lone touchdown following a special teams miscue by North Oconee. The Titans, meanwhile scored one of its touchdowns on an intercep tion return. The difference turned out to be a 50-yard run in the fourth quarter by North Oconee when its quarterback managed to break several tackles and scamper into the endzone. The end result: a 12-7 vic tory for the visiting Titans. It was a gutwrenching Region 8-AA defeat for the BCHS Leopards who had played their hearts out defensively. “It's the hardest we've played since we've been here,” BCHS coach Blair Armstrong said trying to cope with the tough setback. “We have to work on ex ecution. We have reached the level of effort I want but we can’t have turnovers in close games and win.” It was easily the best defen sive effort by the Leopards in 2008. Defensive coordina tor Paul Hoch’s troops drew a line in the sand and would not back down from North Oconee. Armstrong said the key to the strong defensive effort was playing fast. “We have not been playing full speed,” the head coach said. “We played at a different level and different tempo. We figured out you can do more when you play that way. We didn’t play tentatively. Our defensive coaches did a great job. They had a great game plan for North Oconee.” The Leopards took the game’s opening kickoff and appeared set to cash in early. BCHS set up shop at the Ti tan 39-yard line following a strong return from Brandon Law. After moving to the North Oconee 8-yard line, the drive stalled and the Leopards turned the football over on downs after being unable to convert on a fourth and three play. Neither team was able to move the football and the only score of the first game came when the Titans re turned an interception for 18 yards for a touchdown at the 10:15 mark of the second quarter. The extra point at tempt failed leaving the score at 6-0. A special teams play helped BCHS take the lead with 3:02 remaining in the third quarter. Justin Bowen recovered a mishandled punt by North Oconee at the Titan 6-yard line. One play later, Justin Bea sley cashed in for the score. Defensive staff: •Paul Hoch, defensive coordinator •Tony Bowen, line •Jerry Williams, ends •Tyson Baxter, backs •Shane Wilburn, LBs Tyler Husky’s point after kick made the score 7-6. The Leopard defense con tinued to make plays as an interception by Matthew Pat ton stopped a North Oconee scoring threat on the last play of the third quarter. The Ti tans were in BCHS territory after recovering a mishan dled punt. The turning point of the contest game with 6:39 left when the Titans managed to score on a quarterback keeper from midfield. The two-point conversion failed leaving the score at 12-7. Remaining at tempts by the Leopards to score were unsuccessful. “We had a couple of missed tackles and they were able to score their second touchdown,” Armstrong said. “Offensively, we should have been able to score. We have been productive all season against tougher defenses than that. We didn't just ex ecute well.” The team will try to re group this week and get back on track in region play. “It was a well fought game on both sides,” Armstrong said. “Good sportsmanship was displayed by both teams. It was a great game to watch as a fan. It was horrible to go through as a coach and a player.” The game was the second annual Shawn Smith Bowl named in honor of the former BCHS standout athlete and former Leopard and Titan coach who died in an auto mobile accident in 2007. Yards continue piling up for Beasley in 2008 BY CHRIS BRIDGES Through five games this season. Banks County High School senior running back Justin Beasley continues to show why he is considered one of the top running backs in the Northeast Georgia area. Beasley has rushed for 876 yards and 10 touchdowns through the first half of the 2008 season. His yard per carry average is an impressive 7.88 mark. Senior Demetric Dempson is the second leading rusher on the team with 317 yards. Dempson has rushed for two scores this fall. BCHS also has been effec tive in the passing department. Quarterback Chris Porter has thrown for 489 yards with his favorite target being Kane Duncan. With 12 receptions for 200 yards, Duncan has scored five touchdowns. Beasley is the team's second leading receiver with eight catches for 103 yards fol lowed by Jeff Smith with five catches for 96 yards. Demp son had hauled in three passes for 47 yards. Leopard offensive coordina tor Chuck Hudson has been in charge of spreading the wealth to several players in 2008. On the defensive side of the football, Billy Pinson is the team’s leading tackier at the mid-way point of the regular season with 54 tackles, includ ing one for negative yardage. Tyler Hulsey has 33 tackles and three quarterback hurries. Duncan has 31 tackles and two interceptions while Lyn Football Notebook Hester has 30 tackles includ ing two for negative yards, three sacks and two hurries. Bill Redmon has three in terceptions, including one re turned for a score. • •• Captains for the North Oconee game were Chris Por ter, Jeff Smith and Justin Bea sley. • •• Region 8-AA is not getting much respect out of Atlanta. Jefferson, which is a new comer to the region this fall, is 5-0 overall and a perfect 4-0 in 8-AA play. The Drag ons have pretty much steam- rolled through its competi tion to this point including a 50-14 thumping of previously unbeaten Union County last week. Yet in the most recent rank ings released by The Atlanta Journal-Constitition, listed at left, Jefferson remains no where to be found. BCHS will play Jefferson on Oct. 17. • •• Currently, five teams are ahead of BCHS in the region standings. With only four schools making the state play offs from 8-AA, this Friday’s contest at East Jackson has a high level of significance. The Eagles are coached by Frank Caputo, who was at Jackson County High School for the 2006 season before leaving for East Jackson. Preview continued from page IB “We are going to have to not make mistakes and cut out the turnovers and penalties at the wrong time,” the BCHS coach said. “We can't go from first and ten to first and 15.” With the Leopards now at 2-2 in Region 8-AA, a win this week is almost a must to keep postseason hopes alive. www.BanksNewsT0DAY.com log on for local news updates CASH CALL AND COMPARE PER GRAM 706-369-0000 ■n);l GREG REEVES Fine Jewelry 613 Hawthorne Ave. • Athens Pitchers clinic set locally for Oct. 11 A baseball clinic for pitchers ages 14-19 will be held Saturday, Oct. 11, at the Banks County Parks and Recreation Department Complex in Homer. The ProThrow event will be offered in two sessions at a cost of $75 per session. The first session will be from 9 a.m. until noon with the second being from 1:30 until 4:30 p.m. Registra tion will be held 30 minutes before the camp. The staff camp will include Jeremy Loft- ice, a Major League Baseball scout and certi fied strength and conditioning specialist; Jason Johnson, a former Division I pitching coach and recruiting coordinator and Trey Hodges, a former Atlanta Brave now pitching in the Texas Rangers organization. For additional information on the event, call 770-316-4110. The Hair Affair Come Check Out The New Look (under new ownership) We have all the latest styles in handbags just in time for Christmas! New Hours: Mon. - Fri. 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. Saturday 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. and later by appointment Walks-Ins Welcome! Tanning Special only $25 a month. Call 706-677-2406 or just stop in! Located next door to The Banks County News 933 Historic Homer Hwy. • Homer, Georgia THE HAIR AFFAIR Get tk local school, church, sports ani other commit]) news ielimei to your home each week! Just clip the coupon below to begin saving today over the newstand price! Name Address. City State .Zip_ Subscription rates for The Banks County News are as follows: $19.75 per year for Banks and adjoining counties; $17.75 per year for senior citizens in Banks and adjoining counties; $38.85 per year for delivery elsewhere in Georgia; $36.85 per year for delivery elsewhere in Georgia with senior citizen discount; $44.50 per year for delivery out of Georgia; $42.50 per year for delivery out of Georgia with senior citizen discount; $42.20 per year for the military with APO address. Enclosed is my check for! Expiration Phone or □ MC or □ VISA # MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. 33 Lee Street, P. O. Box 908 Jefferson, GA 30549 706-367-5233 Fax: 706-367-8056 Website: www.mainstreetnews.com