Newspaper Page Text
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2008
THE BANKS COUNTY NEWS
PACE 3B
BANKS COUNTY LEOPARD FOOTBALL 2008
Jefferson holds off upset bid by Leopards
DEFENSIVE STOP
The Banks County High School defense swarms around Jefferson quarter
back Darius Minior in Friday’s contest.
Photo by Lyn Sengupta
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*
W42-0
Oct. 10
OPEN
Oct. 17
Jefferson*
L 22-34
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
Reaion
Overall
Jefferson
6-0
7-0
Fannin County
5-1
6-1
North Oconee
5-1
6-1
Union County
4-2
5-2
Riverside
3-3
4-3
Banks County
3-3
3-4
East Jackson
2-4
2-5
Dawson County
1-5
2-5
Rabun County
1-5
1-6
Oglethorpe County
0-6
1-6
Last Week's Scores
Jefferson 34, Banks County 22; Fannin
County 40, Riverside 28; Union County 37,
Oglethorpe County 34; East Jackson 24,
Rabun County 20; North Oconee 16, Dawson
County 7.
This Week’s Games
Fannin County @ Banks County; Oglethorpe
BY CHRIS BRIDGES
he Banks County
High School foot
ball team gave un
defeated Jefferson a scare
last Friday night, but in the
end the Dragons held on for
a 34-22 win.
The Leopards were within
28-22 with 5:13 remaining
following a 63-yard run by
Justin Beasley, but Jefferson,
like quality teams do, an
swered with a scoring drive
of its own to seal the win
with 1:00 left.
The win improved the
Dragons to 7-0 overall and
6-0 in Region 8-AA.
While pleased with his
team’s overall performance,
BCHS head coach Blair
Armstrong said a win was
there for the taking.
“We had several oppor
tunities on both sides of the
football to make the game
ours,” Armstrong said. “The
Jefferson coaches were very
complimentary of our ef
fort and said it was the best
defense they had faced this
season.”
The Leopards went three-
and-out on their initial series
of the contest but then forced
the high-powered Jefferson
offense to do the same.
BCHS scored first on a
nine-play drive called by
a 3-yard run by Demetric
Dempson. A fake point-after
attempt resulted in an 8-0
lead after holder Kane Dun
can ran in the conversion for
two points.
The Dragons responded by
methodically going down the
field on eight plays to pull
within 8-7 with 45 seconds
left in the opening quarter.
After the Leopards were
forced to punt on their next
possession, Jefferson took
their first lead on a touch
down pass with 7:43 left be
fore halftime.
The Dragons would stretch
the lead to 21-8 with 4:27 left
in the second quarter.
BCHS, however, put a
much-needed answer on the
board on a 6-yard run by
Justin Beasley with 1:19 left
before halftime. The Leop
ards moved 83 yards with
offensive coordinator Chuck
Hudson directing the scoring
drive.
Quarterback Chris Porter
connected with key passes to
Beasley and Lyn Hester on
the drive.
The BCHS defense then
held Jefferson in the final
minute of the half to keep the
score at 21-15.
The Leopard defense
would make several stands
in the second half. Duncan
intercepted a pass to stop
Jefferson's first series of the
third quarter and the defense
made two stops in its 10-yard
line forcing the Dragons
to turn the football over on
downs.
Jefferson did take a 28-15
lead late in the fourth quar
ter when BCHS struck on a
63-yard score by Beasley.
Suddenly, the Leopards were
within 28-22 with plenty of
time remaining for a possible
upset.
The Dragons, however,
would move 82 yards to seal
the win with 1:00 left.
It was the first time in the
team’s last four games Jef
ferson had not passed the
40-point mark on the score-
board.
Armstrong said the coaches
did not change much scheme
wise defensively.
“We just played faster
and harder,” the coach said.
“We have gotten better every
week.”
The overall stats for the
game were close with Jef
ferson compiling 315 total
yards to 302 for BCHS.
Beasley finished with 182
yards while Dempson added
55. The Leopards also had 80
yards through the air in last
week’s contest.
County @ Riverside; Dawson County @
Union County; Rabun County @ Jefferson;
East Jackson @ North Oconee.
Class AA Top 10
1. Buford (7-0)
2. Fitzgerald (7-0)
3. Appling County (7-0)
4. Pepperell (7-0)
5. Charlton County (6-1)
6. Westminster (6-1)
7. Brooks County (6-1)
8. Callaway (6-1)
9. Henry County (6-1)
10. McIntosh County Academy (7-0)
continued from
page IB
Alex Banks was 6-of-10 through
the air for 108 yards sharing the
wealth with four different re
ceivers including Lackey, Jordan
Smith, Kyle Smith and Justin Fin-
cannon.
The catch by Fincannon was for
a touchdown. Lackey also scored
once on the ground and once on a
reception.
The defense was led by Travis
Betts with four tackles and one
sack. Dean Ewing had nine tack
les and an interception from his
linebacker spot.
Fincannon led the defensive
backs with four tackles.
Baseball continued from page 2B
Specialty pitching, most
ly in the bullpen, means
that no reliever has to go
more than an inning or
two. Starters who go sev
en innings are considered
first rate. Warren Spahn
once went 16 innings and
lost the game 1-0 on Wil
lie May’s first career home
run (and first career hit).
Juan Marichal, Spahn’s
opponent in that game,
also went the full 16. Both
threw over 200 pitches.
There used to be a stig
ma that implied those start
ers who did not finish the
game were slackers. We
now have the lefty, righty,
short man, the long man,
the middle man, and the
closer. Managers parade
one reliever out after an
other. Some don’t even last
an inning. Some don’t last
after one batter. The point
here is, today’s pitchers
should be expected to pitch
into their 40s.
Another aspect of the
game that has extended the
life of pitchers is the DH
rule. This terrible travesty
of justice in the baseball
world allows the pitcher
extra rest during his at
bat. One can expect, then,
that the American League
pitchers to have better on-
the-mound performance
statistics than those in the
National League, where
hurlers like Smoltz still
have to run it out, and
run the bases like every
other player in the lineup.
Ask Smoltz sometime if
he would have rather just
struck out so he could have
gotten some bench time to
rest. You’ll hear a resound
ing and emphatic “NO!”
Platooning, much like
the designated rule, has
given extended life to regu
lar players. Managers now
insert and change out play
ers for the situation: defen
sive or offensive. The net
result is about one-half the
wear and tear on a player’s
body throughout his career
in the majors.
Some career savers here
and some career enders
here.
Next time in Part Four,
we’ll put this all together
to determine what the
changes have done for, and
against the players.
Banks County resident
John Rieken is an avid
baseball fan. E-mail com
ments about this column to
j rieken @ winds tream. net.
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