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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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