Newspaper Page Text
— www.MainStreetNewsSports.com —
October 30, 2008
The Banks County News
Justin Poole, Sports Editor
706-367-2348, direct line
706-387-5418, FAX
justin@mainstreetnews.com
A changing
of hats, or in
this case pens
A s many readers
already know, Chris
Bridges is now heading up
the MainStreet newspaper
in Barrow
County.
One could
assume that
since it is
now my
name and
mug replac
ing the spot
of his col
umn that I
am taking
over the
sports desk at The Banks
County News. While you
should never assume things,
you would be correct this
time.
I know Chris is going to
miss the relationships with
the staff and players at the
school.
It is a stretch switching
horses midstream, with the
football season in a pres
sure play for a playoff seat,
softball ending, the cross
country team preparing for
the region race and basket
ball right around the corner.
Fortunately, I have an ace up
my sleeve.
As a former graduate of
good ole’ Homer University,
I hope I can relate more
to the people at the high
school.
I stopped by the high
school earlier in the week
and it was a little surreal
since it has been a little
better than five years since
being in the halls. Granted, a
number of the teachers I had
have moved on, but there are
still a few around as well as
some teachers I remember as
fellow students.
While it is nice to look
back at the four years I spent
at the high school, my atten
tion is now more on the
buildings outside.
I have to compliment the
looks of the campus; every
thing that is behind the gym
has been added since I grad
uated. I am looking forward
to the different events I will
be covering at these new
facilities.
I am also looking forward
to working with the vari
ous coaching staffs at Banks
County. While it might be
bumpy these first few weeks,
I believe that it will be a
great job.
There may be a bigger fan
for Banks County, but one
thing is certain, we are both
Leopards.
justin
poole
From the Hip
Justin Poole is sports
editor of The Banks County
News. E-mail comments
about this column to
justin@mainstreetnews.com.
INSIDE:
Page 2B:
Outdoors with Skipper
Page 3B:
BCHS Football review
Page 4B:
JV Leopards Football
Check out
mainstreetnewssports. com
for local area teams.
HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL
Leopards won the battle but still have a war
Big Blue travels to Oglethorpe Friday
At A Glance:
Oglethorpe
(0-7, 1-7)
@ Lexington
Friday, 7:30
BY JUSTIN POOLE
After a much needed win last Friday
night, this week the fate of Banks County
is almost out of the Leopards’ hands.
Of course, almost only counts in horse
shoes and hand gre
nades; this is football.
Banks County has to
win the next two games.
Period. If the Leopards
want a shot at the play
offs, Big Blue cannot
slack off against Oglethorpe on Friday
night in Lexington at 7:30 p.m.
Statistically, Banks should roll down
to Lexington and grab an easy win from
the Patriots. However, the players and
coaches know that statistics don’t count
for much on the grass.
Banks is 4-3 in the region facing a
0-7, Oglethorpe. This season the Patriots
have only scored 116 points while Banks
has nearly double that scoring a total
of 230 points so far. The Leopards also
have averaged 29 points per game to
Oglethorpe’s 15. Oglethorpe has also
allowed over 100 more points than Banks
County.
While the numbers are in Banks’ favor,
looking back on the contests between the
schools Oglethorpe has the most recent
win.
In 2005, Banks took a 33-6 loss to the
Patriots. This came after a narrow win in
2004, 30-27. Banks will also be the team
traveling this week.
Head coach Blair Armstrong has to keep
the players’ energy up, which shouldn’t
be a problem with the playoff spot on
the line.
The Leopards know they have to bring
their ‘A’ game this week and next. The
Leopards are going to bring their best
because “It’s just Banks County.”
SIDESTEP
Quarterback Chris Porter steps back and evades a
Fannin County player looking for a sack.
Photo by Justin Poole
Leopard runners place well at home, set PRs at East Jackson
BY JUSTIN POOLE
The Leopard runners are
coming down to the final leg
of the season.
With the region race this
Saturday, the Banks runners
have to prepare themselves
for that challenge after com
ing off of two meets over the
past two weeks.
Home race
The Leopard team host
ed a six-school race on
October 16. The competing
schools included Commerce,
Habersham County, Towns
County, Rabun County and
Jackson County.
The Banks boys finished
first well ahead of the last
place Commerce team.
Stacked up against the com
petition Banks tallied 23
points followed by: Rabun,
73; Towns, 76; Jackson,
95; Habersham, 109; and
Commerce, 237. Leading
runners for the blue and
white, the brother duo of
Jorge and Ivan Diaz set the
pace for the field. J. Diaz
finished first at 22:02 with
I. Diaz right on his heels at
22:10.
Also running an impressive
race for Banks and staying
ahead of the competition the
boys’ top seven was rounded
out by Kieffer Hellmeister,
23:33; Simon Hurtado,
23:46; Avery Chastain,
23:54; Viet Pham, 24:40;
and Trey Martin, 25:01.
The lady runners faced
stiff competition during the
race and still came in third
place. Jackson took the top
spot with 44 points followed
by Towns with 50 points and
Banks with 59 points. Rabun
ended with 64 points and
Commerce did not place due
to lack of runners.
Rounding out the top
seven for the ladies Vanessa
Hurtado, 27:53; Maggie
McCoy, 29:09; Amy Sims,
29:14; Sarah Wolf, 30:43,
Tiffany Sims, 31:17; Jessica
Grisham, 31:21; and Ashley
McCoy, 33:55. The Banks
County course is regarded
as one of the toughest in the
area due to the woods and
terrain layout.
MainStreet Race
The Leopards were one of
the teams invited to partici
pate in the annual MainStreet
News race. This year was
the seventh running of the
race and includes schools
inside the MainStreet News coverage area. Hosted at East County.
Jackson, the competitors included teams from East Jackson, The boys finished second and the ladies finished fourth.
Banks, Jefferson, Jackson County, Commerce and Madison See Cross country on page 2B
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