With last Friday night now behind us, the football season has started and is gaining momentum.
The lines in the sand are once again drawn and rivalries are renewed for another year. While BCHS got off to a rocky start, coach Blair Armstrong’s leadership will help the Leopards pull together as the team works for a repeat showing at the state playoffs.
The first game will prove not to be indicative of the season as I’m sure the Leopards will make up for the loss by picking up a win over Riverside this week.
Also, last week the Commerce Tigers and Jefferson Dragons were out in force again as they continued the River War. Jefferson overtook the Tigers in the second quarter and held onto the lead for a 30-13 win. Banks County will be facing Jefferson in October and will have plenty of time to scope out the Dragons and new head coach T. McFerrin.
While the Leopards will get to square off against Jefferson in region play, I know several people wish Banks County was still playing Commerce. I know I would like to see Armstong’s Leopards take on the Tigers.
The rivalry might not be as deep as the Commerce and Jefferson one, but there is blood in the water for the two schools.
Besides football, softball is also well underway with the ladies starting region play this week. Coach Dean Goodwin and staff have brought a simple yet effective outlook to the team. Be the best and win.
With an 8-3 record before region starts, it seems to be getting the job done. The ladies still have a long row to hoe with several tough region opponents waiting.
Banks County’s other fall sport is also about to hit the ground running, pun completely intended, as the cross country team starts at home on Tuesday Sept. 8.
The team is once again led by coach Kelly McDuffie with assistants Josh Purcell and Tressa Moore. BCHS’s runners have been training for the cross country season since about mid-August and are ready to show off.
Released on Wednesday on www.gatfxc.com the ranking for the cross country teams place the Banks County boys in ninth place in the top ten. The ranking also includes East Jackson in the fourth spot. The season should prove to be exciting.
Justin Poole is sports editor of The Banks County News. E-mail comments about this column to
justin@mainstreetnews.com.
