The Jackson County wrestling team opened their season Saturday with the Blackbeard Duals at Allatoona High School, with the varsity team taking sixth place with a record of 2-3.

The Panthers were next scheduled to face White County and Washington Wilkes at Gordon Street Tuesday night. Results were unavailable at press time.

At the Blackbeard Duals, the varsity team won over Allatoona 52-29, and won over Blessed Trinity 43-30. They lost to Woodland 33-48, North Forsyth 18-63 and to North Cobb 34-34 after a tiebreaker.
Continue reading "Mat Panthers take sixth at Allatoona"

The Jefferson Dragons basketball team knew going into Saturday’s first round of tournament play to open the season that the game would be rough.

That’s because they were up against Heritage, a team that was seventh in pre-season polls in the state in AAAA. Add to that the fact that many of the team’s larger players had played the night before in Jefferson’s second round football playoff game and hadn’t touched a basketball since June, and it certainly would have looked like an uphill fight from the beginning.
Continue reading "Dragons fall to Patriots 75-30 in opener"

It wasn’t the start the Lady Dragons basketball team was hoping for Saturday, as they lost 47-35 to Heritage, Conyers in their opener for the Tabo’s Tip-Off Tourney at Jefferson.

The Dragons were scheduled to face Oconee County in the next round of tournament play Tuesday at 4 p.m. The tournament is scheduled to continue through Saturday.

Coach Jason Gibson says it may not look like the team played very well on the surface, with 36 turnovers and going 9 of 22 from the free throw line. But the Lady Dragons did well enough defensively to be able to stay in the ball game, and in the end, be only 12 points behind. At one point in the fourth quarter, Jefferson trailed the Lady Patriots by only four points.
Continue reading "Jefferson loses to Heritage to open tourney"

Despite the final score, Thursday’s match-up against the Spartans at West Hall was a good start to the season for the Jackson County Panthers, who lost 91-66.

“This was a good first game for us,” said coach Britt Beaver. “West Hall had an incredible student section that yelled the entire game, and an outstanding pep band playing. It was a very exciting basketball environment and our kids felt the pressure.”

Next up for the Panthers is a road trip to face Johnson on Dec. 2. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:30 p.m.
Continue reading "Panthers fall to Spartans on the road"

Girls Basketball
Nov. 24 - The Lady Dragons suffered their second loss of the Tabo's Tip-Off Tournament Monday, as they fell to Oconee County 32-25.

For more on these stories, see the Dec. 3 edition of The Jackson Herald.

MCHS girls win third-straight blowout
Continue reading "November routs"

Madison Co. forces slew of turnovers in win
Continue reading "Raiders cross-up Cross Creek "

Boys Basketball
Nov. 24 - The Jackson County Panthers picked up their first win of the season, defeating Tallulah Falls 53-26 in the first round of play in the Jackson County Tip-Off Tournament. They will move on to face Banks County in the championship game.

Nov. 25 - The Panthers took second place in the Jackson County Thanksgiving Tourney, after a 62-56 defeat by Banks County.

Girls Basketball
Nov. 25 - It was another strong showing for the Lady Panthers, as they defeated Banks County 53-25 Tuesday night at the Jackson County Tip-Off Tournament.

For more on these stories, see the Dec. 3 edition of The Jackson Herald or The Banks County News.

After watching back court mate Lauren Smith light-up the scoreboard last week, Shantydra Arnold decided to get in on the action, too.
Continue reading "Guard play triggers another win"

One Madison County player offered an interesting point in the locker room as the Raiders (1-1) savored a 20-point win over Duluth Saturday night.


Continue reading "Raiders topple Class AAAAA foe"

The Jackson County Lady Panthers started their basketball season out on a high note Thursday night, as they defeated the Lady Spartans of West Hall 47-30 in their season opener.

The Lady Panthers’ next regular season game is scheduled for Dec. 2, when they’ll travel to Johnson to face the Lady Knights. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m.

Continue reading "Lady Panthers open season with win"

The Lady Eagles of East Jackson had a rough opening to their season Saturday night, as they faced the Lady Rams of Grayson in the opening round of play in the Talon Tip-Off tournament at East Jackson.
Grayson bested the Lady Eagles 74-49.

It was a spirited game against a very athletic Grayson team right from the start. The Lady Eagles found themselves down 26-9 at the end of the first quarter, and saw the deficit grow to 20 points as the Lady Rams led 47-27 going into the half.
Continue reading "Lady Eagles fall to Grayson at home"

The East Jackson Eagles basketball team hoped to start off their season on a winning note Saturday, as they played host to the opening day of the Talon Tip-Off tournament.

But a strong Grayson team gave them a run for their money, and at the end, the Rams came away with a 65-57 victory.

The Eagles will open up their regular season on the road on Dec. 2, as they’ll travel to Stephens County to face the Indians.
Continue reading "East Jackson loses to Rams 65-57"

Boys Basketball
Nov. 24 - The Banks County Leopards picked up their first win of the season, defeating Oglethorpe County in the first round of play in the Jackson County Thanksgiving Tournament. Banks advanced to face Jackson County in the championship game.

Nov. 25 - The Leopards took first place in the Jackson County Thanksgiving Tourney, after a 62-56 defeat of Jackson County.

Girls Basketball
Nov. 24 - The Lady Leopards picked up their first win of the 08-09 season over the Lady Patriots from Oglethorpe. Banks went 43-17 to win and advanced to face the Lady Panthers in the second round of the JCCHS Thanksgiving Tournament.

Nov. 25 - It was a struggle for the Banks County Lady Leopards taking second place, as they suffered a 53-25 defeat Tuesday night at the Jackson County Tip-Off Tournament.

For more on these stories, see the Dec. 3 edition of The Jackson Herald or The Banks County News.

The Jefferson Middle School wrestling Dragons were victorious two weeks ago at Chestatee High School, scoring 173 points while second place went to Chestatee with a total of 74 points.

Placing first for the Dragons were Ben Kelly, Ty Finch, Josh Harris, Caleb King, Cooper Young, Jace McColsky, Tyler Marinelli, Kyle Kashuba, Garret Parks, Zack Rhymer, Kyle Springer and Trevor Reiff.
Continue reading "JMS Mat Dragons defeat Chestatee"

The Commerce High School Tigers and Lady Tigers have a few days of practice as the Thanksgiving holidays provide a short break between games.

Saturday the Commerce teams competed in their first games of the season at Apalachee. Both lost.

The next game is at Tallulah Falls on Friday, Dec. 5.

For more on the Apalachee game, pick up this week's edition of The Commerce News.

The Banks County High School Lady Leopards started the basketball season with their first game last Thursday evening.

The Lady Leopards traveled to Gainesville to compete against the Lady Lions of Lakeview Academy. Lakeview carried the win 53-36 over Banks County, but the Lady Leopards noted some key points that will benefit their progress this season.

After dropping the season opener to Lakeview, the Lady Leopards competed in the Jackson County Thanksgiving Tournament Monday and Tuesday. On Monday, Banks County competed against Oglethorpe. The Lady Leopards will be seeing more of the Lady Patriots later this season in sub-region contests. Banks carried Monday’s tournament contest 43-17 over Oglethorpe's Lady Patriots.

Tuesday, the Lady Leopards were overwhelmed by the Jackson County Lady Panther's offense, but brought home second place from the tourney after falling to Jackson County 53-25.

For more on the Lakeview game and the Oglethorpe contest, pick up this week's edition of The Banks County News.

The Banks County High School’s Leopard basketball team has started strong.

The Leopards competed in a scrimmage game against Towns County on Nov. 18, where the Leopards took an 82-53 win.

Banks County officially opened its season at the Jackson County Thanksgiving Tournament Monday night. The Leopards faced Oglethorpe in the tourney and secured a 68-58 win over the Patriots, moving them into the second day of the tournament.

Tuesday night, the Leopards secured the tournament win after a fast paced game with Jackson County. Banks won 62-56 over the Panthers.

For more on the scrimmage game and Monday's game see this week's edition of The Banks County News.

The excitement was evident in Michael Parks’ voice.

The Apalachee High School varsity girls basketball coach was more pleased that his team had recorded a win in its season opener against Commerce High School Saturday. The 51-41 win was only the second time in school history the Lady Wildcats have won their season opener.


Continue reading "Lady Wildcats win season opener"

Successful wrestling is nothing new for Chad Horne.

The first-year Winder-Barrow High School coach guided the wrestling team at Social Circle High School to the state tournament several seasons when he was their mentor. After serving as an assistant coach at Duluth High School for one season, Horne is now at WBHS and looking to build the Mat Doggs into a perennial winner as well.


Continue reading "New coach brings winning tradition"

Thanksgiving has always been a favorite holiday of mine.

I suppose it’s because it centers on family and because it occurs during my favorite season of the year. In addition, we are usually with our family and we take a break from our hectic work-driven lives to give thanks for what we have.


Continue reading "Column: Thankful for fall, football and family"

After a strong finish to last year’s season, the East Jackson Eagles wrestling team looks to build on last year for a successful 2008-09 showing.

East Jackson wrapped up its inaugural season with a 19th place finish out of 55 teams in state competition, with two of the five qualifiers placing.

The Eagles lost three seniors from last year, but retained a strong core group for this year, as well as gaining several young wrestlers.

Continue reading "Mat Eagles Ready For Next Challenge"

Dan Lampe wouldn’t mind some heart-stoppers early on this season.
Continue reading "Lampe hopes early games challenge Lady Raiders"

Beating Duluth and Cross Creek in this week’s Northeast Georgia Invitational Tournament is certainly important to Raider coach Steve Crouse, but developing better practice habits is priority no. 1 right now.
Continue reading "Crouse pushes team to practice harder"

Here's the schedule for the upcoming Northeast Georgia Invitational at Madison County High School:
Continue reading "Northeast Georgia Invitational schedule"

Coming off of a successful ’07-08 season, the Jefferson Lady Dragons basketball team is looking to continue its winning ways this season.

Last year, the Lady Dragons went 8-4 in the region and 15-11 overall.

Jefferson is returning seven players with Varsity experience this year, but the team only has four seniors. This includes MiMi DuBose, who will not play this year due to injury.
Continue reading "Lady Dragons hit court in Tourney Saturday"

This year, the Jackson County Panthers wrestling team will be shooting for three in a row.

Three top ten state finishes, that is.

In 2007, the Mat Panthers placed eighth in AAAA competition.

Last year, they moved up to third, bringing home the 2008 AAAA State Champion title in the 125 lb. category.
Continue reading "Mat Panthers gear up for season"

The Banks County High School girls basketball team is preparing for another season on the courts.

The Lady Leopards are looking to improve on the 7-15 record from last year.

“We still have a long way to go,” said coach Jerry King. “However the girls are becoming more familiar to the drills and philosophy of the program.”

With several returning players as juniors and seniors, the ladies are jumping right in with the first game on Thursday.
Continue reading "Lady Leopards take to the court"

Last Friday night didn’t quite go as planned for the Leopards.

Banks County traveled to Calhoun for the first round of the state playoffs, a trip that is one of the reasons the Big Blue can still hold its head high.

Banks County was knocked out of the running, blanked 63-0 by Calhoun. While the final score may not be something the players want to add in when they tell the story, what will be told is how the Banks County Leopards made it to the playoffs after 11 years, how this season was the first winning season in over a decade and how Justin Beasley’s 2,000 plus yards blew past the rushing record of Terry Allen.
Continue reading "Banks breaks decade long drought with winning season"

Commerce’s basketball teams will open their season Saturday.

The Tigers and Lady Tigers face Apalachee on the road; the first game starts at 6 p.m. with the Lady Tigers taking on the Lady Wildcats, with the boys’ game to follow.
Continue reading "Tigers’ Basketball Opener Is Saturday At Apalachee "

After a strong season last year, the Jefferson Dragons basketball team is hoping for more of the same this year.

The Dragons roll into ’08-09 off of a season that saw them go 8-2 in the region, and 15-14 overall, including a victory over Athens Academy in region tournament play before eventually falling in a close 53-50 game to Trion.

While the team had an up and down start, going 3-2 before hitting a four game losing streak from Dec. 7 through Dec. 14, they came on strong at the end, winning five games in a row between Feb. 5 and Feb. 15, defeating Tallulah Falls, Prince Avenue, Hebron, Athens Christian and Athens Academy.
Continue reading "Dragons look for another winning season"

At the end of last season, East Jackson Lady Eagles coach Amy Larimer said she saw a bright future for the girls’ basketball program.

When the Lady Eagles hit the court this weekend for the Talon Tip-Off Classic at East Jackson, it will be the first step into a new season, and a chance to write another chapter in the East Jackson history books.

In their first season, East Jackson went 9-17, dropping in the first round of region playoffs after a loss to Dawson County.
Continue reading "Lady Eagles ready for sophomore basketball season"

It’s tough for any football season to end, but this one was especially tough for Apalachee High School head coach Shane Davis.
Having just completed his fourth season with the Wildcats, Davis has seen his first complete class go through his program. The players who are seniors now were freshman when Davis first became head coach prior to the 2005 season.

That’s why the head coach was so emotional in telling his players — and especially his seniors — thank you last Friday night after the state playoff contest against Rome.


Continue reading "Past four seasons set tone for Wildcats"

During the long trip to Rome last Friday for Apalachee High School’s state playoff football game, my mind began to drift back to past years and all the previous road trips I’ve been a part of during this time of the year.

Being a football fan for as long as I’ve been old enough to know the difference between a first down and a field goal, I’ve traveled across the state for regular season outings and state playoff contests. When postseason arrives, it’s usually wise to have a full tank of gas and a map handy because you could end up anywhere.


Continue reading "COLUMN: State playoff trips provide memories"

When Ben Corley breaks down the 2008 football season for his Winder-Barrow High School Bulldoggs, the coach sees one thing clear.

“Overall, we got better from the start to the finish,” Corley said. “We had a great deal of improvement. We were better at the end of the season than we were at the beginning and that was a positive.”

Continue reading "WBHS coach looks to offseason program"

The Jackson County Panthers boys’ basketball team is hoping that, with the addition of a season’s worth of experience for a young team, the 2008-09 season will be a more satisfying experience than last season.

The Panthers open up their season on Thursday with a trip to West Hall to face the Spartans. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

Next, Jackson County will play host to the Tip-Off Tournament, beginning on Monday before the Thanksgiving break.
Continue reading "Panthers look to improve in new season"

It’s still very early, but opponents might have to devise another defensive game plan for Madison County.
Continue reading "Lady Raiders rout Brookwood with new-found perimeter game"

Five three-pointers from the Raiders’ Reterrium Davis weren’t enough to overcome another significant stat in Madison County’s Saturday loss to Brookwood.
Continue reading "Davis’s five 3-pointers aren’t enough in opener"

When Madison County starts its wrestling season Friday, it will send what looks to be a strong sophomore class out onto the mat.
Continue reading "Wrestling team looks to sophomore class"

Commerce’s wrestling team has reason for optimism.

The Tigers have a number of returning starters and state tournament placers and qualifiers after last season’s fourth-place finish at the state tournament and a 21-3 dual record.

Coach Kendall Love said the team should be competitive as the grapplers get into their weight classes.
Continue reading "Mat Tigers Look Forward To Season"

After a 2007-08 season that had its ups and downs, the Jackson County Lady Panthers are looking for some solid results as they prepare to enter into the 2008-09 season.

Last year, the Lady Panthers ended their season 9-14 overall, and 4-10 in the region.

After a good start that saw seven wins in their first 13 games, the wheels came off at mid-season for Jackson County, as they lost their next four games. A Jan. 22 victory over Habersham Central was the only bright point for the Lady Panthers, as they continued to slide to the end of the season.
Continue reading "Lady Panthers basketball season opens Thursday at West Hall"

After an inaugural season that saw them off on the right foot, the East Jackson Eagles’ boys basketball team is gearing up for their second season of play, which is set to start by hosting a pre-season tournament on Saturday.

Last year, the Eagles went 18-10 overall, and 7-4 in the region.

Coach Brian Turner says it’s great to begin this season without having to start from scratch like they did in 2007.

“With the transition of starting a new school over, the kids pick up things a little quicker and better than last season,” he said. “We still have a lot of inexperience at some positions but the learning curve should come much quicker than last year.”

Continue reading "East Jackson hosts Talon Tip-Off Saturday"

Playing a long way from home, the Apalachee High School football team dropped a tough 16-8 contest to Rome in the opening-round of the Class AAAA state football playoffs Friday night.

The Wildcats trailed 16-0 at halftime but cut the Wolves' lead to one score in the second half. Apalachee had chances perhaps tie the contest but could not cross the Rome goal line again.

See a recap of Friday's game and a review of the 2008 season in this Wednesday's edition of the Barrow Journal.

IRWINTON--The Wilkinson County Warriors proved to be as fast as advertised -- and then some.


Continue reading "Warriors run past Tigers, 21-7"

Banks Co.	@ Calhoun	Banks County -0 - Calhoun -63	The Leopards dreams are dashed after a first round loss to Yellow Jackets.
Commerce	@ Wilkinson Co.	Commerce -7 - Wilkinson County - 21	Wilkinson County strikes for touchdowns of 60 and 75 yards in first-round victory over TIgers.
Apalachee	@ Rome	Apalachee - 8 - Rome - 16	The season ends for the Wildcats with a loss in Rome.
Jefferson	vs. Coosa	Jefferson - 31 - Coosa -13	Dragons prove themselves to all doubters by thrashing Eagles in round one. Jefferson will host Lovett on Friday.

The Jackson County Panthers girls’ cross country team placed 17th in AAA classification in state competition in Carrollton over the weekend.

Brittany Aikens finished 15th out of 202 runners with a time of 20:26; Rachel Pasko finished 46th with a 21:33; Lexie Miller finished 93rd with a personal best time of 22:53. Other girls competing included Lauren Turner with a 24:00; Katie Maiolo with a 26:15; and Susan Diesch with a 27:45.
Continue reading "JCCHS Cross Country girls perform well at state"

It was a successful trip to state competition for the Jefferson Dragons girls’ cross country team Saturday, as they placed sixth in Region AA competition out of a field of 29 teams.

Alison Missler placed 26th out of 182 runners taking part with a time of 21:55; Jessica Runkle finished 33rd with a time of 22:14; Kathy Buffington finished 36th with a time of 22:23; Lauren Phillips placed 47th with a time of 22:50; Mariah Porras finished 54th with a time of 23:20; Laura Price placed 70th with a time of 24:06; and Caitlin Meads finished 78th with a time of 24:33.
Continue reading "JHS takes 6th at State Cross Country Meet"

Sports writers for MainStreet Newspapers make their picks for this week. The Pigskin Pickers will be posted online each week. High school, college and NFL games will be forecast.

Sportswriter	Ben Munro The Madison County Journal	Justin Poole The Banks County News	Zach Mitcham The Madison County Journal	Chris Bridges Barrow Journal	Brandon Reed The Jackson Herald	Kristi Reed The Braselton News
Banks Co. vs. @ Calhoun	Calhoun	Banks	Calhoun	Banks	Calhoun	Banks
Commerce vs. @ Wilkinson Co.	Wilkinson County	Commerce	Wilkinson County	Commerce	Wilkinson County	Commerce
Apalachee vs. @ Rome	Rome	Rome	Rome	Apalachee	Rome	Apalachee
Jefferson vs. Coosa	Jefferson