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The Banks County High School Leopards are entering into the Christmas break with a 9-2 overall record.
Last weekend the Leopards were in Demorest competing in Piedmont College’s second annual Christmas Invitational Tourney.

After a first round win over Stephens County followed by a fourth quarter shocker against Habersham, the Leopards picked up a second place spot in the tournament.

When the Leopards return from the holidays, the first challenger will be Riverside Military on Jan. 7. Banks hosts the boys only games with the JV team playing at 4 p.m. followed with the varsity game at 6 p.m.

The Wednesday games will begin the make or break portion of the Leopards’ season as the team prepares for the coming sub-region contests. [Full Story »] 

Banks County High School’s men team are giving a pause to their opponents.

The Leopards picked up a tournament win last weekend, followed by an exciting game on Tuesday.

The next challenger will be Stephens County in the first round of the Piedmont College Christmas Tournament.

Banks heads to Demorest on Friday for the tournament starting at 3 p.m. with the Lady Leopards’ game with the boys game to follow. Habersham County and White County will also compete in the tourney. [Full Story »] 

The Banks County High School Grapplers have started their season picking up wins at the Madison County Duals.

The team kicked off the season Nov. 25 competing at Madison County against the Red Raiders and against Franklin County.

Banks County scored 60 points over Madison’s 14 points. [Full Story »] 

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.

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. [Full Story »] 

Banks County’s cross-country team has a lot of reasons to be proud.

Not only did the boys make it to the state race in Carrollton, but also four Banks runners were named to the All Region team.
After running in the region race at Riverside, where the boys placed third in the region. The Diaz bothers Jorge and Ivan broke a school record. Then the boy’s team began preparing for the state race.

Coach Kelly McDuffie said that the preparation was more of a mental thing and consisted of switching the boys to practice in the morning instead of the afternoon. [Full Story »] 

The Banks County Leopards' sights are set on the playoffs.

Banks County defeated Union County 34-13, Friday night.

That win coupled with the North Oconee defeat of Fannin County will allow the Leopards to slide into the post season.

For more on the Banks County win over Union County see November 13 edition of The Banks County News.
[Full Story »]