MainStreetNewsSports

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. [Full Story »] 

With only about four weeks left before school starts back, students will most likely be trying to spend as much time having fun and shucking responsibility before having to return to the halls of education.

For some this will mean spending a lot of time outside and despite the chances of relaxing summer rains blowing through, the potential for some common summer health risks are still present.

While a lot of people refer to any form of heat-related illness as having a heatstroke, there are really three levels of heat illness.
According to a presentation to the GHSA by Diane King an athletic trainer for Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, the three levels of heat illness are heat cramps, heat exhaustion and heatstroke.
[Full Story »] 

With the myriad sporting events and recreation activities going on this summer, someone recently asked me how the newspaper chooses what events to cover each week in the paper.

Basically, it boils down to three criteria: which event has the most local connection to readers, are there photos of the event or participants, and how recent was the event.

The hard thing to explain is why one item runs and another is held until a later issue. The answer to that quandary is which will better fit the space available on the page. Your local sports editor would love to have every submission placed in each week’s paper, but the space is finite and is usually a first come, first serve basis.

On that note what is definable as a sport to be included inside the sports section is sometimes debatable. [Full Story »] 

Last week I looked at some of the summer activities that are geared towards the younger generation getting active. This week we take a look at the other summer activities that begin to liven up the community.

Probably the best sign that summer has arrived in full force is when the old lawnmowers start getting pulled out from sheds or dug out of garages to be fueled up and oiled for the coming battles against the lawn. Last summer wasn’t terrible since the lack of rain insured the grass and weeds wouldn’t get out of control, but if the previous months were any indication, this summer is going to be a different story.

Cutting grass is one chore which I absolutely detest. I think it is the futility of the work. You spend an hour or so cutting and trimming only to have to repeat the process in a few days. Then on particularly hot, dry days the cloud of dust kicked up by the mower is enough to cover the house, the one next door and the one across the street with a nice film of powdered Georgia red clay. [Full Story »] 

With Memorial Day, the end of school and warmer weather marking the unofficial start of summer, sports fans notice a significant lack of school sporting events.

Despite the lack of high school athletics, there are still several ways to enjoy local athletes and remain active in the summer.

Local recreation departments offer a variety of activities for a range of age groups to fill in the sport gaps until the cooler weather of autumn signals the return of high school athletics. [Full Story »] 

Banks County’s boys basketball team have started the season on a strong footing. Before the holiday break, the team was 9-2 overall.

While the Leopards’ success can be attributed to hard work, good coaching and teamwork, the boys have also done something this season that has a profound impact in their daily lives.

Taking a variation off a common practice, the Leopards have dedicated their season in a unique way. The players and coaching staff have each individually dedicated the season to someone that inspired them. The unique part is that to keep a constant reminder, the initials of the dedicatee are written on the player’s shoes.

While some of the players share dedications, there are individual reasons for selecting that person. One particular person some of the players chose was Cody Gowder, who was a close friend to several players. Other dedicatees range from family to friends, but all are someone who inspired the player. [Full Story »] 

The football team didn’t make it as far as I had hoped it would this year, but it did do something that is as important, arguably more important, than winning a state championship.

The 2008 Gridiron Leopards laid a foundation.

This year the Big Blue and White achieved something that the program and the fans have not seen done in over a decade of football, the Leopards had a winning season and made it to the playoffs. [Full Story »] 

As 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 replacing the spot of his column 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. [Full Story »] 

Commerce's Friday night win proved that the Tigers still have claws.

The 49-20 win over Athens Christian marks the first region win for Commerce.

Commerce's performance on the field kept the fans pumped as the Tigers pushed hard on the Athens Christian Eagles.

For more on Friday's homecoming game see Wednesday's edition of The Commerce News.