CMYK
Sports
16 & COUNTING
Jefferson keeps its win streak alive in a cross town rival game against JCCHS BY KYLE FUNDERBURK
For The Paper
Tristen Jackson and Isaiah Blake combined for 214 rushing yards and four touchdowns as the Jefferson High School Dragons shut out the Jackson County Comprehensive High School Panthers, 49-0. “I thought they ran hard,” said Jefferson head coach Ben Hall about Jackson and Blake. “I was proud of the guys up front and Jackson County did a good job of giving us different looks.” Jefferson improves to 6-0 overall against their cross-town rivals. This win also extends the defending AA State Champions win streak to 16. After passing the ball more than 30 times last week, Evan Shirreffs only attempted 16 passes against the Panthers. However, he was just as effective, completing eight of those passes for 137 yards and a touchdown. “He is such a composed kid for a first-year starter,” said Hall. “He did a great job managing the game. He knew going in we were going to run the ball and, when he got an opportunity to throw it, he did a pretty good job.” The defense topped off a great allaround game for the Dragons by shutting out the Panthers’ high-powered offense. Jefferson limited Jackson County to only 31 yards on the ground and 47 yards through the air with four turnovers.
“Our defense played well. Jackson County had some turnovers which helped us,” Hall said. “We played well up front. I thought we did a good job putting pressure on the quarterback and our secondary played well, too.” Jefferson took the ball to start the game and, just five plays later, they found the end zone on a 5-yard pass from Shirreffs to T.J. Skelton. Jefferson’s next drive was cut short deep in Panther territory on their next possession, which set up a 33-yard field goal by Kade Bougher to make it a 9-0 score. After making another stop, Jefferson took over from their 43-yard line and proceeded to run Jackson and Blake right at the Panther defense until Blake score on a 14-yard run to extend the lead to 15. The Panthers’ ensuing possession ended with an interception and Jefferson took the ball from the Panther 17 following a penalty on the return. A couple runs by Jackson and Blake was enough to score a touchdown with Blake scoring from the 2-yard line. The Dragons got the ball around midfield on their next possession and put the drive on the arm of Shirreffs as he completed three of four passes on the drive, including a 32-yard pass to Dalton Hill to put the Dragons at the 9. See JEFFERSON, 2B
Thursday, September 12, 2013
B
Hawks run wild over Brookwood Broncos BY LATRICE WILLIAMS
lwilliams@clickthepaper.com
The Mill Creek Hill School football team moved to 2-0 on the season following a 44-10 win over Brookwood High School last Friday night. Last year in regular season, Brookwood claimed a 31-21 win but Mill Creek saw a more significant win in the second round of the playoffs with a 5621 win. This time around, things were pretty reminiscent of Mill Creek’s most recent win. The Brookwood offense had its way with the defense early but MCHS answered by breaking up a pass on third down, forcing BHS to punt. Then, Devozea Felton burst through the right side of the defense for a 24-yard gain and Mill Creek finished its 85-yard drive with a touchdown pass, courtesy of Daniel David to wide receiver Eric Ritland. The taste
of pay dirt was very satisfying for Ritland, who had suffered a season-ending foot injury prior to the start of the 2012 season. The Broncos coughed up the ball on their next possession and Johnathan Hawkins punched it in from 10 yards out. Bryson King’s point after attempt gave Mill Creek a 14-0 advantage. The turnover bug continued to plague the Broncos after they threw an interception right into the hands of Gerard Butler. Carter Governale added seven more to the scoreboard on an explosive run, putting the Hawks up 20-0 and the game far out of reach from Brookwood. Governale, who is a senior, has suffered two horrific ACL injuries. This game hasn’t always been the nicest to him but he faced the challenges of recov-
high school scoreboard FOOTBALL Jackson Co, 0, Jefferson 49 Mill Creek 44, Brookwood 10
SOFTBALL Jackson Co. 4, Jefferson 5
Mill Creek 9, Habersham 5
VOLLEYBALL Jackson Co. 0, Hart Co. 2 Jefferson 2, Tallulah Falls 1 Mill Creek 2, Northview 0
ery and said every touchdown is something to celebrate. “I tore my anterior cruciate ligament late in my sopho-
more year and then I tore it in summer practice last year. Everything felt good [when I was playing against Brookwood]. I’m blessed to have this opportunity. Everything has been great,” said Governale. “I scored late against Dacula [two weeks ago] and it was really emotional. See MILL CREEK, 2B
CORRECTIONS In the football preview, which was published Aug. 29, photos for Jackson County Comprehensive High School were credited to Will Fowlkes but should be credited to Strawbridge Photography. The team photo for East Jackson High School should also be credited to Strawbridge Studios. All photos taken of the Jefferson football team were by Doug Chellew.
Mill Creek Hawks steal the spotlight in cross country BY LATRICE WILLIAMS
lwilliams@clickthepaper.com
Doug Chellew The Paper
Jackson County defender Jorge Monzon (48) closes in on Jefferson’s TJ Skelton (14). Skelton scored the first touchdown of the night.
FBHS falls 35-21 to West Forsyth Wolves BY MITCH BLOMERT
Regional Staff
Flowery Branch High School knows the risks of scheduling tough teams outside the region. A 0-2 record to start the season is one of them. Last Friday, the Falcons saw a 21-21 tie with eight minutes left in the fourth quarter quickly turn into a two-touchdown deficit as West Forsyth High School scored twice in the final four minutes of the game to hold off Flowery Branch 35-21 at Falcon Field. The loss pushes Flowery Branch to 0-2 for the second consecutive sea-
son, with back-to-back losses against the same two teams from 2012. But the kind of opponents the Falcons have endured the past two weeks are hardly pushovers. And for that, head coach Chris Griffin is not ready to hit the panic button. “We knew it wasn’t going to be easy — we knew our guys were going to be put through a very difficult test,” Griffin said. “We should be 2-0 right now. We played hard, made mistakes and I felt like we were better than two weeks ago, but obviously not good enough. We’ll be fine.”
Flowery Branch shook off a 21-14 deficit at halftime and tied the game at 21 with 7:51 left to play on a 10-yard touchdown by Jeremiah Goss that reignited the Falcons’ chances. But West Forsyth responded accordingly five minutes later when a 54yard run by Gabe Pierce set up the go-ahead 3-yard touchdown run by Trevor O’Brien at the 3:54 mark. Flowery Branch suffered the costliest of its four turnovers of the night on the ensuing drive. See FLOWERY BRANCH, 2B
The Mill Creek High School boys cross country team is starting its season off similar to the way they did last year. In its first two meets, the Hawks saw three runners finish in the top 20 in the Berry College Clara Bowl Invitational on Aug. 31. In a sport where you want to start strong and finish strong, numbers mean everything and consistency is significant. Eric Westog and Tyler Woodrome have shown that through their superb times. Woodrome, who holds a state championship title in the 1600 meter run for track and field, clocked in at 16 minutes and 9
seconds. Woodrome is already lethal in his running game and if he gets under 16 minutes, the Hawks will be able to hang tough against schools like Peachtree Ridge, who has Kevin Mills who finished at 15 minutes and 34 seconds. The Lady Hawks are also on pace to give teams trouble. Lauren Hovis, who was named a National Elite for her performance in the NEGA Championships, is well under 20 minutes and could get under 18 before the end of the season. Hovis had a breakout season in track earlier this year where she finished fifth in the 3,200 meter and eighth in the 1,600 meter at state and set personal records in both events. She’s
proven she has no ceiling as she finished third at the Berry College Clara Bowl Invitational. Hannah Lopez is another runner that has a chance to break under 20 minutes and be a strong contributor. She finished in 12th place; Hovis and Lopez were the only two Lady Hawks top finish in the top 15. “Lauren Hovis ran 19:17 at NEGA and 19:23 at Berry. She is off to a great start. Lauren’s hard work last season in track and summer training is paying off. Hannah Lopez is improving and should be able to break 20:00 soon. We are trying to overcome injuries with our 3-7 runners and Erin Martz has stepped up to help us out on varsity,” said head coach Terry Brand.
MAHS tames WBHS 40-14 BY ADAM WYNN
Regional Staff
The Bulldoggs left their contest with Monroe Area High School feeling very different from last week after dropping a difficult 40-14 loss in the second week of the season. Winder Barrow High School hoped to build their first win streak in five years by taking down a very talented Monroe team, but the potent Purple Hurricane offense came in and had too much success moving the ball for Winder-Barrow to build any traction. Monroe’s touted quarterback, senior Stanton Truitt, tallied up 158 yards of total offense with two touchdown passes, but the real threat in the game was senior running back Kwan Brooks. Brooks, who had 107 yards on 16 carries and three touchdowns, kept the Bulldogg defense on their heels for the duration of the game. After the Bulldogg defense
gave up two early touchdowns to the Hurricanes, both coming on the first two possessions of the game, Monroe failed to score again that half. On their next four possessions, the Hurricanes netted -12 yards of total offense before going into half time. The third quarter opened with three consecutive turnovers on three snaps, leading to an easy Monroe touchdown after the Bulldogg offense lost a bad snap at their own 2-yard line. From there in the third quarter, Winder-Barrow’s offense came to life and pulled out a 71 yard drive lasting 14 plays and taking 6:49 off the clock that resulted in a 12-yard touchdown pass from Hunter Cooper to Chandon Sullivan. Kwan Brooks took the first snap of the next Monroe drive 65 yards on a handoff from back-up quarterback Jacob Olson into the end zone, but it was called back for a holding
penalty. The Hurricanes were deferred, but not defeated. Quarterback Stanton Truitt took the game in his hands and moved the ball 56 yards on four straight keepers, also aided by 10 yards in penalties from the Winder-Barrow defense. When Truitt positioned his team at the Bulldogg 25 yard line, Jacob Olson handed the ball off to Brooks for his second touchdown of the night. Monroe botched the snap on the point after and attempted an improvised two-point conversion, but the pass from back-up quarterback Jacob Olson fell incomplete, making the score 27-7. When Winder-Barrow’s next drive fizzled out after three consecutive plays for a loss, Monroe took advantage and extended their lead with Michael Gallup’s 47-yard reception from Truitt. See WINDER-BARROW, 2B
LOCAL FOOTBALL
local RACING
LOCAl football
Jefferson Parks and Recreation football teams will be in action this Saturday. The 9U team will be under way at noon against West Hall. Then the 12U team will face off against East Jackson at 1:30 p.m. The East Jackson Eagles will take the field at East Jackson High School. The 8U team will take on Commerce at 10:30 a.m. The 10U team will compete against Johnson at noon and the 11U team will square off against Oglethorpe at 1:30 p.m.
From Sept. 13-14, the National Auto Sport Association will make its third appearance at Road Atlanta. NASA made its third trip to Braselton back in August where Eric Palacio came out as the victor. There will be a variety of street cars including the American Iron, Spec Miata and the Thunder. New drivers will be able to take part in the Teenage Driving Survival School. Camping is allowed. Tickets will be on sale at the game for members at $10. For more information visit roadatlanta.com.
Chestatee will take on the West Jackson Panthers 6U team this Saturday at 9 a.m. Johnson and the East Jackson Eagles will also square off at 9 a.m. On Sept. 21, East Jackson and West Jackson will square off at Jackson County Comprehensive High School at 9 a.m. Two 6U teams will round out youth little league play on the last Saturday of September. Lumpkin vs. West Jackson will take place at 9 a.m. at Lumpkin County High School. Chestatee vs. East Jackson will follow at 9 a.m.
Youth football at Jefferson Parks and Rec
NASA returns to Road Atlanta
Youngsters hit the gridiron for Jackson County