This Week:
Sports Issue 30
Volume 10
From the Oconee to the Apalachee
Thursday, October 22, 2015
North Oconee
Wins
Page 4
Festival
MATTHEW CALDWELL/Oconee Leader
North Oconee High School Friday crowned Cami Grace Glass its 2015 Homecoming Queen and Antonio Quintero its Homecoming King. For the story from the Titans’ victory Friday, see page 4 and for more photos visit theoconeeleader.com.
Monroe offers high speed internet option in Oconee Fall Festival
Photos
Page 3 & online
OCAF
BY MIKE SPRAYBERRY The Oconee Leader
Oconee County citizens unable to obtain Internet service from AT&T or Charter may soon have some options from an unlikely source. The Utility Department for the City of Monroe in neighboring Walton County has recently started connecting unserved Oconee County subdivisions to the Internet. Though running fiber-optic cable to every existing development or rural home remains impractical in some situations, Brian Thompson, Electric and Telecommunications Director for the City of Monroe, explained a new wireless Internet option his department now offers that could bridge much of the gap. “It’s sort of strange,” said Thompson. “We have been in the telecommunications business since the early 1970s. We got into it for sort of the same reason we have been asked to provide Internet access in Oconee County now. We are a rural area and no one would bring cable television to Monroe. After several years of trying to
get someone to provide cable TV, our leaders just decided to do it ourselves. “In the mid 90s, our schools wanted to be fiber-optically connected and no one would do it, so we did it. In the 2000s, it was Internet access. The way we got into Oconee County was we ran a link over there for Georgia Public Web (who does networking for Georgia’s research colleges and universities) to meet up with Parker FiberNet. That happened in 2005 or 2006. We never had any visions of serving residential customers in Oconee County.” As far as Thompson was concerned, once that project was done, so was his department’s work in Oconee County. “I got a call in last year from a developer that I know that said he could not get Charter or AT&T to bring Internet access to a development in Oconee County. He knew from coming to our meetings that we have fiber in the area. I asked him what we could do for him and he actually paid to have fiber run to that subdivision. I know Oconee County commissioners, like us, have
been bombarded with requests since then.” The need for high speed internet access in Oconee County has been felt by residents in some of the more rural neighborhoods where neither Charter nor AT&T’s U-Verse are currently offered. Residents in the past have brought their concerns to the Oconee County Commission and at least in one case a man who works from home reported that he had to sell his house and move to a home where he had high speed internet access. According to Thompson, the City of Monroe ran fiber-optic cable to a new subdivision in Oconee County and would gladly run it to other new developments. However, running fiberoptic cable, particularly to existing subdivisions, is very expensive. Fortunately, Thompson came upon another option for rural customers. “We had been looking for a financially viable wireless product and about that same time, we ‘Internet’ Page 3
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Chamber honors Oconee’s teachers of the year BY ROB PEECHER
The Oconee Leader
Wine Fest
Fundraiser Page 2
Volleyball
State Tournament
Photos
See hundreds of more pictures from high school sports theoconeeleader.com
The Oconee County Chamber of Commerce last week honored the county’s teachers of the year from each of the nine public schools. Among those honored was Shawna McGrath, who was named system-wide teacher of the year. The Chamber breakfast honoring the teachers was held at Rocky Branch Elementary School, where McGrath is a third grade teacher. RBES Principal Evelyn Wages, introducing McGrath to the chamber members who attended the breakfast, commended the teacher for her dedication to making a difference not just in the school but in her community. “She has a passion for ending childhood hunger,” Wages said. Wages explained that McGrath incorporates gardening into her lessons and grows vegetables in a garden at RBES. McGrath runs a cooking club at RBES on Friday afternoons where those vegetables get incorporated into the meals. And the meals that she and her students prepare are given to families in Oconee County who need help. “That food feeds families from our community,” Wages said. In honor of McGrath, table decorations at the Chamber event included a variety of staples, including beans, rice and pasta, and
ROB PEECHER/Oconee Leader
Kay Keller, president of the Oconee County Chamber of Commerce, presents Rocky Branch Elementary School and system-wide Teacher of the Year Shawna McGrath with an award during the Chamber’s breakfast honoring teachers last week.
Wages said those staples would be donated to McGrath’s cooking club. McGrath was one of nine teachers who were recognized at the Chamber breakfast. Mischele Freeman was named Teacher of the Year at Oconee
County Primary School. Lindsay McClure was named Teacher of the Year at Colham Ferry Elementary School. Emily Libengood is the Teacher of the Year at High Shoals Elementary School. Joey Echols is the Teacher of the Year at Malcom Bridge Elementary, and Karin An-
drews is the Teacher of the Year at Oconee County Elementary School. At the two middle schools, Chris Booz was selected as Teacher of Please see ‘TOTY’ Page 2
OCAF hosts annual Wine Fest, silent auction fundraiser Page 2
Thursday, October 22, 2015
BY MIKE SPRAYBERRY The Oconee Leader
The Oconee Cultural Arts Foundation held its 16th Annual Fall Wine Fest at Ashford Manor Gardens Sunday. The sold out fundraiser showcased dozens of local and regional restaurants, wineries, bottle shops and breweries as well as both an online and a silent auction at the event. Vendors, volunteers and guests all raved about the fundraiser, the food and wine and the atmosphere. George’s Lowcountry Table from Athens was serving crawfish etouffee, a staple of the Cajun restaurant’s menu. “We’re coming up on our fifth anniversary in business and we have done the OCAF Wine Fest every year that we’ve been open,” said Sonja Disante of George’s Lowcountry Table. “It is a great little event and fundraiser. Ashford Manor is a beautiful place.” Some restaurants made a longer trek to be a part of the Wine Fest. On his first visit to the fundraiser, Brian Smith of Town 220 in Madison served lamb cornbread with red pepper jelly, duck confit Hoppin’ John and mini berry
Napoleons. “We cut steaks fresh almost every day and we get fresh seafood in every week,” said Smith. “It’s kind of French-based, but I’ll do specials with Asian flare or Southern flare.” Smith said his restaurant got considerable exposure at the event. “A lot of people got to know about the restaurant, so it was pretty nice. I’d like to do it again next year.” JabeHilson, owner of Noble Wine Cellar in Clayton, is an OCAF Wine Fest veteran, but this year was his first representing his own winery. “I’ve been in business about four months actually selling products, but winemaking is definitely an annual event that takes a full year to do,” said Hilson. “I had to make the choice to start this business over a year ago with the harvest. I work with a vineyard called Fiddler’s Ridge. I’ve actually been in the wine industry in Georgia for about nine years, so I’ve been here representing other Georgia wineries before. “I’ve always known it’s a good event, and I definitely wanted to
‘Teacher of the Year’
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MIKE SPRAYBERRY/Oconee Leader
Jabe Hilson of Noble Wine Cellar in Clayton pours a glass from his winery for a guest at Sunday’s Wine Fest.
be back to participate again. I always have a good time here. Great food and the best thing about it is that the people are so open to coming by and checking out what is going on. Everybody has been so receptive today. It’s just like every year I’ve been at it. I love getting down to Athens and the surrounding area. There’s something special about this region and area.” Victoria Poling is new to the area and was glad she stumbled
across advertisements for Wine Fest. “I’ve passed by these grounds before, but I’ve never been in here,” said Poling. “It is a beautiful fall day and we got to try a lot of restaurants that I hadn’t known about before. We just moved here from the DC area. We were driving through Watkinsville and saw some signs. We looked it up online and decided to come. I’d like to thank them for putting on such a great event.”
Anna Warren was a first time visitor to Wine Fest and was particularly happy to sample vendors from outside the county. “My husband is a member of OCAF and donated a piece to the auction,” she said. “This is my first time here. I didn’t realize it had been happening for 16 years. The food is my favorite part. I’m not a big wine person, but my husband homebrews, so he came for the beer. I came for the food! “Town 220 from Madison: I didn’t even know they existed. Oh my Lord. They had a Napoleon that was divine. It just melted in your mouth. It was really good. I like how it’s all local, but you’ve also got the restaurant from Madison and the winery from Clayton. So, it was local, but not just Oconee County.” Warren vowed to spread the word for next year. “It is such a beautiful event. We’ll definitely come next year. I highly recommend it and will bring all my friends next year. My husband said it is OCAF’s largest fundraising event and I can see why. You have the wine, the beer and the food. You can’t beat that.”
Continued from the Front
the Year at Malcom Bridge and Frances Martenson was selected as Teacher of the Year at Oconee Middle. Marie Saxon was named Teacher of the Year at North Oconee High School and Randy Landry was named Teacher of the Year at Oconee County High School. Oconee County Superintendent of Schools Jason Branch, who spoke at the breakfast last week, pointed out that each of the teachers was selected by their peers in their schools, and McGrath was selected by teachers across the system. “These are the best of the best in a system ROB PEECHER/Oconee Leader known for world class educators,” Branch Oconee County’s teachers of the year for 2015 (left to right): Marie Saxon, Joey Echols, Lindsay McClure, Karin Andrews, said. “And we know that it’s true that the Shawna McGrath, Francis Martenson, Chris Booz, Mischele Freeman. Not pictured: Randy Landry and Emily Libengood. best teachers make the greatest impact.”
Thursday, October 22, 2015
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Page 3
Downtown trick-or-treating in Watkinsville will be held on October 30 this year BY MIKE SPRAYBERRY The Oconee Leader
photos by ROB PEECHER/Oconee Leader
Thousands of people crowded into Watkinsville Saturday for the 41st annual Oconee Fall Festival sponsored by the Oconee County Chamber of Commerce, and the day couldn’t have been more perfect for the annual event. Whether it was an opportunity to see old friends or do some early Christmas shopping or just sample some of the traditional festival fare, the cool temperatures and sunshine made for a perfect day, according to Chamber President Kay Keller. Pictured above: Leigh Anne Kane and 18-month old Tanner enjoyed funnel cake and visiting with friends during the Fall Festival in Watkinsville this past weekend. For a gallery of images from the Festival, visit the oconeeleader.com.
Oconee County Fall Festival
Mike Sprayberry is a reporter for The Oconee Leader.
‘Internet’ stumbled across a great company with a great product at a small price.” The City of Monroe’s wireless Internet option involves a partnership with Walton EMC by which Walton EMC replaces some of their existing poles with taller ones on top of which the City of Monroe can then install wireless Internet facilities, providing wireless Internet access to surrounding areas. “It took five months to figure out how to do that safely,” said Thompson. “We came up with the process, we’ve done one project there and we are moving on to others. We are speaking to the Oconee County Commission later this month to give them an update. “We are always looking to expand our network. It is cheap and
Oconee County trick or treaters can get a head start on stockpiling candy Friday, October 30 in downtown Watkinsville. Local businesses and county government departments are planning to hand out candy to hundreds of children from 4 to 6 p.m. as Watkinsville goes trick-or-treating. “Typically, what happens is that the merchants downtown will have candy outside or trick or treaters can come into the businesses and get candy,” said Alex Perschka, Oconee County’s Assistant Director of Tourism. “We usually have several departments from the courthouse giving out candy as well at Eagle Tavern and Oconee State Bank.” More than 10 businesses are expected to participate, said Perschka, but there could be some changes to how the county government participates. “This year could be a little different with the courthouse security changes. We are asking departments to come out front of the courthouse and have tables set up. We haven’t got the details of that yet, but we are talking about it back and forth.” According to Perschka, trick or treating downtown has become a popular Halloween tradition for hundreds of Oconee County families. “I remember last year sitting in front of the Welcome Center and the trick or treaters were nonstop. We usually go through pounds and pounds of candy. It’s a lot of fun and it seems a little overwhelming, but it’s fun to see all the kids with their crazy and fun costumes.” Dover Grace Alternative Boutique is one of the businesses that will be welcoming trick or treaters on the 30th. “We participate in the Halloween festivities every year,” said owner Frances Gibson. “We love being a part of the historic downtown Watkinsville community and are always happy to see the sweet children in their costumes.” Gibson added that the store is already getting into the spirit of Halloween with some special additions to their inventory of gowns, dresses and tuxedos. “This year we even have a few fun costumes for sale in our store, including a Zombie Bride, Marilyn Monroe, a Go-Go Dancer and more.” Perschka said there are no plans for campfire activities behind Eagle Tavern like last year, but there should be plenty for children of all ages this year. “I know last year, we had a couple of high school kids,” he said. “We don’t set an age restriction or minimum. “Come out and have fun. It’s a safe place to bring the kids and let them walk around and get some candy. And, of course, it is early enough that if you want to go out trick or treating in your neighborhood after, you can. We just want to give people an added experience.”
easy revenue for the City of Monroe. My bosses understand enterprise funds and run them as a business. We are looking at this as a way to support the rest of our network, which runs from Watkinsville to Snellville. If we can help serve the unserved areas of Walton and Oconee, that is great.” Oconee County Commission Chairman Melvin Davis expressed pleasure over the options the City of Monroe may be able to provide rural Oconee County citizens. “We are pleased to have the Monroe Utility Department possibly adding Internet service to several subdivisions,” said Davis. “I think it is beneficial for the citizens of Oconee County, especially in those subdivisions. That is an option with Monroe that we
have not had before, so maybe it will meet needs and provide adequate Internet service.” Whether running fiber to subdivisions like Brookhaven or serving Morningside wirelessly (or as he calls it, “Fiber Light”), Thompson said there should eventually be an option for most residential customers who currently have no options for highspeed home internet access. “If you can get in the right situation, you can serve 85 to 95 percent of customers in a financially viable way,” he said. “Now that we’ve turned some on in Oconee County, everybody wants it tomorrow. It takes time and we are a small shop. We never build anything we can’t support and we work within a budget, but we plan to expand in Oconee.” Still, the “Fiber Light” wireless
Continued from the Front
Internet option has limitations, particularly geographically, if a customer is in a low-lying area or there are too many trees between their residence and the access point. Thompson, himself living in a rural part of Walton County, can only get satellite Internet service at his home at this point. For those customers it can serve, Thompson said the wireless product is “bidirectional.” Where fiber options might offer 50, 60 or 100 mbps downstream and 2 to 15 mbps upstream, Monroe’s bidirectional wireless signal offers the same speeds downstream as upstream. Typically, Thompson said they sell 10 mbps downstream by 10 mbps upstream, 15 by 15 or 25 by 25, but they can also build custom links as high as 125 by 125 if customers are willing to pay for
more. “Bidirectional speed makes the experience,” said Thompson. “Everything leaving you goes away as fast as the stuff coming to you. These are direct point to point links, really pretty much unshared links.” Those virtually unshared links and the faster upstream signal have made the customer experience surprisingly fast for some. Thompson said that some customers insisting on 25 by 25 service were thrilled with the results at cheaper, lower speeds. “I suggest everyone start with the lowest priced option just to see if it would work. I do not want to oversell the customer. I want them to be able to pay their bill. If they don’t like it, all it takes is a couple of keystrokes to bump them up.”
This Week:
Warriors
Homecoming win for Titans WARRIORS TITANS SPARTANS WOLVERINES LIONS
Softball
Advances Page 5
The Oconee Leader
Advances Page 5
Titans
MATTHEW CALDWELL/Oconee Leader
North Oconee’s Saajan Patel celebrates after his interception return for a touchdown in the third quarter of last week’s 20-0 win against White County. For more pictures, see theoconeeleader.com.
North Oconee 20, White County 0
For photos of the GeorgiaMissouri football game, see www.theoconeeleader.com.
Oconee County clinches playoff berth for 2nd straight year The Warriors trailed Morgan County after the first quarter and at halftime but the Warriors were ahead when it mattered. Oconee County scored 19 unanswered points in the second half and defeated Morgan County 26-13 to improve to 6-1 overall and 3-0 in Region 8-AAA. With the win, the Warriors officially clinched a playoff berth. Jefferson is 4-0 in the region. Elbert County and Hart County are both 2-1. Morgan County is 1-2. The Bulldogs led 7-0 after the first quarter but the Warriors tied the game two minutes into the second quarter. The Bulldogs retook the lead and led 13-7 at halftime. On the opening drive of the third quarter, the Warriors tied the game at 13-13 and later took a 20-13 lead on a touchdown by Tyler Davis. With less than three minutes left in the game, the defense recovered a fumble in the end zone to seal the win. Next up for the Warriors is a game at Hart County on Friday night. Hart County beat Jackson County 41-24 last week. Their only region loss came on September 25 against Elbert County.
Volleyball
Online
High school football roundup
BY MATTHEW CALDWELL
Spartans
North Oconee dominated Redan 3-0 in the first round of the Class AAAA state volleyball tournament last Wednesday. The Lady Titans won 25-1, 25-4, 259 to advance to this week’s second round. Emma Boughner had five kills and one block. Makenzie Perry had four kills, eight aces and five digs. Sami Gascho had seven aces, 13 assists and one block. Kiersten Chambers had six aces, two kills and two digs. Lizzy Aldrich had four kills, four aces and four digs. Madison Thomas had three aces and three digs. The Lady Titans played at NW Whitfield earlier this week. NW Whitfield was the No. 1 seed from Region 7AAAA.
Thursday, October 22, 2015
Defense posts first shutout, Titans improve to 3-1 in Region 8-AAAA BY MATTHEW CALDWELL The Oconee Leader
North Oconee went into last Friday night’s homecoming game against White County looking for its first win at home this season. The defense made sure they got it. The Titans defense recorded three interceptions, including one returned for a touchdown, and recovered a fumble in their 20-0 win against the Warriors. “That gives us so much confidence going into the end of the season,” said senior Saajan Patel, who had one of the interceptions. “Going into the playoffs, our defense needs to play good if we want to go deep into the playoffs.” It was their first shutout this season. “They played real well last week and should have had a shutout. A guy went for a pick and misjudged it and they took it to the house for a touchdown. It could have been two in a row,” said head coach Terry Tuley. “As coaches you are never satisfied with what could have, would have, should have. But the bottom line is we didn’t get it. They got it this week. They knew about it and they were protecting it. They played really hard.” With the Titans already up 7-0 thanks to Morgan Maddox’s 12yard touchdown run on their first drive of the game, Joey Albright hauled in the first interception for the Titans. He picked off the pass
Prince Avenue Christian football
A 42-point first half helped propel the Wolverines past Towns County 42-14 last Friday night at Brad Akins Field. The Wolverines improved to 8-0 overall and 6-0 in Region 8-A. They are currently the only team with a zero in the loss column with two games left in the regular season. Andrew Hayes had the opening score with a 28-yard touchdown run. Kevon Hudson added a 60-yard touchdown run and a 4-yard touchdown run to take a 21-0 lead. Landon Dover’s 30-yard return on a blocked kick gave the Warriors a 28-0 lead in the first quarter. In the second quarter, Jordan Hightower added a 57-yard touchdown run and Dover caught a 31-yard touchdown pass from Grant Roland to give the Wolverines a 42-0 lead at halftime. Jared Pringle was 6-for-6 on PATs. Going into last week’s game, the Wolverines were the No. 1 team in the Class A private school power rankings. The Wolverines don’t play on Friday night. They host Lakeview on October 30. Lakeview is 2-5 overall and 1-4 in the region.
Athens Academy football
MATTHEW CALDWELL/Oconee Leader
Morgan Maddox had a 12-yard touchdown run on the Titans’ first drive of the game last Friday.
on the first play of the second quarter. Mils Eisenberg recovered a fumble with 3:18 left in the second quarter at the Warriors’ 47. That turnover set up a 27-yard field goal by Simon Clarke with :09 left in the half, and the Titans led 10-0 at halftime. Patel picked a good time to record his first varsity touchdown. On third-and-nine, the Warriors went for a pass they had success on earlier in the game but Patel stepped in front of the receiver, intercepted the pass and returned it 15 yards for a touchdown and a 17-0 lead with 2:49 left in the third quarter.
“They ran the play on the last series and 23 got about 20 yards. My coach told me to watch for that play. I saw them motion over and the ball ended up in my hands,” Patel said. “It felt good.” Clarke added a 35-yard field goal with 4:28 left in the game. “We ran the ball good. By in large we threw the ball well. Just pretty well balanced across the board,” Tuley said. “Still frustrated with some of our stupid mistakes. White is a very aggressive football team. They will challenge your temper some‘Titans football’ Page 6
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The Spartans got back in the win column last Friday night with a 41-10 win against Lakeview to improve to 6-1 overall and 4-1 in Region 8-A. Drew Richardson had an 11-yard touchdown run and a 1-yard touchdown run in the first half. Will Corry had a 1-yard touchdown run in the second quarter to give the Spartans a 20-0 lead. Lakeview cut the lead to 20-10 at halftime but the Spartans responded in the second half. Corry had an 11-yard touchdown run to take a 27-10 lead. Richardson added a 13-yard touchdown run for a 34-10 lead, and Matt Moseley’s 46-yard touchdown pass to Owen Roberts capped the scoring with :40 left in the third quarter. The Spartans have three games left this season – Friday night at Providence Christian, October 30 against Hebron Christian and November 6 at George Walton. Going into last week’s game, the Spartans were 10th in the Class A private school power ratings.
Page 5
Oconee County softball
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Volleyball
Thursday, October 22, 2015
No power failure for Lady Warriors offense Lady Spartans sweep, advance to second round in first-round sweep against Pepperell BY MATTHEW CALDWELL
BY MATTHEW CALDWELL
The Oconee Leader
The Oconee Leader
Down 6-1 against Pepperell going to the bottom of the fifth and looking at a one-game deficit in the first round of the Class AAA state softball tournament, the Oconee County Lady Warriors’ bats came alive. Not even a lights failure in game two, which caused the game to be moved from last Wednesday evening to last Thursday afternoon, could stop the Lady Warriors. Including three runs that didn’t count in the first attempt to play game two, the Lady Warriors outscored Pepperell 22-1 starting with their at-bat in the bottom of the fifth and they won game one 11-7 and won game two 9-0 to advance to the sweet 16. “We became a little bit more patient at the plate. Jessie hitting the home run (in the bottom of the third to make the score 3-1 Pepperell), even though we didn’t do much right after that, that made them realize she was hittable. Then it was just a matter of one or two got a couple of hits and the next thing you know, it kind of rolled from there,” said head coach Bryan Eades. “I told them today we are the visitors and just like last night, if we can get on top of them, they are going to start feeling a little bit of pressure because they are down one game to none and they realize they will have to win this game. If we can get the lead, that will benefit us greatly and rarely does a plan come together, but this one did.” Pepperell loaded the bases in the top of the first inning of game one but didn’t score, and had baserunners at second and third in the top of the second but didn’t score. The Lady Dragons took a 3-0 lead in the top of the third but Michael got the Lady Warriors on the board with a solo home run in the bottom of the inning. “We had gotten the scouting report this girl liked to throw outside and she didn’t like to throw some changeups,” Michael said. “The first inning she threw some changeups and kind of messed us up a little bit because we had three strikeouts. I stepped up and looked for the outside pitch. I knew I was going to put it away to right field. She threw me one and I turned on it and hit it over.”
MATTHEW CALDWELL/Oconee Leader
Maura Grace Dickens was greeted by her teammates at home plate following her home run in game one. For more photos, see theoconeeleader.com.
Pepperell came back and scored three runs in the top of the fourth to take a 6-1 lead. The Lady Dragons had the bases loaded in the top of the fifth and looked to take a lead large enough to end game one because of the run-rule, but they did not score in the lead remained 6-1. Hannah Manders and Roni Payne had back-toback bloop singles to start the bottom of the fifth inning. They advanced on a sacrifice bunt by Ansley Hart, and Chloe Fambrough knocked in Manders with a single. Two batters later, Maura Grace Dickens knocked in Payne and Fambrough to cut the lead to 6-4. Kaitlyn Corral, running for Michael, scored on a single by Morgan Tyler. Dickens and Hannah Patridge scored on a hit by McKenzie Pollack to take a 7-6 lead. Tyler scored on a squeeze play by Manders. “The bottom of our lineup came through for us,” Michael said. “McKenzie Pollack, Hannah Manders and Morgan Tyler all hit the best I have seen them hit this year. It helped us get some momentum going for the top of the lineup to get them in. We didn’t have a weakness in our lineup. It really helped us.” The Lady Warriors added to the lead in the bottom of the sixth with three runs – all with two outs. Dickens got the scoring going with a home run to take a 9-6
lead. Patridge and Tyler followed with hits. Patridge scored on a wild pitch and Tyler scored on a single by Manders to take an 11-6 lead. Pepperell scored on a two-out single in the top of the seventh but Michael got the final batter to fly out to Dickens in centerfield to end the game. The Lady Warriors were the “visiting” team in game two and they jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the second inning. Between innings, the lights went out and they couldn’t get them back on. The game restarted from the beginning the following day. “They cheered yesterday when they called the game,” Michael said. “We said,‘No, we are still going to score,’ and we did. “We had put that pitcher in a place mentally that every one of us was hot. To have those three runs was looking good for us that game. We had just beat them and mentally that is hard to come back from as a team knowing you have to win two more. I was unhappy we weren’t going to be able to keep those runs but I knew coming back today, our team was hitting the best they have ever hit in their life and I had confidence they knew they were going to walk up there and hit just as well today.” They didn’t get three runs in the second inning the following day but the Lady Warriors got on the board with a run in the top of the
second with an RBI-single by Pollack. They got five more runs in the top of the third inning to take a 6-0 lead. Payne and Hart scored on an error by the third baseman off a hit by Michael. Corral, running for Michael, scored on a double by Patridge for a 4-0 lead. Dickens and Patridge scored on a double by Pollack for a 6-0 lead. Payne singled to start the fourth inning and she later scored on a single by Michael for a 7-0 lead. The Lady Warriors defense had back-to-back double plays in the fourth and fifth innings. First baseman Lauren Murphy caught a liner and tagged first base to end the fourth inning. Patridge at shortstop fielded a groundball, stepped on second base and threw to Murphy at first for an inning-ending double play to end the fifth. Hannah Patridge had a couple of big plays. Lauren played well at first. Our outfield made the plays they normally make. McKenzie played well behind the plate. That’s what you’ve got to have in the playoffs,” Eades said. “If you give up zero runs, you have a chance to win most of them. If we can get that pitching and defense, then it takes that pressure off our offense and we don’t have to score nine or 11. We can score three, four or five and still have a chance to win. Our defense stepped up Please see ‘OCHS softball’ Page 6
The Athens Academy Lady Spartans opened their run in the Class A state volleyball tournament last Thursday with a 3-0 (2513, 25-8, 25-9) win against Whitefield Academy at home. “We were happy to be here at home and happy to be at home next week. It was fun for them to host a playoff match and it gave us a little bit of confidence going into the next round,” said head coach Jane Thomas. Nancy Hansford had four aces and two digs. Ali Garrett had two aces and six digs. MacKenzie Ferguson had two blocks and two kills. Julia Harisay had six kills and two blocks. M.E. Eberhardt had five kills and 20 assists. Malia Busenitz had five kills and four digs. Sydney Williams had nine digs and eight kills. Madison Anderson had two kills. “I think they are playing well but we still have room to grow and build. Hopefully we will do that in the next match and hopefully further,” Thomas said. “We are taking it one at a time.” When the Lady Spartans
Volleyball
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For photos of the match, see www.theoconeeleader.com.
won the region championship earlier this month with a win against defending region and state champion Hebron Christian, that clinched the school’s 199th overall area/region championship. It was also the volleyball team’s first area title since 2011. “That was great. It has been a few years and they were excited. That was a big boost for us going into this. We were excited about that,” Thomas said. “We played well. It was a good morale boost for us to come back and redeem ourselves from last year.” The Lady Spartans faced off against Eagles Landing Christian Academy in the second round earlier this week. The Lady Spartans saw their season end last year in the second round to Eagles Landing Christian. “We are excited to be here at our own home court,” Thomas said. “We have some preparation to do to get ready because it will just get tougher each week. We have to prepare and get ready.”
No problems for Oconee in first-round sweep BY MATTHEW CALDWELL The Oconee Leader
The first round of the Class AAA state volleyball tournament was no problem for the Oconee County Lady Warriors. Playing at home, the reigning Region 8-AAA champions soundly defeated South Atlanta 3-0 (25-3, 25-3, 25-5) to advance to the Sweet 16. “I thought we kept our focus really well. It was nice to get everybody playing and rest our injured players,” said head coach Steffi Legall. “Maggie has been hurt and Rachel has an ankle injury where she will have to have reconstructive surgery in a couple of weeks. We are trying to manage all of that. It was good we were able to rest them and for everybody else to play and play sharp. That’s what they do in practice. It was great to see we don’t lose a beat no matter who plays and in what position they play. I was proud of them to maintain their focus throughout the whole match.” Riley Tolbert had five kills and three digs. Brittney Wen-
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rich had five kills and three digs. Erin Brown had seven kills and four digs. Azlynn Harder had four kills. Claire Eiteman had four kills and two digs. Caroline Jansen had four kills and three aces. Ansley McClain had 22 assists, 21 aces and two digs. Abigail Greene had three aces. Emily Boswell had 11 digs, three aces and 11 digs. Marianne Mitchell had six digs. The Lady Warriors hosted West Hall earlier this week in the second round. Every team from Region 8AAA advanced past the first round. Legall said the region championship gave her team some confidence heading into the state tournament. “It was a confidence booster. I could tell when the girls came to practice yesterday they felt good about themselves,” Legall said. “They were excited to keep practicing and keep playing. We will see how far it can take us this year.”
Thursday, October 22, 2015
First region title for WCA volleyball
Contributed photo
The Westminster Christian Lady Lions defeated Shiloh and Providence Christian and won the GICAA Division II region championship last Friday. It’s the program’s first region championship. The Lady Lions had 45 aces and served at 94 percent accuracy against Shiloh. Morgan Britt had a 10-point serving run in game one and Alex Shannon had a 13-point serving run in game two. Against Providence Christian, nine players earned at least one kill. The team had 29 total kills, with 14 of them coming from Britt. Mary Ford had 19 assists and eight aces. Seventh-grader Abi Shannon had her first varsity kill. With the region title, the Lady Lions go into Saturday’s state tournament as a No. 1 seed.
‘OCHS softball’
today, which was big.” Pepperell loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the sixth. After a meeting at the mound, Michael got the next two batters to strike out to end the threat. “We don’t want to give the other team hope and when they got the bases loaded, they were starting to feel a little bit of hope,” Eades said. “That’s when I went to the circle. I said they are starting to think they might can come back. We need to shut this down. I was willing to give up a run but Jessie took care of it.” The Lady Warriors went out in the top of the seventh and added a pair of runs. Michael and Dickens started the inning with a
Lady Wolverines win fourth straight region title
Contributed photo
With their 9-0 win against George Walton and 11-3 win against Athens Christian, the Prince Avenue Christian Lady Wolverines clinched their fourth straight Region 8-A championship. It is the sixth region crown in program history. The Lady Wolverines, who have finished runner-up in each of the last three Class A private school state tournaments, began their quest in this year’s state tournament this week as the No. 3 seed. They hosted Fellowship Christian, the No. 14 seed. Brookstone is ranked No. 1 and Eagles Landing Christian is ranked No. 2. Fellowship Christian is 12-11 overall and went 8-10 in Region 6-A.
Lady Titans advance to sweet 16
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single and double, respectively. Corral, running for Michael, scored on an error and Dickens scored on a fielder’s choice. The Lady Warriors, the No. 2 seed from Region 8AAA, improved to 15-15 overall but they were one of the three teams from their region to advance to the second round. Jefferson was the only team from the region that didn’t advance after losing in three games to Central-Carrollton. “We played a very tough schedule. Our region is very tough. Having this tough region and playing this tough schedule, we
‘Titans football’
times with some of the stuff that goes on. We almost got caught a couple of times in that second guy always gets caught routine. Other than that, I felt good.” Next up for the Titans is a road game against threetime defending state champion Buford. “We have the elephant in the room. Buford is what they are,” Tuley said. “We are going to go play. It gives us a lot more notoriety across the state if you beat people of that caliber. It would be a big, big win in that concept. We are going to preach that. We finally got above .500. It’s been a long climb. It is nice to be
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knew we were better than this team,” Eades said. “We competed against a lot better teams than that and we beat better teams than that. But it’s just a matter of going out there and executing and playing. Once we saw that we could do that, it steamrolled from there.” The Lady Warriors played Blessed Trinity earlier this week in the second round with a berth in the Elite Eight on the line. “I have confidence if we keep hitting like this and our defense is as sharp as it was today, there isn’t anybody we can’t beat,” Michael said. “If we stay relaxed and stay confidence, we will be able to win against anyone and keep making the Oconee name proud.”
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on that side of it. We have some things that are looming ahead besides Buford that are very important. We need to finish this thing strong.” The Titans are 4-3 overall and 3-1 in Region 8AAAA. They sit behind Buford and Stephens County, who are both 4-0 in the region and 6-1 overall. The Titans play Stephens County at home October 30. North Hall is fourth in the region at 2-2 with games against Monroe Area (1-3 region), Chestatee (04 region) and White County (1-3 region) left. Stephens County has games against Madison County (1-4 re-
gion), North Oconee and Buford left on its schedule. North Oconee closes the season at Madison County on November 6. Since becoming eligible, the Titans have never missed the playoffs. “That is what has been on everyone’s mind. We don’t want to be the first team to not make the playoffs at North Oconee, but I think we will make the playoffs,” Patel said. “Buford will be a tough one to win but I think we can. With Stephens, I think we have a good chance. It’s home and our senior night. It will be our last home game until playoffs. I think we have Madison in the bag.”
Contributed photo
With their 7-2 win in game one and 7-6 win in game two, the North Oconee Lady Titans defeated Carrollton, the No. 1 seed from Region 5-AAAA, to advance to the Sweet 16 of the Class AAAA state tournament. The Lady Titans, the No. 4 seed from Region 8-AAAA, trailed 5-1 in the second game until the bottom of the fifth inning. They scored six runs, including a grand slam by Autumn McCullough, to take a 7-5 lead. Carrollton cut the lead to one run in the top of the sixth. The Lady Titans played at Eastside this week with a berth in the Elite Eight on the line. Eastside is the No. 3 seed from Region 4-AAAA and defeated Cook County in the first round.
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PR OFESSIONAL
A Guide to Professional Services in the Oconee County Area To Advertise: Phone 706.549.FAST Activities
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