For hundreds of photos and updates about Oconee events and people, go to theoconeeleader. com
This Week: Calendar Get ready - Costume Swap is Coming: 10 a.m. Thursday, Oconee County Library, 1080 Experiment Station Road, Watkinsville. Get ready for the Oconee County Library’s Costume Swap on Saturday, Oct. 1! Bring in your costumes you want to swap now, and come back in October to pick out a new one for free. We also accept costume donations and are in need of costumes for older children. Free and open to the public. For more information, please call (706) 769-3950 or visit www.athenslibrary.org/ oconee. TOPS weight loss: 7 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Government Annex Building, Highway 15, Watkinsville. Meetings are held each Thursday. TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly) is a nonprofit support group for weight loss. Members can share challenges, successes, or goals, hear a brief program and discuss plans for the week. (800) 932-8677 or www. tops.org. First Friday on Main: 6 p.m. Friday, Downtown Watkinsville, Main Street, Watkinsville. Searching for fun and free entertainment for the whole family this Friday night? Look no futher than Main Street! Every first Friday from April through December, downtown Watkinsville rolls out the red carpet for families to come out and enjoy activities the whole family participate in. From free tractor hay rides, inflatables, shows and popcorn for the kids, to outdoor music, great shopping and quality restaurants for Mom and Dad, there is something for everyone. Themes include Summer Mania (June 3), Independence Day Fireworks at Oconee Veterans Park (July 1), Dog Days of Summer (Aug. 5), Football Fever (Sept. 2), Fall Fun Fest (Oct. 7), Puppet Show (Nov. 4) and the Tree Lighting (Dec. 2). Free. www.watkinsvillefirstfriday.com/ Oconee Farmers Market: 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Oconee County Courthouse, 23 N Main Street, Watkinsville. The market is open rain-or-shine on Saturdays through the last Saturday in November. Located in front of the courthouse in downtown Watkinsville. Library Card Scavenger Hunt!: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, Monday, Wednesday, Bogart Library, 200 South Burson Avenue, Bogart. It’s Library Card SignUp Month! Celebrate YOUR library card with a family fun library scavenger hunt at the Bogart Library! Drop by during library hours, pick up a form and win a free prize for participating. Learn more about your library, too!. Stuffed Animal Sleepover: 2 p.m. Saturday, Oconee County Please see EVENTS
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Issue 35
Volume 11
From the Oconee to the Apalachee
Thursday, September 1, 2016
Candidates to field questions 3 seeking vacant commission seat
man of the board of commissioners. The election is officially a special election, but voting will be on Nov. 8, the same day as the general election. Current Chairman Melvin Davis announced earlier this year that he would not run again. His term expires at the end of the year. Also scheduled to appear at the
forum is Oconee County School Superintendent Jason Branch, who will talk about another ballot item, the special purpose local option sales tax. The school board is asking voters to extend the 1 percent sales tax an additional five years to fund school
The grill of victory: BBQ team takes first prize
Plenty of pottery up for sale in Oconee
Lee Shearer
TheOconeeLeader.com
Three men vying for a vacant seat on the Oconee County Commission will answer questions in a forum Sept. 15 at the community
center in Oconee County’s Veterans Park. Ben Bridges, 50, a business manager; Marcus Wiedower, 40, a construction manager; and Chuck Horton, 61, director of parking services for Athens-Clarke County, are running for the Post 2 seat left vacant when John Daniell stepped down to run unopposed for chair-
Please see FORUM
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Hilary Butschek
TheOconeeLeader.com
SPECIAL The Ricky Bobby BBQ team from Watkinsville garnered first place in the backyard grilling competition at the Classic City BBQ Festival held Aug. 20 at The Classic Center in Athens. Members of the winning team are, from left, Shawn Burns, Chip Chandler, James Smith, Chris Chandler, Karson Burns and Adam Thompson. The competition was sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbecue Society, which judged the barbecue presented by the various teams. The team won a top prize of $1,000. This was the third year the Ricky Bobby team had competed in the festival.
Dems plan social for lawmaker Staff Reports
The Oconee County Democratic Party will host an “Afternoon with Abrams,” an event planned to introduce local residents to Stacey Abrams, the minority leader for the Georgia House of Representatives. The ice cream social is set for Sept. 18 at 3 p.m. in the pavilion of Oconee Veterans Park on Hog Mountain Road. The New York Times recently named Abrams as “one of 14 young Democrats to watch” and described her as a “lawmaker of extraordinary distinction.” Abrams is the first woman and the first African-American to lead the Georgia House. After her election in the 89th District seat in 2006, Abrams rose rapidly to minority leader. She is known for her expertise and ability to explain complicated tax and legal questions, and she has a reputation for working across party lines to
“The public is invited to meet this inspiring, on-therise elected official whose bright future means Georgia’s future looks brighter, too, with people of her caliber working on our behalf.” Margaret Holt, chairwoman of the Oconee Democratic Committee, on state House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams, above.
pass legislation, according to a release from the Democratic Party. Abrams is a graduate of Spelman College and the Yale Law School.
The biggest pottery show in the Southeast, with about 7,500 pieces for sale, opened last weekend. The Oconee Cultural Arts Foundation’s pottery show, “Perspectives: Georgia Pottery Invitational,” is 14 years old and the longest-running of its kind in the state. The sale is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Sept. 14 with free admission and parking at the Oconee Cultural Arts Foundation in Watkinsville. It will draw a crowd of about 6,000 people, said Cindy Farley, director of OCAF. “We have people come in from all over. Some people will call us months ahead asking for the dates of ‘Perspectives’ so they can plan their vacation around it,” she said. The show features 50 potters chosen by a committee of volunteers each year. Applications for next year’s show are open, Farley said. Three areas house the pottery sale. Rocket Hall holds work from most of the chosen potters. “That’s the gym, and that’s where all the functional pieces will be, including vases, plates, casseroles and things like that,” Farley said. In the Hall Gallery, an exhibition called “Atomic Clay” by Michael Klapthor will show clay robot sculptures. In the Members’ Gallery, “Ameri can Ceramic Masters” are on display. “This is work that was produced by people who Please see POTTERY
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She has written both scholarly articles and romantic suspense novels, Please see ABRAMS
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Brodrick joins bank’s board of directors Staff Reports
Oconee State Bank announced recently that Brian J. Brodrick has joined the company’s board of directors. “We are pleased to have Brian join our board,” Oconee State Bank Interim President and CEO Jerry Wages said. “He is very active in the communities served by the bank and brings to the board a keen business knowl-
edge, which will enhance the bank’s commitment to provide stability and value as a locally-owned community bank.” Brodrick currently serves as manager of the Athens office at Jackson Spalding, one of the largest Brodrick marketing communications agencies in the Southeast. Brodrick and his wife, Susan Wells Brodrick, have three children.
“Citizens, businesses and civic organizations in Oconee County and across the region have counted on Oconee State Bank for more than 50 years,” Brodrick said. “I am honored to work with the bank’s management and other board members to continue that tradition.” Brodrick has been a Watkinsville city councilman since 2003. He is a Please see BANK
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Photo by CINDY FARLEY Pottery by Amy Roberson will be featured at the “Perspectives” show.
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Pilot Club picks members for executive board
SPECIAL The Pilot Club of Oconee County recently elected members for the executive board for the upcoming year. Standing from left, are Judy Marable, Cathy Moorehead, Rosa Hall; seated from left, June McKenzie, Donna McPherson (President), Joy Elder. Those not present were Lavonne Lockwood and Bebe Reed. The club meets the first Tuesday of each month at the Watkinsville First Christian Church where its major civic work is promoting awareness of brain safety and brain-related disorders.
Chief deputy now certified as master firearms instructor that very few people earn,” Oconee County Sheriff Oconee County Sheriff’s Scott Berry said. Besides instructing Chief Deputy Lee Weems recently received his certi- law enforcement officers, Weems has provided fication as a master firearms education to firearms instructor the public. from the Georgia As“He does a lot of sociation of Law Enthings to educate citiforcement Firearms zens, not only about Instructors. shooting and how to Weems, who was Weems shoot, but when to also re-elected to shoot and what is the law. He the board of directors for the organization, has been does an excellent job,” Berry with the sheriff’s office in said. The association is a nonhis chief deputy role since profit organization open to March 2009. “That is an extremely dif- those involved in the trainficult certification to earn. ing of law enforcement perThat’s quite an achievement sonnel. Staff Reports
School Council schedule set
Oconee County High School recently released the schedule for the 2016-17 School Council meetings, which are held at noon each time in the school’s conference room. The scheduled dates are Sept. 8, Dec. 8, Feb. 9 and April 13. The principal at each school is on the council, along with teachers, business representatives and parents.
Abrams
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the latter under the pen name of Selena Montgomery. A native of Hattiesburg, Miss., her family moved to Atlanta in 1989. She was a speaker at the recent National Democratic Convention. “The public is invited to
meet this inspiring, on-therise elected official whose bright future means Georgia’s future looks brighter, too, with people of her caliber working on our behalf.” Margaret Holt, Chairwoman of the Oconee Democratic Committee, said.
Forum
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building, infrastructure such as computer technology and similar one-time expenditures. The school board has not released a list of projects it would spend the money on, but Branch said a new elementary school will be part of the mix. School officials also say they need expanded administrative facilities for the fastgrowing school system. Organizers of the forum also invited people for and against two alcohol questions on the ballot – whether to allow Sunday sales by the drink, and whether to allow package sales of beer and wine. Package sales of liquor are not legal in Oconee County.
Bank
Activists Sarah Bell, Russ Page and Lee Becker organized the forum. Becker, a UGA journalism professor, also writes about Oconee County news on his Oconee County Observations blog. According to Becker’s news release on the forum, the organizers will record the forum on video and post it on Oconee County Observations. The deadline for voter registration is Oct. 11, and early voting begins Oct. 17 for the Nov. 8 election. If none of the three commission candidates gets a majority of the vote, a runoff would be held Dec. 6 for the two with the highest vote totals.
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founding member of the Perspectives on Progress Regional Economic Development Organization and is currently a director of several statewide organizations. He is a member of the Oconee County and Athens Area chambers of commerce and was 2012 chairman of the Athens chamber. He is also a graduate of Leadership Oconee and Leadership Georgia. Brodrick, a 1993 graduate of Oconee County High School, received a bachelor’s degree from Berry College, majoring in communications and minoring in business administration. Other members of the bank’s board are Chairman Doug Dickens, Presi-
dent, Dickens Farms, Inc.; Vice Chair Virginia S. Wells, President & CEO, Wells & Company Realtors, Inc.; Jerry K. Wages, Interim President & Chief Executive Officer, Oconee State Bank; G. Robert Bishop, Retired, Georgia Department of Natural Resources; Jimmy L. Christopher, Retired Certified Public Accountant; Mack H. Guest, III, President of LAD Logistics, Inc., LAD Truck Lines, Inc., Dutch Properties, LLC and Chicken Brothers Leasing, Inc.; J. Albert Hale, Sr., Owner, Hale’s Dairy; Henry C. Maxey, President, Maxey Brothers, Inc.; Tom F. Wilson, Executive Vice President & Chief Lending Officer, Oconee State Bank.
Events
Thursday, September 1, 2016
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Library, 1080 Experiment Station Road, Watkinsville. Bring a stuffed animal and come in your PJs for a special storytime, crafts, and then an exciting sleepover for your toy! Your toy will spend the night at the library and have some awesome adventures. Then, you can come back the next day to pick up your toy and find out what they did! All ages. Free and open to the public. For more information, please call (706) 7693950 or visit www.athenslibrary.org/oconee., 706-769-3950 Storytime: 10 and 11 a.m. Tuesday, Oconee County Library, 1080 Experiment Station Road, Watkinsville. Storytime is for preschool aged children and their caregivers. Come for stories, songs, movement, crafts, and fun! Free and open to the public. For more information, please call (706) 769-3950 or visit www.athenslibrary.org/ oconee. Lego Club: 4 p.m. Tuesday and Wedesday, Oconee County Library, 1080 Experiment Station Road, Watkinsville. Let’s build! Join us in creating Lego art and playing Legobased activities. Lego blocks provided! Ages 3-11. Free and open to the public. For more information, please call (706) 769-3950 or visit www.athenslibrary.org/ oconee., www.athenslibrary.org/oconee Chess Club: 5 to 6 p.m. Wednesday, Oconee County Library, 1080 Experiment Station Road, Watkinsville. Interested in chess? Play at the library! All experience levels (including beginners) welcome. Ages 7 and up. All programs and events are free and open to the public.
Pottery
For more information, please call (706) 7693950 or visit www.athenslibrary.org/oconee. Positivity Power Hour: 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Oconee County Library, 1080 Experiment Station Road, Watkinsville. Come on, get happy! We’ll be spreading good vibes and focusing on happiness through art, crafts, games, and snacks. Join us as we de-stress and bring positivity to ourselves and our community! Grades 6-12. All events are free and open to the public. For more information, call (706) 769-3950 or visit www.athenslibrary.org/ oconee. Scream Free Parenting Class: 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Grace Fellowship Church of God, 1120 Malcom Bridge Rd, Bogart. Grace Fellowship Church will offer a Scream Free Parenting Class from on Wednesdays beginning Aug.10 until Oct. 26 at 6:30-8 p.m. at Grace Fellowship, 1120 Malcom Bridge Road. The cost is $15 for required workbook and childcare is FREE. Are you a screamer? Or do you employ the “Silent Treatment”? Are you looking for ways to better connect with your children? Join us for a 12 week study (DVD, discussion, exercises) designed to equip you for your most important job…PARENTING! Led by Scream Free Parenting Certified Leader, Wendy Fletcher-Clements. To register (required), visit http://graceathens. com/connect/details/ scream-free-parenting/ or for more info. call the church at (706) 7694001. $15., 706-7694001, graceathens. com/connect/details/ scream-free-parenting/
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have inspired others. It’s really a rare opportunity to see work of this quality in northeast Georgia,” Farley said. Rick Berman, who curated the exhibition, said the artwork is recognizable to many. “All of the artists in this exhibition have risen to great heights for many, many reasons. One being that they have taught and inspired literally thousands of young clay artists for many decades, and two, they have no doubt paved the way for the entire studio ceramics profession,” Berman said in a statement about the exhibition. Every year the pottery show brings new attention to the craft, Farley said. “We always get an in-
creased interest from people wanting to learn pottery for the first time,” Farley said. OCAF offers classes in pottery, which begin in October. Information can be found online at ocaf. com. The potters invited to sell their work at the show are masters of the craft. “I’m a potter myself,” Farley said. “When I see the show, I look at the work and the finishes and it’s just amazing to me. It teaches me how to look at my own work.” The event is run and planned by many volunteers as the OCAF has only two employees. “We will log hundreds, maybe even 1,000 volunteer hours,” Farley said.
Photo by CINDY FARLEY A piece of pottery by Barry Gregg.
Thursday, September 1, 2016
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Friday night sights: Football is back
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Bank throwing picnic to honor local law officers Staff Reports
Photos by MATTHEW CALDWELL
BankSouth is hosting a picnic in November as a way to honor and support law enforcement officers in Oconee County. The picnic is scheduled from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. Nov. 5 at BankSouth, 7911 Macon Highway, Watkinsville. Tickets are on sale now for a $10 donation. The event includes lunch and live entertainment with the donations going to the Georgia Chapter of Concerns of Police Survivors Inc., a nonprofit group supporting the families of law officers killed in the line of duty. All law enforcement officers and their immediate families are admitted free. The event will honor officers serving in Oconee County with the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office, Watkinsville Police Department, Georgia State Patrol, Georgia Bureau of Investigation and FBI. James Hunter and the Southern Pride Band, a country music group based in Oconee County, will provide live entertainment. There will be exhibits and lunch is provided by Zaxby’s, which is also sponsoring the picnic. “This is a great opportunity for the community to come together and support those who are putting their lives on the line for citizens every day,” said Bob Slocum, Watkinsville market manager at BankSouth. “Their work often goes unrecognized, and this community picnic is just a small token of our appreciation.” “Given the current environment, I am overwhelmed with this outpouring of support by the community. Our officers and staff are really excited about this appreciation picnic,” Sheriff Scott Berry said. For more information or tickets contact Lorie Petersen at lpetersen@banksouth.com or Bob Slocum at (706) 769-8200 or bslocum@banksouth.com.
For hundreds of photos and updates about Oconee events and people, go to theoconeeleader.com
This Week: WCA
WARRIORS l TITANS l SPARTANS l WOLVERINES l LIONS
September 1, 2016
Rivalry win for Oconee County Cross country
Home meet Page 5
Oconee
The Lady Warriors celebrate their 6-3 win against North Oconee on Thursday.
MATTHEW CALDWELL/Oconee Leader
Four-run fifth inning, Patridge home run and defense, lifts Lady Warriors to 6-3 win against North Oconee Football
Wins opener Page 6
Online
Story, photo gallery
Athens Academy vs. North Oconee volleyball theoconeeleader.com
Online
By Matthew Caldwell
More online...
TheOconeeLeader.com
Down 3-2 going to the bottom of the fifth inning last Thursday, Oconee County got a two-run home run from Hannah Patridge that gave the Lady Warriors a lead they didn’t relinquish against Highway 53 rival North Oconee. The Lady Warriors added two more runs in the bottom of the fifth to take a 6-3 lead, held off a rally in the top of the sixth inning and got the Lady Titans in order in the top of the seventh inning to earn the 6-3 victory and pick up their first Region 8-AAAA win of the season. “We played them last year but we didn’t get to finish our game (because of weather) and they had the lead and they got to win the game. Coming out this year on our home field having that win with a team effort feels really good,” Patridge said. The Lady Warriors improved to 3-4 overall and 1-2 in the region, and they snapped a four-game losing streak. “It’s a pretty even region.
Photos from the Oconee County-North Oconee softball game can be seen at theoconeeleader.com
MATTHEW CALDWELL/Oconee Leader
Hannah Patridge rounds the bases after hitting a home run last Thursday.
We have been in every region game. We lost 4-2 to Stephens and gave up five in the sixth to Jefferson and lost 5-2. We needed this one,” said Oconee head coach Bryan Eades. “It was a big win. It really didn’t have anything to do with the fact it was North Oconee. We needed it for the region.” The Lady Titans dropped to 2-2 overall and 1-1 in the region.
“We had some hard hit balls right at them today. We did what we thought we were going to have to. It just didn’t go our way today,” said North Oconee head coach Dustin Cordell. “Hat’s off to Oconee County. They played some great defense. Their shortstop (Patridge) was unbelievable. She made plays in every inning. They kept us from putting up the score that we thought we could put up. They played
great. We just weren’t able to capitalize.” The Lady Titans scored first in the top of the second inning when Karly Maddox scored on a sacrifice fly by Kendall Green, but the Lady Warriors responded in the bottom of the second inning to tie the game at 1-1. Mackenzie Pollock doubled to start the inning and she scored on a single by Lauren Murphy. “We went in (after the top of the second inning) and we all said it’s a new ball game,” Patridge said. “We came out as a team and started hitting the ball.” Katie Foote’s two-run triple scored Autumn McCulloch and Green and gave the Lady Titans a 3-1 lead in the top of the fourth inning. “We needed a little boost. Please see ‘OCHS-NOHS’
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Lady Wolverines open region play with pair of wins
Photo gallery
Oconee County vs. Clarke Central football theoconeeleader.com
Prince Avenue Christian’s softball team won both of their Region 8-A games last week to improve to 3-1 overall and 2-0 in the region. The Lady Wolverines beat Towns County 11-1 last Tuesday and beat Commerce 9-3 last Thursday. The Lady Wolverines play at George Walton today (September 1), at Athens Christian on September 6 and at Hebron Christian on September 8 before returning home September 12 to play Social Circle.
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Thursday, September 1, 2016
Abigail Snyder finishes first, WCA sweeps home cross country meet
MATTHEW CALDWELL/Oconee Leader
Westminster Christian Academy’s Abigail Snyder (left) won the Westminster Lions Invitational last Thursday at WCA with a time of 22:12. The Lady Lions had the top three finishers and six finishers in the top 10 to take first place with 19 points. Rachel Snyder (25:14) was second, Klaire Lattin (25:39) was third, Lily McElhannon (26:53) was sixth, Hadley Kirsche (26:58) was seventh, Elise Piotrowski (28:00) was ninth and Peyton Turner (29:07) was 13 . The Lions had five runners in the top 10 to win the boys’ meet with 27 points. Kyle McCullough finished second with a time of 21:18. David Lanclos (22:04) was fourth, Jackson Mulkey (22:55) was sixth, Robert King (23:15) was eighth, Lucas Vazquez (23:49) was 11 , Ben Daniels (26:27) was 20 and Ryan King (27:39) was 24 . th
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North Oconee cross country teams finish sixth at Battle of Atlanta From Staff Reports TheOconeeLeader.com
Taking on the largest race field in the state on Saturday, both North Oconee cross country teams managed a respectable sixth-place finish at the Saucony Battle of Atlanta. The boys’ field had 43 schools and the girls’ field had 35 schools. Mackenzie Morse led the way for the girls with a top-ten finish (20:04; 9th in a field of 262). Kate Mattison gave strong support (17th in 20:27). Peyton Coates (51st in 21:58) and Gabby
Huff-Streiter (57th in 22:12) joined Sophie Brown (87th in 23:21) to chip in top-five finishes. A fine 21:43 effort by Melanie Bowden did not score in official results due to a timing chip issue. Brady Kalessa followed up an impressive run in the Titan Twi-
light 5K with a 24th place finish (in a field of 309 in 17:05). Jacob Ash (40th in 17:35) and Alex Thomas (48th in 17:50) gave impressive contributions. Austin Joost continued to rebound (72nd in 18:28). Dawson Frey rounded out top-five
team finishers (87th in 18:49). David Mustard (98th in 18:58) added another solid effort after a year away from the sport. Daniel Smith rounded out the scoring (193rd in 20:46). For the 2nd place (of 9 teams) JV Lady Titans, Courtney Jones (2nd in 23:30) set the pace. Amy Gayer, Komal Parikh, Anna Marie Garmon, and Anna Cobb were top-five team scorers. Christa Lynn Moore and Grace Pan rounded out the top seven. An outstanding third place overall finish by Siya Kannan was
voided by a chip timing irregularity. Acton Vogt (27th in 20:55; field of 242) led the way for the 6th-place JV boys (of 15 teams). Thomas Dowis, Collin Pannell, Colin McCormick, and Tyler Chappell clocked team top-five finishes, with Collin Waterfill and Conar Jensen handing in topseven team finishes. All Titan teams will return to the trails today (September 1) as North Oconee hosts a meet. Middle school races will start at 4:25 p.m.
Oconee’s Wesley John finishes second, Nicole Pachuta eighth at Bob Blastow
Contributed photos
Oconee County’s Wesley John (left) finished second at the Bob Blastow Early Bird Cross Country meet at McIntosh Nature Preserve in Whitesburg on Saturday. John finished with a time of 16:06 to help the Warriors finish 18 . Colin O’Neal (18:20) finished 99 , Garrison Taylor (18:52) finished 138 , Tanner Schroer (19:35) finished 171 and Sam Hunt (19:52) finished 178 . Nicole Pachuta (right) led the Lady Warriors with an eighth-place finish in a time of 19:20. The Lady Warriors finished 16 . Arabella Lewis (22:01) finished 93 , Cailey Dunford (22:26) finished 104 , Natalie Cummings (23:57) finished 146 and Rachel Buffa (25:09) finished 166 . Next up for Oconee County is a meet at the Clara Bowl on Saturday at Berry College in Rome. th
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Athens Academy wins Spartan Ekiden Athens Academy hosted the Spartan Ekiden last Thursday, and they had a team finish first overall, the green team finished first and the red team finished first in the annual relay event. Next up for Athens Academy is a meet at North Oconee today (September 1). Athens Academy competes September 10 at Marist and September 29 at home. Contributed photo
Tell our advertisers you saw them in The Oconee Leader • Go to theoconeeleader.com for picture galleries
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Thursday, September 1, 2016
Warriors win opener 34-10 in 50th season of football at OCHS By Matthew Caldwell TheOconeeLeader.com
After going almost the entire first half without scoring, Clarke Central got on the board first after taking an advantage of a mistake by Oconee County on a punt. The Gladiators got a 32-yard field goal to take a 3-0 lead with 2:34 left in the second quarter. The Warriors then went on to score 34 unanswered points to take a 34-3 lead and came away with a 34-10 win against Clarke Central on Friday night at Warrior Stadium in their seasonopening game. “I am very proud of how the defense played, especially when the punt went off the helmet. They were backed up and to hold them to a field goal was big. Then we were finally able to get field position and get a score after that. That was the turning point and the momentum changed our way before halftime,” said head coach Travis Noland. “I was pleased with how they came out in the second half. I know we have a long way to go and a lot of work to do. We have to look at the film and see where we need to make those improvements the most.” This is the third straight season the Warriors, last year’s Region 8-AAA champions, have won their season opener. “A lot of people maybe didn’t respect us going into the season and that is motivation for our kids,” Noland said. “On social media, a lot was said prior to this game that motivated our kids. Each week we know we have to go and prove ourselves but we took a positive step in that direction this week.” The Warriors’ biggest play from scrimmage on their first four drives of the season was a 13-yard pass on their fifth play of the season. Each of the first four drives ended in a punt. They got the ball down 3-0 with 2:26 left in the second quarter
MATTHEW CALDWELL/Oconee Leader
Roques Dowdy returns a fumble for a touchdown in the fourth quarter last Friday night against Clarke Central at Warrior Stadium. For more photos, see theoconeeleader.com.
and were facing a third-and-five from their own 28. Following a time out, Sam Middlebrooks found Roques Dowdy for a short pass, but Dowdy outran the Clarke Central defense and got to the Gladiator 28 for a 46-yard gain. “The first time we ran it, I was wide open so coach ran it again,” Dowdy said. “Coach gave me a chance and I took the opportunity.” The Warriors had two more third-down conversions on the drive and were facing first-andgoal from the 1 with 29 seconds left when Middlebrooks kept the ball and dove into the end zone for the first Oconee touchdown of the season, giving them a 7-3 lead with 27 seconds left in the half. “Coach told us we need to stay in there. We are a good team
too,” Dowdy said. “We just need to give ourselves credit too. People don’t respect us on social media and even Maxpreps. They put us second to last going into region for the past few years. We took that to heart. We play with our heart on our sleeve and that is what got us going in the second half.” The Oconee defense held Clarke Central to a three-and-out on the Gladiators’ first possession of the third quarter, and a big punt return from Dowdy gave the Warriors the ball on the Clarke Central 21. On the sixth play of the drive, Middlebrooks completed a 6-yard pass to Christian Casey for a touchdown and a 14-3 lead with 7:11 remaining in the third. On the first play of the fourth quarter, Middlebrooks threw his second touchdown pass of the
game, this one to Dylan Pettway for eight yards and a 21-3 lead. On the ensuing drive for Clarke Central, the Gladiators were facing a fourth-and-2 from their own 41. They gained enough yards for a first down on the play but Corderius Paschal forced a fumble, which was recovered by Dowdy and returned for a touchdown and a 27-3 lead with 9:33 left. “The receiver caught the ball and I saw (Paschal) come underneath,” Dowdy said. “If it wasn’t for him and the blocking and the d-line being aware where I was at, I wouldn’t have got a chance to take it back. It was a blessing to break out on that.” Jared Hood added a 28-yard touchdown run with 7:19 left for a 34-3 lead. Clarke Central got its only touchdown of the game with 5:18 left.
“I told them we have to play with a lot of heart. We had a lot of guys cramping and hurting. That is a big, strong, physical and talented football team. To have to play them in the game was a tough challenge for us. I told them we have to play with our heart and focused and I thought we did that for the most part in the second half,” Noland said. “I liked our effort. I liked the fact it was hard and it was hot and we fought through it. I always say you are most improved in the season from week one to week two, so hopefully we can do that and get better because Walnut Grove is another very talented, big and explosive football team.” The Warriors play at Walnut Grove on Friday night and they return home September 9 against Morgan County.
Thursday, September 1, 2016
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‘OCHS-NOHS’
Continued from page 4
We gave them a talk and they responded,” Cordell said. “We thought after that we were going to be in pretty good shape. When you are playing a county rival, anything goes. That showed today. It was who got hot at the end of the game and they were the ones that were able to pull it off.” The Lady Warriors came out in the bottom of the fourth and got one run back when Hanna Manders scored on a sacrifice fly by Keely Glenn to cut the score to 3-2. Ansley Hart reached base on an error to start the bottom of the fifth inning and she advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Chloe Fambrough. Patridge followed Fambrough with a deep fly ball to center field that sailed over the wall just to the left of the state championship signs. “She threw me an outside high pitch. I was thinking my first two at-bats I was lazy on my back hip and I was thinking stay hard through the ball,” Patridge said. “She threw me high and outside and I stayed hard on the ball and I got good contact on it. Right when you hit it, you know
it’s gone. I just had that feeling.” Maura Grace Dickens followed and reached base, and she later scored on a single by Pollock to give the Lady Warriors a 5-3 lead. Pollock scored on a two-out double by Murphy to take a 6-3 lead. “When you can do it that late in the game with only six outs to go for the opposing team, that’s a good thing,” Eades said. The Lady Titans had runners at second and third with two outs in the top of the sixth inning. Madison Reynolds hit a line drive towards left field but Patridge at shortstop made a leaping catch to end the threat and the inning, preserving the 6-3 lead. “I had no clue (I caught it). It was amazing that I got it,” Patridge said. “It was a lucky catch and I am glad I got it to help out the team.” Fambrough got a strikeout to start the top of the seventh inning, then got a groundout to Patridge at shortstop for the second out and got the next batter to line out to Patridge, ending the game. “It was the best feeling (catching the final out),” Patridge said. “Being able
to beat the rival team at our home field was the best feeling.” Both teams had to escape jams early in the game. The Lady Titans had the bases loaded with one out in the top of the first inning but the Lady Warriors escaped the jam when Patridge threw to home to get the force out for the second out and Fambrough fielded a grounder in the pitcher’s circle and threw to first for the final out of the inning. In the second inning, the Lady Titans loaded the bases to start the inning. Manders fielded a ground ball at second base and threw home for the first out. After a sacrifice fly scored a run, Foote drew a walk to load the bases again but Ansley Hart made a catch in right field for the final out of the inning. “We fought our way out of it,” Eades said. “We were fortunate they hit a couple of ground balls to the infield so we could make some plays at the plate. To get out of those two innings just giving up one run was a big boost for our chances. I was glad to see us start hitting the ball and taking advantage of some of the good swings we have made.
“We made a lot of good plays but Hannah Patridge was the defensive MVP of this game. She made some fantastic plays and she saved us a couple of times. Hanna Manders made a couple of good plays. Maura Grace legged that one out in center field and made the play after that. We have done that all year for the most part. “If we can get that kind of pitching from Chloe, and she found a pitch she has been working on now for quite a while, and put together some hits, we could make a little noise.” The Lady Warriors got four straight hits to start the bottom of the second inning but could only get the one run across. The first out was thrown out at the plate, Katie Foote got a strikeout for the second out and Madison Reynolds fielded a grounder at first base for the third out. The Lady Titans had 16 baserunners in the game and had someone on base in every inning except for one – the top of the seventh. “We had a lot of players that hit the ball well and hit the ball hard. They just didn’t fall. You have some of those days,” Cordell said. “
Page 7
Oconee gets home wins against Morgan County, George Walton
MATTHEW CALDWELL/Oconee Leader
Oconee County’s volleyball team beat Morgan County 2-1 (24-26, 25-11, 25-16) and George Walton 2-0 (25-13, 25-19) last Thursday at OCHS to improve to 7-4 overall this season. Ansley McClain had 16 kills, 10 digs and nine assists against George Walton and 11 kills against Morgan County. Rachel Blanton had six kills against George Walton and 10 kills against Morgan County. Emily Boswell had 14 digs against George Walton and nine digs against Morgan County. Sydney Kennedy had seven assists against George Walton and nine digs and 17 assists against Morgan County. Bailey Pirkle (pictured above) had 10 digs and eight kills against Morgan County. ‘We are still working with our alignment and getting the team chemistry to gel,’ said head coach Jacob Yates. ‘What we are working on in practice, I see a lot of what we are starting to implement to the court. We are really in a place where we are trying to be more consistent through all six rotations.’ For more photos, see theoconeeleader.com.
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Page 8
Tell our advertisers you saw them in The Oconee Leader • Go to theoconeeleader.com for picture galleries
Thursday, September 1, 2016