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Mill Creek junior outfielder Bryan Hudson squares up on a pitch during Game 1 of the state quarterfinal series with Camden County. Mill Creek swept the Wildcats to advance to the Final Four for the first time in program history. Graham Robson/The Paper

It took an extra day, but the Mill Creek baseball team now knows where the road to a potential state championship will take them next.

Parkview, the defending Class AAAAA champ, took care of Hillgrove 8-5 Wednesday night in a deciding Game 3 of the state quarterfinal match-up. It was a rematch of the 2011 championship series.

The Panthers (27-6) will now host Mill Creek, which swept Camden County Tuesday, in the Final Four next week beginning with a double-header Monday.

Mill Creek had to wait to see the outcome of the Hillgrove-Parkview series to know its next opponent, but knew that its first trip to the state semifinals was going to be a road series. All three schools were No. 1 seeds from their respective regions, but the Hillgrove-Parkview portion of the bracket holds the ‘H’ rule for the semifinals.

Continue reading BSB: Mill Creek to head to Parkview for semifinal series

The Jackson County girls' soccer team huddles together before their Elite Eight match with Buford May 12. Matt Mauney/The Paper

BUFORD — Jackson County saw its season come to an end in the Elite Eight last Saturday with a 9-1 loss to Buford, but that didn’t overshadow what the Lady Panthers accomplished this year – and where the program is headed.

Jackson County advanced to the quarterfinals of the Class AA girls soccer tournament after qualifying for the state playoffs for the first time in program history.

“We’ve got a great group of young ladies and have great senior leadership that will be tough to replace, but our girls know that we’ve started a strong program here and that we’re a part of something special and all we can do is try to keep moving forward next year and be a dominate program,” said head coach Joe Ridgway.

The Lady Panthers will lose senior starters Rachel Pasko and Kelsey Turner but will return the bulk of this year’s historic squad, including goalkeeper Victoria Fontana and rising junior forward Katie Phillips, who led the team in goals  this season, including scoring five in one game.

Continue reading Soccer: JCCHS girls hope to build on recent success

Jackson County running back Keyshawn Curry slips a tackle and looks for a lane to the endzone during the spring football scrimmage Saturday at Panther Stadium in Jefferson. Matt Mauney/The Paper

Fans of Jackson County football had the opportunity to get a glimpse of what the future might be for the program Monday when the team competed in a spring scrimmage at Panther Stadium.

The scrimmage marked the first time the team got to showcase the new system under the new coaching staff, led by head coach Benji Harrison (right).

After just two weeks of spring practice, there were plenty of mistakes and sloppy plays made, but the scrimmage allowed coaches to evaluate talent and determine where things will go moving into summer workouts.

“They’re learning,” Harrison said. “We threw a lot at these guys in a short period of time and for the most part, I think they responded.”

Continue reading Football: After spring game, JCCHS focused on summer

Road Atlanta in Braselton played host to the second round of the Formula Drift series last weekend. Next up is Round 3: Invasion at Palm Beach International Raceway June 1-2. Doug Chellew/The Paper

BRASELTON – Justin Pawlak took first place over the weekend at Road Atlanta in Braselton for Formula Drift’s Round 2: Road to the Championship.

Pawlak’s win ends the two-year reign of Japan’s Daijiro Yoshihara, who was upset in the first round of the event by Ryan Tuerck.

Pawlak, representing America, beat out Norway’s Fredric Aasbo, who finished as the runner-up. Japan’s Daigo Saito finished third.

Road Atlanta was the featured track for Round 2 of the seven race series. Next up is Round 3: Invasion at Palm Beach International Raceway June 1-2. The series concludes Octoner 12-13 at Toyota Speedway in Irwindale, Calif. For full list of the Formula Drift schedule, click here.

Continue reading IN PHOTOS: Formula Drift Rd. 2 at Road Atlanta