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Mill Creek's Courtney Dobeck looks for an open teammate in the first half Wednesday during the first round state playoff game at Parkview. Matt Mauney/The Paper

LILBURN – Megan Hatfield scored the game’s only goal Wednesday night as the Mill Creek girls’ soccer team took down No. 1 seed Parkview 1-0 on the road in the first round of the 5-A state playoffs.

Cortney Emmert picked up the assist on Hatfield’s goal in the second half with 25:36 to play to give the Lady Hawks – the No. 4 seed from Region 7 – the advantage.

“It’s what we work on in practice,” Mill Creek coach Brent Leitsch said. “We’ve got two girls that are very good at heading and we make them make runs at the goal and get them the ball and she (Hatfield) put it in there.”

Parkview, the No. 1 seed from Region 8, fought back in a big way and looked to have tied things up halfway through the second half when Elizabeth Quintanilla recovered her own rebound that was mishandled by Mill Creek goalkeeper Rachel Allred and put the ball in the back of the net. The goal was negated however when Quintanilla was called for offsides.

Continue reading Soccer: Lady Hawks knock off top seed Parkview 1-0

Jefferson’s No. 1 singles player Zach Bost recorded the Dragons’ only win (6-0, 6-1) on Tuesday afternoon in the second round of the state tournament against Decatur.

Jefferson’s No. 2 singles player Gage Thompson went up 4-1 in the first set but ended up losing the set 7-5 before dropping the match in the second set 6-3. The No. 2 doubles team of Brandon Clabo and Austin Pratt won their first set 6-1 before falling in the next two 2-6 and 4-6.

Continue reading Boys tennis: Jefferson’s season ends with Sweet 16 loss

HOSCHTON – Mill Creek’s win Tuesday night wasn’t just a high point for the season, it was a landmark moment for the much improved boys soccer program.

The Hawks made history Tuesday by beating Central Gwinnett 3-1 in the first round of the Class 5-A state playoffs. It was the first state playoff win in program history for Mill Creek. The Hawks made the state playoffs for the first time last season, but lost in the first round to Walton. They now will head to East Coweta for the Sweet 16 next week.

Continue reading Soccer: Mill Creek boys get first ever playoff win

Other area high schools have been holding spring football practice for several weeks now, but Jackson County’s first day of spring drills Monday held greater significance. It was the first practice under the new JCCHS coaching staff, including new Panther head coach Benji Harrison.

Continue reading Jackson County holds first day of football practice

State playoffs, meets and matches will take place across the board in high school sports this week, and there are a number of teams around the area participating.

Continue reading Playoff match-ups, times set for area schools