Monthly Archives: January 2017

GHSA, Girls Basketball, Girls Rankings

Week 9 Girls Rankings

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Class AAAAAAA

  1. Norcross (17-2)
  2. McEachern (11-6)
  3. Collins Hill (15-2)
  4. Mill Creek (16-1)
  5. Newton (14-2)
  6. Archer (13-4)
  7. Westlake (13-5)
  8. Brookwood (12-5)
  9. Lambert (15-2)
  10. Tift County (14-5)

Class AAAAAA

  1. Harrison (15-3)
  2. Douglas County (16-2)
  3. Winder-Barrow (11-5)
  4. Lovejoy (15-2)
  5. Stephenson (12-5)
  6. Grovetown (12-6)
  7. Northview (16-3)
  8. Creekview (12-6)
  9. Tucker (12-4)
  10. Chattahoochee (12-3) 

Class AAAAA

  1. Buford (15-0)
  2. Flowery Branch (14-3)
  3. Southwest DeKalb (15-4)
  4. Griffin (16-0)
  5. Maynard Jackson (15-1)
  6. Carrollton (15-1)
  7. Warner Robins (15-1)
  8. Villa Rica (16-1)
  9. Harris County (14-2)
  10. Bainbridge (12-4)

Class AAAA

  1. North Oconee (14-2)
  2. Carver-Columbus (15-2)
  3. West Hall (14-4)
  4. Cross Creek (15-4)
  5. Columbus (13-3)
  6. Northwest Whitfield (13-4)
  7. Heritage-Catoosa (17-2)
  8. Americus-Sumter (14-3)
  9. Sandy Creek (11-4)
  10. Henry County (13-5) 

Class AAA

  1. Beach (16-1)
  2. Johnson-Savannah (16-1)
  3. Greater Atlanta Christian (11-4)
  4. Redan (11-3)
  5. Calhoun (15-3)
  6. Haralson County (14-3)
  7. Monroe (14-3)
  8. Franklin County (14-4)
  9. Hart County (15-3)
  10. Ringgold (13-5) 

Class AA

  1. Laney (16-1)
  2. Dodge County (14-2)
  3. Rabun County (17-1)
  4. Model (13-4)
  5. Vidalia (14-3)
  6. Fitzgerald (11-1)
  7. Bryan County (12-3)
  8. Heard County (14-4)
  9. Swainsboro (10-5)
  10. Hapeville Charter (11-5)

Class A-Private

  1. Holy Innocents’ (16-1)
  2. St. Francis (13-4)
  3. Wesleyan (14-3)
  4. Lakeview Academy (14-4)
  5. Calvary Day (13-3)
  6. Pinecrest Academy (10-3)
  7. Landmark Christian (13-3)
  8. Darlington (11-5)
  9. Stratford Academy (11-4)
  10. Christian Heritage (9-5)

Class A-Public

  1. Pelham (14-1)
  2. Telfair County (15-1)
  3. Woodville-Tompkins (15-3)
  4. Wheeler County (15-2)
  5. Treutlen (11-4)
  6. Greenville (14-3)
  7. Mitchell County (14-3)
  8. Hancock Central (12-3)
  9. Taylor County (12-4)
  10. Marion County (13-4)

 

Each of the top three teams in Class AAAAAAA lost, but there is no change as Norcross, McEachern and Collins Hill go 1-2-3. The Blue Devils defeated No. 8 Brookwood on the road 48-40, but dropped to national power Riverdale, TN 69-50 at the Krossover Classic. McEachern blew out Marietta 70-38 and in the process knocked the Blue Devils from the Top 10. The Indians proceeded to lose to National Christian Academy, MD 57-48. Collins Hill’s loss came to Class A-Private No. 2 St. Francis 45-33. No. 5 Newton swaps places with No. 6 Archer after defeating the Tigers 56-53 on the road. New to the rankings is No. 10 Tift County. Another set of Blue Devils, Tift County beat Colquitt County in overtime 56-53 and won at Camden County 40-37.

Class AAAAAA No. 1 Harrison lost to Class AAAAA No. 1 Buford 49-43, but retains their hold atop of the state. Before their non-region loss, the Hoyas defeated No. 8 Creekview 56-41. The Grizzlies debut in the poll this week after knocking rival Sequoyah from the rankings with a 62-39 victory over the Chiefs. Also out of the Top 10 is Forest Park and Gainesville. Forest Park was crushed by No. 4 Lovejoy 57-16 while the Red Elephants lost at No. 3 Winder-Barrow 66-59 and to Class AAAAAAA No. 7 Westlake 57-43. Winder-Barrow drops a spot after they were crushed by Class A-Private No. 1 Holy Innocents’ 68-33. New to the rankings this week is No. 9 Tucker and No. 10 Chattahoochee. The Cougars are in the statewide picture for the first time this season. They visit No. 7 Northview this Friday with a chance to cement themselves in the poll.

Buford’s victory over Harrison is as good as it gets right now in Class AAAAA. The Wolves are continuing to roll and have a firm hold on the No. 1 ranking. No. 7 Warner Robins suffered its first loss of the season and slips two spots. No. 10 Bainbridge defeated the Demonettes 48-43 and their victory propels them back into the Top 10. They replace McIntosh who was beat by No. 4 Griffin, 66-46. Villa Rica has been stuck at the No. 8 position, but the Wildcats are playing extremely well. They trounced Cass on the road 75-37. Region 7 will come down to Villa Rica’s rematch January 7 rematch at No. 6 Carrollton.

Class AAAA No. 1 North Oconee survived a scare from St. Pius, edging the Golden Lions 59-53. No. 2 Carver-Columbus turned back a tough No. 8 Americus-Sumter 50-47.  No. 7 Heritage-Catoosa spanked rival Class AAA No. 10 Ringgold 69-53.  No. 3 West Hall had a sluggish 35-32 victory over Chestatee.

No. 1 Beach over in Class AAA escaped a potential upset, winning at Glynn Academy 39-29. Hart County falls five spots after a 70-54 loss at home to Franklin County, who reenters the poll at No. 8. Ringgold tumbles four spots to No. 10 after their loss to Heritage-Catoosa and the fact that everyone behind them won out except for Central-Macon. The Chargers lost 42-40 to a surging Peach County. The Trojans are knocking at the door of busting into the Top 10.

The race for the No. 2 ranking in Class AA rages on. This week its Dodge County moving ahead of No. 3 Rabun County. The Indians have impressed out of Region 3. They went on the road and hammered Washington County 58-37, knocking the Golden Hawks from the poll. Dodge County also took it to Dublin on the road, 67-41. Fitzgerald was upset by Berrien 71-57 and falls two spots to No. 6. No. 4 Model is starting to regain their form, getting revenge against Class A-Private No. 10 Christian Heritage, beating the Lions 68-42 on the road after losing 63-52 earlier in the season. Dade County exits the poll after Model clipped them 63-48. Replacing the Wolverines is No. 9 Swainsboro. The Tigers have been playing sneaky good basketball and could play spoiler down the road in Region 2 as they are housed with No. 5 Vidalia who they split with and also No. 7 Bryan County who beat them by 12.

Both No. 1 Holy Innocents’ and No. 2 St. Francis made statements to not only the rest of Class A-Private, but the entire state. The Golden Bears crushed Winder-Barrow 68-33 while the Knights handled No. 6 Pinecrest Academy 71-53 and dispatched of host Collins Hill 45-33. First Presbyterian Day drops out of the rankings after a 37-29 loss to Wilkinson County. No. 9 Stratford Academy is back in the poll. The Eagles have rebounded from their ugly 24-13 loss to First Presbyterian Day which knocked them out of the poll. Stratford Academy defeated rival Tattnall Square Academy 42-32 and followed up with a road win over Wilkinson County 52-31.

Class A-Public No. 1 Pelham suffered its first loss of the year at Lowndes 71-70, but still remains the team to beat. No. 2 Telfair County boosted its resume with a 58-43 victory over Wilcox County, dropping the Patriots from the poll. Greenville slips two spots to No. 6 after a 56-49 loss at new No. 10 Marion County. Treutlen benefits from Greenville, Wilcox County and Taylor County all losing ahead of them and rise to No. 5.

GHSA, GHSA Basketball, Rankings

Week 9 Boys Rankings

Class AAAAAAA

  1. Newton (17-0)
  2. McEachern (14-0)
  3. Westlake (10-7)
  4. Wheeler (13-4)
  5. Berkmar (15-5)
  6. Pebblebrook (9-6)
  7. Norcross (15-4)
  8. Tift County (18-1)
  9. Collins Hill (15-3)
  10. Discovery (14-6) 

Class AAAAAA

  1. South Paulding (16-1)
  2. Gainesville (16-1)
  3. Jonesboro (13-4)
  4. Richmond Hill (16-3)
  5. Langston Hughes (11-5)
  6. Alpharetta (18-1)
  7. Alexander (13-4)
  8. South Cobb (13-4)
  9. Lakeside-Evans (13-4)
  10. Heritage-Conyers (10-4)

Class AAAAA

  1. Buford (15-2)
  2. Cedar Shoals (16-3)
  3. Warner Robins (14-3)
  4. Fayette County (13-5)
  5. Miller Grove (10-6)
  6. New Hampstead (14-4)
  7. Columbia (12-5)
  8. Eagle’s Landing (12-4)
  9. Union Grove (14-4)
  10. Flowery Branch (14-3) 

Class AAAA

  1. Upson-Lee (17-0)
  2. Henry County (14-5)
  3. Richmond Academy (16-3)
  4. LaGrange (16-2)
  5. Sandy Creek (10-5)
  6. Carver-Columbus (13-3)
  7. Perry (15-3)
  8. Salem (13-4)
  9. St. Pius X (11-6)
  10. Cartersville (11-4)

 Class AAA

  1. Westside-Macon (13-3)
  2. Greater Atlanta Christian (13-4)
  3. Liberty County (11-5)
  4. Morgan County (12-3)
  5. Pace Academy (7-7)
  6. Jenkins (12-6)
  7. Islands (13-5)
  8. Cedar Grove (8-4)
  9. Central-Macon (13-3)
  10. Long County (13-6) 

Class AA

  1. South Atlanta (14-1)
  2. Dublin (13-4)
  3. Josey (14-4)
  4. Thomasville (9-6)
  5. Laney (12-4)
  6. Chattooga (14-1)
  7. Banks County (13-4)
  8. Glenn Hills (13-5)
  9. Early County (13-4)
  10. Butler (11-5)

Class A-Private

  1. Greenforest (13-4)
  2. North Cobb Christian (14-3)
  3. Southwest Atlanta Christian (10-5)
  4. St. Francis (16-3)
  5. Aquinas (14-1)
  6. Holy Innocents’ (12-4)
  7. Lakeview Academy (12-4)
  8. Whitefield Academy (10-6)
  9. Tallulah Falls (17-0)
  10. Darlington (11-3) 

Class A-Public

  1. Calhoun County (13-1)
  2. Quitman County (14-1)
  3. Taylor County (12-2)
  4. Treutlen (16-0)
  5. Wilkinson County (12-4)
  6. Randolph-Clay (11-3)
  7. Central-Talbotton (11-4)
  8. Clinch County (13-3)
  9. Irwin County (8-5)
  10. Turner County (12-5)

 

There was major movement in nearly every single classification this week with Class AAAAAAA seeing some big changes of its own. Westlake shoots up four spots to No. 3 after knocking off No. 6 Pebblebrook in overtime 80-78 courtesy of a now healthy Jamie Lewis three-pointer with five seconds remaining. The Lions are a perfect 4-0 in Region 2, already holding a win over No. 4 Wheeler. Berkmar makes a move to No. 5 after going on the road and beating No. 7 Norcross 61-58. All the shuffling along the top seven spots hurts No. 8 Tift County who slips two spots from No. 6. The Blue Devils just don’t have enough quality wins on the resume and don’t consistently see the level of competition the teams ranked ahead of them do on a nightly basis. Peachtree Ridge falls out of the Top 10 after losing in overtime 63-60 to Duluth and to No. 9 Collins Hill 58-52. Back in the rankings is No. 10 Discovery, who defeated Meadowcreek 67-64 and Duluth 63-58.

A new No. 1 takes over in Class AAAAAA following No. 2 Gainesville’s 63-60 misstep against Class AAAAA No. 2 Cedar Shoals. South Paulding earns the No. 1 ranking for the first time in school history and has the quality wins to back it up. They went on the road and earned a Region 5 statement victory beating No. 5 Langston Hughes 57-42, holding potent scorer Landers Nolley to just 10 points after he entered the game averaging over 28 per game. Richmond Hill skyrockets to No. 4 after knocking Brunswick from the Top 10 with a 61-60 road win. No. 8 South Cobb falls two spots after a 30-point loss at Pebblebrook and a 74-68 loss at Campbell. Heritage-Conyers slips from No. 5 to No. 10 after losing a heartbreaker at home to newly ranked No. 9 Lakeside-Evans in overtime, 62-58. The Panthers are now in the driver’s seat in Region 3 and will host the Patriots in a rematch on January 31.

No. 2 Cedar Shoals can’t seem to figure out No. 1 Buford in Region 8-AAAAA. The Wolves stunned the Jags 75-70 in overtime, sweeping the regular season series. Cedar Shoals rebounded in a major way the following day with a 63-60 win at Gainesville without Snipe Hall. The Wolves survived a 100-99 double overtime heart-stopper against Harrison on Saturday. Eagle’s Landing tumbles from No. 2 to No. 8 after losing at home 64-55 to No. 9 Union Grove and on the road at Dutchtown, 78-73. No. 7 Columbia knocked Southwest DeKalb from the poll with a 58-44 road victory. Debuting for the first time this season is No. 10 Flowery Branch. The Falcons will put their new ranking to the test right away as they travel to Cedar Shoals on Tuesday. The Jaguars won the first meeting 63-50.

Class AAAA has begun to take shape. No. 1 Upson-Lee hosts No. 7 Perry this Tuesday in a crucial Region 2 tilt. Region 5 has shaken things up as No. 5 Sandy Creek sinks three spots after a 68-64 loss at No. 4 LaGrange. Laperion Perry powered the Grangers with 27 points. Elsewhere in the region, Cartersville resurfaces at No. 10 after losing 86-80 to Sandy Creek and rebounding with a massive 79-49 romp of Calhoun, knocking the Yellow Jackets from the AAA Top 10. No. 3 Richmond Academy hosts Thomson on Tuesday in an interesting Region 3 matchup. Eastside, Stephens County and Burke County all exit the poll. Eastside lost to new No. 8 Salem, 63-61 and fell to Class AAAAAAA No. 1 Newton 91-63.  Stephens County had a miserable week and is now 0-3 in Region 8 after losing to Madison County 68-62 and Oconee County 68-59. The two losses give familiar face No. 9 St. Pius some breathing room as the Golden Lions have started to rack up the wins in region play.

Class AAA No. 1 Westside-Macon looked sharp as they went 2-0 at the Wally Keller Classic. No. 2 Greater Atlanta Christian picked up a 49-47 victory at Seneca, SC, one of South Carolina’s top ranked teams. No. 3 Liberty County crushed Thomson again, 88-68 on the road. Islands drops a spot to No. 7 after losing to Effingham County on the road 68-59. Calhoun is out of the poll following their 30-point loss to Cartersville. Replacing the Jackets is No. 10 Long County, who is led in scoring by four juniors: Terry Smith (15.8 ppg), Henry Blair (15.3 ppg, 6.2 rpg), Christian Bass (13 ppg, 11 rpg) and Ryheim Izzard (10.1 ppg, 5.1 rpg). They will have their hands full as they visit Liberty County on Tuesday. The winner takes sole possession of first place in Region 2. The Blue Tide won their first meeting 73-72, but Auburn-signee Davion Mitchell was out with injury for the Panthers.

Monticello and Therrell are out in Class AA. The Hurricanes drop from No. 4 to unranked after suffering their six loss of the season with a 63-58 defeat at Putnam County. Therrell has seen star sophomore Anthony Edwards transfer to Holy Spirit Prep mid-season, zapping the Panthers of their leading scorer who averaged over 25 per game. No. 3 Josey earned a 45-40 victory over No. 5 Laney. Region 4 places four teams in the Top 10 with No. 8 Glenn Hills and No. 10 Butler reentering, both riding 4-game winning streaks. The two teams will meet at Butler on Tuesday. The pressure of being No. 5 in the state got to Early County who sinks to No. 9 after losing to No. 4 Thomasville 73-67 and Fitzgerald 83-77 in overtime. No. 6 Chattooga and No. 7 Banks County continue to handle their business as both have won 10-straight.

There is no movement in Class A-Private. No. 1 Greenforest went 2-1 at the Bass Pro Tournament of Champions. No. 3 Southwest Atlanta Christian hosts a streaking No. 6 Holy Innocents’ on Tuesday. The Golden Bears have now won 9-straight after topping Milton. No. 8 Whitefield Academy fell to No. 4 St. Francis 68-63, but rebounded with a 58-53 win over King’s Ridge. Their loss isn’t enough to propel either No. 9 Tallulah Falls or No. 10 Darlington past them in the rankings.

Class A-Public No. 1 Calhoun County dismantled No. 10 Turner County 80-57. No. 4 Treutlen remained perfect as they survived Montgomery County on the road in overtime 76-69. Clinch County falls three spots to No. 8 after losing to new No. 9 Irwin County 61-57 and Cook 53-50. Macon County exits the poll after a 65-52 loss at Hawkinsville. No. 5 Wilkinson County beat Stratford Academy 65-50 and picked up a 54-30 victory over Baldwin.

Game Stories, GHSA, GHSA Basketball

Williams, Berrien carry poised Panthers to overtime upset of No. 5 Heritage-Conyers

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Lakeside-Evans 62, No. 5 Heritage-Conyers 58

“It’s just another game,” said sophomore guard Kalen Williams before Lakeside’s biggest test of the season, a road showdown with Class AAAAAA No. 5 Heritage-Conyers who made national headlines earlier in the week with Isaiah Banks shattering a backboard with a thunderous dunk. With a chance to prove they could play with the big boys outside of the Augusta area, the Panthers didn’t miss their shot – literally and figuratively.

Heritage came out of the gates hot and jumped on Lakeside 15-6, pressing and getting out in transition. The Panthers found their footing at the end of the quarter and weathered the storm. Williams buried a three and Deon Berrien cleaned the glass for a put-back to cap a 12-2 run to take a 18-17 lead and eventually head into the second quarter tied at 18.

Berrien, the 6-foot-6 senior forward, was instrumental in keeping the Patriots afloat, posting eight points and six rebounds in the opening eight minutes.

The second quarter was nip-and-tuck, both teams trading baskets. Jordan Thomas scored two of his game-high 25 for the Patriots on a euro-step before entering the half down 27-24, the Panthers outscoring Heritage 21-9 after their early deficit.

In the third quarter, both defenses continued to stiffen as just a combined 15 points were scored. Thomas scored six of Heritage’s eight points in the frame while Lakeside nursed a 34-32 lead into the final period of regulation.

Things started to get hot and heavy as Heritage ramped up the pressure and started picking up full court after Williams dropped off an assist to push the Panthers to their largest lead of the game at 40-32. The Patriots began to force rushed shots and turnovers and attacked the rim at the other end, living at the foul line.

Florida Atlantic-signee Byron Abrams hit a streaking Banks on an And-1 to cut the lead to 40-36 at the 4:36 mark. 21 seconds later, Abrams found a basket of his own, cutting the lead to two. Lakeside extended its lead back to five after a Williams hoop in traffic.

But Heritage quickly raced back, scoring four straight to make it 44-43 with 2:10 remaining after the Patriots played volleyball on the rim and Banks finished a tip-in.

 

Following a huge Brad Hilley bucket on the block at the 1:44 mark giving Lakeside a 46-43 advantage, the Patriots stormed ahead. Kre’Sean Hall missed a free throw up 46-45 and Abrams cleared it and pitched to Banks who rushed ahead the length of the floor for a layup in transition giving Heritage a 47-46 lead with just 15.7 seconds left.

Momentum had swung and Lakeside was forced to foul Blake Roberts. Roberts sank both free throws to take a 49-46 lead as the Patriots and their fans had a chance to exhale with the prospects of a come from behind victory just 10.9 seconds away, but Deon Berrien had other plans.

With two men on him and Abrams’ hand in his face, Berrien sank a contested three at the buzzer to force overtime, the Panthers bench pouring onto the court to celebrate.  

Overtime saw Lakeside take a quick 53-50 advantage and the emotionally drained Patriots struggle to corral Williams. With 54 seconds remaining, Jalen Nealious sank a pair of free throws to move the Panthers lead to 55-52. Heritage couldn’t tie on the following possession and had to send Williams back to the line to supply the dagger with 2.5 seconds left as he buried his final five free throws in overtime and taunted the home crowd as his 19th and 20th points of the game secured Lakeside’s biggest win in years.

 

My Take 

All of Lakeside’s winning over the summer with the Georgia Bulls program has spilled into this season under first-year head coach Jeff Williams.  Back in May I said Lakeside-Evans was a sleeper. The Panthers’ mixture of confidence and cockiness has them playing with a major chip on their shoulder, especially when they play a rare game outside of the Augusta-area. Kalen Williams wasn’t worried pregame about taking on the No. 5 team in the state and let me know after his 20-point performance that the sophomore is “the next Collin Sexton.” Deon Berrien said when the ball left his hands at the end of regulation that he “knew it was cash.” With two players as confident as Williams and Berrien, the Panthers are now in the driver’s seat in Region 3 and should run the table until their rematch with Heritage on January 31.  As far as the play on the court goes, Berrien brought it from the opening tip, battling for 18 points and 10 rebounds. His energy around the basket matched Heritage’s. The Patriots were bigger, faster and stronger at every position, but that didn’t deter the plucky Panthers. Williams was hounded for a few five second calls but once he saw his first rainbow three drop, the gamer was up to the challenge. Jalen Nealious gave Lakeside a spark off the bench with 11 points and his two free throws in overtime were as big as any shots in the game. He’s a herky jerky athlete that looks more like a football player on the court, but his energy was key. Kre’Sean Hall had a tough scoreless night but still grabbed 10 rebounds. Brad Hilley scored 13 points with only one three-pointer. Seeing him score inside the arc is a major boost for Lakeside who had just four players score on the night but all four were in double figures.

Heritage-Conyers looked amped up to start the game and jumped all over Lakeside-Evans and in the back of their mind might have thought they were going to run away with the game. Jordan Thomas was great throughout the night with 25 points. Isaiah Banks turned it on late with eight of his 10 points coming in the fourth quarter. Byron Abrams missed three free throws in the fourth quarter which came back to haunt the Patriots. JaQuez Hicks swatted away five shots. The Patriots will definitely have January 31 circled on their calendar.

Top Performers

Lakeside-Evans
Kalen Williams – 20 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 block
Deon Berrien – 18 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks
Brad Hilley – 13 points, 3 rebounds
Jalen Nealious – 11 points, 1 rebounds, 2 steals

Heritage-Conyers
Jordan Thomas – 25 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 steals
Isaiah Banks – 10 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals
Byron Abrams – 9 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal
JaQuez Hicks – 6 rebounds, 5 blocks

Coaches' Corner, GHSA, GHSA Basketball

BREAKING: Milton head coach Matt Kramer resigns mid-season

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Multiple sources have told Sandy’s Spiel that Matt Kramer and the Milton boys basketball program have severed ties. Effective immediately, assistants Julian Barfield and Sean Revels will lead the program. Milton, state champions in 2010 & 2012, has struggled to find long term stability at the head coaching position since David Boyd left. The Eagles are currently 5-8 overall with Duke-signee Alex O’Connell as Milton’s centerpiece.

Parents received this message of the resignation:

Hello Parents,

This note is to inform you that effective January 9, 2017, Coach Matt Kramer has resigned his duties as Head Basketball Coach at Milton High School due to personal reasons.

Under his leadership, many players earned basketball opportunities at the college level and we won’t forget the 2016 Final Four achievement . We thank Coach Kramer for all he has done for the program and wish him well.

Coach Barfield and Coach Revels will share coaching duties for the remainder of this 2017 season. GO EAGLES!

GHSA Basketball

Fayette Sports Podcast

I was a guest on the Fayette Sports Podcast (@FCsportsPod), hosted by Chris Dunn (@FayetteSports) and Josh Akeman (starting at the 8:00 mark). The landscape of the GHSA was covered along with Class 5A & 4A as well as my thoughts on local teams Sandy Creek and Fayette County.

Please take a listen and follow the Podcast and Chris on Twitter and be sure to visit http://fayette-news.com/category/sports/ for prep coverage of Fayette County.