Fans of football in Fayette County may want to adopt the Detroit Lions as their second favorite NFL team to root for. Not only is Georgia Tech's Calvin Johnson, a Sandy Creek High School alum, their new receiver, but NC State's John Deraney, an alumni of Fayette County High School, recently signed with the Lions as well.

Calvin Johnson, a former standout at Georgia Tech and a graduate of Sandy Creek High School, was selected by the Detroit Lions.

The Sandy Creek and Our Lady of Mercy boys made the state soccer playoffs in Class AAA and AA/A respectively and both were knocked out on Friday night.

Whitewater got two home runs from Justin Carpenter and one from Ryan Johnson in their win over Creekside on Friday night. Jake McBride was the winning pitcher for the Wildcats and Miles Head was hit by a pitch for the 16th time this season.

McIntosh faced their rivals the Fayette County Tigers on Wednesday and won 17-14.The Chiefs got nine runs in the third inning thanks in part to three consecutive home runs. Eric Weiss hit a three run shot, followed by solo shots from Andrew Austin and Jake Tanis. Ben Barter and Cameron Rich both had three hit games, while Tanis, Johnny Peaden and John Riccitelli each had two hits.

McIntosh will host two first round state playoff games in lacrosse on Tuesday night.

The boys, ranked sixth in the state, will host Darlington, ranked 15th, at 5:30 p.m.

McIntosh's Lady Chiefs defeated Evans 8-0 on Tuesday and Starr's Mill's varsity boys beat Evans 5-0 on Wednesday.

Twelve athletes from Tiger Martial Arts competed against students from Tae Kwon Do schools in nine other states at the Georgia Games 2007 Tae Kwon Do Championships in Smyrna on Apr. 14. The event was a qualifier for the 2007 and 2008 National State Games and the 2008 Southeast Sports Festival.

The Home Plate River Bandits are the champions of the 2007 Dizzy Dean Shootout in Hampton Georgia.

Shannon Escarra an eighth grader, at Whitewater Middle, and a Level 9 gymnast, placed third in the All Around at The Region Eight Championship, in Tupelo Mississippi.

The state soccer playoffs began like they always seem to for the McIntosh Lady Chiefs, with a shutout victory. McIntosh, ranked third in Class AAAA, got two goals a piece from KC Hewitt, Kaelyn Horton and Meghan O’Rourke, while Jessalyn Moore and Kate Marnock each scored one.

McIntosh’s Lady Chiefs lacrosse team faced Wesleyan and St. Pius recently and lost both games.
McIntosh lost to Wesleyan 15-10. Kelly Polo scored five goals for the Lady Chiefs, Taylor Lugash added two and Christen Downing, Brit LaPalm and Katie Dew each scored one. Lugash also had two assists, while Rachel Weissman, LaPalm, Elizabeth Langley and Cailyn Worley added one.

The AAAA high school regional golf tournament was held at Braelinn Country Club this past Monday morning. The top six girls and boys teams from the region qualified for the event. The two boys teams and girls teams with the lowest scores on Monday would advance to the AAAA State Finals in Augusta on May 7.

The McIntosh girls tennis team defeated Evans 5-0 on Wednesday. Marybeth Black, Chelsea Utting and Kendall Wilde won signles matches. Wilde was ahead 2-0 before her match was retired. The doubles teams of Stephanie Halpern and Kelsey Paone and Lyndsi Tufte and Emma Fisher won their matches, 6-1, 6-0 and 6-0, 6-1 respectively.

The Whitewater Wildcats trailed Woodward Academy 10-5 going into the bottom of the sixth inning tonight before rallying with six runs for a region win that puts the Wildcats tied for second in the region with the War Eagles and Northgate.

The McIntosh Chiefs varsity boys soccer team defeated Glynn Academy 3-0 on Wednesday night on the strength of two goals from Cameron Black and an own goal from their opponent.

The Sandy Creek Lady Patriots placed second in the 6-AAA region championships.

Sandy Creek took first and fourth place in the 4x100 meter championships (49.13 and 49.88) and third in the 4x400 meter relay (4:14.60). The team got first place finishes from Karnesha Slaughter in the pole vault, 8’, Whitney Judson in the 100 meter dash (12.55), Aleah Hordges in the 200 meter dash (25.72) and Mercedes Ferguson in the 400 meter dash (58.77).

The high school baseball season has been full of excitement thus far and, if recent events are any indicator, the remainder of the season is going to be filled with some great play as well.

Proving they are a force to be reckoned with, Foot Solutions, the world’s largest franchiser focused on foot care health and wellness and relatively new on the running scene, took the Boston Marathon by storm last week when several of its runners were thrust into the national spotlight with strong appearances despite injuries and biomechanic issues.

The state soccer playoffs began like they always seem to for the McIntosh Lady Chiefs, with a shutout victory.

McIntosh, ranked third in Class AAAA, got two goals a piece from KC Hewitt, Kaelyn Horton and Meghan O'Rourke, while Jessalyn Moore and Kate Marnock each scored one.

The Northgate Vikings varsity baseball team has two losses marring their stellar record (19-2, 9-2) this season and both have come against the same team, Whitewater's Wildcats. Tonight, the Vikings lost 6-3.

The times for next week’s games haven’t all been set yet, but the local teams heading to the state soccer playoffs know who they will be facing.

The McIntosh Chiefs varsity baseball team hosted Creekside on Wednesday night and won 9-6. The Chiefs built a 5-0 lead by the end of the second inning with RBIs from Eric Weiss, Brandon Harris and John Riccitelli.

New Senoia Raceway (formerly Senoia Raceway) in Senoia, Georgia returns to racing action for the 2007 season with a new name and an exciting racing schedule consisting only of special events. The track will host special events only on an approximately monthly basis featuring some of the most popular professional racing series available to short track-racing fans today.

McIntosh and Starr's Mill's girls lacrosse teams faced off at McIntosh High School on Thursday. The Lady Chiefs hung on in a tight contest for an 8-7 win. Kelly Polo scored four goals for McIntosh, while Britt LaPalm added two and Taylor Lugash added one. Starr's Mill's goals were scored by Sarah Risley (5) and Catherine Sanders (2).

Peachtree City’s Franklin Langham finished at par and Newnan’s Steve Gilley was 3-over in the first round of the Athens Regional Foundation Classic in Athens. Gilley qualified for the Nationwide Tour event on Monday at Chicopee Woods in Gainesville. The first round leader is Martin Laird of Scotland at 6-under 66.

The McIntosh Lady Chiefs tennis team defeated Woodward Academy 3-1 on Thursday afternoon to capture their 13th region championship.

Boasting the top ranking in AAAA in Georgia and a number two ranking in the nation, according to a recent National Soccer Coaches Association of America poll, the McIntosh Chiefs varsity boys soccer team completed their undefeated run through region play on Monday with a 5-1 win over Fayette County. Leo Gutierrez and Allen Stein both scored in the first half, while Cameron Black, Jad Sheikali and Joaquin Reyes scored in the second half. Fayette’s goal was scored by Sean Pietromonaco.

Streaks are a big part of sports and players and teams are always trying to stay hot. They may alter line-ups to get good match-ups, perform a specific ritual before each big play or wear certain uniforms to stay hot. Several local teams are riding some win streaks in region play and are hoping to carry them through the second halves of their season.

Starr’s Mill and McIntosh competed in the McEachern Invitational last Saturday.

The Starr’s Mill girls placed third overall and McIntosh placed fifth. Scoring points for the girls were: