The 8U division of PHA is a learning division. The players play regulation games with referees but no score is kept during the regular season games.

On Nov. 29, the ECHS Swimming Indians participated in a tri-meet against Carrollton and Holy Innocence High Schools. The Indians placed second in the overall competition. However, the boys placed first. There were exceptional first place swims by Jake O’Brien in the 100 breast and Jamie Wright in the 100 and 200 free. There were also outstanding runner-up swims by Jason Weeks in the 50 and 100 free and Alex Kralman in the 200 free and breast. Philip Babb achieved runner-up in the 100 fly and Krystal Hynson in the 500 free.

With the Starr's Mill Panthers elimination from the state playoffs, there are no more local teams playing football, thus the picking season is over.

Many of the local basketball teams played against region opponents over the weekend and the results were mixed.

On Friday, McIntosh’s boys (1-3) lost to Banneker 62-58 and on Saturday the Chiefs fell to Hiram 60-55 in overtime. McIntosh led by six points at the half in both games. Scoring leaders through the first four games for the Chiefs are Cameron Rich with 12 points per game, and KC Erickson with 10 points per game. The Lady Chiefs (3-1) defeated Banneker 59-50 with Elyse Chubb scoring 24 points and Erin Justice adding 19. On Saturday, they beat Hiram 43-27. Chubb and Alex Smith both scored 12 points in the win.

The 2006 football season started in the Georgia Dome for the Starr’s Mill Panthers and they were close to returning there for the state semi-finals. The East Paulding Raiders stood in their way though and defeated Starr’s Mill 35-28.

The Steve Lundquist Aquatics Center in Clayton County was the setting for the first Wildcat “BIG SPLASH” Invitational swim meet on Saturday, Dec. 2. Whitewater High School’s swim team hosted the meet featuring nine teams traveling from as far away as Columbia county. Jonesboro High School, Starr’s Mill, McIntosh, Sandy Creek, Fayette County, Lakeside, Blessed Trinity , and Evans High School competed fiercely in this beautiful new Clayton County facility for the top three places to earn trophies to add to the school case.

The Our Lady of Mercy wrestlers won every match they wrestled last Wednesday against the Creekview High School Grizzles with either a pin or a technical fall. Pinning for the Bobcats were heavyweight Patrick Spillway, Tommy Kearns at 215 lbs, 171 pounder Will Simmons, Thomas Raville at 125 lbs and 119 pounder Tim Kennedy. Scoring a technical fall was Clint Ford at 112 lbs.

Fayetteville native Russell Bobbitt recently claimed victory in the 81st Annual International Six Days Enduro (ISDE) in New Zealand, as the U.S. Junior Trophy Team won for the third time in history. Considered the Olympics of off-road motorcycling, this year’s ISDE challenged over 600 riders from 31 countries, who rode more than 750 miles of challenging terrain in ever-changing weather over six consecutive days.

Fayette County Lacrosse is gearing up for an exciting spring season.

Currently box lacrosse is getting into full swing. Those interesting in playing spring lacrosse are encouraged to take advantage of this skill building session. Players with backgrounds in hockey, soccer and football have excelled in the sport that keeps them in top physical condition through their off season.

Dreams of playing in the state semifinals in the Georgia Dome next Friday were dashed tonight as the East Paulding Raiders held off a determined Starr's Mill team 35-28.

The McIntosh High School Swim Team opened the 2006-2007 season at the Cobb Relays in Marietta, finishing 11th overall. The Chiefs finished in the top five in three events, two for the women and one in the mixed medley.

The McIntosh Chiefs wrestling team launched their season at the Troup County High School Duals in LaGrange the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. The Chiefs finished the day with two wins and three losses. McIntosh handily won against Kendrick and Northgate while suffering losses against state wrestling powers LaFayette, Kell and Columbus.

Last Friday night’s football action saw one local team reach the highest point of their season, while another hit their lowest point and ended their season with a heart-breaking loss.

The high school basketball season got underway last week with a number of teams playing in holiday tournaments.

Fayette County’s boys (3-1) got off to a good start by going 2-1 in the Arrowhead Tournament in Morrow. The Tigers beat Lovejoy 58-57 last Tuesday with Brandon Boykin hitting the game winning shot with 4.2 seconds left on the clock. The team was led in scoring by Noel Johnson.

Last Monday, the Our Lady of Mercy high school wrestling team traveled to Banneker High School for a quad-dual meet. It was certainly a Bobcat night as OLM defeated three schools beginning with St. Francis (Class A ) by a score 42-24.

• Sandy Creek graduates Calvin Johnson and Andrew Gardner earned All ACC honors. Johnson was a first team selection for the third straight year, while Gardner earned honorable mention recognition.

The Starr's Mill Panthers got another great road playoff win on Friday night, this time defeating Baldwin 19-14. Brandon Witta had two touchdowns and a blocked field goal in the victory. The win sends the Panthers (9-3) to East Paulding (11-1) next Friday. East Paulding beat Rome 27-3 this week. The winner of this game will be the home team when they meet the winner of the Creekside/Marist game in the Georgia Dome the following week.

The Starr’s Mill Panthers (8-3) and the Landmark Christian War Eagles (9-2) are both riding season-high winning streaks into their second round playoff games tonight. The Panthers have won four games in a row and the War Eagles have won seven in a row. They will be facing some formidable opponents tonight and they have winning streaks of their own that they would like to protect.

The McIntosh varsity boys basketball team started their season on Tuesday night with a 73-48 win over Northgate. The Chiefs were led by 16 points from KC Erickson, while Cameron Rich added 12 points and Devin Bertke added 11 points.

The East Coweta Indians had their first swim meet of the season on Friday, Nov. 17 at The Creekside Invitational. It was a huge success. The Indians took first place against Creekside, Sandy Creek, Our Lady of Mercy and Jonesboro High Schools with a score of 171 points.

The Booth Middle School wrestling team opened the season last Thursday versus Callaway Middle School. After a back and forth match the Warriors suffered the loss at the hands of the Cavaliers 45 – 54.

• Peachtree City resident and McIntosh graduate Nicole Degner finished 14th to earn All-American status and lead the Berry women's cross country team to a 22nd place finish at the NAIA National Championship meet.

There were four Fayette area teams in the state football playoffs last Friday and now there are two.

Starr’s Mill and Landmark Christian have both made it to the second round, while Whitewater and Sandy Creek were eliminated.

Steve Brown’s Picks: (74-26)

Starr's Mill (8-3) @ Baldwin (10-1)
The football gods were watching over Starr’s Mill last week. Ware County coughed-up the ball six times! Baldwin crushed Americus-Sumter 49-7 in their first round victory. Starr’s Mill has the offense back in force and they can throw points on the board. Baldwin had an impressive regular season with just one loss to a very good, undefeated Northside (Warner Robbins) team. BALDWIN has the home field advantage and is my pick.

The AFC Lightning White girls team, coached by Technical Director David Chadwick, finished its regular season by repeating as “Champions of the Region 3 Premier League East” (R3PL).

Our Lady of Mercy senior Thomasinnia Berry signed a scholarship to play volleyball at the University of West Georgia.

The Fayette County and Starr’s Mill varsity boys and girls basketball teams kicked off the new season on Saturday night and the Tigers and Lady Tigers picked up the wins. The boys defeated Starr’s Mill 94-43 with Noel Johnson scoring 23 points, pulling in four rebounds, getting four assists and recording six steals. David Millaud contributed 14 points and 11 rebounds.

On Saturday Nov. 11, the Brooks Bears Black finished their remarkable 10-0 season by winning the Super Bowl in Peachtree City. The Bears led by head coach Mark Neal and defensive coordinator Robert Baggett racked up some amazing stats this year. The Bears rock solid defense only allowed 25 points all season and shocked their opponents by scoring an electrifying 267 points.

[img_assist|fid=7160|thumb=0|alt=WMS softball|caption=The 2006 Lady Wildcats are (as pictured bottom to top, left to right) Alysa Glaze, Peyton Roth, Kaitlyn Johnson, Erica Bell, Kaylee Kehoe, Kimberly Wilson, Lane Colyer, Coach Guy Ernest, Quinn Williamon, Kristen Bohrer, Lindsey Whitener, Allison Maloney, Holley McGowan, Coach Natalie Waller, and Coach Denise Roth.

The Fayette County Special Olympics Equestrian Team recently competed in the Equestrian Special Olympics in Perry, Ga.