Whitewater and Starr’s Mill both made the Elite Eight of the Class AAAA state softball tournament and both fell short of the ultimate goal of a state title. Sandy Creek was in the Class AAA Elite Eight and also didn’t make the championship game.

Steve Brown’s Picks: (56-20)

Fayette County at McIntosh
I am telling you that McIntosh could pull out a victory on this one. Banneker got the best of Fayette County last week and McIntosh might have a chance too. However, based upon the statistics, I am going with FAYETTE COUNTY.

During the weekend of Sept. 30, the Level 5 girls gymnastics team of Gym South Gymnastics and Cheerleading made a trip down to Panama City, Fla. to compete in their third meet of the USA Gymnastics season.

The 2006 Little League World Series Champions, Columbus Northern Little League, will be in Peachtree City November 4 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Wyndham Peachtree Conference Center. The 2005 World Series Peachtree City Challenger All Stars will also be present to act as ambassadors and greeters for the event.

The state volleyball tournaments start tomorrow as eight local teams will begin their quest for a championship. Here are the match-ups:

Although Creekside hosts Westlake in a game that could have implications on the region for some local teams in contention for a state playoff spot, the biggest game tonight is ...

The McIntosh Chiefs varsity football team will be without a running back, defensive back and kicker for the rest of the season. They haven’t lost three players, just one who plays like three.

The winner in each age group of the Men’s 5K of the Peachtree City Classic were:

1-10
• Austin Gray, Ellenwood, 21:09

• Peachtree City resident Jack Berry, 12 ,was selected to the Travel Ball Select 2006 All- American baseball team. Berry was awarded the honor based on his tremendous accomplishments on and off the field. He was a top performer on the East Cobb Astros: One of the most respected travel baseball organizations in the country. Berry was a catcher/pitcher and has been described as “one of the best in Georgia, He displays tremendous versatility and range with a cannon arm.”

The Peachtree City Tennis Center hosted the Prudential Financial Blaze Sports Run Roll Challenge Saturday Oct. 14. This was a doubles event with one able body and one wheelchair tennis player competing together against other players of similar ability in three different divisions consisting of 5.0, 6.0 and 7.0 teams. The levels are made up of a combined NTRP rating that is a standard rating system used by many leagues such as USTA and ALTA. Players came from Tennessee, Missouri and Florida that was the culmination of divisional winners in their area that advanced to this regional event.

Due to this weekend’s Bass Pro Shops 500 race events at Atlanta Motor Speedway, the south side of Atlanta will experience especially heavy traffic flow throughout the weekend. More than 120,000 fans are expected for the Bass Pro Shops 500 and these are the best routes for entering and exiting the speedway.

Get ready to bump, set, spike this fall at the North Atlanta Church of Christ second annual community-wide volleyball tournament to be held Nov. 10-12.

The Starr’s Mill’s Lady Panthers have made the final four of the Class AAAA softball tournament and Whitewater’s Lady Wildcats are still alive.

Steve Brown (49-18)

Fayette County (1-6) vs. Banneker (1-6)
The road has been full of potholes for Fayette County this season. Banneker gave Whitewater all kinds of problems. This game comes down to who has the most grit, and it’s FAYETTE COUNTY!

The 2006 Fayette County Red Sox Fall T-Ball team. They finished the short fall season with a 10-0 record.

Area football fans had circled Oct. 20 on their calendars before the season began, figuring that the match between Whitewater and Starr’s Mill would be a classic with serious implications in the region football standings. They were right. The game was filled with everything one looks for in a football game; big plays on offense, hard tackles on defense, a loud and energetic crowd on both sides of the field and a ton of drama in the final moments of the game.

Six local schools have made the state volleyball playoffs in their respective classifications and two of those schools have won area titles.

Lovejoy Regional Park was the site of some terrific state softball tournament action on Friday and Saturday and the results were especially terrific for three of the four local teams who had made the state playoffs.

Our Lady of Mercy Catholic High School is proud to announce that senior Lauren Hohenberger has been nominated for the 2006-2007 Wendy’s High School Heisman. This prestigious award was given to one high school male and one high school female for the state of Georgia.

In what many in attendance will tell you was the greatest high school football game they ever saw, the Whitewater Wildcats defeated Starr's Mill 15-14 with just over a minute remaining in the game.

The McIntosh Lady Chiefs, led by senior Emily Borsare, captured another county cross country championship on Wednesday afternoon. McIntosh had four runners in the top 10. They were followed by Starr’s Mill, Whitewater, Our Lady of Mercy and Sandy Creek High School.

Just when you thought there couldn’t be any more great high school football games to watch this year, perhaps the best of the bunch arrives Friday night. While every other local team is looking for region wins tonight, Starr’s Mill hosts Whitewater in a game that has some serious implications in region standings and the state playoff hunt.

Setter Mary Chaudoin is well into her junior year at Starrs Mill High School. While helping lead the highly ranked Panther varsity volleyball team this season, the past summer months were busy ones for Chaudoin.

The Peachtree City Tennis Center will be hosting a clinic featuring Luke Jensen Monday Oct. 23 from 12-7p.m.

There will be five different sessions during the day where Luke’s high energy will be evident as he performs clinics with juniors and adults of all ages and levels.

By MONROE ROARK
Special to The Citizen

In the first of two key region games against county opponents on consecutive weeks, the Whitewater Wildcats downed the McIntosh Chiefs 41-7 to move to 5-2 overall and 4-1 in Region 2-AAAA. McIntosh fell to 0-6 and 0-4.

Our Lady of Mercy and Starr’s Mill ran in the Furman Invitational on Saturday. The Bobcat boys placed seventh overall while the Panthers placed 12th. The top five runners for Our Lady of Mercy were:

Five local teams have made the state softball playoffs in their respective classifications. They all begin their quest for a state title on Friday and many of the games are close to home.

McIntosh will host the Area 3-AAAA tournament beginning tomorrow evening. The Lady Chiefs, which closed the season with six straight wins, are the top seed in the tournament. They will face the winner of the Fayette County/Riverdale match, scheduled for 5 p.m., at 7 p.m.

Steve Brown’s Picks:

Fayette County @ Westlake
This is a good match. Fayette County has had some bumps in the road this year, so I pick WESTLAKE.

Whitewater High School’s Jonathon Ashley and Kelley Bowers have been honored with a nomination for the prestigious Wendy’s High School Heisman Award. The program, awarded in conjunction with the collegiate Heisman, celebrates the achievements of the nation’s top high school seniors both in and out of the classroom.