Honor roll
Basketball
Andraya Carter, Buford: Scored 17 points in a win over Lovett on Friday and 22 points in a win over Atlanta-Jackson on Thursday.
Kaela Davis, Buford: Scored 23 points in the Region 6-AA championship win over Greater Atlanta Christian on Saturday, 17 points in a win over Lovett on Friday and 16 points in a win over Atlanta-Jackson on Thursday.
Tyler Dominy, Dawson County: Scored 19 points with 10 rebounds in a win over East Jackson on Tuesday.
Jacob Evans, Dawson County: Scored 20 points with 13 rebounds in a win over East Jackson on Tuesday.
Alex Flagler, Buford: Scored 24 points in a win over Decatur on Saturday, 19 points in a loss to South Atlanta on Friday and 10 points in a win over Blessed Trinity on Thursday.
Joshua Hampton, East Hall: Scored 16 points in a win over Elbert County on Friday and 21 points in a win over Banks County on Thursday.
Morgan Jackson, East Hall: Scored 10 points in a loss to Union County on Saturday, 15 points in a win over North Oconee on Wednesday and 18 points in a win over East Jackson on Monday.
Jasmine Jenkins, East Hall: Scored 25 points in a loss to Fannin County on Friday, 15 points in a win over North Oconee on Wednesday and 13 points in a win over East Jackson on Monday.
Zach Pendley, North Georgia Christian: Scored 27 points and earned Most Valuable Player honors as the Chargers won the ICSGA tournament championship Saturday and scored 27 points in a win over Grace Christian on Thursday.
Mary Kate Rushton, North Hall: Scored 10 points in a win over Chestatee on Saturday, 10 points in a loss to Walnut Grove on Friday and 18 points with eight rebounds in a win over Oconee County on Wednesday.
McKenna Rushton, North Hall: Scored 14 points in a win over Chestatee on Saturday, 17 points in a loss to Walnut Grove on Friday and 17 points with 12 rebounds in a win over Oconee County on Wednesday.
Caitlin Sloan, Johnson: Scored 17 points with 11 rebounds in a win over White County on Monday.
Jamaad Stephens, West Hall: Scored 22 points in a win over Oconee County on Thursday.
Shunquez Stephens, West Hall: Earned Region 8-AAA tournament Most Valuable Player honors after scoring 25 points in the finals, 20 points in the semifinals and 12 points with 11 rebounds in the quarterfinals.
Tavia Sykes, Flowery Branch: Scored 24 points in a win over Loganville on Friday and 13 points in a win over Madison County on Wednesday.
Soccer
Israel Azura, Johnson: Scored two goals with one assist in a win over Lumpkin County on Friday.
Hartley Carter, Gainesville: Scored two goals in a win over Cartersville on Tuesday.
Catherine Chambers, Gainesville: Scored two goals in a win over East Hall on Friday.
Katy Garth, Buford: Scored two goals in a win over Dawson County on Friday.
Matt Lewis, West Hall: Scored two goals in a win over Flowery Branch on Monday.
Kayla Madsen, Johnson: Scored two goals in a win over Lumpkin County on Friday.
Juan Morfin, Johnson: Scored two goals in a win over Forsyth Central on Tuesday and scored one goal in a win over Lumpkin County on Friday.
Anne Schmidt, Buford: Scored two goals in a win over Dawson County on Friday.
Wrestling
Travis Burton, Lumpkin County: Won the Class AAA 215-pound state championship Saturday.
Lee Cagle, Lumpkin County: Earned runner-up honors at 160-pounds in the state finals Saturday.
Addison Davis, Commerce: Finished as the runner-up in the 160-pound class at the state finals Saturday.
Cain Finch, Jefferson: Won the 145-pound state title Saturday.
Isaac Kelly, Jefferson: Earned runner-up honors at 119 pounds in the state finals Saturday.
Cody Legg, Commerce: Finished as the runner-up in the 103-pound class at the state finals Saturday.
Chance McClure, Commerce: Won the 189-pound state title Saturday.
Caleb Morris, White County: Won the 130-pound state championship Saturday.
Chip Ness, Buford: Won the 152-pound state championship Saturday.
Forrest Przybysz, Jefferson: Won the 171-pound state title Saturday.
Jake Sherman, Jefferson: Earned runner-up honors in the state finals Saturday.
With the Region 8-AA championship on the line Saturday night in Tiger, East Hall coach Joe Dix put the game in the hands of senior guard Dre Perry.
Perry was coming off an 18-point performance in the semifinals against Elbert County the night before and Dix felt secure that his starting ball handler could get it done.
The coach’s confidence wasn’t misplaced.
Perry made 7-of-8 free throws in the final 58.1 seconds and was at the head of a full-court pressure East Hall defense that forced the Wildcats into five turnovers in the final nine minutes of play.
The senior finished the game with 18 points, five assists and two steals, and the Vikings (23-5) finished with a 61-54 victory and the Region 8-AA championship.
For his efforts, Perry is The Times Athlete of the Week.
“I knew the team had my back because I always have theirs,” Perry said after the game. “So I just went after it on defense and good things happened.”
East Hall certainly needed a spark. The fifth-ranked Vikings went into halftime trailing 28-25 and looked disjointed much of a first half in which they committed 11 turnovers.
“We just needed to calm down,” Dix said. “The crowd was into it and we got rattled a little bit and stopped playing like we want to.”
In the opening moments of the second half, it looked as though the home team might be able to pull away and earn the upset.
Trailing by as many as nine points midway through the third quarter, with the raucous Rabun County crowd making it hard to hear play calls and the ref’s whistle, the East Hall defense went to work, limiting the Wildcats to just four points in the final 4:24 of the third quarter.
The teams went into the final period tied at 44.
“When you play a team two or three times in one season, you get accustomed to one another,” Dix said. “So it comes down to who has more guts and who makes more plays.
“And defense is all about guts.”
East Hall had beaten Rabun County twice in the regular season, both times by more than 15 points, but the third matchup proved the truth of Dix’s words.
In the fourth quarter, the score remained knotted at 44 until a Sterling Bailey layup made it 46-44 East Hall with 5:34 left.
The teams traded the lead back-and-forth a few times over the next few minutes, until a Perry 3-pointer with 4:22 remaining gave East Hall a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
“I wasn’t going to let the team lose,” Perry said.
With 1:50 to go, Dix put in an all-guard lineup with the knowledge that Rabun County would have to foul. The Vikings spread the floor and two straight times down the court, Perry took Rabun County sophomore Jeb Gipson one-one-one. Each possession rendered a 1-and-1 free-throw opportunity for Perry. The senior made all four, putting the score at 58-52 with 41.8 seconds left.
“He didn’t let anything rile him,” Dix said after the game. “He just stepped up and knocked them down. Exactly like we practice.”
Perry would go on to make three more free throws in the waning moments and East Hall would escape Tiger with a title.
The Vikings host the third seed from Region 6-AA, Decatur, at 7 p.m. Saturday in the opening round of the Class AA tournament.