Honor roll
Clay Frink, Banks County: 11 carries for 123 yards and a touchdown in a loss to Oglethorpe County.
Jessel Curry, Buford: 89 all-purpose yards and a touchdown, and 15 tackles with an interception in a win against Westminster.
Andrew Swope, Buford: 12 tackles with a caused fumble and a fumble recovery in a win against Westminster.
Ben Souther, Chestatee: 22 carries for 149 yards in a loss to West Forsyth.
Cody Streetman, Commerce: Two rushing touchdowns and one passing in a win against Social Circle.
Deon Brock, Commerce: 15 carries for 126 yards and a touchdown in a win against Social Circle.
John Cash, Commerce: 17 carries for 106 yards and a touchdown in a win against Social Circle.
Jamond Witt, East Hall: 154 all-purpose yards and a pair of touchdowns in a win against West Hall.
Blake Sims, Gainesville: 261 all-purpose yards and four touchdowns in a win against Johnson.
Teryan Rucker, Gainesville: 183 all-purpose yards and four touchdowns in a win against Johnson.
Zane Cochran, Jackson County: 141 total offensive yards in a loss to Oconee County.
Samuel Loggins, Jefferson: 11 tackles in a win against North Oconee.
Kyle Mosley, Jefferson: 10 tackles, a fumble caused and a fumble recovery in a win against North Oconee.
Zach Allen, Jefferson: 12 tackles, two sacks, a fumble caused and a fumble recovery in a win against North Oconee.
Lance Chuvala, Lumpkin County: 12 tackles and a sack in a loss to Creekview.
Skylar Donovan, Lumpkin County: 11 tackles in a loss to Creekview.
Nathan Jones, North Hall: 74 all-purpose yards and a pair of touchdowns in a win against Gilmer.
Lucas Bersin, Riverside Military: 221 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns, and 13 tackles in a win against Union County.
Shunquez Stephens, West Hall: 21 of 35 passing for 349 yards and four touchdowns in a loss to East Hall.
Adam Hooper, White County: 12 tackles in a win against Pickens.
Cole Segraves, White County: 9 of 10 passing for 172 yards and three touchdowns, and 40 yards rushing and a touchdown in a win against Pickens.
Ashely Lowery, White County: Seven carries for 114 yards and a pair of touchdowns, and a 67-yard punt return for a touchdown in a win against Pickens.
Winston Churchill once said, “A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.”
East Hall High football team’s defensive end, Chaz Cheeks, must be an optimist because he found all the opportunity he needed in a very difficult season.
Cheeks sacked West Hall quarterback Shunquez Stephens three times and recovered a fumble en route to the Vikings’ (1-9, 1-4 Region 7B-AAA) 34-28 win against the Spartans (0-9, 0-4) on Friday in Gainesville.
The win puts an end to East Hall’s 14-game losing streak and is its first defeat of the Spartans since 2006.
“It just felt good to finally get (a win) knowing that we worked so hard all year,” said Cheeks. “All I could do was just smile and just dance around.”
The game was tied 28-28 late in the fourth quarter when Cheeks recovered a fumble that allowed the Vikings to put together a game-winning drive.
“The pressure that Chaz created to cause that fumble is really what did it for us,” said East Hall coach Bryan Gray. “He is being the dominant defensive end I always knew he could be.”
“At the time I wasn’t even thinking too much about it. I just saw the ball on the ground and I just hopped on it,” said Cheeks of the recovery.
East Hall took the lead off a 10-yard touchdown by freshman Austin Mahaffey and West Hall got the ball back with 2:32 left to play in the game.
The Spartans got to the 20, but were unable to capitalize as the Vikings’ defense forced a turnover on downs to end the contest.
“I played hard. It was a team effort really,” Cheeks said. “I had Sterling (Bailey) on the other side helping me out.”
“The win validates all the hard work the kids are putting in,” said Gray. “Chaz did an exceptional job. I thought it was another outstanding night.”
East Hall plays host to Pickens at 7:30 p.m. Friday in the final game of the season for both teams.
West Hall plays host to the subregion’s No. 3-ranked team West Forsyth at 7:30 p.m. Friday.