Leopards shake off loss to face Riverside Fri.

It was a rough season opener for the Banks County Leopards last Friday night as the Washington-Wilkes Tigers bumped the Leopards to an 0-1 record after a 34-21 loss for BCHS.

The defeat will spur on Banks County who brushes off last week’s loss to charge full steam into region play this Friday night, Sept. 4, at Riverside Military Academy in Gainesville.

The Riverside Eagles also took one on the chin last week as they fell to AAA Elbert County 40-6. The Leopards will have to fight for it, as both sides are hungry for the taste of victory.

During the 2008 campaign, Banks County suffered a 28-point loss as the Riverside Eagles carried a 56-28 win, where Riverside was coming off a close win from Elbert. When all was said and done, Riverside finished third in 8-AA while Banks slipped into the fourth spot seat. Both teams were knocked out in the first round of the playoffs.

Currently, Banks is slightly higher in the region standings than Riverside after last week’s low scoring game for the Eagles, but a check in the win column after Friday night would make it even better for the Leopards as the entire region schedule is still ahead.

The Leopards will take on the Eagles at 7:30 p.m. in Gainesville.

Season Opener

Things were looking up for Big Blue early last Friday as the 2009 football campaign got underway. Banks County added a touchdown to the board but missed the point after to lead 6-0.

Washington-Wilkes responded with two successful pushes into the endzone to take the lead 13-6. The Leopard were not out of the game yet, and a 78-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by sophomore Dean Ewing had the Leopards back in the thick of things by the middle of the second period with a tie game, 13-13.

The Tigers settled into a punishing assault on the Banks County line and scored 21 consecutive points to put it out of reach for the Leopards.

For more about the game see the Sept. 2 edition of The Banks County News.