BCHS heads to North Oconee

The Leopards have added a second notch to their win belts as the Rabun County Wildcats fell 18-14 last Friday night.

According to coach Blair Armstrong, the Leopards made a big step in learning to finish strong.

“I was very, very pleased,” said Armstrong. “We finally learned how to finish and looked like we had the confidence and knew we could win the game.”

Banks will need to hold onto that confidence and momentum for this Friday night as the Leopards head to Bogart to face the undefeated North Oconee Titans.

“[North Oconee] is a very good team, they have beat us the past two years after we were ahead both times,” Armstrong said. “I am hoping our lesson learned last Friday on how to finish will take affect this Friday.”

With somewhat of a grudge against the Titans, Banks County could benefit a lot by knocking them down from their number two spot in the region. Currently the standings have Jefferson leading 8-AA, followed by North Oconee, and East Jackson; all three of which have undefeated records this far in the season. Banks County is fifth behind Riverside.

While the forecast calls for mild to moderate thunderstorms and rain. The weather could prove to be a slight advantage for Banks County as North Oconee usually likes to put the ball in the air, but Armstrong is not relying solely on that possibility and the Leopards are ready to play in the mud, noting that the team has practiced over the past several days in the same kind of conditions that could arise Friday night.

“I don’t know if it will be a factor, they will be practicing in the rain this week as well and it should be about the same for both teams,” said Armstrong.

Big things the Leopards are going to be looking to improve on for the North Oconee game is tackling and execution on the offense, according to Armstrong.

Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m. Friday night in Bogart.

For more on last Friday's win over Rabun County see the Sept. 23 edition of The Banks County News.