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by JONATHAN OWENS Sanford Herald

Read more: Sanford Herald – PREPS Jackets come alive in last home game

SANFORD — Lee County’s baseball players really love their mothers.

On the night the Yellow Jackets honored their mothers before the game, Lee County could do no wrong from the plate, scoring six runs in the first and nine in the second on their way to a convincing 15-3 win over Panther Creek Tuesday night.

It had to be the socks, as the Jackets each wore pink socks in promotion of breast cancer awareness. Coupled with a special camouflage-pattern shirt and tri-colored hat, their uniforms were certainly a sight to behold. But it worked, as a Lee offense that has struggled most of the season showed no signs of rust in the last home game of the season.

Julio Paredes started off the scoring in the first, knocking in two on a single. After the Jackets again loaded the bases, Dillon Frye, Tyler Castleberry and Chase Arrington all hit one-run singles and Neal O’Quinn drew a walk that scored a run for the 6-0 lead after one.

But the fireworks ignited in the second, when Bradley Godwin batted in five runs with a triple and double, and Alex Furl launched a three-run homer over the right-field fence. Nick Durazo also batted in a run on a sacrifice to give Lee a 15-0 lead after two innings.

Durazo got the easy win from the mound. Rusty Clark allowed two inconsequential runs in the fourth and Grant Brown gave up one in relief.

Lee County returns to action on the road Thursday against Fuquay-Varina in the final game of the regular season.

CHAPEL HILL – North Carolina forward Harrison Barnes, the 2011 Atlantic Coast Conference Rookie of the Year, will return to the Tar Heels for his sophomore season.
“As an 18-year old, I’m in the early stages of my life journey,” Barnes says. “I’m honored and blessed for the chance to play in the NBA. And because of my family, teachers, passion, and work, I have the ultimate dream of one day playing and experiencing a fulfilling career in the NBA.
“Opportunities, both beneficial and life changing, can seem to make the next phase of my journey an easy decision. But I am a student-athlete at the University of North Carolina. I’m here to experience college life, grow as a person, receive a quality education, and be part of the greatest basketball family in college sports.
“The experiences I’ve enjoyed on and off the court will be invaluable. These experiences will help fuel my journey in the NBA and beyond.
“I look forward to meeting the challenging journey in the NBA, but my decision on November 13, 2009, still holds true. I’m focused on being a student-athlete. And my decision is to continue this part of my journey at the University ofNorth Carolina.
“As a team, we’re preparing for a special season. My off-season plans are to diligently work on honing my basketball skills in all areas with one team-goal in mind — to bring the 2012 national championship home to UNC.”
The Ames, Iowa, native earned second-team All-ACC honors after scoring 15.7 points per game and leading the Tar Heels with 67 three-point field goals. Barnes averaged 21.0 points in four NCAA Tournament games and set an ACC Tournament freshman scoring record when he scored 40 points in a semifinal win over Clemson. He was named to the ACC Tournament and NCAA East Regional All-Tournament Teams.
Barnes helped the Tar Heels go 29-8, win the ACC regular-season title and advance to the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament.

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Wesley Beeson- Staff photographer

SANFORD — To say Green Hope is a girls soccer powerhouse is a gross understatement.

But Lee County held its own Wednesday night against the state’s top ranked team, holding the Lady Falcons to two goals a half in a 4-0 loss.

It may sound like a small victory, but for a Lady Jackets team that is still winless on the year, who lost to Green Hope 9-0 earlier this season, it may as well be a win.

“They’re ranked eighth in the nation,” Lee co-captain Emily Lanier said afterwards. “That’s better than we’ve ever done against them. We’ve improved a lot this year and everyone stepped up tonight on defense.”

The Lady Jackets didn’t get a single shot on goal all night, but goalkeeper Olivia Sturdivant, who had 27 saves, and strong defense kept the game close. Sturdivant is also a co-captain along with Jill Davis.

“I was busy the whole time,” Sturdivant said. “It seemed like every minute there was something going on.”

Ashley Stokes scored Green Hope’s goal in the 25th minute and assisted Kenley Sigmon on another just before halftime. Maya Worth scored the third goal on an assist from Stokes, and Caroline Sigmon scored the final goal with just 40 seconds left in the game.

JONATHAN OWENS- owens@sanfordherald.com

This time around, we decided to switch it up a little. Our star of stars, R.V. Hight, is back, of course. And since Billy Liggett is the boss and the biggest football fan we know, we put him on too. But in addition to those two as well as us three (Jon, Ryan and Wes), we also decided to have a revolving guest star each week. For the first week we picked Joel Murr, one of the coolest coaches we work with and an all around great guy. And he said he’d do it on about two hours notice Thursday night…

Honestly, your don’t really have to be a star to be a part of the festivities. Just have an opinion on football. If you are interested in taking your spot up on the Hot Seat, contact sports editor Jonathan Owens at owens@sanfordherald.com or 718-1222.

This week’s picks

Lee County at Southern Lee: Of course we had to start with the Brick City Bowl. And we have a bit of controversy right off the bat. While the other five (Jon, R.V., Billy, Wes and Joel) all picked Lee County, Ryan — the guy who covers the Yellow Jackets every week — PICKED SOUTHERN LEE! We didn’t understand it either. But to his credit, he did say he hoped the pick would light a fire under Lee County. We think he’s going to hear about that one at practice next week.

Harnett Central at Western Harnett: Everyone except Ryan and Wes picked Harnett Central, and for good reason. They are led by N.C. State recruit and senior quarterback Brian Taylor. But Ryan and Wes are the only two of us that have actually seen Western play. Maybe they know something we don’t.

Union Pines at Chatham Central: Jon, Ryan and R.V. picked Union Pines. Billy, Wes and Joel picked Chatham Central. All combined, we have seen exact ZERO seconds of play from either of these teams….

Northwood at Jordan-Matthews: This has to be the game of the week in central N.C. high school football at least. Five of us picked Northwood, but I (Jon) was torn to say the least. Jordan-Matthews can score points. Northwood’s offense has been sluggish to start games so far this year. The only one of us to pick the Jets was R.V. Hight — the seasoned veteran of the Hot Seat. I think he may have us on this one…

Overhills at Pinecrest: Yes, Pinecrest no longer has anything to play for now that the NCHSAA has barred it from the playoffs. Still, five of us picked them to win this week. The lone holdout? Joel. Not sure about that one. He must know someone in southwestern Harnett County he doesn’t want to upset.

College

UNC vs. LSU: This one isn’t really fair to put on the Hot Seat, but we have to since it is THE game of the week for local college teams. Who knows who is going to play for the Tar Heels. Even though I graduated, Butch Davis called me tonight to see if I had any eligibility left. I told him I had signed with an agent though. Still, I gotta stick with my Heels, through thick and thin. My fellow Tar Heel alum, R.V. Hight, agreed, as did Ryan. But Billy, Wes and Joel all went for LSU and for good reason. Billy had the best reason — his wife wouldn’t let him in the house if he picked against the Tigers.

Campbell at Virginia Wise: we all picked Campbell, although only R.V. had any clue that Virginia Wise was even a college. I’m still not sure if it is Virginia Wise as in the state and “Wise”, or if it’s named after someone…Go Camels!

Va Tech vs. Boise State: Jon, Ryan, Wes and Joel all went with the Smurfs, er, I mean Boise State. Every time they are on the big stage, they win. That was my thinking. But R.V. and Billy went with Virginia Tech. Should be an awesome game!

Western Carolina at N.C. State: This has to be my favorite Ryan pick of the night. Though the other five of us went with State, Ryan picked his alma mater. Gotta respect that.

Elon at Duke: OK, I picked Elon here, as did Wes. I picked them, simply, because I wouldn’t pick Dook if they were playing the Russians or the Devil’s team. Honestly, I would rather waste a pick than pull for Dook. And I’m extremely disappointed that R.V. didn’t do the same. Plus, Elon is a pretty darn good team from what I hear.

Tulsa at ECU: Even though the Pirates have a new coach and an all new offense, we still all picked them to win over Tulsa. Not sure why though…

NFL

Minnesota at New Orleans: This game takes place on Thursday night and is the first true game of the season. Since our next Hot Seat doesn’t publish until Friday, we stole one here. Jon, Billy and Joel like the Saints. Ryan, R.V. and Wes like the Favres, I mean Vikings.

Personally, I’ll be pulling for my alma mater, UNC, in Saturday’s game, although I am a lot less excited about the game than I was a month ago. What started out as a likely dream season has turned into a nightmare in Chapel Hill, with the NCAA investigations and what-not. Still, maybe the good guys can pull it out this weekend.

If not, the basketball schedule was released on Thursday. Football who?

Go Heels! Or what’s left of them.

Jonathan Owens

What say you, Lee County Board of Education? I’m sure the voters won’t mind you asking for another $60 mil…