Clarke Central wins Region 8AAAA Championship

Clarke Central defensive lineman Devonte Yearby kisses the Region 8 Class AAAA championship trophy as the Clarke Central Gladiators beat the Flowery Branch Falcons 21-0 on Friday, November 5, 2010 in Athens, Ga.

This was a cold, disastrous game from a photo standpoint. Windchill was below 30 and i froze.

What made it a disaster was the company-issued laptop that took an hour and a half to ingest 2 cards, open & tone 5 photos. Usually this takes 5 minutes. Missed deadline by an hour & a half.

Sports Illustration: Jordan Pierce

Clarke Central linebacker Jordan Pierce on Thursday, November 4, 2010 in Athens, Ga.

Yeah, its an illustration. You don't see sunsets like that here in Georgia. The why and the how after the jump.

Election Night in Athens. Part 1.

Supporters for Athens Mayoral candidate watch election returns at Cine on Tuesday, November 2, 2010 in Athens, Ga.

Its election night. It happens every year. The main thing i covered was 2 of the 5 Mayoral race candidates, which meant that 2 people would more than likely be heading for a runoff in a later election, leading to very little jube/deject shots.

Cupcake Scheduling

Our weekly Gameday story was on the new scheduling philosophy, leading into the week where they faced Football Championship Subdivision (formerly 1-AA) school Idaho State where they paid ISU $525,000 to come to Athens.

Its referred to a "buy" game or more commonly known as a cupcake. Georgia's new philosophy is to get away from scheduling bigger, out of conference opponents and face more mid-major and 1-AA schools.

So how did we illustrated this? We went to the grocery store and pointed out the complete obvious.

Georgia v Florida Redux.

Florida Gators kicker Chas Henry (17) celebrates after kicking a 37-yard field goal to win the game as the Florida Gators beat the Georgia Bulldogs 34-31 in overtime at Everbank Field on Saturday, October 30, 2010 in Jacksonville, Fl.

Its the annual Georgia/Florida game, Formerly known as the Worlds Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party. It was my fourth time since 2005, and it came down to the last play. Best college game I've seen in person.

Tale of this road trip after the jump.

Candidate Nathan Deal in Watkinsville

Georgia gubernatorial candidate Nathan Deal walks off a bus past U.S. Congressman Paul Broun, right, as Republican candidates stop for a rally as part of a state-wide bus tour at Harris Shoals Park on Thursday, October 28, 2010 in Watkinsville, Ga.

I haven't had much of a chance to cover the major political races here in Georgia this election cycle, mainly because Athens is a major Democratic stronghold in a largely Republican state. The Republican Gubernatorial candidate came to the area and I tried to make some nice photos.

North Oconee Defense

North Oconee defensive coordinator Bob Krieger is surrounded (l-r) Trent Mattox, Trey Reed, Sean Olinger, and Greg Hall on Thursday, October 28, 2010 in Bogart, Ga. North Oconee's defense has not allowed a point in their past three games.

As usual, I'm asked to do a group portrait involving the defensive coordinator. These are HARD because I need to highlight one person out of a group. How I did this after the jump....

Chariot Races!

Matt Shanks, center, runs with his teammates as they win a chariot race on Saturday, October 23, 2010 in Athens, Ga. Entrants had to navigate two laps of their homemade chariots on the College Avenue course.

Recently, a beverage company (They're not giving me any money, therefore they don't get mentioned, much like that shoe company doesn't give me money either) sponsored a goofy chariot race, Ben-Hur style, in the middle of downtown Athens. Chaos ensued. More after the jump