Edited by Leeroy Francis Jr. |Sports editorThe Sports Squad Podcast – Episode 6 – Nov. 5 (Click Here)The Augusta University men’s cross country team took second place in the 2018 Peach Belt Conference Championships Saturday, Nov. 3, at Redcliffe Plantation State Historic Site in Beech Island, S.C., finishing just four points behind UNC Pembroke. Augusta had three in the top five in the men's PBC title race, led by sophomore Hunter Kimball, who finished in third place, clocking in at 24:49.6. Sophomore Jacob Poston placed fourth in 24:57.9, and senior Noah Hulett finished fifth in 24:58.5. The Jaguar women’s cross country team took fifth place. The Jaguars’ Micah Weathers was fifth in the individual race in 18:41.8. AU junior McKenzie Knudsen was eighth place in 18:57.5. Sophomore Miranda Taylor crossed the line in 19:30.1 to take 22nd. The AU men's and women's cross country teams' next race will be the NCAA Southeast Regional hosted by North Georgia in Oakwood, Ga., on Saturday, Nov 17. In other sports news …
- The AU volleyball team will face the sixth-seeded Francis Marion Patriots on Saturday, Nov. 10, in the first round of the Southeast Regional. Ranked third in the latest regional rankings, the Jaguars went 21-7 in the regular season and 7-5 in league play. AU's 21 wins are the fourth most in the 34-year history of the program. The single-elimination tournament is being held in the Finis Horne Arena on the campus of Lander University in Greenwood, S.C. Augusta met FMU (13-14) twice in the regular season and swept each match. The winner will move on to face second-seeded Lander University (22-6) in the semifinals at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday evening ...
- The Georgia Bulldogs made a return to the top five of the AP poll after winning their second consecutive SEC East title Saturday night after they beat Kentucky 34-17. With the win, the Dawgs gain a spot in Atlanta against No. 1 Alabama in the SEC Championship Game. West Virginia had one of the most significant jumps, up five spots into the top 10 at No. 7 after knocking off Texas on the road. The biggest jump of the week within the poll came from Syracuse and Boston College, up nine spots and seven spots respectively after Week 10 wins. No. 19 Florida and No. 21 Penn State each fell out of the top 15 after losses but remained in the top 25 thanks to other teams below them falling out of the rankings. In the latest college playoff rankings, No. 1 is Alabama, No. 2 Clemson, No. 3 Notre Dame and No. 4 Michigan. This week, the first two out of the playoffs are No. 5 Georgia and No. 6 Oklahoma ...
- Kevin Harvick is now in the top spot for the chase to win the Championship 4 race at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Nov. 18. He won Sunday’s AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway after leading 177 laps. Joey Logano is in the No. 2 spot for the chase. But Harvick was later penalized for having an improper spoiler plate and was striped of his victory in Texas and fell to next-to-last place among those running in the chase. Logano is now in first place in the chase standings ...
- The New Orleans Saints defeated the Los Angeles Rams 45-35 at the Superdome Sunday night. The Rams found themselves in a 21-point hole in the first half, but they tied the score at 35 with 9:57 remaining in the game. Drew Brees completed a 72-yard pass to Michael Thomas for a touchdown late in the game and ended the Rams perfect record. The Rams have not had an 8-0 start since 1969 ...
- The Dez Bryant, the former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver, has signed a one-year deal with the Saints. Bryant, 30, was released by the Cowboys in April after his on-field productivity slipped in 2016 and 2017. The once dominant physical wideout hasn't surpassed 900 yards since signing a lucrative extension in 2015. Bryant's contract is for $1.5 million, prorated to $600,000 ...
- The Los Angeles Lakers signed former All-Star and 2001 second overall pick center Tyson Chandler after his buyout from the Phoenix Suns. Just one day after signing with the Lakers, Chandler provided an enormous impact with his rebounding, screen-setting and defense in a 114-110 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves. Eight of the Lakers first 11 games were against playoff teams from last year. After going 5-6 in that stretch they will face only five 2017-18 playoff teams in the next 11 games ...
- The Grovetown High School Warriors defeated the Evans High Knights 30-20 to wins the school’s first ever region title. The Warriors won five in a row after a 1-4 start to finish the regular season on a high note with the Region 3-AAAAAA championship, the first in the program’s nine-year history of region competition. With the Evans loss, Greenbrier High Wolfpack (3-7) moved into the No. 2 seed from Region 3 and has earned its first home playoff game since 1997. The Wolfpack began its football program with a string of three consecutive postseason appearances. After another berth in 2003, the Wolfpack hasn’t been back since, but that will change when Greenbrier plays host to Richmond Hill (4-5) in the first round. The Wolfpack has not won at home all season going (0-5). The Lakeside Panthers (5-4) beat Heritage 10-7 to clinch the No. 3 seed and will travel to Effingham County. Evans (3-7) is the No. 4 seed and will travel to Glynn Academy. In another game, Stratford Academy travels to Aquinas.
Sources: ABC Sports, Associated Press, Atlanta Journal Constitution, Augusta Chronicle, Bleacher Report, Boston Globe, CNN, CBS Sports, ESPN, New York Times and USA TodayContributors: Leeroy Francis Jr., Ceara Hester, Megan Johnson, Brandon Johnson, Ben Marshall, Khadijah Sandifer and Chase Slone.