"EAGLES, did you know you can earn a scholarship just by FISHING in High School?! Well here's your chance!! The Eagle's Landing High School Varsity Bass Fishing team is looking for young men & women who want to learn how to fish on a competitive level! All are students are welcome, no matter your skill or grade level! Need more info or to sign up stop by Coach Carney's Room 616"...

High school basketball player in Henry County is an inspiration Christian is on the autism spectrum and is the first person on the spectrum to make the Eagle’s Landing High School basketball team. Two years in a row....

A battle between two teams went to overtime during the Monday night makeup game before a crowd of over 1,000 people. But each and every last fan in the stands was in for a treat between the top two teams in the region. A late 3 from Keith Lamar followed by a jumper from Kameron Hobbs for Dutchtown took a nice game into overtime and a winner had to be decided. Depending on where your allegiance laid, the Elliott Montgomery-led Eagles won 87-80. However, maybe this was the time where Montgomery believes he should have called a timeout, one where it may have prevented overtime from happening. The early shots from Eagle’s Landing potentially foreshadowed the night as neither side was a clear cut winner early in the going. Eagle’s Landing began the game on a 4-0 run, but it was soon evident that Cameron Bryant wasn’t going to let the Bulldogs fall behind. A 3-pointer from Bryant kickstarted the Bulldogs and the game was just getting started. In what could be considered a collegiate atmosphere featuring a raucous crowd, the first quarter pretty much set the tone. “We hit a shot, we go 4-0, we got shook up,” Montgomery said. “At the end of the day, remember, we’re talking about 17-year-old kids — in a college atmosphere. This was not a high school atmosphere, this was a college atmosphere and that’s what happened.” Errors by Eagle’s Landing were the biggest factor at the start. Ball handling was not as sharp as normal which magnified Dutchtown’s ability to get the lead back on fast breaks. The only thing that the Golden Eagles had to do was shoot their way out of the hole they dug, but the cold shooting in the first quarter magnified the ball-handling errors that led to the first big lead of the game. After the first quarter ended, Dutchtown led 22-1. And at the time, the eight points were the biggest lead seen between the two teams. However, nothing was decided yet between the two sides and the second quarter proved it. During the second quarter, it was apparent that neither side was ready to roll over. Eagle’s Landing cleaned up some their earlier issues with ball handling but they also began to attack the Bulldogs differently to pull back into contention. The Eagles scored more in the second quarter than Dutchtown but it only led to a tie that equaled 35. But it all came down to patience for Montgomery. “The blessing for me coaching girls soccer is that I’ve had to learn patience,” Montgomery said. “In basketball with the pace of the game going up and down you don’t learn patience. Soccer has taught me patience and I realized all you need is four quarters. So we go down 13.” But it wasn’t just Eagle’s Landing attacking that had Montgomery looking at the game differently. “They did a great job against us, attacking us,” Montgomery said. “If you watch video or watch (Dutchtown’s) Kameron Hobbs play, he’s getting to the basket. He’s getting there. You’ve just gotta make him uncomfortable and that’s what we did.” No one was a clear leader though and the players weren’t as dominant as billed. (tncms-asset)054bd12e-310b-11ea-bfd5-d3656cc52fed(0)(/tncms-asset) Eagle’s Landing fell back as far as 13 in the third quarter but despite being down 53-46 with 1:45 remaining in the third quarter, the Eagles found a way to rally back, due in part to changing their defensive scheme on the fly. But it was a timely call from a coaching buddy be Defensively, the Eagles went from a man-to-man look and evolved it to a 3-2 zone. Something that Eagle’s Landing didn’t have at the start of the game. “My good friend Jeff Crawford called me and said to me, ‘Montgomery, they shoot the ball well’,” Montgomery recalled. “He called me before the game and said we’d have to probably go 3-2. The problem with 3-2 when you’re Hobbs off the line that interior guy has to step up and take a charge. But then he hits that floater. When we started to take the ball out of his hands and we made Bryant handle it — he started forcing shots. Did us swapping defenses help, yes.” The defensive swap led to the Eagles finishing the third quarter down 57-50 but it was clear that the game was far from over and the momentum was beginning to ramp up. After a technical foul began the quarter, the Eagles were off to a rocky start. Just four points in the first minute was soon matched by Dutchtown’s five points. Despite a series of ties throughout the fourth quarter, the Eagles had a chance to walk out the gym and avoid overtime with a Lamar three. That three came after Dutchtown’s Jermaine Mann fouled out but the moment that may have turned the game was a timeout that Montgomery didn’t take. That timeout was something he reflected on and believes he should have called at that time. “That was bad coaching,” Montgomery said. “When Lamar hit the three, I should’ve called timeout. One because I know I’ve got two extremely young kids who’re into the crowd and into the game. That was my fault. Lamar hit that big three, that was an NBA three. And I blew it. I should have called timeout because I knew then we got them. If we played defense.” Maybe it would have changed the outcome of the fourth quarter but ultimately, the two teams went to overtime after Hobbs hit a nice jumper in the final few seconds to force the overtime. But Montgomery still believes a timeout would have been the turning point of the final quarter. “Yes, and this is why you have to slow Hobbs down. I knew that and when Lamar hit the three, my problem was I only had one left,” Montgomery said. “My dad says you never go to bed with them timeouts but with a group like this you might have to. Because if Hobbs hits one and they get the ball back I could have used it there. When you have young guards you have to hold a timeout.” The overtime period was pretty solid from the start. Both teams had four minutes to break the 71-point deadlock. However, throughout the overtime period, it was clear Mann’s absence was felt. The Eagles led 78-76 with 2:30 minutes remaining and never relinquished the lead again. Ultimately, Eagle’s Landing won 87-80. ...

Eagle's Landing High boys’ basketball has been a top team in Henry County for many years but when it comes down to this season, don't call them stacked around head coach Elliott Montgomery. "We have some talent, but in 2013 we were stacked," Montgomery said. "We got a lot of question marks this year." Those questions marks are behind the two front-runners of the program in Kirshon Thrash and Keith Lamar, and that's not to take away from either of the two who could single-handedly take over a game. For Montgomery, the pair of Thrash and Lamar are great to have around the program because it's been a long time since they've had two go-to players who play at a high level. "It's been a long time since we've had two kids at this caliber - a long time," Montgomery said. "We also have the young kid (David) Thomas but he's a kid and him playing like he has at a school like this with the criticism he's going to receive here is just tough. We've got AJ Barnes another young kid. We're just we're just very young. Rodney Allen, a kid who played some last year but not a lot. When you guys say stacked, I still want to know, who's my sixth man coming off the bench? Nobody knows because I don't even know half the time." But even with the youth, the Golden Eagle's hold a 12-1 record and although they didn't face Dutchtown earlier this year due to a power outage before the winter break. The games against the Bulldogs probably won't change how they work even though there may be some pressure on the opposite side of it all. "Dutchtown is a really good team with veteran experience and I don't have to name them. You can name them and everybody reading this article will be able to name them," Montgomery said. "In my opinion, this game means absolutely nothing only because it's the first of maybe three meetings. I say maybe, I didn't say anything but maybe - maybe three meetings." The Golden Eagles haven't soared to the state championship game since the dream run of 2013 but each player that's graduated has a tie to the next set of rising athletes. For Montgomery, he says it's fun to know that players like Jordan Sessions and many others who've gone on to play college and even professional basketball come back and assist from time to time. "It's not like kids who've done good things and don't come back," Montgomery said. "These kids have relationships with those guys. I mean we're blessed right now to have were them come here and want to help with the freshman team. Jordan Sessions comes here before he leaves to go to China. Trevin Joseph called to come and work out with these kids." Over four years, Eagle's Landing has gone 90-24, that's a run that many coaches would dream of. But not for Montgomery exactly. There isn't any pressure on him as the coach to reach the state championship game, a game that's been taunting the program for the past six years. A passionate no will be the first thing that Montgomery will say when pressure to return to the state championship game is mentioned. "Most coaches if they could win 90 games in four years would love it but for us, it is a great thing that we've won games, but it doesn't weigh on me, but it's time. And with this group, I must admit to you this group can do it," Montgomery said. "They're good enough to do it. They are. With no pressure from them or their parents. I told them this, you know, we haven't won a state championship and put it on the coach. Because when you win, as I told you before, when you win - it's because you got good kids. And when you lose it's the coach’s fault, so we have not been as successful because of me as a coach. And we are going to do better. And I believe that this year is the year. I do believe it."...

For Eagle’s Landing High, any success this year will be better than what they had in 2018. The team that made the playoffs struggled with an all-new cast of players. The wins they achieved as a team were few, but the momentum should be there in 2019. The final game of the season came up good in overtime over Ola. The Golden Eagles open the season with three non-region games this year. For the first two weeks, Eagle’s Landing will be tasked with facing Rockdale County and Douglas County. One of the wins for the Golden Eagles came against Rockdale. Douglas County will be a huge test for Eagle’s Landing in Week 2. The Douglas Tigers are coming off a state playoff appearance and will look for a second victory in two years over Eagle’s Landing. The third and final non-region game of the season will see Eagle’s Landing hit the road to face Thomson. Thomson also made the playoffs last year out of Class AAAA but the Golden Eagles should have a better show than the 54-18 loss. The Region 4-AAAAA slate opens on the road against Woodland High before the Golden Eagles will host Stockbridge High on Sept. 20. A bye week returns right after Stockbridge before the Golden Eagles host Union Grove. The next road game of the season for Eagle’s Landing will find the program at state playoff program Locust Grove. From there, the Golden Eagles will close out their home stands against Jones County and reigning region champion Dutchtown. The season ends with a road game against Ola. The month of October will be key for the Golden Eagles if they perform well early in the season. In particular, three games could spell the season out for the Golden Eagles. Union Grove falls in October, and it was a three-point game last year. Locust Grove was separated by 10, but the Golden Eagles, who struggled all season, gave a run for it against the Wildcats, and Ola will be one of those games that could be as exciting, as the two teams are brewing some bad blood. Goodman’s Take: Eagle’s Landing had to bring in a number of new faces in 2018, and many of them return in 2019. The team will have to look for better successes over the opening games of the season with three non-region games to shake out the new season jitters. It should be an interesting stretch for all involved in October. 2019 Eagle’s Landing High Schedule Aug. 23 Rockdale County Aug. 30 Douglas County Sept. 6 at Thomson Sept. 13 at Woodland Sept. 20 Stockbridge BYE Oct. 4 Union Grove Oct. 11 at Locust Grove BYE Oct. 25 Jones County Nov. 1 Dutchtown Nov. 8 at Ola...

It’s been 15 years since Eagle’s Landing High brought in a coach by the name of Claud Spinks, and over that time, he’s watched the track scene in the county grow. Over those 15 years, Spinks had become an ingrained figure in Henry County as one of the premier coaches in the county. As the county grew, it was up to Spinks and Union Grove’s Eric Daugherty to help the sport grow around the county. But the time has come for Spinks to hang up the shoes of coaching and pass the torch, a decision he felt was time. “In the life of most coaches, there comes time to make a decision,” Spinks said. “Keep coaching or step back. Sometimes this happens when coaches become fathers or have children they would like to spend time with. Other times, such as with myself, things in life change and your priorities change. Having coached for a long time and with my own children grown, I felt it was time to spend time with my wife. When I was an athletic director and head coach of two sports, there were many, many 90-plus-hour weeks. It is time to try and catch up. None of us know what the future holds, so we are going to start working on our bucket list now.” This won’t be a farewell for him at Eagle’s Landing, though. Far from it actually. He’ll still be a teacher at the school, but he’s got more on his plate to deal with. For the first time in 34 years, he’s returning to college to pursue his master’s degree, and he’ll still have a hand in hosting cross country and track meets. “I love teaching and plan on being at Eagle’s Landing for quite a few more years,” Spinks said. “I will still host cross country and track meets, but I do plan on traveling with my wife on our breaks.” The way he coached was polarizing and commanded attention from the athletes who worked under him. He’s been able to see how the track scene has grown in Henry County as well. Spinks remembers when he started working in Henry County, there were no all-weather tracks to host events at. He also recalls how Stockbridge had some success in track and Eagle’s Landing had other moments of success in events. But that was 15 years ago. “Now our county is one of the best in the state,” Spinks said. “Year after year, the county improved. Not just in a few events but across all 16 events. I like to think that we at Eagle’s Landing High have had a part in this growth with our teams and with the number of meets we have brought to the county. I think this year was a high mark. Three out of the four podium teams in AAAAA boys were from Henry County.” There is more, though, that Spinks can remember. He thinks back to a fond memory of his out of the 15 years: the first year he coached cross country. That’s a season he’ll never really forget. “Expectations were that our team wasn’t going to be very good,” Spinks said. “The girls became very, very fast and were getting attention in the southeast region cross country rankings. The boys were also running well, and we thought we had a shot at a podium. We didn’t have a good region meet and things looked really bleak, but the guys came through at the state meet and we ended up fourth in the state. The joy those guys showed that day will always stay with me.” All schools in Henry County have improved their facilities and tracks over the past few years. With the main storyline being the improvement of the football fields, a sub-component in all of the change was the tracks that surround the football fields. Spinks said he appreciates the efforts of former Henry Athletic Coordinator Vicki Davis and current Henry Athletic Director Curt Miller for the facility upgrades. But even so, the legacy Spinks leaves behind on the track is felt all around the county, not just at Eagle’s Landing. However, if it is only felt at the Golden Eagles’ domain, it’ll transcend anyway. “I hope that we set a standard of doing things the right way — following the rules, team first while still caring for each athlete individually, loyalty to the blue and gold, and promoting the sports of cross country and track as more than just a means to an end but something worth doing as sport,” Spinks said of his legacy at Eagle’s Landing. “I say ‘we’ because there have been a lot of assistants who did an amazing job and taught me a lot.” The next wave of coaches are going to take over in Spinks’ departure, but he’s confident in their capabilities — including Wallace Santee. “The track program is in great hands with Coach Santee,” Spinks said. “I have been his assistant for the last couple of years, and he is an amazing sprint and relay coach. His vision for the team will take it to even higher levels in the future.”...