Warriors mount comeback, but fall short, 24-17

The football team took a hard loss to crosstown rival Sequoyah last Friday, losing 24-17 at home. What is usually a region game for these two teams now has no playoff implications since Cherokee moved back up to Class 5A. The Warriors offense had trouble against a stifling Chiefs defense, and only could manage one first down in the first half. The lone score for either team in the second half, however, came on a 20-yard touchdown scamper by tailback Jon Manus. The young Warriors will have to deal with a brutal schedule from here on out, unfortunately; the next four games are against ’07 playoff teams (Marietta, Etowah, North Cobb and Harrison) and three of those games are on the road. … The softball team has had an excellent season so far, sitting at 5-2 overall and 1-0 in the region. In the team’s last win, the first region contest of the year, the Lady Warriors took out Harrison at home 4-0. Pitcher Abbey Meixel struck out 16 Hoyas on her way to a complete-game shutout victory, the 44th win of her career (tied for the school record).