Early loses first game with War Eagles

The Eagles took on Alpharetta on the road last Friday and came away with a 24-14 loss to open the season. South quarterback Brian Adams threw an interception in the third quarter that was returned for a touchdown, and the Eagles, with new head coach Wendell Early at the helm after the departure of Greg Slattery, open the year with a loss. The team will host South Gwinnett on Friday, which beat them 30-26 last season. … The boys cross country team finished third overall out of 20 teams in The Stage Races on Aug. 23 in Suwanee. Gator Jackson ate up the competition in Stage 4, winning the leg by a full seven seconds. … The softball team started play in a tripleheader at the early hour of 8 a.m. on Saturday. The squad lost the first two contests to Buford and Loganville, but blanked Central Gwinnett in the final contest of the day, 6-0. … The volleyball team is riding a seven-match win streak and sits at 8-3 overall. The squad will be looking to improve on its performance from last year, in which it won one playoff match.