SILER CITY – Chatham Central continued its early season success in volleyball last Thursday, handling the Jordan-Matthews Jets in straight games, 25-19, 26-24, 25-18.

The win for the Bears was third in as many tries, as the experienced CC squad appears poised for a very promising 2004 campaign.

"I though we played really well,’ said CC coach Bill Slaughter. "Obviously, any win on the road in this conference is a big win."

The Jets, on the other hand, are still looking for their first win after dropping their third straight contest to start the year.

"The Jets are much improved from recent teams and are getting better and better," Slaughter said.

Natalie Phillips anchored a strong front-line with 10 kills, five assists, and four digs.

"Natalie continues to play well at the net," said Slaughter. "Her height creates problems for opposing teams, and she has worked hard to improve here overall game."

Sarah Nall set up her teammates with 22 assists, and tallied seven service points.

Jeanine Beavers paced a solid serving game, leading the Bears with 10 points, including three aces. Latoya Tyson chipped in nine points on her serve, and added six digs to share the team lead with Brooke Smith.

It’s finally here.

That’s right, football season is officially underway.

All three Chatham County schools got their feet wet this past Friday night under the late summer lights that signify a return to normalcy in the world of sports.

There’s nothing like the start of the football season or football period.

Especially for the players.

For the past couple of months, even dating back to the last game of 2003, preparations started being made for right now.

Everyone has a fresh start this time of year.

After all the practices under the hot summer sun, and all the sweat that pours from the skin, the day comes when the pads are put on for real, and all the countless drills begin to take form.

Whether a team is coming off a championship run or a winless season, the start of a new season is like a breath of fresh air.

On Monday night in Albemarle, J-M made it official as the Jets sent shockwaves across the state in the 1A ranks with an 8-1 crushing of the Bulldogs.

Albemarle, a thorn in the side of Jordan-Matthews since the Siler City school started the program three years ago, knocked the Jets out of the playoffs with a 1-0 defeat in the third round last fall. The Bulldogs went on to lose 1-0 to eventual state champion Polk County in the western finals.

more- See Thursday, August 26 paper: Vol 84, No. 39

Looks can be deceiving, however, and in this case they are very much misleading.

Last season Southwest dominated J-M, pushing the Jets all over the field on both sides of the ball.

That wasn’t the case on Friday night as the young Jets were very much in it and two mistakes away from taking a 7-0 advantage into halftime, leaving ninth-year head coach Marty Scotten left to wonder what might have been.

"Sure, we go in 7-0 at halftime and it easily could have been a different story," said Scotten after the season-opening defeat. "With such a young team, it’s important to have some good things happen early. But when we had the touchdown called back and then fumbled the punt to set up an easy score for them, it sort of deflated us."