The Southeast Bulloch football team is having a competitive season for the first time in quite awhile. For senior linebacker James Cato, it’s all been worth the wait.
    In his first three seasons with the Yellow Jackets, Cato saw just three wins. In his final go-round, he and his teammates have already emerged victorious four times and are hungry for more.
    “It’s been a little emotional at times,” said Cato. “I think that the seniors and everybody else have put a lot of work into getting where we are right now. It’s great to be a part of this team and see our work paying off.”
    Cato played a big part in putting the Jackets’ latest game into the win column.
    Clinging to a 14-7 lead last week against Brantley County, the SEB defense had to hold one more time. Brantley drove to midfield, but Cato came up with a timely interception – to go along with his team-high 13 tackles – to ensure the win.
    “It’s great to see guys like James getting to experience victory,” said SEB coach Pat Collins. “He’s a guy that had to go through a few tough years, but he’s seen everything through. This success is a result of all of that effort to get through the last few years.”

    During the early months of the school year, there aren’t many people with a busier schedule than Bulloch Academy’s Ashley Burke.
    In addition to her studies, the sophomore has her evening full with starring for a pair of Lady Gator teams. Burke just finished guiding BA to a fourth place finish in the Class AAA state softball tournament and is still running strong as the school’s top runner on the cross country team.
    “It’s a lot, but I like it,” said Burke. “I always make sure that school comes first, but I like having (softball and cross country) to keep me busy.”
    A member of both teams since her eighth-grade year (GISA allows students to compete in most sports before reaching high school), Burke has plenty of experience and has become a reliable leader.
    Burke was just named to the All-Region squad after a fourth-place finish at the region meet and batted .326 while driving in 22 runs for the Gators.
    “My main goal is to always keep improving,” said Burke. “I think that I’ve gotten better over the years with my times in cross country. I’m also excited about being a leader in softball. We’ll really miss all of our seniors, but I’m going to do my best to make sure that we keep having great seasons.”