Smoky Mountain High coach makes school history.

Longtime Smoky Mountain girls basketball coach Cindi Simmons made school history last Wednesday after securing her 500th career victory. The Lady Mustangs gave Simmons the win at last Wednesday's home game by beating East Henderson, 67-47, bringing Simmons' career record to 501-255.

FHS band brings home 13 trophies from Gator Bowl performance

The Franklin High School Marching Band was given a surprise welcoming home after their trip to the Gator Bowl. The band was met at the Georgia State line by the Macon County Sherriff's Office and other authorities early Tuesday morning for a police escort to back Franklin High School.

After a tough loss to Pisgah last week, the Franklin boys basketball team rebounded nicely with a signature win against arch rival Smoky Mountain last Friday night, followed by two convincing wins against Highlands and the Murphy Bulldogs.

The win on the road against Smoky Mountain, last year’s conference champions, was a statement game for the Panthers. “I was proud with how we played, how we handled their pressure,” said head coach Jesse Pinkston. “They threw a lot at us but we responded well and it was a big win for us,” he said. In their second conference road game of the year, in a hostile environment, the Panthers attained redemption against a team that beat the Panthers soundly last year, winning 61-51.

One main ingredient for Franklin’s success at Smoky Mountain was their ability to establish an inside game, utilizing their size advantage against a much smaller Mustang team.

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Randy Eaton, former senior associate director of athletics at the University of Maryland, is the new director of athletics at Western Carolina University.

Western Carolina Chancellor David O. Belcher announced the selection of Eaton, who brings more than 20 years of athletics administration experience to the post.

Eaton’s appointment, effective Dec. 14, follows a national search conducted by a 14-member committee working with the assistance of Todd Turner of Collegiate Sports Associates, a North Carolina-based executive search consulting firm.