By Kevin Eckleberry

kevin.eckleberry@lagrangenews.com

They’re enjoying life at the top.

During the non-region portion of their schedule, the Callaway Lady Cavaliers struggled to find success, but head coach Deyano Martin wasn’t discouraged.

He believed that rugged schedule, which included a pair of games against cross-town rival LaGrange and one against Troup, would benefit his team when Region 5-AA play got started.

“There’s no doubt it helps,” Martin said.

So far, Martin is right.

After Tuesday’s blowout win over Jordan, Callaway (4-6 overall) is 3-0 in the region, and it is alone in first place.

It’s still early, though, and there are some teams right on Callaway’s heels.

Lamar County is 3-1, while Heard County, which won the region championship last season, is 2-1.

Callaway has already beaten Heard County and Lamar County, and it will play those teams again during the second half of the region schedule.

Spencer is 2-2, and Jordan (0-2) and Temple (0-3) are winless in the region.

On the boys’ side of the region, Callaway is 1-2 after getting a big 78-74 home win over Jordan on Tuesday.

The Cavaliers (1-9 overall) dropped their first nine games of the season, so getting a win was important, no matter the opponent.

The Cavaliers have been competitive in most of their games, but Tuesday marked the first time they were able to close an opponent out.

“I’m very proud,” Callaway head coach Terry Hayes said. “We finally finished the game. We played two halves instead of one.”

Spencer is alone atop the region standings with a 3-0 record, while Heard County is 2-1.

Lamar County, Temple, Callaway and Jordan are each 1-2.

Callaway’s teams will visit Spencer on Friday.

The regular season continues through early February, and the region tournament will be played at the home of the topseed on the boys’ side.

REGION STANDINGS

Overall record first, followed by region record:

BOYS

Spencer                         12-4, 3-0

Heard County               3-12, 2-1

Lamar County              6-10, 1-2

Callaway                           1-9, 1-2

Temple                            4-10, 1-2

Jordan                               5-9, 1-2

GIRLS

Callaway                          4-6, 3-0

Lamar County               11-6, 3-1

Heard County                5-11, 2-1

Spencer                          4-11, 2-2

Jordan                             1-14, 0-3

Temple                            3-11, 0-3