Northside graduate Steven Nelson returned to his alma mater Wednesday and signed a letter of intent to play football and continue his education at Oregon State University. The 6-1, 185-pound cornerback spent the last two seasons in the defensive backfield of the College of the Sequoias in Visalia, Calif. He chose Oregon State in large part because he felt the Beavers’ coaching staff was “real honest with me.” In addition, Oregon State secondary coach Rod Perry is well-connected to the NFL, as is OSU head coach Mike Riley.

Beavers’ cornerback Jordan Poyer is one of the nation’s best, but he’s also a senior, meaning Nelson will have the opportunity to earn that spot. Nelson said the experience he earned while playing in junior college will help him make the transition.

Home for the holiday, Nelson said Northside High School was the right place to make his commitment known.

“I wanted to come back and share this with everybody,” he said. “This is where it all started.”

Houston County teamsswim at FPD

The Houston County boys and girls swim teams each finished second at a Dec. 14 meet hosted by First Presbyterian Dayschool at Northside Pool in Macon.

The Bears boys took first place in the 200-yard freestyle relay behind the efforts of Chris Jordan, John Bagay, Hunter Woodard and Jordan Wilkins. Their time of 1:39.99 qualifed for the state meet. The same quartet also won the 200-yard medley relay. In addition, Wilkins won the 200-yard Individual Medley and the 50-yard Freestyle. Sean Warren won the 500-yard Freestyle for Houston County.

Northside wrestlers win at Rutland

Northside wrestlers Shaddy Hassan and Kalob Willis won their respective weight classifications at the Rutland tournament in Macon on Dec. 15. Hassan wrestled at 126 pounds while Willis competed in the 132-pound class. Ace Hemmer took second at the 195-pound weight for the Eagles.

Perry’s K.J. Smith a scorer

The Perry boys basketball team lost three straight games after a fast start. The Panthers (4-4, 2-2 in Region 2-AAAA) return to the court this week at the Veterans Holiday Tournament in Kathleen. Sophomore K.J. Smith has established himself as one of the top scorers in the area. He’s averaging 18.6 points per game. Smith has made 44 percent of his 3-point shot attempts, according to statistics at maxpreps.com.