Georgia sports roundup--Monday, Dec. 15th

NFL/Atlanta Falcons--

The Falcons scored a key victory and remain firmly in the thick of the chase for a NFL postseason spot. On Sunday inside the Georgia Dome, the Falcons beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 13-10 in overtime. With the win, Atlanta improved their record to 9-5 with 2 games remaining on the regular season schedule. Jason Elam's 34-yard field goal was the difference in OT. For the afternoon, running back Michael Turner had another strong effort with 152 rushing yards. Defensive end John Abraham stoked the Atlanta defense with 3 sacks. The Falcons next week travel to Minnesota.

High School football championships--

Georgia's high school football season ended over the weekend with the five class championship games played inside the Georgia Dome. The winners:

Class 5A: Camden County--defeated Peachtree Ridge 21-14
Class 4A: Tucker--scored the win over Marist 15-3
Class 3A: Cairo--the turnback of Flowery Branch 28-14
Class 2A: Buford--defeated Calhoun 45-21
Class A: Wesleyan--the victory over Emmanuel County Institute 33-21

Two commuter rails approved

Today the State Board of Transportation gave the green light for two commuter rails. The Atlanta-to-Lovejoy line would serve south metro Atlanta, and the Atlanta-to-Tucker line would serve the northeast metro area. They could be the first steps toward creating an Atlanta-to-Macon commuter rail. The DOT has $107 million in start-up funds for the project. However, there are no firm sources to fund the ongoing operation of the lines.