Prep Zone: High School Sports

By S. Thomas Coleman
For the AJC

The top teams in the state made statements this week, heading into the weekend’s regular season finales.

GIRLS

Wesleyan. The top-ranked Wolves (21-3) still haven’t lost to a team in Georgia after downing No. 5 St. Francis, 62-50, Tuesday night. Wesleyan won the first meeting with their top competitor in Region 5, 67-54, back on Jan. 20. In that game the Knights and senior forward Keyona Hayes dominated the boards. Wesleyan made the adjustment in the rematch, outrebounding St. Francis 54-28. Holli Wilkins, as she did in the first game, led the way for the Wolves with 21 points and 13 rebounds. Wesleyan will close out the regular season at home on Friday against Pinecrest Academy.

Southwest Atlanta Christian. The Warriors (20-3) think they are ready to take on Wesleyan. They might be right. After beating Landmark Christian and Tech High by a combined score of 163 to 14, SACA picked on a team its own size on Tuesday, Paideia (17-7), and won …

Continue reading Class A Basketball Blog: Top teams make big statements »

Behind twin 1,000-point scorers McKenna and Mary Kate Rushton, the North Hall girls have rolled to the top seed in 8-AAA Division A, clinching with a win last Friday over Franklin County. Mary Kate scored 12 points in North Hall’s win Tuesday over Stephens County. Interesting coincidence: North Hall coach Kristi House has twin sons. If the Rushton twins have fans and foes doubting their vision (they reached 1,000 within a week of each other), so too might the Lady Trojans’ 17-7 record. Since a blowout loss to Wesleyan in early December, their other six losses have all been by 10 points or less, and just one came against a Class AAA team.

Gritty Grady: The Grady Grey Knights notched win No. 20 Tuesday by beating St. Pius 45-31, the 11th opponent in their 23 games they’ve held under 50 points. The 45 points was the second fewest scored by the Knights, who nonetheless won for their ninth straight game and set up a showdown with Washington Friday night with the top seed from …

Continue reading AAA basketball blog: Twins power North Hall »

Here’s a look at some of Tuesday’s big games and the impact they will have on the final regular-season standings:

Girls

*Region 1-AAAA: Warner Robins escaped with a 73-68 victory in overtime against Hardaway to remain in the hunt for a share of first place in Division A. Kenyona Armstrong scored 25 points to lead Warner Robins, which can finish in a tie for first place with Northside-Warner Robins if it wins at home against Houston County on Friday. Warner Robins and Northside split their two meetings this season.

*Region 4-AAAA: Forest Park completed a 20-5 season and clinched the regular-season championship and a berth in the state tournament with a 70-42 victory against North Clayton. Ashlee Cole scored 22 points to lead Forest Park, which went 17-1 in the region and is 52-3 in region play over the past three seasons. The Panthers finished one game ahead of Jonesboro, which handed them their only region loss.

*Region 6-AAAA: Miller Grove maintained its slim lead in …

Continue reading AAAA basketball blog: Rockdale girls, Habersham boys among teams clinching No. 1 seeds »

The Greater Atlanta Christian boys won Round II of its series against Buford on Tuesday night. The game turned out to be another epic between the two Region 6-AA rivals.

On Tuesday it appeared that No. 2 GAC was ready to run away and hide. Focused and playing stellar defense, always a trademark under coach Eddie Martin, the Spartans led by as many as 20 points in the second half.

Somehow, No. 4 Buford reached down, found some inspiration and began a rather improbable comeback. With 30 seconds remaining in the game, the Wolves had clawed their way back to within three points.

That’s when GAC showed the heart of a champion. Delano Spencer, the team’s talented point guard, was perfect on six trips to the free throw line in the final 25.9 seconds. That enabled GAC to preserve its 74-70 win, sweep the season series and carry the momentum into the region tournament.

Spencer wound up with 20 points for the Spartans (19-5), with three teammates joining him in double figures: Colin …

Continue reading AA basketball blog: GAC boys clip Buford again »

Tim Cokely, the football coach who led Greater Atlanta Christian back to prominence in his two seasons, is leaving for Florida.

Cokely is the new head coach of Marianna High.

Cokely’s GAC teams were 9-2 and 8-3. GAC finished 1-9 the season before Cokely was hired.

Cokely led Northwest Florida Christian to six state champions. He also coached at Colquitt County from 2005 to 2007.

“I make decisions in my life for what’s best for my family,” Cokely told Jackson County Floridan. “With my son graduating in Atlanta, we had an opportunity to see what was out there. [Having family close] was a part of it, but I think in the past when I was a younger man, it was about climbing that ladder and trying to find the most money and ambition, ambition, ambition.

“At this point in my life, if I haven’t learned anything else, I’ve learned that you work for people more than anything, and I really liked the people at Marianna. I like that part of the country. It was an easy …

Continue reading GAC’s Cokely leaves for Florida job »

It was a game that decided the No. 1 seed in Region 9-A, and it featured two of Class A’s marquee players. Give the edge to Whitefield Academy and all-state guard Kenny Gaines on Tuesday at Landmark Christian.

Gaines, who has signed with Georgia, scored 35 points and had 13 rebounds, four steals and three blocked shots in Whitefield’s 81-64 victory.

”I think he’s the best player in Class A,” Whitefield coach Tyrone Johnson said of Gaines. “He has a ton of talent, but he plays so hard. Sometimes that doesn’t come with talent.”

Gaines also had five dunks, three on put backs and one on an alley-oop pass from Jordan Coar, who had a nice night of it himself. Coar had 12 points, 10 assists and four steals. Whitefield also got 14 points and seven rebounds from Eric Lockett.

Landmark’s Houston Kessler, the 6-foot-8 son of former Georgia player Chad Kessler, held up his end of the duel. He scored 32 and had 13 rebounds and five blocked shots.

But Whitefield (20-3, 12-0) …

Continue reading Whitefield Academy 81, Landmark Christian 64 »

By Stephen Black

Score Atlanta

Greater Atlanta Christian won its first Area 6-AA wrestling championship Saturday as all 14 of its wrestlers made at least the third-place match. The host Spartans were dominant, claiming 228 total points to second-place Lovett’s 39. Carter Clinebell (120), Caleb Bumpers (126), Parker Embry (132), Zach Feuerbach (160) and Parker Fair (220) each won weight classes for the Spartans. Kyler Allen (106), James Hite (113), Corey Erdoes (182) and Patrick Emerson (195) won for Lovett while Evan Strawn (138), Chris Solar (145) and Dutch Seitz (152) took first place for Blessed Trinity. Chip Ness won the 170-pound class for Buford while Justin Geeza won the 185-pound class for Westminster. … At the Area 5-AAA tournament, Woodward Academy took first place while McNair was the runner-up. The War Eagles were led by Chad Pyke, Chandler Pyke, Max Pastor and Max Wilsley, who each won their weight classes. It is the fourth consecutive region title for Woodward. …

Continue reading Spartans win first area title »

Got rankings. Also some comments on each class on how the rankings were shuffled and other going-ons in each class.

One vent — Kinda crazy that Wheeler can stay in the top five with nine losses and losing to Langston Hughes, but there are only three teams playing like top-five teams right now. Milton, Shiloh, Westlake. And we’re not sure about two of those. Almost everybody has lost games to teams in lower classifications, or multiple games in their region.

Is Class AAAAA down this year, or just more spread out?

AAAAA-
The top three looks pretty good. Milton, Westlake and Shiloh each have good wins and no bad losses. Every other team in the state has multiple stains on their resume. … Random fact: Milton’s Shaquille Johnson had seven dunks in the first half against North Forsyth last week. … Berkmar lost to Archer last week, and Mill Creek lost to North Gwinnett. Berkmar and MC out. In their place are North Gwinnett and Norcross, the two that will play for first place …

Continue reading HS basketball rankings: Down year in AAAAA, or just lots of good teams? »

By S. Thomas Coleman
For the AJC

As the regular season comes to a close this week, here are some players you may not have heard of who will play an essential role in their teams’ efforts to advance to the state playoffs:

BOYS

Demarcus Daniel, Turner County. At 6-foot-4, the senior isn’t one of the talest post players in the state, but he is one of the most effective. Daniels biggest impact is at the defensive end of the floor, where he averages 13 rebounds and five blocks per game. But he is a force on offense as well and has posted 10 double-doubles for the Rebels (17-4), ranked No. 3.

Stacy Morgan, Portal. Only a sophomore, Morgan has guided the Panthers to a 19-3 record and has them in contention to win the Region 3 title. He is among the state leaders in three-point percentage, free throw percentage and assists.

Vincent Powell, Calhoun County. The senior guard is one of the top scorers in the state at nearly 25 points per game. He has led the Cougars to a 15-4 record …

Continue reading Class A Blog: Players to watch »

The race for the top boys seed in Region 6-AAA enters the last week of the regular season with questions to be answered. Carrollton is 21-3 overall and 9-2 in region play, has one region game left, Feb. 10 against cross-town rival Central.

Troup (16-5, 8-2) had a chance to seize control of the top spot Friday night, but fell to Shaw, which got 24 points from Devonte Tolbert and gave itself a chance to slingshot into the No. 1 seed in the final week.

On the girls side, Carrollton (21-3, 10-1) has clinched the top spot after beating Columbus 62-56 Friday night behind 13 points each from Tasmine Boykin and Brooklyn Emery.

Home, sweet home: No surprise that No. 1 Columbia beat McNair Friday. The Eagles (21-1, 10-0 in sub-region play) had already beaten the Mustangs by 60 points earlier in the year. The big news, though, was that the Eagles extended their home winning streak to 76 games, Columbia assistant coach Clint McCrary, who noted that the Eagle seniors have not lost at …

Continue reading AAA basketball blog: Shootout in 6-AAA »

The No. 1-ranked Model girls completed their regular season with a 67-22 win over Rockmart. The victory enabled the Blue Devils to stretch their winning streak to 20 games and finish the Region 7-AA South schedule with a perfect 12-0 record. Model will take a 23-1 record into the postseason.

Model warmed up for the playoffs by forcing 37 turnovers and outrebounding Rockmart 54-27. Somewhat troubling was the Devils inability to make free throws (14-for-35), although that didn’t matter against Rockmart.

Model’s Timia Reynolds (21 points, 12 rebounds), Caroline Long (13 points, 12 rebounds) and Carla Clemmons (17 points, nine rebounds) led the Devils.

Model gets a first-round bye in the region tournament and is off until next Friday.

Albany boys take lead in Region 1

The No. 7 Albany boys took control of first place in Region 1-AA with Friday’s 56-48 win at No. 5 Thomasville. Tin Pierce led Albany with 27 points, including 10 in the fourth quarter, and Larry Sanford added …

Continue reading AA basketball blog: No. 1 Model improves to 23-1 »

Shiloh and North Gwinnett gained the inside track Friday in key in Class AAAAA boys region races that have only a few days left.

Archer, a three-year-old school on the country side of Lawrenceville, also deserves special mention this week.

Shiloh (20-3, 13-1) beat Parkview 67-36, but the big news was Archer’s upset of Berkmar that gave Shiloh first place in Region 8-AAAAA

With victories over middling South Gwinnett and Central Gwinnett in its final two games, Shiloh will have the No. 1 seed for the region tournament while Archer (17-7, 12-3) and Berkmar (15-7, 12-2) figure to be seeded to face each other in the semifinals.

Shiloh, ranked No. 2 in the AAAAA rankings, has its best team ever. The Generals have won only one state playoff game (1997) in their history. The difference now is third-year head coach Kim Rivers (five state titles in Maryland) and transfers Robert Carter (a Georgia Tech signee) and Trayvon Reed (a 7-footer).

Archer also is a team to watch in the state …

Continue reading AAAAA basketball blog: North Gwinnett, Shiloh move into position to win regions »

Miller Grove’s boys and girls teams took control of the races in Region 6-AAAA Division B with a doubleheader sweep of Southwest DeKalb on Friday.

The Miller Grove boys completed a season sweep of the Panthers with a 59-53 victory, giving the Wolverines a slim lead heading into the final week of the regular season. Second-ranked Miller Grove is 12-1 in the region, followed by No. 3 Southwest DeKalb at 12-2. Miller Grove won the first meeting 57-53 in overtime on Dec. 6. Both teams will have a first-round bye in the region tournament and will begin play in the quarterfinals.

The eighth-ranked Miller Grove girls improved to 11-2 in the region and moved into first place in Division B by escaping with a 55-47 overtime victory. Southwest DeKalb, which won the first meeting 43-41, fell to 11-3 in region play.

Miller Grove has games remaining against Lithonia, Marist and Douglass. Southwest DeKalb concludes the regular season with games against Redan and Marist.

*Honor for Parker: …

Continue reading AAAA basketball blog: Miller Grove boys, girls sweep Southwest DeKalb to move into first place »

By S. Thomas Coleman
For the AJC

Landmark Christian center Houston Kessler turned in perhaps his best overall performance of the season Friday night against Hapeville Charter.

The Eagles (17-2) needed every one of the 6-foot-9 senior’s 36 points, 12 rebounds and 10 blocks, to finally dispatch of a young and feisty Hapeville Charter (8-13) team, 68-44, at the Welcome All Park Recreation Center in south Fulton County.

Hapeville Charter, which just added high school grades last year, starts three freshmen and a sophomore and has no seniors on the roster. The Hornets pushed No. 2 Whitefield Academy to the brink back on Jan. 3, before bowing 51-48 to the Wolfpack.

Early in the contest Friday night, the Hornets displayed that same fight, using a quick and aggressive 2-3 zone, which gave Landmark trouble in the game’s first four minutes. But that’s when Kessler took over.

With the game tied at seven, Kessler keyed a 15-0 run by the Eagles that began midway through the first …

Continue reading Landmark Christian 68, Hapeville Charter 44 »

The Drew girls had to wait an extra hour and a half for the start of win No. 20.
Once it started, there was little delay in the outcome.
With its players wearing pink socks on their right feet to raise breast cancer awareness, No. 10-ranked Drew (20-4, 14-1 Region 4-AAA) got 24 points from Precious Person, putting away visiting Eastside early for a 68-39 win.
“We were kind of anxious,” said Person, a Rutgers signee. “We know that the second time we play a team they’re going to bring their “A” game. We just stayed loose and focused.”
The game, scheduled to start at 6 p.m., was delayed until 7:25 because the officials had not shown up. The third official didn’t arrive until after the game had. Drew handled the delay by playing games in the locker room.
“I’ve never had that happen,” said Drew coach Candence Jackson. “We were all ready to go, stretched and warmed up, and then we had to do it again. You just try to keep them loose.”
Drew, playing its second …

Continue reading Drew 68, Eastside 39 »