Archive for September, 2010

The state’s class of college basketball prospects for 2012 is shaping up to be one of the best in years.

Kyle Meyer

Georgia Tech and UGA appear to be intrigued by Northview High’s Kyle Meyer, the 6-foot-10 junior who can play power forward or center.

Along with Georgia Tech and UGA, Clemson, Florida, Indiana and Drake have  also stopped by Northview to observe the big guy. Meyer has early scholarship offers from Iowa, East Carolina,  Georgia State, Georgia Southern and Mercer.

Meyer said he thinks that Georgia Tech may have a little more interest in him than UGA, but that if he was eventually to get scholarship offers from the archrivals, that he would probably favor the Bulldogs.

“Georgia Tech is probably not a possibility because I’m not interested in anything engineering-related as a college major,” said Meyer, who wants to study sports medicine.

“Right now, I wouldn’t consider Georgia Tech or Georgia as a primary school. I’m looking at out-of-state schools … I’d say Iowa, …

Continue reading Georgia Tech and UGA take peek at 6-foot-10 prospect »

Continue reading Camden-St. Thomas Aquinas game has national appeal »

Continue reading White County football coach remains on leave after wife granted protective order »

Continue reading 10 best high school football games this week »

Rick Cohen (left) puts microphone on Greenville coach Jeremy Williams (Photo by AJC's Jason Getz)

GREENVILLE — Greenville High coach Jeremy Williams wears two different types of microphones during his team’s football games.

The first is a headset, neatly tucked under the coach’s baseball cap. It’s not for communication with other coaches, but rather to amplify the words out of Williams’ mouth. His once-powerful voice has been reduced to nearly whispers in recent months because of symptoms of ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease. The headset is wired to a speaker-like box tied around the dwindling waist of the coach.

The second one is a tiny wireless microphone that Williams wears near the collar of his shirt. It picks up the coach’s words for the documentary “Season of a Lifetime,” which is based on Williams and his inspirational attitude toward the terminal illness. (For more information on the documentary, go to www.seasonofalifetime.tv.)

Atlanta filmmaker Rick Cohen and his crew …

Continue reading Atlanta filmmaker follows around high school coach with terminal illness for ‘Season of a Lifetime’ documentary »

Eric Berry donated uniforms to Creekside (Special)

Tennessee All-America safety Eric Berry was drafted No. 5 overall by the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs and signed a six-year contract for $60 million.

One of the first things Berry did after turning into multi-millionaire was to give back to his alma mater, Creekside High.

Berry donated money to the Fairburn football program to purchase 70 new Adidas uniforms, along with coaching gear for the staff.

“It’s funny because when he first signed, Eric said ‘Coach, I want to do something for you all,’” Creekside coach Johnny White said. “I said, ‘Eric you don’t have to do that. I know you’ve got your hands full.’

“Then he was like, ‘No coach, that’s my school.’ Eric has always been very loyal to Creekside. He was coming back to the school to help out and encourage our players long before his brothers got up there. He has a lot of love for Creekside.”

Twin brothers Evan and Elliott Berry start both ways as freshmen for the Seminoles. The …

Continue reading Kansas City Chiefs DB Eric Berry gives $$$$$ to his alma mater »

GPB Sports Central
GPB Sports Central airs weekly on Wednesdays at 7:30 pm on Channel 8 and its HD channel. The show will replay Fridays at 11 p.m. with final high school football scores and Saturdays at noon with final scores and game news.

Show Highlights:

• Reporter Mark Harmon went up to Cumming where he visited Bryce Haynes of Pinecrest Academy, considered the top long snapper in the county.
• Reporter Jon Nelson checks in with Class A Charlton County, which has won four state championships in the last 12 years.
• Host Gil Tyree does a story on the new turf fields in Cobb County, part of a $9.5 million project, and the effect it is having on one high school team.
• Reporter Niki Noto hits the field with the Lady Eagles of Collins Hill, looking to win a back-to-back state title in softball.
• Recruiting expert Scott Janovitz is this week’s guest, there is the GPB/AJC Top 10 high school football poll presented by the Georgia High School Football Daily, radio voice Tommy Palmer …

Continue reading Lineup for GPB Sports Central »

Newton running back Akeem Hunt, Monroe Area defensive lineman Stephon Tuitt and Norcross coach Keith Maloof are the winners of the Touchdown Club of Atlanta’s weekly awards.

Hunt, the back of the week, rushed for 133 yards and returned a kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown in a 35-32 victory over Newnan. Newton (4-0) is ranked for the first time since 1995. Hunt has scholarships offers from more than 10 schools, including Auburn and South Carolina.

Tuitt, the lineman of the week, had 11 tackles, two for losses, and a sack in a 27-0 victory over Chestatee. Tuitt committed last week to Notre Dame. Monroe Area is 4-0 for the first time since 2003.

Maloof, the coach of the week, has Norcross 5-0 after a 5-5 finish in 2009. Norcross is coming off a 34-19 victory over Mill Creek.

The honorees will be recognized at noon Monday at the Touchdown Club’s weekly meeting at Fox Sports Grill in Atlantic Station. The guest speakers will be Vince Dooley and Kennesaw State University …

Continue reading TD Club to honor Newton’s Hunt, Monroe’s Tuitt, Norcross’ Maloof »

Macon will be the site for a three-game high school football all-star tournament among teams from Georgia, Alabama, Florida and South Carolina following the 2011 season, the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame announced Tuesday.

The event, called the Georgia Invitational Football Classic, will have semifinal games Dec. 29, 2011, and a championship game Dec. 31, 2011, at the Ed DeFore Sports Complex.

Each of the four state teams will consist of top uncommitted senior prospects. Georgia’s coach will be C.B. Cornett, who won a state title at Macon County in 1996. He now is the linebackers coach at Westside of Macon.

The objective of the games is to give uncommitted seniors a chance to play in front of college coaches.

The sponsors of the game are Optimus Energy Drinks and the Macon-based Georgia Sports Hall of Fame.

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Continue reading Four-state all-star tournament to be played in Macon after 2011 season »

Here are the 10 biggest surprise teams at the halfway point of the season:

Continue reading Surprise teams: Butler, Kell, Our Lady among them »

Here are 20 of the best individual performances from last week in Georgia high school football. From today’s GHSF Daily issue, we have added four more from Brookwood, Collins Hill, North Oconee and Washington County.

Please post any other comparable performances that we might’ve missed.

*Apalachee freshman RB Stanley Williams rushed for 169 yards and returned the second-half kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown in a 28-14 victory over Heritage of Conyers.

*Brookwood RB Nick Tompkins rushed for 241 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries in a 59-13 victory over Central Gwinnett.

*Buford RB Seon Jones rushed for 319 yards and two touchdowns in a 37-14 victory over Lovett.

*Chattahoochee QB Tim Byerly rushed for 113 yards and passed for 138 and was part of five touchdowns in a 45-15 victory over Northwest Whitfield.

*Collins Hill QB Taylor Heinicke was 19-of-24 passing for 318 yards and six touchdowns in a 49-14 victory over Duluth. He was out of the game before the end of the …

Continue reading 20 top performances: Heinicke throws 6 TD passes »

Gainesville coach Bruce Miller will be suspended for his team’s football game Friday against Johnson of Gainesville.

His crime: In last week’s game against Franklin County, a 28-7 victory, one of his players neglected to wear hip pads, and another was flagged for not wearing his mouth guard.

Both resulted in unsportsmanlike penalties against Gainesville that were charged to the head coach.

According to National High School Federation rules, two unsportsmanlike penalties result in an automatic ejection for the head coach. According to Georgia High School Association rules, an ejected coach or player then must serve a one-game suspension.

“I will do what I am supposed to, but I really hate I am going to miss a game because of this,” Miller said. “I have never been ejected from a game for any reason. I think somebody should look at the rules and never let this happen again. … I will feel so lost not being at the game.”

GHSA executive director Ralph Swearngin said the …

Continue reading Gainesville coach Miller suspended for game due to equipment flap »

Milton High’s Julian Royal, one of the nation’s top 100 college basketball prospects, heard a lot of things from Georgia Tech coach Paul Hewitt during his official visit this past weekend.

One thing that really stuck out is that Hewitt considers Royal the “No. 1 recruiting priority” for Georgia Tech this year. The 6-foot-9 power forward is likely to decide between Georgia Tech and UGA, while also considering Wake Forest.

Georgia Tech entertained Milton's Julian Royal over the weekend (AJC)

“[Being the top priority] was made very clear to us … no doubt about it,” said Royal’s father, Charles. “I was aware of some other kids they were interested in at some point but that apparently has dropped off. [Hewitt] made it clear that Julian was the guy they wanted above and all anything else. They even pulled out the depth chart, and if you look at it, it makes sense. It means a lot to Julian that Georgia Tech thinks so highly of him and has such big plans for him.”

Another important …

Continue reading Basketball: Milton High’s Julian Royal returns from official visit with Georgia Tech’s Paul Hewitt »

GHSF Daily’s Chip Saye ranks the most surprising results of the weekend. Unlike past weeks, these aren’t necessarily upsets, but they are significant results in their own way:

1. Prince Avenue Christian 28, Athens Academy 7: Prince Avenue recorded its first victory in five tries against its Athens rival, which won five region titles in the previous nine seasons.

2. Shaw 39, LaGrange 35: Shaw got its first victory this season, while LaGrange has lost three regular-season games for the first time since 2005.

3. Newton 35, Newnan 32: The surprising slide for Newnan, which was ranked No. 6 in Class AAAAA in the preseason, continues with its third consecutive loss. Newton is 4-0 for the first time since 1995.

4. Houston County 7, Warner Robins 3: Houston County beat Warner Robins for the first time since 2001 and dropped the Demons to 0-4 for the first time since 1966.

5. McIntosh 28, Northgate 17: Northgate was on track to be tied with Starr’s Mill for first place in …

Continue reading Saye it ain’t so: Top 10 surprises from last week’s football games »

Here are some of the better quotes from last week’s Georgia high school football games:

“It all boils down to having faith in your players. When you’ve got great players, you have to believe in them. I knew if I called that play and if we just handled the football, they were going to get it done.”

- Swainsboro coach David Johnson, to GHDF Daily, on his decision to go for a do-or-die two-point conversion in overtime in a 38-37 victory over Jefferson County. Swainsboro scored on a sweep to win. It was the second time this season that Johnson elected to go for two in overtime, as Swainsboro beat county rival ECI 15-14 in the season opener.

“The people that have been involved with this program the last four years had a vision, and that vision is coming to pass. The hard work, the workouts, the love of the kids; if you show these kids love, they’ll fight for you.”

- Newton coach Cortez Allen, to the Newton Citizen, after his team’s 35-32 victory over Newnan. Newton is 4-0 and …

Continue reading They said it: Best quotes from high school football »