Archive for April, 2012

Another Georgia high school football coach is out of a job over allegations of recruiting a player from another school.

Mario Allen, who was announced as Rockdale County’s head coach in February, won’t get the job after a Rockdale County Public Schools investigation found evidence of potential recruiting and practice violations, the Rockdale Citizen reported.

Allen denied the allegations in an interview with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Monday afternoon.

Earlier this month, Shiloh coach Brian Montgomery resigned under pressure while denying allegations that he asked four players to come to Shiloh from North Atlanta, his former school. In February, Troup fired Charlie Flowers amid allegations that he helped players move into the Troup district.

At Rockdale, Allen acknowledged that he drove a student from Columbia, where he currently teaches and coached the football team last fall, to Rockdale to watch a recent off-season workout and see the school. But he said it was …

Continue reading Another coach accused of recruiting players: Allen won’t get Rockdale job, denies charges »

Here are some of the teams to watch in the girls soccer state tournaments, which begin this week:

Class AAAAA

Top-ranked Milton (17-1) is battle-tested for a tournament run. The Eagles were 6-0 during the regular season against teams ranked in the Class AAAAA top 10, and they played Class AA No. 1 Blessed Trinity (a 1-0 victory) and Class AAA No. 1 St. Pius (a 3-2 loss). Third-ranked Harrison, led by Hannah Deltac and goalkeeper Allison Leone, is the defending state champion and will have home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.

Class AAAA

Top-ranked Whitewater (14-0-1) and No. 2 McIntosh (15-2-1) met in the final last season and could be headed toward a rematch. McIntosh won last year’s championship, but Whitewater has won both meetings between the teams this season. McIntosh appears to have the more difficult road to the final, with a potential second-round matchup against No. 4 Pope and a possible meeting with No. 3 Marist in the semifinals.

Class AAA

Three-time …

Continue reading Girls soccer blog: Teams to watch in the state tournament »

Here are the first-round pairings for the boys state soccer tournaments. Games are scheduled for Tuesday (AAAAA and AAAA) and Thursday (AAA, AA and A), but check with the schools for the specific game date and time.

Class AAAAA

Campbell at Camden County
West Forsyth at Wheeler
Grayson at Collins Hill
Luella at Coffee
Peachtree Ridge at Brookwood
Lowndes at Newnan
Islands at North Cobb
Lassiter at Milton
Woodstock at Centennial
Windsor Forest at Harrison
Colquitt County at East Coweta
Central Gwinnett at Mill Creek
Stephenson at Tift County, North Gwinnett at Parkview
Northview at Walton
Kennesaw Mountain at Benedictine

Class AAAA
Riverdale at McIntosh
Lakeside-DeKalb at Alexander
Loganville at Lambert
Richmond Hill at Bainbridge
South Forsyth at Heritage-Conyers
Warner Robins at Glynn Academy
Whitewater at Forest Park
Pope at Marist
South Paulding at Tucker
Dutchtown at Tri-Cities
Hardaway at Greenbrier
Habersham Central at Chattahoochee
Evans at Houston County
Northwest …

Continue reading Boys soccer: First-round pairings for state tournament »

NFL teams selected 13 former Georgia high school players in the 2012 Draft. That’s about the norm.
Below is a list of the 13. Here are 10 facts about the Georgia players selected –

-Former Stephenson student and West Virginia defensive end Bruce Irvin was the first Georgia player selected at No. 15 in the first round to the Seahawks. Irvin is the sixth player from Stephenson taken in the NFL Draft since 2006, but the first in the first round. As noted in this story by the AJC’s D. Orlando Ledbetter, Irvin didn’t play at Stephenson. He was a high school dropout who got his GED, taking an unlikely path. For the record, others from Stephens picked in the NFL are DeMario Minter, Anthony Cannon, Jermaine Cunningham, Perry Riley and Kelvin Sheppard. (Kregg Lumpkin has played in the NFL but was not drafted.)

-There were three Georgia players taken in the first round in 2011 (Cam Newton, Cameron Heyward, James Carter) and 2010 (Eric Berry, Demaryius Thomas, Kareem Jackson). There were …

Continue reading List: 14 former Georgia high school players go in NFL Draft; Irvin is 6th from Stephenson since ‘06 »

Here are the first-round pairings for the girls state soccer tournaments. Games are scheduled for Wednesday (AAAAA and AAAA) and Friday (AAA, AA and A), but check with the schools for the specific game date and time.

Class AAAAA

North Cobb at Savannah Arts Academy

Northview at Walton

Brookwood at Peachtree Ridge

Luella at Tift County

Mill Creek at Parkview

Colquitt County at Newnan

Bradwell Institute at Harrison

Woodstock at Centennial

Etowah at Milton

Islands at Hillgrove

Valdosta at East Coweta

Grayson at North Gwinnett

Westlake at Lowndes

Collins Hill at Dacula

Alpharetta at Lassiter

Kennesaw Mountain at Camden County

Class AAAA

Morrow at Whitewater

Lakeside-DeKalb at Kell

Apalachee at Chattahoochee

Wayne Co. at Houston County

Johns Creek at Flowery Branch

Warner Robins at Richmond Hill

Union Grove at Lovejoy

North Paulding at Chamblee

Alexander at Marist

Starr’s Mill at Forest Park

Northside-Warner Robins at Greenbrier

Winder-Barrow at Lambert

Lakeside-Evans at Lee …

Continue reading Girls soccer: First-round pairings for state tournament »

Region 6-AA is paired with 5-AA in the first round of the state playoffs next week, and those four games could be the biggest mismatches in any classification.
Region 6, which sent three teams to the state semifinals last year and had both of the teams in the finals , where Westminster beat Greater Atlanta Christian.
This time around, Blessed Trinity hopes to be in the mix. The Titans, who finished the regular season at 15-1-2 after a scoreless tie against Class AAAAA Pope Tuesday night, are ranked No. 1 by Eurosport despite having lost to GAC. Blessed Trinity bowed out in a disappointing first-round loss to North Oconee last year.
“I think the kids didn’t like the way they went out last year,” said Blessed Trinity coach Don Gillig. “North Oconee graduated eight seniors last year and made it to the state semifinal. I had seen them play and I knew they were a really good team.”
While the 2011 Titans were a team dominated by juniors and sophomores, they’re a more experienced …

Continue reading Boys soccer: Blessed Trinity, 6-AA looks dominant again »

Mill Creek ran away with Region 7-AAAAA last season with a team of 12 seniors, six that signed with college baseball teams. Only two starters returned, but the result was the same – another region title, although this one came down to the final week of the regular season.

The two position players that returned – first baseman Nick Tillman (.330, 4 HR) and third baseman Tim Hernandez (.303) – are the leaders of a team that is hitting only .260. No player other than Tillman has a home run.

‘’People who bet the Las Vegas odds on the Mill Creekers would’ve won some money this season,’’ Jones said. “Not many were expecting too much. To be honest, I couldn’t be more proud of a bunch of young men than this.’’

Pitching and defense have been remarkable. The team is fielding .950. Juniors Cody Pugh ( 7-1, 1.40 ERA) and Shane Seckinger ( 6-0, 1.18) have anchored the staff.

Mill Creek has played in 10 one-run games, winning seven. The most recent was a 1-0 decision Monday over Columbus, …

Continue reading Baseball: Mill Creek repeats as 7-AAAAA champion despite only 2 returning staters »

Lassiter won its ninth region title in baseball this season, but this is the first that didn’t have a Division I signee.

“We probably have some D-I talent, but they’re not getting D-I looks,’’ said Lassiter coach Scott Kelly. ‘’We’ve got a smart team. They do great job in the classroom. We’ve got several kids with 3.8, 4.0, 4.3 grade-point averages, and they bring it out on the field. They study the game and do a good job of not hurting themselves with stupid mistakes.’’

Lassiter is 17-8 overall, 10-1 in Region 5-AAAAA, with a game Friday at Etowah before starting the state playoffs next week as a No. 1 seed.

Lassiter returned only three starters and graduated its three-man rotation and five college signees from the 2011 team that lost in the second round to Brookwood.

The new rotation of underclassmen is 6-foot-4 junior Caleb Kutsche (5-2, 2.56 ERA), junior K.J. Sinclair (5-2, 3.38) and sophomore lefthander Tim Eber (3-1, 4.10). All are college prospects.

Lassiter is hitting …

Continue reading Baseball: ‘Smart’ Lassiter wins 9th region title, first without a D-I signee »

A sophomore infield and a freshman catcher who bats cleanup aren’t the typical characteristics of region championship team, but Milton (20-4) has turned a youth movement into its third straight first-place finish in Region 6-AAAAA.

The 10th-graders around the horn are third baseman Dalon Farkas, shortstop Dylan Cease (also the closer), second baseman and leadoff hitter Ryan Gridley (batting .385) and first baseman Jack Thompson.

Sophomores also occupy two spots in the outfield. Dalton Ewing is in center, and Alex Schnell starts in right or left and also pitches. Sean Brophy, a junior, is the old man of the outfield.

The freshman catcher is Lucas Herbert. He’s hitting .380 in the fourth spot.

‘’He’s not a freshman, he’s the real deal,’’ Milton coach Joey Ray said of his 15-year-old backstop. “He can throw with any of them. He’s something else.’’

Herbert also handles Milton’s chief asset – pitching.

Jason Richman (5-1, 2.11) has signed with Georgia Southern. Graham Officer …

Continue reading Baseball: Milton wins 6-AAAAA with sophomore infield, freshman catcher »

Top-ranked Whitewater captured the region title and No. 1 seed for the state playoffs with a 2-0 victory over No. 2 McIntosh on Tuesday in the Region 3-AAAA championship game. Teegan Van Gunst and Brook Colangelo scored second-half goals for the Wildcats, according to the Fayette Citizen. It was the second victory of the year for Whitewater against its Fayette County rival. Whitewater, 13-0-1 going into Wednesday night’s game against Class AAAAA No. 2 Walton, lost to McIntosh in the Class AAAA championship game last season. Starr’s Mill will be the No. 3 seed from the region after a 1-0 upset of sixth-ranked Union Grove in the third-place game. …

The other Class AAAA team with no losses is sixth-ranked Greenbrier (17-0-1), which won the 2-AAAA title with a 4-2 victory over Richmond Hill on Tuesday. Greenbrier, which trailed 2-0 at halftime, got its first goal from Bay Daniel with 28:10 to play and then scored three times in the final 4:44, according to the Augusta Chronicle. …

Continue reading Girls soccer blog: No. 1 Whitewater beats No. 2 McIntosh for 3-AAAA title »

Centennial’s baseball team has been forced to forfeit four recent victories because of a violation of the GHSA’s participation rules, meaning the Knights – who had been tied for second place in Region 6-AAAAA – won’t make the state playoffs.

Centennial’s region record went from 5-5 to 1-9 after victories over second-ranked Milton, Northview, Alpharetta and North Forsyth won between April 10-19 were reversed.

GHSA rules allow players to play in both varsity and sub-varsity games, but the total games played may not exceed 26. Some of Centennial’s players have played in more. Centennial’s varsity team has played in 24 games.

Centennial coach Jake Hill took responsibility on Monday in a letter to parents.

”You have no idea how hard it has been for me to come to grips with what I allowed to happen,” Hill wrote. “I am embarrassed and most of all hurting for our players, especially the seniors. The players and you as parents have done everything I have asked of you and I let all of …

Continue reading Baseball: Centennial forfeits four games over participation rule, will miss playoffs »

The 2012 football schedule was released Tuesday by the Georgia High School Association. Go here to check it out.

Here are 10 things worth noting –

- Camden County, a strong contender in Class AAAAAA with Georgia-committed seniors J.J. Green and Brice Ramsey, got the road schedule of death in newly configured Region 1. The Wildcats must travel to Valdosta (Sept. 28), Lowndes (Nov. 2) and Colquitt County (Nov. 9). Camden are 92-0 in games that counted in the region standings under Jeff Herron, who arrived in 2000.

- Grayson will open defense of its state title at the five-game Corky Kell Classic on Aug. 25 at the Georgia Dome. The Corky Kell schedule was released months ago, but it’s worth repeating.

9 a.m. – Chattahoochee vs. Kell
11:45 a.m. – Grayson vs. McEachern
2:45 p.m. – Colquitt County vs. North Gwinnett
5:30 p.m. – Peachtree Ridge vs. Camden County
8:30 p.m. – Walton vs. Brookwood

- Don’t be surprised if Grayson is ranked No. 1 in some preseason national polls. Aside …

Continue reading GHSA releases 2012 football schedules: Camden gets road schedule of death … First-ever Marist-Lovett game … Corky Kell matchups … and more »

By S. Thomas Coleman
For the AJC

McEachern’s 400 meter relay team, the fastest in Georgia and ranked in the top five nationally, was disqualified during last week’s Region 4AAAAA meet, when the Hillgrove head coach Antoine Prince protested that the McEachern team was taunting others on the track.

The disqualification means that the unit — made up of seniors Xavier Jackson, Amba Etta-tawo, Jelani Wells and Victor Brannan — will not have the opportunity to run in Saturday’s sectional meet, nor in the state meet, May 10-13, in Jefferson. McEachern’s 40.95 is the fourth fastest time in the nation thus far.

According to McEachern head coach Philip Hoskins, after Wells completed the third leg of the relay and handed the baton to Brannon, the anchor, Wells raised his arms out to the side as he continued to jog down the track. Initially, one race official wanted to disqualify McEachern because she thought Wells’ arms made contact with another runner. However, that official was …

Continue reading Track and Field Blog: (UPDATED) State’s No. 1 400 meter relay team disqualified »

By Stephen Black

Score Atlanta

The Class AAAAA No. 1 Milton girls won two games this past week against ranked opponents (rankings according to LaxPower.com). On Wednesday, the Eagles beat No. 9 Alpharetta (8-4) 22-7 as 10 different Milton players scored goals. Annie Ruland notched six goals and had three assists and Molly Garrigan had four goals. On Friday, the Eagles conquered No. 6 Roswell (6-3) 19-3 as nine players got on the scoreboard. Ruland against led Milton, this time with five goals and four assists. … The No. 5 Marist girls (11-3) edged rival St. Pius Wednesday 9-8 to win the Area 4-A-AAAA championship. The War Eagles led by four in the second half and held on as the host Golden Lions rallied to within one. Mary Heeking led Marist with three goals and goalie Meagan Dunagan had 11 saves. It is Marist’s third straight area title. … The West Forsyth girls defeated Lovett Monday 15-12 before beating Peachtree Ridge 13-12 and Greater Atlanta Christian 11-5 Saturday. The …

Continue reading Eagles knock off two ranked opponents »

By Stephen Black

Score Atlanta

Tift County won the state qualifying meet at Lovett over the weekend with a score of 112.825. Newnan (109.15), Alpharetta (108.825), Lambert (108.8), Lowndes (105.5) and Lassiter (105.05) rounded out qualifying teams for Friday’s state finals, which will be held at Westminster. Beth Roberts of Tift County won the all-around title with a 39.075. The six top qualifiers out of the 34 team participants based on the sum of each team’s top three scores qualified for the state championship meet. … Alpharetta’s Kelsey Kopec scored a 37.7, good enough for third place in the individual standings and the highest finisher from metro Atlanta. Trystien Charles (37.05) of Providence Christian, Sydney Goad (36.75) of Newnan, Katie Shellnutt (36.225) of Newnan, Elizabeth Hovey (36.125) of Newnan, Katie Stuart (36.725) of Lambert and Candace Walton (36) of Lassiter finished in the top 12 individually as well, and will compete in the individual state championship …

Continue reading State qualifiers ready for championship meet »