Class A: Four questions to ponder while waiting for the finals
By S. Thomas Coleman
For the AJC
The Class A finals are set.
On the private school side, No. 9 Prince Avenue Christian held off No. 12 Landmark Christian School, 32-22, while Eagle’s Landing Christian Academy, the No. 2 seed, downed George Walton Academy, 27-14. The private school championship will feature Prince Avenue Christian (11-2) vs. Eagle’s Landing Christian Academy (12-1), Friday at 2:30 p.m. at the Georgia Dome.
On the public school side, No. 5 Dooly County upset No. 1 Lincoln County, 10-7, and No. 3 Emanuel County Institute outlasted No. 2 Wilcox County, 38-27. The public school final will be Dooly County (11-2) against Emanuel County Institute (12-1), Saturday at 11 a.m.
We’ll have detailed previews later this week.
Until then, here are four questions to ponder while waiting on the games to start:
Can Dooly’s defense slow Emanuel County Institute’s offense?
Lincoln County had been averaging more than 30 points per game before running into Bobcat All-State defensive tackle Montravius Adams and his mates. Lincoln failed to score an offensive touchdown for the first time this season. Lincoln had been averaging nearly 180 yards rushing per game. Dooly held them to just 44.
Emanuel County Institute comes into the final averaging 40 points per game, behind the rushing of seniors Greg Purcell and James Brown, and junior Michael Sutton, who have rushed for over 2,300 yards and 34 touchdowns. Bulldog senior quarterback Caleb Pressey has also thrown for nearly 1,000 yards and 14 touchdowns this season.
Do common opponents matter?
In both cases, there has been just one common opponent – Wilcox County on the public school side and George Walton on the private side.
Wilcox split with ECI and Dooly. ECI defeated Wilcox in the semi finals, Dooly fell to the Patriots 28-14, way back on Sept. 14. On the private school side, Prince Avenue lost a close one to George Walton, 17-14, the last game of the regular season on Nov. 9.
Was the private school title game already played?
At the beginning of the playoffs most felt ELCA was the clear favorite to win it all, with George Walton, though the Bulldogs were an 11 seed, thought to be one of the only teams capable of playing with the Chargers.
Indeed, in Friday’s semi finals, George Walton held ELCA to its lowest point total since the Chargers lost to AAA Washington County in the season opener, 24-19, a game they led 19-0 at halftime. And as mentioned previously, George Walton defeated Prince Avenue earlier this season.
But is Prince Avenue the “team of destiny?”
The Wolverines lost four of their best players before the season even began, when they left the team and the school due to an incident that occurred over the summer. One of those players was running back/defensive back Rob Farriba, a rising senior and son of Prince Avenue head coach Mark Farriba.
On top of that, the Wolverines moved quarterback Carl Mattox to wing back and moved defensive back Zach Graham to quarterback. But through all of that upheaval, Prince Avenue is in the Georgia High School Association finals for the first time in school history.
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108 comments Add your comment
Dawgslobber
December 8th, 2012
11:57 pm
In the common opponent section of the article you have Dooly beating Wilcox. Actually, Wilcox beat Dooly 28-14.
MCMBAA
December 9th, 2012
12:57 am
WOW! Sorry I missed most of the party, it’s obviously been a bloodbath here. A few thoughts:
Todd Holcomb: First, thanks for the work you do here on the blogs. Second, good point that insults are thrown around liberally across all classes and states, I’ve seen it myself. Lastly, I can’t agree with your point that privates can play up….SCPS attempted to do that very thing immediately following the news of the split division and GHSA denied their request. I’m relatively certain that they (GHSA) are going to follow student count rules right down the line if, for nothing else, to avoid having to defend any “non-uniform” decision they make.
STC: Many, many thanks for the great work and knowledge you bring to the party. I’ve been called out on the carpet by you before and therefore know that you’re fair in levying punishment as needed….appreciate you taking a stand when it’s warranted my friend.
In all the miles of text I have read this and previous years, one thing I can always count on is that Swamp Lizard is going to be the most levelheaded, unassuming, and fair poster on here. Getting into a character battle with him is a suicide mission before you even go wheels-up…save yourself the pain of looking silly and just don’t do it.
Lastly (and in the interest of disclosure…I’m an ELCA parent), my experience by a huge margin is that post-game trash talk on here and every other blog or forum generally follows this format…..(from the losing team): your team cheated/your team played dirty/your team recruits/your team *insert insult here*…(from the winning team): your team underachieves/your team didn’t come to play/your team needs better coaches/your team…well, you get the idea. I’m not saying it’s not entertaining, it does make for great press. But mostly all it does is give folks like TomDawg an opening to come over and spew a little venom about our programs. OK, I’m relinquishing my soap box now.
GW, you have a powerhouse team that gave ELCA everything and then some. You were all your press clippings said you were and I have no doubt you’ll be no less than one of the final 4 again next year. Give full props to your boys because they came closer than any other Single A team this year to getting into ELCA’s sandbox. Best game we’ve seen all season.
LCS, you were within 2 minutes and a field goal of back to back trips to the Dome and I can honestly say that you guys are just a little scary in the intense arena of playoff football. I expect that you’ll be making your now normal appearance deep in the playoffs as well in 2013.
PACS, you played Brantley and company better than anyone has all playoffs and, folks, that’s saying something. Most of all, it attests to the fact that you deserve to be heading to the big show. Look forward to the contest Friday and I can assure you that anyone that counts is gearing up for a brawl.
Alright, now that I’ve given everyone diabetes with all my sweetness….
TCDAWG25
December 9th, 2012
2:26 am
@ Everyone what public schools whined and complained and wanted a new league. Not every school in Class A wanted a new league so name them. I’m sure alot of people would like to know.
Swamp Lizard
December 9th, 2012
6:28 am
@ MCMBAA & FANS … MCMBAA thanks for the kind words! I do try to be fair and honest with my points and opinions. As far as all the RECRUITING allegations ( for all teams ) I don’t think it’s happening. Do kids transfer in? … are some of them great players? … YES !! Are any of these schools doing it under the radar or wrong? I THINK NOT! GHSA has to sign off on these kids coming into a new school, so they know about the situations up front and first. These schools ( Public included ) are established “programs” … ELCA, Landmark, PAC, George Walton, etc … ). I just don’t think the leaders of these schools ( Coaches & Administrators ) would try to “slide” kids in under the radar. The GHSA isn’t stupid … OK, dont agree that one with me ( seeding / point system ) … if they hear “serious” allegations, they will check them out. As far as “Mud Sligging” … those usually come from uninformed, fly by fans that have never played a down of football … I know it’s upsetting, it gets to me too … just laugh at them and reply with more class.
Innocent Bystander
December 9th, 2012
7:04 am
@ NOURSTUFF……….Did you read my post ??? Did you read Woverine’s post ??? ELCA has been strong for yrs, PAC came out of nowhere a couple of yrs ago. That usually doesn’t happen that way, but maybe the new coaching staff is just way better than the last. I personally don’t know much about PAC, but I do know Woverine started his post with a jab like yours about ELCA’s crosstown recruits. I couldn’t care less about who they have on their roster, or where they came from. I’m just saying don’t point the finger at us just because everybody is pointing it at you. Isn’t your team out of this anyway ?
putuporshutup
December 9th, 2012
7:48 am
I like the idea of investigating the 4 semifinal teams in all classes not just single a private. Kinda like being in a nascar race. Top 4 finishers get to raise their hoods and pass post race inspection
athensfb
December 9th, 2012
11:15 am
Regarding PACS they are committed to what they want to do, if you let them hang around you will be in for a dog fight, they have struggled playing from behind, but if things are close a turnover bad coaching decision by the opposition will make the difference, their backs run low and keep their feet moving, and their D gets after it will very good schemes that are well executed. As far as recruits one is they are bigger up front then what you would think two / three good size lineman, most of these players have been there since middle school, but a few came over when Westminster Christian in Watkinsville dropped football, one is a key player for PACS that is still there, but that was about 3 or 4 years ago, probably gain only 2 or 3 players that way, as did some of the other local schools. Besides that there is not really any active recruiting, PACS ties to UGA football and coaches past and present make it attractive to many, small class size, christian education, and football is the main focus in male sports at this time, with a nice run these past two years I expect the interest to increase until coach Bobo’s kids start playing varsity and the group at that age group I see some real big years for PAC. I see them as a contender such as AA has been consistently in the playoffs year in and out for a while as long as Farriba stays. Their tuition is a little more attainable for many that what to send their kids to private school compared to the college prep type of private schools. With AA, PAC and GWA in the same region this region will continually be a very competitive region in the future, with up comers ACS very young and a rebuilding Commerce, there will be a strong top 5 not seen in most regions. At this point its hard to pick against PACS, especially if ELCA offense struggled with GWA’s D, PACS is more complex maybe not as athletic. It will either be a close PAC win or a 2 score win by ELCA will come down to coaching.
W
December 9th, 2012
11:26 am
So what will Larry Campbell propose now? I feel awful for the kids in the program, but I couldn’t be happier that Larry lost on Friday. His “for the kids” rants weren’t for the kids, it was for him to get another title. Sorry for the Lincoln County players and their community, it is a great one, but look at your coach and say, “Thanks” because he brought it on himself.
athensfb
December 9th, 2012
12:16 pm
Just a thought, since the privates are tossed into this private/public split what if the privates just decided to leave and all go to GISA, then the GHSA could go back to 5 classifications which would raise the enrollment for single A significantly at least to 700 students where would this leave the small public schools that started all this stuff do they think they could compete or just insist on a 35 smallest teams division, I see these championships in single A this week, as not equal to or the same as the past it was disappointing not having some of the great matchups that were missed because of all of this, but this is what happens when adults make decisions for kids, I guarantee you if you ask any player for any team they would prefer the old way and want to play the best regardless how the team was form, recruited or grew up together.
Innocent Bystander
December 9th, 2012
12:50 pm
@ Bulldog……..Another classy post from the George Walton fans ! Incredible !
LCHS-Son-Dad
December 9th, 2012
2:26 pm
I’ve read this blog all season and I’m very much appreciative of the coverage STC has given the state. Although I’ve thought about commenting several times, I’ve refrained. Now that our team is out, I’ve nothing to lose.
First of all congrat’s to the remaining four teams. Having played in 3 Championship games, I know the players and families (Dads) will always remember it. Dooly County did what they had to do to win. Could we beat them on another day? Possibly, but we won’t get that chance this year. As the ELCA Dad I spoke to 4 years ago after a game in Lincolnton knows: the best team does not always win.
Lincoln County was young this year. Hopefully, they will do what it takes to improve and get to the big dance next year.
Concerning Coach Campbell, he gets credit for many things that are not his doing. He did not threaten to leave GHSA. If you check geography, we don’t live in South Georgia. There is no way we could compete weekly (especially in winter and spring sports) with schools 3 hours away. In fact, he requested our school be put in the Athens region with all the private schools when the split talk began.
Has he petitioned for a split championship? Yes. But prior to that (in the 90s), he pushed for a multiplier which was in existance for many years. It was not until the multiplier went away, that he again started pushing for the split. When you look at 280 FTE count for a public school, you are looking at everyone from that county (in most of the class A public schools, I realize some are city schools). We take everyone. There is no selection process. There is no max class size. And in so many instances, there is no family support. As someone with supportive parents and a father of children in school, I see the FAMILY as the greatest advantage of the private schools. The majority of those kids have someone to push them, to encourage them, and to see them through whatever challenge they face. I could tell you numerous stories of our players who are having to act as parents for younger siblings because they have no one else responsible at their home. Or a kid whose Mom may or may not be home this week (Dad’s never at home). Trust me, the things Coach Campbell and his awesome assistants deal with each week, are enough to make you cry. In the end, there is only so much he or anyone in public education can do for them.
Coach Campbell is not perfect: I did not agree with every call he made as my coach nor have I in the 25 years since, but I know without a doubt, he has helped us win more games than he caused us to lose.
Without going back to look at all the posts, I must say that Swamp Lizard stands out as always providing good comments without attacking or accusing. For that I am appreciative. And again, thanks STC.
Innocent Bystander
December 9th, 2012
4:27 pm
@ LCHS-Son-Dad………I’m sure Coach Campbell has done a lot of good things for the kids in your town, but he made it hard for a lot of people to like or even respect him with some of his comments i.e calling Savannah Christian, The University of Savannah on camera. There were several other comments that didn’t reflect well on him, but all in all he has just come off as a whiner to a lot of people. I guess maybe a lot of people feel like he does about the situation, but he got a lot of attention for it and with his outstanding record on the field, it didn’t put him in a great light with a lot of folks. You can’t argue with your success at LCHS. You guys will always be in the thick of things, but this new system is flawed & Campbell gets a lot of the blame for it even existing, whether that’s right or wrong.
gh2o
December 9th, 2012
6:58 pm
@PAC ..my son has been playing against your same group of kids for 5 years. While PAC and GWA have developed a great rivalry, I would stand next to your program as one that is as clean as they come. If I lived between the two schools, it would be a difficult choice to make. Ignore those on this board who “cry wolf”, and good luck in the Dome on Friday. ELCA is a strong, well-coached team. I do think they were the best we saw this year. But they play the game on the field, not on a blog. Everyone had GWA getting blown out by 4 or 5 tds…..not even close to the right call. Good luck.
Swamp Lizard
December 9th, 2012
9:02 pm
@ LCHS-Son-Dad … Thanks for the kind words. I’ll be the first to tell you I didn’t like or want the Public / Private split. I must be honest and say, I truely think ELCA has the best Class A team in the state this year, but with that, IF we win the State Championship it will still feel like unfinished business. Ya see, ELCA wants to be like Lincoln Co, ECI, Charlton, Clinch, etc … I think all Private schools want to establish their programs and have that kind of tradition. With the exception of Sav Christian ( recently ), no Private schools can make that claim. We want to become that kind of “program”. Just as I’m sure if ECI or Dooly wins, it will feel like unfinished business to them. You & I both know, both teams will have to hear, your still 2nd best after that team wins it.
Swamp Lizard
December 9th, 2012
9:09 pm
@ LCHS-Son-Dad … You hit on soem KEY points, you are so right that family plays a major roll in all these kids lives … I see you have great respect for Coach Campbell … & I admire him & his staff for doing everything they can in time of need for those kids. We all might have our own opinion about certian schools ( love or hate ) but until you KNOW the coaches & players we all should be careful with our words. Yes, I’ve been guilt of it too.
Monroe's First Redcoat
December 9th, 2012
9:25 pm
Can’t help but wonder how many cars with South Carolina tags are in the Lincoln County HS student parking lot. Saw that one firsthand a while back. Seems most of the drivers were also at the school on Friday nights….
Make no mistake, whoever the principal is at LCHS is a figurehead. For better or worse, Larry Campbell says what goes on at that school….
moto
December 9th, 2012
11:04 pm
BREAK POINT between AA and A in terms of enrollment is in the 400-teens. Wesleyan is last team in AA and Gordon Lee is highest enrollment team in A, followed by Holy Innocents’, which may have to move to AA after the next reclassification. I’m amazed at how schools with 250-350 students have beaten the bigger schools in A.
next year
December 10th, 2012
10:24 am
@gh2o You want to quote stats…..ELCA 27…GW 14. That is the only one that counts. I can see why at the Walker game they had “police tape” up for the GW fans like you. When one of your GW players got called for a cheap chop block…..I believe, it might have been you or another over the top parent that shouted that the Walker player should be embarrassed by being taking out of the play…..classy act…maybe the players get their actions from the parents.
see you at dome..my bad
December 10th, 2012
10:26 am
@gh2oh On behalf of most of the indivduals in this blog, we hope your son is a senior and we will not have to put up with your distorted views of high school football next year and your lame excuses why your team got beat by a better team. PERIOD> See you at the dome…..oh my bad..I guess you will be sitting at home whinning.
Cold Hard Facts
December 10th, 2012
10:48 am
Does anyone know when the post season individual awards come out? I want to see some of the kids that did not make the playoffs, but had great indiviual seasons get their recognition.ie: All-state, All-region, etc.
check facts
December 10th, 2012
10:57 am
@gh2o….hardship cases……I assume Williams was not a hardship case but just a Recruited player.
Nice that Williams had to sit out his sophomore year after playing half the season with his public school. Unusual for a player to leave half way thru the football season….hmm
steve
December 10th, 2012
11:10 am
Williams actually moved, and chose GWA after dad shopped him around to numerous schools from Hall County, Gwinnett, Clarke and others noone recruited him his dad recruited the schools, GWA tried to get him eligible for the playoffs last year but couldn’t since he didnt play a regular season game with him, I still dont think it was a great choice for him, GWA doesnt use him enough and some games he seemed totally frustrated.
gh2o
December 10th, 2012
11:18 am
@next year…your full of it. It was a block below the waist on a kickoff return, and was a very close (bit accurate) call. That’s different than the chop blocks, which occur on the line of scrimmage. But, I guess you don’t know that? And it’s FAR different than twisting a kid’s helmet around as you’re getting up from a nice, hard tackle and taunting hiim! That’s indefensible behavior at any level. And nobody in the stands yelled anything derogatory toward any of the ELCA kids. Not once. You can make up whatever you want, but the facts are that there were THREE after the whistle, late, extremely dirty hits by a few kids on your team. It’s not all of the kids. It’s a nice, select few, and I’m sure you could list them. There were several that weren’t flagged, as well. That’s the end of the comments, as you can even see it in the picture in the article about the team, as they actually caught one kid in the act of taunting an opposing player. You can ignore it if you want. But it’s the dirty hits that are going to send a kid to the hospital!
gh2o
December 10th, 2012
11:19 am
@check facts…you clearly know absolutely nothing about the Williams situation. So why don’t you stop throwing out accusations? They simply make you look ignorant.
Innocent Bystander
December 10th, 2012
11:20 am
@ athensfb……… I like your post. Haven’t seen a lot of PAC football, so it was informative for me. I know nobody wants to pick against their own team in a huge game like ELCA/PAC, but have you been able to watch ELCA on film ? I think it’s going to be hard for PAC to match up with ELCA in size & athleticism, so of course I think we have the edge going in. I have been told nothing but good things about PAC and it’s coaching staff so I’m sure they will be ready to play. As far as ELCA struggling with G.W, it was definitely an off night for our offense, but we didn’t have the ball a whole lot due to the 3 quick scores early. G.W was stout, but you play that game 10 times and ELCA puts up way more points 9 out of 10. I believe PAC runs a offense similar to Savannah Christian’s and they had a long, long night against ELCA. Would love to hear your opinion on this. Thanks and good luck.
gh2o
December 10th, 2012
11:22 am
@Steve…actually, he was eligible for the playoffs last year and GWA decided not to play him. All of this partially accurate information flying around is a real disservice to the kid and the school. Unless people actually know exactly what happened and the circumstances surrounding it, they really shouldn’t comment about it.
gh2o
December 10th, 2012
11:58 am
That’s pretty funny stuff, bystander. Anyone watching that game would likely say that ELCA would wiin 5 out of 10 times against GWA. More points. Hilarious. Two special teams td’s and a gift of a 15 yard drive gave you 3 of your 4 td’s. You had one drive the remaining 3 quarters. Nothing about that game remotely suggested that ELCA could control the line of scrimmage. You seem to be the only one who watched the game who has that “special” insight.
athensbball
December 10th, 2012
12:03 pm
I realize GA is a football state….but can we at least get scores for basketball games??? Basketball started six weeks ago. I dont feel thats asking for much AJC……..
LanFan
December 10th, 2012
12:17 pm
Athensbball: STC tried to start in previous weeks and I know he wants to but sadly for the BB’ers I think the finals mania and trying to not have knife fights break out between the Christians is getting in his way. Not like that helps but I did want to give him credit for wanting to cover more.
Innocent Bystander
December 10th, 2012
12:28 pm
@ gh2o……..You seem to be the only one on this site that has “special needs”. Have you noticed there are about 20 people on here that have blasted you for your insane rants ? You need to take it easy before you stroke out ! And about your view of the game. You had 2 drives the whole night ! 2 drives that produced points. We didnt even need the last drive. We gave you 2 gifts, were they not good enough ? Turnovers don’t always just happen. ELCA made palys to get those T.O’s, just like your DB’s made plays to get G.W’s. You belive what you want, but ELCA beats G.W 9 out of 10, no doubt. I’m sure G.W will dominate every second of every game, both sides of the ball, but we’ll WIN them !
rammerjammer14
December 10th, 2012
12:41 pm
Good Game between ELCA and GWA. Both have excellent players who are very well coached. The running back and TE at GW are special players. As for the what if’s, special teams were huge for ELCA and thats part of the game. Maybe that won them the game and if so isn’t that good coaching? As for recruiting, ELCA and GWA are private schools that you apply to and pay for, you have seperated public and private so please stop talking about recruiting. ELCA has a program and when these kids graduate there will be more coming. ELCA has teams in K-5 grade that compete in the Henry County Youth football league and of course middle school. That’s not recruiting that’s building a program. If you want to check out some big time recruiting and investigate check out public school teams in 5 and 6 A. As for the unsportman like or unchristian like comments. Just so you know several of the football players where back at the school to ref Upward Basketball games on Saturday. Seems like a great example of walking the walk. Just my 2 cents.
UGADawg83
December 10th, 2012
1:23 pm
I find many comments in this thread disturbing. Folks, schools aren’t Christian, people are Christian. There are Christians at ELCA, GWA. PAC. ECI, Lincoln County, Landmark, Dooly County, Grayson, Lowndes, Parkview, Valdosta, Norcross, and every school in the state.
That said, when one puts the name of Christ in the title of the school there is an obligation to represent the name of Christ. Ultimately those who call themselves Christian are called to represent Christ whether one’s school has Christian in its name or not.
ELCATRAZ
December 10th, 2012
1:24 pm
@ GH20 – ELCA had this game from the Coin Toss..ELCA takes advantage of most miscues by GWA, you can’t “Think” or “What if” anything in HS Football or any competition. “What if” the opening kick off doesn’t go back for 6! Nobody knew that was going to happen. I believe GWA would have seen the best half of ELCA “IF” that didn’t happen, they have done it all season long.
The BETTER team won, GWA has been up and down all season…with win/loss with injuries/bad decisions by Coaches. I have heard them all. What did GWA do in the second half? Nothing! Turnovers / Special Teams / Defence / Offensive let downs etc.. are ALL part of the game. It’s the team that capitalizes on such, that wins the game. GWA had a good game plan, going into the game, by running the ball behind a big O line. They got tired in the 2nd half period, because when you have to cover the whole field with ELCA, your lineman will peter out! I hope you realize that it’s usually the person who retaliates gets the flag! Sure, there will be cheap shots, but I know Coach Gess will handle that issue for sure. If you take the emotion out of Football you get Soccer!! I’m sure we will cross paths in Baseball.
athensbball
December 10th, 2012
2:41 pm
@Truth…you said “The four kids that did not return, were 4 starters on both sides of the ball. In fact 3 of them played for North Oconee this year. They left due to rules violations. In fact one of the players was the coaches son. So if we bend the rules don’t you think we would have done if for the head coaches son?”……hahaha so you dont bend the rules for coach’s sons??? They were caught smoking pot and instead of kicking them out of school (like the rules say)..PAC let them withdrawal so that they could play their senior years at a public school and not have to be penalized or suffer any consequences. If thats not rule bending then I dont know what is??
athensbball
December 10th, 2012
3:03 pm
And as far as the recruiting obligations go….MCMBAA is right. Our school has to hear the same crap in basketball. Kids transfer and move to private schools and public schools all the time. But as soon as one of those kids helps a team win more games, then he must have been recruited. If the kid is not any good, then no one cares. The 2 best point guards in athens both came from franklin county and both switched to private schools in middle school. one went to athens academy (where they stink at basketball) and one went to athens christian (where they win a lot.) ACS gets accused of recruiting and no one says anything about the kid at academy. So its the same everywhere and in every sport, only sore losers accuse people of cheating and recruiting.
LoveFridayFootball
December 10th, 2012
3:41 pm
@gh20… Elcatraz is right. We had the game from the VERY first whistle. We were up by 20 after the first Qtr. All ELCA had to due at the point is not give up more than 19 pts in 3 Qtrs… You scored two tds in the 2qtr… And the 2nd half was shut down by our def.. I remember looking at the clock in the 4th qtr and we just got the ball from you with about 9 min to go..my thought was a couple of first downs and this game is over! We were up 27-14… We didn’t need to push… All we needed was the clock to strike 00:00!
And like I said before, our ALL STATE rb didn’t even play offense in the first half…so if you’re going to “what if”….what if he does!
bucket
December 10th, 2012
8:57 pm
@ athensbball – you might need to re-read the article dude. STC wrote, “The Wolverines lost four of their best players before the season even began, when they left the team and the school due to an incident that occurred over the summer.” The key words are “before the season began” and “over the summer”.Those four kids violated the honor code for Prince students and therefore, were not going to be allowed to continue at Prince once the school year began. If the incident had happened during the school year, they still would not have been allowed to stay at Prince. However, because this happened over the summer it was handled in a way that didn’t cost them a chance to play their senior season. Remember these boys were kids. Kids do stupid things sometimes. I mean seriously, did you want them to get the death penalty? IMO they didn’t commit a crime that should have cost them a chance to play their senior season somewhere, thus they were allowed to withdraw and transfer and appeal to the GHSA to be allowed to play. The GHSA signed off on that transfer in a process that was reported on in the Athen’s paper.
The Truth
December 10th, 2012
9:13 pm
@ athensbball No rule bending at all. They withdrew during the time the school was conducting its Due Process that all kids get whether they are athletes or not. A decision to expel someone is not made without going through the prescribed process. Parents can pull their kids out at anytime and some do before the process ends while some wait their fate. @Bucket was correct in his statements.
wild goose
December 11th, 2012
2:17 am
Hey athensbball, it’s me…Travis Wildgoose….I’m tired of this college mess….give me a call….I want to come back to Athens Christian Academy for one more senior year. See if you can get that worked out for me. If you need to just blame it on the foriegn exchange people again……let me know soon…..I’m talking to a few other highschools that need my services.
wild goose
December 11th, 2012
2:29 am
@gh2o…..you seem to know more than anyone else on this blog about the Williams transfer. Why did he leave Apalachee Highschool half way through his sophomore football season? I can’t imagine a school allowing a player like that to just up and leave. Somebody should fire the principal and the head coach tomorrow for being so stupid for allowing such a good kid …..and you describe him as a great kid…. to leave their school and football program. Don’t tell me it was for the education because I’m pretty sure they offer AP courses at Apalachee. I’m. Closer to this than you think……i know about the shoes
hitsthefan
December 11th, 2012
8:05 am
First off he played all but 1 games at the chee! This 1/2 season stuff is dumb… 5/10 = 50% 9/10= 90% HIS PARENTS WANTED HIM TO LEAVE. Check out the CHEE’s grad rate and AYP!
Swamp Lizard
December 11th, 2012
8:42 am
@ STC …. we are in dire need for some “new” material. What’s next … & when?
hitsthefan
December 11th, 2012
9:00 am
Big picture…. Williams superior athlete( major sec recruit) + below average educational system (Chee)= maybe you qualify maybe you don’t…. Now, Williams still a superior athlete + Great education and educational support(GWA) = higher chance of qualifying! I think some people know why the school was started in 1969 and want to keep it like that. Others on the outside of the school just don’t want to lose to GWA. Really and truly people have to realize you can choose any school in the country for your child. No matter which school you choose, you will upset people when you are a good ball player. When parents set out and look at other schools across north georgia, it is not called shopping their kid around, it is called looking for a good fit for your son, and a good fit for your family in whatever service district you choose. He will enjoy his senior year at GWA and whatever college he ultimately chooses. If I were him, I would get far away from Georgia! As far as ELCA, they are the best team in the state and will dominate PAC. Too much speed and great line play on defense! The best way to beat ELCA is to run straight at them! Side to Side you will get beat every time. When GWA was in the “I” they ran straight thru them! Crawford in the wing t will be a late 2:30 lunch for that Defense. Just my opinion…. But obviously, we all have them.
hitsthefan
December 11th, 2012
9:01 am
@swamp lizard YES!!!!
Mr. Patriot
December 11th, 2012
9:03 am
You need to get your facts straight ! Wilcox beat Dooley 28-14. Do a LITTLE research !
Walker Fan
December 11th, 2012
9:14 am
OK…even I have grown weary of the ashing and counter-bashing…ironically following STC’s complement that the Class A forum in general avoided the depths of nastiness found on some of the others…so, to lighten things up…
Give me your top five HS football songs (e.g. pregame, warmup, timeouts, etc.)
Sweet Child of Mine…for kickoffs
Boys of Fall – postgame
You’ve Got Another Thing Coming…old school pre-game locker room
Hair of The Dog – good anytime
Gotta Feeling – good win song
Give me yours
wild goose
December 11th, 2012
9:24 am
@hitsthefan
So any kid can move from school to school if their parents want them to. I have a problem with that and you should also. If Chee was that bad, why on earth did Williams parents allow him to start there. Williams grew up in Barrow County and his parents didn’t just get slapped in the face with a bad school system. Why would a UGA committ go from a larger school to a smaller school to showcase his talents? Why not go to a AAAAA or AAAAAA school and showcase that D1 talent? Why GWA? A school that just joined the GHSA and to my knowledge has never drawn any collegiate attention.
Look…I realize that the problem lies with GHSA…….GWA and it’s partnership with this situation is just a prime example of how GHSA is a joke when it comes to transfers and eligibility. Bottom Line: GHSA is terrified of a lawsuit and is clueless in keeping parity amongst the teams that play in their classifications. GHSA is a money machine and does not care for the young men and women that MAKE their organization. If Ralph can’t get a grip on this situation, he needs to retire now, not draw a salary as long as he can and hand this mess over to the next guy that takes the reigns.
bucket
December 11th, 2012
9:39 am
1 – In The Air Tonight – My favorite by far!!!
2 – The Final Countdown
3 – Tonight – (Toby Mac)
4 – Gone – (Switchfoot)
5 – The Victors – (Fight song for the Wolverines, Prince and Michigan!)
hitsthefan
December 11th, 2012
9:53 am
People who aren’t getting attention from college coaches need to show case their talents. Every major program in the country knows about him and they are coming to watch him and others at GWA. Yeah they finally did get fed up with Barrow County Schools. However, that doesn’t mean that they did not want to make a change. Im sorry they chose your school! However, both of his parents are from Monroe!
S. Thomas Coleman
December 11th, 2012
10:31 am
@Swamp Lizard, et al: Sorry I’ve been out of the mix here. I’ve been getting things lined up for several stories on the finals to run this week, here on AJC.com and in the print edition.
In about an hour, I’ll have another basketball blog up (sorry Swamp!).
The next “new material” for football will be Thursday’s finals previews. After that, I’ll have one FINAL (sob, sob) football blog posted on Saturday that will stay up until, Tuesday, Dec. 18. On that day, I’ll post another basketball blog and then it will be all basketball from then on.
Look out for a story that will be here on AJC.com and in the print edition on thoughts about the public-private split after one year. In fact, if you’d like to comment on the record for that story from the perspective of a parent/fan, send me an email at s.thomascoleman@yahoo.com with your real name and school affiliation. I will make sure to keep your “blog name” a secret!
Thanks for reading and posting everyone!
S. Thomas Coleman