Prep Zone: High School Sports

By S. Thomas Coleman
For the AJC

What’s the best thing to do the season after winning two nail-biting playoff games in the final minutes – a quarter final and a semi-final – before advancing to your first state championship game in 30 years?

Forget about it. Move on.

While 2012 was a special season for Dooly County and the folks in Vienna, a town of just under 4,000 in southwest Georgia, it ended with a sobering 47-7 beat down by Emanuel County Institute at the Georgia Dome in the Class A Public School Final. To make matters worse, the Bobcats’ leader, defensive tackle Montravius Adams, widely considered the top defensive lineman in the country, was negated by a severe ankle injury and a nasty group of ECI offensive linemen. Adams played only a handful of snaps in the second half of the game.

“You can’t continue to look back. We talked about the game when we came back to school in January after the [winter] break,” said Dooly head coach Jimmy Hughes, now entering his fourth …

Continue reading 50-in-50: Dooly County »

By Fletcher Proctor

Score Atlanta

The 2013 GHSA lacrosse championships will see several past champions looking for even more hardware. The Milton girls have won seven titles over the last eight years while Westminster has won a combined five titles in boys and girls lacrosse. Lambert has claimed the past two Class A-AAAA boys’ titles.

Earlier this season, Lambert’s (15-6) three-year, 43-game winning streak came to a close, but the Longhorns are back in the Class AAAAAA finals. Junior Sean Carruthers scored five goals in Lambert’s first-round victory.

Lambert will face Centennial (18-3), a team that lost just once during the regular season to a Georgia opponent. The Knights have defeated East Coweta, Lassiter and Harrison for a chance at the state title. Nathan Solomon and Brendan Spence have proven to be quite potent on the attack.

Westminster (17-4) has entered the postseason with just four losses during the regular season, and the Wildcats have already avenged one of those …

Continue reading Lacrosse: Finals commence Saturday »

Our third daily look at the best players in high school football focuses on receivers.

Here are 10 to watch.

They must be pretty smart because three have offers from Yale.

Remember that these are not recruiting rankings. These players have been selected primarily on their high school production and their value to their high school teams.

Let us know who you think we missed.

- Myles Autry, Norcross: Autry plays many roles for Norcross but is most commonly lined up at slot receiver. In 2012, year of Norcross’ first state title, Autry had 45 catches for 632 yards and 10 touchdowns. He also had more than 500 yards rushing and 500 returning. Autry could play any of several positions in college. His finalists appear to be Georgia, Georgia Tech, Florida, Florida State and Miami. Autry is coming off ACL/MCL surgery.

- Emanuel Beal, Hillgrove: Beal caught 43 passes for 855 yards (19.9 avg.) and seven touchdowns for 6-5 Wheeler last season. He has transferred to Hillgrove. Beal (6-1, …

Continue reading 10 best HS wide receivers: Kitt heads productive group »

By Stephen Black

Score Atlanta

The state soccer finals take place this weekend at Kennesaw State University and the University of West Georgia. Each final provides its own storylines, and many of them are included below.

Also, see the weekend schedule below the story for the times and locations of each match.

Class AAAAAA

Boys

Berkmar vs. Collins Hill

Although a battle between Gwinnett County schools, it is also a war between the have’s and have not’s in the world of soccer. Collins Hill (16-5) is in its sixth consecutive title game and has won three of the past four state championships. Berkmar, meanwhile, is in its first finals appearance. The semifinal win over East Coweta ended when Juan Carlos Lopez, the Berkmar keeper, saved East Coweta’s seventh penalty kick to send the Patriots (15-5-1) to the finals.

Collins Hill got here despite losing eight key players just before the start of the season. Six went to the U.S. Development Academy and two to the Jamaican national …

Continue reading Soccer: Finals begin Friday »

Our look at the best high school football players in Georgia continues today with 10 running backs.

Remember that these are not recruiting rankings. These players have been selected primarily on their high school production and their value to their high school teams.

Let us know who you think we missed.

- Kwan Brooks, Monroe Area: Brooks rushed for 1,916 yards and 18 touchdowns for a 12-2 team in 2012. It was Monroe Area’s first trip to the state semifinals. Brooks had seven touchdown runs of longer than 50 yards. Brooks is 5-9, 165. He’s not getting the same recruiting attention as his backfield mate, quarterback Stanton Truitt, but that will change if he gets his academics in order.

- Kawon Bryant, North Oconee: A rising junior, Bryant played only seven games last season on a 10-2 team because of injuries. He for 1,146 yards and 14 touchdowns. He rushed for 204 yards against Jefferson as a freshman.

- Esaias Chapman, Harris County: Chapman rushed for 2,124 yards and scored …

Continue reading 10 best HS running backs: Can Chubb hit 3,000? »

No matter the sport, there are carpe diem-type slogans that coaches employ to promote teammate bonding.

For the Stockbridge football team, the current t-shirt material is “hold the rope,” a reference to a piece of motivational writing, author unknown. Coach Kevin Whitley, entering his fifth season leading the Tiger program, said it boils down to mutual trust between teammates.

“It’s if you’re hanging off a cliff, who do you want holding the rope?” Whitley said. “Who will let their hands bleed and burn and not let go?”

With that as a team theme, the Tigers set about replacing quarterback Trent Earl when they started spring practice Monday, as well as most of their receiving corps and two spots on the offensive line. Those are the major question marks, but Whitley seems to like the direction of the program – the Tigers had the best season in school history in 2012 and appeared in the state playoffs for the third straight year.

“If you don’t win the state championship, there’s …

Continue reading 50 in 50: Stockbridge »

By Stephen Black and Craig Sager II

Score Atlanta

AAAAAA

Berkmar 2 (7), East Coweta 2 (6) PKs: The teams entered halftime 1-1. Visiting East Coweta opened the second half with a Conner Antley goal that came just nine seconds into action. Berkmar’s Israel Lopez forced overtime with a goal in the 26th minute. Both five-minute overtime periods went scoreless, and Berkmar received honors in the shootout. Each team netted its first five kicks. Berkmar made its next two to make it seven of seven attempts converted, and after taking the 7-6 lead, East Coweta could not convert.

Collins Hill 1 (3), Harrison 1 (2) PKs: Collins Hill advanced to its sixth consecutive final after outshooting Harrison in penalty kicks. Paul Ille started the scoring 13 minutes into the second half, but the visiting Hoyas tied it on a penalty kick with less than five minutes left in regulation. After a scoreless overtime, goalie Jackson Taylor saved Harrison’s fourth shot to clinch the 3-2 edge. Harrison also …

Continue reading Wednesday soccer semifinals roundup »

Over the next several days, we’ll be providing a position-by-position look at some of Georgia’s best high school football players. It starts today with quarterbacks.

These 10 were chosen based on what they bring to their high school teams. These are not recruiting rankings. In fact, four of the 10 are not being recruited as quarterbacks.

Who are the best quarterbacks that we left out?

- Brooks Barden, Cartersville: Barden led Cartersville to a 13-1 finish (best since the 1999 state championship team) while passing for 2,872 yards (189 of 304) and 39 touchdowns with only five interceptions. Despite good size (6-3, 200) and being a coach’s son, Barden is not yet considered a blue-chip prospect.

- Adam Choice, Thomas County Central: Choice is rated as the No. 1 running back recruit in Georgia by Rivals.com, but he’s been one of the state’s better high school quarterbacks for the past two seasons. In 2012, he rushed for 1,656 yards and scored 23 touchdowns in 12 games. He passed …

Continue reading 10 best HS quarterbacks: Watson heads list »

By Score Atlanta

The Brookwood boys and Walton girls each claimed the Class AAAAA state titles in 2011, only to come up short in 2012. For Walton, the loss snapped a streak of eight straight titles. Walton was able to beat Peachtree Ridge by taking both doubles points before pulling out a win at No. 3 singles when Johanna Keeline won 6-0, 7-5 to clinch the title. Walton has won 11 titles since 2001. For Brookwood, the championship is the second in three years and the sixth since 1996, the most for a single program competing at the highest GHSA classification in that time span. The Broncos earned both doubles points before Zach Jennings clinched the title at No. 2 singles against North Cobb’s Andre Canino. … Starr’s Mill traveled to Clayton County eyeing a Class AAAAA sweep and the boys blanked Union Grove 3-0, but the girls came up just short with a 3-2 loss to Lakeside-Evans. It was the first state title for the Lakeside-Evans girls tennis program as Anneliese Leahy rallied …

Continue reading Tennis: Blessed Trinity, Westminster sweep titles »

The ingredient for most football teams is to build around is the quarterback. Brooks County has a good one and that’s one of the reasons why the Trojans are expected to again make a lot of noise in Class AA this fall.

Malkom Parrish is the quarterback for the Trojans and last season threw for 3,001 yards and 24 touchdowns in13 games. That ranks him fifth among the state’s all-time single-season passers for yardage. Parrish (5-foot-10, 185 pounds) has a strong arm and is very quick on his feet. He ran for 1,000 yards and 17 touchdowns as a junior. Parrish has started since he was a freshman.

Parrish also starts in the secondary, which is the position he’s expected to play in college. He’s already picked up offers from Georgia and Georgia Tech, with most of the other schools in the region expected to follow. Parrish has been invited to play in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl in San Antonio, Texas, next January.

“He looks good,” said Brooks coach Maurice Freeman. “He’s spunky. …

Continue reading 50-in-50: Brooks County »

By Stephen Black and Craig Sager II

Score Atlanta

Girls

AAAAAA

Harrison 0 (4), Brookwood 0 (2) PKs: Harrison beat visiting Brookwood in penalty kicks after a scoreless regulation to advance to the Class AAAAAA state final Tuesday night. Junior goalie Allison Leone played all of regulation and overtime in goal for Harrison, but was replaced by sophomore Kelsey Daugherty for penalty kicks. The Hoyas made all four of their shots while Daugherty made two saves for a 4-2 edge.

The Hoyas advance to their third finals in six seasons under head coach Steve Riccard, who made a few adjustments at halftime after the Broncos dominated the first half. (See photos from the game on ajc.com and, for subscribers, myajc.com.)

Parkview 2, South Forsyth 1: Host Parkview opened the scoring 15 minutes into the game when freshman Emma Carlson scored off an assist by sophomore Kristin Telford. Five minutes into the second half, the Panthers struck again, this time on a goal by Elizabeth Quintanilla. …

Continue reading Tuesday soccer semifinals roundup »

We can’t confirm this, but 82 percent of Listers agree that trophy-making businesses in Atlanta make 64 percent of their money during the high school spring sports season.

OK, that’s a completely made-up stat, but we’re just going to assume it’s true anyway. With all these spring sports championships, how could it not be in the ballpark?

Next up on the ledger is lacrosse, with the semifinals kicking off Tuesday night and the finals coming up this weekend in both classifications.

We can’t wait to see the guys get out there and battle for supremacy, while we scarf down another bag of popcorn.

So, as a little primer for those of you headed out to see some great games, here are 10 boys players to watch this week.

10. Will Russ, Lovett

For Lovett, the offense has a way of running through Russ, and for good reason. He’s got great size, athleticism and instincts that help him score often from the midfield position. The best thing for the Lions is he’s only a sophomore, so he’s got …

Continue reading Jeff Haws’ Top 10 List »

The 2012 season was one of transition for the East Paulding football team.

John Reid, who built the Raiders into a state power, left to become the coach at Tift County. Taking over for Reid was former Walton defensive coordinator Chuck Goddard, whose last head coaching job was at Wheeler in 2005.

Reid’s teams were 60-15 in his six years at East Paulding. Before his arrival, the Raiders had just three winning seasons since starting the program in 1991.

One year later, the transition appears to have been a success. Goddard led East Paulding to the Region 5-AAAAA championship and a second-round appearance in the playoffs.

“We were fortunate enough to win the region last year and go undefeated during the regular season,” Goddard said. “There were some questions before I got there, but that made the transition a little bit smoother. But every year is a new year, and in our business you have to prove yourself year in and year out. I’ve relaxed in that I feel I’ve been accepted, but …

Continue reading 50 in 50: East Paulding »

By Stephen Black

Score Atlanta

The semifinals of the state playoffs commence Tuesday when the girls play for a spot in the finals while the boys play Wednesday. In each of the 12 classifications, there are several interesting notes about the teams and players involved.

Boys

AAAAAA: No. 8 Berkmar is making its first semifinals appearance ever after winning Region 8 and defeating North Cobb 6-0 in the quarterfinals. No. 5 Harrison got here by upending second-ranked Centennial 2-1 after a goal by Nathan Vickroy with six minutes left gave the Hoyas the lead. No. 9 Collins Hill, winner of three of the last four state titles, is back in the semifinals despite losing six key players to the U.S. Development Academy in the offseason.

AAAAA: McIntosh is ranked No. 1 in the nation by NSCAA.com and has scored three or more goals in each game since March 1. Senior goalie Sergio Saleh heads a tight defense that has given up just two goals all season.

AAAA: Three of the four semifinalists …

Continue reading Soccer: Semifinals begin Tuesday »

Valdosta enters its final week of spring practice Monday still searching for a new quarterback and rebuilding an offensive line that lost all five starters.

It’s looking like a three-player race to replace Shelby Wilkes, who passed for more than 1,700 yards and 15 touchdowns last season. No other player had meaningful snaps behind center in 2012, when Valdosta finished 7-4.

Mac Loudermilk, a rising senior who started at H-Back and tight end last year, is trying to win the job ahead of rising juniors Cole Massingill and Craig Berry. The three have different skill sets, says Valdosta coach Rance Gillespie.

‘’Mac is a bigger kid [6-foot-1, 228  pounds] and a really good athlete and does a good job with all the stuff we do in our run game with the added dimension of being a good runner,,’’ Gillespie said. “With Cole, you think that’s what a D-1 quarterback should look like. He’s 6-3, 190 pounds. He looks the part, and he’s a more prototypical drop-back passer with really good …

Continue reading 50 in 50: Valdosta »