ITG Next South Georgia April/May 2024 Magazine

Lowndes Baseball Player

Noah Thigpen

Voted Georgia

Male Athlete of the Month

Coffee Receiver Patrick

McCall Thrives With Help From Trojans Football Family

Mary Persons Football Will Face Canadian Team New Westminster in 2024

Why Are So Many Florida High School Football Coaches

Leaving for Jobs in Georgia?

Champ L. Baker III, MD

Brook Bearden, MD

Kevin J. Collins, MD

Edgar J. Dollar II, DO

Patrick J. Fernicola, MD

Fred Flandry, MD

Ryan M. Geringer, DO

Garland K. Gudger, Jr., MD

Charles W. Hartzog, Jr., MD

Matthew Heaton, MD

Kurt E. Jacobson, MD

R. Lee Murphy, Jr., MD

Brent A. Ponce, MD

J. Heath Richter, MD

Matthew G. Stewart, MD

Michael M. Tucker, Jr., MD

G. Dexter Walcott, Jr., MD

Derek A. Woessner, MD

Bradley L. Young, MD

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The March 2024 ITG Next Georgia Male Athlete of the Month, presented by Georgia Farm Bureau Insurance, is Lowndes High School baseball standout Noah Thigpen. The senior is a right-handed pitcher and plays infield for the Vikings, and he played a big part in their 2023 Class 7A state championship win.

Through the first month of the 2024 season, Thigpen has led the Vikings on the mound as well as been one of the team’s biggest contributors at the plate.

“Noah is our No. 1 pitcher,” Lowndes head baseball coach Ryan Page said. “He has thrown 29 innings so far with a 4-1 record and has 28 strikeouts along with a 1.44 ERA.”

Thigpen has also been solid at the plate this year, Page said.

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“Noah hits third in our lineup with a .375 average, and he has six doubles, one triple, and one home run,” Paige said. “Obviously, Noah is a big part of our offense and defense.”

When he’s not pitching, Thigpen plays first base.

“He has done a tremendous job there as well,” Page said.

“I am honored and blessed to be nominated for this award,” Thigpen said. “I would not be in this position if it weren’t for God, who gives me the ability to play this wonderful game. I’m thankful for my great teammates and my coaches who work day in and day out to put us in the best position for success.”

While Thigpen is having a great first month of the season this year, last year things were quite a bit different. Thigpen suffered an arm injury that sidelined him before the season had even started. He strained his UCL a few weeks before the regular season opener, which prevented him from taking the mound for much of the season. Thigpen was, however, able to hit in a designated hitter role, and he made the most of it. He was named the Region 1-7A Designated Hitter of the Year with a .365 batting average.

He returned to the mound during the final series of the regular season last year and throughout the state playoffs, and he did his best to make up for lost time. Thipen pitched 12 innings throughout the postseason as the team’s closer and was perfect with a 2-0 record, along with 3 for 3 in save opportunities. He had 15 strikeouts with an ERA of 1.750.

In the state championship series against Parkview, he went 3 for 5 at the plate for a .600 batting average with one RBI and one run scored.

He pitched three innings versus the Panthers, getting the win in Game 1 and a save in Game 2 while striking out four opposing batters in those two games. His pitching led Lowndes to the 2-0 sweep in the state championship best-of-three series.

Noah Thigpen is the son of Tommy and Alison Thigpen, and he has three younger sisters: Anslee, Alana, and Natalyn.

Following this final high school season at Lowndes, he will head off to Troy University on a baseball scholarship.

Congratulations to Noah Thigpen, the March 2024 ITG Next Georgia Male Athlete of the Month, presented by Georgia Farm Bureau Insurance.

Lowndes Baseball Player Noah Thigpen Voted Georgia Male Athlete of the Month

Written by: Phil Jones | Photography by: Jycobi Williams

Tift County Basketball Player Jalaya Miller Voted Georgia Female Athlete of the Month

Written by: Phil Jones | Photography by: Carson Ballenger

Our March 2024 ITG Next Georgia Female Athlete of the Month, presented by Georgia Farm Bureau Insurance, is Tift County High School basketball player Jalaya Miller.

Miller, a junior, was one of four nominees considered for the award, and in the end she received the most votes to win.

She was nominated for her performance last month on the basketball court, where the forward played a crucial role in Tift County’s magnificent 25-4 season, which included a region championship and a deep run into the state playoffs that saw Miller and her team advance to the Elite Eight.

Miller was named Region Offensive Player of the Year following her performance this season, and just recently she was selected as MVP of the 2025 Rising Stars AllStar game. She was also selected to the Georgia Basketball Coaches Association All-State team.

For the season, Miller played and scored in every game except one. She scored a total of 355 points in 29 games, making 75% of her free throws (104 of 138) and averaging 12.2 points per game, and had eight double-doubles. Miller pulled down an average of 8.3 rebounds per game, along with an average of 1.4 assists per game. Defensively, she averaged 2.4 steals per game and had 43 blocked shots over the course of the season.

Tift County head girls basketball coach Julie Conner-Johnson said it’s not only a pleasure to coach Miller, but it’s a joy to actually watch her play the game.

“Jalaya is so graceful on the court,” Conner-Johnson said of her junior forward. “She is just so smooth and makes everything look so effortless. She is such an absolute joy to coach.”

Miller does a little bit of everything on the court. At 5 feet 10 inches tall, she is better suited to play guard, but has played forward for most of the season, where she has shined both offensively and defensively.

“She is a great defender, has a lot of steals, and is one of the best shot blockers I have ever coached,” Conner-Johnson said.

Miller had this to say when informed she was voted Athlete of the Month: “I want to thank ITG Next for nominating me for the award. Success is not made in the spotlight, but in the hours of unseen effort, unwavering dedication, and relentless pursuit of excellence.”

Miller has a twin sister, Jaliya, who is a member of the competition cheer squad that leads Tift County basketball fans as they cheer for the Blue Devils hoops teams. Jalaya and Jaliya’s parents are Donald and Erica Miller.

Jalaya Miller will be one of three returning starters next season for Conner-Johnson and Tift County.

Coffee Receiver Patrick McCall Thrives With Help From Trojans Football Family

Written by: Phil Jones | Photography by: Amy Meeks

Coffee High School senior Patrick McCall just wrapped up his high school football career with a state championship and a scholarship offer to Cumberland University, which he made official on national signing day on Feb. 7.

It’s the latest happy chapter in a story that could have easily taken a much different turn if not for a little help McCall got from Coffee head football coach Mike Coe and the entire Coe family.

When Coe arrived at Coffee to take over as the Trojans’ new head football coach two years ago, he began reaching out to those who were involved with the football program, and that’s when he met McCall.

“I began building relationships with the kids that were playing football, and Pat was one of those young men,” Coe said.

Coe found out that McCall was originally from Florida, where the Coe had

spent much of his coaching career. Having that in common created an instant bond between the two.

“We hit it off discussing that,” Coe said.

Once the football season started, McCall, a slot receiver, continued to make an impression on the Coffee head coach.

“He’s not the biggest player, but, man, he is tough as nails,” Coe said.

Following a junior season that saw McCall put up modest offensive numbers with 10 catches and three rushing attempts for 305 total yards and zero TDs, the slot receiver began working hard to make himself a better football player in the offseason. Coe noticed McCall’s progress on and off the field.

“Pat was always respectful, and the teachers liked him,” Coe said. “His grades were good, but you could tell he had more in him.”

Then, over the summer, Coe became aware of an

off-the-field situation affecting McCall.

“I learned that Pat had some family issue arise at home and that he was living with his sister,” Coe said.

McCall’s sister then decided to move away from Coffee County, and if McCall went with her, that would mean leaving the Coffee football team behind.

“He wanted to finish his career here at Coffee,” Coe said.

Coe and his wife decided to help McCall.

“My wife and I agreed that he was welcome to move in with us,” Coe said. “He and our son Bray played the same position and were buddies. It would be perfect for them. My wife and I felt like it was an opportunity to help a young man finish and chase his dream.”

With a place to call home and feeling the love of a family atmosphere with the Coes, McCall was able to focus on school and finish his football career on a high note.

“Patrick worked hard this offseason,” Coe said. “He got bigger and faster and had a great senior season.”

McCall blossomed, collecting 45 receptions for 503 yards and five TDs along with three rushing TDs for Coffee in a 2023 season that ended with the Trojans winning the GHSA Class 5A football state title.

“He became a jackof-all-trades on offense for us with screens, jet sweeps, bubble screens, and handoffs,” Coe said of McCall. “He did it all for us. He is fearless as a football player.”

Coe said McCall’s football performance was only part of his overall growth.

“He had some obstacles in his personal life that would have broken many young men, but he never lost belief or turned into someone he should not have been,” Coe said. “He kept the faith and worked hard on and off the field, and now he has a chance to

change his life forever with his opportunity to play at Cumberland.”

Before McCall heads off to Cumberland, he is enjoying his senior year at Coffee and his personal time with the Coe family.

“Pat just turned 18, so we had a birthday party last weekend for him,” Coe said. “My daughters look at him like a big brother, especially our 5-year-old Madison. She says he is her ‘Pat Pat,’ and she was so excited to decorate for him at the party.”

Coe said that as much as McCall has connected with the Coe family, he also will have many more opportunities to make an impression.

“He is a walking testimonial for his teammates, and his story isn’t finished,” Coe said. “There are still some chapters left to write for Patrick McCall.”

Why Class 4A Is One to Watch in 2024 Georgia High School Football Season

Written by: Dhruv Mohan

The GHSA’s recent reclassification and abolishment of Class 7A has led to several interesting regions and matchups across the state for 2024. While it seems obvious that Georgia’s now-largest class, 6A, will be the most exciting, that may not hold true for this upcoming season. Class 4A can easily challenge for the crown as the “One to Watch” for the 2024 Georgia high school football season.

To start, defending Class 4A state champion Perry and runner-up Stockbridge return to the classification along with Benedictine, the Class 4A titleholder in both 2021 and 2022. North Oconee and Central (Carroll), who combined for 24 wins last season, also stay in the same classification. So does Cedartown. These teams have become household names in Class 4A, and only a few powers (Bainbridge and Jefferson) were sent down a class.

As fallout from the disintegration of Class 7A, many of the smaller schools in Class 5A fell squarely into the classification below. This list includes Warner Robins, Ware County, Creekside, and Cartersville, all programs with a rich history of talent and success. In fact, all four squads have reached the Class 5A state championship game at least once since 2020.

It’s not only the powerhouses, though, that have made the tran sition down. Upstarts in Kell, Harris County, Cass, Hiram, and Dalton will all spend the next two years in Class 4A after impressive cam paigns in 2023.

Even Marist and Blessed Trinity, two private Class 6A squads, find themselves amongst the gauntlet of teams set to compete in this classification. The War Eagles and Titans will still have to compete in the same playoff bracket as all other Class 4A teams since the “separate private playoff” only applies to schools in Class 3A or smaller.

As evident by the long list of championship-caliber programs, no region in Class 4A will prove to be a cakewalk. However, one region stands out above all others for its difficulty: Region 1.

The southernmost region in the class features Benedictine, Ware County, Warner Robins, Wayne County, Perry, and New Hampstead. These teams combined for six state championships in the past four seasons alone and provide a stark contrast between high-powered offenses (Benedictine, New Hampstead, and Perry) and stifling defenses (Warner Robins, Wayne County, and Ware County). No region in the state may be as thrilling to watch as Region 1.

Several other teams could wreak havoc with upsets throughout the year. Don’t forget about Jones County, Starr’s Mill, and Mays; all three squads have reached the quarterfinals within the past two years. There’s also ELCA, Tucker, and Allatoona, who are searching for a return to glory after storied pasts. Then, of course, is the chaos-filled Region 8 with Flowery Branch, Madison County, Eastside, and others.

Overall, it appears that Class 4A is set to bring more excitement to the 2024 Georgia high school football season than any other classification has to its respective season in the past decade. With a host of both legendary programs and on-the-rise stars, this class could rank among the nation’s best in terms of watchability. Let the hype begin!

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Why Are So Many Florida High School Football Coaches Leaving for Jobs in Georgia?

Written by: Phil Jones

During the month of February and into March, six Florida high school head football coaches left behind winning programs for the opportunity to coach elsewhere. Eric Lodge left Seminole for a school in South Carolina, and the other five headed to schools in Georgia: Travis Roland left Mainland for Camden County, Aaron Sheppard left Ocoee for McEachern, Dustin Adkins left Hawthorne for Ola, Robert Paxia left Flagler for Winder Barrow, and Jay Walls left Navarre for Bainbridge.

Why are they leaving? Roland, who walked away from a state-championship-winning team to take over at Camden County, said the perception from the outside looking in is that it’s about money.

“The salary is obviously important, but it’s just one of the many parts that make up the differences,” Roland said. “People think it’s all about the money, and, yes, that is important. But there’s a lot more. It’s not just one thing; it’s everything.”

Here are the top reasons high school football coaches gave for leaving Florida to take jobs in Georgia.

Overall Resources

Every coach that I spoke to said the same thing when asked about the biggest differences between coaching in Florida versus Georgia: resources.

Now, that can mean a variety of different things, but Travis Roland said that he needs all available resources at his disposal as he and his Camden County staff prepare to play in Region 1-6A (formerly Region 1-7A), which had long been considered one of the toughest regions in Georgia high school football.

“I told the (search) committee here at Camden that we – me and my staff – want to see how we can do if we have the best resources available to us,” Roland said. “A phenomenal weight room, a certified strength and weight coach, a phenomenal booster club. We want to see how well we can do with those and other resources available to us.”

After all, Roland and his assistants did well with back-to-back state championship game appearances at Mainland, but it was tough.

“It was back-breaking work in Florida,” Roland said. “We were the strength and conditioning coach, and we were the booster club, and we mowed the grass. If it needed to get done, somebody jumped in and done it, but that’s not ideal or efficient.”

Training Facilities

Several Georgia high schools offer top-of-the-line training facilities for their athletes, including indoor practice facilities, spacious weight rooms, and outdoor turf practice fields.

One of those schools is Coffee High School in Douglas, Georgia, which is where former and longtime Florida high school coach Mike Coe landed two seasons ago.

Coe spent 28 years coaching in Florida, including a 19-season stint at Madison County. He won five state titles with the Cowboys, serving as offensive coordinator for the 2007 state championship and as head coach for 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2021 state championships.

Coe was 136-27 as a head football coach in Florida before deciding to take over the Coffee program in Georgia in 2022. He led the Trojans to an undefeated 15-0 record and their first-ever state championship this past season in 2023.

Coe talked about the training facilities at Coffee as one of several reasons why he decided to come coach in Georgia.

“Our weight room here at Coffee is unreal, and we can get so much done in there and get a bunch of kids working at the same time,” Coe said. “Then later this month, our indoor facility will be ready to roll, so no more missed time because of the wet bulb or lightning. That is a huge deal.”

Coe said the Trojans’ field house offers the team several amenities that simply weren’t available during his time coaching in Florida.

“Our field house allows us to watch film as a team, as group units,” he said. “We have a full kitchen as well (to serve the nutrition program). It is a dream come true.”

The top-of-the-line athletic training facilities at McEachern played a part in attracting longtime Florida coach Aaron Sheppard to the Peach State.

Sheppard spent the last six years coaching at Ocoee in the Orlando area, building a winning program out of a team that had finished 1-9 the year before he arrived.

“I felt right at home, and I enjoyed my time there at Ocoee,” he said. “My roots were in Florida.”

Sheppard said he wasn't really looking to leave, but when friend and McEachern head football coach Kareem Reid called, Sheppard accepted his offer to move to the Atlanta-area school, and right away Sheppard was impressed with his new surroundings.

“The facilities here at McEachern are unmatched,” Sheppard said. “It has everything we need here.”

Financial Resources

Greater financial support for high school football programs is another reason Aaron Sheppard made the move to coach in Georgia.

“I had always wanted to coach in Georgia because I knew the financial resources were so much better than what we had in Florida,” Sheppard said.

He pointed out one major example of how his Ocoee team’s success didn’t help the team’s financial resources at all.

Despite leading the Knights to their first ever Final Four appearance in the Florida high school football state playoffs in 2022, the travel accommodations that were required to shuffle the team to their playoff games each week completely wiped out their budget.

“We spent our entire budget making sure we got the team to the playoff games, which was renting the buses, feeding the players,” Sheppard said. “We had to travel for every playoff game.”

Instead of celebrating a milestone achievement for the school and the football team for making it to the semifinals for the first time in school history, Sheppard was staring at a zero budget.

Workload

Aaron Sheppard said the ability to just coach football was a major reason he came to McEachern.

“Here at McEachern I just get to coach football,” he said. “Coaching football was just one of many things I had to do there at Ocoee.”

Sheppard pointed out the many hats he wore while at Ocoee. He recalled many seasons spent on supermarket sidewalks hawking discount cards to raise funds.

“I was front and center with the fundraising, whether it was standing on the sidewalk at Publix selling value cards, or cookie dough, or whatever it took,” Sheppard said.

He said that as tough as coaching football was, one of the toughest responsibilities he had at Ocoee was rebuilding the football budget from the ground up every year.

“We started every year with a net budget from zero,” he said.

Like it was for Sheppard, coaching football was only part of Dustin Adkins’ duties at Hawthorne High School in Florida.

Adkins spent the past 14 years coaching in the Sunshine State, serving as athletic director and offensive coordinator at Hawthorne for the last seven seasons. He worked alongside friend and head football coach Cornelius Ingram at Hawthorne, helping lead the team to four state championship appearances and two state titles.

“I wore so many hats,” Adkins said about his duties at Hawthorne. “I was part of the school’s administration team as business manager. I also served as the athletic director, the defensive coordinator, the weightlifting coach, and I taught math,” he said.

Adkins decided to come to Georgia, where he was hired at Ola High School in McDonough, which is just south of Atlanta.

“Here at Ola I am the football coach, and I teach PE,” Adkins said.

Nutrition Programs

Many Georgia high school football programs offer a wide range of nutrition programs and services for players, like the full-service kitchen at Coffee that Mike Coe mentioned earlier.

“The nutrition available to the kids is great here at Coffee,” he said.

Aaron Sheppard praised the nutrition program at McEachern.

“The nutrition program here at McEachern is second to none.”

Micheal Martin, the director of football operations at McEachern, said the importance of the nutrition program is paramount to the football team.

“The team eats a hot breakfast together every morning,” Martin said. “We also have a protein shake machine that the players have access to after workouts as well as readily available access to Muscle Milk and protein bars.”

Dustin Adkins said he is rolling out a new nutrition program at Ola.

“We are on a mass gainer and protein powder that we have put all the kids on,” Adkins said. “We just started that when I got here (to Ola).”

Adkins said it is an improvement over what he was able to offer in Florida.

“At Hawthorne, we weren’t really doing anything special,” he said.

Support

All coaches expect support from their school boards and administration, but not all coaches receive it. That’s one huge difference between coaching in Georgia and Florida that Mike Coe has noticed since arriving at Coffee.

“The support from the superintendent and school board (at Coffee) were two of the biggest improvements,” Coe said. “They appreciate what I and our staff are doing with the program and our young men.

“The professionalism and teamwork has been so refreshing.”

James Thomson also saw the lack of support for Florida high school coaches, and at one point tried to do something about it.

Thomson is currently the Director of Internal Scouting for the University of South Florida, but he spent many years coaching high school football in Florida with stints at Gainesville and Deland. He too made the move to Georgia, serving as the head coach at Northview High School and Tucker High School.

In 2021, Thomson co-founded the Florida Coaches Coalition. Thomson said he wanted to put together an organization that could serve as an advocate for high school coaches and provide them with support.

“Your goal is to become a high school football coach, but you see how hard it is to make a living as a coach in Florida,” Thomson said. “Then you quickly see that it’s not like that in Georgia. The difference is like night and day.”

Thomson is no longer with the organization, and he isn’t sure if his work or the work of the coalition is making a difference.

“I’m just not sure if it’s making an impact,” he said.

Financial Compensation

Yes, for the majority of coaching positions, Georgia high school coaches make more in base salary, bonuses, and other financial incentives than what they are paid in Florida.

James Thomson recalled an experience he had as a high school coach in Florida trying to make ends meet that many other Florida high school coaches can probably relate to.

“I was the head coach at Gainesville, Florida, in 2012,” he said. “We were 14-0 and ranked No. 6 in the nation and playing for a state championship that year. We lost to Miami Central that night 37-14.”

Instead of being able to look at game film or just relax at home the day after playing for a state championship, Thomson had more work to do, but not as a football coach.

“I had to wake up the next day and go to work at the luau at Seaworld,” Thomson said. “Think about how that played out. Not too well.”

When Travis Roland was announced as the new head football coach for Camden County, a tweet posted to X, formerly known as Twitter, by @FL_coaches encouraged coaches in Florida to make the move to Georgia too: “Young coaches: I would cross the line sooner than later- years toward retirement matter.”

Mike Coe reposted the tweet and added his own two cents to further encourage coaches to join the ranks in Georgia: “Best decision I’ve made in a long time. It’s apples & oranges & I loved my time at MadCo and especially those kids and community, but the struggle to pay bills, be told good job or thank you, and appreciated by those in charge…Nawl..it’s night and day.”

Aaron Sheppard said that his coaching stipend, which is paid to coaches as part of their annual financial package, is now more than double what he was getting in Florida.

“Coaches in Orlando make a stipend of around $2,000 to $2,500 (annually),” Sheppard said. “Here in Cobb County (Georgia), it is around $5,600.”

Sheppard said he’ll also receive playoff incentives at McEachern, yet another upgrade of sorts compared to his time as a high school football coach in Florida.

“And that’s as a coordinator (at McEachern) compared to a head coach (at Ocoee),” he said.

Open Enrollment

Jay Walls, who has coached high school football in both Georgia and Florida, said that while financial compensation is one reason coaches are leaving Florida to go to other states, another factor forcing Florida high school coaches to leave for greener pastures is open enrollment in Florida.

“Players can pretty much go anywhere they want to go (in Florida),” Walls said. “Kids can pick up and go to any school they want, and that makes it tough to plan on the makeup of your team from one season to another.

“I think this is a big part of it, especially in the metro areas and the bigger cities: Jacksonville, Tallahassee, and Orlando, and other bigger cities where the schools are located close together. The players can move around easier than, say, in the rural areas.”

Walls previously coached at Suwannee and Navarre in Florida and at Tift County in Georgia He was recently announced as the new head football coach at Bainbridge High School, marking his return to Georgia.

"It's not just one thing; it's everything."

Mary Persons Football Will Face Canadian Team New Westminster in 2024

Written by: Phil Jones

As high school football teams across Georgia look to fill open dates in their 2024 schedules, some coaches are going to great lengths to complete their 10-game regular season schedules. For Mary Persons head football coach Brian Nelson, that means welcoming a team from north of the border. And I’m not talking about Tennessee or North Carolina. Think farther north – as in Canada.

Mary Persons will play its second game of the 2024 football season on Aug. 30 against New Westminster Secondary School from British Columbia, Canada.

Nelson said that he was having trouble finding an opponent for Aug. 30 when he received an email about another team looking for a game on that same date.

“I got the coach’s name and email, so we started talking, and it turned out to be a team from Canada,” Nelson said.

That team was New Westminster Secondary School from just outside Vancouver, British Columbia.

Nelson said that New Westminster’s coach explained that once every three or four years they scheduled a travel game somewhere in the United States and that they were interested in coming to Georgia.

“We exchanged emails, texts, and continued to talk by phone, and realized that we both wanted to do this,” Nelson said.

But there were some logistical challenges to take care of, namely getting permission from each team’s respective governing association to play the game.

“We had to dot some I’s and cross some T’s with the GHSA, and they had to do the same thing with their Provincial Association,” Nelson said.

And just like that, the Mary Persons Bulldogs will host the New Westminster Hyacks in Forsyth, Georgia, to open the 2024 football season.

Who is New Westminster? And What Exactly Is a Hyack?

Although the city of New Westminster is located in British Columbia and home to the BC Lions, a Canadian Football League team, the New Westminster Secondary School Hyacks play American-style football.

Darnell Sikorski and Andrew McKechnie serve as the Hyacks’ co-head coaches, and they said their brand of football is very much like that of any other American high school football team.

“We play a 10-game regular season, and offensively we run a shotgun-based wing-T with a 40 defense,” Sikorski said.

The school has a long history of football, although McKechnie said the football program went away in

the mid 1970s until it was resurrected in 2003. Since then the team has enjoyed its fair share of success.

“We are a strong football program up here in British Columbia,” Sikorski said. “Since 2003 we have won one provincial championship in 2017 and (made) multiple Final Four appearances.”

A provincial championship in British Columbia is the equivalent of a state championship in Georgia, and making it to the Final Four would be equal to a semifinals appearance in the state, or provincial, playoffs.

To win a provincial championship requires playing 13 games versus the 15 that are played to win a state title in Georgia’s high school football playoffs.

McKechnie said that although football is popular, it’s not the most popular sport in British Columbia.

“Up here hockey is king, no doubt about it, and Lacrosse is huge also,” McKechnie said.

That leaves football to pick from the remaining athletes, he said.

New Westminster competes in Class 3A in British Columbia’s Secondary Schools Football Association and has a roster of approximately 40 players, Sikorski said.

He also explained the meaning of the team’s mascot and how the school adopted the mascot nickname.

“Hyack means ‘fleet of foot’ in Native Canadian,” Sikorski said. “The

city experienced a major fire in the 1900s, and the Native American firefighters helped fight the fire. They moved extremely swiftly in doing so.”

‘Let’s Go to Georgia’

New Westminster schedules an away game against a U.S. opponent, what they call a travel game, approximately every three to four years.

So far the Hyacks have played in three travel games. Their first was in California in 2011, and their second was in Texas in 2014. They lost both games.

In 2017 the team went back to California to face Linfield Christian for New Westminster’s third travel game.

“They (Linfield Christian) featured four Division I players that year, two of whom went on to become multiple-year starters in the Pac-12,” Sikorski said.

New Westminster defeated Linfield Christian, picking up their first travel-game win.

About a year ago, Sikorski and McKechnie decided it was time for the team to schedule their fourth travel game after being forced to de-

lay it due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

They considered returning to California or Texas, but then the two coaches had an idea: Why not go somewhere different?

“We were really intrigued by Georgia,” Sikorski said. “It’s a Top 3 state for high school football.”

The coaches put the word out that they were interested in scheduling a game within 90 miles of Atlanta. That’s when Nelson answered their email, and the decision was made: “Let’s go to Georgia.”

Mary Persons Versus New Westminster Game Is About More Than Just Football

When he was considering the game against New Westminster, Nelson said that he knew it was different from anything he had ever done, which was a big part of what drew him to the game.

“I thought at the end of the day it would make for a unique experience and memory for our kids playing a team from another country,” Nelson

said. “This is something they will be talking about years from now.”

The New Westminster coaches understand that the impact on their team goes much farther than just football.

“Nobody on our roster has ever been to Georgia,” Sikorski said. “We plan to visit the College Football Hall of Fame and other local landmarks.”

The New Westminster team plans to arrive in Atlanta a week ahead of the game before making their way down to Middle Georgia on game day.

Our Team Gets You Back in the Game. When You Need Care,

When a sports injury happens, choosing the right team for treatment and rehabilitation is the fastest way to get back out on the field.

At Southeast Georgia Health System, we have a roster of specially trained orthopaedic physicians, rehabilitation therapists and staff to treat athletes of all ages and abilities, from recreational to professional. Our team develops personalized treatment plans, using the latest techniques, both surgical and nonsurgical, to get you back in the game – fast.

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Brunswick Wrestler Anthony Lowe Wins 2nd Straight State Title, Maintains 83-Match Win Streak

Written by: Phil Jones | Photography by: Rebekah Insalaco

From a part of the state that has already established itself as one of Georgia’s top high school wrestling areas comes a name that may go down as one of the best wrestlers the state has ever known. Anthony Lowe, a senior at Brunswick High School, has a career that will rival any other to come from the wrestling-rich Golden Isles coastal region of Georgia.

Lowe is undefeated over the past two seasons, closing out a

high school career that saw him finish with an 83-match win streak. As incredible a feat as that is, what Lowe was able to do over that two-year undefeated stretch is the stuff of legends: He was never taken down, or scored upon, during those two seasons on his way to a second straight state championship.

Lowe secured that state title on Feb. 17 with a win over Jackson Waters from Newnan High School in the 190-pound weight class.

Lowe finished this season with a 50-0 record and an overall high school record of 155-11. He also became the first four-time region champion in the history of Glynn County wrestling and is a high school wrestling All-American. He currently has approximately 12 offers from colleges and universities to continue his wrestling career at the next level.

Brunswick head wrestling coach Tom Bartolotta said he recalls seeing Lowe wrestle for the first

time in middle school.

“I first saw him wrestle in the eighth grade, and I could tell then that he was ahead of the curve for his age,” Bartolotta said. “I could tell then that he was going to be special.”

Lowe is the son of Andrea and Bobby Brown and has lived in Brunswick his whole life. He first began wrestling in the seventh grade, but in the beginning wasn’t sure the sport was for him.

“I was in the seventh grade, and my gym

coach, Coach Bennett, encouraged me to come out and wrestle for him,” Lowe said. “But after every loss, I would tell myself that I wasn't going to continue wrestling.”

Lowe hung in there, and as he got to high school, he decided that he had a future in wrestling.

“Ultimately, I decided not to let the sport defeat me,” he said. “Towards the end of my freshman year, I began to realize that I had the ability to go far in the world of wrestling.”

STILL OBSTACLES FOR LOWE TO OVERCOME

As talented as Lowe is, both he and his coach agreed there are still some major hurdles to clear if he hopes to continue wrestling.

“Wrestling in Georgia is about average, and that isn’t a knock on the sport or any one high school wrestler,” Bartolotta said. “Anthony could win a high school title in every other state outside of Georgia with no problem. But the sport just becomes a lot tougher on a national level. It’s different on a national level than it is here in Georgia.”

Bartolotta said that even with Lowe’s exceptional skills, he will need to keep working on perfecting his craft.

“Anthony will need to continue to learn the sport of wrestling,” Bartolotta said.

Lowe agreed.

“The main obstacle that I will continue to face is the fact that wrestling isn’t a large sport in the

South, and that affects every aspect of the sport,” Lowe said. “It affects the training, the travel, the competition, and my improvement rate.”

Still, Bartolotta said that Lowe is one of the Top 3 wrestlers he has ever coached.

“He learns very fast, and one of his greatest skills is how quickly he adapts to his opponents during each match,” Bartolotta said.

In addition to his high school team at Brunswick, Lowe wrestles with club team Storm Wrestling, which allows him to compete against some of the best wrestlers across the country.

“Anthony defeated a Minnesotta All-American high school wrestler at the national tournament this

past fall, Marco Christiansen,” Bartolotta said. “He has signed with Nebraska.” Bartolota said wrestling against top wrestlers from “traditional wrestling states” is how Lowe will continue to get better.

But considering Lowe hasn’t been scored on in 83 consecutive matches, is it even possible for the Brunswick wrestler to get any better? Look out for Anthony Lowe.

PRIMARY CARE

URGENT CARE

EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT

Presented by:

1. What is the most memorable moment of your sports career to date?

“Hitting a triple in the 7A 2023 state championship.”

2. What sets you apart from other athletes in your sport?

“I'm faster than most players, but have more than enough power.”

3. What has playing your sport taught you as a person?

“It has taught me how to ‘flush’ things. When something goes wrong, it has taught me how to move past it and try to win the next thing I do.”

4. What is your greatest strength in your sport?

“My eagerness to win no matter what it takes.”

5. If you could play with one professional athlete in your sport, who would it be? Why?

“Mark McGuire. Always looked up to him. He was really strong and could obliterate baseballs.”

Game-winning drives start here. Success under the bright lights starts with hard work under the hot sun. Here is where practice, preparation and perspiration give rise to cheering fans, game winning drives and character that will last a lifetime. We are proud to support our hometown teams.

Defending Football State Champions Milton, Thomas County Central to Be Tested by 2024 Schedules

Written by: Phil Jones | Photography by: ITG Next Archive

With the GHSA reclassification process reducing the total number of classes from eight to seven starting with the 2024 season, the landscape for many Georgia high school football teams has changed. Along with changing classifications, many teams will see changes to their existing regions as new teams join and longtime region foes leave.

Among those teams that will inherit changes are Milton and Thomas County Central, the defending state champions of the state’s two current largest classifications. Here’s a look at their 2024 schedules, including matchups that many fans will have circled as “can’t miss” games this season.

Milton’s New Region Foes

With the removal of Class 7A, the Milton Eagles will move down by what is effectively one classification to Class 5A beginning with the 2024 football season.

Milton will now be a member of Region 7 with new region opponents Gainesville and Roswell, who both won their respective regions in 2023 and advanced to the Class 6A state quarterfinals last year; former Class 6A teams Johns Creek and Lanier; former Class 5A team Chattahoochee; and Seckinger, who was a member of Class 4A last year and, as the newest school in Buford, Georgia, will be fielding a team for the third season since starting a program in 2022.

Milton Kicks Off 2024 Football Season With 3 Nationally Ranked Powerhouses

Despite dropping to Class 5A, don’t expect things to get much easier for the defending state champions. Milton will start the 2024 season off with a warmup of sorts as they host Newton in a preseason scrimmage on Aug. 9.

The Eagles will find out a lot about themselves early in the regular season as they open up with the Buford Wolves at home on Aug. 16.

Then just six days later, Milton will make a return trip to the Broward County High School National Football Showcase in South Florida as they take on the American Heritage Patriots in Plantation, Florida. Milton head football coach Ben Reaves and the Eagles are hoping this year’s event will turn out better than last year’s game, as Milton fell to the Western Wildcats of Davie, Florida, 14-10 in a defensive battle.

Milton went on to win 12 of their final 13 games to secure the 2023 GHSA Class 7A state championship.

Key Players Returning for Milton in 2024

Starting QB Luke Nickel will be back to direct the Eagles’ offense. He will have fellow 2025 offensive standouts TJ Lester and Amauri Anderson, both running backs, joining him in the backfield.

Just about every defensive starter will be back, led by the secondary’s Ty Redmond, Dylan Lewis, Tristan Lester, and Ma’khi Jones.

Milton Head Football Coach Ben Reaves on the 2024 Season

“The 2024 season will be an exciting but extremely challenging season,” Reaves said. “Moving to Class 5A is going to be no joke, and our schedule will start off with arguably the toughest first two games in the state playing Buford and then traveling to Miami to play American Heritage, which I have learned will be broadcast on ESPN. Plus, we have region games against Roswell and Gainesville, who are each coming off tremendous seasons in 2023.”

A New Region, But (Mostly) the Same Faces for Thomas County Central

Thomas County Central rolled through their 2023 football season with an undefeated 15-0 mark, including a dominant 49-28 win over Woodward Academy in the state championship game that saw the Yellow Jackets jump out to a 28-7 halftime lead and never look back.

Heading into 2024, head football coach Justin Rogers and the Yellow Jackets will remain in the state’s second-largest classification, which is now Class 5A.

Even though Thomas County Central will move from Region 1 into Region 2, their region foes will largely remain the same as Lee County, Houston County, Northside (Warner Robins), and Veterans all move with them.

The one big exception is Tift County, who leaves the region and will be replaced by 2023 Class 5A state champion Coffee. Tift County will return to the state’s highest classification as part of Region 1-6A in 2024.

“The region got even tougher this year with the addition of the 5A champ Coffee, so whichever four teams make it to the playoffs will definitely be battle tested,” Rogers said.

Thomas County Central’s 2024 Football Schedule

Thomas County Central will open up the defense of their state championship at home against Monroe of Albany, Georgia, on Aug. 16, followed by Cairo the next week on Aug. 23. Week 3 will see Tallahassee powerhouse Florida High visit the Jackets’ Nest.

The first road trip of the year will take the Yellow Jackets about a mile down the road to Veterans Stadium to face their crosstown rivals, the Bulldogs of Thomasville High School.

Thomas County Central’s region schedule includes a game against two-time state champion Lee County and ends with a trip to Douglas to close the regular season against fellow defending state champion Coffee.

“We are fortunate to have three natural rivals in Thomasville, Bainbridge, and Cairo,” Rogers said about Thomas County Central’s schedule. “We bought out Monroe and Florida High for the two years, and Florida High will bring in a very talented roster to give us a great test.”

Key Players Returning for Thomas County Central in 2024

Rogers acknowledged that the offense is thin as far as returning starters from last year.

“Our QB, Jaylen Johnson, is the only starter returning on offense,” Rogers said. “And on defense we will have safety Kendarius Reddick and DE Cam Brooks back.”

Having Johnson back for his junior season to run the offense again is huge for the Yellow Jackets. He threw for right at 1,800 yards last year with 19 TDs against just six interceptions. He also ran for nine TDs.

Don’t overlook kicker Drew Reneau, who will be back for his senior season in 2024. Reneau came up huge last season, hitting 11 of 15 field goals, including the game-winner at Rome’s Barron Stadium late in the state playoffs.

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2024 Will Test Defending Football State Champions Coffee and Perry

Written by: Phil Jones | Photography by: ITG Next Archive

With the GHSA reclassification process reducing the total number of classes from eight to seven starting with the 2024 season, the landscape for many Georgia high school football teams has changed. Along with changing classifications, many teams will see changes to their existing regions as new teams join and longtime region foes leave.

Last week we gave you a preview of the changes awaiting two of the defending state champions from last season: the Milton Eagles and the Thomas County Central Yellow Jackets.

This week we take a look at the changes awaiting the Coffee Trojans and the Perry Panthers. Both teams won their first ever football state championships in 2023, and both teams will be looking to defend those state titles in 2024.

A New Region and Classification Await Coffee in 2024

The defending state champion of Class 5A, Coffee will move to the “new” Class 5A beginning with the 2024 football season. With the elimination of Class 7A, Class 6A will now be the state’s largest classification, making Class 5A the second largest.

Coffee will also now be a member of Region 2-5A, which may just become the toughest region in the state from top to bottom.

In addition to Coffee, the region will consist of three other teams that have all won state championships within the last decade: Thomas County Central, who won the Class 6A state title in 2023; Lee County, who won the Class 6A state title in back-to-back seasons in 2017 and 2018; and Northside (Warner Robins), who won the Class 5A state title in 2014, their third overall.

Houston County and Veterans make up the rest of the six-team region.

Coffee to Face Defending State Champions From Georgia and Florida in 2024

Coffee opens the 2024 season on the road at Centennial Stadium in Bainbridge against the Bearcats on Aug. 16 before returning home to host the Ware County Gators in Week 2.

The Trojans then have three consecutive home games against Florida teams, one of which is Florida Class 3S 2023 state champion Mainland from Daytona Beach. Mainland will visit Douglas to play Coffee at the

halfway-point of the regular season on Sept. 20. Prior to that game, Coffee hosts Columbia from Lake City and Gadsden County.

Coffee then opens their region schedule at home against Northside (Warner Robins) before hitting the road again to play Lee County in Leesburg. Coffee returns home for region games against Houston County and Veterans before ending the regular season at Thomas County Central, who is the Class 6A defending state champion.

Key Players Returning for Coffee in 2024

Starting running back Tyrese Hansley will return to take over the primary rushing duties from ITG Next 2023 Offensive Player of the Year Fred Brown, who has graduated.

Coffee head football coach Mike Coe said that KJ DeBruce, Tyrese Woodgett, and Travis Adams will also make an impact on the rushing attack in 2024.

“Hansley will be the hammer, and the other three can fly,” Coe said.

Coe is especially pleased to have Woodgett returning to the team after missing last season.

“Getting Woodgett back is huge,” Coe said. “Great return man and legit 4.4 speed.”

Other key returners are wide receivers Bray Coe and James Jarrard; offensive linemen Tico Smith, Jaydon Vester, Kyler Smith, and Jaylon Simpkins; defensive lineman Iverson Gifford; and linebackers Chris Reed and Jy Carter.

Coffee Head Football Coach Mike Coe on the 2024 Season

“There are definitely no easy ones on our schedule this year, but the only way to get better is to play the best, and we always want to be in that conversation,” Coe said.

Regarding the Florida opponents, Coe said: “I’ve always played Columbia Lake City (when Coe was the head coach at Madison), and they will provide great competition early in the season. Mainland is well respected, and I thought by scheduling them it would create a great buzz here in Georgia and in Florida.”

Coe said he is concerned about the overall depth of his team and, because of that, sustaining injuries.

“Hopefully we can stay healthy and make a run into the playoffs,” Coe said.

Construction of a new indoor practice facility is expected to be completed by the summer of 2024.

A Challenging Schedule and Region for Perry in 2024

After winning their first state championship last season, Perry will remain a Class 4A team but will move to a new region with all new region foes.

Four of the six region teams have won a state title in the last three seasons: Perry in 2023, Benedictine in 2022, Ware County in 2022, and Warner Robins in 2021. The Demons actually played for the Class 5A state title in 2022, losing to Ware County.

Perry’s 2024 Schedule

Perry opens the defense of their state championship against the Baldwin Braves on Aug. 17 at Fort Valley State.

They then return home to face Peach County and Houston County before traveling to Freedom Field to take on Veterans. Their final non-region game will be at home against East Coweta before hosting their region-opener against New Hampstead.

The remaining schedule has Perry facing three of their final four region foes on the road as they travel to Wayne County, Benedictine, and Warner Robins

Key Players Returning for Perry in 2024

Perry will return six offensive starters and five from last year’s defense.

Despite losing starting quarterback Colter Ginn, Perry head football coach Kevin Smith said the team will have senior Cullen McDaniel and junior Reid Ginn competing for the starting QB job in 2024.

“Cullen filled in for Colter this past year when he got hurt, and Cullen did a great job,” Smith said.

Perry Head Football Coach Kevin Smith on the 2024 Season

Smith said that replacing his QB and two cornerbacks are the main concerns heading into 2024, but that he also likes having many of the contributors to last season’s state championship team returning this year.

“We have a good core of guys back that played and stepped in and contributed last year,” Smith said. “That will be a strength for us this year.”

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