ITG Next South Georgia June/July 2023 Magazine

Track is No. 1 for Dooly

County 3-Sport Star

Jemari Sanders

Jeff Herron Proves the Wing-T Offense Works

Turner County Track

Athletes Overcome

Injury, Inexperience

Ta’liyah Martin & Nikemious Morris

Coffee High Junior Represents US in Albania at 2023 International Weightlifting Federation World Championships

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Contributors

Feature Stories

Jonathan Perez Leads Brooks County Soccer to Best Season in Years

12

15

Turner County Track Athletes Overcome Injury, Inexperience

Ta’liyah Martin & Nikemious Morris

Jeff Herron Proves the Wing-T Offense Works

Camden County

Perry High School Welcomes New Field House

Same Community, New Start: Zach Grage Hired at Valdosta High Former Lowndes Coach Will Be Wildcats’ Co-Offensive Coordinator, RBs Coach

History on the Line for Houston County Football in 2023

McCullough Triplets Ready for Next Chapter in Wrestling Careers

Track is No. 1 for Dooly County 3-Sport Star Jemari Sanders

4 Questions With Brantley County Head Football Coach Geoff Cannon

Coffee High Junior Represents US in Albania at 2023 International Weightlifting Federation World Championships

2023 Georgia High School Football Preseason Rankings

ITG Next is published bi-monthly. The contents of this publication may not be reproduced in part or in full without written consent from the publisher. Dykes Media Group LLC makes no representation or warranty of any kind for accuracy of content. All advertisements are assumed by the publisher to be correct. Copyright 2023 Dykes Media Group LLC. All rights reserved. ISSN 1945-1458.

Konlin Weaver Lifts Camden County to 9th Straight Wrestling Title

Valwood Senior Emory Hogan Ready to Make His Best Pitch Yet

Former South Georgia High School Coach Josh Crawford Makes the Most of Opportunities as Georgia Tech Receivers Coach

4 Questions with Lee County Football Coach Dean Fabrizio

Is Sportsmanship Declining in High School Athletics? Is It Getting Better or Worse? High School Coaches Sound Off.

Player Profile:

11

Kaylan McConnehead | Lowndes

Jonathan Perez Leads Brooks County Soccer to Best Season in Years

Written by: Phil Jones

Photography by: Sean Perry

Brooks County soccer standout Jonathan Perez lets his feet do all the talking when he’s on the pitch, and it's his performance that gets the full attention of his teammates and opponents, according to his head coach.

Tom Thomas said. “He’s

Special is a good way of describing the senior left winger. Perez was one of several Brooks County soccer players selected as All-Region, but there was one honor reserved for only him: Region 1A-D1 Offensive Player of the Year. In Brooks County’s 17 games, Perez scored 25 goals and had 8 assists to lead his team to its most wins in a decade. The Trojans’ successful season came to an end in the second round of the Georgia high school state playoffs.

Thomas, who wrapped up his second season as the Brooks County soccer coach, said even the most talented players need direction, and

he felt that was the case with Perez.

“When I first arrived at Brooks, the players seemed to need more of a team strategy, and that included Jonathan,” Thomas said. “He was the type of player that wanted to just grab the ball, take it down the field, and try to score a goal. It would take almost the entire season for Perez to really buy in and trust playing within a system, as well as trusting his teammates.”

Giving up control of the ball would be something new to Perez. Such a change can be tough for a player who has one goal in mind: to just score goals.

“Jonathan had to realize that he could give up the ball to his teammates, and trust that he’d get the ball back,” Thomas said.

During the offseason, Perez really dedicated himself and bought into the team’s new method of distributing the ball. It worked.

“This season, Jonathan was our number one player on drills, he was our number one communicator, talking to the team, and that dedication rubbed off on his Trojan teammates,” Thomas said.

The team as a whole improved from just four wins two seasons ago to an 8-5 finish last season. Then, with Perez armed with a new style of play, the results this year not only paid off for him, but for the entire Brooks County soccer team. They finished 11-4-2 overall in GHSA soccer competition, including 2-2 in their region. Despite dropping their final two regular-season games to eventual region champ Bacon County, the Trojans and Perez bounced back with a 6-1 victory over Jefferson County in the opening round of the state playoffs. Their season ended with a second-round playoff loss to Lamar County by a point, 3-2.

Perez was a big reason for the team’s success. His improvement from the prior season led to his team’s improved play.

“Jonathan really jump-started the season for the team,” Thomas said.

“Jonathan is a player who commands respect and attention,” Brooks County head soccer coach

definitely special.

WIREGRASS’ BRANDON HOWELL

Stand out in Electrical Construction Wiring

Valdosta, GA—One could describe Wiregrass Georgia Technical College’s Mechatronic student, Brandon Howell, as a modern-day renaissance man. Before Brandon graduated from high school he began his college career with Wiregrass’ Dual Enrollment program. Since then he has received an Associates of Applied Science Degree and a Diploma in Commercial Electrical Construction. He has also earned technical certificates of credit in Basic Electricity Technician, Electrical Maintenance Technology, Industrial Electrical Assistant, Industrial Electrician, and Industrial Motor Control Tech. He is currently enrolled in the college’s Associate of Applied Science Degree in Mechatronic Technology. This renaissance man isn’t just earning degrees in the advanced manufacturing career field, but he’s also taking his education and skills to the next level through an Apprenticeship at Ace Electric. Howell’s education, skills, and on-the-job training helped him win gold medals two years in a row at the Georgia SkillsUSA competition in Electrical Construction Wiring. Gold medal winners earn an opportunity to compete at the National SkillsUSA competition, and in the 2022 National SkillsUSA competition, Howell placed 3rd in the nation in Electrical Construction Wiring. He will be competing in the 2023 National SkillsUSA competition again in the same category.

“Ace Electric is extremely proud to be a part of Brandon’s journey in becoming an electrician. His commitment and focus through Ace’s successful apprenticeship program in partnership with Wiregrass Georgia Technical College, as well as the SkillsUSA competition, reflects in his work both in the classroom and on our job sites.  That’s why apprenticeships are essential in our industry.  Technical education and hands-on experience offer a comprehensive learning environment for students like Brandon to excel in their field.  He is a model employee, and Ace is extremely lucky to have him on our team,” shared Ace Electric Training Manager Greg Terry.

“Wiregrass is very proud of Brandon and what he has accomplished while attending Wiregrass. Last summer he received the Georgia Postsecondary 2022 Dr. John L. Scott Award for Excellence in Individual Competition for having the highest individual score at the National SkillsUSA. This shows the hard work our faculty and our partners at Ace Electric have invested in this young man,” shared Wiregrass President DeAnnia Clements.

Brandon’s SkillsUSA advisor is Drew Vickers, Electrical/Industrial Systems Technology Program Coordinator.

Howell shared, “What I am learning from Wiregrass along with my experience doing an apprenticeship with Ace Electric is setting me up for my future by giving me classroom knowledge that I apply to real world situations that I come upon on the job. My advisors and instructors at Wiregrass were the ones who encouraged me to compete in Skills USA and they supported me on my journey throughout my competitions. The college has prepared me for the workforce by having excellent instructors and hands-on training utilizing equipment that is used in the industries.”

Howell took advantage of the education, skills development, and on-the-job training opportunities offered to all students at Wiregrass Tech. When he graduates again from Wiregrass, he will have positioned himself not only as one of the top Electrical Construction Wiring professionals in the nation, but as a proficient employee in the fast-moving world of advanced manufacturing. To learn more about the programs, SkillsUSA College Chapter, and/or Apprenticeships visit www.wiregrass.edu.

Wiregrass Mechatronics Technology student, Brandon Howell, is the 2022 and 2023 State SkillsUSA Gold Medal winner in Electrical Construction Wiring. He participated in the 2022 National SkillsUSA competition and won a bronze medal and will be representing Wiregrass and the state at the 2023 National SkillsUSA Competition.

Presented by:

Lowndes - Track & Field

Turner County Track Athletes Overcome Injury, Inexperience

Written by: Phil Jones

This month’s Farah and Farah athlete is actually two athletes, each of whom helped lead a herculean effort for the Turner County boys and girls track teams, despite inexperience and injuries. Ta’Liyah Martin and Nikemious Morris are sophomores at Turner County, and each played a big role in leading their respective Titans teammates to a region championship.

Ta’Liyah Martin

Martin previous had played basketball and softball for Turner County, but she decided to start running track last year. Right out of the starting blocks, she suffered a leg muscle injury, which is not good for any student athlete, but especially a track athlete.

“I injured my quad muscle at the region track meet last year, but then I reinjured myself at the start of this year,” Martin told ITG Next.

In case you’re wondering, the quad, or quadriceps, is the group of muscles in the front part of the upper leg. It’s the largest muscle group in the body, and for anyone who injures that muscle, it can be debilitating. For a track athlete, especially a hurdler, it can mean the end of a season, or even a career. That’s almost what happened with Ta’liyah.

“I almost quit track,” she said. “I felt like I may need to stop running track, because I kept injuring myself.”

But the soLhomore decided to stay with it and work through it.

“I would rest a little, and then keep working,” Martin said.

Her perseverance paid off.

Photography by: Sean Perry

“She fought through it, and came out as a region champion,” Turner County track coach Ben Simmons told us.

Simmons said despite the injuries, Martin played an important part in the Turner girls winning the region championship.

“Ta’Liyah won the region championship in the 300M hurdles, placed third in the 100M hurdles, and placed third in the triple jump,” he said.

But Martin wasn’t finished.

“We had an injury to one of our relay members, so Ta’Liyah had to step in as part of our 4x100M relay team,” Simmons continued. “We put her on the third leg of the team, and she took that baton and took off.”

The results were a region championship for the girls 4x100M relay team.

“Ta’Liyah was a big reason for the relay team winning that region championship,” Simmons said.

Simmons added that he expects Ta’Liyah to qualify for the state meet in the hurdles, as well as continue to lead Turner’s track team for the remainder of her career at Turner County High.

Nikemious Morris

Simmons remembers hoping first-year track athlete Nikemious Morris would do well in his first-ever track event at the high school level.

“I know Morris had competed in track in middle school, but this was his first year of high school track, so we just didn’t know how he was going to perform,” Simmons said.

It didn’t take long for the sophomore high jumper to show just how well he could do.

“We were at the very first track meet, at Tift County, and we put him in the high jump, and that’s when we found out just how special he was,” the Turner County track coach recalled.

Morris won the event with a jump of 6 feet, 2 inches, and he became the team’s top high jumper for the rest of this season. He has continued to dominate, including his recent performance at the region meet.

“Nikemious really showed out,” Simmons said.

Morris placed first in the high jump, as well as the 110M and 300 M hurdles. He also served as the anchor leg for the Turner boys 4x400M relay team, which finished second.

“He was the high point earner for the whole track meet in the boys division,” Simmons said.

So much for being uncertain about Nikemious.

The sophomore had a PR in the 100M and 300M hurdles, and his performance added 32 points to the team total, which, according to coach Simmons, was the difference needed to overtake the next closest team – Turner’s rival, Charlton County.

“That was the margin of difference right there,” Simmons said.

Like Ta’Liyah, Morris also had to battle through injury throughout the season.

“He also was battling an injury throughout the year with some tendinitis in his knee,” Simmons said.

Despite the pain and his inexperience, the sophomore battled through it all, coming out the other side as a region champ

“Nikemious got better and better as the year went on,” Simmons said, “and it all came together for him and our team.”

Simmons said both Nikemious and Ta’Liyah battled back from adversity, and they are champions for it. But they aren’t finished.

“We are excited to have both of them back next season, and beyond!” Simmons said.

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Jeff Herron Proves the Wing-T Offense Works

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

Jeff Herron is one of the most successful high school football coaches in the country. Running the Wing-T offense, he has won five state championships at three different schools: three at Camden County, one in his only season at Grayson, and one with Oconee County. He has won 12 region championships with Camden, where he coached from 2000 to 2012. He returned to Camden as the head coach in 2021 and has led the Wildcats the last two seasons. Camden finished 8-4 last season, including 3-1 in competitive Region 1-7A. The Wildcats captured

the No. 2 seed, winning their opening-round playoff game at home against East Coweta before falling to Herron’s former Grayson team.

In all, Herron has won 299 games as a head coach in Georgia. He won 25 games in two seasons at T.L. Hanna High School in South Carolina. He inherited an Oconee County team that had won just eight games in the previous four seasons prior to his arrival in 1997; two seasons later he lead them to a state championship.

While no one will question Herron’s success, there are many who still question the offense

he has won with throughout his career – which seems odd, doesn’t it? While it is known by several names, including the option, the veer, the wishbone, and the Wing-T, the triple option has the same basic purpose: control the ball with a run-first offensive approach, using misdirection to force aggressive defenses to alter their style while guessing who has the ball.

Herron has been known as one of the few coaches to run the Wing-T throughout his career, and as the coach tells us in this week’s Next Take Georgia podcast, most of the offenses that coaches run today, including the

popular spread offense, were all born out of the triple option.

“Every coach is running some aspects of the Wing-T offense,” Herron said. “The RPO (runpass option) came from the Wing-T. The interesting thing is that if you watch college football, and even the NFL, everybody is running things that came from the Wing-T 40 or 50 years ago.”

Herron said his first exposure to the Wing-T

came early in his career, when as an assistant coach he was able to attend University of Delaware practices.

“My style of offense that I started running as a head coach came from watching Delaware practices,” Herron recalled. “Their offense always had answers for whatever defense they were up against. No matter what or who they were up against, they always had certain plays in their Wing-T offense that would counter their opponent’s defense, and that stuck with me.”

Herron believes that still is the biggest advantage his offense has today.

“We feel like in every game, against every defense, we will have an answer with our style of offense,” he said.

That was never more evident than when Herron’s Camden County team faced the state’s best defense in Valdosta High last fall. The Wildcats entered the game with an 8-0 record, and the bulk of their success was on the strength of their feared defense, which had allowed just 33 total point (an average of 4 points per game) entering the Camden game. In four of those eight wins, Valdosta’s defense had allowed no points. (One opponent, Banneker, ended up with a safety, but scored no points with

their offense against the Valdosta defense.)

As Herron described, his style of offense is designed to have an answer against every defense, and it was indeed able to respond to that vaunted Valdosta defense.

Camden County won the game 17-14, the most points any offense had scored on the Wildcats all season.

Despite being a runheavy Wing-t offense, Herron says don’t confuse his offense with an option attack.

“We have certain elements of the option in our offense, but we don’t consider our offense to be an option offense,” Herron said.

He said another misconception about his offense is that they never throw the football.

“We want to be a productive offense, and if that means having to pass, we will,” Herron said.

The Camden head coach references those years of watching spring practices at Delaware, where no matter what their strength was in terms of players, the offense remained effective, year after year.

“I was fortunate to watch Delaware for 17 years, and some years they would have a really good quarterback or a good fullback,” he said. “They never had very big offensive linemen, but they were always able to move the football, because their style of attack

never changed. They always had answers for their opponents’ defenses, and that’s the main reason I fell in love with that type of offense. It was a system of football that made sense to me.”

A lot of what makes sense, said Herron, is that no matter what a team’s personnel looks like, it can always have the versatility to move the football.

“There will be some seasons when you don’t have a great quarterback, and for some teams, that means it’s going to be a long year,” he said. “Part of my success as a head coach has been because our offense will always be versatile enough that if we don’t happen to have ‘that top guy,’ then we can do something else to succeed on offense.”

Jeff Herron has proven through the years how to be successful with his offense – whatever you choose to call it.

Hear more from Jeff Herron on our Next Take Georgia podcast.

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Perry High School Welcomes New Field House

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

The Perry High School Panthers football team has been rebuilt under the guidance and direction of head football coach and athletic director Kevin Smith since he took over the program in 2017. Now another rebuilding project has benefited the Panthers football program, as ICB Construction Group is putting the finishing touches on a new 8,200-square-foot field house that will serve many needs for Smith’s program, as well as opposing teams visiting the Panther Pit this fall.

“The ICB Construction Group folks really did a great job with this new field house, and we are so proud to have it as our new football home,” Smith said.

According to Smith, the new Perry High field house will include two locker rooms; the home side will be equipped with 95 lockers, while the visitors side will have 50. There also will be a large equipment room and training room, as well as new coaches offices. Smith said some minor final touches remain to be done, and the facility will officially open with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on April 10.

“This place is just amazing, and it was something we desperately needed,” Smith said.

Before, the home and visiting teams had to dress in the old gymnasium, which was actually a canning plant at one point. Smith said it was very cramped and forced both teams to walk through fans to get to the field, as well as after the game.

“Anytime you have fans that close to the players and coaches,

things can happen,” Smith acknowledged.

Now, with the field house at one end of the field, Perry players and coaches can have clear access to and from the playing area.

Smith said that throughout the construction project that began in July of 2022, ICB Construction sought input from him about different areas of the field house, always making sure it ultimately would fit the Perry teams’ needs.

“They would bring us down to the site from time to time and give us updates on what they were doing, and would allow us to ask questions and make suggestions,” Smith recalled. “We know they didn’t have to do that – they are the experts – but we appreciated it. They have given us a beautiful new field house.”

The new facility will be a perfect fit for what has been a rebuilding of the Perry football program since Smith became head coach six seasons ago. He has put together quite a run over that time, which includes a 48-24 overall record, three straight region championships, and a 17-1 region record. Smith is confident the 2023 team will keep Perry’s winning ways alive.

“Like everybody, we lose some great players to graduation, but we will have some solid players on both sides returning this season as well,” he said.

One new addition to the team will be former Peach County quarterback Colter Ginn, who has joined the team this offseason and should give the Panthers quite the spark on offense.

Same Community, New Start: Zach Grage Hired at

Valdosta High Former Lowndes Coach Will Be Wildcats’ CoOffensive Coordinator, RBs Coach

Written by: Phil Jones

Photography by: ITG Next Archive

2022 started out pretty well for Zach Grage. He had just led the Thomasville Bulldogs to an appearance in the Georgia Class 2A state championship game, and now he was being named head coach of the Lowndes High Vikings. But after one season of leading the Valdosta school through a rebuilding year, Grage was suddenly out as the Vikings head coach.

Grage admits it was tough.

“When you get hit in the mouth,” he says, “you ask yourself, ‘What just happened?’”

He says the initial reaction was to say, “I’m done here.”

But as the shock wore off and Thanksgiving weekend approached days later, Grage began to realize he had a lot to be thankful for – and it was much

more than just football.

“I sat down with my wife, Mandy, and my kids, and I was reminded of what was really important and that things were going to be fine,” Grage recalls.

He decided to take some time to slow down and think about what his next step would be.

“I got to be a dad for a few months,” Grage says. “I got to spend time with my wife and pick up my kids from school.”

The Grage family decided to take a family camping trip, just to get away from everything and decompress, and that gave them a chance to discuss what the next step might look like.

“We talked about a lot of different possibilities, but whatever we decided to do, it had to be right for our family,” Grage says.

When they returned

home, Grage began to receive calls from a lot of people.

“I was taking calls from buddies and other people with job opportunities,” he says.

Grage says there were calls about head coaching jobs, assistant coaching positions, and even jobs that would take him away from coaching.

“There were a couple of admin roles offered, and there were some head coaching opportunities that we went and looked at and almost pulled the trigger on,” he says.

Grage says of the many calls he received, there was one in particular that he credits the most.

“From day one, [Valdosta High head coach] Shelton Felton reached out to me, not as a coach, but as a friend, to check on me and talk to me,” Grage says.

Grage adds that Coach Felton’s wife, Laquanda, called Mandy almost daily to check in and to just talk.

The two coaches had remained friends since their time together years earlier on Rush Propst’s staff at Colquitt County.

Grage says when he returned from the camping trip, Felton called again, but this time it was to ask his friend to come join him on the Valdosta High staff.

“Why don’t you come over here and work with me?” Grage recalls Felton asking him on that phone call.

He says he sat down and talked it over with Mandy. They agreed that of all the opportunities before them, including those that would keep him as a head coach, working with Felton and Valdosta made the most sense.

“It checked all the boxes for us,” Grage says.

One of the biggest of those boxes was the Grages’ kids.

“All three of our boys are locked in here in Valdosta and are doing well in school,” Grage says. “Daniel is in archery and golf, while our two younger boys, Daniel and Luke, are wrapped up in football, basketball, and baseball. They play rec ball, travel ball, the whole thing. It really all came down to us not wanting to uproot them again.”

Felton, who is in his second season as the Valdosta head coach, says reaching out to Grage just made sense for a lot of reasons, personally and professionally.

“First off, we have

been friends since 2012 or 2013, and that’s what friends do,” Felton says.

“I felt like he needed to know I was here for him and his family. It was important for me and my wife to let his family know the Feltons were here for them.”

The Valdosta head coach says he is excited to have a coach with Grage’s knowledge and experience on his staff.

“Having Grage as a part of my staff is huge for Valdosta,” Felton says. “He brings a ton of experience and knowledge to the staff, and it will also help the staff grow and build off of last year’s success.”

Speaking of success, Felton says what Grage has accomplished in his career will be another welcomed benefit to his staff at Valdosta.

“Grage did a great job at Thomasville, and they scored a lot of points,” Felton says. “So to have another head coach on staff to bounce stuff off of will be big for me. We believe in a lot of the same stuff when it comes to building a program and caring for these players.”

So, after a roller coaster of a ride over the last four months, Zach Grage joins the Valdosta staff as co-offensive coordinator and running backs coach.

“We have a great staff here already, and I’ll be working with current offensive coordinator Nick Harduvel,” Grage says.

Initially, Grage says, he is taking on an analyst-type role, leaning on his eight seasons of head coaching experience to make suggestions and simply try to make the overall offen-

sive system run better.

“I’ll be looking at all aspects of the team, from the play calling to meeting times, and see how we can be a better offense,” Grage says. “I’m learning all of the verbiage and translating what I know to how we call it in our system here.”

Right now, Grage says his and the whole staff’s focus is on the season opener against the Massillon Tigers in what has already been billed as Valdosta’s biggest game in a long time.

“Coach Felton has made it clear to me and the whole staff that we better have a plan and not lay an egg because if we do the whole world is going to know about it,” Grage acknowledges.

Welcome to Valdosta High football, Coach Grage.

“I’ll be looking at all aspects of the team, from the play calling to meeting times, and see how we can be a better offense. I’m learning all of the verbiage and translating what I know to how we call it in our system here.”

— Zach Grage

History on the Line for Houston County Football in 2023

Written by: Dhruv Mohan

The Houston County Bears have won only one region championship in school football history. They are winless in their last six quarterfinals appearances. Under head coach Jeremy Edwards, though, a history-making 2023 campaign may be in store.

It starts at the top with quarterback Antwann Hill, Jr. The sophomore sensation passed for an otherworldly 3,663 yards and 40 touchdowns last season, with only three interceptions. Hill is a smart passer, and he maintained a completion percentage over 70% throughout 2022. The four-star prospect holds offers from all of college football’s biggest names.

Hill won’t lose any of his top five receiving targets to graduation, either. Kale Woodburn and Ricky Johnson combined for more than 1,850 receiving yards last season and will return as experienced seniors. The duo also totaled 24 touchdowns, all while averaging over 15.5 yards per reception.

The offense is bolstered by the return of running back Ryan Taleb, who often goes unnoticed in the shadow of Hill’s passing heroics. Taleb added 1,720 yards and 19 scores on the ground for the 2022 Bears to complement a furious passing attack. He posted five 100-yard rushing performances in the last six games of the season, including a 286-yard, 3-touchdown night against North Atlanta in the playoffs. For a Houston County offense that averaged nearly 43 points per game last year, the prospect of more than 50 points per contest in the 2023 football season appears within reach.

The Houston County football team's greatest improvements in 2023 may come on the defensive side of the ball. Despite losing leading tackler Arthur Brown, Houston County returns Ryan Mackey, EJ Nobles, and Brandon Walden in the front seven. That trio combined for a whopping 217 tackles, 36 tackles for loss, and 12 sacks in 2022. All five sack leaders from last season’s Houston County football squad return as seniors as well. Expect an improved rush defense from the Bears this season.

The secondary proved to be Houston County’s Achilles’ heel last year, not in terms of yards allowed, but rather in turnovers forced. The Bears struggled to find consistency all season and forced only 10 interceptions in 13 games. With a surplus of rising seniors at that position for next season, the Bears should have more depth and stability.

Houston County has all the pieces necessary to make a deep run within the Georgia Class 6A playoffs. A four-win team just two years ago, the Bears now have a plethora of senior talent and experience that sets them up for a stellar 2023 campaign. There may be no greater opportunity to win a state championship in Houston County football history. Can the Bears rewrite the record books this season?

Photography by: Brandon Pham

McCullough Triplets Ready for Next Chapter in Wrestling Careers

Written by: Phil Jones

Photography by: Micki K Photography

Lowndes High senior wrestlers Ethan, Cole, and Hunter McCullough are ready to take their talents to the next level. After wrestling careers that began with a visit of curiosity to a wrestling camp back in 2016, the McCullough Triplets are preparing to attend Newberry College in South Carolina on scholarship.

The fact that all three are able to attend the same college on scholarship might seem like a surprise to many, but for Ethan, Hunter, and Cole, that was the only way any college was going to get them to come.

That’s how the McCullough boys roll. One for all and all for one. After all, they stumbled onto the sport at the same time in the summer of 2016, and they’ve wrestled together ever since.

A visit to a wrestling camp in Augusta during their summer break when the McCullough Triplets were 11 years old turned into a passion that will pay their way to a college education. The scholarships also will enable them to continue what they’ve been doing since that fateful day seven years ago.

The McCullough triplets, the sons of Christal and Tom McCullough, recently wrapped up their high school wrestling careers at Lowndes with the state championships in Macon, where powerhouse Camden County again was victorious. Although a state title was not in the cards for the McCullough brothers, they did finish with Ethan placing third at 126 pounds and Cole placing fifth at 132 pounds. Unfortunately for Hunter, his day ended prematurely with a medical forfeit due to an early match injury would not allow him to finish.

“We are all so sad he couldn’t continue,” said a disappointed Christal McCullough.

A look back at the triplets’ career shows why Newberry College accepted all three wrestlers.

Hunter secured the triplets’ lone state high school state title in 2021, capturing the state championship in Greco and Freestyle at 106 pounds. He was a threetime state qualifier.

Ethan was also a three-time state qualifier and placed in state three times, including a state runner-up finish in 2022 at 120 pounds.

Cole finished his high school career as a four-time state qualifier, with a state runner-up finish in 2020 at 113 pounds.

Lowndes High wrestling coach Spencer Graybeal, who has coached the McCullough triplets throughout their career at Lowndes, said he has not been surprised at their success.

As for their future, Graybeal said, “I’m glad they are moving on to compete at the next level, and I’m sure they will find success in their future wrestling careers. They will be greatly missed.”

“It was a package deal,” said Hunter. “We made that clear to all of the college recruiters, that we were all coming together or we’d just have to find another school.”

“They are each very hard-working men with lofty goals,” he said. “They are leaders in the practice room, and are going to leave big shoes to fill.”

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Track is No. 1 for Dooly County 3-Sport Star Jemari Sanders

Written by: Phil Jones

Dooly County High senior Jemari Sanders has made the most of his time as a student-athlete for the Bobcats. He is a member of the school’s football, baseball, and track teams. He loves to play them all, and he’s good. As an infielder and outfielder for the Bobcats baseball team this season, he hit .273 with 19 runs scored. He was the team’s offensive MVP, and he is a kick returner, punt returner, receiver, and cornerback for the football team.

Despite being quite successful at each of the sports he plays, there’s one sport that he loves most of all.

And it shows.

Sanders competes in several events for the Dooly County track squad, including the 100m and 200m dash, as well as the 4x100m relays. His PR this season in the 100m is 11.05; in the 200m it’s 22.61.

Dooly County track coach Catozzio Murray said Sanders is a speedster: “Jemari is the fastest on our team.”

In the region meet that recently concluded, Sanders backed that statement up. He placed first in both the 100m and 200m, and he also picked up a gold medal in the 4x100m. Overall, the team placed fourth in the region meet. His outstanding performance at the region meet allowed him to qualify for the sectional meet, which will be held in Albany.

“Track is my number one sport,” Sanders told ITG Next. “I love it.”

Photography by: Sean Perry

Murray said he is not surprised with the results.

“I have coached Jemari now for the last three seasons,” he said. “I took over the track program here at Dooly County when Jemari was a sophomore, and the first thing I noticed when I met him was that he was so intelligent and wanted to compete at the highest level. I noticed right away how determined, motivated, and focused he was about track and field.”

The coach said Sanders is one of those athletes who doesn’t say a whole lot, instead letting his results do the talking.

“He is somewhat quiet, but he will give assistance to his teammates and peers,” Murray said.

Dooly County head football coach Cecil Lester also was very complimentary of the multi-purpose Sanders.

“Just an all-around good kid,” Turner added. It’s likely everyone who knows Sanders would agree.

The coach said Sanders’ small stature never made much of a difference when Sanders was on the football field – at any position.

“Being small has never been a setback for him because he has loads of confidence in his abilities to play anywhere, and at a high level,” Lester said. “And that really that goes for any of the sports he plays.”

Both coaches were quick to point out that Sanders takes his academics as seriously as his athletics.

Added Coach Lester: “Jemari is right at the top of our school when it comes to his grades. He has fantastic parents as well as a great support system. He is loved by his peers.”

Sanders’ baseball coach at Dooly County is Adam Turner. Like his coaching cohorts, he spoke glowingly about Sanders, on the field and off.

“I know Jemari loves track, and has a tremendous upside for it, but he was also a critical player for us during the football season,” Lester said. “He played on both sides of the ball for us as a defensive back and as a wide receiver on offense, and he also served as one of our kick returners last season.”

“Jemari is a smart kid with an outstanding GPA, and he is an honor student,” Murray said.

“Jemari was our offensive MVP for the second straight season, and he had 22 stolen bases out of 22 attempts,” Turner said. “He was named to the Class A-D2 All-Region team as a secondteam outfielder. He was always the engine for our offense this season. Jemari is the epitome of what a student-athlete should be. He is extremely competitive on the field and in the classroom.

4 Questions With Brantley County Head Football Coach Geoff Cannon

Written by: Phil Jones | Photography by: Brandon Pham

Our ITG Next Georgia 4 Questions with the Coach guest this week is Brantley County Herons head football coach Geoff Cannon, who is preparing for his sixth season in Nahunta. Under Cannon, the Herons have improved over the last two seasons, going from a 1-9 record in 2021 to a 5-5 mark in 2022. Cannon will have a number of returners from last year’s team, although they say goodbye to one of the most talented and well-liked players in program history with the graduation of Kellon Middleton.

Let’s hear from Coach Cannon about his Brantley County team heading into spring practice, and what to expect in the 2023 regular season to follow.

Q: Coach Cannon, thanks for taking the time to talk with us once again! It was great seeing you at our recent football banquet, as we honored players from across the state, including a couple of your very own Brantley County Herons. I want to start off by asking you about those two outstanding young men, RB Kellon Middleton and LB Mason Thomas. To say that Kellon will be missed is an absolute understatement, but the good news is that you will have Mason back for the upcoming season. I guess bittersweet is the first word that comes to mind. Can you talk about the contributions of each of these fine young players?

A: Every new season begs the question, “How are we going to replace these great seniors?” We graduated 10 great players off of this team, and we will have to work hard to get the next guys ready. In Kellon’s case, he rarely came off the field. So we aren’t just replacing a talented offensive skill player, but also a safety and a special teams star. That’s more than one hole to fill, but I’m confident that the next men up in this case will be excited about their opportunity. Kellon’s legacy here covers more than the on-the-field accolades. We will miss his leadership as a captain just as much.

We are thrilled to have Mason Thomas back for his senior year. While his home on the defensive side of the ball is well-documented, you very well may see him with some opportunities on offense in the fall. We will need all of our skill players to be serviceable on both sides of the ball.

Q: While Kellon will certainly be missed, Mason will have several teammates returning with him this season, and it looks like you have talent back in just about every area of the team, as you don’t appear to be suffering a ton of losses to graduation. Are you optimistic about the number of guys back in 2023?

A: If we can stay healthy, we are very optimistic about the upcoming season. This group of rising seniors was in the seventh grade my first season as head football coach here, and I’ve enjoyed watching them come up through the ranks each year. It’s my job to show them they can win. It’s their job to buy in and believe it.

Q: Coach, I want to ask you about the quarterback play and a guy you know pretty well with Kirkland Cannon. He has been Mr. Steady running the Brantley County offense over the last two seasons, although it appears that you and the staff didn’t ask as much out of him last season as you did the prior season. Was this a change in the offensive approach?

A: As a coach, I’m looking forward to having a two-year starter back at QB for his third year. At a school our size, personnel dictates scheme more than anything, and we have some key pieces back with him. I’m looking forward to seeing what these boys can do on the field, holding nothing back as a coaching staff. It’s my job to provide opportunities for us to be successful on both sides of the ball, and I intend to do just that.

Q: Coach Cannon, what are your expectations for the Brantley County Herons in 2023? What areas do you hope to see improvement in with so much experience returning?

A: My personal expectations for the Herons this fall are high! I hope we can continue our winning ways and take one more step of improvement and get our team back in the playoffs where we belong. It’s no secret that our region is really tough, so it’s going to take our best shot each and every Friday night. I tell our guys all of the time, it’s not how you start, but how you #FINISH.

Coffee High Junior Represents US in Albania at 2023 International Weightlifting Federation World Championships

Written by: Robert Preston Jr. | Photography courtesy of April Dockery

Range Robinson, 17, a junior weightlifter at Coffee High School, walked toward the platform. He was in Durres, Albania, some 5,383 miles from his home in Douglas. Range was representing the United States at the 2023 International Weightlifting Federation World Championships in March.

A three-time national Olympic weightlifting champion, Range was one of the 10 best lifters in the country in his division. He learned in December that he had earned a spot on Team USA. That seemed like a lifetime ago.

Now he was in Albania, and it was time to lift. No matter how far he was from home, no matter how many strangers surrounded

him, he was in familiar territory. It didn’t matter if the platform was in Durres, Albania; Anaheim, California; Lake City, Florida; Columbus, Ohio; Savannah, Georgia; his gym on the campus of Coffee High School; or any of the other cities in which he has lifted. He knew right where he was. The weightlifting platform, regardless of where that platform was located, was his refuge, his shelter, his home.

Before Range walked around the curtain and onto the platform, he gave a double fist bump to his coach, Mike Booth, Coffee High’s strength and conditioning coach and the Olympic weightlifting team’s head coach. Range turned confidently, ad-

justed his singlet, and stepped in front of the crowd. He paused to rub chalk on his hands before approaching the bar.

Range stretched his shoulders as he walked, then stood over the bar. It was loaded with 110 kilograms — about 242 pounds if you’re not familiar with the metric system. He squatted down, found his grip, and looked at the floor. Then he cut his eyes upward, took a breath, and in one furious motion, propelled the bar overhead. His face strained under the tension, but his arms, once fully locked, never wavered.

All three judges nodded their approval. Range’s lift, his second of the day, was good. He was proving

that he wasn’t just one of the best weightlifters in the country — he could compete with the best in the world.

Range eventually totaled 253 kilograms in the competition — a little over 556 pounds — good for 15th place. His placing, while certainly an accomplishment, may have been secondary to the experience of competing on an international stage.

“It was such a welcoming atmosphere,” Range recalls. “Everyone was so friendly. Most everyone spoke English, so we could easily communicate with each other. I had heard things about some of the countries that were there, and they had heard things about America. I used it as an opportunity to show some goodwill for the United States. We were all friendly. There was no animosity at all.”

While he may have learned that he was headed to Albania in December, the road to Durres began when he was in the sixth grade. His older brother, Rhett, had joined the Olympic weightlifting team at Coffee High, and Range followed

suit as soon as he was old enough (one of the few school-sponsored Olympic teams in the state — weightlifting isn’t recognized by the GHSA but hopefully that will change soon — the program was open to sixth graders at the time).

Range comes from an athletic family. At his house, everyone was participating in some sport yearround: softball, swimming, football, track, or weightlifting. He tried several different sports and performed well at each one, but weightlifting is where he has excelled.

Range qualified for the USA Weightlifting youth national championships as a sixth-grader, finishing fifth. Then he won three consecutive national championships, positioning himself as one of the top lifters in the country.

And it didn’t happen by accident.

“His determination and willpower are unmatched,” says his mother, April Dockery. “Even during COVID, he got up at 6 a.m. and worked out. He’s very driven. He studies his butt off, he watches his diet, and he works

constantly. He’s always working.”

Coach Booth picked up on Range’s talent pretty quickly, but he was careful not to heap too much praise on him too early.

“I knew he could be a good lifter, but I’m cautious about telling kids what they can do or what they can be,” says Booth. “Range wanted to get better, but he also wanted to be a technician. He was scrawny back then, but he had great technique. He’s stuck with it, and he’s stayed healthy.”

In the world of Olympic lifting, the word “technician” is key. It takes strength, no doubt about it. But it takes much more. The two lifts involved

in Olympic lifting — the snatch and the clean and jerk — are fast, violent, and explosive. They are athletic exercises, and strength without technique won’t get a lifter very far.

But don’t think for a minute that Range Robinson isn’t strong. He is. Brutally strong.

“When he’s in the weight room, he wants to be the alpha male,” says Booth. “He wants to be the strongest. He wants the most weight on the bar.”

Booth has seen a difference in Range since the trip to Albania. While he was there, Range saw firsthand what the best lifters in the world do. They are specialists with a singular focus. They don’t play football or basket-

ball or any other sport. Those athletes only lift. And they’re very, very good.

“Range’s work ethic has improved even more since he’s gotten back,” Booth says. “We’re in the middle of spring football right now, and he’s in the gym. He stays after practice. He wants to lift on the weekends. He wants to be in the gym every moment that he can.”

Range may not have podiumed in Albania, but one of his teammates won a world championship at the competition. Ella Nicholson of Medina, Ohio, won gold in the 16-to-17-year-old, 76-kilogram class. Her Team USA teammates joined her on the podium after the medal

Range is a young man of impeccable character and integrity. He is strong in his faith in Christ, and he knows that his purpose in life extends far beyond the field of play. He has a platform to use his faith to spread a message of hope and love to what can be a dark and unbelieving world. That is more important to him than any accolades sports bring him.

ceremony.

“It was a special moment for everyone,” Range says. “We were standing there with her. She had the American flag wrapped around her, and they were playing our national anthem. It’s something you can’t describe.”

It’s a feeling he may have the opportunity to experience again. Range has two more major competitions on his calendar this year. The first is USA Weightlifting’s youth nationals, which takes place in late June and early July in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Range hopes to add a fourth national championship medal to his trophy case at that meet.

Range has also qualified for the Pan-American Youth Championships in August. This competition, held August 12-17 in Caracas, Venezuela, presents two challenges. The first is that it coincides with football season, and the second is the increasing political instability of Venezuela. There is talk of moving the competition or of several of the Pan-Am nations getting together and hosting their own games at an as yet undetermined location.

Then, of course, there is college. Rhett is playing football at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, New York; just as Range followed Rhett into weightlifting, so would he like to follow Rhett into college

athletics. Weightlifting is an option, though most of the schools that offer weightlifting as a sport aren’t located near South Georgia (but then again, neither is Kings Point, New York). At the moment, Range still isn’t sure.

“I’ve had some contact with a school, but right now I’m still weighing my options,” he says.

His mother isn’t in any hurry for him to make a decision.

“Rhett’s offer didn’t come through until about three months before graduation,” she says. “(Range) has some time. Right now, we’re just enjoying the ride. We’ll see where it takes him.”

Just as Range followed Rhett into weightlifting, their little sister, Reece, has followed Range into the sport, and she’s showing the same kind of talent that her brothers displayed. Reece, a seventh-grader at Coffee Middle School, has also qualified for nationals and will also be lifting later this summer in Colorado Springs.

2023 Georgia High School Football Preseason Rankings

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

As high school football teams across Georgia kick off spring football practice, ITG Next Georgia gives you our Spring 2023 Top 5 for each classification, plus a sixth “surprise” team added to each list. Here’s our “Top 5 Plus a Surprise:”

Class 7A

1. Buford

2. Carrollton

3. Colquitt County

4. Mill Creek

5. Walton

Surprise: Valdosta

Spring or fall, these five Georgia high school football teams are the monsters of the GHSA. Walton is a team to look out for, with one of the best quarterbacks in the state in Jeremy Hecklinski, and seven starters on both sides returning. But with last year’s upset win over Buford in the playoffs, the Raiders won’t be sneaking up on anyone in 2023. Watch for Valdosta QB Todd Robinson to have a breakout season.

Class 6A

1. Gainesville

2. Lee County

3. Houston County

4. Hughes

5. Rome

Surprise: Blessed Trinity

This is the deepest classification in the GHSA, and any of the five teams I’ve listed could really be in any order. Josh Niblett, Jeremy Edwards, John Reid, Dean Fabrizio and Daniel “Boone” Williams are maybe the best group of coaches in the state. But look out for another coach this year: Ed Dudley. He takes over at Blessed Trinity, and with eight starters returning on defense and QB Brooks Lewis running the offense, the Titans could be the team that surprises everybody this year.

Class 5A

1. Ware County

2. Cartersville

3. Warner Robins

4. Creekside

5. Calhoun

Surprise: Kell

Can new head coach Shane Sams keep Warner Robins as the king of Class 5A? Vic Burley is impossible to replace, but the Demons and Sams will have enough talent returning in 2023 to stay in the hunt in 5A this season. My surprise team is the Kell Longhorns, led by All-State WR Kyle Vaka.

Class 4A

1. Benedictine

2. Bainbridge

3. Perry

4. Troup County

5. Cedartown

Surprise: Central Carrollton

Benedictine has the most overlooked quarterback in the state returning in Luke Kromenhoek. He’ll have another eight returning starters on offense joining him this season to give Danny Britt’s Cadets an opportunity to threepeat for the 4A state championship. Colton Ginn has transferred from Peach County to Perry, and there’s a two-headed QB monster at Central Carrollton: Returning All-Region starter Devan Powell wiil try to outduel freshman phenom JR Harris beginning with this Georgia high school spring football session.

Class 3A

1. Thomasville

2. Cedar Grove

3. Dougherty

4. Peach County

5. Sandy Creek

Surprise: Crisp County

Coaching is the key with these Top 5 teams. Jonathan DeLay displayed perhaps the best coaching job last year. Despite losing a starting quarterback early, and his team getting outscored 144-14 in three losses in their first four games, the first-year head coach rallied his team to eight straight wins, a region championship, and a trip to the quarterfinals. Johnny Gilbert resurrected the football program at Dougherty two years ago, and we’ve seen what Marquis Westbrook can do; now can he bring that magic to Peach County? John Adams has built something special at Cedar Grove, and now Darius Smiley will take over for the 3A defending champs.

Class 2A

1. Thomson

2. Fitzgerald

3. Northeast Macon

4. Cook County

5. Appling County

Surprise: Callaway

I’ve talked mostly about quarterbacks so far, but 2A will give us a collection of great running backs to look at, starting right away with Georgia high school spring football practice. Cook’s Keshun McKeever is back after enjoying a breakout year for the Hornets, and Thomson’s 1,000-yard rusher is also back – no, not Jontavis Curry; it’s Anthony Jeffrey, a returning junior who rushed for 1,015 yards and scored 19 TDs playing in the shadow of Curry last fall.

Northeast Macon will have returning junior RB Nick Woodford, who was Georgia’s second-leading rusher last season, finishing with 2,746 yards. Fitzgerald returns a group of backs that includes Tyler Williams, Diodre Paschal, and Ty Solomon, but Tucker Pruitt is always going to have RBs. Appling will return 1,000-yard Jamarion Williams. Callaway is another team with a strong history of RBs and this year has seniors Jordan King, Tyren Buggs and junior Zai Hart all ready to make an impact.

Class 1A-DI

1. Prince Avenue Christian

2. Brooks County

3. Irwin County

4. Swainsboro

5. St Francis

Surprise: Commerce

Aaron Philo is the best quarterback in the state, and he’ll have a chance to prove it when he leads the Wolverines on another quest for the state title while also striving to become the state’s all-time career passing leader, surpassing Trevor Lawrence. Philo recently decommitted from Minnesota. Brooks County’s Maurice Freeman and Irwin County’s Casey Soliday could compete with any group, and they do every single season.

Class 1A-DII

1. Clinch County

2. Bowdon

3. Early County

4. Schley County

5. Wilcox County

Surprise: Dooly County

Clinch County head coach Don Tison will have nine starters back in 2023, and he’ll have his Panthers competing for a state championship this season. Watch out for Dooly County as head coach Cecil Lester has QB Antwan Clayton along with seven starters returning on offense.

There you have it: These Georgia high school spring football practices offer plenty of intrigue from top to bottom as we look toward the fall.

Konlin Weaver Lifts Camden County to 9th Straight Wrestling Title

Written by: Phil Jones

Konlin Weaver is a two-time state champion for the powerful Camden County Wildcats wrestling team, having won his class in his freshman and sophomore years. Entering the GHSA Class 7A state wrestling championship earlier this year, the wrestler known as “Tank” helped lead his team to its ninth straight team championship, not by winning, but by pure grit.

With Weaver wrestling in the semifinals of the sectional tournament, and looking as if he was on a path to a third straight state championship, he suffered a debilitating ankle injury. Camden wrestling coach Jess Wilder says Weaver was mere minutes away from victory, but when he and his opponent stood up, the coach knew something was wrong.

“Konlin stood up and immediately collapsed to the mat,” Wilder recalls. “We called an injury timeout and I went over and started asking Konlin what was wrong, and he told me that he wasn’t sure. He thought it was his ankle.”

Weaver went back out to the mat, and almost immediately the Camden wrestling coach could tell his star wrestler was struggling.

“Konlin’s opponent started coming back, and you could tell Tank was doing all he could to hang on,” Wilder says.

The coach decided to use another injury timeout, and this time he wasn't sure if Tank was going to be able to answer the bell.

“We have 90 seconds before an injury forfeit is called,” Wilder remembers, “and there was about one second left, and Konlin told me he thought he can make it through.”

Weaver toughed it out and won the match. But the coach and Weaver had a decision to make. There was still one match left, the final of the sectionals. Weaver decided to wrestle, but without any ability to push off with his injured ankle, he was no match for his healthy opponent. Weaver lost the match, but then yet another decision loomed: The state finals were a week away, and Wilder knew that if Weaver couldn’t go, his team had no chance to defeat Buford, their opponent in the 7A championship.

“It’s just too tight,” Wilder explains.

With the cumulative point total from each of the individual wrestlers making up the overall team score, that meant if Weaver couldn’t wrestle, win or lose, it would force the remaining Camden wrestlers to somehow capture enough points to defeat the mighty Wolves.

“It’s impossible,” Wilder explains. “They're just too tough, and without Tank, we would not have a chance mathematically to win enough points to beat Buford.”

It was decision time. Wilder says he spoke with Konlin’s parents, Fred and Amanda Weaver, and after receiving assurances that the ankle wouldn’t suffer any further damage if their son tried to wrestle, they were OK with it.

But Wilder knew this would still be a long shot. Then again, the 157-pound Camden wrestler had always proved others wrong.

“When Konlin wrestled for the state championship as a freshman, no one thought he had a chance,” Wilder says. Weaver had not won a state title as an eighth grader, nor had he won a youth state

title, so how could he come up and win a state championship in his first season as a varsity wrestler?

Weaver would indeed win the state championship as a ninth grader, and then again the following season, when he knocked off the defending state champion.

So, here he was, going for his third straight state championship with an ankle injury. Wilder knew it had to be bad.

“Konlin is one of the toughest kids I have ever coached,” Wilder says.

And the kid they call Tank proved it.

Faced with the decision of not wrestling and handing the state title to Buford, Weaver decided this was too important.

In the state finals, with his injured ankle heavily taped and wearing a brace, Weaver decided to give it a try.

Unable to push off, he still won his first match in overtime, but he lost his final match, finishing in second place.

While there would be no third straight state championship for Weaver, his gritty performance, limping through those final matches, would give his Camden wrestling team enough points to capture the overall state championship.

“One of the best individual efforts I’ve ever seen,” Wilder says.

That’s what champions do. That’s Konlin Weaver.

Valwood senior Emory Hogan loves baseball. Or at least he loves a part of the game of baseball. “I’ve never really enjoyed hitting that much,” Hogan said recently.

There’s a good reason for that. Pitching is what Hogan does, and he’s good at it. He is a GISA All-Region and All-State selection, and as soon as he wraps up his Valwood senior season, Hogan will head to Valdosta State University, where he will continue his baseball career with the Blazers as a preferred walk-on.

“I’m considered a ‘PO,’” Hogan explains. That stands for Pitcher Only, although he does see time on the other end of the battery as an occasional catcher for the Valiants. Hogan said if he does hit, his focus usually is to bunt or try to move runners over some other way.

Hogan says his love for pitching goes back to when he was 9 years old, playing coach-pitch baseball.

“I played the pitcher position, even though I didn’t pitch – the coach did,” he recalls.

The next season would bring live pitching from the players. Hogan says he naturally went to the same spot as the year before, but this time he was the one pitching. He says the art of pitching a baseball just came naturally to him.

“I could throw a curve ball, or at least that’s what the ball did when I threw it, so I could tell right away that this was my thing,” he says.

That knack for being able to pitch has stayed with the tall right-hander. The 6-foot, 2-inch Hogan has been a member of the Valwood baseball team since his freshman season. He’s made 40 total appearances, all of

which have come in the last three seasons. (His ninth-grade year was all but a wash with the Covid-19 virus shortening the Valwood baseball season to a mere three games).

Hogan has continued to improve each season, and according to longtime Valwood head baseball coach Robert “Shippy” Shipman, Hogan has really found his comfort zone as one of the team’s top pitchers.

“Emory initially came to Valwood as a first baseman and pitcher,” Shipman says. “He has now developed into an All-State and All-Region starting pitcher, and he catches for us, too. Emory has 11 wins and 6 losses over the last two years, and he has 66 Ks this year.”

Hogan says that indeed this 2023 season has been a better year for him and the team overall.

“This is the best season I’ve had in my four years here at Valwood,” he says.

Last season, the Valiants finished 10-14 overall, and 3-6 in region play. Their season was over after a 2-1 playoff series loss to Southland Academy. This year, the vibe is completely different with the Valiants at 16-9 overall with one game remaining in the regular season. They have won twice as many region games this season compared to last season, and Hogan says he and his team have achieved some of their goals. But there’s still one or two left.

“Before the season, we made a few goals,” Hogan says. “We wanted to win more games than last year.”

Check that.

“We also wanted to get past the first round of the playoffs.”

Check back on that one.

Shipman says Hogan’s strength’s are both mental and physical: “Emory is a fierce competitor and he doesn’t shrink under pressure. He has worked hard building up his arm strength and durability. He always gives us a chance to win when he is on the mound.”

You can bet the coach will be ready to hand his big right-hander the ball when the playoffs come around.

Valwood Senior Emory Hogan Ready to Make His Best Pitch Yet

Written by: Phil Jones

Photography by: Sean Perry

Former South Georgia High School Coach Josh Crawford Makes the Most of Opportunities as Georgia Tech Receivers Coach

Written by: Phil Jones

Josh Crawford has made the most of his opportunities. From volunteer coach at Greater Atlanta Christian, to coaching at some of Georgia’s top high school football programs, to positions at the college level – including his new role as wide receivers coach at Georgia Tech – Crawford has learned that working hard and making a name for yourself always pays off.

Following his high school coaching career that spanned 10 years from 2010 to 2020, Crawford – who is featured on this week’s episode of our Next Take Georgia podcast – was hired by Tyson Helton at Western Kentucky University to coach receivers.

Now, Crawford’s accomplishments have again been recognized, as new Georgia Tech head football coach Brent Key has hired Crawford to coach Yellow Jackets receivers.

One of Crawford’s earliest opportunities came as a walk-on at Morehouse College, where he played running back for four seasons, from 2004-2007. A few years later, during a visit to Greater Atlanta Christian School to watch his cousin Darius Slayton (who’s now a New York Giants wide receiver) and

Darius’ sister compete in a track meet, a chance encounter set him on the path to a coaching career.

“I wound up in a circle of people talking, and one of those people just happened to be Tim Cokely,” Crawford remembers.

Cokely had just been hired at GAC as their new head football coach. Crawford said he and Cokely began talking, and that led to an invitation from Cokely to join his staff as a volunteer coach in the Spartans football program. Crawford says he knew immediately that coaching was for him. It was what he wanted to do – forever.

“It became obvious to me very quickly that coaching was something I was very passionate about, and I knew right away with everything in my being that this was what I was born to do,” he says.

With this new realization and life’s calling, Crawford began working on getting his teaching certification, and he began coaching full-time on Cokely’s staff at Greater Atlanta Christian.

Crawford credits that turn of events as the springboard to his coaching career.

“I was so fortunate to work for and learn under

a coach who had won so many state championships [Cokely won six state titles while coaching in Florida], and in an environment like the one there at GAC,” Crawford says. “My time with Coach Cokely at GAC really set me up for all of my future coaching stops.”

Those stops include some of Georgia’s most storied and successful high school football programs: Lee County, led by head coach Dean

Fabrizio; Colquitt County and Rush Propst; and Valdosta High, where he was hired as the team’s offensive coordinator on Alan Rodemaker’s staff. Crawford remembers that despite the long-standing history of success at Valdosta, the Wildcats’ more recent performance was not very good.

“When I got to Valdosta, the team was coming off a really bad season,” he says. “I remember the offensive players didn’t

really play with a lot of confidence because of that one bad season, so we as a staff decided that we had to believe in these kids so that they could start believing in themselves.”

In his first season at Valdosta in 2018, Crawford took an offense that had averaged less than 20 points per game the previous season to an explosive unit that put up 38 points per game. The next season, the Wildcats

offense did even better, averaging over 40 points per game. In addition to his duties as the offensive coordinator, Crawford was also the quarterbacks coach, working with Tate Rodemaker. With Crawford as his position coach as well as play caller, Rodemaker became the school’s all-time passing yards leader.

That success at Valdosta, along with his time helping develop championship-caliber offenses, first with Cokely at Greater Atlanta Christian, then at Lee County and Colquitt County, helped shape Josh Crawford’s approach and development as a top assistant coach and communicator. Lee County’s Fabrizio says Crawford was as important as anyone to the Trojans’ success in 2017.

“Josh was a big reason that our team won the state championship in 2017,” Fabrizio says.

Following his second year at Valdosta, opportunity again came knocking, and this would be the opportunity that every high school coach dreams of. Crawford had taken the Valdosta High offensive staff to Western Kentucky University for a professional development retreat. That was when he met Helton, and just as his first meeting with Cokely back at Greater Atlanta Christian had opened the door to coaching, this encounter would open an even bigger door.

Helton wanted Crawford to come join his staff at Western Kentucky. Just as he had done his entire high school career, developing offenses good enough to compete for championships, he would accomplish the same feat with the Hilltoppers, and his work was drawing more attention than ever before.

“I coached four re-

ceivers that had made the Biletnikoff [Award] watch list [named after former Oakland Raiders receiver Fred Biletnikoff and given to the top receiver in college football] and were a part of the leading passing offense in the country for the two years I was there,” Crawford recalls. “I was promoted to co-offensive coordinator after just one year at Western Kentucky, and I was up for some national awards as an assistant coach. There were a lot of good things happening for me.”

Key, the newly named head coach at Georgia Tech, was one of the coaches who took notice of Crawford.

“One day out of the blue, I got a call from Coach Key,” Crawford recalls. “He said he had been seeking a receivers coach to add to his staff, and that every time he asked about someone who would make a good receivers coach, my name kept coming up. I was just so humbled.”

Crawford says that working as a high school assistant coach has helped shape who he is today

“There is no doubt that the 10 years I spent coaching high school football have been very pivotal in my success,” Crawford says. “I was able to cut my teeth while a part of some great high school programs.

“I am blessed to have received this latest opportunity with Georgia Tech,” Crawford adds.

It’s safe to say that Josh Crawford earned every one of them.

Hear more from Josh Crawford on our Next Take Georgia podcast.

4 Questions with Lee County Football Coach Dean Fabrizio

Written by: Phil Jones

Our guest for this week’s Georgia “4 Questions with the Coach” feature is Lee County head football coach Dean Fabrizio, who led the Trojans to back-to-back state titles in 2017 and 2018, and is getting ready to kick off his 15th season as the program’s head man. Fabrizio is credited with bringing the Lee County football program back from the brink when he took over in 2008, and turning it into one of the state’s top football programs in any classification. Lee County has one of the nation’s top-rated weight room facilities, in addition to their stellar on-field program.

We caught up with Coach Fabrizio to ask him about three of the four losses Lee County suffered last year, which were maybe as tough as he had experienced in any season since arriving in Leesburg. We also talk about his success, spring practice, which is right around the corner, and of course, having one of the state’s top running backs as part of his offensive backfield.

Q: Coach Fabrizio, thanks so much for talking with us, as always. Looking back at last year’s season at Lee County, you had another really good year, as the 8-4 record shows. It’s awfully hard to win right games in Georgia’s Class 6A, especially in Region 1-6A. But three of the four losses were games that, looking back, could have gone your way, and could have made for a completely different season. Can you reflect on the losses to Colquitt County, Northside Warner Robins, and Thomas County Central, all games in which your team led?

A: Well, we had an awfully young team last year and a couple of games when the ball just didn’t bounce our way. When you play a schedule as tough as ours, with the great players and coaching we go against, you have to be at your very best week in and week out to do well. My hat’s off to our opponents last year.

Q: OK, enough looking back. Let’s look ahead to the upcoming spring football practice. With very limited time to really do much of anything, how do you approach the 10 days of practice, and what do you hope to accomplish with your team?

A: Spring practice is great for identifying personnel. Our players have been working hard in the weight room all off-season. When you are dealing with 14, 15,16, 17, 18-year-old kids, the difference in a year can be drastic. They come back bigger, stronger and more confident. We use spring to teach the basics, work on fundamentals, and identify our personnel.

Q: I want to ask you about running back Ousmane Kromah. We’ve been watching this young man develop ever since you told us about him as a middle school standout. He was our ITG Next Offensive Player of the Year once again this past season, and he is such a durable and productive running back who seems to have great vision, a trait of the really great backs. Would you say that’s one of his many talents that makes him such a great player?

A: Ousmane was just rated the top RB recruit in the country for the 2025 class. For a big kid, he can stop on a dime. He has excellent vision and is just so strong and hard to bring down. The best thing is that as great of an athlete as he is, he is an even better person. Great student, very humble teammate. His brother Mistafa

played in our 2017 and 2018 championship teams, so he has been coming around since elementary school.

Q: You endured a quarterback change during the season last year, but I think it’s safe to assume that, at least for now, the job is Weston Bryan’s. He assumed the position last season and did an amazing job. Coach Fabrizio, tell us about him, as well as the entire Lee County team and the outlook for 2023.

A: Weston took over for us at quarterback midway through his sophomore season and performed admirably for us. He’s had a great off-season. He was a 215-pound region and sectional wrestling champion and finish second in state. He’s now a starter on the baseball team. We’re expecting big things out of him and Ousmane, both rising juniors, this season. We have several other starters returning on offense, including fullback Damani Cantrell and OL Kyle Green, Angel Fausto, and Erich Fisher. Sophomore OL Jace Molden and Dylan Richardson also saw significant playing time.

We have a lot of experience back on offense, and defensively we return a host of starters and others who saw significant playing time. Up front, Jayden Cory, Nemo McCloid, Leroy Jackson and Dylan Long all started games for us last season. Our top four linebackers return in Jase Angry, Alex Munro, Temeriz Williams, and Justyn Tanksley. The secondary will also be deep and experienced with returning starters Cory McDowell, Devin Collier, Tion Garmon, Jacori White, and Lesiah Jackson.

Photography by: Micki K Photography

Is Sportsmanship Declining in High School Athletics?

Is It Getting Better or Worse? High School Coaches Sound Off.

Written by: Phil Jones

You may remember seeing the video of a Texas high school football player running over an older football official at full speed during a 2021 game. The player was 18-year-old Emmanuel Duron and the referee was 56-year-old Fred Gracia. The incident occurred in an era when sportsmanship in high school athletics is increasingly under scrutiny, and everything about it was awful.

The ugly scene occurred after play had stopped. Duron had just been ejected after having been penalized three times on the same play. He had left the field and was on the sideline when something inside the 6-foot, 250-pound standout defensive end snapped. He left the sideline and ran back onto the field, with Gracia as his target. In a fit of rage, the Edinburg High School player ran into and over Gracia. The impact lifted the much smaller official off his feet and back down onto the playing field.

High school football fans are accustomed to seeing players running full speed into each other, but this was completely different. For one, the site of a large human slamming into a smaller, lighter, and mostly defenseless person was sickening enough. But to see a high school student-athlete doing that to a game official made it incomprehensible. This was not something any of us as fans, media, or even participants would ever expect to see during the course of a high school sporting event, not even at a football game where the name of the game, fair or not, is all about controlled violence.

Fortunately, Gracia was not severely injured, although he reportedly has not returned to officiating. Duron was initially charged with misdemeanor assault for the hit on Gracia. The case has not yet been settled or gone to court.

Thankfully, occurrences like this are few and far between. But, it underscores the overall state of sportsmanship in high school athletics. No, there are not many physical altercations reported at high school or youth athletic events in the United States, but there is still a question of sportsmanship, or lack thereof, that’s always present.

You can see it between fans and game officials, and sometimes between players and game officials, although nothing like what we saw in Texas in 2021.

We asked several game officials and coaches to offer their opinion on the current state of sportsmanship in Georgia high school athletics. Their responses follow below, and you can hear more on our Next Take Georgia podcast.

Bart Shuman, Valdosta High Baseball Coach

Shuman is a longtime baseball coach in Georgia. He has served as the head coach at Valdosta High during two separate stints, as well as at Brooks County High. Here’s what Shuman had to say about sportsmanship in high school athletics:

“I’ve always thought a team’s behavior and sportsmanship is a reflection on the head coach and the staff. Kids are gonna be kids. It’s the adults and coaches who need to instill and require discipline in their programs. Coaches who require everyone in the program to ‘do right’ are usually the ones who play the game with respect and sportsmanship. We as coaches and leaders need to all teach our student-athletes sportsmanship, as well as proper discipline.”

Franklin DeLoach, East Coweta Baseball and Softball Coach

“My mind goes in a lot of different directions when I think about sportsmanship. I think in some regards it’s better, and then in some areas, it needs improving. Some of the etiquette in baseball, for example, is where I can probably best offer my opinion. I’ll give you a couple of examples: You don’t bunt for a hit on a team when you have a big lead on a team, and you don’t steal bases when you have a big lead, either. I think those are a couple of examples where I’ve seen things have gotten worse. In football, you see teams throwing the ball on teams even when they have a big lead. That’s another thing I’ve noticed has probably gotten worse.

“Now, almost every school has a game administrator present on site, and for years you didn’t have to have that, but now you do. That’s come mainly from the stands, and that’s mainly from baseball and softball. In those sports, the fans are right on top of you, and the players and coaches are within earshot. You would have fans about to fight each other, and fans heckling players and coaches. That’s when you begin to see more and more schools use an onsite game administrator. I applaud GHSA for

Photography by: Grayson Lewis (Valdosta baseball photos)

their proactiveness with sportsmanship. They have helped tremendously.

“I think the coaches help things a whole lot when it comes to promoting sportsmanship.”

Mike Gammons, High School Football Referee and Official

Mike is with the South Georgia Officials Association. He will take the field for his 30th season next fall. Here’s what he had to say about sportsmanship from the officials’ perspective:

“If teams lose, we are the first ones to get the blame. There are a lot of spoiled adults who are not making a very good impression on the kids. The players are seeing the pros and even college players misbehave, and they think that is acceptable. They see the pros dance and they think they can do that after scoring a TD, but they forget in high school that’s an unsportsmanlike penalty, and If a player gets two unsportsmanlike penalties, they are kicked out of the game.”

High School Football Coach (Anonymous)

One high school head football coach we spoke with asked not to be identified. He doesn’t think there necessarily has been an increase in bad sportsmanship, but he does think that social media has allowed bad sportsmanship to be captured and showed over and over, giving the perception that it’s worse now than ever. He also acknowledged that poor sportsmanship from players is indeed on the rise.

“I think coaches have always been yelling at officials, and fans have been yelling at coaches and officials, but I don’t really think that part of it is any worse now than it was 25 years ago. I think social media has a lot to do with bad sportsmanship, too. Players and fans go on social media and start trash talking with each other, and that trickles over to the games.

“I will admit that the players are worse now than ever before. I think players showboat a lot more than they ever have, and that’s troublesome.”

Be sure to listen to the entire episode of Next Take Georgia here.