Kevin Eckleberry

LHS REUNION

LaGrange High has one of the richest and winningest football programs in the state, and it has the championship trophies to prove it.

During a game earlier this season, three of LaGrange’s state-championship teams were recognized since they’re celebrating anniversaries this year.

LaGrange’s first state championship came 100 years ago in 1921, when head coach Bernie Moore led the team to a title.

Moore was LaGrange’s head coach for three seasons, and he had an 185-2 record from 1919 to 1921. Also, this is the 30th anniversary of arguably the finest team in LaGrange history.

In 1991, while playing in what was at the time the state’s largest classification, LaGrange went 15-0 and beat Colquitt County 17-16 to capture the Class AAAA championship.

During that playoff run, LaGrange beat state powerhouses Statesboro, Valdosta, McEachern and Colquitt County.

The win over Valdosta was particularly noteworthy.

At the time, Valdosta was Georgia’s dominant program, and it won state championships in 1989, 1990 and 1992.

The 6-0 loss to LaGrange in the second round in 1991, in fact, was Valdosta’s only loss from 1990 to 1992.

LaGrange beat McEachern 21-14 in another classic game in the semifinals before outlasting Colquitt County.

LaGrange trailed Colquitt County 16-14 late in the fourth quarter when Walt Harris, a future NFL star, intercepted a pass, and quarterback Rodney Hudson led the team on an 83-yard drive that ended with a 24yard field goal by Scott Simmons with 13 seconds left. Two years ago, Maxpreps.com put together a list of the top 50 highschool football games of all time, and LaGrange’s win over Colquitt County came in at number 20.

After that game, LaGrange was named the country’s number one team by USA Today.

That team was led by Gary Guthrie, LaGrange’s head coach from 1984 to 1993, and he had an 89-31 record during that time.

Guthrie was replaced by Steve Pardue, who led LaGrange to a state championship in 2001, and that team is celebrating its 20-year anniversary.

After going 11-1 in 2000 with a loss to Swainsboro in the second round of the playoffs, LaGrange posted a 14-0 record in 2001, and it beat Cedartown 22-19 in a memorable championship game. Just as the 1991 team did, LaGrange had to come from behind in the fourth quarter to win the title.

With less than a minute left in the game, Blake Mitchell threw a touchdown pass to Patrick Higgins, and LaGrange had the championship.

LaGrange went on to capture state championships in 2003 and 2004 under Pardue, who had a 161-45 record from 1994 to 2010.

LaGrange also won state championships in 1955 and 1958 under legendary coach Oliver Hunnicutt.

Six of LaGrange’s state titles came after the Georgia High School Association was formed in 1948.

LaGrange also claimed state titles in 1921, 1924, 1925, 1926 and 1930.

Photo: Kevin Eckleberry

TROUP FOOTBALL

By Kevin Eckleberry

He was ready for the moment.

When Troup quarterback Taeo Todd went down with an injury in a week two game against Callaway, senior Tyson Duncan was asked to step in and fill that void.

Although Troup lost to Callaway, Duncan showed what he was capable of when he threw a fourth-quarter scoring pass to Dwartney Wortham for his team’s lone touchdown.

“When (Todd) went down in the Callaway game, I had to get my mind right,” Duncan said. “I’ve been ready for three years to do this.”

The following week against Hardaway, with Todd still unavailable, Duncan was back at quarterback for a critical Region 2-AAAA game.

It wasn’t looking good early, with Hardaway surging to a 28-3 lead in the first half, but with Duncan leading the way, Troup staged a furious comeback and eventually won 41-34 in overtime.

Duncan delivered a clutch and winning performance, not only throwing for 108 yards with a touchdown, but he also ran for 119 yards with a touchdown.

When the Tigers needed a play, Duncan was often the man to provide it, and it was a shining moment for a senior who has meant so much to the program over the years.

“It’s definitely my highlight,” Duncan said in the Troup indoor facility after that memorable game.

Duncan remained at quarterback the next two games, and when Todd returned, he became a full-time linebacker, helping anchor a strong defense.

Whatever Duncan accomplishes, it’s unlikely he’ll do anything to top that memorable night in Columbus when he helped Troup stage a remarkable comeback against Hardaway.

Duncan not only played the whole game at quarterback against Hardaway, but because of injuries on defense, he also started at linebacker and was on the field for nearly every snap.

“The deal is this, the joker is just a gamer,” Glisson said. “He can be on my team any day of the week and twice on Sunday. He’s a player. He does anything we ask him to do. He played linebacker and quarterback (against Hardaway). He had to. We had so many people going down. He gave me that look about the third quarter when we had momentum. He didn’t say it, but we made eye contact, and it was like hey we’ve got this, we’re going to win this thing, and I had 100 percent confident in him.” Duncan had a 12-yard touchdown run in the second quarter to help spur the comeback, and he threw a 52-yard scoring pass to Noah Dixon in the third quarter.

In overtime, Duncan completed a third-down pass to Dwartney Wortham for a first down, and TJ Mitchell scored on a 1-yard-run on the next play to lift Troup to the win.

“That’s the best performance he’s ever had,” said Wortham, Troup’s outstanding senior wide receiver. “He’s got one of the biggest hearts on the team.”

When the Tigers fell behind by 25 points in the first half, Duncan knew it was important to focus on small things instead of trying to wipe out the deficit all at once.

“You get down that much, you have little victories in order to stay up,” Glisson said. “It gets hard on you when you’re down that much. You just have to take it one play at a time.”

Duncan stayed positive, as did his teammates, despite the gloomy outlook in the first half.

“It’s hard coming back from what we came back from,” Duncan said. “We’ve got really good character, and that’s what won us the game. We didn’t get down on ourselves.” “All week, we were really consistent, and we’ve got a really good bond now,” Wortham said. “We think alike”

Photo :Kevin Eckleberry

While there are plenty of reasons Troup rallied to beat Hardaway, the importance of Duncan’s performance can’t be overstated.

“He’s done everything we’ve asked him to do,” Glisson said. “He’s a great kid, and he’s going to do great things in life, and I couldn’t be more proud. It’s a great moment, and it’s something he’ll talk about, and his teammates will talk about 30 years from now.”

IRVIN’S BIG NIGHT: It was a memorable night for Troup senior defensive back Kullum Irvin.

During a 38-0 home win over Spencer on Sept. 17, Irvin not only did his part defensively, but at halftime, he was crowned homecoming king.

Irvin is putting the finishing touches on what has been an extremely successful high-school athletic career. While he has been a standout in football and a multi-year starter, he’s also an elite wrestler who has placed at the state meet and will be a favorite to win a championship this season.

On the football field, Irvin is a critical player on a defense that has a lot of players in the early stages of their playing careers.

More than half of the defensive starters are sophomores, which makes the presence of seniors Irvin, Tay Shells and Nazir Easter and others so important. There have been times where the inexperience on defense has been evident, but Irvin has made sure to let his teammates know that failure comes with the territory.

“You see them fail, but they take it, and they learn,” Irvin said.

During his time on the football program, Irvin has been a part of four state-playoff teams, and that include the 2018 team that went 12-2 and reached the state semifinals.

This team, despite all the inexperience, has produced another winning season that includes an appearance in the state playoffs.

“Words can’t explain how proud I am of my team,” Irvin said. “There’s a lot that goes on every day, and we’ve got to overcome it, and we have. I love our team. I love the fight in our team.”

WORTHAM COMES THROUGH: Another senior who has been a key member of the team is Dwartney Wortham, and he had his finest night as a wide receiver during a 37-0 win over Shaw.

Wortham had a career-best three touchdown receptions while catching nine passes for 153 yards.

Wortham and sophomore quarterback Taeo Todd have worked hard on their connection during practice, and it paid off against Shaw.

He’s got one of the biggest hearts on the team.”

Tanner Glisson

By Kevin Eckleberry

During the 2015 season, Tanner Glisson wasn’t thinking about setting records, he was more focused on professional survival.

That was a challenging time for Glisson, who was in his first season as the head coach of Troup High’s football team. Gatorade bath, and some of the players lifted him on their shoulders in celebration.

For his part, Glisson wanted to make sure the focus was on the players that night, most notably the seniors who were recognized before the game.

The Tigers lost their first nine games, and only a victory on the final night of the regular season allowed them to avoid a winless season.

Fortunately for Glisson, and the program, that wasn’t a sign of things to come. “It’s all about them,” Glisson said. “One day when I’m sitting on the beach I may reflect on a record. Tonight, it was about our seniors, about the kids. I can’t say enough great things about our senior class, and the culture that we have. I’m blessed to be their football coach.”

The Tigers enjoyed one of the biggest turnarounds in the state in 2016 while winning eight games, and they’ve continued to thrive since then. One of the seniors who was honored, wide receiver Dwartney Wortham, was happy to be a part of the team that helped Glisson secure the record.

When Troup beat Shaw 37-0 on Oct. 7, Glisson became the all-time winningest coach in the history of Troup’s football program.

That win gave Glisson a 48-28 record at Troup, and he broke a tie with Steve James, who was 47-32 from 1983 to 1989.

When the clock hit zero and Troup had the win over Shaw, Glisson received a “It’s so special to us,” Wortham said. “Coach G is like a second father to us. We love coach G so much. We wouldn’t trade him for anything.”

Glisson came to Troup after spending two seasons as the head coach at Manchester High, where he had a 10-11 record.

Glisson’s tenure at Troup got off to a rough start, with the team struggling to a 1-9 record in 2015.

The Tigers enjoyed a remarkable turnaround in 2016 when they went 8-3, and they improved to 9-3 in 2017 and won a playoff game.

The 2018 season was the finest in the history of the program, with the Tigers going 12-2 and reaching the state semifinals for the first time since 2001 and the second time ever.

The Tigers went 6-5 in each of the past two seasons, and they’ve enjoyed another winning season this year while qualifying for the state playoffs for the sixth straight year.

Glisson would not have ended up at Troup if Shawn Sutton hadn’t had a change of heart.

Sutton was hired as Troup’s head coach in February of 2015, but less than two months later, he re-signed, and the search began anew.

Glisson had been previously contacted about the Troup job, but at the time he didn’t feel the timing was right. The second time around, Glisson decided to make the leap.

“That was about the time that I realized that God had a big hand in it. It was really meant to be,” Glisson said during the memorable 2018 season. “They seemed like they were excited to have a coach like coach Sutton, and all of the sudden for whatever reason he’s gone. So, then I got the call again, and it was like I better listen. And once I was able to come over and interview and see some things, I fell in love with the place.”

Glisson’s success hasn’t been limited to football.

Last year, Glisson took over the baseball program, and he led Troup to a region championship, a program-record 29 wins, and a spot in the third round of the state playoffs.

Glisson was a prep football and baseball standout at Manchester High, and he was the quarterback for a team that played for a state championship.

After graduating from Columbus State, Glisson began his coaching career at Manchester, and he then had stints as an assistant coach at Greenville and Shaw.

Glisson returned to Manchester in 2005, and he took over the program in 2013 when Greg Oglesby retired.

Wherever he’s been, and whatever position he has held, Glisson has been committed to coaching players hard, but also making sure they understand he cares about them and wants them to be the best they can be.

“I can remember being a player, and I’m sure it wasn’t done intentionally, but nobody wants to be embarrassed,” Glisson said. “You want to teach kids life lessons and things, but you want to berate them and really embarrass them. I wouldn’t do that to my kids. So hopefully we teach lessons, we’re firm when we need to be firm, we’re uplifting when we need to be uplifting, but it’s just a pleasure being around kids and trying to help make those kids good adults.”

Photo :Kevin Eckleberry

Coach G is like a second father to us. We love coach G so much. We wouldn’t trade him for anything.”