Kenneth Harrison
New Sting Operation
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Recently, Georgia Tech fired men’s basketball head coach Damon Stoudamire
. When he was hired in 2023, I thought it was a great move. He’s a former NBA player and I thought that would lead to getting better recruits at Tech.
A 12-game losing streak to close the season left Georgia Tech with an 11-20 record and a last-place 2-16 mark in the ACC. Stoudamire went 42-55 over three seasons with the Yellow Jackets.
According to Stoudamire’s contract, Georgia Tech is set to owe him $2.6 million over the next two years, a number that is subject to offset if he takes another job.
Athletic director Ryan Alpert was hired in July from Tennessee. He’s in his first-year in Atlanta and he needs to make a move to save this program from becoming irrelevant. Tech has made just one NCAA tournament appearance since 2010.
“On behalf of Georgia Tech, I want to thank Damon for his commitment to the Institute, our men’s basketball program and, most importantly, our student-athletes,” Alpert said in a statement released by the school. “He is highly respected and admired throughout the Georgia Tech community and has been a strong representative of the Institute. We wish him the very best.”
Scott Cross was hired as the new head coach over the weekend. He was the head coach at Troy for seven seasons (2019-26) and he also served as the head coach at Texas-Arlington for 12 years (2006-2018).
Cross has won seven conference championships and 350 games in 19 seasons as a head coach – including five-straight 20-win seasons and back-to-back Sun Belt Conference regular-season and tournament titles at Troy.
“Coach Cross is a proven winner with 350 career victories and seven conference championships on his resume,” Alpert said in a statement. “His combination of experience, success and development of student-athletes, both on and off the court, makes him the perfect person to carry on the proud tradition of Georgia Tech men’s basketball. He is a great fit for our program, the Institute and the Georgia Tech and Atlanta communities.”
Tech deputy executive AD Brent Jones, who came to Tech from Troy, where he served as AD — made him the prime candidate for Alpert.
Cross has shown that he can take over a struggling program and turn them into winners. He has also excelled at developing players. He’s coached three conference players of the year (2025 – Troy’s Tayton Conerway, 2017 – UTA’s Kevin Hervey, 2010 – UTA’s Marquez Haynes) and 25 players that have earned all-conference honors in his 19 seasons as a head coach, including 12 first-team selections. The total includes four first-team all-Sun Belt honorees and six total all-conference selections in his seven seasons at Troy.
When he was hired at Troy, he took over a program that had finished with a losing record in eight of the previous nine seasons and had been to the NCAA Tournament twice since moving up to Division I in 1993.
Tech is currently the worst team in the ACC, so there’s nowhere to go but up.
Owl Madness
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The Kennesaw State Owls men’s basketball team punched their ticket to the NCAA Tournament.
They won the Conference USA championship on Saturday, March 14th. KSU (21-13) was the No. 6 seed and they beat No. 4 Louisiana Tech (20-14), 71-60 to claim their first-ever Conference USA title.
The Owls beat No. 3 Western Kentucky and No. 2 Sam Houston to advance to the championship game. They were 10-10 in conference play during the regular season, so this was very surprising.
KSU played their best defensive game of the season against LA Tech, holding them to under 27% from the floor.
The Bulldogs were held to 22-of-72 (26.3%) for the night from the field, and 9-of-37 in the second half for 24.3%. KSU’s defense was even better on the outside, as the Bulldogs made just 2-of-28 (7.1%) from three-point range.
Senior guard Jaden Harris finished with a game-high 18 points on 5-of-9 shooting, including 4-of-6 from three-point range, double the number of made threes that LA Tech had as an entire team.
Freshman forward Amir Taylor had 17 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals and 1 block. Sophomore guard RJ Johnson scored 13 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals. Johnson was named the Tournament MVP after his third-straight double-figure scoring game in the tournament
“We played a tough, gritty competitive team in LA Tech. Talvin Hester is one of the best coaches in this league. He does a tremendous job, and we talked before the tournament and said, hey, we hope we meet each other in the championship, and we knew if we met each other, it was going to be a battle, and today was it. I thought we guarded these dudes really well. Defense and rebounding is what carries you in March. We were able to hold their two guards, [DJ] Dudley and [AJ] Bates, to, I think, 0-15 from three. And we knew that was going to be a tremendous challenge, because they are really, really dynamic players, and they go as they go. Our guys stood up to the challenge, and we were able to win the game. A great, great victory for our university, for our community, for our students. And how about our fans? I mean, we painted this place black and gold, man. Kennesaw showed up in a major way,” KSU head coach Antoine Pettway said after the game.
“Truly blessed and truly thankful I get to live out a dream and coach young men like these two sitting up here every single day. We going to keep going, man. We got practice at home on Monday, and we’re getting ready to go play in the NCAA tournament. God is so good. God is so good. This is what we prayed for, this is what we dreamed about.”
This was Kennesaw State’s second-ever trip to March Madness in the school’s Division I era, and first since the 2023-24 season.
They were selected as the No. 14 seed in the West Region. They played the No. 3 Gonzaga Bulldogs (30-3) at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon, about 350 miles away from Gonzaga’s campus in Spokane, Washington. This is Gonzaga’s 27th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance and 28th overall.
Kennesaw State built an early lead on the Bulldogs but Gonzaga ended the first half on a 10-0 run to head into the locker room with a six point advantage.
Gonzaga would build a double digit lead in the second half and stage off a late comeback attempt by the Owls to eliminate KSU in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, 73-64.
Tua To The Rescue?
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
There’s a famous phrase; one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.
How does that relate to NFL free agency you may ask? Well, the Atlanta Falcons have signed quarterback Tua Tagovailoa to a one-year deal. I think this is a terrible move but I understand it.
Releasing Tua will cost the Dolphins an NFL-record $99.2 million in dead money against the salary cap. That’s an absurd amount of money to get rid of a player.
He struggled last season, passing for 2,660 yards, 20 touchdowns and 15 interceptions in fourteen games. He averaged 6.9 yards per attempt.
I’m not sure if that can be blamed on being on a bad team or just poor play from Tagovailoa.
This move does show Atlanta is invested in Michael Penix Jr. Penix tore his ACL in November so I don’t believe he will play next season.
Prior to his injury, Penix was inconsistent. He was only a second-year player but I did hope the Falcons would sign a QB to replace him.
At times Tua has shown flashes of being a good player. He is also very prone to injury. He did make the Pro Bowl in 2023 after throwing for 4,624 yards, 29 touchdowns and 14 picks. This was also the only season that he did not miss a game.
In 2024 he missed six games due to concussions. At that point, I thought he should have retired from football.
Tagovailoa is only 28 years old so he does have time to get better in his career. I believe he should be compared to the backup QB options on the market. From a financial standpoint, this was a great move.
The Dolphins still owe Tagovailoa $54 million. He plans to sign with the Falcons for just over the league minimum, reportedly about $1.3 million. That’s a great price for a good, veteran backup.
A good veteran backup QB salary is about $5 million. The Falcons could have spent more to sign guys like Joe Flacco, Russell Wilson, Tyrod Taylor and Jimmy Garoppolo. The only advantage I give them over Tua is injury history.
Money is an important consideration for the Falcons. They will only have about $20 million to spend under the salary cap once Cousins is officially released.
Signing a veteran backup QB for cheap means more money available to spend on free agents at other positions.
I wanted Atlanta to sign Kyler Murray but that would mean signing him to a longer contract. That move would also end Penix’s time in Atlanta.
The Falcons have a talented roster but I think it will get wasted again next year. I’m not a fan of hiring Kevin Stefanski as head coach, then adding Tagovailoa as the QB is the cherry on top.
They also don’t have a first-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft because they traded it last year to move up and select DE James Pearce. He has some recent off-field legal problems so he might not be on the team this upcoming season.
Falcons Failing Offseasons
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The Atlanta Falcons have made a couple of big personnel decisions before the new league year begins on March 11th.
“The Falcons will release Kirk Cousins before the start of the league year, when his $67.9 million salary would become fully guaranteed under the terms of his reworked contract,” Dan Graziano writes. “Atlanta has to pay Cousins a $10 million roster bonus this year, whether he’s on the team or not, but it does not appear to be interested in bringing back Cousins.”
Atlanta signed Cousins in the 2024 offseason to a four-year, $180 million deal. I’m sure he expected to finish his career in Atlanta. Shortly after, however, the team drafted Michael Penix Jr. in the first round at No. 8 overall. At that point he never had stability in his position.
Cousins was benched for Penix toward the end of the 2024 season. His play did warrant that move because he was not moving the offense effectively. Then head coach Raheem Morris named Penix the starter heading into 2025 after just three starts, without holding a real quarterback competition during the offseason.
We have to grade the signing of Cousins as an F. Atlanta thought they only needed a quarterback to become a playoff contender, which is why they signed him. He did not lead them to the playoffs and now he’s gone after being there for less than two years.
The Falcons have also placed the franchise tag on tight end Kyle Pitts. General manager Ian Cunningham said it is the “right move” for the organization “right now.”
Per the general manager, the franchise tag is a way to “use the mechanisms provided by the league” — especially considering Cunningham just got to Atlanta, having been hired on Jan. 29 — to allow the team time to fully evaluate what they want for the future of Pitts and the position in Atlanta and how it relates to their roster construction.
“We’re not in the business of letting go really good players,” Cunningham said.
Pitts, who played on his fifth-year option in 2025, is coming off one of his most productive seasons. His yardage total ranked second only to his record-breaking rookie season after being selected No. 4 overall in the 2021 NFL Draft. He had 88 catches, 928 yards and 5 touchdowns last season.
He has been an inconsistent player thus far. He disappears in some games and he’s too talented for that to happen. I do want to point out that having a thousand-yard season is not as impressive as it sounds. In seventeen games getting to one thousand yards means a player averages 58.8 yards per game.
Pitts had 1,026 receiving yards, 68 receptions and 1 touchdown as a rookie. He dealt with injuries in 2022 and only played in ten games. He had 28 catches, 356 yards and 2 touchdowns. In 2023 he had 667 yards and in 2024 he had 602 yards.
As you can see, there’s a reason to be concerned about signing him to a long-term deal. We will have to see if he will have another big season in 2026.
New To North Avenue
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
We are going to take a look at Georgia Tech’s football recruiting for 2026.
The Yellow Jackets have the 29th ranked transfer portal recruiting class. They have a total of 19 commits with 3 four-star players and 16 three-star players.
On the surface that doesn’t sound very impressive. The four schools ranked in front of them are Oregon, USC, Florida State and Florida. By comparison, they are not far off from some major programs.
Four-star junior running back Justice Haynes transfers in from Michigan. Haynes attended Buford (GA) High School and he initially went to Alabama. He transferred to Michigan in December 2024. Last season he rushed for 857 yards, 10 touchdowns and he averaged 7.1 yards per carry. This is a major addition for the offense.
Quarterback Alberto Mendoza (Indiana) has also transferred to Tech. His older brother Fernando won the Heisman Trophy last season and led the Hoosiers to the national championship. If he can play like his brother the Yellow Jackets will have a great season.
Four-star linebacker/edge rusher Noah Carter (Alabama) is also on campus. He was a top-100 player nationally in the 2024 recruiting class. In 2025 he played in 11 games for the Crimson Tide and recorded 9 tackles and a half tackle for loss. He’s 6’4, 242 pounds so he passes the eye test for being a big time LB. Hopefully he can develop into that.
Four-star WR Jaylen Mbakwe (Alabama) can play a few positions. In 2024 he was a DB for Alabama and he had 15 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 interception and 2 pass break ups. He also had two punt returns for a combined 46 yards and a 15-yard kickoff return. He switched to wide receiver before the 2024 bowl game. In 2025 he had three catches for 55 yards and one rush for a four-yard gain.
Wide receiver Isiah Fuhrmann (Elon) played great last season. He had 46 receptions, 907 yards, 9 TD’s and 19.7 yards per catch. He did play for an FCS team but we have seen players from lower divisions excel for Power Four teams.
Some of the other key players in the class include WR Jaiven Plummer (Cal), TE Spencer Mermans (Yale), DL Tim Griffin (Cincinnati), IOL Joseph Ionata (Alabama), Edge Jordan Walker (Rutgers), Edge Taje McCoy (Oklahoma State), DL Vincent Carroll-Jackson (U Conn), CB Jonas Duclona (South Florida), DL Tawfiq Thomas (Colorado), OT Favour Edwin (Auburn), P Alex Bacchetta (Rice), OT Markell Samuel (Oklahoma State), TE Gavin Harris (New Mexico State) and TE Chris Corbo (Dartmouth).
Tech has 18 outgoing transfers so they did a good job of replacing some of that talent.
The Yellow Jackets are ranked 41st in the 2026 high school recruiting rankings. They add 24 commits with 3 four-star players and 21 three-star players.
Four-star QB Cole Bergeron attended St. Thomas More in Lafayette, Louisiana. He’s 6’4, 215 lbs. and as a senior he passed for 2,346 yards and 27 scores over nine games. He was the No. 12 player in Louisiana and the No. 20 quarterback nationally. He initially committed to Virginia Tech.
Four-star CB Jaedyn Terry attended Manchester High School in Warm Springs, GA. He was ranked as the No. 21 player in the state of GA and he’s a four-sport athlete.
We will see how the new talent will mesh during the spring.
Bad Bees
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Georgia Tech used to be one of the better Men’s basketball programs in the ACC in the 80’s and 90’s. They were still pretty good in the early 2000’s. They advanced to the Final Four in 2004 and played in the national championship game. They have been pretty inconsistent since then.
The Yellow Jackets hired former NBA player Damon Stoudamire as head coach in March of 2023. He was a consensus first-team All-American in 1995 when he played for Arizona.
Stoudamire was the seventh pick by the Toronto Raptors in the legendary 1996 NBA Draft. He was also named NBA Rookie of the Year.
His resume as a player is impressive. As a coach, not so much. He was the head coach at University of the Pacific from 2016-2021. His overall record was 71-77. In his five seasons with the Tigers, he had one winning season.
I’m not sure why Tech hired him with that as his only head coaching experience. His record since taking over in Atlanta is 42-48.
In the 2023-24 season, they finished 14-18. They did show some promise that first year by beating Duke and North Carolina, who were both ranked in the top ten.
Last season they finished 17-17. Not great but the team did improve. They are currently 11-13 and 2-9 in ACC play. Tech is currently on a five-game losing streak and they have not won a game since January 17th.
They played their last two games on the road against Cal and Stanford. Isn’t it ridiculous that those are conference games?
They lost 95-72 against the Cardinal, who ended their five-game losing streak. Ebuka Okorie scored a career high 40 points to lead Stanford.
Freshman guard Akai Fleming lead the Yellow Jackets with 19 points. This was his 12th game in double-figures.
Coach Stoudamire spoke about struggling in the second half.
“I just didn’t think we executed well on either end of the floor in the second half. Defensively, we didn’t do a good job of containing (Ebuka) Okorie. We know he’s the best player on the floor. So, you’ve got to account for him. We didn’t do a great job on that end, and it makes it hard when he hits three as well. He made free throws as well. He is great at drawing fouls, and he did that all game long. He just put so much pressure on us. Again, it was just the most disappointing thing about us on the defensive end was that we did not do a good job of containing him and giving the ball handler cushion to know where his help was. These are things that, you know, you go over, and you know, we didn’t have any game carryover in the second half. In terms of, you know, our shooting, you know, it speaks for itself. We shot 51 in the first half. and we shot 35 in the second, you know, so that’s a recipe for disaster when you can’t get stops, you know, then you’re not shooting the ball well.”
There are seven regular season games left, The remaining games are Wake Forest, at Notre Dame, #18 Virginia, at #24 Louisville, Florida State, Cal and at #20 Clemson.
Ian Cunningham’s Task
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The Atlanta Falcons recently hired Ian Cunningham as the new General Manager.
He was the Assistant General Manager for the Chicago Bears from 2022-25. As you know, the Bears won the NFC North title in 2025. He will report directly to Matt Ryan, the team’s president of football.
“It was evident through our rigorous interview process Ian was the right choice for our general manager position,’ said Ryan. “His vision for our team and organization aligned exactly with the type of leader we were seeking to help take the Falcons to the next level. Throughout Ian’s career, including Super Bowl championships in Baltimore and Philadelphia, Ian has demonstrated the drive and focus it takes to build championship contenders and put them in the position to win games. We love his broad and deep experience across every aspect of talent evaluation and know he’s learned from some of the best in the league. Pairing him with Coach Stefanski is exciting for us, and we can’t wait to see them bring our shared vision to life in everything we do starting right now.”
Cunningham will have to hit the ground running in his new position. He will have just over five weeks before the start of the new NFL business year at 4 p.m. March 11 and several major decisions to make, working with Ryan and Head Coach Kevin Stefanski.
He’ll have more money to spend with the new NFL salary cap projected to be between $301.2 and $305.7 million, up from $279.2 million last year.
One big question is what will the team do with quarterback Kirk Cousins. He might be released and allowed to test the open market.
If he does not find a suitor he might return to Atlanta. Stefanski was his coordinator in Minnesota so that might be appealing to Cousins.
“It’s been incredible to build a relationship with (president of football) Matt (Ryan) over the last several weeks and to have an immediate connection with (coach) Kevin (Stefanski).” Cunningham said in a statement released by the team Thursday night announcing his hire.
“I can’t wait to work with both of these great football minds to put a team on the field everyone will be very excited about. … It’s time to work.”
Bears General Manager Ryan Poles was happy for his former colleague, who was the assistant GM with the Bears when the Falcons hired him.
“I couldn’t be happier for him,” Poles said. “He’s ready. He’s prepared. I know it’s been a tough interview cycle over these last few years. I know he’s gotten his hopes up but as I always told him, when the right opportunity presents itself, he’d be able to close it up and get that job.”
During his time in Chicago as Assistant General Manager, four players acquired earned three All-Pro honors and four Pro Bowl selections in Kevin Byard, Drew Dalman, Montez Sweat and Joe Thuney.
The 2025 Chicago offense finished sixth in the NFL in total offense with 13 of 15 players who played at least 400 snaps acquired during Cunningham’s tenure.
The franchise tag window opens February 17 and runs through March 3. The NFL Scouting Combine is set for Febuary 23 through March 2 in Indianapolis.
It will be interesting to see what they will do with Tight End Kyle Pitts. They will have time to work out a contract extension before the franchise tag period begins.
The NFL draft will be held April 23-25 in Pittsburgh. On paper this seems like a good hire but I want to see what will be done in free agency and the draft.
The Wrong Guy
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
I’m from Atlanta so I might be too close to this situation.
I’ve always been a Falcons fan and I’ve always felt they would not win a Super Bowl in my lifetime. Their doing a great job proving me right, in my humble opinion.
As you know, Atlanta fired the Head Coach and General Manager after the season ended. That was a great move, if they hire the right people to replace them.
They finished 8-9 and missed the playoffs for the eighth consecutive year. Then, they hired Matt Ryan as the team’s first-ever President of Football. He’s now the leader for hiring the new GM and Head Coach.
As you probably already know, Atlanta hired Kevin Stefanski as the new head coach.
Stefanski, 43, was the head coach of the Cleveland Browns from 2020-25, leading them to the playoffs after the ’20 and ’23 seasons.
He was named coach of the year in each of those playoff seasons. He previously served as the offensive coordinator for 14 seasons with the Minnesota Vikings, where he worked with Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins in 2018-19.
I have to point out that the Browns finished 5-12 this past season and 3-14 in 2024.
In his six years in Cleveland, he had winning seasons twice. His overall record was 45-56. I’m not a huge fan of hiring coaches that were unsuccessful in their previous position.
I’m not sure why Atlanta rushed to hire Stefanski. Buffalo just fired Sean McDermott after they lost in the divisional round of the playoffs.
The Bills were 12-5 this season and 13-4 in 2024. In McDermott’s nine seasons in Buffalo, they went to the playoffs eight times. They won their division five consecutive times and his record is 98-50. I believe he would have been a much better hire.
“We’re thrilled to land a lead-by-example leader in Kevin Stefanski who brings a clear vision for his staff, our team and a closely aligned focus on building this team on fundamentals, toughness and active collaboration with every area of the football operation,” Matt Ryan, Falcons president of football, said in a team statement.
“Coach Stefanski is a team-first leader who puts a premium on accountability for everyone and a player-driven culture. His experience in Cleveland and Minnesota has given him a great understanding of the importance of working in sync with scouting, personnel and the rest of the football staff to maximize talent across the roster and in doing everything possible to put our players in the best position to succeed.”
“Kevin’s style of leadership, combined with the staff and infrastructure in place here in Atlanta, gives us confidence in our shared vision for the team and we are excited to have him as the leader of our football team.”
Ryan has to make this sound like he did a great job by hiring him. I grade this coaching hire as an F. I’ll revisit this in a couple of years and I can admit if I’m wrong.
One obvious weakness Atlanta has is quarterback. Starter Michael Penix Jr. tore his ACL in Week 11. I believe he will miss all of next season. This is his third ACL tear because he suffered the same injury in 2018 and 2020 when he was at Indiana.
He was inconsistent before the injury and now we do not know if he will be the same player when he returns.
The other option is Kirk Cousins and he will turn 38 before the season. He also has not played well since coming to Atlanta. Atlanta still has to hire a general manager.
Falcons Changing Flight Path
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The NFL regular season has ended and as expected, several coaches were fired.
The Atlanta Falcons fired General Manager Terry Fontenot and head coach Raheem Morris. I love that move because I think the GM should be removed with the head coach when a team wants to move in a different direction.
Atlanta made an interesting move after this by hiring Matt Ryan as their president of football. He’s a former great player for the Falcons and he currently is an analyst on CBS. He gets to keep that job by the way while working in Atlanta’s front office.
Some of the other names that were interviewed for the position were Ian Cunningham, Chicago Bears assistant General Manager, Mike Disner, Detroit Lions Chief Operating Officer and Josh Williams, San Francisco 49ers Director of Scouting and Football Operations. The other guys seem to fit this role a bit better, if we’re being honest.
Ryan’s role as the president of football in Atlanta isn’t simply an advisory role. He’ll have a “strong voice” in the franchise’s decision making, similar to how former quarterback John Elway ran the Broncos as the executive vice president of football operations and general manager from 2011 to ‘21 before stepping into an advisory role in ‘22.
I liked Ryan as a player but I’m not thrilled with him having this title because he does not have experience beyond playing football.
“Arthur gave me the chance of a lifetime almost 20 years ago, and he’s done it again today,” Ryan said. While I appreciate the time I had with the Colts and with CBS, I’ve always been a Falcon. It feels great to be home. I could not be more excited, grateful, or humbled by this new opportunity. I began my career with a singular goal: to do right by the Blank family, the Falcons organization, the city of Atlanta, and especially our fans. My commitment to the success of this franchise has not changed. I’m beyond ready to help write a new chapter of excellence.”
Atlanta has not made the playoffs in eight seasons. They have a lot of talent on the roster but they need to hire the right duo as GM and Head Coach.
So far, four coaches have been interviewed for the Head Coach position. They are Seahawks Offensive Coordinator Klint Kubiak, Dolphins Defensive Coordinator Anthony Weaver, Seahawks Defensive Coordinator Aden Durde and ex-Browns Coach Kevin Stefanski were interviewed by the team.
Former Dolphins Head Coach Mike McDaniel will interview for the position. I know Atlanta also wants to interview John Harbaugh.
For the GM position, Atlanta has contacted Ian Cunningham. He’s Chicago’s assistant GM.
Atlanta looks like a decent position because they have some good players. The biggest question with the roster is quarterback though.
Starter Michael Penix Jr. suffered a partially torn ACL in Week 11 against Carolina. He suffered two torn ACL’s when he played at Indiana.
He was in his second season but he did not play well consistently before the injury. The other option at QB is Kirk Cousins.
Cousins signed a four-year, $180 million contract with Atlanta in March of 2024. He has been a disappointment thus far and he’s 37.
I’m hopeful Atlanta hires people that can make them a contender again.
State Championship Games
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
We’re going to take a look at the state championship games for the highest classifications.
The GHSA 6A state championship game between Buford (14-0) and Carrolton (14-0) is a national championship game.
Buford is the consensus No. 1 team with top rankings in USA Today, ESPN and The Sporting News. Carrollton is No. 1 in MaxPreps and Hsratings.com (formerly CalPreps).
That means Georgia could have its first national champion since Colquitt County finished No. 1 in the High School Football America and Prep Force rankings in 2015. Milton was named the No. 1 public-school team in America last season by High School Football America but finished No. 2 overall.
Carrolton beat previous No. 1 Grayson 34-14 in the state semifinals.
“We’re aggressive up front on the defensive side of the ball,” Carrolton coach Joey King said. “Our guys, they fly around and play extremely hard. Our word of the week this week was effort, which means for every phase to play with great effort. I definitely thought our defense did that.”
“I think we’ve got one of the best offensive lines in the state,” senior quarterback Mason Holtzclaw said. “They do a great job with anything we run. Our coaching staff was able to dial up some run plays for both of us as quarterbacks, dial up the pass plays and be able to beat them on the perimeter. So we had a great plan going into this game, and I’m really proud of the team.”
Freshman CJ Cypher finished the game 12-of-20 passing for 226 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 12 yards on two carries. Holtzclaw was 4-of-6 passing for 65 yards and rushed for 31 yards on six carries.
“They do a good job,” King said. “Whatever we ask them to do, they’re willing to do, whether that’s take a deep shot, throw a quick screen, hand the ball off or run the ball at times. They’re both just tough kids, gritty kids and unselfish kids that are willing to do whatever it takes for the team.”
Buford can win its 15th state title. Only Valdosta, with 24, has more. The Wolves beat No. 5 Valdosta 39-7 in the semifinals.
I think this will be a very close game. I believe Buford will win.
Let’s take a look at the 5A state title game.
Thomas County Central is 14-0, the No. 1 seed from Region 2-5A and ranked #2 in the state; Gainesville is 12-2, the No. 2 seed from 7-5A and ranked #4 in the state.
The Yellow Jackets beat No. 3 Roswell 49-28 in the semifinals. They have not had any close games this season. The closest game they’ve had was a 35-21 win over No. 8 Lee County during the regular season.
Thomas County Central has a chance to win their seventh state championship. It would also be their second state title in three seasons. Jaylen Johnson (2,503 passing yards) and Deuce Lawrence (1,836 rushing yards, signed with Wake Forest) lead an offense that averages 53.3 points per game. WR Jaydon Dunbar (signed with Pitt) and WR Jabari Watkins (committed to Nebraska) are top recruits.
The Red Elephants beat Rome 37-6 in the semifinals. They are led by Kharim Hughley, a junior committed to Clemson and he’s thrown for 2,467 yards.
Nigel Newkirk is a 1,400-yard rusher but he was injured in the semifinals. The defensive front seven has highly recruited players like LB Xavier Griffin (Alabama), DL Jamarion Matthews (Alabama), DL Ayden Cain (Duke) and DE Kadin Fossung (Tulsa).
I think Thomas County Central will win this game.
