High School Sports
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Two Football Warriors Fighting Opponents, Diabetes During Senior Year
At Oconee County High School, the football team starts practice at 6 a.m. That’s hard enough for any teenager, but it’s an extra challenge for two: Darius Darden and Hatcher Hogan are playing with type 1 diabetes. Darden, now a senior linebacker, was diagnosed in the fourth grade. “I was…
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From Nigerian Basketball Star to Georgia Tech Football Commit: A True Success Story
When Success Nwabude stepped into the office of Athens Christian School first-year football head coach Terance Mathis, the coach’s immediate reaction was simple: “This is a grown man.” At 6-foot-7 and 250 pounds, Nwabude looks like a natural gridiron standout. Yet his journey to becoming one of the nation’s top…
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GHSA Reshapes Football Championships After First Financial Loss
The biggest stage in Georgia high school football is becoming increasingly expensive. Last year, the Georgia High School Association operated at a deficit for the football state championship games for the first time in its history. As a result, the GHSA used $150,000 of its reserve fund for operating costs…
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Emotional Senior Night Marks Paige Sisters’ Final Season Together at Cedar Shoals
At Cedar Shoals High School, head coach Ka’lah Paige and senior Kaitlyn Paige share more than a bond as coach and player. They share the same namesake as sisters. “It wasn’t planned, and it was nothing we did on purpose,” Ka’lah said. “Fortunately for us, it’s a great experience.” Ka’lah,…
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Chasing Records: 4-Star Recruit Giovanni Tuggle Impacts Winder-Barrow On, Off Field
Four-star junior defensive back Giovanni “Gio” Tuggle intercepted his 14th career pass Oct. 9 against Flowery Branch, tying the school record set by Jeremy Jackson. He needs two kickoff-return touchdowns to tie another school record. “I gotta break a record here. I have to,” Tuggle said. Tuggle’s production has…
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Outside GHSA, Athens Christian Charts Its Playoff Path
Many Northeast Georgia high schools are adjusting to new postseason qualifying standards, but Athens Christian School is playing by a different set of rules. ACS joined the Georgia Independent Athletic Association (GIAA) in 2024 after many seasons in the Georgia High School Association (GHSA). In the GIAA, teams are seeded…
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Clarke County schools learn PSR in their first season under the formula
Clarke County’s two public high schools are learning a new playoff formula and a new classification at the same time. The Georgia High School Association now uses its Postseason Ranking formula, or PSR, to fill and seed playoff brackets in every classification. For the previous two seasons, it was used…
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Oconee County Schools Adjust as PSR Takes over Playoff Path
Georgia high school teams no longer know their postseason path before the season begins. After two years of use for smaller schools, the Georgia High School Association’s Post Season Ranking formula, or PSR, now sets playoff brackets in all seven classifications. Oconee County High School already has some experience with…
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Jackson County Schools Bring Experience to Statewide Sports Rankings Change
When the Georgia High School Association took its Post Season Ranking formula statewide this fall, three of Jackson County’s four high schools had already played under a version of it. Commerce, East Jackson and Jefferson competed in Classes A Division I, 2A and 3A in 2025-26, the classifications that used…
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Barrow County Teams Navigate New Post Season Ranking System
Two of Barrow County’s high school teams face a new path to the playoffs this fall. The Georgia High School Association’s Post Season Ranking formula (PSR) now applies to every classification, including Class 5A, where Winder-Barrow competes, and Class 6A, where Apalachee competes. A team’s winning percentage accounts for 35%…