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Their accomplishments on the gridiron captured the hearts and minds of their school and community so it’s not surprising that it was a little emotional for all involved to see it end last Friday night.

The Apalachee High School football team had a season for the ages in 2009. It will not be forgotten by the players, coaches or fans. Successful football seasons have a way of doing that for small communities. I know Winder and Barrow County are not the smallest of small, but we aren’t so big either that we don’t appreciate when one of our local teams does something special.

Such was the case for coach Shane Davis and his Wildcats this fall. The season, which began way back in late August with a victory against Monroe Area, finally culminated last Friday with a bitter chill in the air against Griffin. It didn’t end, however, until the AHS Wildcats made all of Barrow County proud.
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Christian Hoard stood on the playing field at R. Harold Harrison Stadium after it was all over and had a look in his eyes that anyone who follows high school football knows about.

Hoard took off his helmet, covered with “Pride” stickers signifying standout individual and team plays, and let out a long, deep breathe. His team’s historic journey in 2009 had just ended after a 24-3 loss to Griffin in the state quarterfinals and it was understandably tough to accept.

“I know we had a great season,” Hoard said. “To win 12 games is great. However, I can’t enjoy that right now. All I can think about is this one. This loss hurts rights now. One day things will be better, but right now it just hurts.” [Full Story »] 

Going into this week’s action, the Winder-Barrow High School boys basketball team had posted three wins in its first three outings.

Led by first-year coach David Sokol, the Bulldoggs have posted wins against Dunwoody, Parkview and Alpharetta. Each was part of the Parkview Classic in Lilburn.

Alonzo Nelson is currently the team’s leading scorer and rebounder and also is pacing WBHS in blocks. Teammate Trent Demeritte is playing well in “all areas,” Sokol said, including distributing the basketball, shooting and playing sound defense.
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