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The ugly side of high school athletics reared its head in recent days locally and while disappointed by it, I can’t say I was surprised.

This snake, which likes to crawl from under its rock way too often, has surfaced locally as Winder-Barrow High School football coach Ben Corley has been forced to resign his position. Let me state up front in no way was this move justified or warranted. Two years is never enough time to judge a football coach, at any level, and that was especially true in this case.
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“Lack of loyalty is one of the major causes of failure in every walk of life.”
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These are unchartered waters for University of Georgia football coach Mark Richt.

Despite all he has accomplished since arriving in Athens almost a decade ago, Richt, and especially his coaching staff, came under fire for the team’s on-the-field performance in 2009.
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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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For a football team to be 12-0 takes a combination of many ingredients.

First, you have to throw in some standout players. Ones who become household names among fans who follow the team are needed. These are the ones you expect to perform miraculous deeds on the football field week in and week out.

Apalachee High School has several such players who have their name in print in several area newspapers and who are talked about on local radio and even some big-time television stations.

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There’s no way to know how much I paced up and down the Apalachee High School sideline last Friday night, but I think I wore a path doing so.

Playoff football has a way of doing that to you. Playoff football games that go into two overtimes certainly have a way of doing it to you, especially to me.

I can only imagine what the Wildcat players and coaches must have felt like. They seemed more cool under the pressure than I did, however. It was about more than I could take. Back and forth I walked, over and over.
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While there certainly are more goals to reach, more mountains to climb and more accomplishments to obtain, there can be no denying it has already been a special season for the Apalachee High School football team.

The Wildcats wrapped up a 10-0 regular season last Friday by defeating a sound Salem team 37-14. The fact the Seminoles were battling for a playoff spot and had to win in order to qualify, says even more about how coach Shane Davis’ squad performed in the final regular season contest.

When all was said and done, there were no Region 8-AAAA teams left to beat for the Wildcats, who will host their first-ever state playoff game this week.
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The Apalachee High School football team will have a chance to do something only a select few football teams have the opportunity to do this Friday.

The Wildcats will get the chance to complete a perfect regular season when they host Salem High School for Senior Night. Standing at 9-0, AHS has already wrapped up the Region 8-AAAA, but a perfect regular season would indeed be something special.

That fact is not lost on head coach Shane Davis. [Full Story »] 

Shane Davis is now in his fifth season as head coach of the Apalachee High School football program. However, even Davis admits that the five years have moved rather quickly.

“It doesn’t seem seem like that long,” the coach said Sunday night after spending the weekend preparing for Madison County. “We’ve come a long way. We are very pleased with our kids and what they have accomplished.”

The accomplishment last Friday was the Region 8-AAAA title, the first in school history for Apalachee. For Davis, his coaches and players, it was the result of years of hard work.

Teams don’t reach moments like this overnight. It’s something Davis knows all to well. [Full Story »] 

Through the years, I’ve seen more high school football games than I care to count.

This includes playoff games and state championship contests. I’ve seen some hotly contested games which have gone down to the wire.

However, I’m not sure I’ve been fortuante to witness anything like I saw last Friday night in Loganville when the host Red Devils and the Apalachee High School Wildcats locked horns in a Region 8-AAAA battle.
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