It’s safe to say it has been a wild and crazy year for Georgia high school sports. South Georgia dominated football once again with the exception of Buford who won their third consecutive state title. The Milton boys basketball team won their first state title led by three juniors that are some of the state’s best players. And the Walton girls tennis team continued their amazing run, winning their seventh consecutive state title and broke the record for most consecutive matches won in state history. Those stories plus many more made the 2009-10 year one to remember for many years to come. Here’s a recap of the entire year.
MASON MAKES HISTORY…
There is no question football reigns supreme in Georgia, especially when it comes to high school football. The southern part of the state once again dominated as Camden County (5A), Peach County (3A) and Wilcox County (1A) won state titles. It was not a strong year for the metro Atlanta teams with only Buford winning a state championship, but the story of the year had to be what Lassiter quarterback Hutson Mason was able to accomplish in 2009.
Mason was not only the best quarterback in Cobb County, but was possibly the best player in the state. The UGA-bound quarterback threw for 4,560 yards (a state record) and 54 touchdowns. He was named first-team all-state in 5A by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the Associated Press and was awarded the Gatorade Georgia Football Player of the Year. But the most important stat has to be 13-1, which is the win-loss record for Lassiter in 2009 which is the best in school history.
"He is a special player," said Walton head coach Rocky Hidalgo. "As a player, he’s the best quarterback I’ve faced as a coach in 15 years."
Thanks to his hard work and determination, Mason will suit up for the Georgia Bulldogs in the fall as the No. 3 quarterback.
In other fall news, Collins Hill won their second state softball title since 2005. They were led by Kyla Floor who was the Gwinnett County pitcher of the year and Sammy Lenahan who was the Gwinnett County defensive player of the year.
In volleyball, Pope defeated Walton in an epic state championship match to win their first title in school history. Pope, who was trailing 13-8 in the tiebreaker, scored seven consecutive points to go on and defeat the Raiders.
THE BIG THREE…
As popular football is in the area, basketball is no slouch when it comes to talent. The one team many fans, coaches and media members were keeping their eye on was Milton, who had three talented juniors in Julian Royal, Dai-Jon Parker and Shannon Scott. As sophomores, they led the Eagles to a state title appearance in the 2008-09 season, only to lose to Cobb County powerhouse Wheeler. They were determined to get back to the state championship game and win it in 2009-10 and they did just that, defeating Westlake and win the first title in school history. Parker scored 19 points, Royal added 15 and Scott racked up five assists in the win. Despite being such a dominant team, there were no seniors on the roster. In fact, the next best player on the team is Evan Nolte who was a sophomore last season. So, with the entire team coming back in 2011, it’s safe to say the Eagles will be the clear favorite to win the title and could possibly be in the running for a national title.
The other big story in the winter happened in wrestling as Collins Hill continued the dominance, winning the Dual state title and the traditional state title. It’s the third consecutive traditional and dual state titles for Collins Hill. T.J. Mitchell, who won three state titles for Collins Hill was selected to the Georgia Wrestling Coaches Association All-Decade team for posting a 214-9 record.
JUST WIN BABY…
Here’s a question, out of all the teams in the state in all sports, who would you say has been the most dominant in the last five-seven years? Is it Buford football winning three consecutive state titles? Or is the aforementioned Collins Hill wrestling team that has been in the top three of the traditional state championship every year since 2000? Those accomplishments are great, but the Walton girls tennis team is doing something that no team in state history has done before.
They defeated Centennial in the state finals to win their seventh consecutive state crown. But that’s not the amazing part. What has been amazing is during that span, they have yet to lose a match. Their win streak is at 133 matches and that sets a new state record, breaking Taylor County girls basketball team mark at 132 games which was from 1968-1972.
"It’s recognition,” Walton coach Roberta Manheim said right after winning the seventh consecutive state title. "To go seven years and not to lose a match is special, but now we hold a record for those victories. It’s tangible evidence of what we’ve accomplished.”
Another big story coming out of spring is the soccer domination in Gwinnett County as the Collins Hill boys win their second consecutive title and the North Gwinnett girls win their first state championship. Collins Hill defeated Northview in the finals and end their season with a 20-2 record. North Gwinnett also defeated Northview and they were led by Danielle Au who scored two goals and one assists in the title game.
Loading ...
