GADA INDUCTS 4 INTO HALL OF FAME; LAMBERT BOYS, HILLGROVE GIRLS LAX FEATURES
Today, we highlight the four new inductees into the Georgia Athletic Directors Association Hall of Fame: Dave Hunter, Mark Kelly, Carter Wilson and Tommy Stringer. Score Atlanta's Seth Ellerbee and Graham David check in two Class 7A lacrosse programs. The Lambert boys seek their fourth state title, driven by a title-game loss last year; Hillgrove's girls continue to raise their profile in Peach State lacrosse.
Follow along tonight, Friday and Saturday as Score Atlanta tracks spring sports scores across the state on ScoreAtl.com and AJC.com. Visit
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In This Issue
GADA INDUCTS 4 INTO HOF; LAX FEATURES
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WED. SCORES
Baseball
Apalachee 3, Habersham Cent. 2
Brunswick 8, Richmond Hill 2
Calhoun 8, Rome 6
Carrollton 6, Kell 4
Cass 8, Villa Rica 2
Centennial 3, Northview 0
Central-Carroll 16, Carver-Columbus 1
Chamblee 15, Clarkston 0
Clinch County 11, McIntosh County Acad. 1
Dacula 4, Lanier 1
Decatur 6, Lithia Springs 1
Dodge County 11, Montgomery County 1
Douglas County 10, Tri-Cities 0
Duluth 7, Collins Hill 3
Dunwoody 6, Cambridge 0
Dutchtown 6, Woodland-Stockbridge 1
East Hall 6, Lumpkin County 5
Eastside 28, Henry County 0
Glascock Co. 2, Oglethorpe Co. 1
Glynn Academy 11, Bradwell Institute 1
Gordon Lee 12, Trion 1
Greenbrier 7, Evans 0
Hebron Chr. 10, Morgan County 0
Hillgrove 6, McEachern 4
Jackson-Atlanta 10, Grady 2
Locust Grove 14, Stockbridge 3
Locust Grove 4, Stockbridge 1
Loganville 16, Cedar Shoals 0
Madison County 6, St. Pius 5
Mary Persons 6, Howard 5
McIntosh 15, Newnan 5
Mount Paran 17, Mount Pisgah 2
Mt. Vernon 15, OLM 0
New Hampstead 22, Beach 0
Norcross 3, Brookwood 2
North Atlanta 10, Johns Creek 8
North Cobb Christian 9, Bowdon 4
North Forsyth 6, West Forsyth 1
North Paulding 7, Kennesaw Mountain 1
Northgate 3, Alexander 2
Ola 10, Eagle's Landing 0
Parkview 7, Lakeside-DeKalb 1
Peach Co. 20, Warner Robins 9
Pope 5, Harrison 4
Prince Avenue 15, Towns Co. 0
Redan 2, Pace Academy 0
Savannah Chr. 7, Jenkins Co. 0
South Atlanta 25, Douglass 10
South Gwinnett 18, Archer 6
South Paulding 6, Creekside 5
SW DeKalb 16, Cross Keys 0
St. Francis 12, Pinecrest 1
Stephens Co. 10, Oconee Co. 4
Stephenson 10, M.L. King 0
Stratford Academy 5, Monticello 0
Union Grove 5, Hampton 0
Upson-Lee 3, Spalding 2
Walnut Grove 10, Clarke Central 1
Ware County 10, Statesboro 5
Washington-Wilkes 21, Greene County 0
Wayne Co. 10, South Effingham 0
Wesleyan 10, Paideia 0
Boys Soccer
Brookstone 5, Shaw 2
Callaway 9, Jordan 0
Cedartown 3, Central-Carroll 2
Forest Park 2, Tucker 1
Heritage-Ringgold 1, Morris Innovative 0
Kendrick 5, Manchester 0
Model 3, Armuchee 1
North Springs 4, Grady 1
Pace Academy 10, McNair 0
Woodville-Tompkins 6, Hilton Head Prep, SC 0
Woodward Acad. 9, N. Clayton 0
Girls Soccer
Brookstone 10, Shaw 0
Decatur 10, Lithia Springs 0
Franklin (NC) 2, Rabun Gap-Nacoochee 1
Kendrick 2, Manchester 0
Landmark Chr. 5, Creekside 0
Lincoln Co. 3, Glascock Co. 1
Savannah Arts 11, Savannah 0
Screven County 9, Glenn Hills 0
Warner Robins 8, Peach County 2
Westminster 10, Cedar Grove 0
Westminster-Augusta 1, Richmond Academy 1
Whitefield Acad. 4, Mt. Paran 3
Woodward Academy 10, North Clayton 0
Boys Lacrosse
Etowah 11, Creekview 8
Greenbrier 10, Evans 0
North Gwinnett 18, Mill Creek 10
Walker 9, North Springs 8
Walton 17, Cherokee 5
Whitewater 9, Mt. de Sales 5
Girls Lacrosse
Brookwood 6, Mountain View 5
Eagle's Landing 8, Dutchtown 6
Johns Creek 15, N. Gwinnett 11
North Atlanta 15, Newnan 5
North Paulding 21, Sprayberry 3
River Ridge 15, North Cobb 12
Stephens/Agnes 18, Mill Creek 8
Whitewater 11, Columbus 0
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GADA HALL OF FAME
By Graham David
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GADA inducts 4 more legends to HOF
This year, the Georgia Athletic Directors Association will induct four into its Hall of Fame. The four esteemed athletic directors who will be joining the current 27 members include Dave Hunter, Mark Kelly, Carter Wilson and Tommy Stringer.
DAVE HUNTER
As the head coach at Brookwood, Dave Hunter accumulated a 149-35 record over the course of his 15-year career and brought the Gwinnett Public School system its first-ever state championship, all while acting as the Brookwood athletic director.
"We accumulated 31 state championships when I was athletic director at Brookwood," said Hunter about the school's athletic success. "I was proud of the accomplishments of our teams in all of Brookwood sports."
When asked about the honor or being inducted to the GADA Hall of Fame, Hunter had nothing but praise for those who helped get him here.
"It's a tremendous honor because your peers vote you in," he said. "You spend your whole life in athletics and this is how they've shown me I've done a good job."
On top of this prestigious honor, Hunter was also inducted into the Gwinnett County Sports Hall of Fame in 2013.
MARK KELLY
Mark Kelly served as Athletic Director of St. Pius X for 31 years, retiring in January, but was first a Golden Lion while playing under long-time football head coach George Maloof. After graduating from St. Pius in 1971, Kelly went on to play basketball at Christian Brothers University in Memphis but eventually returned home to attend Georgia State while coping with the return of cancer he was diagnosed with his senior year of high school. St. Pius offered Kelly a position as a teacher's assistant up his return, and he became cancer-free two and a half years later. Kelly coached basketball while teaching social studies and physical education before taking over as AD.
CARTER WILSON
Much like Kelly, Carter Wilson also acted as the athletic director for his alma mater, Decatur High School. After a stint as head coach of the Georgia State men's basketball team in the 90s, Wilson took over as athletic director in 2000 while also assuming boys basketball coaching duties. As a coach, Carter led his team to back-to-back final four appearances in 2001 and 2002, but some of his greatest accomplishments as an AD have come through leading extensive construction and renovation and Decatur's athletics venues.
TOMMY STRINGER
The fourth inductee is Tommy Stringer, who is known for being the longtime head football coach and athletic director of Loganville High School. Through his years at Loganville and as head coach of the Baker, Druid Hills and Clarkston football teams, Stringer accumulated 143 career wins. Stringer had been dealing with an illness and passed away this past February at the age of 78. He will be remembered as one of the most devoted coaches, athletic directors and administrators in Georgia high school sports history.
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BOYS LACROSSE
By Seth Ellerbee
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No. 1 Lambert driven by '17 state title loss
Lambert's boys lacrosse program has been a pillar of excellence for the better part of a decade, and in its short existence, the Longhorns have won three state championships and seven region titles. This year, Lambert is ranked No. 1 in Class 6A-7A and is featured nationally in numerous polls including a No. 1 ranking in the Nike/US Lacrosse South Boys' Top 10 and a No. 1 ranking on the Under Armour/IL Top 10 Regional Experts Poll.
The consistent play was brought to a halt against Lassiter (10-5) in the title game last season, and for the runner-up Longhorns, this year is a redemption tour.
"Last year's score is the background on a lot of the seniors' phones," said head coach Josh Sagel. "Shoot, it's our offensive coordinator's background on his phone. We don't want to have that again, it's a tough feeling. To end
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Lambert's 2018 seniors. Credit: Lambert HS |
up on the wrong side of that score really drives us this year."
The consistent play displayed by Lambert's teams has stood the test of time for the relatively young program, which started play in 2010. The early planning for the program played a big part in its current successes, and with solid coaches, quality practices and youth development, Lambert has built a well of talent that can be drawn upon for years to come.
"It really is the culture of our program," Lambert's Director of Lacrosse Rich Wehman told Casey Ryan Vock of 3d Lacrosse in an interview. "I think from the beginning when we set it up we didn't want to take any shortcuts. We took a look around the country at what the most successful teams in the country are doing and we kind of followed that model. We stay together during the summer time, at all levels, right down through the youth league. So we have a lot of kids and when you watch us play, it's hard to focus on one or two kids because we have so many kids that can break you down because we brought so many along. It's created an incredibly competitive culture, which is what we want."
Translation: We train these kids to be lacrosse machines from an early age and it's working and will continue to do so for a long time.
Since the inaugural season eight years ago, Lambert reached the Final Four in 2010 and has featured in the final game of the year each season since, winning three state championships - 2011, 2012 and 2016. On its way to the runner-up finish last season, Lambert outscored opponents 348-112 while dropping just two games. Once in the playoffs, Lambert moved past Parkview 22-0, Kennesaw Mountain 19-1, Pope 12-9 and Centennial 12-7 before falling to Lassiter.
The Longhorns have gone unbeaten through eight games this season and the competition has not even been close.
On Feb. 15, Lambert opened its season with an 18-0 rout of South Forsyth, which set the tone. The Longhorns then took their talents on the road, defeating Alpharetta 18-1 on Feb. 19. The quality play was no surprise for the opposition, and for Lambert, it was business as usual. Through the first eight games, Lambert has scored 122 goals while allowing just 21.
Crucial wins thus far this season include a 14-5 victory over A-5A's No. 4 Blessed Trinity and a 15-4 rout of No. 2 Centennial. Lambert is responsible for each team's lone loss. Against its lone out-of-state opponent this season, Lake Norman, N.C., the Longhorns took a 13-3 victory in rainy conditions.
"It was a good win for us," Wehman said. "The game was 4-3 at the half, plus we fell behind 3-1 and we just haven't been in any games this year where that has been the case. We told the kids at half, 'This is good for us, we need to learn to play under these conditions,' and our boys had a tremendous second half, which is awesome."
Sagel reiterated Wehman's comments.
"I'll tell you what, last year left a bitter taste in all of our mouths," he said. "So having that kind of competition, Lake Norman is no pushover. Those are some good dudes and for us to get better we have to play better competition and see what you're made
of and test yourself, so come May you can hopefully finish the drill."
Over its final 10 games, Lambert will, for sure, be tested.
"There is a way you build your season," Sagel said. "You want to start off and kind of see what you're made of and not maybe go as hard out as you can but you ramp yourself up and play good competition. Then you kind of ease the brake before going back into the stiff competition toward the end of the season to get ready for the playoffs."
The second half of the Longhorns' schedule reflects Sagel's comment as five of the last 10 regular-season games will be against ranked opponents, including a stretch of three in a row: March 24 versus No. 6 Johns Creek; March 27 at No. 8 Milton; March 29 vs. A-5A No. 2 Westminster.
Remaining Lambert Lacrosse Schedule
3-24 vs. Johns Creek (at Pope)
3-27 at Milton
3-29 vs. Westminster
4-11 at Forsyth Central
4-12 at Forsyth Central
4-14 at Cambridge
4-18 vs. South Forsyth
4-21 at Lovett
4-25 at West Forsyth
TBA, Region
TBA, Playoffs
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GIRLS LACROSSE
By Graham David
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Hillgrove girls lacrosse continues climbing the ladder
Last year's Hillgrove girls lacrosse team continued the program's rise to prominence, boasting a 13-5-1 record and garnered an honorable mention for All-State in senior defender Samantha Flowers. The Hawks ended their 2017 season in the second round of the playoffs with a tough 18-2 loss to top-ranked Milton, which went on to claim the program's 11th title in the past 13 years.
Though the loss was significant, the team's strong performance during the season shot them up in the statewide rankings and secured the Hawks a spot on the map. Now with a 4-3 record in their 2018 season, they're looking to prove they have earned that recognition.
Hillgrove has scored double-digit goals in all games but one, a 16-6 loss to Harrison. A commanding 20-8 win over North Atlanta featured the high-
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Shannon Galloway (left) and Madison Weyenberg (center). Credit: David Galloway |
scoring offense at the peak of its game. Perhaps their most impressive performance came one day later on March 11 as they took on the Gulf Breeze Dolphins out of Florida.
The two teams have met during previous seasons, but the Hawks had yet to walk away victorious. In the first game of the 2016 season, the Dolphins took it to Hillgrove down in Florida and served them a tough loss, but head coach Keon Humphries was able to find a positive takeaway from the game.
"We took a beating," he said. "But it was good exposure."
Their next matchup came in the middle of last year's season when the Hawks again made the journey to Gulf Breeze, which is near Pensacola on the panhandle. After 50 minutes of play, both teams ended the game with nine goals, resulting in the only tie for both teams throughout the year.
This year's contest between the two would result in an outright winner. The Hawks offense put on a show, fueled by the duo of juniors Aubrie Valvo (6 goals) and Arianna Rivera (3 goals).
"We played the game the right way," Humphries said about his team's play. "We played unselfish ball."
The Hawks never eased off the gas and blew out the Dolphins 15-6.
The Hillgrove offense continued to shine after the striking win over Gulf Breeze, taking down Sprayberry 14-4 after another compelling performance. Rivera scored six more goals, while junior Kendal Johnson scored twice. The six other goals by the Hawks were scored by six different players, a true display of the depth within this team.
"Over the past few years we've had girls come in from our training program. Their knowledge of the game has increased over those years," Humphries said.
However, the girls can't relish the moment for too long. Their next two matches are against Marist on Friday, March 24, and Kennesaw Mountain on Tuesday, March 28; Kennesaw Mountain is currently No. 7 in 6A-7A, and Marist is No. 6 in A-5A.
"These two games are highlight games for us," said Humphries. "Do you make a game plan for them, or just do what's best for your team? These past few weeks have allowed us the time to get fine-tuned for these big games."
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