Tuesday March 19th, 2024 6:10AM

Top 10 sports stories of the year: 2012 one for the history books

2012 has been all things to all people in the sports world. The last 12 months have run the gamut of emotions and given fans and spectators much to awe, rue and everything in between.

That has certainly been the case here locally, as northeast Georgia has bore witness to history and plenty of excitement, as well as plenty of agonizing near misses and some genuine tragedy.

With that in mind here are the top 10 sports stories of 2012 for the northeast Georgia area -- the criteria for the stories have mostly been decided by you, the local sports fan. Rankings are largely based on the popularity of the stories on our web site. And while 2013 is sure to bring us plenty of memories, it's going to be hard to outdo 2012...

TOP 10 SPORTS STORIES OF 2012

1. HISTORY on the GRIDIRON

There have been some great high school football teams and seasons in years past -- but nothing else even comes close to 2012. Three teams, three titles. What more is there to say? Well, how about this: Prior to this year, only Commerce and Buford had claimed GHSA crowns (at least since the 1950s) among area teams. Only a few weeks ago, Gainesville and Jefferson ensured that is now a distant memory. The Red Elephants and Dragons joined the Wolves on the championship podium -- and each team overcame something significant to get there. Jefferson defied the "experts" all season, earning its first state title after not even registering in the Class AA preseason top 10. In the process, the Dragons halted Calhoun's 29-game win streak in the title game. Gainesville, meanwhile, shrugged off so many near misses from its impressive if frustrating title-seeking history, claiming the top spot in its seventh attempt at the crown -- and first go-round in Class AAAAA. Yet perhaps no team overcame like Buford. The Wolves battled back from losing all but three starters from last season's Class AA runner-up, watched two victories negated by forfeit and suffered numerous injuries to key players on both sides of the ball. That doesn't even include the real tragedies that Buford endured, as Wolves assistant coach Ryan Daniel, classmate Adam Smith and former Buford tight end Devin Durden all passed away during a tumultuous 12 months for the entire Buford community. (These losses go way beyond the limit of sports, which is why they are not included as their own story in this top 10.)

Not only did these three teams persevere, they did so impressively, thrilling and wowing us on so many Friday nights and, finally, on one big weekend in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. And with two making history (Gainesville and Jefferson) and another putting together a season that will stand out against a litany of great teams in program history (Buford), this is the top story of 2012. It captured our attentions like no other story in recent memory and will live forever in area sports lore.


2. AREA CROSS COUNTRY, GOLF, SOFTBALL, SWIMMING, TRACK and WRESTLING STATE TITLES

Even if you took away football, it would have been a more than successful and memorable year for area sports programs, as area teams claimed five state championships and area individuals took first in 14 different competitions.

Leading the way was a program that is the benchmark for sustained success in the entire state, as the Jefferson wrestling team won its 12th straight traditional championship and 11th straight duals crown -- both in Class AA. The Dragons also earned individual traditional championships for Tyler Marinelli (126 pounds) and Forrest Pryzbysz (182). They were joined on the gold medal podium at the traditional championships by Buford's Chip Ness (152), Commerce's Cody Legg (113), Flowery Branch's Nick Lankford (132) and Jackson County's Zach Moore (120).

Meanwhile, Gainesville golf swept the team titles this spring in Augusta, as the Red Elephants won their first championship in over a decade -- led by Parks Brown, who fired a Class AAA best 68. The Lady Red Elephants also earned their first championship in eight years. Habersham Central's Lee McCoy also fired a low round 68 in the Class AAAA tournament.

The other team title came for Buford softball, which -- like Jefferson wrestling -- is setting standards that may never be eclipsed, as the Lady Wolves clinched their sixth straight championship and first in Class AAA.

There were also plenty more individual crowns, including an historic swimming title for North Hall's Paul Powers in the 50 freestyle. Meanwhile, area runners also shone bright, as North Hall's Luis Gonzalez and East Jackson's Cale Pirtle won the Class AAA and AA 3,200 meters, respectively at the boys state track meet in May -- while Flowery Branch's Austin Eckenroth claimed his second straight pole vault gold. In the fall, it was the girls turn to shine, as Union County's Emma Garrison and White County freshman Jenna Gearing each finished with the best times in the Class AA and AAA cross country meets, respectively.


3. GEORGIA FOOTBALL FIRES INTO NATIONAL TITLE CONTENTION

The Bulldogs came roughly five yards from their first national title showdown since 1982 -- and for a fanbase full of rabid SEC football freaks, the 2012 campaign was a crazy mixture of ecstasy and agony. The nadir came in a 35-7 loss to South Carolina. But then there was that glorious victory over Florida, a second straight campaign that included a sweep of arch-rivals Tennessee, Auburn, Tech and those hated Gators, and a second straight SEC championship game appearance -- and that contest proved a microcosm of the 2012 season. A wild battle that featured big plays in all three phases of the game and maybe the best-ever contest for the conference crown, Georgia won plenty of respect around the nation but fell painfully short of a showdown against Notre Dame for the BCS title. After two straight impressive years, Mark Richt has firmly removed himself from any hotseat talk.


4. OH SO CLOSE: BIG POSTSEASON RUNS FOR SEVEN AREA TEAMS

While there were no championships at the end of the season for these seven area teams, there were plenty of thrills and some history as well for: Buford girls basketball, Dawson County boys basketball, Flowery Branch girls tennis, Gainesville baseball, Gainesville boys and girls soccer, North Hall girls basketball and North Hall football.

The Lady Wolves basketball team finished as Class AA runners-up, falling to Lovett in the title game to end a shot at four straight state titles.

The Dawson County boys, meanwhile, reached the Class AA quarterfinals and put on the program's best postseason run in 43 years, just falling short of the team's first ever semifinal berth.

The North Hall girls also made their best playoff run in 21 years, reaching the state semifinals before falling to Washington County in Macon.

The spring also saw plenty of excitement, as the Gainesville baseball team marauded into the Class AAA semifinals where it fell to Ringgold two games to one, while the Red Elephants soccer team stormed all the way into the state championship game, falling to Woodward Academy 2-0. It was Gainesville's second championship appearance in three years, including a title in 2010. Meanwhile, the Gainesville girls made their first ever state semifinal appearance, falling to eventual champs Allatoona.

The Flowery Branch girls tennis team also made a deep state run in the spring, reaching the Class AAAA quarterfinals for the first time.

The fall also saw a thrilling campaign for North Hall football, which marched into the state semifinals for the second time in program history, including a quarterfinal destruction of preseason Class AAA championship favorite Peach County at The Brickyard.


5. ATLANTA FALCONS SURGE to NO. 1 SEED

There were plenty of changes in the offseason, including new offensive and defensive coordinators, and fans wondered what those shifts would bring -- something pretty good indeed it turns out. Now, the Falcons still have a long way to go, including exorcising that playoff victory demon -- which must wait until 2013. But the signs have been good that things are indeed headed in the right direction for a franchise that has been a model of good but yearns for great.


6.THE ENACTMENT of RE-CLASSIFICATION

Reclassification seemed like the soap opera drama that would never end, until -- blissfully -- all the haggling and wrangling finally subsided, and we were left with six classifications and split state championships (public and private) for much of Class A. This was actually a bigger story in 2011, when the nexus of reclassification became public. But the enactment of it still made for a big story in 2012. And as silly as we think certain angles of reclassification are, the GHSA seems to have pulled it off after a fairly smooth transition this fall. That doesn't mean we like having teams in our coverage area spread all over creation, but we also understand that certain things had to change. And, largely, those changes have worked.


7. AREA GRIDIRON STARS ADD to HISTORY

As big of a story as the 2012 football season was, it had plenty of huge sub-stories, not least of which was the performance of some very special players.

Gainesville quarterback Deshaun Watson made history in 2012, breaking three state records: Career all-purpose TDs (155 -- 108 Passing, 45 Rushing, 2 Receiving), passing yards for a career (9,360 yards) and career passing TDs (108). The junior -- yes junior -- was also the third player in history to throw for 4,000-plus yards in a season and the second player in history to throw 50-plus TDs in a season, as he helped the Red Elephants to a state title.

Meanwhile, Jefferson quarterback Bryant Shirreffs was just as crucial to the Dragons' championship, passing for 2,369 yards and 18 TDs, while also rushing for 1,372 yards and 20 scores -- including 327 total yards and two TDs in the title game defeat of Calhoun.

There were also plenty of other difference-makers in 2012, including Stephens County running back Chaz Thornton -- who rushed for over 1,500 yards in 2012 and finished with nearly 4,000 for his career. North Hall also generated two 1,000 yard rushers in TJ Tate and Kevin Christmas, while Buford running back Dontravious Wilson came up with several key plays, including the title-sealing touchdown run over St. Pius in the Georgia Dome. Mill Creek's Jacorey Lewis also rushed for over 2,000 yards. It was a year of great teams AND great players.


8. COACHING CHANGES

It happens every year, but this year the coaching carousel turned often and in programs that have been under one coach's stewardship for some time.

And many of those programs excelled through the alterations. For example, Flowery Branch football lost its only ever head coach in Lee Shaw (late in 2011). His replacement, former Falcons defensive coordinator Chris Griffin, led the Falcons to their first solo region title in 2012. Meanwhile, Shaw led his new charges at Rabun County (also his alma mater) to their first state playoff berth in 14 years, earning coach of the year in Class AA along the way.

There was also one big change announced in the basketball world, and one that didn't quite happen.

Lakeview Academy boys basketball coach Seth Vining, already a Hall of Famer, recently announced he would step down from the position after this season. Meanwhile, Vining's successor at East Hall, Joe Dix (himself a state champion), announced in the spring that he was leaving the Vikings for South Gwinnett -- before changing his mind just days later and returning to East Hall.


9. YEAR of the RED ELEPHANT

Not everything was perfect for Gainesville during 2012, but the Red Elephants more than made up for any shortcomings with their best 12 month period in recent memory.

Gainesville won three state championships -- in football and boys and girls golf -- finished with one runner-up -- in boys soccer -- and saw two semifinal runs -- in baseball and girls soccer.

There were other schools with great years -- Jefferson won state titles in football and wrestling (two); Buford won state titles in football and softball and had a runner-up in basketball and a semifinal girls soccer team. Yet three titles from three different teams carries a lot of weight, and Gainesville also had four other programs reach state playoffs -- on top of the successes of its soccer and baseball teams.


10. ATLANTA BRAVES BATTLE BACK to POSTSEASON

The fact that it was Chipper's final season only added to the excitement of the Braves charging back into the playoffs. True, Atlanta came up short once again in the wild card spot, but it wasn't due to a lack of effort. And, thanks to some debatable umpiring, one has to feel that the Braves had a great shot at progressing. If nothing else the close of the Braves' 2012 season gave us much to talk about over the hot stove this winter.


So there it is. These are not all the big stories of 2012, by far. But it is an outstanding list. We apologize if we missed anybody, but there was more than enough to go around over the past 12 months.
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