I have often railed against articles that opened with a cliche, but as this is my final opinion piece as sports editor for AccessWDUN I think (I hope) I can go ahead and forgive myself. Besides, I can think of no better way to describe my 11-plus years as a member of AccessWDUN.
Time flies when you're having fun.
The leadership of Access/Jacobs Media will never understand how glad I was to be back in a job that I knew, and I will always be grateful to them for that. And the family atmosphere they fostered made more than a decade of local sports coverage pass in the blink of an eye. Of course witnessing some incredible feats on the playing field/court didn't hurt -- and I have seen things many sports writers have only dreamt of covering.
Along the way I hope that I have helped provide sports coverage equal to the efforts of the countless hard-working and impressive young athletes -- and the coaches that lead them -- that I have had the privilege to work alongside.
OK, enough of the sappy stuff. Instead of wax poetic about my now former job or preach about the necessities of quality local news coverage -- which I believe is as vital to the health of a community as any chamber of commerce or civic organization -- I'd rather just leave you with some of the incredible moments I've witnessed in my time at AccessWDUN. This is the stuff I'll always carry with me, the stuff that will draw me to prep games in the future, whether I ever cover another one or not, just on the hope that I may see their like again.
And while I covered everything from national championships in college football to Atlanta United's inaugural game to interviewing a litany of professional sports stars I'm going to keep this to local sports -- the stuff that's ours alone. These are in no particular order, just by the stream of consciousness in which they pass through my aging memory banks.
First there are the games:
-- DEC. 4, 2009: FLOWERY BRANCH FOOTBALL at GAINESVILLE
A state semifinal between two local rivals in which the winner fell behind early and had to pull off a series of impressive drives, and one huge punt block, to reach the program's first state championship game in 27 years... what wasn't to like about this one? I understand if Flowery Branch fans would rather not think back on it too often, but they too could be proud of an incredible moment in which their boys played a part. And, as a neutral covering a game, this one had just about everything, as Gainesville fought back to win 29-21. It felt like there were about 20,000 people cramming the chilly confines of City Park that night, and it was as loud as some collegiate games I've covered. I don't know that this one can ever be topped.
-- MAY 14, 2010: GAINESVILLE BOYS SOCCER EDGES WOODWARD FOR STATE TITLE
A northeast Georgia school taking out an Atlanta power program for a state title? It could never happen. Anyone who watched the sport with even fleeting regularity would have told you that -- and history was on their side. But the Red Elephants cared not one jot and turned history on its ear that night in College Park, battling the War Eagles to a 2-2 draw through a nail-biting regulation. And once in penalties Gainesville made no mistakes, literally, burying all five of their spot kicks in the best-of-five set-up to edge Woodward 5-4. It was the end of a thrilling season for a GHS team that had a little bit of everything, including the flair for the dramatic.
-- FEB. 29, 2012: BUFORD BOYS BASKETBALL at DAWSON COUNTY
Dawson County was thought to have aboslutley NO chance in this game against a Buford team that had reached the state championship game the year prior and was loaded to do one better in 2011-12. But the Tigers, who had plenty of talent themselves, threw the Wolves for a loop by battling and clawing for every loose ball, every rebound. And then Dawson pounced on an unlikely Buford ploy of slowing the contest. Holding the ball for almost 2:30 at the end of the third quarter the Wolves' plan backfired... from my game story of the night... "as the Tigers Will Anglin stole the ball with just seconds left on the clock and found (Tyler) Dominy, who buried a 3-pointer to knot the score at 28-28." A taut fourth quarter saw Dawson eventually pull away 42-35 in front of a raucous home crowd that threatened to demolish the Tigers' gym in celebration.
-- MAY 25, 2017: NORTH HALL BASEBALL SWEEPS PIERCE COUNTY
This was supposed to be the day that the clocked chimed midnight on one of the bigger Cinderella stories in the state that season. Instead, the Trojans dominated in back-to-back games, 9-2 and 6-0, to walk off with the program's first state championship. Make no mistake, this North Hall team had bags of talent and experience, but after losing six of its last seven regular season games to slip to the No. 3 seed from Region 7-3A it was fair to wonder what the playoffs might hold. The Trojans gutted out a three-game first round win over Pace Academy and then caught fire, sweeping all the way into and through the state championship with a mixture of pitching, hitting and defense that was indeed something to behold (and almost all of that on the road). They even had two defensive plays requested by ESPN's top plays -- one of which made it onto SportsCenter. What a ride.
Then there are the people:
-- WALT SNELLING: A legend across the sporting community in northeast Georgia for his golden voice and a paragon of great sportsmanship, I was lucky enough to get to watch the great man work across football, basketball and baseball seasons at Gainesville High. When he retired in 2013 and eventually passed away in 2018 the tributes poured in. And that's because he was an even better person than announcer -- one with a wicked sense of humor that could send a press box into hysterics with one perfectly-timed quip. A link to a time long since forgotten by our fast-paced world, Snelling should never be forgotten as long as Gainesville City plays athletic events.
-- JEFF PRICKETT: Funny enough I only met the man once, but I talked to Mr. Prickett pretty much every Friday night for the past decade. That's because he keeps statistics and tracks every detail for Commerce football -- and then makes sure those details make it into print/web copy for news sources throughout northeast Georgia. His just-the-facts phone calls roll like clockwork and are a comforting part of the annual football calendar. Prickett actually retired a couple years back -- but only made it through one year away before answering the call for the Tigers again this season. Long may he reign. Mr. Prickett always made my job easy, and, for that, I'm forever thankful.
-- DESHAUN WATSON: What can I say but that he was the most compelling high school athlete I've ever covered? And when you consider the littany of other talents I've seen over the past 11 years -- that's saying something. Written accolades do no real justice -- he had to be seen. And congratulations to those lucky enough to have been there in person. Granted, the collegiate and NFL world have learned what we knew here in northeast Georgia years back -- so he's no longer just ours. But to those who watched him on the gridiron 2010-2013 he will forever remain a local legend (and not too shabby on the basketball court -- or anything else he attempted).
-- T McFERRIN: When the already-legendary prep football coach came out of retirement to take over a solid Jefferson football program it seemed a coup for the Dragons. But we underestimated the impact that the coach would have, as he led the program to its first and only state championship to date in his fourth and final season (2012). Always approachable and a quote machine, his best came in the aftermath of the Dragons' unexpected 2012 Class 2A state championship defeat of Calhoun (31-14) that kept the Yellow Jackets from repeating as champs. Standing in the corridors of the now-defunct Georgia Dome he grabbed my elbow and quietly, with an air of awe, muttered "we whupped them, didn't we?"
And then there are a handful of miscellaneous things that happened during my time at AccessWDUN that are hard to put down to one game or player:
-- RABUN COUNTY FOOTBALL'S RISE TO STATE POWER: Who would have thought in the years prior to Lee Shaw's arrival that the Wildcats would become a region champion regular and state title contender? The decade of the 2000s saw Rabun produce one winning season. Now the Wildcats are coming off a Class 2A runner-up finish in 2017 and five straight Region 8-2A titles -- and are looking for another title shot after reaching at least the state quarterfinals for the fourth straight season. It's been amazing to document and is a credit to so many in the state's northeastern-most county -- not least of which being Rabun County alum Shaw.
-- SOCCER BECOMING A BIG SPORT: OK, anyone who knew me knew this was coming. As a kid who grew up playing a sport that was either ignored, misunderstood or downright derided in much of northeast Georgia, it's incredible to sit back and see that it is now one of the most successful sports for area schools. State championships for Gainesville, Johnson and West Hall boys, along with state runner-up finishes for the Chestatee boys and Buford and North Hall girls (along with countless semifinal runs) in recent seasons mean this area is competitive as any in the sport. It's been incredible to see, and the development of the sport here locally has only mirrored its growth statewide (hello Atlanta United) and nationally (even if the US Men's National Team is still underwater, but I digress...). By the way, I still play, and I never really grew up anyway.
-- GHSA'S BATTLES WITH GROWTH AND COMPETITION: So this is not necessarily a feel-good memory but one that has effected everyone involved with local sports. And as much as I've sneered at possible solutions to a growing inequity across the state (both real and perceived), I also freely admit that there is NO easy answer to legislating competitive balance, especially in a state with such stark contrasts between rural, suburban and urban communities. All I can say is that the GHSA is trying. And I wish them all the luck in the world, because they -- and we, as sports fans, need it.
That's about it folks -- cue the music.
There are so many other people that have proven a joy to cover and work with -- so many that a list of names could literally take up this entire column. If you do not see your name listed here please do not take it as a slight. I simply ran out of time.
I have not forgotten you, and I thank each and every one of you. It's been a heck of an 11-year run, and I appreciate your reading/watching through all of it.
