JEFFERSON

In March, one of Georgia’s all-time winning football coaches, T. McFerrin, was persuaded to leave retirement to take over the helm at Jefferson High. McFerrin inherited a quality group of players who are currently 3 & 0 and focused on defending their Region 8-AA title.

COLUMBUS

If you attend Brookstone School football games, you'll see as many as three McCluskeys in Coach Blair Harrison’s Wing-T Backfield — senior Milton, junior Brewton and sophomore Drew. In all, five McCluskey boys compete in football for the Cougars — you could call this a real family affair.

DECATUR – ATHENS

Southwest DeKalb High's head football coach, Buck Godfrey, has described senior T.J. Stripling/DE this way: “Quiet leadership, confident demeanor, great student.” As a junior, Stripling, a UGA commit, had 90 tackles, 18 for loss and 15 sacks for the Panthers. We recognize Stripling as this week’s “Cream of the Crop,” our look at one of Georgia’s senior football standouts.

CANTON

Over the past five years Coach Tonya Carlisle, a Kennesaw State Hall of Famer, has shepherded the Cherokee High softball program from a losing to a winning tradition. The Warriors have finished in the Top 5 in Class AAAAA during the past 3-years with a positive team focus on keeping the program moving forward.

ALPHARETTA

Alpharetta High senior Mary Sweeney is a cheerleader for the Raiders' athletic teams. Sweeney’s claim to fame, so to speak, is found in the classroom, where she takes four AP Classes while maintaining a 4.0 GPA, ranking her 11th in her graduating class. We recognize Sweeney as this week’s “Academic Athlete of the Week.”