Johnson County’s Don Norton earned the 150th victory of his career on Friday when the Trojans clobbered Butler 41-8.

Norton became head coach in Wrightsville in 2007 and is in his 19th season. He has compiled a 143-61 record and won four region championships, including each of the last three years. The Trojans, currently ranked No. 5 in Class A Division II, reached the state semifinals in 2022.

Consistency has been a key to Norton’s longevity and success.

“You can watch film from five years, 10 years ago, and it’s the same thing,” Norton told Clay Reynolds of the Courier-Journal before the season began. “We run a system here. We do what we believe in and what works here. It might not work everywhere, but it works here. When one kid goes out, we’ve got another one to replace him. We tell them all the time, if you take your hand out of the bucket of water, it doesn’t take long to fill up.” 

Norton grew up in Florida and played football at Georgia Southern. He began his career as a head coach by spending three seasons at Truetlen from 2001-2003, where he compiled a 7-23 mark.

A week ago, North Hall’s Sean Pender and Lincoln County’s Lee Chomskis joined the150-win club. Carver-Atlanta’s Darren Myles and Lee County’s Dean Fabrizio only need one more victory to reach the 150-win mark.

Lithonia

Lithonia kicker Zach MCalla kicked a pair of field goals to help the Bulldogs end their 12-game losing streak to Tucker.

Credit: Mark Brock, DeKalb County Athletics

Lithonia beats Tucker for first time since 1992

The surprising Lithonia football team improved to 3-0 by defeating Tucker 27-20 on Friday at Adams Stadium. It ended the Bulldogs’ 12-game losing streak against Tucker and was their first win over the Tigers since 1992. Lithonia is 3-0 for the first time since 2018.

Zach McCalla kicked a pair of field goals, Deuce Butler caught a 32-yard touchdown pass from Jamon Coggins and ran for a 9-yard touchdown. Albert Gooding scored on a 1-yard run.

Defense was a key for Lithonia. Edward Roberts had an interception to set up the Bulldogs’ first touchdown. The Bulldogs scored after recovering a punt that deflected off a defender’s leg. Lithonia sealed the outcome when freshman Tim Behling intercepted a pass with 1:26 remaining.

Tucker leads the series 22-6.