East Cobb Sports & Recreation

East Cobb youth sports programs to hold registration events

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Sewell Park baseball improvements

The spring youth sports season is just around the corner, and several East Cobb organizations have scheduled special events to encourage sign-ups.

You can find all the details on our Events Calendar, and they begin this Saturday with the Walton Girls Youth Lacrosse Clinic, 2:30-4 p.m. at the Walton HS stadium (1590 Bill Murdock Road).

Next Saturday, Jan. 28, the East Marietta Little League will holds its Baseball Bash from 2-4 p.m. at Sewell Park (2085 Lower Roswell Road).

And the Saturday after that, Feb. 4, is the Sandy Plains Softball Fun Day from 1-4 p.m. at Shaw Park (900 Shaw Park Road).

 

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Flooding update: East Cobb Park reopens; Noonday Park closed

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Flooded Noonday Park closed
Noonday Park. Photo Cobb PARKS

Cobb PARKS said Wednesday that heavy rains Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning had flooded some county parks, prompting their closures.

Noonday Park remains closed, and East Cobb Park reopened at 1 p.m. Wednesday, according to the department’s social media postings.

Also closed is Fullers Park off Robinson Road.

The sun came out on Wednesday afternoon, as the rainy weather that greeted the new year began to taper off.

A flood warning had been in effect until noon Wednesday, as several inches of rain fell in the Cobb area and metro Atlanta.

Some roads were closed in parts of North Fulton, but there were no specific reported closures in Cobb.

Cobb government said in a social media message Wednesday morning that “Cobb DOT is not reporting any significant travel issues at this hour.”

A flood warning was issued in Cobb along the Chattahoochee River at Georgia Highway 280.

Motorists should turn around and drive away from flooded roads instead of trying to pass through them.

The weather system included thunderstorms and flash flooding, and a tornado reported south of Atlanta.

Today’s highs are expected to reach around 70, with lows in the low 50s, and the temperatures will be getting cooler.

Highs will drop to the high 50s and around 60 over the next few days, with lows falling into the 40s and 30s over the next several nights, according to the National Weather Service.

But we will have sunny skies through Saturday, with a 40 percent chance of rain on Sunday.

Rain also is in the forecast for early next week.

 

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Pope softball, volleyball state champions honored by Cobb schools

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Pope softball team honored Cobb schools
Members of the Pope Class 6A softball state championship team with Cobb school board members and Superintendent Chris Ragsdale. Photos courtesy Cobb County School District

The Cobb Board of Education on Thursday recognized the 2022 state champion softball and volleyball teams from Pope High School.

They were honored before a Cobb school board meeting and introduced to the audience.

The Pope softball team went 35-1 in capturing the Georgia High School Association Class 6A title, the third state championship in school history.

The Extra Innings softball information service named the Greyhounds their “national champion” in their final rankings.

The senior class of Natalie Klingler, Jadyn Laneaux and Emily Ricci ended their careers with their second state championship and an overall record of 126-17.

Laneaux and pitcher Kendall Scott earned region player of the year honors.

The Pope volleyball team claimed its fifth state championship in winning the Class 6A title, led by Cooper Abney. Coach Erica Miller was a regional honoree by the American Volleyball Coaches Association.

After winning the Region 7 championship, the Greyhounds went 5-0 in the state playoffs. They trailed Sequoyah by two sets in the state championship match before rallying for a 3-2 victory.

“Our sports state champions are more examples of why Cobb is the place to be and where families want to raise their children. In Cobb, success extends beyond the classroom and long after graduation,” Cobb school board chairman David Chastain said in a statement issued by the Cobb school district.

Pope volleyball team honored Cobb schools
The Pope volleyball team won the school’s 5th state championship in November.

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East Cobb resident preps for ‘golf until you drop’ charity event

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East Cobb resident golf marathon
A former amateur golfer paralyzed in a traffic accident, tees off not far from the Shepherd Spinal Center on a special golf cart funded through the Georgia State Golf Association. Photo: GSGA

To say that Jim Ingram is a golf enthusiast is putting it mildly.

The East Cobb resident is a longtime avid golfer, and has served as a volunteer and executive board member of the Georgia State Golf Association for 30 years.

The president of Evans and James, an executive search firm serving the plastics and packaging industry, Ingram remains involved in GSGA events and activities, including a relatively new charity fundraiser.

He’s played a lot of golf at a lot of local courses, including Indian Hills Country Club and Brookstone Country Club in Cobb County.

He makes fun of his “lousy golf swing” (see below) but has a 9 handicap, and often is accompanied by his dog Rover.

Ingram also has played plenty of times at the nine-hole Bobby Jones Golf Course in Buckhead, where the formerly East Cobb-based GSGA now has its headquarters.

But on Oct. 21, Ingram will play Bobby Jones like he never has before—as in over and over and over again, set to make the turn many times.

East Cobb resident charity golf marathon
Rover is Jim Ingram’s frequent companion on the golf course.

That’s because he’s taking part in the GSGA’s charity marathon fundraiser to benefit the organization’s adaptive and junior golf programs.

(You can pledge per round or make a one-time donation to Ingram’s marathon by clicking here.)

In last year’s event, he played 81 holes in one day at the Druid Hills Country Club. In a couple of weeks, he’ll likely play just as many, if not more, on the storied public course named for a Georgia golf legend.

“You just golf until you drop,” Ingram said of the marathon, which raised more than $50,000 overall. The GSGA is aiming to surpass that figure this year with around 20-30 participants having signed up.

The proceeds enable youths 16 and under from economically challenged backgrounds to play for $5 a round, and for the GSGA to purchase special equipment and provide instruction for the physically handicapped.

Among them is Chance, a former amateur golfer and a police officer who was paralyzed from the chest down in a 2018 traffic accident.

As he rehabilitated at the Shepherd Spinal Center in Atlanta, his visitors included some who introduced him to adaptive golf.

He plays golf once again, thanks to a solorider cart provided by the GSGA with funds from last year’s marathon.

It’s a story the GSGA is encouraging its marathon participants to share as they collect pledges. The GSGA has raised nearly $100,000 in subsidies for the youth program (the GSGA makes up the greens fees to the golf courses) and is close to having enough money to purchase another adaptive cart.

“We’re trying to set good examples,” Ingram said of the GSGA’s initiatives to expand golf access.

More than 2,000 people have gotten involved in the adaptive program, and it’s something that “changes people’s lives,” Ingram said.

Like Chance and others at the Shepherd Center, “we’re trying to get them involved.”

East Cobb resident golf marathon
Ingram played 81 holes in a single day at the 2021 GSGA marathon fundraiser.

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Kyle Wright of Braves to appear at East Cobb Flying Biscuit

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The Atlanta Braves are playing host to the New York Mets at Truist Park this weekend in a big series that likely will determine the winner of the National League Eastern Division.Kyle Wright, East Cobb Flying Biscuit

The Flying Biscuit Cafe in East Cobb is marking a big slate of events in October during its grand reopening, and has snagged one of the team’s stars to make an appearance this Sunday.

Pitcher Kyle Wright, the only player in Major League Baseball with 20 wins this season, will sign autographs and meet with fans Sunday starting at 10 a.m. at Flying Biscuit, located at Parkaire Landing Shopping Center (4880 Lower Roswell Road, Suite 70).

Wright won his 21st game Saturday as the Braves defeated the Mets 4-1 to take a one-game lead with four games remaining for each team in the regular season.

The Braves and Mets will play Sunday night at 7 p.m. in a nationally televised game on ESPN.

Flying Biscuit opened at Parkaire Landing in March 2021 but closed in August for a month to undergo training following an ownership and management change.

The restaurant kicks off a month of specials this week that include $1 and $5 meals. Gift giveaways are scheduled for next week, and the promotions are updated on its Facebook page.

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East Cobb Park bridge to Fullers Park to close for construction work

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East Cobb Park bridge closed
Friends for the East Cobb Park

The pedestrian bridge and trail joining East Cobb Park and Fullers Park will be closed temporarily for construction work.

The closure is expected to begin Monday and could last a month, according to information released this week by Cobb County government.

Cobb Parks and Recreation is set to restore and stabilize a portion of Sewell Mill Creek that runs between both parks and that was affected by severe flooding last September.

More recently, spring rains “caused considerable erosion to the stream bank in that area,” according to the department in an item about the project in an e-mail newsletter.

Cobb commissioners recently approved spending $104,500 from new Cobb 2022 SPLOST revenues to complete the project.

Previously, repairs along the Sewell Mill Creek stream bank at the front of East Cobb Park were made to produce a crest protecting the walking path and quad areas.

Grass was planted over Flexamat, which are “small concrete blocks locked together and embedded into high-strength geogrid.”

Flexamat also will be used in the upcoming project, the department said, to “prevent further deterioration of the stream bank and help beautify the area’s natural landscape.”

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Cobb high school football games moved up to Thursday night

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Cobb high school football games moved up
The National Weather Service map tracking the possible path of Hurricane Ian that was released late Tuesday afternoon.

Due to possible heavy rains and storms stemming from Hurricane Ian, a number of high school football games in Georgia have been moved up to Thursday night, including those involving teams from Cobb schools.

The Cobb County School District Media Relations office said in a message that all of the Cobb teams in action this week are playing games on the road—out of the county—and Thursday’s kickoff times are the same for what had been scheduled on Friday.

Although Cobb schools are on fall break, sporting events are taking place. Only four Cobb public high schools were to play this week, three of them from East Cobb:

  • Lassiter at Johns Creek
  • Sprayberry at Alpharetta
  • Walton at North Paulding

According to the National Weather Service, Ian is on a track to the Florida Gulf Coast near the Tampa-St. Petersburg area, and is projected to make landfall Wednesday afternoon, possibly as a Category 4 hurricane.

Ian passed over Cuba Tuesday as a Category 3 storm, and more than 2.5 million people in Florida have been encouraged or ordered to evacuate.

The storm system is expected to reach southern Georgia early Friday and could move into the Atlantic Ocean and threaten the Georgia coast. Gov. Brian Kemp has declare a state of emergency for all Georgia counties from 7 a.m. Thursday to midnight Friday.

The preliminary forecast doesn’t include Cobb County and metro Atlanta in those warnings. The NWS is forecasting a 40 percent chance of rain Friday, from the mid-afternoon through the evening.

The Atlanta area could get between 1-3 inches of rain during that time, and possibly more in some areas of north and central Georgia.

Strong winds between 30-45 mph could be felt in some areas, and there could be power outages and isolated flash flooding.

Rain will continue all weekend, with a 60 percent chance Saturday and tapering off to a 40 percent chance Sunday and 20 percent on Sunday night and into next week.

For more information and to track the hurricane click here.

 

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Kell HS students create art for Atlanta Sports Hall of Fame inductees

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Kell art students Atlanta Sports Hall of Fame
Retired Atlanta Falcons kicker Morten Andersen with Laura LaQuaglia, the former art director at Kell High School, and artwork created by former Kell student Kennedy Leggett. Photo: CCSD

It’s taken a couple of years, but some artwork created by former Kell High School students in conjunction with the Atlanta Sports Hall of Fame finally got a public viewing this week.

A belated 2020 induction ceremony took place on Monday, Aug. 1, the first day of the new school year in the Cobb County School District, and artwork prepared for each inductee was presented in person.

The Kell art department began a partnership with the Hall of Fame in 2014 when Corky Kell, the late Wheeler High School football coach and Kell school namesake, was inducted posthumously.

Laura LaQuaglia, the former Kell art director who’s now the Supervisor of Learning Design and Visual Arts for the Cobb school district, was on hand for the presentations.

The inductees included former Atlanta Falcons placekicker Morten Andersen, former Atlanta Hawks center Dikembe Mutombo, and ex-Georgia Tech football All-American Calvin Johnson.

Mutombo’s artwork was created by a basketball player—Kya Williams, a star point guard on Kell’s 2020 Georgia High School Association Class 5A state runner-up team.

“The induction ceremony events are always an exciting time where student artwork is celebrated,” LaQuaglia said in a release issued by the Cobb school district.

“Normally, the students would get to meet the esteemed athletes they have researched, but because of the quick notice of the rescheduled event, we were not able to have the former students present at the event.”

Since 2017, the partnership has continued under her successor, Julie Denison.

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Youngsters earn trophies at Ebenezer Downs fishing rodeo

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Ebenezer Downs fishing rodeo

Cobb PARKS held several fishing rodeos over the summer to give kids a chance to cast a line and see what they can catch.

At each of the rodeos, including Hyde Farm in early July and Ebenezer Downs Park on July 30, trophies were given for youngsters who caught the five biggest fish overall.

District 3 Cobb commissioner JoAnn Birrell (pictured above at second from left with Cobb PARKS staff) was on hand as the kids got their awards last Saturday:

  • 1st Place: Sean McGinnis
  • 2nd Place: Maximus Patthammayong
  • 3rd Place: Jackson Woodruff
  • 4th Place: Matthew Martinez
  • 5th Place: Landon Perry

Her office provided the info and photos, and gave a big thanks to Cobb PARKS operations staffers Mackie Temple and Brett Alfosin and Keith Weaver and Michael Sellars with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.

Ebenezer Downs fishing rodeo

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2022 East Cobb high school football teams keep rivalry games

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East Cobb football schedules

After enjoying plenty of rivalry games over the last two years, five of the six East Cobb high school football teams are no longer in the same region.

The Georgia High School Association did keep three of them—Lassiter, Pope and Sprayberry—in the same region, and reunited two other longtime rivals together in Walton and Wheeler.

But a number of those backyard brawl games remain on their schedules in non-region format for the 2022 season, which gets underway in mid-August.

As has been the case in recent years, Kell and Walton will be getting an early start in the Corky Kell Classic.

The Longhorns, who have a new coach in Bobby May, formerly of Westlake High School in Atlanta, have dropped from Class 6A to Class 5A (classification is based on overall student enrollment).

He’s the only newcomer to the coaching ranks among the six East Cobb schools.

Before Kell gets into Region 6 play, it will be facing neighboring rivals Pope and Sprayberry in September.

In Class 6A Region 7, games between Lassiter, Pope and Sprayberry will take on extra meaning in a region with several schools in North Fulton.

Lassiter is maintaining a non-region rivalry game with Wheeler in the season opener for both teams, and a Pope vs. Walton game continues this season. Pope also will be meeting Wheeler in non-region play.

Walton, which reached the Class 7A semifinals last year, remains there, but is now in Region 5, which includes North Cobb, Kennesaw Mountain, Osborne,  Cherokee and Wheeler.

The Raiders will once again play at Mercedes Benz Stadium in downtown Atlanta against Mill Creek in the Corky Kell Classic, then plays at Brookwood.

For the first time since 2017, Walton will square off against Wheeler at Raider Valley on Nov. 4, in the regular season finale for both schools.

The head coaches and select players from all six public high schools in East Cobb will appear before the East Cobb Area Council of the Cobb Chamber of Commerce on Aug. 11.

It’s the annual East Cobb Pigskin Preview, and more information and a registration link can be found by clicking here.

Opponents with a * indicate region games.

Kell Longhorns

Class AAAAA Region 6
2021 Record: 6-5
Aug. 17, 5:30 p.m. vs. Cedar Bluff (Corky Kell Classic at Johns Creek HS)
Aug. 26, 7:30 p.m. vs. Allatoona
Sept. 2, 7:30 p.m. vs. Pope
Sept. 9, 7:30 p.m. at Sprayberry
Sept. 23 7:30 p.m. at Centennial*
Oct. 7, 7:30 p.m. at Northview*
Oct. 14, 7:30 p.m. vs. Cambridge*
Oct. 21, 7:30 p.m. at Greater Atlanta Christian*
Oct. 28, 7:30 p.m. vs. North Springs*
Nov. 4, 7:30 p.m. vs. Chattahoochee

 

Lassiter Trojans

Class AAAAAA Region 7
2021 Record: 4-6
Aug. 26, 7:30 p.m. at Wheeler
Sept. 9, 7:30 p.m. at Woodstock
Sept. 16, 7:30 p.m. vs. Dalton
Sept. 30, 7:30 p.m. at Johns Creek*
Oct. 7, 7:30 p.m. vs. Roswell*
Oct. 14, 7:30 p.m. vs. Alpharetta*
Oct. 21, 7:30 p.m. at Pope*
Oct. 28, 7:30 p.m. at Sprayberry*
Nov. 4, 7:30 p.m. vs. Blessed Trinity*

 

Pope Greyhounds

Class AAAAAA Region 7
2021 Record: 7-4
Aug. 26, 7:30 p.m. vs. River Ridge
Sept. 2, 7:30 p.m. at Kell
Sept. 9, 7:30 p.m. at Walton
Sept. 16, 7:30 p.m. vs. North Paulding
Sept. 23, 7:30 p.m. vs. Alpharetta*
Oct. 7, 7:30 p.m. at Blessed Trinity*
Oct. 14, 7:30 p.m. vs. Roswell*
Oct. 21, 7:30 p.m. vs. Lassiter*
Oct. 28, 7:30 p.m. at Johns Creek*
Nov. 4, 7:30 p.m. at Sprayberry*

 

Sprayberry Yellow Jackets

Class AAAAAA Region 7
2021 Record: 3-6
Aug. 19, 7:30 p.m. at Campbell
Aug. 26, 7:30 p.m. vs. Paulding County
Sept. 2, 7:30 p.m. at River Ridge
Sept. 9, 7:30 p.m. vs. Kell
Sept. 23, 7:30 p.m. at Blessed Trinity*
Sept. 30, 7:30 p.m. at Alpharetta*
Oct. 7, 7:30 p.m. vs. Johns Creek*
Oct. 21, 7:30 p.m. at Roswell*
Oct. 28, 7:30 p.m. vs. Lassiter*
Nov. 4, 7:30 p.m. vs. Pope*

 

Walton Raiders

Class AAAAAAA Region 5
2021 Record: 9-4
Aug. 20, 7 p.m. vs. Mill Creek (Corky Kell Classic at Mercedes Benz Stadium)
Aug. 26, 7:30 p.m. at Brookwood
Sept. 9, 7:30 p.m. vs. Pope
Sept. 16, 7:30 p.m. at Marietta
Sept. 30, 7:30 p.m. at North Paulding
Oct. 7, 7:30 p.m. vs. North Cobb*
Oct. 14, 7:30 p.m. at Kennesaw Mountain*
Oct. 21, 7:30 p.m. vs. Cherokee*
Oct. 28, 7:30 p.m. at Osborne*
Nov. 4, 7:30 p.m. vs. Wheeler*

 

Wheeler Wildcats

Class AAAAAAA Region 5
2021 Record: 1-9
Aug. 19, 7:30 p.m. at Centennial
Aug. 26, 7:30 p.m. vs. Lassiter
Sept. 2, 7:30 p.m. at South Cobb
Sept. 16, 7:30 p.m. vs. North Atlanta
Sept. 23, 7:30 p.m. at Campbell
Oct. 7, 7:30 p.m. vs. Cherokee*
Oct. 14, 7:30 p.m. at North Cobb*
Oct. 21, 7:30 p.m. vs. Osborne*
Oct. 28, 7:30 p.m. vs. Kennesaw Mountain*
Nov. 4, 7:30 p.m. at Walton*

 

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Temporary closures underway at Johnson Ferry North trails

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Johnson Ferry North Trail closures

The Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area announced Monday that closures and restricted areas are in effect along portions of the Johnson Ferry North trails.

Specifically, trails are closed between the J8 and J9 markers, located at the Owl and Arrowhead branches respectively. (see map above) for the duration of the construction, which is expected to last two months.

The Chattahoochee River NRA said that access to the northern trails ending at Mulberry Creek is possible by hiking between markers JN3 and JN4.

For more information, visit the Chattahoochee NRA website.

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Cobb Parks offering free pickup spikeball at Terrell Mill Park

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The Cobb Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs offers free pickup spikeball activities for adults each Wednesday at Terrell Mill Park.Terrell Mill Park spikeball

Spikeball, according to Cobb Parks, “is a team sport played by two teams of two players. Opposing teams line up across from each other with the Spikeball net in the center. Once the ball is served players can move anywhere they want. The object of the game is to hit the ball into the net so that the opposing team cannot return it.”

The pickup sessions are free and take place each Wednesday from 6:30-10 p.m. at the turf field at Terrell Mill Park (480 Terrell Mill Road).

Spikeball sets will be provided but participants may bring their own.

For more information click here or contact Conor Hoyne at 770-528-8861.

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Public comments sought for Noonday Creek Trail extension

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Noonday Creek Trail Head
The Noonday Creek Trail Head at Bells Ferry Road (ECN file photo).

The Cobb Department of Transportation is seeking public feedback on the possibility of extending the Noonday Creek Trail as part of its 2018 Greenways and Trails Master Plan.

The Noonday Creek Trail Scoping Study began this spring, and Cobb DOT is proposing the extension run from the Bells Ferry Trailhead northward to Noonday Creek Park.

“This study aims to evaluate various options for closing this critical gap in the regional trail network between Bells Ferry Road and Shallowford Road,” according to Cobb DOT, which is accepting comments through July 8.

The aim is to assist Cobb DOT in understanding “how people use the existing trail and nearby public spaces” and “get ideas for a potential future extension of the trail.”

More information and a link to the survey can be found by clicking here. To enlarge the map below, click here.

Noonday Creek Trail map

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Mt. Bethel Christian Academy to hold athletic groundbreaking

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Mt. Bethel Christian Academy athletic field site plan

Mt. Bethel Christian Academy is inviting the public to a groundbreaking ceremony for its new athletic complex at the school’s north campus.

The event takes place on Wednesday, June 29 at 7 p.m at the Upper School campus (2509 Post Oak Tritt Road).

That’s where the academy’s high school is located, and the facility will include turf football, soccer and lacrosse activities and a fieldhouse, spectator seating, campus improvements and parking expansion (previous ECN coverage here).

A release sent by Academy said the new facility “is the start of what we trust will be a period of tremendous growth and energy that will dramatically impact every division of the school.”

Enrollment last year at the school was nearly 700 students total.

Mt. Bethel Christian Academy began in 1998 with K-5 classes on Lower Roswell Road, adjacent to Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church.

The school expanded to high school grades in 2014 after Mt. Bethel purchased land from the Marcus Jewish Community Center on Post Oak Tritt Road near Holly Springs Road.

Mt. Bethel Christian began a football program in the 2021-2022 school year for fifth and sixth grade students, and will have two teams in the 2022-2023 school year for fourth-through-eighth grade students.

The new field and the growth of the football program “go hand-in-hand, as the school plans for Junior Varsity and Varsity football teams in the near future,” the Mt. Bethel Christian release states.

MBCA is a member of the Georgia High School Association and has teams in other sports competing in the Class A private schools division.

An attempt to build an athletic complex at the Upper School campus was withdrawn in 2019 after community opposition surfaced, and nearby residents expressed concerns about a renewed application last year.

But the site plan was changed in several areas, buffers were added and stipulations include limiting the scope of lighting and the hours for a public address and sound system to operate.

Cobb commissioners unanimously approved the request in March.

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Walton earns all-sports championship; Lassiter, Pope finish strong

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Walton High School has been named the recipient of the Georgia Athletic Directors Association Directors’ Cup trophy for the school’s performances in high school athletics in the 2021-22 academic year.Walton High School logo

The honors are given in each of the eight classifications of the Georgia High School Association.

Walton is the overall and boys’ and girls’ winner in Class 7A, the largest of the classifications. The Raiders collected 1,281 points, winning state championships in four sports: girls volleyball; girls swimming, and boys and girls tennis.

Lambert was second with 1,143 points, followed by Mill Creek with 1,140.

In the girls division Walton had 599 points, while North Gwinnett had 552. On the boys side, Walton collected 682 points to 624 to Hillgrove.

(You can read through the standings here.)

The GADA totals points based on how teams finish in all sports for which the GHSA awards state championships.

Walton, the only high school in East Cobb in Class 7-A was second in the Directors’ Cup standings in 2021, and last won the all-sports trophy in 2019.

In Class 6A, Lassiter finished third with 1,082 points and Pope was fourth with 1,073 points, trailing Buford and Cambridge.

The Lassiter girls topped their division and the Trojans boys were 9th, and the Pope girls were 4th.

Lassiter teams won state Class 6-A championships in fast-pitch girls softball, girls swimming and boys and girls soccer.

The Pope baseball team won the state championship in late May at Truist Park.

Also in Class 6-A, Kell finished 32nd, and Sprayberry was 54th.

In the Class A private school division, Mt. Bethel Christian came in at No. 45.

 

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Pope baseball team to play for state title at Truist Park

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The Pope Greyhounds won’t have to venture too far from home in their bid to claim the Georgia High School Association Class 6A baseball championship this week.pope volleyball

The GHSA announced that the Class 6A and Class 7A series will be played at Truist Park, home of the Atlanta Braves.

In a best-of-three series starting Thursday, Pope (31-7) will face fellow Cobb high school Allatoona starting at 5 p.m.

It’s a doubleheader, in fact, to be followed by the second game, which starts 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first game.

If a decisive third game is needed, it would be played on Friday starting at 12 p.m.

Tickets are $15 and will be available for purchase online by clicking here. Parking is free in the Red Deck for four hours.

In Class 7A, it’s an all-Cherokee series featuring Etowah vs. Woodstock, with a doubleheader on Friday and a third game Saturday if needed.

Pope defeated Allatoona for the 2018 title and is aiming for its fifth state championship. The  previous four were earned under now-retired coach Jeff Rowland.

His former assistant, Chris Turco, is in his first year as the head coach, and he led the Pope softball team to four state championships, the latest in 2018.

 

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Kell, Walton football teams to play in 2022 Corky Kell Classic

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In what’s becoming an annual occurrence, the varsity football teams from Kell High School and Walton High School have been selected to compete in the 2022 Corky Kell Classic.Corky Kell Classic 2022

The season kickoff event, named after the late Wheeler High School coach, takes place at various locations from Aug. 17-20.

Kell is slated to play in the very first game on Aug. 17, at 5:30 p.m. against Cherokee Bluff in Johns Creek.

The Longhorns have been reclassified to Class 5A by the Georgia High School Association and have a new coach in Bobby May, who had been at Westlake High School in Atlanta.

Kell was 6-5 in 2021 and reached the first round of the state playoffs under former coach Brett Sloan, who resigned after five seasons. He is now the offensive coordinator at Collins Hill, the defending Class 7A state champion.

Walton Raiders once again has been chosen to play in Mercedez-Benz Stadium in downtown Atlanta. They’ll face Mill Creek at 4 p.m. on Aug. 20.

The Raiders reached the Class 7A semifinals in 2021.

The Corky Kell Classic features 32 teams and has added a spring jamboree in May that includes Marietta High School. Other Cobb teams taking part will be Kennesaw Mountain, and McEachern.

For more, visit Score Atlanta.

 

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Comments sought for proposed Chattahoochee River NRA changes

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Chattahoochee NRA proposed changes
The Gold Branch Unit trails of the Chattahoochee NRA in East Cobb. Photo: National Park Service

The National Park Service is soliciting comments from the public about major proposed changes to the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area.

The feedback period ends April 30 for the Chattahoochee NRA’s Comprehensive Trails Management Plan and Environmental Assessment. You can read through and download the 508-page report and related documents and submit comments online by clicking here.

The Chattahoochee NRA currently has 65 miles of trails and in 2021 attracted more than 3 million visitors. The proposed changes would cost around $10 million.

The proposal includes changes to the design and feel of the Gold Branch, Johnson Ferry and Cochratrails in East Cobb.

The “desired condition statement” for the Gold Branch Unit would be to provide “active and scenic opportunities for birding, hiking, and trail running, including longer duration hikes and runs that include both ridgetop and water-adjacent trail experiences.”

To accomplish that. the report states (page 33), the trail system would be redesigned “to take advantage of the significant topography and be more conducive to hiking and running.”

That would include constructing 1.8 miles of contour-aligned trails would be constructed and limiting trail access points while existing the parking lot at the main trailhead.

An ongoing Hyde Farm Trail and Environmental Assessment would help drive proposed changes to the Johnson Ferry North trail, including a potential new trail to connect to the 1830s farmhouse and community garden.

The Cochran Shoals trails would undergo a “full-scale redevelopment and environmental restoration to create a sustainable, manageable trail system with a high diversity of quality trail experiences.”

That would include overlaying two “largely separate” trail networks—one for pedestrians only and another that would allow cyclists.

During periods of heavy use in what’s been a very busy portion of the trail system, bidirectional traffic requirements, alternate day uses or separate trail segments might be implemented, according to the report.

The Sope Creek mileage area would be increased from its current 9.4 miles.

The report also contains information about environmental impact and several appendices with maps and other information and data about the Chattahoochee NRA.

If you prefer to submit written comments via standard mail, here’s the address:

National Park Service
Denver Service Center
Attn: CRNRA Trails Plan / Charles Lawson
12795 West Alameda Pkwy
Denver, CO 80228

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Chattahoochee Nature Center to debut River Boardwalk Trail

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CNC Boardwalk Trail

The Chattahoochee Nature Center will have a grand opening and ribbon-cutting for its new River Boardwalk Trail and Connection Bridge on Tuesday, March 15 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The project—funded by support from CNC trustees and staff, individuals, foundations, corporations and government—restores a 2,000-foot river boardwalk.

It includes a pedestrian bridge over Willeo Road with ADA-accessible ramps and connects with the CNC main campus.

The River Boardwalk Trail and Connection Bridge was completed through Phase I of CNC’s “Bridging.Teaching.Inspiring.” capital campaign.

Grand opening day is slated for Sunday, March 20 and includes free admission.

For more information, visit the CNC website.

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Atlanta Braves World Champions Trophy Tour comes to KSU

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The Atlanta Braves will be taking the team’s 2021 World Series championship trophy around the South starting next week and continuing through the end of May.Braves World Champions Trophy Tour

Among the first stops is the Kennesaw State University baseball field, starting at 3 p.m. next Friday, Feb. 18.

Not only can fans have their photos taken with the trophy, but there will be entertainment-related programming put on by Braves’ staffers.

The KSU event is before a KSU baseball game, and a game ticket for that game is required for entry to the champions trophy. The Owls will be playing Morehead State at 4 p.m.

KSU’s Fred Stillwell Baseball Stadium is located at 220 Kennesaw State University Road, Kennesaw.

More than 150 stops have been scheduled for the Braves trophy tour (more details here), including Colony Square on Feb. 15, Georgia Tech’s McCamish Pavilion on Feb. 17 and the Georgia Aquarium on Feb. 19.

 

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