Kell’s sensational freshman point guard Crystal Henderson did nearly everything she could to lift the Lady Longhorns to their first Georgia state basketball title on Friday.
Weaving up and down the court all night at the Macon Coliseum, Henderson was a handful for one of the state’s best girls basketball programs around.
When she buried a 3-point basket with nine seconds to play in the game, Kell had cut Buford’s lead to 65-63. Kell then fouled Buford’s star player, Tate Walters, who made one of two free throws.
That left the door open for Kell and Henderson, who launched a long shot at the buzzer.
This time, it didn’t go in, and what had been a dream season for the Lady Longhorns ended with their only loss of the season.
Kell was 32-0 coming into the Georgia High School Association Class 5A championship against a team that had been there many times before.
Buford had won seven previous state titles, and was aiming for a fourth in a row.
The Lady Wolves got off to a hot start and led 16-10 at the end of the first quarter.
Kell went on a big streak in the second quarter, led by Henderson, who scored 15 points in the first half.
After Mikyah Favors hit a 3, Henderson stole a pass and scored to give the Lady Longhorns at 26-18 lead.
The teams were tied 29-29 at halftime, and Buford regained momentum in the third quarter.
Henderson had been checked offensively until late in the fourth quarter, when she hit a jumper to trim Buford’s lead to 59-54.
She knocked down another 3 with 1:47 to play as Kell pulled to within 61-57.
With 29 seconds to play, Henderson was fouled shooting a 3-point shot and made all three free throws as Kell trailed 63-60.
Buford made two free throws on the other end, then Henderson connected on yet another 3 with nine seconds to play.
Those would be the final points for her and Kell, as she finished with 26 points on 8-for-16 shooting.
While Buford (31-1) celebrated yet another state title, Kell figures to have a bright future.
In addition to Henderson, the Lady Longhorns will have back most of their top players under coach Tony Ingle Jr., who in his second season lifted them from a 11-15 record to the brink of a state championship.
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The Wildcats will attempt to add to the school’s banner collection when they play for the Class 7A GHSA state championship next Saturday. ECN photo
A two-point loss early in the season to Milton was on the minds of Wheeler players as they took the floor in Buford Saturday for a rematch.
But there was much more riding on this one, in the Class 7A Georgia High School Association boys semifinals.
The Wildcats led from wire-to-wire, and by double digits for most of the way, in exacting revenge on Milton in a 59-47 win.
In doing so, they now have a chance to win the seventh state title in school history.
Next Saturday, Wheeler will play either Grayson or McEachern in Macon.
Later Saturday afternoon at Fort Valley State, the Kell girls remained undefeated and reached the state finals for the first time ever with a 60-55 victory over Eagle’s Landing.
Sam Hines Jr. scored 19 points for the Wildcats, who once again played stifling defense in holding their opponent to under 50 points for the second game in a row.
Bruce Thornton had a game-high 28 points for Milton, but Wheeler had more contributors on offense.
Wheeler pulled away in the second quarter. Hines scored on a dunk to make the score 22-14, then A.J. Burke and Prince Davies made 3-point shots for a 28-16 score.
Later in the quarter, Hines cut to the baseline, took a pass and threw down another dunk to give Wheeler a 32-20 advantage.
He had 12 points at halftime, and scored only two points in the third quarter, but the Wildcats got a 3-point basket from Maxwell Harris to lead 43-26.
Milton trailed by 11 points at the start of the fourth quarter, but never put together enough of a run to threaten Wheeler from there.
The Kell girls were 31-0 on the season coming in to Saturday’s game, led from the opening moments, built a double-digit lead in the second half but had to hang on in the closing seconds.
Kell’s freshman star, Crystal Henderson, tossed in a desperation shot at the halftime buzzer to give the Lady Longhorns a 27-24 lead.
Eagle’s Landing hung around for much of the third quarter, but Henderson provided a spark when she headed down the court on the break, dribbled between her legs and passed to Amaya Moss for an easy basket.
Kell’s lead was 37-32 at that point, and Henderson drained a 3-point shot, followed by Makyah Favors with another 3, and the score was 42-34.
After Kell missed a free throw, Henderson got the rebound, put the ball back up and in the basket for two more points for a 47-34 lead.
Eagle’s Landing called timeout after that, and climbed back in the fourth quarter.
Kell nearly squandered its lead as Eagle’s Landing fought back to trail 57-55 with 40 seconds left.
Then Henderson was fouled, and she made one of two free throws. The Eagles nearly tied it up the other way, but the shot rimmed out and Kell got possession.
Henderson made two free throws with a second left, for a game-high 25 points, to clinch the win for the Lady Longhorns.
Next Friday, Kell will play Buford for the state title, also in Macon.
In the Class 5A boys semifinals on Saturday, Kell was playing in its first state semifinal game, against Dutchtown, also in Fort Valley.
The Longhorns couldn’t hold on to an eight-point lead in the fourth quarter and were forced into overtime. Then Dutchtown got the upper hand early in the extra period and held on for a 62-56 win.
Kell’s best-ever season ended with a 26-6 record.
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It’s going to be a bit chilly Saturday morning—just above freezing, according to the local weather forecast—and as a result the East Marietta Little League has postponed its opening day festivities.
They were supposed to take place at 9 a.m. Saturday at Sewell Park, but the event has been pushed back to the same time, the same place, next Saturday, March 7.
Saturday’s first slate of games is still scheduled to go on. By later Saturday morning, we’re expecting sunshine with high temperatures nearing 50.
The Little League season starts Friday and Saturday for East Side Baseball at Fullers Park and on Saturday for Sandy Plains Baseball at Carl Harrison Park and Sweat Mountain Park.
East Marietta’s Opening Day event includes special guests, team introductions and a ceremonial first pitch.
Next Saturday is projected to be warmer, in the high 50s.
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Wheeler shut down Berkmar defensively in a scrappy, physical game at Wildcat Arena. (East Cobb News photos and slideshow by Wendy Parker)
The high school basketball season will extend into the weekend for three East Cobb teams when they play in the Georgia High School Association Final Four.
The Wheeler boys led the whole game Wednesday, then fought off a late challenge from Berkmar, to advance with a 53-43 win at Wildcat Arena in the Class 7A tournament.
At the same time, the Kell boys went on the road and downed Buford 57-45 in Class 5A. On Tuesday, the Kell girls remained undefeated with a 64-54 win over Jones County.
On Saturday, all three teams will compete in the semifinal rounds on neutral sites. The Wheeler boys face Milton in Buford at 4 p.m.
Also at 4 p.m. Saturday, the Kell boys will play Dutchtown in Fort Valley, followed by the Kell girls against Eagle’s Landing at the same venue.
For the Wheeler boys, it’s their first trip to the Final Four under third-year coach Larry Thompson.
“It feels great; this is a place that’s rich with tradition,” he said. “This is what people expect here.”
Thompson succeeded the legendary Doug Lipscomb, who guided Wheeler to six state championships between 1994 and 2015. The last was when the Wildcats’ star was Jaylen Brown, now playing for the Boston Celtics in the NBA.
These Wildcats are built around defense. In the playoffs so far, they held Etowah to under 50 points, scraped by Shiloh with a 65-64 overtime win and also wanted to hold Berkmar under 50.
“That was our game plan,” Thompson said, and for the first half Wheeler didn’t give the Patriots too many good shots.
Wheeler got some key 3-point shooting to build a 31-18 lead, but Berkmar fought back in the third quarter. An alley oop slam dunk cut the Wildcats’ lead to 39-34, and Wheeler led 41-36 going into the fourth quarter.
“We knew they’d make a run,” Thompson said. “I just told our players to persevere. Play tough.”
He had to call a couple of timeouts early in the fourth quarter before Wheeler regained a double-digit lead with 4:20 to play when Prince Davies fed Ja’Heim Hudson for a dunk.
That brought the Wheeler students to their feet, and they remained standing and jumping for joy with the players, as the clock expired.
The Wildcats will be facing Milton for a second time this season, after losing to the North Fulton school 64-62 in late January.
The Final Four experience will be new for both Kell teams, which will be making their semifinal debuts.
The Lady Longhorns are 31-0 and have been rolling for most of the season, with only two close calls since region play began. The Kell boys are 26-5 on the season.
The state championship games will be played next weekend in Macon.
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The Wheeler and Kell boys needed some late dramatics in their second-round games of the Georgia High School Association basketball playoffs this week.
The Kell girls moved on with no problem.
They’re all headed for the Elite 8 next week, with the Wheeler boys and Kell girls playing at home in the quarterfinals.
In the Class 7A boys tournament, Wheeler came into its game Wednesday ranked No. 6, playing host to second-ranked Shiloh, and it lived up to the billing.
The Wildcats topped Shiloh 65-64 in overtime, as Sam Hines made all six free throws in the extra session, to lead Wheeler with 23 points.
Wheeler, which is 21-7 under third-year coach Larry Thompson, gets to stay at home for one more game. At 7 p.m. Wednesday, the Wildcats will play host to Berkmar, which advanced over Kennesaw Mountain.
In Class 5A, the Kell boys had to travel to Warner Robins, and held on for a 60-53 win on Wednesday that sets them up for a quarterfinal road game on Wednesday against Buford at 6:30 p.m. The Longhorns, who 25-5 on the season, have lost only once since late December.
The Kell girls, ranked No. 2 in Class 5A, crushed Lithonia 58-26, running their record to a perfect 30-0. The Lady Longhorns will play at home at 6 p.m. Tuesday against Jones County.
The Sprayberry girls got to play at home in the second round of the Class 6A tournament on Thursday, but fell to Forest Park 66-55. The Lady Jackets ended their season, which included a region championship, with a 19-10 record.
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The Pope wrestling team finished fourth in the Georgia High School Association Class 6A traditional championships in Macon, and with one Greyhound taking home an individual state title.
That’s Joey Johnson in the 113-pound category. He was one of seven Pope wrestlers who finished sixth or higher in their weight divisions. The others are as follows:
2nd – Aidan Karpinski (106)
2nd – Max Druhot (120)
4th – Pat Haskin (145)
5th – Connor Weeks (152)
3rd – Troy Gable (160)
6th – TJ Mordarski (220)
In the team standings, Pope tallied 87 points, behind Creekview (195.5), Cambridge (169.5) and Richmond Hill (155.5).
Here are some other wrestlers from East Cobb high schools who finished high in their individual competitions:
David Panone, Lassiter, 3rd in Class 7A 132 pounds;
Landon Chambers, Lassiter, 2nd in Class 7A 145 pounds;
Josh Sanders, Sprayberry, 4th in Class 6A 106 pounds;
Joseph Fredeman, Kell, 4th in Class 5A 138 pounds;
Andrew Parlato, Kell, 2nd in Class 5A 220 pounds;
Robert Austin Westbrook, Walker, 1st in Class A 106 pounds.
Basketball Sweet 16 games set
Three East Cobb high school basketball teams will get to play at home this week as the GHSA state playoffs continue in the Sweet 16.
That’s also known formally as the second-round, as higher-seeded teams will remain at home. The Wheeler boys, Kell girls and Sprayberry girls all advance, and will be at home.
The Wheeler boys trounced Etowah 68-43 in the Class 7A tournament and on Thursday will play host to Shiloh at 7 p.m.
Walton’s boys also were competing in Class 7A, but their season ended at home Friday in a 66-59 loss to East Coweta. The Raiders were 16-13 on the season.
The Sprayberry boys lost in Class 6A to Lanier 76-45. The Pope boys, also playing in 6A, fell to Douglas County 66-57. The Greyhounds were 21-8.
In Class 5A, the Kell boys came from behind to clip Miller Grove 92-91 on Friday, advancing to the second round at Warner Robins either Wednesday or Thursday.
In the Class A private school category, Mt. Bethel Christian’s season ended in a 60-46 loss at Mt. Paran Christian. The Walker School will play host to Mt. Paran Wednesday at 7 p.m.
The Sprayberry girls will be staying at home after rolling past Habersham Centeral 63-58 on Friday. The Lady Jackets play at 6 p.m. Thursday against Forest Park in the Sweet 16.
The Pope girls fell to Douglas County 57-44 to end their season at 19-10.
The Kell girls also won easily by a 58-26 score over Lithonia. The next opponent for the Lady Longhorns will be Bainbridge, and the game will be Wednesday or Thursday.
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Nine of the 10 East Cobb teams that qualified for the Georgia High School Association state basketball playoffs will be in action Friday night.
Half of them will be playing at home, including a doubleheader at Kell.
The Lady Longhorns of Kell, ranked No. 2 in Class 5A, will be playing Lithonia at 6 p.m., followed by the Kell boys against Miller Grove at 7:30 p.m.
The Longhorns boys are ranked No. 5 in Class 5A.
Another ranked team from East Cobb also gets to stay at home. The Wheeler boys, ranked No. 6 in Class 7A, will face Etowah at 7:30 p.m. at Wildcat arena.
The Walton boys are playing at home as well on Friday, meeting East Coweta at 7:30 p.m. in another Class 7A first-round game.
The Sprayberry girls are playing at home on Friday, against Habersham Central at 7:30 p.m. in a Class 6A playoff contest.
Both Pope teams made the Class 6A playoffs, and will be playing in a doubleheader on the road on Friday at Douglas County. The girls play at 6 p.m. and the boys follow at 7:30 p.m.
The Sprayberry boys will be playing at Lanier Friday at 7:30 p.m.
Two East Cobb boys teams have advanced to the Class A Private category tournament. On Friday, Mt. Bethel Christian plays at Mt. Paran Christian.
The Walker boys got a first-round bye and will play their first game next week.
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High school basketball season is winding down, but an East Cobb hoops star in involved in an extra competition along with his team reaching the state playoffs.
Contestants have already done their dunks—which are recorded on video—and it’s up to fans to vote for the best performances. Here’s a two-minute compilation of Jordan’s dunks:
Jordan’s 6-foot-8, by the way, and he’s signed a scholarship to play at Georgia Tech during his college career.
During his Mt. Bethel career, he’s had more than 225 dunks and 450 blocked shots.
The voting in the AFI contest takes place over four rounds, and the first round is underway, ending Feb. 18. Each contestant will receive votes against one other player, with the winner advancing.
The other players are nationally-acclaimed high school stars.
Other rounds will take place Feb. 19-26, Feb. 27-March 5 and March 6-13.
The finalists will compete for the championship at the Final Four, the NCAA men’s national college basketball championship, in Atlanta in early April.
On Friday, Jordan and the Mt. Bethel Christian Eagles will play in the Georgia High School Association Class A private state playoffs, in a first-round game at Mt. Paran Christian.
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The Lassiter girls swimming team got strong performances from their relay teams Saturday to win the Georgia High School Association Class 6A-7A championships at Georgia Tech.
The Lady Trojans tallied 332.5 points, followed by Brookwood with 307 and Walton with 291 points.
Lassiter won its first relay race, the 200-yard medley, with a time of 1:47.34, featuring a team of Elizabeth Blanco, Kennadi King, Elizabeth Tilt and Lindsey Johnson.
In the 200-yard freestyle relay, Blanco and Johnson were joined by Allison Brown and Frances Carson to win with a time of 1:36.22.
The Walton team of Jasmin Hoffman, Abby Belinski, Isabella Decker and Elizabeth Isakson finished fourth in that race, with a time of 1:36.63.
In the 400-yard freestyle relay, Walton (Hoffman, Belinski, Isakson and Annalia Janson) was second at 3:29.72, and Lassiter (Carson, Brown, King and Tilt) came in third with a time of 3:30.67.
Tilt won the girls 7A race in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 54.85 in Lassiter’s only individual winner, and she was second in the 200-yard medley (2:04.04). Aiding the Lady Trojans’ cause was Blanco, who was second in the 100-yard backstroke (56.67); Carson, who came in third in the 200-yard freestyle (1:52.13); and Kayleigh Clark, who was fourth in the 1-meter diving event (485.75).
Lassiter was dominant in girls swimming several years ago, winning four consecutive state titles from 2008-11, and also in 2005.
East Cobb state swimming champions
1983—Walton boys
1988—Walton girls
1999—Pope boys
2005—Lassiter girls
2008-11—Lassiter girls
2014-15—Walton boys
2017—Walton girls
2018—Pope boys
2020—Lassiter girls
The Pope girls finished in 23rd place with 108 points, and Wheeler was 37th with 40 points.
In other girls individual events, Walton’s Jasmin Hoffman was second in the 50-yard freestyle race with a time of 23.51, and Walton’s Elizabeth Isakson was third in the 100-yard breastroke at 1:04.98.
The highest finisher for an East Cobb boys team was Pope, which was 4th in the Class 6A meet with 224 points, well behind 6A-7A champion Dalton, which had 445 points.
Walton was 18th with 140 points, Lassiter 22nd with 109 points and Wheeler 53rd with six points.
In individual races, Lassiter’s Brendan Hausdorf was second in the 200-yard freestyle, coming in second with a time of 1:39.56. He also was fourth in the 500-yard freestyle (4:35.35).
Pope’s Gabe Lacasella was third in the 50-yard freestyle (21.21), and the Greyhounds’ Eli Lubell was third in 1-meter diving with 415.10 points.
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For the first time since 2014, the Pope wrestling team has won a state championship.
The Greyhounds went down to the wire in Saturday’s Georgia High School Association Class 6A finals in Macon, and edged Richmond Hill of Augusta 30-24.
Pope went into the final match of the day nursing a 26-24 lead, after Richmond Hill closed the gap by winning the 182-pound class to gain three critical points.
In the 195-pound class, Pope’s Dylan Moss solidified the title with an 11-3 win over Caleb Gonser, good for four points.
On Friday, Pope barely advanced to the finals as Moss also won the last match of the semifinals in downing Creekview.
In duals wrestling, teams face one another head-to-head as in other team sports, while the traditional format has them competing at the same time.
The state championship was the sixth overall and the fourth in duals for Pope, which also won duals titles in 2012, 2013 and 2014. The Greyhounds won traditional state titles in 2011 and 2012.
The finals against Richmond Hill was close the entire way. The Greyhounds lost the first two matches on falls and fell behind 12-0. But Pope’s Aidan Karpinski picked up six big points for his team in the 106-pound class by recording a fall.
Joey Robinson (120) and Max Druholt (126) won back-to-back. Alex Hearn won by an 11-0 score at 138 for four more points, and was followed by Patrick Haskins (145) and Connor Weeks (152).
Richmond Hill won two of the next three matches to set up the finale, but picked up only six points.
The traditional post-season begins at the end of January and into mid-February, when the state finals also will be contested in Macon. Pope was runner-up in 2019.
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But that was for specifications for seating for 2,500, and was revised to include more capacity and factor in annual construction inflation of six percent.
The building includes varsity locker rooms for the Lassiter girls and boys basketball teams and the Trojans volleyball team, as well as locker rooms for visiting teams and a practice facility for the Lassiter wrestling team.
The Lassiter gym is the second new gym to open for an East Cobb school in recent months.
The new Walton gym was broken in by the Raiders’ state championship volleyball team in the fall.
That’s part of a new $31.7 million project at Walton that includes main and auxiliary gymnasiums, a wrestling room, a weight room, locker rooms, a main theater, a black box theater and band, orchestra and choral suites.
On Jan. 24, Walton will play host to Lassiter in basketball in its new gym.
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After more than a decade, and some questions of whether it would ever come about, Mabry Park opened in 2019, a long overdue passive park addition in East Cobb.
The ribbon-cutting celebration in May included members of the Mabry family, who sold 26 acres of their historic farmland on Wesley Chapel Road to Cobb County right before the recession.
The economic downturn halted the project at that point, although a master plan was later completed to maintain the future park with a rural feel.
The Friends of Mabry Park persisted with their vision, along with Cobb commissioner JoAnn Birrell, and many citizens of the nearby Northeast Cobb community.
“We couldn’t have gotten here without the community,” said Peter Hortman, the current president of the Friends of Mabry Park.
In another part of Northeast Cobb, a master plan was unveiled and adopted by the Cobb Board of Commissioners for future development.
Like Mabry Park, nearly 18 acres of land of Ebenezer Road will also feature a lake as its centerpiece, but also is proposed to include recreational fishing.
What’s to be called Ebenezer Downs would still need construction funding by the commissioners, and no timetable has been outlined.
The land purchase in 2018 was made with proceeds from the 2008 Cobb Parks Bond referendum.
That same funding source was tapped for the county to acquire 22 acres of the Tritt property on Roswell Road, envisioned as an extension of adjacent East Cobb Park.
In early December, one of the leaders of the Friends for the East Cobb Park was honored as a recipient of the East Cobb Citizen of the Year Award.
Tom Bills was the park volunteer group’s first treasurer, as it scouted property and then worked to fundraise the purchase, and as the park was built for its 2003 opening.
The former Tritt property is designated as greenspace for now.
Bills is currently is a senior construction project manager for the Cobb Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs, and was involved in the Mabry Park project.
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After the Cobb Board of Commissioners approved a master plan for the new Ebenezer Road park property Monday night, commissioner JoAnn Birrell said the name of the 18-acre park would be Ebenezer Downs.
The master plan approval came on a 4-0 vote (with commissioner Bob Ott absent), and after a brief presentation by Cobb parks director Jimmy Gisi (previous ECN post here).
The land at Ebenezer and Canton Road was two homesteads that features a lake and wooded areas.
The features of the master plan are a fishing lake and lakeside pavilion, walking trails, a playground, a 30-space parking lot. One of the homes would be used for small events, including wedding receptions and private parties, and public restroom facilities would be built.
The entry to the park would be aligned with the Ebenezer Road entrance to Noonday Baptist Church.
Gisi said community suggestions during public feedback meetings in recent months that the county took back to its parks consultant resulted in a better master plan.
“It’s a beautiful piece of property,” Birrell said. “I go by there a lot and people are fishing all the time.”
The master plan approval does not include park construction; that funding would have to approved separately by the commissioners and no timetable for that consideration has been announced.
Also on Monday, commissioners approved spending $373,000 in 2016 SPLOST funds for an operations barn at Hyde Farm in East Cobb. Gisi said construction is expected to be completed by next June.
Also approved was relocation of parking space at the Mountain View Community Center, costing $572,000 due to the adjacent Sandy Plains MarketPlace that’s in private development.
The county formerly shared parking with Mountain View Elementary School before it relocated to make way for the retail center.
Commissioners also voted to rename the East Cobb Senior Center the Tim D. Lee Center, in the memory of the late Cobb commission chairman (previous ECN story here).
Lee’s widow and children were in attendance, as was former chairman Sam Olens, who like Lee served District 3 in Northeast Cobb on the commission.
Commission chairman Mike Boyce also presented a proclamation to Tejas Veedhulur of Boy Scout Troop 1776 for his Eagle Scout project cleaning up the Gold Branch of the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area off Lower Roswell Road.
The troop meets at the Catholic Church of St. Ann.
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A proposed master plan for the Ebenezer Road Park to include a lakeside pavilion, playground and walking trails—including access to trails serving nearby Noonday Creek Park—will be considered Monday by the Cobb Board of Commissioners.
The master plan proposal was put together following public information sessions in recent months. Most of the 17.5 acres on Ebenezer Road at Canton Road comprises a lake that the proposal indicates could be used for public fishing, and includes former homes that could be used for events.
The Ebenezer Road Park master plan is one of two on Monday’s agenda, including the new Furr Park on Old Westside Road in South Cobb (read about them here).
The lands were purchased in 2018 with proceeds from the 2008 Cobb Parks Bond referendum. The Ebenezer Road property had an open house for the public before master plan work was conducted.
They’re designed to be passive parks, with most of their natural settings preserved. At the entrance to the Ebenezer Road Park is a parking lot and the playground (in yellow).
A lake takes up most of the Ebenezer Road Park land bought by Cobb County in 2018.
The master plan approval is meant to provide a guideline for build-out of the park, which would have to be approved and paid for separately by commissioners, and no timetable has been established.
It will be the second new passive park in Northeast Cobb in recent years, following the opening of Mabry Park in May.
The recent county land acquisitions include nearly 30 acres of Tritt property next to East Cobb Park. A master plan has not been commissioned for that land, which for now is designated green space.
Also on Monday, commissioners will hear a proposal to build an operations barn at the Hyde Farm property off Lower Roswell Road.
The former farmland has been preserved to re-establish its history as a working farm dating back to the early 1800s. The 2016 Cobb Parks SPLOST program includes funding for the barn, which would store farm equipment and supplies, and a low bid of $373,000 is being recommended.
The pond at Hyde Farm, an 1800s-era working farm, located off Lower Roswell Road.
Commissioners also will be asked to spend $572,687 to relocate and expand event parking at the Mountain View Community Center (3330 Sandy Plains Road), due to nearby construction of the Sandy Plains MarketPlace.
The new shopping center is going up on the former site of Mountain View Elementary School, and the community center shared some of the school’s parking space.
But the new development is private, and the community center’s parking lot is being moved to fit totally onto county-owned land.
The center has recently undergone renovations, but enabling it to serve as a venue for events including weddings, reunions and private parties also requires additional parking under county zoning codes.
Funding for that project also has been earmarked in the 2016 Cobb Parks SPLOST.
Monday’s meeting starts at 6 p.m. in the second floor board room of the Cobb government building, 100 Cherokee St., downtown Marietta.
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The opening of East Cobb Park in 2003 was the culmination of five years of planning, persistence, community involvement and commitment.
What began as a dream for a passive park in the heart of a bustling suburban community turned into a full-throttle campaign that made its reality even more gratifying for those behind it.
Several founding members of the Friends for the East Cobb Park discussed that history this week before the East Cobb Area Council of the Cobb Chamber of Commerce, where the park idea was incubated.
“It was a big idea, and it was Sunny’s idea,” said Mary Karras, the first president of the Friends for the East Cobb Park, referring to Sunny Walker.
She was a co-owner of the Frameworks Gallery in East Cobb and a leading arts and community advocate who was the guiding force behind the creation of the park.
“She said, ‘I think we need a passive park in East Cobb,’ ” Karras recalls. “I said, ‘What’s a passive park?’ ”
Walker had a vision, but that’s all the Friends group, formed as a non-profit in 1998, had to go on.
Identifying a possible location, purchasing it and then turning it over to Cobb County for development as a park were all formidable tasks.
Finding land that was close to the Merchants Walk area, that was affordable and suitable for passive park was a tall order.
When a member of the Bowles family came to the bank where Karras worked and offered to sell 13 acres of what had been farmland on Roswell Road, he told her he also had done an environmental study.
That’s when Karras turned to Tom Bills, a resident of the adjacent Mitsy Forest subdivision, and an engineer by training.
“The land was clean and good and ready for us to purchase,” said Bills, a former Friends treasurer and president.
Mary Karras and Kim Paris, co-founders of Friends for the East Cobb Park, with current president Lee O’Neal. (East Cobb News photo by Wendy Parker)
Fundraising was the next step, and it was a comprehensive approach. Cobb County offered a match, but Karras and other Friends advocates had to hustle to get the interest of businesses, foundations and everyday citizens.
Then-U.S. Rep. Johnny Isakson helped the Friends gain access to foundation and business leaders in Atlanta, and the group held events and meetings and wrote letters seeking financial support.
“We were scrambling for every hundred dollars we could find,” Karras said. “We did it because we saw it was an opportunity to create a legacy in this community.”
Without the larger community of everyday citizens contributing their share, the vision of East Cobb Park may not have gone much further.
Scout troops, school groups, families, civic organizations and others chipped in as they could. They included kids turned over big bags of change they solicited from golfers on the Indian Hills driving range.
“That meant as much to us” as the bigger checks, Bills said, “because it showed the support of the community.”
Citizens also could purchase park cobblestones and pickets for the fence around the children’s playground bearing their names. Other contributors had their names, or the names of loved ones, inscribed on park benches.
With all of that support, and most of the money, the Friends group found itself $100,000 short at closing. That’s when Riverside Bank, which had been vital in securing financing during the fundraising drive, agreed to make a loan.
When asked if she or the Friends group ever had any doubts, Karras said no, but understood how their task may come across to some: “Raising $1 million to buy land that we were going to give to the county?”
Yet the laborious fundraising campaign contained the seeds of what the Friends group also had envisioned.
“We started off slow and then we gained momentum,” Karras said. “That gave everybody ownership.”
“There was no giving up,” said Kim Paris, another former Friends president.
“Sunny dreamed big,” Karras said, “and we bought into it.”
Johnny Johnson is the owner of Edward Johns Jewelers and a longtime civic leader who serves as Santa Claus at park’s Holiday Lights festivities: “East Cobb Park became the center of our community.”
East Cobb Area Council president Dan Byers said “East Cobb Park was the crown jewel of this community before we ever moved here.”
More community support followed after the park was built and opened. A second “all-abilities” playground was built with a $75,000 grant from the Resurgens Foundation.
The Friends group continues as an active partner with the county, staging year-round events including concerts and the Holiday Lights tree lighting, which starts at 5 p.m. Sunday.
Last year, a secondary vision of expanding the park became a reality when Cobb County purchased 22 acres of adjacent property belonging to Wylene Tritt, who donated 7.7 acres of what had been the 54-acre Tritt farm.
The Friends group helped the county round out the costs at closing with a $102,000 contribution from its endowment, most of which has been paid back.
For now, the new land will remain as greenspace, but there are longer-term visions of purchasing what’s left of the Tritt land for park purposes.
“History is important, because there is a future for the park,” said Lee O’Neal, the current Friends president. “There are plenty of opportunities to develop that property and purchase more to extend East Cobb Park.”
The Cobb Board of Commissioners voted this fall to name the first bridge connecting the current park to its newer space after Walker, who died in September. A piano was donated in her name in 2017 and sits in the park gazebo.
Karras, now the manager of investor relations for the Cobb Chamber, said Walker also talked about the park one day having an arts center, and would like to see that come to fruition.
For Paris, who’s going to be a grandmother in the spring, her thoughts about the park’s future are more immediate.
“That’s why we did this,” she said, referencing the legacy mission of the park founders, “as the park continues to grow and that our community continues to support.”
Sunny Walker, co-founder of the Friends for the East Cobb Park
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The football season for the last two East Cobb schools remaining ended in crashing fashion Friday in the second round of the Georgia High School Association playoffs.
In Class 7A, Walton had a tough order playing at North Gwinnett, a state champion two years ago, and that throttled the Raiders 35-0 earlier this season.
North Gwinnett nearly doubled that score in a 60-10 rout that equalled the worst loss in Walton football history.
The Raiders fell behind early and never had a chance to get back in the game. They trailed 46-3 at halftime and scored their only touchdown in the second half, well after the outcome had been decided.
Walton’s season ends with a 6-6 record.
In Class 5A, Kell also had to go on the road at Starr’s Mill, and hung tough after a scoreless first quarter.
But the Fayette County school turned the pressure on in the second quarter to lead 24-7. Going into the fourth quarter, the Longhorns trailed 24-21 but Starr’s Mill scored three unanswered touchdowns in the fourth quarter, including on a fake punt play, to win 45-28.
Kell was 9-3 on the season.
It was announced this week that Walton and Kell will once again start the 2020 season by participating in the Corky Kell Classic next August.
In fact, the Raiders and Longhorns will be playing one another on Saturday, Aug. 22, at 9 a.m. at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in downtown Atlanta.
In recent years they’ve been the only two East Cobb schools invited to play in the start-of-season event, named after the late Wheeler football coach.
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On Dec. 3, the East Cobb Area Council of the Cobb Chamber of Commerce will reveal its 2019 East Cobb Citizen of the Year at its last breakfast meeting of the year.
The event also includes a discussion about the past, present and future of East Cobb Park with founders and visionaries of the park, including Mary Karras, Kim Paris, Tom Bills and Lee O’Neal.
The breakfast is from 7:30-9 a.m. at Indian Hills Country Club (4001 Clubland Drive). The cost is $25 for Chamber members and $35 for guests. Online registration ends on Nov. 29 (click here).
Each of the area councils of the Cobb chamber honor a citizen for work in the community with the Citizen of the Year designation. Last year, the East Cobb Citizen of the Year was Brenda Rhodes of Simple Needs GA, and in 2017 the recipient was U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson.
East Cobb Park opened on Roswell Road in 2003, after years of community advocacy and the purchase of what had been farmland belonging to the Tritt family. The all-volunteer non-profit Friends for the East Cobb Park was organized for that task, and to provide programs and events and assist with maintenance of the park, which is part of the Cobb Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Affairs.
Last year, Cobb commissioners voted to spend $8.3 million in park bond funds to purchase 22 acres of adjoining Tritt property, with plans to preserve it as greenspace and eventually expand East Cobb Park.
The Friends for the East Cobb Park contributed more than $100,000 from its endowment to complete the purchase, and launched a fundraising drive. In August, the county reimbursed $90,000 to the group.
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After losing some heartbreakingly close games this season—including to Newnan at Raider Valley—the Walton football team was involved in another nailbiter in a rematch Friday night in the first round of the Georgia state playoffs.
The Raiders took an early 10-0 lead, but Newnan kept hanging around until the final minutes, scoring 14 points in the fourth quarter. This time, however, Walton didn’t squander the lead, and came away with a 27-24 victory to move on to the second round.
Walton is only 6-5 on the season, but four of those losses have come by a combined 15 points.
What’s facing the Raiders next? The other team that beat them this season, and it was a blowout. Walton travels to North Gwinnett next Friday in another rematch in Class 7A.
North Gwinnett, which defeated Walton 35-0 in September, is coming off a 51-14 win over Shiloh on Friday.
The Gladiators, whom Walton beat two years ago en route to a state championship, are 10-1 and ranked No. 4 in Class 7A. They haven’t lost since the opening game of the season, to second-ranked Colquitt County (which ended Walton’s season last year).
The Kell Longhorns jumped to an early lead and never gave it up, defeating Columbis 48-32 in a Class 5A game Friday at Avondale Stadium in DeKalb County.
The Longhorns are 9-2, and will head to Fayetteville on Friday when they play at Starr’s Mill (8-3), which downed Harris County 28-7.
A blocked extra point made the difference between winning and losing for Sprayberry, which reached the playoffs for the first time since 2011.
The Yellow Jackets had a chance to tie the game after scoring a fourth quarter touchdown at Lanier, but the point-after try was blocked, and they fell 15-14 in a Class 6A playoff game in Gwinnett County.
Sprayberry finishes the season at 6-5 and will return running back Demarion Owens, who rushed for more than 1,500 yards as a junior.
Wheeler also was back in the playoffs after a four-year absence, and faced the daunting prospect of playing at Roswell. The game was close in the first half, but after halftime the Hornets rolled to a 31-0 win in Class 7A.
The Wildcats were 5-6 under first-year head coach Bryan Love, and will move next year to Class 6A and compete in the same region with Lassiter, Sprayberry, Pope and Kell.
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Five of the six public high schools in East Cobb will be competing in the same region next year in varsity sports.
That’s after the Georgia High School Association granted an appeal by Kell High School on Tuesday to move up to Class 6A.
The Longhorns have been competing in Class 5A, and were assigned to stay in place. But the reclassification process includes the right to appeal to move up or move down.
For the next two seasons, Region 6 of Class 6A will be all Cobb County high schools, and includes Kell, Lassiter, Pope, Sprayberry and Wheeler.
The other schools in the proposed new region will be Allatoona, Kennesaw Mountain, Osborne and South Cobb.
When GHSA made reclassification assignments last week, it moved Lassiter and Wheeler down from Class 7A. Pope and Sprayberry remain in Class 6A.
Walton remains in Class 7A, but will have different region foes. Instead of competing against Roswell, Etowah, Cherokee and Woodstock, the Raiders will be in a Region 3 field that includes Harrison, Hillgrove, Marietta, North Cobb and North Paulding.
For the last few years, only Lassiter and Walton were in the same region. Wheeler has been in a far flung region in Class 7A that includes Pebblebrook, Campbell, Westlake of Atlanta, Newnan and East Coweta.
Pope and Sprayberry were in different regions in Class 6A, and Kell’s region rivals in 5A also were spread out, from Cartersville to Rome to Carrollton.
On Friday, four East Cobb schools will compete in the GHSA football playoffs: Sprayberry at Lanier (Gwinnett County), Wheeler at Roswell, Kell at Columbia and Newnan at Walton.
The only ranked East Cobb team heading into the post-season is Kell, at No. 8 in Class 5A.
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Three of them have been familiar faces in the post-season in recent years, while the other will be returning to the playoffs for the first time in a long while.
Sprayberry pounded River Ridge 40-7 Friday to close out the regular season at 6-4, and earn the No. 3 seed in Region 6 of Class 6A.
It’s the first playoff bid since 2011 for the Yellow Jackets, whose third-year head coach, Brett Vavra, is a former Sprayberry player and graduate.
Sprayberry must travel in the playoffs, visiting Lanier of Gwinnett County. The Bulldogs are 9-1 on the season and are ranked 8th in Class 6A. The Yellow Jackets’ star player, running back Damarion Owens, ran for more than 300 yards Friday, and is the leading rusher in Cobb County with more than 1,500 yards.
Comeback for the Wildcats
Wheeler’s last season in Class 7A will come with a playoff appearance. The Wildcats came from behind late on Friday to defeat Pebblebrook 21-14, getting the winning touchdown with one second remaining on the game clock.
Wheeler (5-5) earned the fourth and final playoff spot from Region 2 of Class 7A, its first post-season berth in four years. On Friday, Wheeler, under first-year coach Bryan Love, will play at Roswell.
Kell had already nailed down the No. 3 seed from Region 7 of Class 5A before Friday’s regular season finale at winless Woodland, but didn’t let up in a 51-7 win to improve to 8-2.
The Longhorns’ high-powered offense led by quarterback Corbin LaFrance was clicking from the outset. Two early-season losses to Rome and Carrollton, however, have prevented them from starting their playoff run at home.
Kell, ranked No. 11 in Class 5A, travels to DeKalb County on Friday to play Columbia, which is 5-5.
A familiar foe for the Raiders
Walton was hoping to close out the regular season as champion of Region 4 of Class 7A. For most of Friday’s game at Raider Valley against Woodstock, the game was close.
But the teams were tied at 22-22, forcing overtime. Walton scored first to lead 29-22, then Woodstock tied the game with a touchdown. Then the Wolverines, who had only two wins on the seasons, went for a two-point conversion and got it to win 30-29.
It was the third heartbreaking loss of the season for the Raiders, who are 5-5 but get to play at home in the playoffs. They will be playing host on Friday to Newnan, 6-4, which defeated Walton earlier in the season in one of those close games, by a 10-7 score.
The loss also prevented an all-East Cobb contest in the playoffs, since Walton, and not Roswell, would be facing Wheeler.
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