The Pope High School athletics program finished second in the Georgia Athletic Directors Association all-sports rankings for the 2025-26 school year.
The Directors’ Cup is awarded based on points accrued over all sports, in both boys and girls categories, during the school year.
Pope came in second in Class 5A of the Georgia High School Association with 1,420 points. trailing nearby Milton, which totaled 1,481 points.
Class 5A is the second-largest by enrollment, and has 57 schools.
The Pope boys came in first in the boys category with 618 points, beating out Woodward Academy (598) and Decatur (594).
The Pope girls were third in the girls category with 802 points. Milton had 958 and Creekview 885.
Greyhounds teams won four state championships: girls cross country, flag football, boys track and volleyball.
The success for Pope was bittersweet, however, as athletics director and assistant principal Josh Mathews announced last week that he is leaving for a job in Florida.
He had been at Pope for 14 years, and had been in the Cobb County School District since 2004, starting as a teacher and coach at Lassiter High School.
Mathews had recorded a video podcast, ‘Hangin’ with the AD,” in which he recounted Greyhound athletic endeavors.
“I just think about all the special moments we got to experience at Pope it was a special moment in our life, because of all the special people here, just because of who you are,” he said in his final recording last week.
“The Pope family, the Pope community was so special to us, and always will be. We are incredibly grateful for our time getting to serve here as the athletic diretor at Pope High School. What a privilege, what an honor. We wish you nothing but the best.”
Mathews and his family have been members of Johnson Ferry Baptist Church in East Cobb and his son attended Tritt Elementary School.
Also in Class 5A, Lassiter won both the boys and girls team swimming championships.
In Class 6A, with 59 schools, Walton High School was fourth in the overall standings with 1,578 points, after finishing first in 2025.
Buford easily won the all-sports competition with 1,871 points, followed by North Gwinnett (1,607) and West Forsyth (1,600).
The Walton boys were third in the boys category with 702 points, behind Buford and Carrollton.
The girls side, Walton was fifth with 876 points, behind Buford, North Gwinnett, Richmond Hill and West Forsyth.
Walton won the state girls tennis championship in Class 6A.
Also in 6A, the Wheeler boys won the GHSA state basketball championship, and in Class 4A Kell won its first state baseball title.
Related:
- Popefest celebration to start school’s 40th anniversary year
- Race-car driver from Walton HS honored as ‘positive athlete’
- Kell wins state baseball championship; Pope finishes as runner-up
- Atlanta Braves legendary manager Bobby Cox, East Cobb resident, dies
- Walton lacrosse team rallies around athlete battling cancer
- Cobb PARKS presents new Shaw Park field relocation plans
- Food scores: Atlanta Braves fare at Truist Park
- Cobb PARKS releseases spring/summer activity guide
Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!