Georgia

Top 10 performers from Georgia high school football state championships

Published

3 months ago

December 20, 2025

Press Room

Top 10 performers from Georgia high school football state championships

AJC Varsity

Stars like Deuce Lawrence and Tyriq Green standout in a week of big plays and historic performances.

Thomas County Central running back Deuce Lawrence (right) celebrates with offensive lineman Zion Garlington after Lawrence scored during the first half of their Class 5A championship game on Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. (Daniel Varnado for the AJC)

Standout players weren’t hard to find all week at the Georgia High School Association football state championships at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Four University of Georgia signees battled for a de facto national championship, a Wake Forest signee broke a GHSA rushing record and several other impact players made their case for more scholarship offers in a star-studded week.

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Cayden Benson, QB, Creekside

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Kobe Carnage, DB, Thomas County Central

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JaMarcus Davis, DB, Carver-Columbus

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Kelby Glaze, RB, Lincoln County

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Tyriq Green, RB/DB, Buford

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Zykie Helton, OL/DL, Carrollton

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Caleb Hill, QB, Sandy Creek

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Josh Hopkins, QB, Bowdon

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Christian “Deuce” Lawrence, RB, Thomas County Central

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Jarvis Mathurin, RB/DB, Hebron Christian

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Jack Leo is a sports writer and reporter for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Jack worked for the AJC throughout his four years studying journalism and sports media at Georgia State University and the University of Georgia. He’s now focused on telling stories in the grassroots: bringing comprehensive coverage of high school sports for AJC Varsity.

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Georgia

Tyson Foods to shut down Georgia prepared food plant, laying off 168 employees

Published

10 hours ago

April 3, 2026

Press Room

Tyson Foods to shut down Georgia prepared food plant, laying off 168 employees

Tyson Foods is shutting down its prepared foods plant in Rome, Georgia, next month, laying off over a hundred employees as part of the closure.

According to a notice posted to Georgia’s WARN Act database, the company plans to close its plant on Darlington Drive, which is operated under The Hillshire Brands Company, on May 31. The notice shows that all 168 workers employed at the plant will be laid off.

The WARN Act, or Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, requires certain employers to give advance notice of large layoffs or closures, giving workers time to prepare for job loss.

In a release shared to CBS News Atlanta, a spokesperson for the company called the closure a “difficult decision.”

“The facility has operated under a unique single-customer model, but recent changes have made continued operations at the site no longer viable,” the spokesperson said. “We recognize the impact this has on our team members and the Rome community. Supporting our people is our top priority, and we are encouraging impacted team members to apply for other roles within the company while working with state and local partners to provide support during this transition.”

This is the latest closure by the multinational meat giant, which has struggled with losses in the beef business. Last year, the company closed its beef plant in Lexington, Kentucky, which had employed roughly 3,200 people in the city of 11,000. In 2024, Tyson closed a pork plant in Perry, Iowa, that employed 25% of the town’s working-age residents.

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Georgia

LIVE Updates: No. 3 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets vs California Baseball, Game One Score

Published

23 hours ago

April 2, 2026

Press Room

LIVE Updates: No. 3 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets vs California Baseball, Game One Score

Bottom of the 5th

Top of the 5th

Coleman Lewis came into the game and hit a one out home run to push Georgia Tech’s lead to 15-0 and after Rogers struck out swinging, Baker hit his second home run of the night to make it 16-0. Burress then walked and Brosius entered the game in place of Lackey and he walked to put two runners on. A pair of wild pitches advanced the runners and scored Burress to make it 17-0 and then Cal got the final out,

Bottom of the 4th

McKee gives up two singles, but no runs. GT leads 14-0 heading to the 5th

Top of the 4th

A solo home run from Baker made it 13-0 in favor of Georgia Tech and then after a pair of walks, a sac fly from Hernandez made it 14-0. Schmidt flew out to end the inning, but the lead has grown by two runs.

Bottom of the 3rd

Scoreless 1-2-3 inning for McKee. GT leads 12-0 heading to the 4th

Top of the 3rd

Burress got things started with a leadoff single and then a walk from Lackey put two runners on with no outs. A 2-RBI triple from Advincula pushed the lead to 11-0 and then after a walk from Hernandez, Schmidt drove in Advincula to make it 12-0. Yellow Jackets did not add any more and they lead 12-0 heading to the bottom of the 3rd

Bottom of the 2nd

McKee walks one and gives up a single, but keeps Cal off the board. GT leads 9-0 heading to the 3rd

Top of the 2nd

Scoreless 1-2-3 inning for GT. Yellow Jackets lead 9-0 heading to the bottom of the 2nd

Bottom of the 1st

Scoreless 1-2-3 inning for McKee. GT leads 9-0 heading to the 2nd

Top of the 1st

Burress got a leadoff walk and then Lackey doubled to put runners on second and third with no outs. A 2-RBI double from Advincula gave Georgia Tech an early 2-0 lead. Advincula advanced to third on a wild pitch and after Hernandez walked, Schmidt drove in Advincula with a sac fly to make it 3-0.

Zuckerman then singled to put runners on the corners and that led to an RBI double from Kerce to make it 4-0 with just one out. A throwing error scored Zuckerman and put Kerce on third and Daniel on first. That was it for the Golden Bears starting pitcher and they made a change.

The change did not produce immediate results. An RBI single from Baker made it 6-0 and after Burress struck out swinging, another error scored Daniel to make it 7-0 and then Advincula came up with another big hit, with an RBI double pushing the lead to 8-0. Hernandez walked in his second at bat of the inning and then Schmidt drew a bases loaded walk to make it 9-0. Then, Cal made another pitching change for the Golden Bears. Zuckerman struck out swinging, but it was a huge inning for GT

Pregame

RHP Tate McKee (4-0) is on the mound today and here is how Georgia Tech is going to be lining up:

1. CF Drew Burress

2. C Vahn Lackey

3. 2B Jarren Advincula

4. RF Alex Hernandez

5. 1B Kent Schmidt

6. 3B Ryan Zuckerman

7. SS Carson Kerce

8. LF Caleb Daniel

9. DH Will Baker

The No. 3 ranked Yellow Jackets enter the weekend series at Cal with a 23-5 (9-3 ACC) record, the best 28-game record since 2010.

Tech has won 23 games with five or fewer losses for only the 11th time in the program’s 131 seasons: 2010, 2008, 2003, 2002, 1997, 1994, 1992, 1990, 1971 and 1906 Head coach James Ramsey is tied with his predecessor, Danny Hall, for the best record by any first-year GT head coach through the first 28 games of their tenure.

Jarren Advincula is making his return to the Bay Area after playing each of the first two seasons of his college career at Cal. The junior enters the weekend leading the ACC in hits (47) and in the midst of a 12-game hitting streak. Should he collect a hit in all three games this weekend, he would match his career long hitting streak.

This will be the just the second weekend series between Georgia Tech and Cal and the 7th, 8th and 9th meetings overall. GT leads the all-time series 4-2 after winning all four games against the Golden Bears last season – a 3-0 series sweep in Atlanta and a 10-3 victory in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals in which the Yellow Jackets set an ACC Tournament record with seven home runs.

The Jackets went 3-0 in the state of California last season when they became the first college baseball team from east of the Mississippi River to sweep Stanford, at Stanford in a three-game series.

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Brother of Smurf Millender commits to Georgia basketball

Published

1 day ago

April 2, 2026

Press Room

Brother of Smurf Millender commits to Georgia basketball

It’s a big week for Georgia basketball and the Millender family.

Two days after point guard Smurf Millender announced he was returning to the Bulldogs, his brother Kemauri committed to Georgia, he told the Athletic on April 2.

Kemauri Millender is a 6-foot-guard who averaged 9.5 points and 1.9 assists as a redshirt sophomore at New Mexico Junior College where he started 34 games. He shot 32.4% from 3-point range, making 46,for a team that went 27-7.

Kemauri Millender was a top 100 honorable mention selection by JucoRecruiting.com and All-Region V.

He averaged 16.1 points and 3.3 assists in the 2024-2025 season at Hill College in Hillsboro, Texas.

Smurf Millender was third on the Bulldogs in scoring this past season at 12.0 points per game and led the team with 4.1 assists per game. He started down the stretch after coming off the bench earlier in the season.

Smurf and Kemauri played together at Clear Brook High in the Houston area.

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