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Top 10 performers from Georgia high school football state championships

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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.

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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

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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Updated ACC Baseball Standings: Georgia Tech Stays at the top After Sweeping Wake Forest

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Updated ACC Baseball Standings: Georgia Tech Stays at the top After Sweeping Wake Forest


The college baseball season is gearing up for the final stretch before the conference tournaments begin and then NCAA regionals. Heading into that final stretch, Georgia Tech remains the team to be beat in the ACC. The Yellow Jackets rebounded from their series loss to North Carolina by run ruling No. 5 Georgia and then sweeping Wake Forest.

Georgia Tech is on top but how does the rest of the conference look?

Updated ACC Standings (as of 4/26)

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1. Georgia Tech (19-5 ACC, 36-7 Overall)

2. North Carolina (17-7, 36-8-1)

3. Boston College (33-14 overall, 16-8 ACC)

4. Miami (32-12, 12-9)

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5. Florida State (12-9, 29-14)

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6. Virginia (29-16, 12-12)

7. Pittsburgh (28-14, 10-11)

8. NC State (27-16, 10-11)

9. Louisville (26-18, 10-11)

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10. Stanford (21-19, 10-11)

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11. Wake Forest (28-17, 11-13)

12. Virginia Tech (22-20, 11-13)

13. Duke (23-23, 9-15)

14. California (22-20, 7-14)

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15. Notre Dame (19-20, 8-16)

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16, Clemson (26-19, 6-15)

Convincing sweep

It was not always pretty, as Georgia Tech trailed early in every game of this series, but they were able to overcome that and get the sweep at home agianst a Wake Forest team that had been playing well.

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The Yellow Jackets have swept four ACC series this season for the first time since 2011 and three-straight home ACC series for the first time since 1997.
The Jackets secured their 7th overall series sweep of the season, the most since 2010, still with three more weekend series on the schedule.

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GT has won 13 straight home games for the first time since 2010 (17 straight) and has won 14 straight games in the state of Georgia.
The Jackets are 25-2 at Mac Nease Baseball Park this season, the best 27-game home record since 2002.

Drew Burress recorded his fifth straight multi-hit game, going 2-for-4 with a two-run HR, a single and a walk. His five-game streak with multiple hits matches the longest such streak of his career as he extends his hit streak to six games.

He hit his eighth HR of the season in the first inning, it was his 52nd career home run, tying him with Andy Bruce (1988-91) for the 4th most in program history. He is now three homers away from tying Tony Plagman (2007-10) for the third-most and five away from Jason Varitek’s record (57) set back in 1994.

He has scored 59 runs this season, the most on the team. Burress has scored 209 runs over his career, the 10th most in program history and four away from Tony Plagman (2007-10) for the ninth most.
Burress has now delivered 63 hits this season, the second most on the team behind only Advincula.
This was his 21st multi-hit game of the season, tied for the second most on the team, behind Advincula’s 26.

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Up next for Georgia Tech is a midweek contest at Kennesaw State and then a home series against Xavier.

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A fast-growing Georgia wildfire tops 31 square miles, with evacuations possible

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A fast-growing Georgia wildfire tops 31 square miles, with evacuations possible


NAHUNTA, Ga. (AP) — One of two large wildfires in southeastern Georgia continues to grow and now exceeds 31 square miles (80 square kilometers), officials reported Sunday.

The Highway 82 Fire has been burning since April 20 and as of Saturday had destroyed at least 87 homes. On Sunday morning, officials said it was only 7% contained.

Highway 82 in Brantley County is about 35 miles (56.3 kilometers) north of the state line with Florida.

“The fire basically doubled last night in size,” Brantley County Manager Joey Cason said Sunday in a Facebook post. “It is a dynamic fire event that will be impacted by the wind.”

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Wind gusts of about 15 mph (24.1 kph) were expected Sunday.

Cason also said evacuation notices could be issued Sunday and that residents should heed them.

“We had folks that did not evacuate and they almost got caught by that fire,” he added. “It’s going to be another potential bad fire day as the winds pick up later in the day.”

A second fire about 70 miles (110 kilometers) to the southwest in Clinch and Echols counties, near the Florida state line, had burned more than 46 square miles (121 square kilometers), destroyed at least 35 homes and only was about 10% contained as of Saturday. That blaze was started by sparks from a welding operation.

The Highway 82 fire was started by a foil balloon hitting live power lines. That created an electrical arc that ignited combustible material on the ground.

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More crews were expected to arrive Sunday and Monday to help battle it, Cason said.

“There’s a ton of assets that are being poured into this fire to, hopefully, get it under control or get it out,” he said. “This whole situation is heartbreaking.”

Updated figures on homes damaged or destroyed by the blaze were not immediately available Sunday afternoon, said Susie Heisey, spokeswoman with the Southern Area Incident Management Team.

“Our firefighters worked so hard and had so much success in protecting structures and private homes, but there also were losses,” Heisey said.

Due to the ongoing fire, investigators can’t be sent in yet to assess damages, she added.

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Firefighters have been battling more than 150 other wildfires in Georgia and Florida that have sent smoky haze into places far from the flames, triggering air quality warnings for some cities.

An unusually large number of wildfires are burning this spring across the Southeast. Scientists say the threat of fire has been amplified by a combination of extreme drought, gusty winds, climate change and dead trees still littering some forests after being toppled by Hurricane Helene in 2024.

In northern Florida, Nassau County Sheriff’s Office volunteer firefighter James “Kevin” Crews died Thursday evening after he suffered an unspecified medical emergency while suppressing a brush fire. No fire deaths or injuries have been reported in Georgia.





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Carolina Panthers, Georgia Tech QB Haynes King agree to free-agent contract: Source

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Carolina Panthers, Georgia Tech QB Haynes King agree to free-agent contract: Source


The Athletic has live coverage of the 2026 NFL Draft.

The Carolina Panthers and Georgia Tech quarterback Haynes King agreed to an undrafted free-agent contract at the conclusion of the 2026 NFL Draft. The deal includes $250,000 in guaranteed money, according to a league source.

King was known for being a human wrecking ball of a quarterback, putting his body at risk for the team’s sake, with the endorsement of his coaches. It worked great in college, turning Georgia Tech from a losing program to a Top-25 team. He passed for 2,951 yards and ran for 953 in his final season, finishing second among power-conference quarterbacks in rushing touchdowns with 15.

But it would be a very hard style to replicate in the NFL. King, at 6-foot-2 and 212 pounds, does have good throwing abilities, averaging 9.9 yards per attempt over his three seasons as Georgia Tech’s starter. So his overall passing numbers may have been higher if he didn’t run it so much (520 carries over those three years.)

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King is also 25, after six years in college (three at Georgia Tech, three at Texas A&M), so he’s not much of a developmental guy. But his skill set is so unique, and his intangibles so good, that he offers intrigue on the pro level.

‘The Beast’ breakdown

King ranked No. 231 overall, and as the No. 9 quarterback, on Dane Brugler’s top 300 big board. Here’s what Brugler had to say about him in his annual NFL Draft guide:

“King needs to see things much clearer and faster to make it at the NFL level, but his competitive toughness, dual-threat skill set and diligence as a worker give him a chance to become an NFL backup.”

How he fits

Dan Morgan started the offseason by saying the Panthers would be open to bringing in backup quarterbacks who could make plays with their arms and their feet. Enter King, who in 2024 became the first player to finish with at least 2,000 passing yards and 10 or more TD passes, with a 70 completion percentage and two or fewer interceptions. King then topped it by winning the ACC Player of the Year in 2025, finishing as the only Power 4 quarterback with five games of 100-plus yards both passing and rushing.

Depth chart impact

King will start at the bottom of what is suddenly a crowded quarterback depth chart after the Panthers traded Andy Dalton and brought in Kenny Pickett, Will Grier and King. Pickett is the clear No. 2, while King will compete for the third spot with Grier, a third-round pick of the Panthers in 2019 who returned to his hometown team this week. Starting with the Hall of Fame Game in Canton, King will be fun to watch in preseason games, which often feature younger quarterbacks scrambling for big plays.

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Fast evaluation

Because of King’s skill set and what Morgan said in January, I had him coming to Carolina in the sixth round in my last Panthers mock. Canales doesn’t like to use Young on quarterback sneaks. That could be a role for the 6-2, 211-pound King in a Taysom Hill-type package. The Panthers value versatile players across their roster. Now they have one at quarterback.



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