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Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Take 10: Georgia High School Sports Greatest Dynasties
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
We always hear so much talk about Cinderella this time of the year. The NCAA tournament always seems to bring her out, and every glass slipper/pumpkin coach cliché is wheeled out for two weeks.
But at Take Ten, we just sit back and scoff at it all because we think Cinderella’s kind of ugly anyway. Give us Goliath. Yeah, as the four No. 1 seeds made up the Final Four, we were in a Goliath-type mood. That inspired us to think about the greatest dynasties in all sports in state history — the ultimate Goliaths, if you will. Here’s what we came up with:
10. Woodward Academy volleyball, 2001-05 The Eagles won five consecutive state titles, producing such stars as MacKenzie Crain and Taylor Noland.
9. Columbus baseball, 1991-96 The second-greatest dynasty in Georgia baseball history, the Eagles are still one of only two teams to win five titles in a six-year stretch.
8. Norcross boys basketball, 2006-08 This one’s not on here for its length but for how difficult it is to do. If you’ve watched basketball in this state, you know how tough it is to dominate any classification — much less the highest one — for three years in a row.
7. Parkview football, 2000-02 The Panthers are the only team since the old days of Valdosta dominance to win three consecutive titles in the state’s highest classification. One could make a case that Lowndes’ current run of three out of four is at least as impressive.
6. Taylor County girls basketball 1968-72 While they were winning five consecutive state titles and a state-record 134 consecutive games (tied for third-best all-time nationally), they also found time to play a key role in integrating sports in the state.
5. Jefferson wrestling, 2001-present Since the state went to five classifications, Jefferson has owned Class A. During that time, the Dragons have won every traditional and dual state wrestling title, 15 in all.
4. Richmond Academy baseball, 1951-57 This seven-year dynasty still stands as the longest in state history and the second-longest anywhere in the country. Coach Al Williams is a Georgia Hall of Fame coach, as well as the school’s former principal and a World War II prisoner of war.
3. Marist girls tennis, 1994-2006 This amazing run was ended last year when Starr’s Mill finally pried the state title out of the Eagles’ hands after 12 consecutive team titles that followed a singles title in 1994.
2. Westminster cross country, 1984-present The boys have won state every year since 1996, except for 2006. Not to be outdone, the girls took home the state championship from 1984-1990, 1992-2004 and again last year. This is certainly the longest dominant stretch in any sport.
1. Valdosta football, 1951-71 This is the stretch when Valdosta became Valdosta. The Wildcats won 13 titles in 21 years, including 10 undefeated seasons and a 13-1 record in the state championship game.
Go on. Take Ten. What do you think is the greatest dynasty of all time? Should any of these be kicked off the list? Is Northside-Warner Robins going to join the club in football this year? Give us your Goliaths.
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