South Forsyth ended its most dismal season in memory with a loss to rival West Forsyth 38-13. The War Eagles finished the 2023 season 1-9 and missed the playoffs for the first time in ten seasons. To their credit, South played a decent second half instead of folding the tent. The team will bring in a group of Sophomores next seaon who won a middle school tiltle at Lakeside. An offseason of hard work is in store as the team looks to rebound and return to respectability. This year and early next, the Georgia High School Association (GHSA) is going to realign the regions and districts, eliminating the 7A level. To meet the enrollment requirements of 7A the past few seasons, most of the larger schools in middle and south Georgia had to travel hundreds of miles for even region games. This new alignment will certainly help cut down on those fuel and time constraints. Georgia will top out at 6A. Coaches and administrators will begin the task of scheduling once the playoffs have finished in December. We’ll get a look at the new district line-up in our final Coaches Corner with South Head Football Coach Troy Morris this week. Keep an eye out for the headline.
On a personal note, I want to thank Mike Newsome, who has handled the analyst’s chair next to me for the last few seasons, for stepping into the play by play role this year. Followng the ball and relaying the results to your listeners is not an easy task, but Mike fearlessly stepped in to the role and saved the season. Thanks also to Bobby Missos, a graduate of South who is a journalism major at Georgia State. Bobby’s brother Mike will be a Senior quarterback on next year’s squad, and this gave Bobby some terrific insight as he sat next to Mike Newsome on the live call. His raw talent and youthful energy were a great addition to the team and I’m grateful for his participation. I also want to thank my friend and forever partner Doug Thomas. Doug, if you don’t know, is the stadium voice of the War Eagles and mans the color chair on the road. He is the heart of the media team and this season would have been silent if not for his leadership as Producer.
I have experienced kidney failure, which has affected my ability to walk even short distances, and so I could not get up into the press box. I began hemo-dialysis at the end of September and am in much better health. My blood pressure is in a very good range consistently, my heart rate and oxygen level are solid every day and night, my last A1c was 6.1, (my target is 7.0), and 95% of the swelling I was carrying around, including worrisome fluid on my right lung, has disappeared. But I’m down to 160 lbs and don’t have a lot of strength and endurance yet. That’s the mission moving forward. My goal is to be in the pressbox in May for the Blue/White Spring Game. I also hope to resolve some issues with the podcast technical quality with our set up. I also want Bobby to stand by. I’d really like to call a game with him next year, as a third voice at home. I’ve only spoken to him on the phone, so it will be great to meet him.
Here is the replay of the game at West Forsyth. Congratulations to the Wolverines. They beat Lambert earlier in the region schedule and finihed 4-1, so their only loss to 5-0 Milton earns them a home playoff game. Lambert is maybe the best 3-2 region team in the state, but they and fourth place Denmark will have to travel in round 1.
South Forsyth at West Forsyth Part One: Pregame. (Audio Trouble)
https://forsyth-sports-365.mixlr.com/recordings/2280550
South Forsyth at West Forsyth Part Two. Game (Cleaned up and solid) Mike Newsome and Doug Thomas on the call
https://forsyth-sports-365.mixlr.com/recordings/2280552
