While stats and information relating to most collegiate and professional sports teams is well-recorded…to say the least…and can usually be found from multiple online sources, that’s not always the case for high school sports teams. But the information, stories and history are surely there.

Mark Dykes, editor of In The Game Magazine, has created a platform for many stories and information about Georgia’s high school teams and athletes to find exposure.

While all sports and regions of the state are covered, South Georgia football definitely captures a lot of time and attention from the magazine in the fall. A Worth County alumnus himself, Mark’s grown up surrounded by the captivating atmosphere the sport offers its communities.

Below, Mark gives you a preview of what to watch for this season in each class of Region 1 and while he admits he’s a little biased about his love of South Georgia football, it’s coming from a guy who definitely “knows his stuff.”

With another year, comes another loaded football schedule for Colquitt County. While the Packers naturally have their work cut out for them, facing a daunting built-in schedule in the highly competitive Region 1-6A, Head Coach Rush Propst will again abide by his philosophy of stacking a regular season opponent lineup that takes no prisoners.

“We’ve got Lowndes and Camden and Lee County as our home games. We travel to Valdosta and Tift ah so you know, it’s tough. It’s a tough region…it’s a war every Friday night,” said Propst.

In addition to in-state competition, Propst and crew will face national powerhouse Hoover High from Alabama on August 29, a team looking this year for its third state title.

Read more at GPB.org/sports

In-season conversation about high school football generally, and for obvious reasons, swarms around programs producing consistent wins, those with top-notch recruits and teams that ultimately find themselves surrounded by eyeballs on big playoff stages. But Atlanta Public Schools’ Media Day offered a big stage this July to every team within its district as schools look ahead to fall 2014.

One of those football teams, B.E.S.T. Academy, is putting its best foot forward in-season and outside of it to put their name on the map, as the program begins only its third season in Georgia high school football.

You could say Head Coach Joshua Moore did a pretty decent job since the program first launched, leading his team to the playoffs in only the Eagles’ second season. A nail biter in a triple overtime loss to Carver-Columbus, who finished 11-2 on the season, brought the Eagles deserved recognition.

Four of the players that were behind B.E.S.T. Academy’s ascendance from 3-7 in 2012 to 7-5 in 2013 joined Coach Moore as he presented team goals heading in to 2014.

Those athletes were senior defensive tackle/offensive guard Tyler Gibson; senior athlete Deshawn Waller, who has offers from Georgia State and Indiana; junior tight end/defensive end Robert Tucker; and junior tight end/defensive end Rickey Williams.

Watch below as Coach Joshua Moore presents his team and his thoughts at Atlanta Public School’s Fourth Annual Media Day.

In less than two months, stadiums will fill, jumbotrons will fire up and communities will rally together around the South’s staple sport as the 2014 high school football season kicks off across the state.

As teams return to the field and devise their plans for another season of ball, many are doing so under new schemes, new philosophies and a new head coach.

According to the Georgia High School Association, there will have been nearly seventy head coaching changes by the start of this upcoming season. Last year, there were eighty.

If that number seems high, it’s because it is. A few years ago and prior, football head coaching positions were not nearly as quickly nor widely abandoned, the GHSA explained.

“You’re talking about 150 head coaches changed over the last two years. That’s 30 some-odd percent of our member schools. That’s a big number,” said Gary Phillips, Executive Director of the GHSA.

The reasoning behind the turnover? Phillips and his staff believe the high volume in coaches on the move can be attributed primarily to two things. First, pressure from surrounding communities to perform; second, an improved economy making moving residences a more feasible option.

“Coaches get into situations where there are unrealistic expectations from the community, they have relative success maybe not to the satisfaction of the community, not to the satisfaction of the coach himself, so that stimulates the thoughts of moving elsewhere. So you take that and you couple it with an improving economy, that’s where the movement comes from. Three years ago, there weren’t very many vacancies and coaches were hesitant to change schools. You buy a house and sometimes, you get in places where you own the house and you can’t sell it. But I think now, things are better. Being able to put up a house for sale and actually have someone buy it is a much better situation than we were in before,” said Phillips.

Another theory, according to Atlanta sportswriter Craig Sager, is the domino effect created when coaches leave positions at top football programs.

In this year’s rotation, longtime head coach Rayvan Teague’s leaving Carrollton set off the trend.

“The Carrollton job was one of the major factors. When one big job opens up, it filters down and shuffles everything. That’s the highest paying job in the state and only the fifth time they’ve had to hire a coach in almost 60 years. After that, Ware County opens up because Dudley leaves, then Lamar County, then Cartersville, etc,” Sager explained.

The man now enjoying that highly coveted spot with the Trojans is former Ware County coach Ed Dudley. Dudley spent five seasons with the Gators, leading the 2012 squad to a state title appearance. A career 185-75 record in 22 years of coaching handedly explains Dudley’s competency for the Carrollton position.

Dudley and his wife said while they were elated to receive the offer from Carrollton, the final decision still required a great deal of time and thought. His four kids’ high involvement in their schools and the Waycross community was a major factor.

“They were fearful. They didn’t want to move and change. But they understand high school football and the high school football coach’s role and some of that involves moving. Gordon has really had to make the biggest sacrifice. He was a two-year starter at Ware County, he was coming back for his senior year and he’s had to come here and start all the way over. So it’s been toughest on him but he’s managed it well and the other kids have followed suit,” said Dudley.

While Rayvan Teague’s leave was a shock to athletes like rising senior wide receiver Jackson Hesterlee, there’s somewhat of a silver lining at the prospect of a change of pace.

“I was surprised at first, it was kinda unexpected for me but I was ready for change I guess. Last year was fun since we made it to the dome but it’s exciting with all the new stuff we’re putting in the offense and everything. We’re transitioning pretty smoothly,” said Hesterlee.

Dudley’s past success at the helm provides a bright outlook for seasons to come at the home of the Trojans. And the hot, dog days of summer are where it’s all beginning.

In less than two months, stadiums will fill, jumbotrons will fire up and communities will rally together around the South’s staple sport as the 2014 high school football season kicks off across the state.

As teams return to the field and devise their plans for another season of ball, many are doing so under new schemes, new philosophies and a new head coach.

According to the Georgia High School Association, there will have been nearly seventy head coaching changes by the start of this upcoming season. Last year, there were eighty.

If that number seems high, it’s because it is. A few years ago and prior, football head coaching positions were not nearly as quickly nor widely abandoned, the GHSA explained.

“You’re talking about 150 head coaches changed over the last two years. That’s 30 some-odd percent of our member schools. That’s a big number,” said Gary Phillips, Executive Director of the GHSA.

The reasoning behind the turnover? Phillips and his staff believe the high volume in coaches on the move can be attributed primarily to two things. First, pressure from surrounding communities to perform; second, an improved economy making moving residences a more feasible option.

“Coaches get into situations where there are unrealistic expectations from the community, they have relative success maybe not to the satisfaction of the community, not to the satisfaction of the coach himself, so that stimulates the thoughts of moving elsewhere. So you take that and you couple it with an improving economy, that’s where the movement comes from. Three years ago, there weren’t very many vacancies and coaches were hesitant to change schools. You buy a house and sometimes, you get in places where you own the house and you can’t sell it. But I think now, things are better. Being able to put up a house for sale and actually have someone buy it is a much better situation than we were in before,” said Phillips.

Another theory, according to Atlanta sportswriter Craig Sager, is the domino effect created when coaches leave positions at top football programs.

In this year’s rotation, longtime head coach Rayvan Teague’s leaving Carrollton set off the trend.

“The Carrollton job was one of the major factors. When one big job opens up, it filters down and shuffles everything. That’s the highest paying job in the state and only the fifth time they’ve had to hire a coach in almost 60 years. After that, Ware County opens up because Dudley leaves, then Lamar County, then Cartersville, etc,” Sager explained.

The man now enjoying that highly coveted spot with the Trojans is former Ware County coach Ed Dudley. Dudley spent five seasons with the Gators, leading the 2012 squad to a state title appearance. A career 185-75 record in 22 years of coaching handedly explains Dudley’s competency for the Carrollton position.

Dudley and his wife said while they were elated to receive the offer from Carrollton, the final decision still required a great deal of time and thought. His four kids’ high involvement in their schools and the Waycross community was a major factor.

“They were fearful. They didn’t want to move and change. But they understand high school football and the high school football coach’s role and some of that involves moving. Gordon has really had to make the biggest sacrifice. He was a two-year starter at Ware County, he was coming back for his senior year and he’s had to come here and start all the way over. So it’s been toughest on him but he’s managed it well and the other kids have followed suit,” said Dudley.

While Rayvan Teague’s leave was a shock to athletes like rising senior wide receiver Jackson Hesterlee, there’s somewhat of a silver lining at the prospect of a change of pace.

“I was surprised at first, it was kinda unexpected for me but I was ready for change I guess. Last year was fun since we made it to the dome but it’s exciting with all the new stuff we’re putting in the offense and everything. We’re transitioning pretty smoothly,” said Hesterlee.

Dudley’s past success at the helm provides a bright outlook for seasons to come at the home of the Trojans. And the hot, dog days of summer are where it’s all beginning.