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’10 LaGrange-Spalding Co./Griffin Series History
By Scott Sickler, LaGrange Football Historian
•LaGrange-Spalding Co./Griffin Series:
—LaGrange leads the all-time series with Spalding Co. by a 11-5 margin. The schools first met in 1932. LaGrange and Spalding Co. last played in 1951 with the then called Spalding Co. Wolfpack posting a 33-6 win.
—LaGrange and long-time foe Griffin High Bears (also known as the Gold Wave and Eagles) are tied at 26-26-1 overall in what was in its heyday as intense a rivalry in all of GHSA football, particularly the 1980s. LaGrange and Griffin first met in 1923 with the Gold wave posting a 14-13 win over the then called LaGrange Veterans. LaGrange defeated Griffin in 1924 by a 62-3 score en route to posting a "claim" for the first of three straight state titles in 1924, 1925 and 1926. LaGrange's first claim to a state title came in 1921 and is one of five claimed before the official GHSA-sanctioned playoffs and state championships came in the 1948 season. LaGrange has five "claimed" state titles and six officially GHSA- recognized state championships since 1948 — 1955, 1958, 1991, 2001, 2003 and 2004. LaGrange and Griffin did not meet again after 1924 until 1942, a 26-0 Griffin win and LaGrange also played Spalding Co. as well. Griffin and Spalding Co. were bitter rivals throughout their history. LaGrange played both Griffin and Spalding Co. every year from 1942-1951. Griffin and Spalding Co. were separate high schools in the 1900s and all the way to 1953 when the two rivals merged into Griffin High. LaGrange did not hold an all-time series lead against Griffin High until the 1956 game in then holding a 9-8 series lead. LaGrange won five of the last six games played between the rivals when it ended in 1999 and now tied at 26-26-1 overall. LaGrange moved to 3A and Griffin was in 4A. Spalding Co. came back into existence in the 2000 football season, separate from Griffin High.
—Griffin claimed the 1942 Class B state championship with a terrific team with a 9-1 mark.
—Griffin also tied Valdosta 7-7 for the GHSA 4A state title in Valdosta in 1978. Griffin went 12-2-1, lost to Newnan (14-7) and lost to Heritage (7-0) and edged LaGrange, 22-21.
—Spalding Co. claimed the 1937 Class B state championship as both Griffin and Spalding Co. were undefeated but had never met before Spalding Co. went on to Albany for the state title game while Griffin forfeited all its rights to the postseason due to its refusal to meet Spalding Co. in a tie-breaker showdown game among two undefeated local rivals. Spalding Co. defeated Moultrie 6-0 to claim the state title in a 9-0-1 season. From 1953 to 1999, Griffin was the lone high school in Spalding Co. until Spalding Co. High School was reopened in 2000.
Clean Sweep Grangers
—LaGrange
was a clean sweep winner of the
—Olajubutu, Blackmon and Mansour named to maxpreps.com (CBS Sports website) Georgia All-Decade Team for 2000-09. Linebacker Sam Olajubutu (2001—led team to 14-0 season and 3A state championship and considered one of LaGrange's all-time greatest players and leaders); linebacker Tray Blackmon (2004) resembled a missile and played on three LaGrange state championship teams in 2001, 2003 and one of the school's all-time greatest teams in 2004. Was also the AJC all-classification player of the year and unanimous All-American); and placekicker Joseph Mansour (2009), Georgia's all-time 50-yard plus field goal kicker wlth five FGs over 52 yards each. Also had 84 percent of his kickoffs in high school in the end zone for automatic touchbacks. Currently at the University of Kentucky.
—LaGrange has posted an all-time
state playoff record of 59-27-1 and 54-25-1 since 1948 (GHSA-recognized.)
—LaGrange’s regular season finale
against Troup will be the school’s 1,000th all-time officially
recorded game. It’s
believed LG has well over 700 wins but many are missing from 1908-09
to 1920 seasons. —LaGrange Football — a championship program. LaGrange just completed the school’s most successful decade of GHSA 3A football with a sparkling 114-17 overall record from 2000-09 seasons. Peach Co. was second at 102-27 and Shaw third at 101-28. In the decade of 2000-09, LaGrange was ranked No. 1 for 53 weeks, far and away the best in 3A football. Cairo was second at 14 weeks, Hart Co. third at 12 weeks, Screven Co. fourth at 10 weeks, Carver fifth at nine weeks and Peach Co. sixth at eight weeks. WACO, Cartersville, Carrollton, Gainesville, Fitzgerald and Swainsboro rounded out the Top-12.
—LaGrange coach Steve Pardue is
156-40 in 16 years overall as the Grangers coach, including three
state championships (2001, 2003 and 2004). Pardue was also an
assistant coach on LaGrange’s 1991 15-0 GHSA 4A and USA-Today
national championship team. Pardue has amassed an impressive
26-10 state playoff record in 12 seasons of postseason play, one
of the top marks and one of the highest winning percentages in all
of GHSA football.
—LaGrange Anniversary teams: The
2010 season is the 80th anniversary of the 1930 Grangers. In
1930, LaGrange’s nickname was the Veterans, a contest was held and
chose Grangers as the official nickname, which has stayed the same
for 80 years now. LaGrange defeated Newnan 33-0 in 1930 (Nov.
22) to lay a claim for the mythical state championship, it’s fifth
overall at that time — along side other claims in 1921, 1924, 1925
and 1926. LG then went on to lose the Southern prep football
championship to Columbia, S.C. in the Charity Bowl, by a 30-6 score.
The 2010 season is also the 85th anniversary of the perfect
season LaGrange Veterans of 1925, the school’s third claim to a
state title (1921, 1924 others.)
—The 2010 season is also the 55th
anniversary of the LaGrange 1955 co-state championship team.
LaGrange tied Rossville 13-13 on Dec. 9, 1955 in bitterly cold
Rossville, Ga., on the
—LaGrange vs. legendary Region 1 counterparts. From 1954-67, LaGrange was a combined 69-40-7 against Region 1 foes and proudly boasts and all-time record of 76-45-7 for a .621 winning percentage.
—Championship defense — LaGrange style...agile, mobile and extremely hostile. The cornerstone for any great LaGrange football team through the years has been superb team defense. It’s been the backbone of every state championship the Grangers have ever won. LaGrange’s defense has recorded an astounding 209 sacks in state championship-winning seasons in 1991 (a school-record 63), 2001 (50), 2003 (49) and 2004 (47).
•2004 LG team in elite company: The
powerhouse 2004 LaGrange 15-0 3A state championship and
nationally-ranked team (five polls) is in elite company in GHSA
football history. The ‘04 Grangers are one of just 11 teams since
1947 to have won every game by at least 11 points.
—Big Game Grangers: According
to the AJC’s computerized-rankings game, LaGrange has played in
19 of the top 200 best-ever games ever played in the state, based on
the strength of the two teams combined. LG had five of the 19 games
in 1991, including the legendary 6-0 —LaGrange has won or laid a claim to 11 state championships. LG is also 10-4-1 in title-deciding games.
—LaGrange and Newnan are now tied at 20-20 since 1966 as each school is an even 10-10 at each other's fields since Drake Stadium opened in Newnan with the arrival of Max Bass, Cougars coach for 29 years (1966-1994). —LaGrange has had five teams (‘83, ‘86, ‘90, ‘91 & ‘04) nationally-ranked in at least one national or as many as five national polls (‘04 season.)
—LaGrange has recorded an all-time
season-opening game record of 61-35-4 in 100 recorded years of
football. —LaGrange Football — a cavalcade of legends: When it comes to tradition and success, LaGrange football takes a back seat to only one program in the state of Georgia — the famed Valdosta Wildcats. Since the 1983 season, LaGrange has had five players who have been rated as the No. 1 player in the nation at their respective position or No. 1 player overall by at least one if not several national recruiting publications. In 1983, QB Vince Sutton (Alabama) and DL/OL Nate Hill (Auburn) were both considered the top prospects at their positions in the U.S. and Sutton was the overall No. 1-rated prospect in the nation by nearly every recruiting organization. In 1986, John Johnson DE/DT/LB (Clemson) was considered by the No. 1 rated player at his position(s) by several national recruiters, QB Rodney Hudson (Miss. State) in 1991 was considered as the No. 1-rated prospect and LB Tray Blackmon (Auburn) in 2004 was the No. 1-ranked LB prospect by nearly every national recruiting service.
•LaGrange has had more players
drafted by NFL teams than any other school in |