LaGrange-Newnan Series History (Grangers-Cougars clash in 81st meeting) By Scott Sickler, LaGrange Football Historian

•The 80-year series history: LaGrange leads the all-time series with Newnan by a 49-27-4 record. The LaGrange-Newnan rivalry is the third oldest in the state and began in Nov. 1909, three years before Fenway Park was opened and Titanic sunk (both 1912)...Newnan won the first seven games of the season, five by shutouts...LaGrange’s first win in the series didn’t come until 1919, 12-6...LG-N played consistently although not all years from 1916-53, when the series ended for a 15-year hiatus and not resumed again until 1968...LG-N played every year from 1968-99, including three region playoff meetings as LG went 2-1 vs. the Max Bass-led Cougars...After playing in the GHSA’s highest classification (4A) from 1978-99, LG dropped to play schools its own size in 2000 in 3A while Newnan — nearly double the enrollment of LG — moved to 5A competition in 2000....The moves to 3A and 5A ended the LG-N series until a two-game series in 2004-05...No. 1-ranked LaGrange in 2004 routed nationally-ranked Newnan (in two polls) and ranked No. 2 in 5A preseason poll in a 35-7 blowout win...The ‘04 Grangers would go on to record a rare wire-to-wire No. 1 ranking all season in a 15-0 3A state championship season and third state title in four seasons in compiling a 55-2 overall record...The ‘04 LG team ranked in the Top-25 of three national polls at season’s end and as high as No. 9 in one poll with one of the finest teams in school history...Newnan ended LG’s 29-game winning streak in the 2005 opener at Drake Stadium, 23-14...Newnan has been a streakbreaker for long LG winning streaks in the tradition-rich rivalry between the schools...In the 1991 and ‘92 seasons, LG and N met each season with both schools sporting unbeaten marks...In ‘91, LG’s eventual 4A state and USA-Today national championship team led 17-0 and had to hold on for a hard-fought 20-14 win over Newnan...The win set up LG as the region champion and with it, the right to host a number of home playoff games, crucial to the success of the team...LG in ‘91 set a school-record for most home wins in a season with a perfect 9-0 mark including wins over Riverdale, Statesboro, Valdosta and McEachern and a road win over Colquitt Co. to clinch the championship in an amazing and thrilling five-game playoff sweep to the state and national championship...The win over Newnan in 1991 was the key game for LaGrange in setting up home playoff games as the region champion...In 1992, an unbeaten and No. 2-ranked Newnan team (Valdosta was No. 1) ended LG’s 23-game winning streak with a decisive 19-3 win at Drake Stadium...the ‘92 Cougars were a super team with talent all over the field but the season came to a crushing end in the first-round of the state playoffs at home against Colquitt Co. when coach Jim Hughes’ CC Packer team upset then 11-0 and nationally No. 9 ranked Newnan at Drake Stadium...Newnan’s largest margin of victory over LG came in 1918, a 79-0 win...LaGrange’s largest margin of victory over Newnan came in 1941 (52-0) and in the modern era in 1996 led by QB J.R. Revere (the Grangers are coming, the Grangers are coming) LaGrange routed the Max Bass-led Cougars 49-0 at Drake Stadium, his worst-ever home loss in his career at NHS (1966-94)...In the 1981 and 1982 seasons, LG and N met four times, twice in the regular season and twice in the region playoffs...In 1981, 8-1 LG defeated a 9-0 Newnan team 25-7 to spoil the Cougars run at a 10-0 regular season. Bass’ Cougars, however, got the revenge they sought against the Grangers with a convincing 21-0 win in the region championship game...In 1982, LG whipped N 26-0 in the regular season and LG held off N 10-7 in a terrific defensive battle in the region playoffs...In 1985, LG and N once again met twice in one season — once in a regular season game and in the region playoffs...Newnan defeated an outstanding LaGrange team in a 21-3 thumping before the Grangers exacted a measure of revenge on the Cougars with a decisive 21-7 win in the region playoffs...LaGrange coach Steve Pardue is 6-2 overall vs. Newnan and 1-2 vs. Newnan’s Robert Herring...Newnan’s all-time record is believed to be 480-395-35 while LaGrange’s all-time record is 648-285-31, although both schools are missing many games and many wins in the early 1900s...LG is believed to perhaps have more than 700 wins as a number of seasons are incomplete...Newnan has a long and proud football history as well...The Cougars first recorded a 10-win season in 1949 in a 10-2 season in losing to LG in the opener (32-0) and falling in the state title game to Cook Co., 19-7...LG legend Oliver Hunnicutt was 3-1 overall vs. Newnan legend Max Bass in their only four meetings (‘68, ‘69, ‘70 & ‘71)...Former LaGrange (1980-83) and now retired East Coweta coach Danny Cronic had tremendous success vs. Newnan and Max Bass...While at LG, Cronic was 5-1 vs. Bass-coached Newnan teams from ‘80-’83 and after losing to Newnan in 1992 in the first-ever EC-N game, Cronic reeled off an incredible domination of the Cougars... Cronic won 10 straight times as EC coach over rival Newnan before the streak ended...Combined at LG and EC, Cronic was 15-7 vs. Newnan and 7-2 vs. Max Bass...In another interesting twist, a Cronic-led EC team blasted LG 67-41 in 1998 at Shoemake Stadium in the highest scoring game in LaGrange history...In 2005, Robert Herring’s Newnan team routed Cronic’s EC team 66-35 at Newnan, one of the Cougars all-time highest point totals...Cronic did an amazing job of turning EC from an average small school program into one of the premiere big school programs in the state almost overnight...After losing to LG, Newnan and Troup in ‘92 in his first season at EC, Cronic defeated all three — LG, Newnan and Troup in 1993 in an amazing turnaround of success for the EC Indians...Newnan is 0-3 all-time in state championship games in falling in 1951 to Valdosta (14-9) and in 1981 lost to eventual national champion Warner Robins at Drake Stadium, 31-7...LaGrange has won 11 state championships and has posted an all-time state championship game record of 10-4-1 in 15 state title-deciding games...Bass coached at Newnan from 1966-94 and had 27 winning seasons in 29 years at NHS, region champions in 1966, 1977, 1981 and 1992 but never won a state title...Bass had some terrific talent at Newnan through the years with Warren Newsome and Jerome Walton (both future MLB stars) on the Cougars ‘81 region championship team...Steve Pardue is in his 15th season as LaGrange coach (137-33 with three state titles to his credit and was an assistant on a fourth title team in 1991)...Herring is in 10th season as the Newnan coach and is 58-43 overall but has recorded back-to-back region championships for Newnan in 2006 and ‘07 for the first time in school history...The LG-N series is very similar to the Auburn-Georgia SEC bloodfeud...LG is 10-8 all-time vs. Newnan at Drake Stadium (‘66-present) and Newnan is 9-10 vs. LG at Callaway Stadium (‘59-present)...When he arrived at Newnan in 1966, Max Bass turned around the Newnan football program immediately and his place in Cougar lore started...In 1965, Newnan was just 2-8, in ‘66, Bass’ first season, he went 9-1-1 and won the region championship, one of eight in school history and the Cougars first region title since 1951...In ‘67, Bass led Newnan to another 9-1 record and was 18-2-1 in his first two seasons...Bass and Drake Stadium came in the same season in 1966...From 1962-65, Newnan was just 9-29-2 overall and in two years, Bass had the Cougars at 18-2-1...Bass won other region titles for Newnan in ‘77, ‘81 & ‘92 in addition to ‘66...Through the 1994 season when he retired, Bass owned 14 of Newnan’s all-time 25 wins against LG and was 14-16 overall vs. LG from ‘66-’94...Bass’ career at NHS spanned five LG coaches in Hunnicutt to ‘71, Hightower to ‘79, Cronic to ‘83, Guthrie to ‘93 and Pardue to ‘94 when he retired...Since 1968, LG is 20-17 vs. N...LG clinched a claim for then its fifth state title in 1930 after defeating Newnan, 33-0...LG then went o to lose the Southern prep football championship to Columbia, S.C. in the Charity Bowl, 30-6...LG has had five teams ( ‘83, ‘86, ‘90, ‘91 & ‘04) nationally-ranked in some poll...Newnan’s longest winning streak in the series was the first seven games, 1909-1918...LG’s longest winning streak is 12 from 1929-41 before a tie in 1942 (13-13) ended the streak...LaGrange has recorded an all-time season-opening game record of 61-32-4 in 97 recorded years of football...LG and N have met in season openers on 11 occasions in the 79-game series with the Cougars holding a commanding 7-3-1 series lead...Since offensive coordinator David Traylor (see team picture, back row, sixth from the far left) joined the LG football staff in 1982, the following are facts: 240-67 overall record, 13 region championships, one sub-region title, four state championships (‘91, ‘01, ‘03 & ‘04), one USA-TODAY NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP — 1991— five state championship game appearances, 12 NFL players, 67 all-state players, 14 All-Americans, three perfect season teams (‘91, ‘01 & ‘04), eight No. 1 rankings sometime during the seasons, seven undefeated 10-0 regular seasons and 14 10-win seasons...The 2008 season commemorates the silver or 25th anniversary of the ‘83 Grangers team which went 14-1, was nationally-ranked (as high as No. 8 in the USA-Today poll, finished No. 24 at 14-1), upset No. 1 in the nation Clarke Central (28-20), had two All-Americans in QB Vince Sutton and DT/OT Nate Hill and is considered one of the finest in school history...2008 also marks the golden or 50th anniversary of coach Oliver Hunnicutt’s 1958 3A state champions, also one of the greatest in school history...The ‘58 Grangers were Hunnicutt’s second state title team at LG but first undisputed as LG and Rossville tied for the ‘55 title...The ‘58 Grangers were led by Ted Alford at QB, star running back Jimmy Burson (Auburn, Atlanta Falcons), Doug Messer (Florida State) and others...The key game in 1958 was a thrilling 23-21 come-from-behind win over Wright Bazemore’s Valdosta Wildcats on Jerry Buttrum’s 29-yard field goal with 2:05 left in the game...The ‘58 state championship for LG over Decatur was held Dec. 12, ‘58 and played at then called Callaway Stadium but was actually a baseball field until the football stadium was constructed in 1959...The 2008 season also marks the 50th anniversary of Callaway Stadium with the first game played in 1959...In the Callaway Stadium opener, LG was the defending Georgia big school champions (3A) and Lanett under legendary coach Mal Morgan (Auburn) was the Alabama big school champions as well...The date was Sept. 11, 1959 and LG ended Lanett’s long winning streak with a 15-0 win in the first game ever played at the new Callaway Stadium...LG is 218-71-6 all-time in games played at Callaway... •LaGrange success – 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 25 years ago this year, 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...John Johnson DE/DT/LB (Clemson) in 1986 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...In 2008, standout junior placekicker Joseph Mansour is already mentioned as one of the nation’s premier kickers and will have a strong shot to be a prep All-American and No. 1-rated kicker in the 2009 season...LaGrange has had more players drafted by NFL teams than any other school in Georgia since 2000...LaGrange also is one of the top producers of SEC talent.