Makes History as a Female Baseball Umpire Becoming a baseball umpire was a calling for Natola Hawthorne, the Library Media Assistant at Stone Mountain Elementary School. In 2017, while she was officiating a high school football scrimmage, she heard a voic

Cedar Grove wide receiver Jadon Haselwood surprised many people when he announced his college commitment during his sophomore year. Haselwood said he did not need another two years to decide where he would play college football. The No. 1-ranked receiver said he knew then that the University of Georgia was going to be his future home. “I felt like [Georgia] was the place for me,” he said. “My parents loved it and I liked it. We all talked about it and I just did it.” As with Haselwood’s early commit, it also did not take long for him to be considered one of the best football players in the nation from the 2019 class. A year after catching the winning touchdown pass in the DeKalb County middle school championship game for Cedar Grove, Haselwood was considered the best wide receiver in the 2019 class. He said he was surprised at how fast his success came on the football field. “Yeah, I was kind of surprised. It was a blessing,” he said. “That was my first year back playing football, in eighth grade, since I started middle school. I didn’t play park ball in sixth and seventh grade. I’d just came back that year and just balled.”

A winless season would be forgettable for most baseball players. However, for five young ladies at Cross Keys High School, the 2017 baseball season won’t be one they will forget soon—although the team did not win a game or score a run. Sophomores Jessica Cotom, Soyalina ‘Lina’ Green and Nicole Herranz, and juniors Hannah Lutterloah and Vanesa Rubio were members of the Indians baseball team.

When Jermaine Smith took over as head football coach at Cedar Grove High School in 2013, he knew he had enough talent to build a consistent winning program, but he also knew it would not be an easy task. In 2013, the team finished the season 7-5 on a second-round playoff loss. In 2016, the team finished 13-2 with a Class AAA state title—the program’s first football championship in school history.

Two years ago, Stephenson defensive end Chauncey Rivers and Tucker defensive tackle Jonathan Ledbetter were two of the top defensive recruits in the state and nation. Both players were ranked on ESPN’s Top 300 prospect list and had committed to the University of Georgia with hopes of becoming major contributors for Georgia’s defense.

After accepting the job to become the head coach of Miller Grove High School boys’ basketball team in 2004, Sharman White established a vision of competing for state titles. “Coming from a team that I had just taken to the state championship the year prior at Carver-Atlanta, I wanted to engrave that mentality into Miller Grove,” White said.

The Stephenson Jaguars football team was in desperate need of a kicker after three-year starter Wisdom Nzidee graduated last May. Nzidee kicked for Stephenson from 2011-2013 and had a season record for points scored (61) in 2012. Through the first four weeks of the 2014 season, the Jaguars did not have an accurate kicker to replace Nzidee.

The school has four team championships— two in boys’ basketball (1940, 1964) and two in girls’ track (1989, 1990). The school also has individual state champions in wrestling, including recent champion Terrance Gaddy (2008, 2009). However, the school has not been one of DeKalb County’s premiere schools in sports.

National Signing Day is a special occasion for high school football seniors, but it was more special for Tucker High School defensive tackle Elisha Shaw. As Shaw walked up on the stage in his school auditorium, everyone could see him holding a hat with the University of Georgia symbol on it. But as he was about to put on the hat, he pulled an Alabama hat from underneath the Georgia hat and placed the Alabama hat on his head.