Football

The 2011-2012 GHSA Football State Championships will be played December 9-10, 2011 at the Georgia Dome.

Location
Georgia Dome
One Georgia Dome Drive
Atlanta, GA
Map and Directions
Dome Parking Information
Dome Event Information

Schedule

Program of Events

Friday, December 9, 2011
4:30pm Class AA - Calhoun vs. Buford
8:00pm Class AAAA - Lovejoy vs. Tucker
Saturday, December 10, 2011
1:00pm Class A - Savannah Chr. vs. Landmark Chr.
4:30pm Class AAA - Burke Co. vs. Peach Co.
8:00pm Class AAAAA - Grayson vs. Walton

Admission
Championship Games: $15.00 for Presale at Schools; $20.00 for Ticketmaster and at Georgia Dome

TV/Web
All five championship games air live on Georgia Public Broadcasting TV, gpb.org/sports and GHSA.tv. DVDs can be ordered at GHSA.tv.

Radio
The Georgia News Network will carry all finals on the GHSA / GNN Radio Network. Click here for a partial list of stations.

Social Media
Follow score updates from the championships at Twitter.com/OfficialGHSA. Also join the GHSA on Facebook.com/OfficialGHSA.

Photos
Action photography from the championships will be available to order on GHSAPHOTOS.com.

Merchandise
Championship merchandise will be sold on site and can be ordered online at ghsa.teamip.com.

Lodging
The Omni Hotel at CNN Center is offering a special room rate of $129 per night on December 8-10. The Omni Hotel is conveniently located in downtown Atlanta within CNN World Headquarters and just a short walk from the Georgia Dome. Click here for reservations and more information.

Brackets

CHICAGO (December 1, 2011) — In its 27th year of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes,, The Gatorade Company, in collaboration with ESPNHS, today announced Kenyan Drake of Hillgrove HS as its 2011-12 Gatorade Georgia Football Player of the Year. Drake is the first Gatorade Georgia Football Player of the Year to be chosen from Hillgrove HS.

The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the field, distinguishes Drake as Georgia’s best high school football player. Now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Football Player of the Year award announced in December, Drake joins an elite alumni association of past state award-winners in 12 sports, including Mark Sanchez (2004-05, Mission Viejo HS, Calif.), Wes Welker (1999-00, Heritage Hall HS, Okla.), Terrell Suggs (1999-00, Hamilton HS, Ariz.), Anquan Boldin (1998-99, Pahokee HS, Fla.) and Jerome Bettis (1989-90, Mackenzie HS, Mich.).

The 6-foot-1, 205-pound senior running back rushed for 1,610 yards and 18 touchdowns on 173 carries this past season, leading the Hawks to the second round of the Class AAAAA postseason. A preseason First Team All-State selection as named by ESPNHS, Drake also hauled in 24 receptions for 315 yards and five touchdowns. On special teams, he returned 10 kickoffs for 355 yards and two scores. An Atlanta Journal-Constitution Super 11 selection, he totaled 1,600 yards and 20 touchdowns rushing and receiving as a junior in 2010.

Also a baseball standout, Drake has maintained a 3.23 weighted GPA in the classroom. He has volunteered year-round as a baseball and football instructor at local youth camps.

“Drake is a great young man with tremendous work ethic and drive,” said Shane Queen, head coach of rival North Cobb High. “He is one of the best players that I have coached against in 18 years. “He is a man of great character and does well in the classroom. If there is a better young man, player or role model, I would love to see him.”

Drake has verbally committed to play football on an athletic scholarship at the University of Alabama beginning in the fall of 2012.

The Gatorade Player of the Year program annually recognizes one winner in the District of Columbia and each of the 50 states that sanction high school football, girls volleyball, boys and girls cross country, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls soccer, baseball, softball, and boys and girls track & field, and awards one National Player of the Year in each sport. The selection process is administered by ESPNHS and the Gatorade high school sports leadership team, which work with top sport-specific experts and a media advisory board of accomplished, veteran prep sports journalists to determine the state winners in each sport.

Drake joins recent Gatorade Georgia Football Players of the Year Brian Randolph (2010-11, Kell High School) Hutson Mason (2009-10, Lassiter), Branden Smith (2008-09, Booker T. Washington High School) and Tavarres King (2007-08, Habersham Central) among the state’s list of former award winners.

To keep up to date on the latest happenings, become a fan of Gatorade Player of the Year on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. For more on the Gatorade Player of the Year program, including nomination information, a complete list of past winners, and the announcement of the Gatorade National Player of the Year, visit playeroftheyear.gatorade.com.

GHSA-TOMMY GUILLEBEAU FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS

The Executive Committee of the Georgia High School Association recently voted to name the GHSA Football Championships the “GHSA-Tommy Guillebeau Football Championships presented by Georgia Farm Bureau.”  This was a significant move to honor a person who contributed tremendously to high school football in Georgia.

“Tommy Guillebeau’s tenure as GHSA Executive Director was a pivotal time in the association’s history,” said Ralph Swearngin, who followed Guillebeau as Executive Director in 2001.  “Under his leadership the association focused more attention on serving the needs of the membership instead of just being a regulatory organization.”

A Lincoln County High School and University of Georgia graduate, Robert Thomas Guillebeau began his career as a coach and science teacher at Warren County High School in 1953. He then served three years in Korea as a U.S. Army helicopter pilot.

After returning from military service, Guillebeau taught and coached for a total of 13 years in high school before spending seven years as a high school principal and nine years as Superintendent of the Polk County School district in Cedartown. He came to the GHSA in 1987 as Associate Director under the late Bill Fordham. Guillebeau then succeeded Fordham as Executive Director in 1992 and served in that position until his retirement in June of 2001. Guillebeau and his wife Gail now live in Evans, Georgia.

“Mr. Guillebeau had the vision to understand the role that television could play in high school football,” said Swearngin. “His first contract with a network station produced the seed money for the GHSA Reserve Fund, and over the years, the amount of television coverage grew as he established a relationship with Georgia Public Broadcasting.

“Mr. Guillebeau pushed the idea of bringing football teams to the Georgia Dome for semifinal games.  At first this was just the games featuring schools from North Georgia, but as interest grew, it became a statewide event.”

At Guillebeau's urging, the GHSA began playing semifinal-round football playoff games at the Georgia Dome in 1994. Then, in 2008, the Executive Committee approved playing the championship games at the Dome. From 1994 until the present, almost three-quarters of a million fans have paid to see the games in the Dome, and tens of millions more have watched live on GPTV.