High 5 Sports Caravan Day 1

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When you’re showing up at 48 schools in four days, you’ve gotta eat your Wheaties!

And during the first day of the High 5 Sports Football Caravan our two crews needed some extra energy as schools from the Eastside to the Southside showed off their spirit in a big way.

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#High5Sports is about to get #INYOURFACE...

Here’s a recap of all eleven stops on our Caravan tour starting with Ken Rodriguez:

Hampton Hornets

The Hampton Hornets are one of the state’s newest schools, and this year they’ll graduate their first senior class.

There’s lots of excitement buzzing around the Hornet Nation, and hopefully that will translate into wins on the football field- in only their second year playing football, the Hornets have yet to win a game.

Eagles Landing Golden Eagles

Eagles Landing High School celebrated with us today albeit with heavy hearts. Their beloved football coach Joe Teknipp died last month after a short battle with cancer. New head coach Shawn Jones honored Coach Teknipp by showing off the spirit of the Golden Eagles this morning in McDonough with an impromptu pep rally. Eagles Landing is coming off impressive back-to-back 8-3 seasons.

Eagles Landing Christian Academy Chargers 

The ELCA Chargers know how to welcome our High 5 Sports Caravan Crew.

Ken Rodriguez and photographer “Super Blaine” Kummet walked into a hallway pep rally complete cheerleaders, football players and students on the third stop along the way!

Drew Titans

Head Coach Dorwyn Lyles has the Drew Titans back on the winning track after last season’s 7-4 record. They hope to challenge for another playoff spot in 2015.

Hapeville Charter

The Hapeville Charter Hornets haven’t had a winning season in four years of playing football, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t an exciting team. With eight Division 1 prospects on the team this year, they’ll always have star power on the field- and today they had some fun with Ken Rodriguez in the classroom as well!

Tri-Cities Bulldogs

We stopped in on the Tri-Cities Bulldogs to find out what Coach Kenneth Miller has planned for this season.

What we didn’t plan on was a COMPLETE WASH OUT!

Heavy thunderstorms meant practice was canceled and our crew had to take cover and report from inside their mobile news gathering vehicle.

We still had fun at “The Dog House”

Lincoln County Red Devils

Cody Chaffins and Justin Felder started their day a couple of hours east of Atlanta at one of the state’s legendary high school football programs-Lincoln County.

The Red Devils can claim 14 state championships and a career winning mark of 83 percent! It doesn’t get much better than that.

Today they were working hard in the weight room getting ready for their opening game with arch-rival Washington-Wilkes.

Washington-Wilkes Tigers

First year Coach Jake Kelley hopes to bring the roar back to the Tiger Nation this season. He told High 5 Sports that his team is 100 percent local, something he’s very proud of, and something that the community in Washington understands well, boasting four state championships with homegrown kids.  

Greene County Tigers

Former UGA running back Robert Edwards celebrated with the rest of the Greene County student body today in what was surely the most spirited celebration along the Caravan trail. Edwards is in his fourth year as head coach at the school, but he’s yet to notch a winning season. That could change in 2015 if the Tigers match the energy of today’s pep rally in Greensboro.

Social Cirlce Redskins

The Social Circle Redskins are known for their top-notch wrestling program, but today their football team took center stage.

The entire community; including elementary, middle and high schools showed up in force at their new football stadium to welcome Justin Felder and Cody Chaffins for stop ten of the High 5 Sports Football Caravan.

The Redskins have lost 36 consecutive games, but fear not, they won a preseason scrimmage game and things appear to be looking up in 2015.

Eastside Eagles

Justin and Cody’s final stop was Eastside High School in Covington—they even welcomed us with a message on their electronic sign-thanks guys!.

New head coach Troy Hoff has some big shoes to fill replacing Rick Hurst, who never had a losing season in ten years at the school. Hurst took over the head coaching reigns at Pepperrell High School in the offseason, leaving his former assistant to run the Eagles. Hoff appears ready to make his first year in charge a memorable one.

Watch the full report from the High 5 Sports Caravan Day 1

Don’t miss day two of the High 5 Sports Football Caravan as we make our way through one of the biggest football hotbeds in the state, Gwinnett County. Our day starts with Perineal powerhouse Buford and ends with the county’s newest school, the Discovery Titans. We’ll make twelve stops along the way, so make sure to follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram using the hashtag #High5Sports for updates.