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Coweta County football fans have front row
seats for one of the two 2008 AAAAA High School semifinal games
this Friday, thanks to a good coin toss and a weekend of elbow
grease. Newnan High School Cougars will face off against the Camden County Wildcats for the semifinal game at 7:30 p.m. this Friday, November 5 at Drake Stadium on the Newnan High School campus. Early tickets are on sale in downtown Newnan at Quizno’s on the square all week, and will be on sale in the Newnan High Lobby this Friday. Per Georgia High School Association (GHSA) playoff rules, all tickets are $12, for children and adults, and there is no reserve seating. The gates at Drake Stadium will open at 5:00 p.m., and tickets will also be available at the stadium. Friday’s game is the first home-hosted semifinal game for Newnan in generations, and the first ever played at Drake Stadium. Because both Newnan and Camden County High Schools were first seed teams in this year’s playoffs, a coin toss had to decide who got to host the game. Coach Herring and other NHS athletic staff traveled to meet Camden County and GHSA officials in Metter, Georgia on Saturday to determine the matter. Newnan High history teacher and Cougar’s kicking coach Bob Sandlin tossed a quarter selected by Camden County’s head coach. “This is the coin,” said Cougar’s Head Coach Robert Herring Wednesday, holding up a shiny quarter commemorating Texas on the back. “We’re going to get it framed,” he said with a smile. A framed picture of “flipper” Sandlin is already hanging in Max Bass gymnasium. GHSA rules are strict on seating and ticket prices for playoff games. To host a semifinal game, a school must be able to provide 6,000 seats. Newnan’s Drake stadium met the standard when seats were measured by GHSA at 18 inches, but a seat is defined as 24 inches now. So school system employees and local volunteers worked for hours in the weekend rain to prepare the stadium to GHSA rules, and installed several bleachers to bring the stadium to just under 6,100 seats. GHSA signed off on the preparations officially on Monday. “The folks who worked out here this weekend really made this Friday possible,” said Athletic Director Steve Allen. “All of the school folks who pitched in were great, and I really want to thank Newnan Utilities and Dennis McEntire and Carl Clement’s Fence Company for their support and contributions. “Everybody has pitched in and been very generous. Because of that, Drake is ready to go.” Allen and Herring hope everyone will fill the bleachers for Friday’s game to support the Both Newnan and Camden are 13-0 teams, and a huge turnout from local fans to support the Cougars would be appreciated by the players and the school. The winners of Friday’s Class AAAAA games – including the match up between Grayson at Peachtree Ridge – will advance to the AAAAA state championship game at the Georgia Dome on Saturday, Dec. 13. Once again, Georgia Public Broadcasting (GPB) will televise the Cougar’s game statewide.  Newnan High School’s Drake Stadium is dressed out with extra seating to meet all Georgia High School Association rules to host this Friday’s state Class AAAAA Semifinals match-up between the Cougar’s and the Camden County Wildcats at 7:30 p.m.. Head Coach Robert Herring holds up the coin that won the toss-up to decide which community would host the game. Gates open at 5:00 p.m. Friday, and tickets are on sale at Quizno’s in downtown Newnan. From left to right are, front row, Newnan Cougars cornerback Jamien Bryant, linebacker Clark Allen and kicker Sam Taylor; back row, wide receiver Antoine Johnson, Coach Herring, NHS Athletic Director Steve Allen, and tackle Eric Vickers. |