Lakeside's ex-football coach stays on to help

Spring football practices began this week at Lakeside and Greenbrier. The practices at Lakeside opened with newly hired athletics director and football coach Jody Grooms.

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Randy Hill was right there with him.

Hill, who was fired as athletics director and head football coach in January, has decided to remain at Lakeside as a teacher and assistant coach for the 2007-08 school year.

"I'm going to stick around and help out on defense," he said on Wednesday.

The news is a welcomed relief for Hill's supporters, who spoke up on Internet message boards defending his strong track record as athletics director immediately after the firing. Hill also had his critics who pointed out his 11-38-1 record as football coach during the past five years.

Lakeside principal Jeff Carney, who made the decision to let Hill go, has stated from day one his hopes that Hill would remain at the school as a teacher and assistant coach.

Bigger than baseball

When Greenbrier's baseball team faced off against Ware County in the first round of the Region 3-AAAA Tournament, very few local fans knew what the visiting Gators were dealing with.

Ware County head coach James Conolly filled me in after the game.

"We're coming from those forest fires down there," he said. "I've got at least three or four guys who are in danger of losing their homes. Our third baseman was evacuating his home yesterday."

Several Ware County ball players were seen chatting on cell phones after the game. Some were calling home to relay the scores from the double-header. Others were calling to see if they still had a home.

The biggest forest fire in the state of Georgia has been eating up Ware County and several other areas in southern Georgia for the past three weeks. Conolly said the main concern in Ware County is keeping the fires from jumping over U.S. Highway 1. That's the only main road protecting Waycross.

The Waycross Journal-Herald reported that more than 93,000 acres had been consumed, but the fire was 75 percent contained.

Our thoughts and prayers are with Ware County residents.