West Cobb 2013 Prep Football Schedules

Here's who Harrison, Hillgrove and McEachern will be playing in the upcoming season, and information on spring scrimmages.

    HARRISON HIGH SCHOOL HOYAS 2012 Record: 4-6; 3-5 Region 4-AAAAAA Head Coach: Matt Dickmann Website: HarrisonHoyas.com   HILLGROVE HIGH SCHOOL HAWKS 2012 Record: 6-5, 5-3 Region 4-AAAAAA; lost to Camden Co. 52-17 in 1st round of GHSA playoffs Head Coach: Phillip Ironside Website: HillgroveFootball.org   McEACHERN HIGH SCHOOL INDIANS 2012 Record: 8-3; 8-0 Region 4-AAAAAA; lost to Colquitt Co. 30-28 in 1st round of GHSA playoffs Head Coach: Kyle Hockman Website: McEachern Football

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Newsweek Names Harrison High School as 641th in USA

The magazine's 2013 rankings came out Monday.

Newsweek has ranked Harrison High School as the 641th high school in the country. For its rankings, Newsweek sent out a survey to more than 5,000 high schools in the U.S., with about 2,500 schools responding in 2013. You can see the details about Harrison's ranking, and every other ranked high school by clicking on the markers in the interactive map above. Hillgrove came in at 1,688 with an 88 percent graduation rate. Harrison has a 96 percent rate. The survey scores were then weighted and calculated using several criteria including on-time graduation and college acceptance rates. In addition, instead of averaging the number of courses offered, this year Newsweek considered the percentage of students enrolled in AP, IB or Advance …

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Cobb Teams Headline Baseball Tourney

McEachern is ranked No. 1 as the state tournament begins Friday, and Walton and Marietta also are contenders.

A total of 15 teams from high schools in Cobb, Douglas and Paulding -- six of them ranked -- have qualified for the Georgia High School Association baseball tournament, which begins Friday on school sites throughout the state. Three games in Class AAAAAA will be in Cobb, which boasts three teams in the Top 10. One of the biggest surprises of the season is No. 1 McEachern, which plays host to Tift County. The Indians (22-4) have been thriving under first-year coach Dan Torrenti, a former McEachern player. Also playing at home No. 4 Walton (19-7), which will be facing South Gwinnett, and No. 6 Marietta (19-7), which is playing host to Camden County. West Cobb's other high schools will be on the road as Harrison travels to Colquitt County and…

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McEachern Grad Dies in Columbus

The funeral of 19-year-old Giselle Ortiz will be held Thursday at Macland Baptist Church.

The McEachern High community has lost one of its own. Giselle Ortiz, 19, was in her dorm room at Columbus State University on Saturday morning when she started to complain about not feeling well, Muscogee County Coroner Buddy Bryan told the Columbus Ledger Enquirer. She went into cardiac arrest, and was pronounced dead at The Medical Center. Bryan said she was taking medication for lupus. Her body was to be sent to Atlanta for an autopsy today, he told the newspaper. Ortiz graduated from McEachern in 2012 and was a music education major at Columbus State, according to her Facebook page. The family will receive friends from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday at the West Cobb Funeral Home, according to the funeral home's website. The funeral will be…

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Ex-McEachern Coach Indicted in Student Sexual Assault

If convicted, Terrance Tarpley could spend a maximum of 25 years in prison and face a $100,000 fine.

A former McEachern High School teacher and coach has been indicted on one count of sexual assault against a student. The indictment, which was handed down on March 28, alleges that Terrance Tarpley, 34, of Marietta, had sexual intercourse with a female student who was enrolled at McEachern on Jan. 15, 2012. If convicted, Tarpley could spend a maximum of 25 years in prison and face a $100,000 fine. Georgia statute prevents consent of the victim as a defense, said Kim Isaza, the spokeswoman for Cobb County District Attorney Vic Reynolds. An arraignment date has not been set. Tarpley had been an assistant coach on McEachern's football, girls basketball, and track and field teams.  An Atlanta native, he has bachelor’s and master’s degrees from…

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McEachern Robotics Team Builds a Sixth-Place Finish

Team members hope to set higher goals for next year’s regional event.

Article courtesy Paul Eubanks The Techno Tribe has set a new standard for robotics at McEachern High School. The robot “bot-bot” exceeded the design achievements for this year, including the quality of the robot scoring, programming and student involvement. They finished in sixth out of 60 teams on the first day of competing. The team doesn't focus on place numbers because the numbers could never measure the improvements and hard work put into robot no. 3265. The team agrees that this year's robot design achieved all the goals set by FIRST Robotics. Waking up at 5:30 to 6 a.m. to catch a bus for a 60-minute drive to the Gwinnett Center was very entertaining for the team as they passed the long drive with song-singing and debates over music…

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Former McEachern Standout's Team Tips Off Today

Alloune Diouf and the 16th-seeded James Madison Dukes will face the Indiana Hoosiers today at 4:10 p.m.

Tourney Run Continues for Former McEachern Player

Alloune Diouf helped his James Madison team advance in the NCAA Tournament Wednesday. But the Dukes will have to work hard to advance out of the field of 64 as a top-seeded team awaits them.

James Madison University has some tough odds to overcome if it hopes to put its first NCAA tourney run in nearly two decade in the history books. And if the team can overcome those odds, it could have one of Powder Springs’ own to thank. The Dukes won one of the tournament’s play-in games on Wednesday, grounding the Long Island Blackbirds 68-55. Helping JMU advance to the tournament’s field of 64 was Alloune Diouf, a former player from McEachern High. Diouf put 8 points on the board in Wednesday’s game, going 3-for-3 in field goals and 2-for-3 in free throws in 21 minutes of action, according to the Rivals.com box score. Wednesday’s win put the Dukes on basketball fans’ tournament brackets as a 16-seed, which means getting any closer to …

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Former McEachern Player in NCAA Tourney Action Tonight

Alloune Diouf of Powder Springs is expected to hit the hardwood as his team, James Madison, takes on LIU-Brooklyn in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

Former McEachern Standout Heading to NCAA Tourney

In all, 26 players from Georgia, including a former McEachern player and others from Cobb County, will be hitting the hardwood in the hopes of coming back to Atlanta for the Final Four.

March Madness is here, and although no Georgia schools are in the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament brackets, there will be a distinct Peach flavor on the road to the Final Four. The Final Four returns to Atlanta—scheduled April 6 and 8—for the fourth time in history. Atlanta has hosted the final rounds in 1977, 2002 and 2007. The Division II and III championship games are April 7 at Philips Arena. The NCAA field also includes more than two dozen players from Georgia who are on the rosters of 17 tournament-bound teams, according to data on Rivals.com. Three Peach Staters are on the Middle Tennessee State roster. Representing West Cobb will be Alloune Diouf of Powder Springs, a former player at McEachern High. His current team, James …

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