PREP SPORTS NOTEBOOK: Longtime Westfield coach to retire; Fromm named player of year
Longtime Westfield head football coach Ronnie Jones announced he was stepping down last week.
Jones' 40-year career as a head coach included stops at four different schools in two different states, with the last 23 seasons coming at the helm of the Hornets. He holds an overall record of 346-126-5. Jones is 217-68-3 at Westfield, winning 11 region titles and two GISA state championships.
Westfield was the two-time defending GISA state champion before falling 27-26 to Valwood in the semifinal round of the Class AAA playoffs this season.
Jones is seventh on the all-time wins list in the state of Georgia with 329.
FROMM EARNS ANOTHER ACCOLADE
Houston County High junior quarterback Jake Fromm was recently named the Gatorade High School Player of the Year in the state of Georgia.
The award recognizes one athlete from each state who not only succeeds on the field, but shows high standards of high academic achievement and has exemplary character. Fromm maintains a 4.0 GPA and volunteers his time as a peer tutor and youth sports instructor.
The Alabama commitment threw for 4,099 yards and 36 touchdowns this past season as he led Houston County to the GHSA region 2-AAAAA championship and the Class AAAAA quarterfinals. He is just the fourth quarterback in state history to ever surpass the 4,000 yard mark in a single season.
Fromm is now a finalist for the Gatorade National Player of the Year Award, which is set to be determined this month.
BEARS TO PLAY IN 2016 METROPCS CORKY KELL CLASSIC
The Houston County High Bears will play the first football game in the Peach State next season after being announced as participants in the opening game of the 2016 MetroPCS Corky Kell Classic.
Houston County will face Mary Persons on Aug. 18 at Mercer University with kickoff scheduled for 5:45 p.m. It will be the first of two games that day at Mercer with Lee County facing Jones County in the nightcap. Seven more games will take place at McEachern High School on Friday and the Georgia Dome on Saturday.
This is the first time in the 25-year history of the event that games have been played on three consecutive days, and the first time that the event has ever visited Middle Georgia.
The complete schedule of games can be viewed at CorkyKell.com.
This story was originally published December 15, 2015 at 10:25 PM with the headline "PREP SPORTS NOTEBOOK: Longtime Westfield coach to retire; Fromm named player of year ."