ITG Next has traveled the entire state of Georgia for almost two decades covering high school football, and we’ve experienced firsthand the best games and fan bases in the state.
Earlier this year, ITG Next recently presented to you the top high school football stadiums in the state.
But we wanted to also find the best fan bases, so I reached out to a mix of head coaches, high school football officials, and sports writers and reporters who cover high school football from around the state and asked them to name their top five fan bases.
I took their answers and, along with our own experiences covering high school football over the past two decades, came up with the top five fan bases in each current classification.
Class 6A
Starting with the state’s highest classification, Lowndes and Colquitt County made all but two of our coaches’ lists of top five fan bases. Both admitted that was only because they had never coached there. I would agree with Lowndes and Colquitt County, for sure, and not only for bringing the noise when their teams play at home; both fan bases travel well, many times outnumbering the home team fans.
“The Lowndes student section is definitely one of the best in the state,” Phil Salter said.
Salter is a veteran high school football official who is currently in his 39th year as a game-day official, including the past 26 years as a crew chief.
“Colquitt, Lowndes, and TCC have great fan bases,” said Jeff Hammond, Worth County head football coach.
Parkview was mentioned by several of those asked to take part in our poll.
“Parkview was loud, and those fans made it a great atmosphere.”
Salter also praised the fans at Parkview’s Big Orange Jungle, along with one of their rival’s fans.
“I have been to Parkview and Norcross when they were in the playoffs, and those two places were great atmospheres with their fans,” Salter said.
Another coach said of Buford: “That’s an intimidating place to play, and that doesn’t even count the new stadium. I haven’t been there yet.”
Salter said of all the places he has been to, Buford’s new stadium is on his wish list.
“I would love to get a chance to go to the new Buford stadium,” he said.
AJC sports writer Stan Awtrey has been covering high school sports for much of his 48-year career with the Atlanta newspaper. He and fellow AJC sports writer Todd Holcomb contributed their opinion to this article
Several fan bases were mentioned that didn’t make the list, including Camden County, Valdosta, Brookwood, and Norcross.
Top Five:
- Lowndes
- Colquitt County
- Carrollton
- Buford
- Parkview
Class 5A
Not surprisingly, the fans of Thomas County Central made just about everyone’s list that I asked, and I agree with them.
“Those horns are loud, but so are the fans by themselves,” said one coach.
Another South Georgia coach said the Yellow Jackets’ fans were loud and rowdy before the horns.
“They’ve always had a great fan base,” he said.
Tift County head football coach Jeff Littleton also mentioned TCC as one of the top five fan bases in Class 5A.
Another school that was mentioned by the coaches and officials was Northside (Warner Robins). You may find this surprising, but Northside fans are loyal, and while they came out in droves during the almost 20-year dominance under head coaches Conrad Nix and Kevin Kinsler, they remain loyal to the current staff and roster.
Michael Martin, McEachern’s director of football operations, included Northside as one of his top five, as did veteran official Bobby Willis.
Top Five:
- Thomas County Central
- Gainesville
- Northside (Warner Robins)
- Rome
- Houston County
Class 4A
My first visit to Benedictine was last year for our ITG Next Game of the Week with Perry visiting Memorial Stadium to take on the Cadets for the region title. It was one of the best atmospheres of fans before and during the game. Benedictine made the list of several of those we asked, as did Warner Robins, Cartersville, and Ware County.
Salter has been to dozens of stadiums in his career and pointed out some of the best fans: “Benedictine is a great place. Their fans tailgate like it’s a college game, and they make it a tough place for opposing teams. Their fans and student section are great.”
He also singled out Benedictine’s fans’ support at away games.
“My crew had the Benedictine game at Ware County this past season, and their (Benedictine’s) fans filled up the stands and still had more fans standing along the fence,” Salter said.
Awtrey pointed out the North Oconee fans while comparing them to another group of fans who were mentioned earlier in our Class 6A section.
“The North Oconee fans remind me of the glory days at Brookwood,” Awtrey said. “The stands would be packed at home and away, and the fans were engaged and travelled well. Their (North Oconee’s) fans are like a throwback to the ’80s and ’90s.”
Awtrey included Cartersville among his top five fan bases.
Top Five:
- Benedictine
- North Oconee
- Warner Robins
- Cartersville
- Ware County
Class 3A
“Peach County is a tough place for teams to play, and it’s a very good atmosphere for the home team,” Salter said.
Martin included Peach County as one of his top five fan bases.
Calhoun was mentioned as one of the best fan bases in the state, as was Cairo.
“They have great fans at Cairo,” said Littleton, who knows the Syrupmaker fan base well from his 11 years spent coaching against them as Bainbridge’s head football coach before taking over at Tift County last year.
Awtrey named Jefferson and Calhoun as two of the top five fan bases in Class 3A .
Top Five:
- Jefferson
- Peach County
- Calhoun
- LaGrange
- Cairo
Class 2A
Thomson’s fan base has long been considered one of the best in the state. In asking for fan feedback for our story earlier this year on top high school football stadiums in Georgia, fans all across the state pointed out not only their famed stadium known as the Brickyard, but also talked about the fans. Count the Thomson fans right up there with their home stadium as among the best in the state.
“Pierce County is small, but it’s a great place, and their student section is great,” Salter said. “They have some of the best fans, and it’s a tough place to win (for opposing teams).”
Top Five:
- Thomson
- Cook
- Appling County
- Rockmart
- Pierce County
Class 1A-Division I
You’d be hard-pressed to find any program with more tradition than these five schools. In no particular order, Dublin, Thomasville, Toombs County, Worth County, and Fitzgerald represent the best of Georgia high school football fans. The fans of each school not only turn out in droves to support their teams at home, but they travel near and far to show their support.
Top Five:
- Dublin
- Thomasville
- Toombs County
- Worth County
- Fitzgerald
Class 1A-Division II
Clinch County received several nods from the people we asked about their top Georgia high school football fan bases.
“For a small school, Clinch fans do a great job of supporting their team,” Willis said.
Lincoln County fans are known for supporting their team anywhere, in any conditions, and the Red Devils’ fan base could be considered as one of the top five regardless of classification.
Top Five:
- Clinch County
- Macon County
- Lincoln County
- Hawkinsville
- Brooks County
Private (Class 1A-3A)
In ranking each of the eight state classifications, this one was the toughest of them all. There were certainly more than five that deserved to be included, but we had to do the best we could. Here are our top five fan bases in the Private (1A-3A) classification.
Top Five:
- Prince Avenue Christian
- Lovett
- Hebron Christian
- Fellowship Christian
- North Cobb Christian
Big thanks to the following Georgia high school football coaches that contributed to this article: Lee County’s Dean Fabrizio, Peachtree Ridge Coach Matt Helmrich, Appling County’s Tucker Pruitt, Milton’s Ben Reaves, Tift County’s Jeff Littleton, Coffee’s Mike Coe, Houston County’s Jeremy Edwards, Former Camden, Prince Ave Christian and Grayson head coach Jeff Herron, Worth County’s Jeff Hammond, and former ELCA and Hebron Christian head coach Johnathon Gess, who is now head coach at Southside Christian School in Summerville, SC. McEachern Director of football Operations Michael Martin spoke to us for this article.
