Darlington football coach Tommy Atha announced Tuesday that he would retire at the end of the academic year after 21 seasons as the Tigers’ coach, and Northside of Warner Robins hired Peach County offensive coordinator Ben Bailey as its next head coach. Atha’s teams won seven region titles and reached the state quarterfinals or better five times.

Mill Creek’s Caleb Downs, a senior safety who also spent time on offense at running back and wide receiver, had 76 tackles, five interceptions, 390 yards rushing and 422 yards receiving in leading the Hawks to the first football state championship in school. The state’s consensus No. 1 recruit and the all-classification player of the year, was among more than 400 players honored on the 2022 all-state team.

Tim McFarlin, who led Roswell and Blessed Trinity to state championships before becoming Fellowship Christian’s football coach in 2021, is jumping into college football as Georgia Tech’s director of high school relations. McFarlin confirmed the news to the AJC on Thursday evening.

The GHSA’s board of trustees will discuss instant replay to review officials’ calls, minimum seating requirements for football playoff games and NIL deals Monday at the GHSA’s Thomaston office. Only the seating requirements can come to a vote, but discussion on the other issues could set the stage for rule changes beginning in the 2023-24 academic year.

Eric Parker, who won seven region titles and a state championship as Burke County’s football coach since 2007, retired Wednesday. Parker also coached at Laney in Augusta from 1997 to 2006, and his record over 26 seasons was 208-102. His 208 victories ranked 10th among active GHSA coaches.

Ed Pilcher, best known for winning five state championships as Thomas County Central’s football coach in the 1990s, died Thursday. He was 72. Pllcher’s record was 250-116-1 over 30 seasons. The victory total is tied for 24th all-time among GHSA coaches.

First-time state champions Mill Creek and Hughes finished as the top Georgia teams in the final 2022 national high school football rankings, which were released this week. Mill Creek, which defeated Carrollton 70-35 in the Class 7A final, was the state’s highest-rated team in six of the eight widely recognized polls that were tracked by Georgia High School Football Daily.

Lowndes hired Grayson’s Adam Carter as its football coach Monday morning, Lowndes County Schools announced on its Facebook page. Carter led Grayson to the Class 7A football championship in 2020 and was 45-9 in his four seasons with the Rams of Gwinnett County.

Jackson County hired former Lanier coach Korey Mobbs as its football coach Monday. Mobbs was head coach at Knoxville Catholic in Tennessee the past two seasons and was Lanier’s coach from 2014 to 2020. His Lanier teams were 58-22 with two region championships.

The Georgia High School Association, in partnership with Mercedes-Benz Stadium and the Atlanta Falcons, announced a three-year deal Thursday to bring the football and flag football state championship games back to Mercedes-Benz Stadium beginning in 2023.

Lenny Gregory of Collins Hill and Darius Smiley of Central-Carroll stepped down from coaching positions this week, bringing to 37 the number of offseason openings at GHSA schools. Gregory, who led Collins Hill to its first championship in 2021 in Class 7A, resigned Wednesday, saying his vision of the program did not match that of the new school administration.

The Georgia High School Association is expected to announce Thursday that it is moving the football championship games back to Mercedes-Benz Stadium beginning in 2023. The GHSA and the Atlanta Falcons are holding a joint media event Thursday at 2 p.m., the association said in a press release issued Tuesday afternoon.

The Georgia High School Association will consider using video replay to review officials’ calls in the wake of a controversial play in Saturday’s Class 3A football championship game, three members of GHSA’s board of trustees indicated Monday. “Yes, I think we are going to have to look at this,” board chairman and GHSA president Jim Finch said.

Mill Creek, Hughes and Ware County, fresh off their first state championships, are No. 1 when it counts – in final rankings. Sandy Creek is a state champion for the first time in 10 years, Thomson for the first time in 20 years and Bowdon for the first time in 30 years. Benedictine defended its title, and Prince Avenue Christian won for the second time in three seasons.

Cam Robinson rushed for 252 yards and three touchdowns and Caleb Downs ran for three touchdowns and had a team-high six total tackles to lead Mill Creek to a 70-35 Class 7A championship game victory over Carrollton Saturday night at Georgia State’s Center Parc Stadium in the highest-scoring state final in GHSA history.

Ware County scored on four of its five first-half possessions, including two touchdowns in a two-minute span midway through the first quarter on its way to a 24-6 halftime lead, and cruised to a 38-13 victory over two-time defending champion Warner Robins in the Class 5A championship game Saturday at Georgia State’s Center Parc Stadium.

Sandy Creek’s Travis Franklin scored on a 1-yard run with 50 seconds remaining to give the Patriots a 21-17 victory over defending champion Cedar Grove in the Class 3A championship game Saturday afternoon at Georgia State’s Center Parc Stadium.

Top-ranked Hughes scored two touchdowns in a 14-second span late in the second quarter to create some separation from Gainesville and then held on for a 35-28 victory in the Class 6A championship game Saturday night at Georgia State’s Center Parc Stadium.

Benedictine stuffed Cedartown on four consecutive running plays inside 2-yard line in the last minute of the game, including a fourth-and-goal from the 1 on the final play, to preserve a 14-13 victory in the Class 4A championship game Friday at Georgia State’s Center Parc Stadium.

Thomson’s Jontavis Curry had two of his four touchdown runs in the final nine minutes of the game after Fitzgerald had taken its only lead, rallying the Bulldogs to a 32-27 victory in the Class 2A championship game Friday at Georgia State’s Center Parc Stadium.