Newnan High, Community celebrate 1,000th Game on Friday
From Coweta County Schools Press Release
Georgia representative Lynn Smith and State Senator Matt Brass brought congratulations from the state of Georgia as the Newnan High School Cougars celebrate their 1,000th game this Friday.
The resolution notes that it is “abundantly fitting and proper that Newnan High School be congratulated for its service to Newnan and Coweta County on the occasion of the Newnan Cougar’s 1,000th varsity football game on October 11, 2019.” Smith and Brass presented a resolution from the state of Georgia to Principal Chase Puckett and head football coach Chip Walker.
The resolution commemorates the history of Newnan High School, and 108 seasons of Newnan varsity football since the first game was played on November 28, 1907, against Cedartown High School.
The Cougars play host to Wheeler High at 7:30 p.m. on Friday at Newnan’s Drake Stadium.
The game is the NHS Homecoming as well, and is being kicked off with a number of special events:
• Following a proclamation by the city of Newnan, the ¼-mile stretch of Water Works Road between LaGrange Street and Sewell Road will be renamed as “Cougar Way.” A ceremony for the street renaming – which was originally scheduled at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, October 10 – has been postponed for later in the fall.
• Also on October 10, Newnan High’s homecoming parade will start at 5:30 p.m. at the Newnan High Campus, to proceed down LaGrange Street to downtown Newnan.
• NHS 2019 Homecoming shirts ($20) and NHS Drake Stadium prints ($20) are on sale by the NHS Drama Booster Club.
• The Newnan-Coweta Historical Society is featuring “Touchdown Newnan: Tackling the Legacy of Newnan High School Football” on display in the McRitchie-Hollis museum through November 29. The exhibit can be visited during museum hours (Tuesday – Saturday, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.). Admission includes entrance to the McRitchie-Hollis Museum and is $5 for adults, $2 for seniors, students, and children 4 to 12 years old. Children under 4 and NCHS members enter free.
• On October 11, Newnan High School’s Athletic Department has partnered with Kyle Kahn Studios to produce the first ever Tent City Tailgate at the Newnan High Football Practice Field located adjacent to Drake Stadium. $8 entry (or $50 for pre-sold group tailgate spots) for pre-game picnicking from 2-6:30 p.m. on game day, with live music, games and food vendors on-site.
The full text of the resolution presented by Representative Smith and Senator Brass is below:
A Resolution congratulating Newnan High School on the occasion of its 1,000th game on October 11, 2019, at Drake Stadium, and for other purposes.
Whereas, in 1888, Temple Avenue School, the predecessor of Newnan High School, was built on the corner of Jackson Street and Temple Avenue; and…
Whereas, Newnan High School played its first intramural football game on November 28, 1907, against Cedartown High School; and…
Whereas, the school was officially named Newnan High School in 1916, declaring blue and white as the school’s colors in honor of two teachers and designating the school’s mascot as the Tiger; and…
Whereas, the new Newnan High School was opened in 1952 at 190 LaGrange Street, where it stands to this day; and…
Whereas, Drake Stadium was built in 1966 and named in honor of Homer W. Drake, Sr., superintendent of Newnan City Schools; and…
Whereas, In 1970 Central High School, which had served black students since 1954, merged with Newnan High School, fully integrating the community’s students; and…
Whereas, alongside the integration of students, the Central Panthers and Newnan Tigers unified to become the Newnan Cougars, adopting blue and gold as the school’s colors; and…
Whereas, for generations, Newnan High School and its predecessors have served as a focal point of the academic, athletic, social and civic life for the city of Newnan as well as the greater Coweta County community, and the class of 2018 stands as Newnan High School’s largest graduating class to date at 542 students; and…
Whereas, student performance at the school consistently measures well above state and national standards, and many graduates go on to be selected by top universities and service academies across the United States; and…
Whereas, throughout the history of Newnan High School, the football program has instilled and continues to instill the lessons of hard work, sacrifice, discipline and individual character in the young men of Newnan and Coweta County; and…
Whereas, as of October, 2019, the Newnan Cougars have celebrated 555 wins including 10 regional championships throughout the school’s history, including state runners-up in 1949, 1951 and 1981, learned from 410 losses, and accepted 33 ties on the field over 108 seasons of competitive play; and…
Whereas, it is abundantly fitting and proper that Newnan High School be congratulated for its service to Newnan and Coweta County on the occasion of the Newnan Cougar’s 1,000th varsity football game on October 11, 2019.
Now, Therefor be it resolved, that Newnan High School is congratulated on this occasion of the Newnan Cougar’s 1,000th varsity football game and extend best wishes for future development and student success.
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In the photo: Pictured above, presenting a resolution celebrating the school’s 1,000th varsity football game are, left to right, Senator Matt Brass, Representative Lynn Smith, NHS principal Chase Puckett, Cougars head coach Chip Walker, and Coweta Superintendent Steve Barker.
