Pruitt Mentor Rush Propst In Trouble

#28
#28
GVF said:
Might be one of a very few attractive venues in Valdosta. lol.

Not sure I'd want my kids in that school district though. Lot of shady dealings and divisive school board down there right now. A lot of stuff is gonna come to a head in this former coach lawsuit. Gonna be some mud slinging.
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No way on God's green Earth I would send my kids to Valdosta High.
 
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#29
#29
tbh said:
To a degree, Lowndes High (crosstown rival of Valdosta) kinda started to eclipse them as demographics changed in the late 90s/early 2000s. While the Wildcats were a serious powerhouse back in the day, they suffer from a similar syndrome that, quite frankly, a lot of the Vol faithful do: most of their boosters are thinking like it's the 70s/80s/(early) 90s like a lot of our fan base seems to start getting the tingles like it's 1998 again (darn near every year).

I spent the majority of my formative years in Valdosta, and it was pretty hilarious (and at the same time sad) how delusional some folks were there. They've fielded some good, solid teams and made several playoff runs since I left the area but anything less than a state title is falling short for a lot of the "old guard". Hiring Propst was desperation to reinitiate the "glory days", and they are now reaping what they have sown by hiring that clown.
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So where did you go to school if not Valdosta or Lowndes? Valwood? Ga Christian? Or nearby county?
 
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#36
#36
GroverCleveland said:
LOL. Westbrook over in Dixie for me. Probably before your time.
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GHS for me. (Griffin) WE really pissed off Valdosta fans in '79 when we tied them 7-7 for the State title. For us it was a win. They were vandalizing our buses on the way out.
 
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#37
#37
tbh said:
Ditto. Things started to come to a head with the school board (and local politics) about 10 or so years back. From what I've heard from friends who still live down there, it's a mess.
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From what I've read, they have "minority" school board members going behind the scenes to make/influence decisions outside the protocol norm in order to eventually get a "minority" coach. The alleged most racist folks around the board appear to be the "Reverends".
 
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#38
#38
tbh said:
To a degree, Lowndes High (crosstown rival of Valdosta) kinda started to eclipse them as demographics changed in the late 90s/early 2000s. While the Wildcats were a serious powerhouse back in the day, they suffer from a similar syndrome that, quite frankly, a lot of the Vol faithful do: most of their boosters are thinking like it's the 70s/80s/(early) 90s like a lot of our fan base seems to start getting the tingles like it's 1998 again (darn near every year).

I spent the majority of my formative years in Valdosta, and it was pretty hilarious (and at the same time sad) how delusional some folks were there. They've fielded some good, solid teams and made several playoff runs since I left the area but anything less than a state title is falling short for a lot of the "old guard". Hiring Propst was desperation to reinitiate the "glory days", and they are now reaping what they have sown by hiring that clown.
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True that Lowndes has had much more recent success than Valdosta. They have not, and never will, replace the old coach with anyone that can do what he did. However, a lot of what he did was due to improper HS recruiting and providing jobs. No way any one HS in rural GA breeds that much local football talent that can win that many state titles in one coaching career. Heck, as good as Griffin was during that same time, we only had one or two titles to show for it. And that's a HS that's had 54 NFL players pass thru it's doors in it's history. And Griffin has returned to glory, and still cannot win a title year in and year out. It took us a couple decades to find a coach that did what Max Dowis and Lloyd Bohannon did. And that coaching tree is in hte family. Brian Bohannon is doing very well at Kennesaw State.
 
#40
#40
GVF said:
GHS for me. (Griffin) WE really pissed off Valdosta fans in '79 when we tied them 7-7 for the State title. For us it was a win. They were vandalizing our buses on the way out.
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Was in Valdosta that night (it was '78, not '79) and remember it well. Everyone in the area felt like it was a loss. A friend of mine was the center for several of those late 70s Valdosta teams. Had interesting things to say about those three quarterbacks, I still remember. Belue was just a winner. Lastinger was smart as hell and a winner. Bond couldn't read pass coverage if it was in a book.
 
#41
#41
GVF said:
From what I've read, they have "minority" school board members going behind the scenes to make/influence decisions outside the protocol norm in order to eventually get a "minority" coach. The alleged most racist folks around the board appear to be the "Reverends".
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Anyone from there has a surprise level of zero on that.
 
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#42
#42
Vols91 said:
Man help us all what has cornbread went and done. Just like a saban former coach. Apple 🍎 doesn’t fall far from the 🌳
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I'd love to point the finger at Saban but in this case Beldars character (or lack of) is firmly rooted in that scumbag Propst.

Sir Bob Tosky said:
A buddy of mine who is a giant Auburn fan went to Spain Park, which is one of Hoover's rivals, while Pruitt and Sherrer were on Propst's staff (Sherrer also coached at Spain Park).

He said that the rumor down there has always been that when Pruitt was hired by Bama, he had to be told to tone down the recruiting tactics he learned from the ethical and moral pillar of society who is Rush Propst while at Hoover.
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I live in Hoover and you're buddy is right. Beldar literally camped out at Propsts house to get a job and quickly became his dirtiest lieutenant. He was the head guy scouting other high schools for better players and setting up their transfers. There was apartments, jobs, money, etc all lined up for these recruits. The remarkable thing is it only scratches the surface of Propst misconduct.

Propst is a dirt ball. So is Beldar.
 
#44
#44
GVF said:
From what I've read, they have "minority" school board members going behind the scenes to make/influence decisions outside the protocol norm in order to eventually get a "minority" coach. The alleged most racist folks around the board appear to be the "Reverends".
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Spot on.
 
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#45
#45
GVF said:
True that Lowndes has had much more recent success than Valdosta. They have not, and never will, replace the old coach with anyone that can do what he did. However, a lot of what he did was due to improper HS recruiting and providing jobs. No way any one HS in rural GA breeds that much local football talent that can win that many state titles in one coaching career. Heck, as good as Griffin was during that same time, we only had one or two titles to show for it. And that's a HS that's had 54 NFL players pass thru it's doors in it's history. And Griffin has returned to glory, and still cannot win a title year in and year out. It took us a couple decades to find a coach that did what Max Dowis and Lloyd Bohannon did. And that coaching tree is in hte family. Brian Bohannon is doing very well at Kennesaw State.
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True...it was kind of an open secret that a lot of the regional powerhouses with boosters who owned businesses would "find a spot" for an athlete's folks to lure them to town. It probably happens all over the country but in South GA it was a matter of doing business.
At this point there are several generations of those boosters (with their businesses) but as other counties have developed, it seems like competition has ramped up. VHS was always quick to remind anyone with at least one ear that the local D-II university plays in *their* (VHS) stadium. Another facet is that LHS generally draws players whose family members are stationed at Moody AFB, so occasionally they'd catch lightning in a bottle from that source of transfers too.
 
#46
#46
tbh said:
No kidding? I dated a gal from Westbrook for a bit during my high school days. Small world!
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And I dated a Valwood girl when in college, although she was from Quitman.

Also, Westfield, Tiftarea, Brookwood, Georgia Christian, Brooks County, Valdosta, Lowndes, Colquitt Co, and lots from Thomasville and Central of Thomasville. There is no shortage of pretty women in Thomas County, Georgia. The current Mrs. Cleveland is from there.
 
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#47
#47
tbh said:
True...it was kind of an open secret that a lot of the regional powerhouses with boosters who owned businesses would "find a spot" for an athlete's folks to lure them to town. It probably happens all over the country but in South GA it was a matter of doing business.
At this point there are several generations of those boosters (with their businesses) but as other counties have developed, it seems like competition has ramped up. VHS was always quick to remind anyone with at least one ear that the local D-II university plays in *their* (VHS) stadium. Another facet is that LHS generally draws players whose family members are stationed at Moody AFB, so occasionally they'd catch lightning in a bottle from that source of transfers too.
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The 1980 Lowndes Vikings state champs were generally known as the best group of college freshmen in the state.
 
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#48
#48
GroverCleveland said:
Was in Valdosta that night (it was '78, not '79) and remember it well. Everyone in the area felt like it was a loss. A friend of mine was the center for several of those late 70s Valdosta teams. Had interesting things to say about those three quarterbacks, I still remember. Belue was just a winner. Lastinger was smart as hell and a winner. Bond couldn't read pass coverage if it was in a book.
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Your right. 78. I was thinking of the spring calendar. I was 8th grade. We had Wayne Curtis at QB in that game. The OG of dual threat QB's, and possibly one of the best in the state then. Willie Gault. Vic Vandergriff. The original Ricky Williams. And several others. My memory is fading, and rosters back then are hard to locate.
 
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#49
#49
GroverCleveland said:
The 1980 Lowndes Vikings state champs were generally known as the best group of college freshmen in the state.
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Babe Ruth Baseball was same way in Columbus in my day. Griffin All-Stars had one team. Columbus would have 3. Only Babe Ruth in state. Those"15 Year Old" boys of color played with full beards. Not peach fuzz, not scruffy, but full beards and the developed bodies to go with it.
 
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