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Milestones: Big weekend for Rockmart's Parson, Villa Rica and Heard County
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Two schools and a coach reached new milestones for success last weekend.
Villa Rica won the school’s 400th game and Heard County won it’s 300th. Coach Biff Parson picked up his 100th victory when his Rockmart team produce a victory that clinched a region championship.
Parson hits the century mark
Rockmart’s Biff Parson earned his 100th career victory in an unforgettable manner when his Yellow Jackets beat Murray County 72-0 on Friday.
The victory improved Rockmart’s record to 7-2 overall. It has won seven in a row since opening the season with losses to state-ranked Cartersville and Cedartown. The win guaranteed the program first place in Region 7-2A, the 17th region championship in program history.
Parson is in his ninth season as head coach at Rockmart, where his record is 90-20 with eight consecutive region championships. He has taken the Yellow Jackets to the state championship twice (2018 and 2023) and never missed the playoffs.
Villa Rica earns No. 400
Villa Rica beat Kennesaw Mountain 38-26 on Friday to earn the program’s 400th victory. The Wildcats, who have played football since 1947, has won five region championships.
Villa Rica won the state championship in 1986 when Scott Swafford’s team went 14-1 and beat Worth County 13-0 in the title game.
Swafford went 28-9-1 and won two region titles in three seasons from1985-87. The school’s winningest coach is Frank Vohun, whose teams went 63-32 in eight seasons from 1990-97. Sam McIntyre was the program’s third coach and went 45-22-2 in seven seasons and has the stadium named in his honor.
Current coach Austin Barron is in his second season. The Wildcats are 5-4 overall and have clinched a playoff spot in Region 5-5A. Barron replaced his father, Tim Barron, when he took over the program in 2023,
No. 300 for Heard County
Heard County defeated Model 38-26 to earn the program’s 300th victory. The victory also earned the Braves (7-2) the Region 6-A Division I championship.
Heard County began its program in 1972 and has won eight region championships. The Braves won the 2018 state championship, beating Rockmart in the final, under the direction of head coach Tim Barron. He was at the helm for 19 seasons, from 2002-2020 and went 153-71 with seven region championships.
Current coach Shane Lasseter is 24-21 in his fourth season as the head man. This will be the fourth straight year he has guided the Braves to the state playoffs, where twice they have reached the second round.