AJC Varsity
Hapeville Charter takes on Carver High of Columbus for the Class 2A championship Tuesday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Hapeville Charter players huddle up after a practice in October 2025. Coach Winston Gordon (center in navy polo shirt and cap) has been the team’s coach since its first varsity season in 2011, leading the Hornets to 10 consecutive playoff berths, five region titles and a Class 2A state championship. Former player Arden Key, now with the Tennessee Titans, described the team’s practice field as “a concrete jungle.” (Ken Sugiura/AJC)
There are sandy expanses pocked with cleat marks. Other parts of Hapeville Charter’s practice field are bare dirt, worn down by hundreds of tackling drills, pass routes and blocking exercises. A lot of weeds, some rocks. At one end of the field, two PVC pipes rise into the air with no crossbar, remnants of field-goal posts.
The surface is uneven and slopes into a retention area. Don’t even ask if there are any field markings.
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Hapeville Charter coach Winston Gordon poses on his team’s practice field adjoining the school Dec. 14, 2025. Gordon has been the football coach and athletic director since the school’s opening in 2009. The field is bordered by Buffington Road in South Fulton. “People were constantly driving by honking,” recalled Hapeville alumnus Best Uchehara. (Ken Sugiura/AJC)
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Ken Sugiura is a sports columnist at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Formerly the Georgia Tech beat reporter, Sugiura started at the AJC in 1998 and has covered a variety of beats, mostly within sports.
Ken Sugiura is a sports columnist at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Formerly the Georgia Tech beat reporter, Sugiura started at the AJC in 1998 and has covered a variety of beats, mostly within sports.
