Best high school mascot in Georgia: Top 10 candidates

From Syrupmakers to Atom Smashers to Red Terrors, meet the best high school mascots in Georgia

Author:
Mike Swanson, SBLive Sports
Updated:
Oct 12, 2023 10:19 AM EDT
Original:
Oct 11, 2023

Georgia has joined Florida, California and Texas as the undisputed Big Four states in high school football, but the Peach State has some sweet mascots as well.

Cairo — birthplace of Jackie Robinson — is home to the Syrupmakers, and LaGrange High School is eager to answer the question, "What is a Granger?"

SBLive Sports' love for unique mascots with interesting back stories has been well documented.

We've crowned Hodags and Imps the past couple of years in national high school mascot contests, and now we're taking a spin through every state.

Over the next couple of months we'll go from Alabama through Wyoming featuring each state's best high school mascots, and then give readers a chance to vote for their favorite. Our Georgia poll posted Oct. 12 on highschool.si.com and will stay open through Oct. 19:

Vote: Which is the best high school mascot in Georgia?

Here are the top 10 high school mascots in Georgia:

Atlanta Adventist Aardvarks

Since Atlanta Adventist opened in 1979, it’s been known for its rigorous academics and unusual mascot. The aardvark is found in the wild only in Africa, but you can find Aardvarks in Gwinnett County.

Cairo Syrupmakers

During a heavy rainstorm at a football game many years ago, workers at the Cairo syrup shelter brought over their raincoats labeled "Roddenbery's Syrup" on the backs of the jackets to keep the players dry. Reflecting this heritage, the Cairo (pronounced “kay-row") football team was named the Syrupmakers, and it stuck for all sports. The school’s physical mascot is a syrup pitcher.

Clarkston Angoras

From the city of Clarkston’s history page: “It was said that, in the early 1900s, many Clarkstonians owned up to twenty goats! They supposedly were associated with a high level of prestige. These goats were believed to be the renowned Angoras variety, and they needed to graze out in the open.” Clarkston's sports teams are also of the renowned Angoras variety.

Dalton Catamounts

The catamount, also known as the eastern cougar and nicknamed “the ghost cat,” went from going unseen for 80 years to officially being declared extinct in 2018. But even though you can no longer spot catamounts in the Appalachian Mountains of North Georgia, Catamounts continue to thrive at Dalton High School.

Gainesville Red Elephants

Everyone knows reddish elephants exist only in Fantasia, but there’s more to this story in Georgia. "Gainesville High School was playing in Marietta and was wearing red jerseys," said Phil Jackson, longtime sports editor of The Gainesville Times and former voice of the Red Elephants. "Gainesville didn’t have a nickname at the time and had large players. Very few teams had large players, so because of the red jerseys and the big players, an Atlanta sportswriter wrote that they looked like a thundering herd of red elephants.” Red Elephants on parade.

Glynn Academy Red Terrors

A Glynn Academy student chose this mascot in 1918 based on a phrase that described the political and violent campaigns of "Red Terror” by communist movements, one of the scariest concepts to many Americans at that time. The physical mascot has had several appearances over the years, but it’s currently a fierce, devilish creature with horns.

Johnson Atom Smashers

Johnson High School was founded in 1959 as a laboratory school to Savannah State, and that scientific connection gave birth to the Atom Smashers.

LaGrange Grangers

The high school sports world is loaded with Rangers, but LaGrange High School sports the only Grangers in the country. The school’s website has a simple answer to the question, “What is a Granger?” It’s this: “A Granger is a Champion!”

Notre Dame Academy Irish Wolfhounds

Irish-themed nicknames abound for the many Notre Dames throughout high school sports, but Notre Dame Academy in Duluth, Georgia, has the only Irish Wolfhounds. The American Kennel Club describes the Irish Wolfhound as calm, dignified and kind, and it’s the tallest of all AKC dog breeds.

Warren County Screaming Devils

Warren County has the only Screaming Devils in the country in high school sports, and the name is a result of integration in 1970. Before that, Warren County was a white school called the Blue Devils, while Warren High was a Black school called the Screaming Eagles. Upon integration, the new Warren County High School became the Screaming Devils (rather than the Blue Eagles, presumably). For the record, four U.S. high schools use Blue Eagles as their mascot, so Warren County chose the more original route.