FOOTBALL

Conn, Class of 1969, spent his professional career on defense, but he still ranks as one of the most productive receivers in the history of Georgia High School Football. In 1969, Conn amassed 1,326 receiving yards which still ranks him 35th all-time, half a century later.He played college football at UGA under head coach Vince Dooley and defensive coordinator Erk Russell, who he cites as a major influence on his life. Russell recruited Conn to play safety where he knew Conn would have a better chance at catching the ball due to Georgia’s run-heavy offense at the time.Following college, Conn went pro and was signed to the Pittsburgh Steelers as a free agent in 1974. There he stood alongside arguably the greatest draft class ever, which included Hall of Famers Lynn Swann, Jack Lambert, John Stallworth and Mike Webster.In his rookie season, he was part of a Super Bowl-winning team after the Steelers beat the Vikings 16-6, a first for Pittsburgh. After a year with the Steelers, Conn played five seasons with the New England Patriots.

Jones, Class of 1969, was a two-sport standout at Lakeside that earned varsity letters in football and wrestling. Jones was a junior when Lakeside’s football team won its first region title in school history in 1967. The Vikings finished the regular season unbeaten (9-0-1) for the first time in school history as well.Jones was considered one of the very top all-around athletes at the school during Lakeside’s early years.He helped the Vikings go 8-2 as a senior in 1968 - earning AJC First-Team All-State as a guard. Lakeside’s offense averaged 34.5 points per game that year - the second-highest output in school history. Behind Jones, the Vikings opened up the season 7-0 and averaged 40.4 points a game, outscoring their opponents 283-42 and setting the groundwork for the school’s first state championship in football two years later.As a wrestler, Jones competed at 165 pounds his junior season and made it to state. Lakeside nearly came away with the state title in 1969 with the Vikings coming in second with 57 points to Dykes High School’s 64 points. Jones bumped up to the 180-pound weight class his senior year and won an individual state championship.

Creel led Lakeside’s football program from 1970-82 and was a head football coach in Georgia for 39 total seasons. A College Park native and University of Georgia graduate, his first head coaching job was at Northside (Atlanta) in 1951. Creel led the Tigers for 19 seasons and captured a state title in 1957.Creel accepted his new role at Lakeside and led the program to its first state title his first year on the job in 1970 with a 13-0 record. The Vikings showed Rob Weathers (1977) even more dominance in 1972 by racking up a 518-84 scoring advantage, taking the Class AAA state title with a flawless 14-0 finish and holding 11 consecutive opponents to single digits at one point.His teams compiled a 125-28-2 record (82.3 percent) in his 13 years at Lakeside and he was also the school’s tennis coach, winning state titles from 1980-82. He was named National High School Football Coach of the Year in 1977.Creel finished his career at Westminster where he led the Wildcats for seven seasons (1983-89). He produced 315 total wins throughout his career — giving him the 11th most wins in Georgia High School Football history. Creel was inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame and the Westminster Sports Hall of Fame.

Butler, Class of 1972, attended Lakeside his junior and senior seasons and was a three sport letterman in football, basketball and track. As a junior, he was a part of Lakeside’s first-ever Football State Championship Team and caught the title-clinching touchdown pass in the Vikings’ 7-6 win over Richmond Academy.Butler averaged 25 yards per catch his senior year and garnered First Team All-State, Metro Atlanta All Star and Metro Atlanta Lineman of the Year as a tight end.His football career continued at Auburn where he became the first freshman to play in program history and a four-year letterman (1972-75). He played on two Top 5 teams and made three bowl appearances, including Auburn’s 27-3 win over Texas in the 1974 Gator Bowl where he caught a pair of touchdowns.Butler served as a captain his senior year, which was legendary head coach Ralph Jordan’s final season. He was the winner of the Bill Streit Award for highest GPA of his graduating class. Butler graduated with a Marketing Degree and spent 39 years working in Advertising with Golf Digest Magazine.

Fuqua, Class of 1971, quarterbacked Lakeside to its first state championship and a perfect 13-0 record as a senior in 1970. Fuqua’s varsi- ty career ended with recognition as Georgia Back of the Year and AJC Back of the Year.Lakeside’s offense produced 26.7 points per game in 1970 and closed out the season with a 19.46 average margin of victory. In addition to earning three letters in football, Fuqua was a four-year Letterman on the Vikings baseball team as a pitcher.Fuqua signed a scholarship to play quarterback at the University of Georgia. He was recruited by Fred Pancoast, renowned offensive coordinator and proponent of the West Coast offense, and followed him to Memphis State his sophomore year after Pancoast accepted the Tigers’ head coaching job and redshirted.He stepped away from the game in 1972 and joined the Marines. After serving for two years, Fuqua continued his playing career at Middle Tennessee State College.

Johnson, Class of 1973, was a two-time letterman in football, golf and basketball after moving to Atlanta during his junior year of high school. As a senior, he led the Vikings to a runner-up season in basketball, rushed in a touchdown against Central-Macon during the Class AAA championship game to help give the Vikings their second football title in school history as well as placing third overall at the 1973 golf state tournament.Johnson’s athletic achievements during his senior football season earned him the title of Atlanta Touchdown Club Back of the Year, a Sunkist All-American and he was elected First-Team All-State.He was also named DeKalb County Best Defensive Player of the Year following his senior season of basketball and was named DeKalb County Athlete of the Year in 1973.After graduating from Lakeside, Johnson went on to play football and golf at Georgia Tech. Still under center, he led the Georgia Tech Freshmen football team to an undefeated season before carrying out punting duties for his sophomore and junior seasons. He was named Bobby Jones Golfer of the Year as a junior.

Bowen, Class of 1973, helped lead Lakeside to two of its three state championships as a running back on the football team during his time as a Viking. Bowen got his start as a ninth grader on the B-team which went undefeated, 8-0.He factored in the 1970 title victory as a sophomore where Lakeside beat Richmond Academy 7-6 in the championship game to cap its 13-0 season. In 1972, he was a co-captain on the undefeated Viking squad which beat Central-Macon on the road 36-21 to take the AAA title and finish 14-0. In the game against Central-Macon, Bowen carried the ball for 185 yards.He won the Viking Award in football, played shortstop and center field on the baseball team and was a forward for the soccer team.As a senior, Bowen accepted a scholarship to Western Carolina University where he lettered in each of his four seasons and earned a co-captain honor his senior year in 1977. After college, Bowen returned to Atlanta where he began a business career and also played in a semi-pro baseball league.

Redford coached from 1970-93 at Lakeside, serving as defensive coordinator for the Vikings football team and the varsity baseball head coach for five seasons; he was also a very popular mathematics teacher. With the baseball team, he had an overall record of 56-35.As defensive coordinator of the football team, he worked alongside legendary Vikings coaches Wayman Creel and Phil Lindsey, winning 10 region titles along with three state titles — the only three in school history. He also helped lead Lakeside to one finals appearance as well as three semifinals and quarterfinals appearances.As defensive coordinator, Redford coached several standouts whose careers extend past their days at Lakeside. Spencer Nelms, a first team defensive lineman who played for the Ohio State Buckeyes and Huey Richardson, a linebacker and defensive end who played at the University of Florida before being drafted 15th-overall by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 1991 NFL Draft.During his high school days at Decatur High School, Redford was the quarterback for the Bulldogs’ 1949 and 1950 state championship teams. While attending Georgia Tech, he played football and baseball and was co-captain his senior season in baseball.

Nelms, Class of 1981, starred at Lakeside as a defensive lineman. He earned All-State recognition and Outstanding Senior for his academic achievements before signing with Ohio State.Nelms’ seasons with the Buckeyes resulted in a Big Ten Championship, as well as Holiday Bowl, Liberty Bowl, and Fiesta Bowl victories. He also made the Academic All-Big Ten, Aca- demic All-District and was inducted into the Political Science Honor Society. He was honored with the Corwin A. Fergus Award and a Post-Graduate Scholarship and was accepted at Columbia University to both its Law School and School of International and Public Affairs, where he earned a Juris Doctorate and Masters in Business.Nelms began a career of public service that included positions at the Independent Budget Office in New York City, the California State Legislative Analysis Office and the US Office of Management and Budget, where he served as a budget analyst for several cabinet-level departments under President Bill Clinton.Spencer later became Senior Manager of the Office of Program Evaluation and Risk Analysis (OPERA) within the Research, Analysis, and Sta- tistics Division.

Davis, Class of 1983, earned four varsity letters at Lakeside, two in both football and soccer. He connected on 7-of-8 field goals his junior season and played for a Region 8-AAAA title as a senior, hitting 15-of-23 field goals, including the deciding kick in the Vikings’ 3-0 first-round playoff win over Columbia.He went on to kick and punt at the Citadel and still holds the school records for the longest field goal (53 yards) in school history, longest punt (81 yards), most career points by kicking (181) and most made field goals (35). He earned 1AA All-American as a senior.Davis was picked in the ninth round of the 1987 NFL Draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and spent 12 years in the league, including time with the Atlanta Falcons, Minnesota Vikings, San Diego Chargers, New England Patriots and Arizona Cardinals.In his 169 NFL games, he made 224-of-325 field goals (69 percent) and 290-of-296 PATS. He is co-holder of the NFL record for most 50-yard field goals in one game (3) and the fourth leading scorer in Cardinals history with 474 points.

Lindsey was the football coach at Lakeside from 1983-1997 and accumulated a 134-44-2 record over his 15-year career, the most victories in school history. A seven-year stint as an assistant coach from 1976-82, and time spent coaching tennis and wrestling, led to his hiring as head football coach in 1983. He coached Lakeside to a state championship in 1991 and won five region titles. He also took the Vikings to the state finals on another occasion, made a semifinals appearance and went to the quarterfinals thrice.Lindsey, who was the state championship win- ning quarterback for Bradwell Institute in Hinesville in 1965, received many honors and awards throughout his career at Lakeside, including the Region Coach of the Year six times, the DeKalb County Touchdown Club Coach of the Year in 1986 and 1991, as well as the Class AAA and Atlanta Touchdown Club Coach of the Year in 1991.Lindsey was the head tennis coach at Lakeside from 1984-97 and won a girls state championship in 1984.While at Lakeside, Lindsey also had the plea- sure of coaching his son Michael, who graduated from Lakeside in 1998 and continued his football career at Auburn University before becoming Lamar High School’s head football coach in Houston.