OSG High: State Title Coach Resigns Over Recruiting/Grades Flap

((HT: AJC/Holcomb))

This one has a lot of moving parts...

First moving part: Steve DeVoursney was the head football coach for the Griffin High (GA) Bears and won the 2013 Class 4A title
Evidence below...
((HT: GPB Sports/GHSA))


But, over the last three years the rivalry between the city school and the county school, Spalding, seems to have escalated to a different level entirely. Under allegations of illegal recruiting of student-athletes and improper academic assistance, DeVoursney and his wife- a science teacher at the school- submitted their resignations.

They were accepted by the Board of Education Thursday evening.
All the shenanigans then kicked into a high gear last fall...

From Holcomb:

The events that prompted the investigation began in September, 2013, when Griffin principal Keith Simmons questioned the legality of the transfer of a student-athlete from his school to county rival Spalding High. The schools are located five miles apart.

Simmons wrote a letter to the GHSA that asserted that the transfer student from Griffin was not living legally in the Spalding district, according to the report. Simmons speculated in the letter that Spalding football coach Nick Davis illegally recruited the student-athlete.

The Spalding principal, in turn, asked for an investigation on a three-year student at Griffin who was ineligible, but went through what was termed a "course recovery" program and became eligible. The Spalding High principal questioned the idea of 18 hours being picked up rather quickly.

And to top it all off, the student whose eligibility was restored was questioned in the investigation and fingered the coach's wife for giving him answers to tests.

Got all this...???
There's a test later on...

No immediate word on whether DeVoursney will pursue any job openings in the central part of the state- where he grew up, won a title as a player, and won a title as a coach. There are still a handful of openings still in the state for the upcoming 2014 season. And the fallout of this is huge...

It also makes the Spalding-Griffin rivalry really nasty from this moment on...