About The champion newspaper. (Decatur, GA) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 9, 2025)
SPORTS THE CHAMPION, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 9 - 15, 2025 • PAGE 12 Football alums producing at next levels BY REGINALD FULLER RFULLER@DEKALBCHAMP.COM DeKalb continues to leave it mark beyond Friday night lights with standout alums shining on college fields and in the NFL. From alums making major contributions on the college fields to hometown heroes shining and producing at the highest level on Sundays, DeKalb's football legacy continues to thrive. Here's a list of some of the DeKalb alums who highlighted their talents this past weekend. Columbia alum Jadan Baugh • Baugh helped lead the Florida Ga tors to a ranked win over the No. 9 Texas Longhorns on Oct. 4. Baugh rushed for 107 yards and a touch- down on 27 carries. He also tacked on three catches for 16 yards. The former Columbia Eagle had season high in touches and yards in the victory. Baugh has a chance to build off his success as the team's leading rusher while they compete to get back in the college rankings. Stephenson alum Kelvin Sheppard Cedar Grove alum Rashod Dubinion (7) ran for 98 yards and a touchdown for Appalachian State. File photo • Sheppard and the Detroit Lions picked up their fourth win of the season with a 37-24 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals on Oct. 5. Sheppard was a standout defen ¬ sive player at Stephenson and later went on to play in the NFL as linebacker. Under Sheppard's coaching, the Lions' defense ranks seventh in overall defense. They sit top five in rushing defense and 11th in passing offense. The Lions currently lead the NFC North and will look to continue their winning streak as they take on the Kansas City Chiefs on Oct. 12. Cedar Grove alum Rashod Dubinion • Dubinion rushed for 98 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries for the Appalachia State Mountaineers in their 27-23 victory over Ore gon State on Oct. 4. Dubinion has become the leading attacker on offense as he already eclipsed 600 yards on the season. The Moun taineers currently sit in fourth place in the Sun Belt Conference and will look to move up in the conference as they have a con ference matchup against Georgia State on Oct. 11. Arabia Mountain alum Jakobi Meyers • Meyers had 32 yards on four re ceptions in the 40-6 loss against the Indianapolis Colts on Oct. 5. The Raiders offense has been struggling of late, but Meyers and the team will look to get back on track as they take on the Titans on Oct. 12. Dunwoody secures home playoff series BY MARK BROCK Five insurance runs in the top of the seventh were key to a 14-6 Dunwoody Lady Wildcats Region 4-5A win over the Chamblee Lady Bulldogs at Chamblee on Sept. 30, clinching Dunwoody a host role in the first round of the Class 5A state playoffs. Dunwoody (17-4, 11-2) held a 9-6 edge heading into the top of the seventh when the Wildcats struck for five runs to extend the lead to eight. Vivian Curry added to her big night at the plate (4-5, 2 doubles, 4 RBI) with a two-out, two-run single following Alex Dupree's two- run single as the Wildcats broke open the game. Kenzie Eisenstat added one more run on a two-out single of her own to make it a 14-6 game. Dunwoody pitcher Alyssa Rosenkoff gave up a two-out double to Ellasyn Bair in the bottom of the second but got a groundout to third to pick up the complete game victory. Chamblee (11-13, 9-4) got out in front in the bottom of the first inning as Annabelle Ritchey's RBI double into left field scored Sadie Thompson who had led off the inning with a single. Dunwoody answered in the top of the second inning by putting three runs on the board on a two-out, two-run double by Sienn Rembelos and an infield single by Brooke Parkes to score Rembelos to take a 3-1 lead. Curry added an RBI double in the top of third and Eisentat's groundout to short score Curry to up the lead to 5-1 in favor of Dunwoody. Chamblee's Madison Jones closed the gap to 5-3 with a two-out, two-run homer over the left field fence. Dupree hit an RBI single and Curry added another RBI double in the top of the fourth to make it 7-3. The lead rose to 9-3 in the top of the fifth with an error, a wild pitch and an RBI single by Kaz McLaughlin put two more runs across the plate. Bair inched the Bulldogs closer with an RBI single to score Jones in the bottom of the fifth. Two more runs came in the sixth as Stella Barton and Sadie Godwin scored with the aid of a wild pitch to close the margin to 9-6. Parkes (2-5, 3 runs scored), Dupree (2-4, 3 RBI) and Allie Sleep (2-5) joined Curry with multiple hit The Dunwoody Lady Wildcats secured a home advantage in the first round of the Class 5A state playoffs after a win over the Chamblee Lady Bulldogs on Sept. 30. Photo by Mark Brock performances. Thompson (2-4) and Godwin (2-3, double) had multiple hits for the Bulldogs who are solidly in third place at 9-4. REDUCE • REUSE • RECYCLE • REDUCE • REUSE
