All-Region Team: 19 Paladins Honored; Thompson Coach of the Year, Petty Player of Year and Givers Offensive Player of the Year
Seven Paladins Earn All-State Honors from Four Different Groups
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The varsity football team from Fellowship Christian School was well represented on the Class A Division I Region 5-A All-Region Team.
Head coach John Thompson was named Coach of the Year, while senior Josh Petty was Named Player of the Year and junior C.J. Givers was named Offensive Player of the Year. A total of 16 FCS players were selected for first team and honorable mention honors for the All-Region Team.
In addition, Petty was also selected for the 2024 GPB Sports All-State Team as an All-State Offensive Lineman and was named Touchdown Club of Atlanta 2024 First-Team All-State.
In February, three Paladins were named to the 2024 Georgia Athletic Coaches Association All-State High School Team for Class A Division I: Givers (running back), Petty (offensive lineman) and senior wide receiver Evan Haynes.
In January, seven Paladins were picked for the @RecruitGeorgia 3A-1A Private All-State team: junior offensive lineman Parker Acrey, Givers, and Petty (first team) and junior offensive lineman Ren Gilmer, junior quarterback Jonathan Granby and senior defensive end Charles Sharp (honorable mention).
Here’s a list of the All-Region Team honors:
- First Team offense: Acrey (offensive lineman), Granby (quarterback), Haynes (wide receiver), senior Trace Herman (offensive lineman) and senior Caden Lickovitch (tight end).
- First Team Defense: senior Tristan Costoulas defensive back), sophomore Synir Fields (linebacker), Gilmer (defensive line), junior Noah Hazard (outside linebacker), Sharp (outside linebacker), senior Al Thompson (defensive back) and junior Mack Town (defensive back).
- First Team Special Teams: junior Drew Collins (placekicker).
- Honorable Mention: junior Kolton Driskell (wide receiver), senior Griffin Wells (defensive back) and senior James Wilson (outside linebacker).
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“It’s a nice honor, but the credit goes to the players and our great coaching staff,” Thompson said about being named Coach of the Year. “We had a great season. I am proud of the way the team worked all season and how much progress we made. Petty and Givers had outstanding seasons, and it’s nice to see them receive much-deserved recognition. We had some very good players named to the All-Region team as well. They all meant a lot to our program.”
Thompson, who was named 2023 Class AA Region 8 Coach of the Year, led the Paladins to a 10-3 record and a trip to the GHSA Private Championships. He’s 20-6 in two years as FCS’ sixth varsity head coach.
This year’s Paladins won the sixth straight football Region Championship and the eighth in school history.
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Fellowship, which fell to Eagle’s Landing Christian Academy in the 2016 finals, has advanced to the Final 4 five times in school history – 2024 GHSA Private Championships, 2023 GHSA Private State Football Championships, 2022 Class AA playoffs, 2021 Class A Private playoffs, 2019 Class A Private playoffs and 2016 Class A Private playoffs (state runner-up).
Petty, Acrey, Gilmer, Herman and Lickovitch led an offensive line that opened the holes for the Fellowship runners to finish with 2,643 yards on the ground and Paladin quarterbacks to throw for 1,248 yards. Overall, the offense collected 3,891 yards in 2024.
Lickovitch registered five catches for 26 yards and registered five tackles on defense.
On the defensive side of the ball, Petty led the team with seven sacks, was second with nine tackles for a loss, shared second with 41 assisted tackles, tied for sixth with 59 overall stops, ranked seventh with 18 solo tackles and was tied for first with two forced fumbles.
Givers topped all FCS runners with 151 carries, 1,402 yards and 11 touchdowns in 11 games. He’s the school’s second all-time leading rusher in yards (4,072) and touchdowns (59). Givers has registered a school-record 569 carries. Murphy Reeves notched 5,241 yards and 62 TDs on 506 attempts from 2017-2020.
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In 2024, Givers was also third on the team with 13 catches and 182 reception yards. He has one career touchdown catch to give him 60 overall scores, two behind Reeves.
Granby completed 105-of-185 pass attempts for 1,235 yards and 11 scores over 12 games. He ran the ball 104 times for 721 yards with 14 TDs (all second highest on the team this season). Granby led the team with 1,956 total yards, while Givers collected 1,584.
Haynes topped FCS receivers with 35 receptions, 405 yards and four scores. He also ran the ball five times for 57 yards on one TD. Haynes ranks second all-time in school history among receivers with 94 catches and 1,492 reception yards, and third with 15 TDs in his career.
Driskell ranked second on the team with 30 catches, 340 receiving yards and three TDs.
Collins made 35-of-36 extra-point attempts and made all five field goal attempts.
Costoulas’ five interceptions led the FCS defense. He ranked fourth on the team with 65 total tackles, shared second with 27 solo stops and seventh with 38 assists.
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Fields topped the FCS defensive unit with 89 tackles and 66 assisted stops. His 23 solo tackles ranked fifth on the team, and he finished with one sack and one tackle for a loss.
Gilmer registered 17 tackles (three solo, 14 tackles).
Hazard ranked eighth on the squad with 58 tackles, shared second with 41 assists and was 10th overall with 17 solo stops. His 10 tackles for a loss topped the Paladins, and he was second with five sacks.
Sharp finished third on the team with 67 total tackles, shared second with 27 solo stops and was fourth with 40 assists. He also ranked third on the club with eight tackles for a loss and shared first with two forced fumbles.
Thompson’s 37 solo tackles led the team. He also finished with 78 tackles to rank second on the Paladins, shared second with 41 assists, was fourth with four tackles for a loss and recorded one interception.
Town was tied for sixth on the defense with 59 total tackles, was second with 30 solo stops and three interceptions, and finished eighth with 29 assists. He also had one sack and one tackle for a loss.
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Wells notched 36 total tackles (22 solo, 14 assists) and one tackle for loss.
Wilson recorded 50 total tackles (22 solo, 28 assists) and three tackles for a loss.
Eight defenders – including Fields, Granby, Hazard, Sharp, Thompson, Town and Wilson – shared the team lead with one fumble recovery. (Sophomore James Sharp also recovered one fumble).
(Photos by Milo Falcon and Leigh-Ann Thompson)