7 Decatur High Athletes Named to All-Region Teams

During a productive fall, seven Decatur High athletes representing three sports earned first-team All-Region or All-Area honors.

Additionally, two fall teams advanced to the state playoffs.

Last week the Atlanta Journal-Constitution named three Decatur footballers to its Region 6-AAA squad:  defensive end Kyle Kitchens, cornerback Andrew Brown and wide receiver Terryon Robinson.

In November softball players Chelsea Hall, Kendall Lewis and Julia Banks made the region’s first team, while volleyball setter Diamond Simpson made All-Area.

All-Region athletes are selected by the region’s coaches. A coach is not allowed to vote for their own player.

Although the cross country team didn’t produce any all-region performers, the girls team advanced to state this fall. The softball team also went to state for the first time since 2005 and only the second time in its 12-year history.  

Kyle Kitchens, the only junior among the seven athletes, was probably the football team’s most improved player with 74 total tackles (56 more than last year), 11 sacks, three fumble recoveries and a touchdown. Decatur coach Brad Waggoner recently described the defensive end/offensive tackle as “a major-college prospect, probably as an outside linebacker.”

Andrew Brown had 33 tackles, three interceptions and two fumble recoveries. He also played tailback, rushing for 500 yards, with 256 yards receiving and 11 touchdowns.

Terryon Robinson, hobbled for most of the season with a sprained ankle, still managed 44 receptions for 480 yards (10.9 yards per catch) and five touchdowns. He also had two touchdowns on punt returns and seven interceptions at cornerback. During his three-year varsity career he had 94 receptions for 1,660 yards (17.7 yards per catch) and 22 receiving touchdowns.

Waggoner said that Brown and Robinson will be among an anticipated six Decatur seniors likely to play in college next season, though no one has signed yet. 

Among the softball players, Kendall Lewis hit .312 with a .390 On Base Percentage and 14 stolen bases while making one phenomenal catch after another in playing a gold-glove quality centerfield.  She also hit the only homerun of her varsity career Oct. 4 in her last home game at Oakhurst Park.

Shortstop Chelsea Hall hit .397 with 23 RBI while leading the team in homeruns (seven – a school record), OBP (.493), slugging percentage (.897), triples (5) and stolen bases (18 – probably a school record). Hall made all-region in both her seasons on the Decatur varsity

Pitcher/ first baseman Julia Banks made her third consecutive all-region appearance leading the team in batting (.410), RBI (25) and doubles (11) while hitting four homeruns with a .490 OBP and .687 slugging. In the circle she went 8-10 with a 2.47 ERA. A four-year starter as a position player, she posted career numbers of 96 hits, 13 homeruns, 69 RBI, .440 batting average and a .771 slugging percentage.

Banks will sign a letter-of-intent with Augusta State University on Thursday, while Hall will sign sometime in the next few months. Hall and Banks are currently teammates on the prestigious East Cobb Bullets 18-Gold team.

Diamond Simpson played two years for Decatur after transferring from Chamblee, and has spent the last two years playing on a GA5 club team. Primarily a setter, she had 150 earned points this fall, 25 percent of the team’s total. She had an 87 percent serving percentage with 66 aces and 75 kills.

She’s going to attend Virginia State on an academic/volleyball scholarship and is planning on studying chemistry.