MCDONOUGH, Ga. — After graduating six seniors a season ago, the Covington Academy Bulldogs repeated as the Georgia Association of Private and Parochial Schools Division I-A state champions on Feb. 26. This time around, the Bulldogs defeated Hills Academy, from Conyers, 54-52 on Shaquille O’Neal Court at Creekside Christian Academy.

Head coach Trell Grimes said it was a sluggish start on his team’s part but, sometime in the first half, something seemed to change with the players. 

“We pulled together in the second quarter,” Grimes said. “I guess everybody was like ‘hey, we’re here. We might as well play.’ All it took from there was to play solid and maintain what got us there.” 

In the championship game, Geno Brown led the Bulldogs with a team-high 21 points and five rebounds. 

Harold Lowe recorded a double-double in the win, scoring 16 points and collecting 19 rebounds. Colton Price contributed 12 points in the winning effort, too. 

When the game was over and the championship was the Bulldogs’ again, Grimes realized how special it was to witness his team’s journey the past few weeks. Grimes expressed his pride in his team performance on and off the court leading up to the big game. 

Now, after going back-to-back seasons capturing the state title, Grimes is excited for the future of the Bulldogs’ basketball program. 

“I don’t see this program going anywhere but up,” Grimes said. “This is like one big family. Ever since I’ve been here, it’s been like this. All the support and the love is truly special.”

Even though the playoff run ended up with the Bulldogs hoisting the ultimate prize, it was a rocky path to get there. 

Covington Academy’s journey through the playoffs began on Feb. 10 when the Bulldogs captured the region title. But, during the championship ceremony, sophomore guard Payton Hudgins collapsed on the court and had a seizure after stating that he couldn’t feel his legs. 

Hudgins was then life-flighted to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta immediately. 

A Facebook page called “Pray-4-Payton #14” was created to better update people on Hudgins’ progress. 

For the first part of his stint in the hospital, Hodgins was in a medically induced coma while also being in the intensive care unit (ICU) on a ventilator. Shortly after, Hodgins awoke and was taken off the ventilator. 

As a matter of fact, when the state championship game was being played on Feb. 26, Hudgins was cheering the Bulldogs on. 

“Payton had a good night and is doing well today, currently watching and cheering for his team as they are playing for the state championship game,” a Feb. 26 post stated. 

Later that same day, another Facebook post was made saying that Hudgins watched the entire game. 

On March 1, it was made public that Hudgins was released from ICU and was in a regular room in the hospital. 

Throughout the nearly three weeks, the Bulldogs rallied around Hudgins and his family. They adopted slogans such as #PaytonStrong and #Pray4Payton. 

Specifically, in the state semi-finals, Hudgins’ jersey was still featured on the court despite him being in the hospital. 

Brown donned Hudgins’ jersey while, coincidentally, scoring 14 points advancing the Bulldogs to the championship game. 

According to Grimes, the Bulldogs cheering for Hudgins’ recovery seemed to bring the team closer together and fuel this year’s state championship run. 

“We were already a tight-knit group,” Grimes said. 

“When that happened, it just made us that much closer. We had more of a reason than just wanting to win to help us get that championship.”