Graphic Design | Clay Reynolds

GRAPHIC DESIGN/PUBLISHING

NEWSPAPER

Fronts

Mercer Miracle

Scenes of the postgame celebration, after Trinity Christian's boys basketball team pulled off a miracle upset of Central Fellowship in the GIAA finals to clinch the program's first-ever state title, lead the March 7, 2023 edition of The Courier Herald.

Beyond Belief

Game coverage of Trinity's improbable state championship victory over Central Fellowship in the 2023 GIAA state finals covers The Courier Herald's sports front.

History!

Sports front from Nov. 8, 2022: Johnson County running back Germivy Tucker breaks Herschel Walker's school rushing record as the Trojans wrap an unbeaten regular season with the region title, and one-man wrecking crew Demello Jones leads Swainsboro over Dublin in the region championship game

No loose ends

A centerpiece package recapping a historically redemptive victory for Dublin, in a long-awaited home rematch with Charlton County, anchors The Courier Herald's sports front on Oct. 3, 2023.

Sweep talk

The finale of a noisy region baseball series between 2-AAAA rivals West Laurens and Perry takes center stage on The Courier Herald's April 8, 2023 sports front. The Raiders got the last word in a sweep of the Panthers to clinch first place, en route to an eventual region title.

Dragon-slayers

Sports front from Jan. 25, 2022: The West Laurens Raiders dethrone duals dynasty Jefferson to win the state wrestling title, and Trinity Christian shooting guard Henry Williams scores 1,000 career points.

Ladies night

A package of GHSA basketball playoff coverage recaps big wins for three out of four local girls teams that prevailed in first-round action.

A kick, in the pants

Sports front from Sept. 20, 2022: Head coach Don Norton and the Johnson County Trojans make some unusual halftime adjustments – with a change of pants from white to blue – to spark a second-half comeback to beat East Laurens in the annual Border War.

Heartbreaker

Sports front from March 19, 2021: The scene, and story, of a heartbreaking buzzer-beater that knocked the Dublin Irish out of the GHSA Class A state playoffs in the Final Four.

Walk-offs on the wild side

A photo of West Laurens baseball's postgame celebration of an extra inning win over Mary Persons, courtesy of a second-straight walk-off hit, at the heart of local game coverage on The Courier Herald's sports front for Feb. 28, 2023.

Early bird special

A Dublin rout of the Screven County Gamecocks that was in the books early leads first-round playoff football coverage on The Courier Herald's November 14, 2023 sports front.

No joy in Mudville

Sports front from Sept. 15, 2020: Another rough week for hometown high school football teams, who took their season record to 0-6 in a winless second week of the regular season.

Blame it on the rain

The Courier Herald's May 2, 2023 sports coverage focuses on a heartbreaking loss to Whitewater in game 2 of a second-round state playoff series for West Laurens, marked by the robbery of a go-ahead grand slam in the top of the sixth inning that was nullified by a mid-inning rainout, leaving the Raiders with only the rain to blame for the ending.

Fantasy numbers

Sports front from Sept. 13, 2022: Trinity quarterback Jim Coleman and Dublin running back DeMari Foster put up some absurd offensive numbers in two different high-scoring games from week 5 of high school football in the midstate.

So close

A spread of pivotal high school football games around the county on The Courier Herald's Oct. 10, 2023 sports front starts out with a home loss for West Laurens that was literal inches away from becoming a win.

Special Section Covers

Heart of Georgia Football 2023.jpg

Top players from Laurens County's four high schools make up the cover of The Courier Herald's 2023 season football preview, which won first place for Division B in special sections in the Georgia Press Association Better Newspaper Contest.

Heart of Georgia Football 22

This is our house! A scene of the East Laurens Falcons storming from the tunnel onto the field at their brand new stadium jump-starts excitement ahead of the new season on the cover of the 2022 Heart of Georgia Football section.

Heart of Georgia Football 21

Local players to watch including West Laurens' Evan Guyton, East Laurens' Kashmere Bryant, Trinity's Jim Coleman, Dublin's Qua Ashley and Johnson County's Germivy Tucker feature in this cover art for the 2021 Heart of Georgia Football section.

Heart of Georgia Football 20

State champions? That's got a nice ring to it. Dublin quarterback Markelle Mitchell, one of the few returning members of a 2019 AA state championship squad for the Dublin Irish, shows off his championship ring from this spot on the cover of the 2020 Heart of Georgia Football preview section.

Heart of Georgia Football 18

Dublin's JaQues Evans, a highly-recruited junior defender and running back for the Irish, lines up on the cover of The Courier Herald's 2018 high school football preview section.

Heart of Georgia Football 17

A collage of action and feature photos from recent seasons representing each of five high schools in The Courier Herald's core coverage area made up the themed cover of the paper's 2017 football preview section.

Back To School 17

All Aboard! This image of a Dublin City Schools bus driver releasing passengers on the first day of school at Susie Dasher Elementary served as cover art for The Courier Herald's yearly back-to-school section.

Home & Garden 17

Dublin-Laurens County's "Tomato Whisperer" Jim Smalley poses in front of several rows of his young heirloom and hybrid tomato plants as subject of the cover story in The Courier Herald's 2017 Home & Garden section.

Senior Living 17

91-year-old Juanita Neighbors, still a regular attendee of aerobics sessions at Fairview Fitness Center and subject of an inspiring feature profile, joins her classmates on the cover of The Courier Herald's 2017 Senior Living guide.

St. Patrick's Festival Preview 19

Images from past Dublin-Laurens Saint Patrick's Festival events decorate the cover of The Courier Herald's 2019 event preview section.

Michael Dukes Tribute Section

Beloved West Laurens High School band director Michael Dukes was celebrated on the cover of this tribute section published before his retirement after 27 years with the Laurens County school system.

Hometown Heroes

Local first-responders are featured on the cover of The Courier Herald's first-ever edition of "Hometown Heroes," a tribute to individuals and agencies making up Dublin-Laurens County's public service community.