FOOTBALL

Clark, Class of 1992, was a football star at Lakeside High School playing multiple positions including cornerback, wide receiver, and punt returner and was a key player for the 1991 championship team that went 14-0-1. Clark was nominated for the All-Decade Team and Decade Player of the Year for the 1990s, and was a part of the DeKalb County Touchdown Club. A famous drill coined by Phil Lindsey called “Ricos” was named after Clark, where you do crab walks on all fours for the total length of the football field. After graduating from Lakeside, Clark received a full scholarship to play football for Louisville. As a Cardinal, he made First-Team and Second-Team All-Conference in his three years at Louisville and recorded 354 career tackles. Clark was also a Humanitarian Award recipient for outstanding service to the community and became a permanent team captain his senior year. Clark had a stint in the NFL playing for the Colts, Bengals, and Patriots. Highlights from his NFL career include intercepting a ball intended for star receiver Keyshawn Johnson and helping hold Dan Marino’s potent passing attack to a shutout victory while in Indianapolis. Clark started his own company, Mr. Home Improvement, which specializes in buying and renovating homes. Today, he is a dedicated father and family man involved with mentoring children and servicing his church community.

Gordon, Class of 1987, was a football standout while at Lakeside winning multiple Player of the Week and Player of the County awards. Gordon starred as a linebacker for the Vikings and was also a team captain. His efforts on the field earned him Second-Team All-State recognition. After graduating from Lakeside, Gordon went to the University of Florida to play football but suffered an injury in a game against Temple University. He decided to transfer to Western Kentucky where he was a two-time All-American linebacker. Gordon also led the Hilltoppers in tackles and was a major standout garnering interest from the Pittsburgh Steelers. Ultimately, the opportunity didn’t work out, but Gordon is thankful for what it allowed him to become. He earned a BA in education and graduated from Western Kentucky in 1991. After graduating from Western Kentucky, Gordon became a teacher in Seattle for three years at Hamilton Middle School. He had a stint with UPS and won Employee of the Year during his time with the company. Currently, he resides in Jacksonville, Florida where he is a port contractor and owns a business that specializes in commercial cleaning, residential cleaning, post-construction cleaning, and flooring. His business also specializes in restaurant cleaning, helping companies pass health inspection scores with state-of-the-art cleaning methods. Gordon has two children, a daughter Alexcia and a son Kembridge.

McKenna, Class of 1975, was a multisport athlete during his time at Lakeside. In track, McKenna was a part of the fastest team in the country in the mile medley along with teammates Tommy Parkerson, Stewart Atkinson, and Mark Thompson. He also ran the 330M hurdles where he placed fourth in the state championships and won multiple relays throughout his career. On the football field, McKenna lettered three years on varsity and started for two seasons. He was a member of the 1972 state championship team that went 14-0 under Wayman Creel and the 1974 state runner-up team. After graduating from Lakeside, McKenna went to the Virginia Military Institute to continue his football career. As a Keydet, he lettered for three years and played against Lakeside Hall of Fame teammates David Glover and Rusty Moore, and won the Southern Conference twice. McKenna also ran track for the Keydets, competing in the 400M hurdles. After graduating from VMI with a degree in Economics, McKenna moved to Texas for eight years where he worked in the surgery field before returning to Atlanta. After his return, he became a partner at the Gynecology Resources Surgery Center. Along with his brother Pete, he created Trimac Event Staffing, providing security for major events, concerts, and festivals that take place in Atlanta.

Moore, Class of 1975, was a two sport athlete lettering in both baseball and football for the Vikings. He attributes his success and leadership to the coaching and mentoring of Mr. Kicklighter, Coach Creel, and Coach Redford, as well as his parents and friends at Lakeside. The Vikings won a football state title and two region championships in Moore’s final three varsity seasons. Lakeside also capped a phenomenal 11-3 season during Moore’s senior campaign and the defense recorded four shutouts and held nine opponents to single digits. Lakeside defeated fourth-ranked Griffin in the quarterfinals and top-ranked Wheeler, 13-7, in the semis before falling to Thomasville 26-20 in the finals. Moore received a football scholarship to The Citadel where he played outside linebacker under head coach Bobby Ross and position coach Frank Beamer. He worked as a graduate assistant coach his final year and graduated in 1979 with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree. After graduation, Rusty worked for Nabisco/Kraft Foods in Atlanta, New Jersey, New York, Allentown and Philadelphia. His team designed and helped build the largest bakery in North America prior to his retirement in 2016. Rusty married his wife Valerie in 1987 and currently lives in Tampa Bay near their two children, Sara, her husband Stephen and their daughter Evelyn, as well as their son Harrison and his wife Memorie.

Brien, Class of 1975, was a multi-sport athlete who played football, soccer and was on the track and field team for five seasons. He was a defensive back and place kicker as a member of the 1974 state runner-up team led by legendary coach Wayman Creel. For Brien, memories of his time at Lakeside are positive, but the recollection of the Vikings’ 26-20 loss to Thomasville in the 1974 Class 3A State Championship game stung, and still does. However, the good outweighs the bad. As a member of Coach Jim Mitchell’s soccer team, Brien played right wing and helped lead the Vikings to a runner-up season in 1973, three years after Lakeside’s boys won the first-ever soccer title for the Vikings. In 1974, the Vikings captured the program’s second soccer title and then successfully defended the title in 1975. The 1975 team went undefeated and in the state championship game, Brien scored two goals to lead Lakeside. Humbled by his induction, Brien is stunned to be considered alongside so many coaches and teammates who helped instill in him many life lessons which he carries to this day. He would like to acknowledge coach Dave Redford, coach Jerry McDaniels, coach Park Turner, coach Creel and especially his parents, Betsy and John. Brien and his wife Shelly moved to Lake Hartwell in 2019 and enjoy the area, the people and each other.

Glover, Class of 1975, was a multi-sport athlete who played on the Vikings football and track teams. On the gridiron, he received three varsity letters and was a member of the Vikings undefeated 1972 State Championship team during his sophomore year, in a time where Lakeside football was at its peak. Glover was also voted by his teammates as team captain of the 1974 Lakeside team, and received the prestigious Viking Award for his efforts that season. In track, he was a member of the 1974 State Championship team. After graduating from Lakeside, Glover accepted a football scholarship to Furman University, but ultimately transferred to Georgia Tech to obtain his bachelor’s degree. He continued his education as a Yellow Jacket and later went on to receive his MBA from the University of New Orleans. Glover began his career in the financial services industries with Merrill Lynch in 1985, and rose to the position of Senior Vice President. Today, he owns his own firm, Wellspring Wealth, which is headquartered in Alpharetta. Glover has three decades of experience in the financial services industry, and is a circle member of the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, the leadership council of Georgia Tech’s Alumni Association, and the Alois Society of the Georgia Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association.

Vardeman, Class of 1971, was a multi-sport athlete who lettered two years in wrestling and three years in varsity football as a defensive lineman. He was co-captain in 1969, named to the 1970 All-State team and was a member of the 1970 State Championship team that went 13-0. Vardeman was named Co-Defensive Lineman of the Year and made the 1970 All-Metro team. After Lakeside, Vardeman went to Emory University, majoring in English literature. He worked as a construction worker and foreman, building concrete farm silos throughout the South. Vardeman went to the Union Theological Seminary in New York City where he interned at Sing-Sing Prison. A Presbyterian minister, he worked with former prisoners in Tampa, Florida. He also worked for Presbyterian Disaster Assistance where his most significant assignment was coordinating disaster recovery in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. Vardeman held church leadership positions in Minnesota and Indiana until 2015, when a growth in his spinal cord caused a major injury. He now uses a wheelchair to get around and is always accompanied by his mobility assistance service dog Zest, a black lab. Now, Vardeman lives in Minneapolis with his wife, Heidi. They have two daughters, four grandchildren, and a cabin in Wisconsin. He thanks Coaches Norman Olson, Fay Early, John Thomason, Park Turner & Dave Redmond for making him a team-oriented player.

Ivie, Class of 1967, was a three-sport letterman in the first graduating class at Lakeside in 1967 after a storied career in football, basketball and baseball. During his junior and senior years, he caught 102 passes for 1,800-plus yards and 18 touchdowns and was named All-State as a senior. On the basketball court, Ivie was the leading scorer on the 1964 and 1965 Vikings teams and scored a career-high 38 points against Briarcliff. He was named to the Atlanta Tip-Off Club team after scoring 27 points against Forest Park. On the baseball diamond, Ivie played first base and pitched. During his junior year, he was a defensive stalwart, making no errors on the season while batting .400. After Lakeside, Ivie attended Florida State on a football scholarship, and graduated with honors in 1971 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance. In 1974, he graduated from UGA’s School of Law and has been a sole practitioner in Ashburn, Georgia for 48 years. He has been the Solicitor General for Turner County for 21 years. Ivie coached little league baseball and recreation basketball and volunteered as a high school coach at Turner County and Tiftarea Academy, winning two state championships. He is married to his wife Dot, a 1968 Lakeside graduate, and has two children, Jenny Anne (Gabe) and Tanner (Caroline) with five wonderful grandchildren – Hayden, Olivia Rand, Jackson, Annabelle and Catherine Ivie.

Hayworth, Class of 1967, started his varsity career at Briarcliff before helping launch the Vikings’ football program during his two years at Lakeside. He was also a standout wrestler that finished one-point shy of an individual state championship. On the gridiron, he became Lakeside’s first All-State selection and the first Lakeside product to earn a collegiate scholarship. Hayworth, a linebacker, led Lakeside to back-to-back winning seasons before graduating and was paramount in building the foundation of the program in its pivotal first years. After leaving Lakeside in its first graduating class, Hayworth became a starting linebacker at Auburn University from 1970-71. He earned his Federal Aviation Administrative Certification while at Colorado Aerotech and spent eight years working for the Transport Repair and Maintenance Corporation (TramCo) in Seattle, Washington. Hayworth later settled in High Point, North Carolina and continued his work in the Aviation Industry for 10 years with the Triad International Maintenance Corporation (TIMCO). He then began his work with Thomas Built Buses in the Quality Inspection department. Together with his wife of 30-plus years, Dorothy ‘Dottie’, they have a son Mason that lives in Phoenix, Arizona and a daughter, Hannah, that lives in Ashboro, North Carolina. Hayworth, now retired, continues working part time at the YMCA, where he has been a member for years, and enjoys the outdoors and spending time with the family’s beloved dog, Douglas.

Coach Norm Olson was a pillar of athletic success at Lakeside from 1964-1969 when he helped create the first Vikings football team and laid the groundwork for its success. The Vikings went 0-1-2 that year, but like everything coach Olson was involved with, the team improved. In 1965, Lakeside finished 5-4-1, marking the program’s first-ever winning season. In the 1967 season, he led Lakeside to its first-ever region title and playoff appearance when the Vikings defeated Briarcliff 28-10 in the final game of the regular season to secure the region. The 1968 season was the beginning of a historic stretch of football at Lakeside. The Vikings finished 8-2 that year and then 6-4 in 1969, Olson’s final season at Lakeside. However, a majority of that team were integral in the success of the first-ever championship team in 1970 under legendary head coach and fellow Hall of Famer Wayman Creel. Olson, an alumna of Florida State where he played four years of football, was inducted into the Florida High School Football Hall of Fame in association with FSU in 2018 for his work as an assistant coach for track and football in his early career. Coach Norm Olson passed away on February 22, 2019, and is beloved by his wife, Charlene Winterle Olson, his four daughters and son. Coach Olson is cherished by the many friends and athletes he taught over his coaching career.