CALHOUN, Ga. — Carter Harrison likely never will play another down of competitive football, but the sport always will be alive in the Calhoun High School ace pitcher and three-year starting linebacker.
With his mound presence for the Yellow Jackets (29-0), ranked third in Georgia Class AA, the right-hander just as easily could be preparing to pounce on another unsuspecting ball carrier instead of making a pitch. Harrison’s aggressive style hasn’t always been a positive, but he has learned how to harness it.
“He may be the most fierce competitor I’ve had in 16 years here as head coach,” said Calhoun coach Chip Henderson, who doesn’t voice such an assessment easily. “He wants the ball and he loves to compete, whether it’s at tiddlywinks, throwing a baseball or swinging a bat.
“He’s grown and learned from some of his mistakes. Sometimes, with that football mentality, he gets a little wound up, and in the past that has worked against him. But he’s found a way to channel that and use it in a more positive way.”
Wednesday’s Class AA second-round sweep of Callaway was a perfect example of the more-under-control Harrison. Five minutes into game one, he was staring at a 2-0 deficit after the Jackets committed five first-inning errors, including two by the pitcher himself. A younger Harrison might have imploded. Instead, he limited the damage, helped regroup his teammates with a spirited dugout discussion and did not allow another run in an 8-2 win that improved Harrison’s record to 11-0 this season.