EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the ninth in a series counting down the area’s top 12 prep dynasties of the past 50 years.
Many high school sports programs can claim greatness. Only a few can also claim to have helped change the culture of a region.
The Dalton High School soccer team has six GHSA championships — five since 2013 — and twice finished a season ranked No. 1 nationally. It’s the Catamounts’ effect off the pitch, however, that will long outlast the trophies on display at the school long noted for the success of its other football team.
The flooring industry, long the lifeblood of Whitfield County, attracted Hispanic families to the area and, by the early 2000s Hispanics made up more than 50% of the county’s population.
The changing demographics created tension in the area but the 2003 soccer team helped change that as coach Matt Cheaves put together a team that unified the school and the community.