MaxPreps Mascot Mondays: Georgia high school mascots

Just as important as a school's name and its location is its mascot. Options abound, and some teams go with the commonplace while others go with the truly unique.

In Georgia, there are 509 schools with mascots listed in the MaxPreps database. Listed below are the Top 15 most popular mascot names in Georgia, the mascot names that only one school owns and other mascot facts/stats.

STEAMIN' OVER DEMONS
Warner Robins was the center of a national news item when a local pastor rallied against the local high school's mascot: The Demons. WMAZ TV reported in 2010 that pastor Donald Crosby wanted the school to change its mascot. Later reports revealed that Crosby was arrested twice during protests over the mascot. The origin of the mascot actually has nothing religious behind it, but is instead a reference to the 7th Fighter Squadron at Robins Air Force Base, which earned the "Screamin Demons" name in World War II. MaxPreps correspondent Todd Holcomb also added more to the discussion with 10 facts about schools using demonic mascots.

ATOMS BEWARE
The Atomsmashers of Johnson (Savannah) have an unforgettable name, and right in front of the school is one of the most unforgettable mascot emblems. The school was started by the local university (now Savannah State) and the mascot certainly carries thoughts of higher education with it. The full name of the school is actually Sol C. Johnson High School, and Johnson was not a scientist: He was a newspaper publisher. The Atomsmashers have two schools in the country that they should beat every time: Annandale (Va.) and Syracuse Academy of Science (N.Y.). Both those schools are the Atoms.

MASCOTS AT A HIGHER LEVEL
All but one of Georgia's Division 1 colleges and pro sports teams have a high school with the same mascot. So that's nine out of 10 names. Furthermore, the top four most popular mascot names in Georgia are also used by a college in the state. The Kennesaw State Owls don't have a high school with the same mascot, but all others do: Georgia Southern Eagles (39), University of Georgia Bulldogs (29), Savannah State Tigers (23), Georgia State Panthers (22), Georgia Tech Yellowjackets (7) and Mercer Bears (5). Don't forget the pros, either, with the NFL's Atlanta Falcons (6), MLB's Atlanta Braves (3) and NBA's Atlanta Hawks (6).



POWERED BY SYRUP
The town of Cairo, located near the Florida border, is known as "Syrup City" and its high school is part of that tradition. The story is told on the school's website about how the Tigers became the Syrupmakers: During a rainstorm the Roddenberry's Syrup Factory donated ponchos to the players and the jackets had Roddenberry's Syrup on the back. Fans clamored for the mascot change, and it stuck. Also, the female teams are known as the Syrupmaids. Cairo (pronounced KAY-roh) earned its prominence through the sugarcane syrup industry, but it's not affiliated with Karo-brand.

AN ANGORA IS.....
Not very many people can finish that sentence. Aside from being the mascot at Clarkston, Angoras are also a type of goat native to Turkey. According to the City of Clarkston website, the town was called "Goatsville" before changing to Angora Heights, and later, Clarkston. Citizens were known to own many goats in the old days because it was a sign of wealth and those goats would roam the city's open pastures and even make their way into schools and other buildings sometimes. Clarkston is the only school in the nation to go with Angoras as its mascot.

TOP 17 MOST POPULAR MASCOT NAMES
# Eagles 39 (There are 5 War Eagles and 1 Screaming Eagles)
# Bulldogs 29
# Tigers 23
# Panthers 22
# Warriors 21
# Wildcats 21
# Lions 20 (There is 1 Golden Lions)
# Trojans 17
# Indians 16
# Raiders 16 (There is 1 Red Raiders)
# Knights 15 (There is 1 Black Knights)
Patriots 15
# Cougars 10
Blue Devils 9 (There are 7 Red Devils, and 1 Screaming Devils)
Crusaders 9
# Mustangs 9
Rebels 9
# Denotes mascot name is in America's Top 15

MASCOT NAMES USED BY ONLY 1 SCHOOL

Angoras Astros *Atomsmashers Barons Bearcats Black Knights Blue Tide Bluejackets Broncos Bruins Cadets Catamounts Challengers Chargers Cherokees

Cobras Colonels Colts Comets Conquerors Demons Fighting Irish  Force Gamecocks Golden Bears Golden Hawks Golden Lions *Grangers Green Waves Greenwave

Grizzlies *Herons Highlanders *Hoyas Irish Leopards Longhorns Matadors Mountaineers Musketeers Packers Phoenix Pythons Ramblers Razorbacks

*Red Elephants *Red Jackets Red Raiders Royals Scots *Screaming Devils Screaming Eagles Stars *Swords Swordsmen *Syrupmakers Terrors Tornadoes Valiants

* Denotes that no other school in America has that mascot name

MASCOT STATS:
Most popular mascot name is used by 7.7 percent of schools.
There are 110 different mascot names for 509 schools.
10 schools have mascot names that no other American school has.
Georgia's Top 17 features 13 of America's Top 15 mascot names.