The Georgia High School Association executive board last week approved a measure that will allow high school football teams to play games on the final day of spring practice beginning in 2017.

Spring practice will still be 10 days.

Schools that choose to play a spring game can continue to play a preseason game in August.

Coaches and athletic directors who supported the changes said that spring games will add revenue to budgets and give players something to look forward to during spring drills.

In another change that will affect Colquitt County, the GHSA changed the state golf tournament format.

Beginning in 2017, state golf tournaments will be two-day, 36-hole events. They are currently 18-hole events.

Moultrie’s Sunset Country Club will play host to the Class AAAAAA girls tournament next month and was the site of the boys state tournament last year.

Of this and that:

• The top scholars for the Colquitt County girls and boys varsity and junior varsity soccer teams are Eva Portillo, who has a 99.88; Lori Ann King, 98.56; Will Barber, 98.12 and Juan Pascual, 94.5

Players must have grade point averages of 90 or above to earn top scholar recognition.

The other top scholars on the girls team are Christy Crosby, Susana Gonzalez, Christin Hunnicutt, Reagan Kelshaw, Amber Kling, Keri Brown, Sugeile Gachuz, Lexie McDaniels, Joylinn Del Angel, Mahalah Gonzalez, Jami Kling, Alaina Taylor, Lucy Badillo, Jennifer Perez, Trinity Summerlin, Valentina Carriachi, Chloe Jennings, Katie Galphin and Julia Warnock. Eighth-graders Kaylee Brinson, Chloe Gould, Ragan Harden, Mary Jacobs and Josie Sellers played on the girls junior varsity team and also had grade point averages of 90 or above.

On the boys team, the other top scholars are Gedber Mejia, George Barber, Paulino Munoz, Mendoza Alvarado, Wes Smith, Sergio Jimenez and Daniel Carriche.

• Former Moultrie Packer and Georgia Bulldog player and coach Jimmy Vickers was honored with a Post Graduate Achievement Award at the University of Georgia’s Chapter of the National Football Foundation dinner held at Athens Country Club.

Vickers played for the Moultrie Packers in 1954 and 1955 and was a co-captain under Knuck McCrary and Tom White.

An All-State selection, he played in the North-South All-State game in Atlanta and earned a scholarship to play for Wally Butts and the Bulldogs. Vickers was a two-way starter at end for Georgia in 1957-1959.

In his senior year, the Bulldogs went 10-1, won the SEC championship by beating Auburn 14-13 and shut out Missouri 14-0 in the Orange Bowl. Also on that Bulldogs team were Fran Tarkenton, Pat Dye and Bobby Walden.

Vickers was selected for the East-West All-Star game in Hawaii and played one season in the Canadian Football League. When he returned the states, he embarked on a long coaching career, with stops at Presbyterian, South Carolina, North Carolina and, from 1971-1976, back in Athens working for Vince Dooley coaching the offensive line. He also coached a year at Ole Miss.

Vickers is now retired and living in Athens.

Former Packer and Bulldog Mac Faircloth received the Post Graduate Achievement Award last year.