Habersham Central’s football RIng of Honor will get five new members this year, including a longtime leader of the Band of Blue.
Among Raider players, offensive playmakers Seanrick “Pudge” Trimiar and Bernard Trimiar were picked along with defensive stalwarts Matt Burrell and Chase Green.
Pudge Trimiar and Green played for the same teams from 1999 to 2002. Trimiar is Habersham’s third all-time leading rusher with 2,747 yards, scoring 20 touchdowns. He was the team’s MVP as a junior in 2001, and he went on to play college football at UT Martin and Bethel University.
Green was a three-year starter as well, making 286 career tackles from the defensive end position. He has a school record 9 sacks and 24 quarterback hurries, and he made the all-region team in 2002. Green went on to play collegiately at the University of Georgia.
Burrell played linebacker from 1995-98 and made 252 tackles over his final two seasons. He played in college at the Air Force Academy and served two tours in the Middle East, as well as working on construction projects in eight countries around the world.
Bernard Trimiar played running back and receiver from 1975-77, hauling in 52 passes for 674 yards and rushing for 1,465 on the ground. He played ball in college at the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga.
The special honoree this year is Nelson Payne, who directed the Habersham Central Band of Blue for 22 years before retiring from teaching in 2000.
The band room was named for Payne in December 2021.
“It’s one thing to be taught, but it’s another to be inspired,” Board of Education member Dr. Robert Barron said during that event. “And in 22 years as the director of the Band of Blue, Nelson Payne was an inspiration to hundreds of students who were part of this big family. He continues to be [inspirational] to countless other lives he has touched.”
The induction ceremony and dinner will be later this spring.