Friday Night Voices is a NowHabersham.com limited series highlighting the longtime radio/streaming broadcasters of local football teams. These legends on airwaves have seen it all and have become synonymous with Friday night football across Northeast Georgia.
There’s nothing more White County than the 93.9 FM WRWH broadcast team calling a Friday night football game for the Warriors. The trio of Drew Harris (play-by-play), Garrett Rowland (color), and Mark Turner (sideline reporter) is among the best in the state.
Look no further than the recent GABBY Awards, where the WRWH Warriors broadcast team took home the Best Sports Play-by-Play honors. Harris, Rowland, and Turner, who brings a wealth of experience in sports media, are all White County natives.. Together, the White County alums have called football and basketball together since 2016, and Turner joined not long after.
Getting their start
Harris is a 2008 White County graduate and was seen donning the Warriors jersey in both baseball and basketball. He got an early start in the business, beginning as the sideline reporter for Georgia 105.1’s football games during his senior year.
It wasn’t long before he got called into the booth, and in the next season, he was moved to analyst and color commentator. By the 2010 season, Harris became the play-by-play voice for White County football, basketball, and baseball. Following that first season as the PBP man, the station in Helen was sold, so WRWH picked up the broadcasts beginning in 2011. While working as a full-time independent insurance agent by day, he has called games by night for White County, as well as University of North Georgia basketball from 2012-13.
“I grew up listening to that great broadcast crew of the Atlanta Braves (Skip Caray, Joe Simpson, and Pete Van Wieren) doing TV and radio, and also the great Larry Munson for UGA,” says Drew. “Sports was always a passion and those guys just fueled it even more. There’s nothing like being on the call of a big game for your favorite team and bringing that passion to your listeners.”
Harris invited Rowland into the mix in 2016, as Garrett remembers well.
“Drew called me after an opening came available, and offered me the spot as color commentator,” recalls Garrett. “I leapt at the chance to get back to White County and be on-air for games at my alma mater. It was different at first, as I had never done color before, but Drew and I already had a good relationship, so it was a smooth transition.”
Garrett works full-time at Coker Equipment Company in Gainesville as a construction equipment sales representative. The former basketball and standout golfer graduated from White County in 2015. His path in sports media started while in school, where he was an integral part of the WTVN (Warrior TV Network) crew for several years. He
“I started in high school when we started our broadcasting club, WTVN – Warrior TV, and fell in love with it,” says Garrett. “I have been blessed with unique opportunities to continue working in the field.”
Those opportunities include writing sports for the White County News, being a sideline reporter for 89.9 FM WMSL in Athens, being the Public Address Announcer for UNG basketball, baseball, softball, and soccer, and co-hosting ‘Around the Region with Drew Harris and Garrett Rowland’ from 2020-21.
“Big mentors to me were Blake Giles and Dick Hoard at 89.9 FM WMSL in Athens,” says Garrett. “They instilled a lot of confidence in me at an early age and helped polish my on-air talent. Andy Demetra (Voice of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets) and Randy Waters (Learfield/IMG) have been great mentors and allowed me to shadow GT basketball games from 2013 to 17. Dean Dyer at 93.9 WRWH – his experience and passion in radio have motivated me, and I have a lot of respect for him. Drew and Mark, who I am lucky enough to share the press box with on Friday nights, are tremendous teammates and were patient with me from the start — I am grateful to have two amazing guys to broadcast with, they certainly make life easy and have a plethora of knowledge to share.”
Then there’s Mark Turner, a longtime member of the sports media scene. The White County 1983 grad, who played baseball, football, and basketball, is known in the community for his work with the Northeast Georgian, WCON, and now as the Sports Editor for the White County News, and for his part in the WRWH broadcast.
“I have worked in the sports media business for 20-plus years,” says Mark. “I have also been a high school football and basketball coach through the years at White County. I think small town newspapers and radio stations are important to the community, and that is certainly the case in Habersham and White. High school sports are at the center of both of these communities. Sports have been a huge part of my life, and I’m thankful to have stayed connected to the ‘game’ through the years, both as a coach and media member.”
A relationship of mutual respect
Almost without fail, a good broadcast team is a sign of great chemistry both on and off the air. WRWH is no exception.
“Garrett is just a good person,” says Drew. “His passion for sports and sports broadcasting matches mine and he understands the technical side of things as well, which helps if either one of us have to miss a game for some reason. Mark is also a terrific guy with a passion for White County. All three of us have a great time, and some of my favorite memories of covering White County sports are the dinners and road trips hanging out with those two guys.”
“All three of us are sports fanatics,” adds Garrett. “When traveling to away games, our conversation consists of replaying moments in our heads from a decade to decades ago. Mark is like a high school sports encyclopedia; he has a coaching background, and his knowledge of the game is impressive to say the least. What makes being on-air so easy is that we all get along very well, and our off-air conversation just kind of continues when we hear ‘3..2..1.. LIVE.’
“Drew and Garrett are both really good men, and they have a vested interest in White County athletics,” adds Mark. “We’re good friends, and I think that contributes to the success of the broadcast. We travel together to games, so we have all kinds of conversations about the teams that we cover. Drew and Garrett are both very knowledgeable about sports, and specifically about White County sports, because they have been doing this for a long time. I’m blessed to be a small part of the WRWH crew.”
All-time favorites
Through the years, there have been so many good games – both football and basketball but to each their own when it comes to that top one from the memory bank.
“It’s so hard to choose just one,” replies Drew. “The 2010, 2013, and 2020 seasons come to mind. Those were the three best football teams in White County history in my book. Being on the call of White County’s playoff win over LaGrange in 2010, the regular season win over rival and #4-ranked North Hall in 2013, and the road win over #8 Hart County in 2020 are some of my top moments. I’m leaving out some other great ones, but I could go on and on.”
According to Drew, some of his favorite players to watch over the years include ones that he says are high-quality players but also high-quality character guys: J Ben Haynes, Cooper Turner, Ryan Fowler, Kaleb Crane, and Will Brock.
Garrett has some great memories of games he enjoyed the most, too.
“Truthfully, it was probably two years ago in a 4 OT loss, 61-55, to Lumpkin County on the road,” says Garrett. “Back and forth, high scoring, lots of fun. But the favorite has to be a win, right? I’d have to go with a Week 10 upset of undefeated Cherokee Bluff in 2020, where White County played spoiler on the Bears’ undefeated season and beat them on the road, 48-7. It shocked a lot of people in North Georgia in the way in which White County won. Many had counted the Warriors out of that game, but the boys in the locker room had a point to prove and did just that. Drew and Mark will probably say the Hart County game in the same year, but Southwest Airlines caused me to miss that one.”
Indeed, Drew read Garrett’s mind and picked the Hart County game as one of his all-timers. Garrett reeled off several players that were his favorites, some of which were on Drew’s short list as well: Dalton Whitfield, Ashely Lowery, Crane, Maurice Sutton, Jadon Yeh, Spencer Adams, Will Brock, and Haynes.
“I’m old, so I’ve seen a lot of games over the years, and it’s hard to pick out a couple of favorites,” states Mark. “I think I’ve been part of the WRWH team since 2014, and, selfishly, my favorite sporting events ever were the ones my two sons – Logan and Cooper – were a part of. During Cooper’s senior season in 2020, following COVID, White County beat state-ranked Hart County 50-47 in Hartwell. It was not only a huge win for the football program, but it was also one of the best high school football games I’ve ever been a part of. A few weeks later, the Warriors knocked off North Hall 34-31 in overtime for another big win. It’s always good to beat North Hall. Later that year, in the regular season finale, White beat undefeated Cherokee Bluff on the road 48-7. The 2017 season was also special – there were a lot of great games to call that season, especially the 45-42 overtime win against Dawson County.”
Mark recalls his days even at the Northeast Georgian and WCON, and says the 2006-07 Raiders teams were also some of his favorites to cover. He notes such players as Marty Patterson, Tavarres King, Bo Hatchett, Gabe Irby, Daniel Franklin, Spencer Romero, and Matt Roberts as his top players he’s seen at Habersham. Then, at White County, Kaleb Crane, Cooper Turner, J Ben Haynes, Devin Sullens, and the rest of the Class of 2021 group, as well as others such as Silas Mulligan, Jon Scott, Ryan Fowler, Tripp Nix, Clancy Loudermilk, Trenton O’Kelly, AJ Vandiver, Maurice Sutton, Dalton Whitfield, and Will Brock.
“There’s been so many more that I’ve enjoyed watching as well. We’ve seen lots of great games and moments over the years from the radio booth.”
Looking ahead…
There are still a couple of games left in the 2025 season for White County, but there are no signs of this broadcast team slowing down, especially after grabbing that Gabby.
“As long as Drew keeps asking to be part of it, I’ll continue to do it,” says Mark. “It’s been a fun ride with Drew and Garrett the last decade or so.”
“I’ll be doing it as long as they will continue to give me the opportunity,” says Garrett. “It is special to be involved in the community that I grew up in. It has been fun to watch players go from starry-eyed fourth- and fifth-graders to 1st Team All-Region and All-State performers. That part never gets old.”
“I love being able to call games for my alma mater and my community,” echoes Drew. “When people come up to me and tell me how much they enjoy listening and they appreciate our passion, it really drives me to keep going and try to make the next broadcast better.”
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