SWD’s Coach Michael Tanks remembered

Hundreds of supporters held a prayer vigil on Sunday, Aug. 7, to remember Southwest DeKalb High School’s head football coach, Michael Tanks.

The popular coach passed away Aug. 3, 10 days following a massive stroke. He was 48.

Mr. Tanks is a Southwest DeKalb alumnus who played for the school’s legendary Coach Buck Godfrey in 1983-84 as a linebacker and went on to become an All-America center at Florida State University in 1989.

Mr. Tanks took the reigns from Godfrey as Southwest’s head coach in 2013. The Panthers were 4-6 in 2015.

The funeral service for Mr. Tanks will be held Aug. 13, 11 a.m., St. Philip AME Church, 240 Candler Road, Atlanta.