2011 football section

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COLLECTOR’S EDITION 236 AUG 2011 THE AWE-INSPIRING A new season begins Two sections and 18 pages of coverage inside OF THE COWETA GRIDIRON

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Page 1: 2011 Football Section

COLLECTOR’SEDITION

236AUG 2011

TTHHEE AAWWEE--IINNSSPPIIRRIINNGG

A newseasonbegins

● ● ● ●

Two sectionsand 18 pages ofcoverage inside

OF THE COWETA GRIDIRON

Page 2: 2011 Football Section

2B — The Times-Herald — Wednesday, August 24, 2011

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Go Cougars!Go Cougars!

hen Newnan High School headcoach Mike McDonald thinksabout last season’s 7-5 record,

there’s not a trace of disappointment inhis voice.

Despite the high expectations enteringlast season, he is satisfied with the waythings went for the Cougars duringthe 7-5 campaign.

“Following up 13-1 is hardto do,” McDonald said.“In fact, we went 13-1two straight years. So 7-5 and making the play-offs is not bad at all.”

Newnan started theyear 1-3, so the Cougars’third-year head coach wasimpressed by the way histeam handled adversity,bouncing back withsome strong showingsin the middle and atthe end of the season.

The Cougars’ biggest win of the yearcame in a 35-34 overtime victory againstM.L. King, which finished second in theregion.

Newnan also knocked off East Cowetain the final regular season game of theyear.

“We had a ton of injuries, so we couldhave packed it in,” McDonald said. “Westarted out slow, but we got on a roll andplayed really well at the end of the year.”

Newnan beat South Cobb in the firstround of the playoffs before suffering a 38-14 loss at Lowndes to end the season.

But that was then and this is now, andheading into the 2011 season, the Cougarsface a new set of challenges.

The biggest question mark could bereplacing the offensive line.

All five starters from last year’s clubhave graduated, leaving some questionmarks and holes up front as Newnan gearsup for the season opener at LaGrange onThursday.

There are also holes to fill on the defen-sive side of the ball, but McDonald likesthe energy and enthusiasm of the team.

“Attitude has been great. We never gettoo high, and we never get too low,”McDonald said.

Nick Smith has emerged as the startingquarterback. The 6-1 senior has waited histurn and gets his chance to step in undercenter, replacing Lendell Arnold, whothrew for 805 yards and eight touchdownsbefore heading to the Air ForceAcademy.

Jalen Bolton (5-10, 161, Sr.) ispenciled in at wide receiver,but could play quarterback ifhe is needed in a back-up role.

Sophomore Diamond Jonesand talented freshman BaileyBryant could also take somesnaps.

However, McDonald hopesJones and Bryant can gainvaluable experience by playing on the junior varsity team.Bryant got a head start by join-ing the team last spring as aneighth-grader.

“We go from two seniorsdown to a sophomore and afreshman,” McDonald said.“That could make it tough.”

McDonald is confidentSmith is up to the challenge.

“He has been in our programfor four years, now he just hasto respond,” McDonald said.

Smith passed his first big

test this year when heled the Cougars to a

34-0 victory againstGriffin in a scrim-mage against theBears.

Gone from lastyear’s team at run-

ning back isChristopher

Robinson, who rushedfor 1,840 yards and 12 touch-

downs.But there are several talented running

backs waiting to step in to carry the foot-ball. Bryant Ball (5-10, 178, Sr.), who hasspent his career playing both runningback and linebacker, is slated to start. Hewas held out of the scrimmage againstGriffin after getting banged up in practiceearlier in the week.

McDonald, however, expects Ball to beready.

A year ago, Ball rushed for 51 yards on10 carries, playing almost entirely as astarter on defense at linebacker.

Freshman running back J.K. Brittenjoyed his time in the spotlight againstGriffin and is expected to play a big roleon the varsity team this season. Brittfound the end zone twice in the scrim-mage win.

Quinton Dix (5-9, 206, Jr.) is expectedto see plenty of playing time, too.

“You will see all three of those guys alot,” McDonald said.

McDonald also likes his depth at widereceiver. In addition to Bolton, CodyDarracott is back for his senior year.

At only 5-foot-5, Darracott wasNewnan’s go-to guy in passing situations,hauling in a team-leading 25 catches for226 yards and two touchdowns last year.

Semaj Allen (6-1, 171, Sr.) had a longcatch down the sidelines against Griffinand is expected to see plenty of playingtime in one of the team’s wide receivingroles.

“He has worked really hard and has

done a good job to put himself in positionto get some playing time,” McDonald said.

When Newnan uses a tight end pack-age, Nick Cameron and Andrew Anderson(5-10, 208, Sr.) are expected to line up inthose spots.

Upfront, McDonald is confident aboutwho is stepping in at tackle in first-timestarting roles.

Junior Jamal Carlisle (6-1, 311) and sen-ior Aundre Morgan (5-10, 230) have hadsolid camps for Newnan.

Center Mason Brantley (6-2, 233, Sr.)and David Raschen (6-2, 232 Jr.) areexpected to fight for playing time.

At the guard spot, Brandon Meacham(5-10, 235, Sr.), Jay Russell (5-8, 225, Jr.),Tyre Bridges (5-9), Brock Dorman (5-10,215, Sr.) and Kenny Johnson (6-0, 250, Sr.)are all expected to see playing time whilecompeting for two spots.

Morgan could be one of the few two-way starters for Newnan, as he is alsoexpected to play on both sides of the ball.

“He has got the mind-set to play onboth sides of the ball,” McDonald said.

James Primm (5-10, 229, Sr.) is slated tobe the team’s nose tackle this year, but hasbeen limited in camp.

“We are really looking forward to get-ting him back,” McDonald said.

At defensive end, Nick Wood, DiamondLeslie and Aundre Morgan are three play-ers who bring depth to the position.

Morgan had 43 tackles last year andfour quarterback sacks.

Set to step in at linebacker for theCougars is Maurice White, Brock Dorman(5-10, 215, Sr.), Nick Cameron, and DariusMartin.

Bryant Ball has also played the position.The secondary is arguably the deepest

unit among the defense, with AntonioBenton and Deion Poythress returning asestalbished cornerbacks.

Poythress had 23 tackles and an inter-ception as a starter for most of the year.He tied for the team lead with a pair ofblocked kicks last year.

Benton made 14 tackles while also see-ing ample playing time.

Sanchez Woods, and RodneyTennie are also back and willbe joined by Darrell Morrow.

At the safety spots, risingjunior Tray Matthews will getthe starting nod at the roverspot. He has already given anon-binding verbal commit-ment to play for Georgia oncehe graduates.

Last year, he led the teamwith four interceptions.

The Cougars’ special team isled by all-state candidatePatrick McAlpin, who handlesboth the place kicking andpunting.

McAlpin finished with eightfield goals last season. He alsobooted 35 extra points.

Austin Hurler takes care ofthe kickoff duties.

The non region scheduleremains tough, opening withLaGrange, Peachtree Ridgeand Woodstock.

NNoo.. PPllaayyeerr PPooss.. HHTT WWTT YYrr..1 Rodney Tennie DB 5-5 150 Jr.2 Drew Morris WR 5-9 142 Jr.3 Diamond Jones QB/WR 5-7 128 Sr.4 Jalen Bolton WR 5-10 168 Sr.5 Cody Darracott WR 5-6 151 Sr.6 Antiono Benton DB 6-0 172 Sr.7 Tyruss Colton WR/DB 5-11 175 Sr.8 Tim Hardaway WR/DB 5-9 150 So.9 Nick Smith QB 5-7 162 Sr.10 Bailey Bryant QB 6-2 166 Fr.11 Tyler Mulvenna K 5-11 158 Jr.12 Traon Moss WR 5-11 168 Jr.13 Jay Hill DB 6-2 171 Sr.14 Mondarius Colton WR 6-2 187 Sr.15 Sanchez Woods DB 5-9 145 Jr.16 Darrell Morrow DB 5-9 156 Jr.17 Patrick McAlpin K 6-1 196 Sr.18 Jacob Randig DB 5-7 162 Jr.18 Anthony Lee QB 6-2 200 Jr.19 Semaj Allen WR 6-0 180 Sr.20 LaDarian Bridges DB 5-8 152 Sr.21 Chaz Ferdinand RB 5-8 181 Jr.23 Reginald Hightower LB 5-10 157 Jr.24 Tonaris Portress LB 5-10 205 So.25 Andrew Anderson TE 5-10 211 Sr.26 Austin Hurler K 6-9 144 Sr.27 Quinton Dix RB 5-9 216 Jr.28 Tray Matthews RB 5-9 186 Jr.29 Deion Poythress DB 5-8 152 Sr.30 Pierre Gates RB 5-6 170 Sr.30 O’Koye Robinson RB 5-7 192 Jr.31 Josh Hill LB 5-9 161 So.32 Cameron Walker LB 5-6 190 Jr.33 Darius Martin LB 5-8 198 Jr34 Tristian Bridges DB 5-10 138 So.35 Nakeitheus “Tae” Kemp DL 5-10 180 Jr.36 Chrishawn Dix WR/DB 6-1 174 So.37 Randale House WR 5-7 132 So.38 Stephon Brownless DB 5-8 153 So.39 J.K. Britt RB/DB 6-0 169 Fr.40 Willie Boston DE 6-1 159 Jr.41 Urian Woods RB 5-10 173 So.42 Bryant Ball LB 5-10 187 Sr.43 Nick Cameron LB 5-10 101 Sr.44 Justin Gates RB 5-7 187 Sr.45 Terence Geter LB 5-5 154 So.46 Shawn Parks DB 5-8 155 So.47 James Primm DL 5-11 240 Sr.48 Daryl Wortham LB 5-5 152 Sr49 Maurice White LB 5-9 237 Jr.50 Matt Ireland LB 5-8 191 Sr.51 Brock Dorman LB 5-10 217 Sr.52 Jimmie Reid OL 5-10 295 Sr.53 Alex Petch TE 6-2 223 Sr.54 Kenneth Johnson DL 6-0 249 Sr.55 Aundre Morgan DL 5-10 295 Sr.56 Myles Moran OL 5-11 205 So.57 David Raschen OL 6-4 261 Jr.58 Brandon Meacham DL 5-11 212 Jr.59 Xavier Phillips DL 5-7 261 Jr.60 K.C. Buck DL 5-6 166 So.61 Austin Couch OL 5-6 202 So.62 James Merritt LB 5-8 197 So.63 Daniel Vickery OL 6-2 228 Sr.64 Mason Brantley OL 6-2 252 Sr.65 Jay Russsell OL 5-10 245 Jr.66 Tyler Beno OL 5-8 178 So.68 William Langley LB 5-9 160 So.69 Tyre Bridges OL 5-10 300 So.70 Rudy Hernandez OL 6-1 240 So.72 Jamal Carlisle OL 6-1 280 Jr.73 Ronald Grooms OL 6-0 390 So.75 Anfenney Turner OL 6-2 260 So.76 Brian Smith OL 5-8 204 So.79 Reyes Ellis OL 6-2 296 Jr.80 Jonathan Martin WR 5-6 128 So.81 Walker Sandlin TE 5-8 189 So.82 Isreal Bolton WR 5-10 145 So.83 Telly Connally TE 6-1 172 So.84 Dondrikus Arnold DB 6-0 166 So.85 Gary Woods WR 5-8 168 So.86 Erik Bounasis WR 5-3 122 So.87 Austin Brumby WR 5-11 133 So.88 Diamond Leslie DL 6-2 213 Sr.89 Dalton Bunn WR 5-10 144 Jr.90 Justin Teagle TE 5-9 187 So.91 Kamarezion Mathis WR 5-6 135 So.93 Nicholas Wood DL 6-1 302 So.95 Chase Copeland DL 5-9 148 So.96 Deontiaz McKiver DL 5-10 195 So.97 Troy Ownes DL 6-1 235 Sr.98 Rick Kirkland DL 5-8 210 Jr.99 Ayinde Pearson LB 5-11 185 Jr.

Photo by Jeffrey Leo Junior running back Quinton Dix finds running room with help from senior lineman AundreMorgan (55).

“We had a ton of

injuries, so we could have

packed it in We started

out slow, but we got on a

roll and played really well

at the end of the year.”

Newnan seniorsBryant Ball, left,and Nick Smithexpect to be abig part of theCougars 2011season. Smithenters his firstseason as theteam’s starting

quarterback andhas been waiting

his turn. Ball,known as ‘BB’

returns at runningback andlinebacker

.Photo by

Jeffrey Leo

Page 3: 2011 Football Section

NEWNANAT A

GLANCE

HEAD COACH: Mike McDonald (thirdseason 20-6; overall 39-23 overall sixseasons)

STAFF: Kenny Morris (offensivecoordinator), Jeff Bryant (co-defensivecoordinator), Laverrett Pearson (co-defensive coordinator), Chris Ramsey(defensive line), Jerry Allen (widereceivers), Hap Hines (running backs),Ken Kesselring (offensive line), BobSandlin (kickers), Jason Earwood (tightends), Dustin Alley, James “Radar”Brantley (trainer).

STRENGTHS: Defensive secondary,top receivers return; Large nucleus ofseniors defensive line. Program hasmissed playoffs just once in last eightseasons.

WEAKNESS Overall inexperienceheading into season at key positions.Entire O-line has to be rebuilt fromscratch for second time in three years.New quarterback and young group ofunproven backs on offense. Depthneeds restocked at linebacker with Ball,Nick Cameron playing both ways.

KEY LOSSES QB Lendell Arnold(Lenoir-Rhyne) RB ChristopherRobinson (Lenoir-Rhyne), LT Chris Beno(Shorter), OL Alex Farmer, OL RonWroble (Samford) ,OL SpencerWhitehead (West Georgia), OL OntarionBrewer, TE Hakeem Wynn (KentuckyChristian) ,WR Shaq Warner, DL O.D.Pittman, DL J.R. Cameron, LB TrevorTanner (Miles College), LB DenzelSmith, CB Rod Chaney, LB DenzelCameron (Kentucky Christian).

OUTLOOK: Third-year coach MikeMcDonald is already two for two inreaching the state playoffs in each ofhis first two season at the helm of theCougars. Expectations remain high forthis year’s team, which needs toreplace some areas hit hard by gradua-tion. Foremost they include the offen-sive line where Newnan must find fivenew starters. Only two players return tothe starting lineup on offense, while thedefense should be ready to lead thecharge, with six of last year’s contribu-tors back.

POSITION BREAKDOWN

OFFENSE:QUARTERBACK: Offensive coordina-

tor Kenny Morris is hoping that seniorNick Smith can repeat the same suc-cess as predecessor Lendell Arnold,who after two years as a starter, earned

a scholarship offer from Lenoir-Rhyne.No Cougar player other than Arnold,who had 805 yards passing with 7touchdowns and 8 interceptions,attempted a varsity pass.

At, 6-1, 180 pounds, Smith hasmuch the same type frame as Arnold,who was a late replacement just daysprior to the 2009 season and went onto beat LaGrange in the season opener.This time, it’s Smith’s turn to open theseason against the Grangers after lead-ing the team through spring drills.

Rapidly maturing freshman BryceBenton, already standing 5-11, 180hopes to spend most of the year beinggroomed at the JV level and spent thespring as an eighth grader working withthe high school team.

RUNNING BACK: The offensivebackfield is another position that tookheavy losses due to graduation follow-ing the departure of ChristopherRobinson to graduation. Robinson fin-ished with 1,084 yards at 8.4 per carrydespite missing three games early inthe season due to injury. He combinedwith Arnold for 25 rushing touchdownsand will join his high school teammateat Lenoir Rhyne.

The top returning rusher is seniorBryant Ball, who had just 10 carries for51 yards and spent most of last year asa starting linebacker. The hope is thatfreshman J.K. Britt and Quinton Dixcould be ready for larger roles on thevarsity.

WIDE RECEIVER: Seniors CodyDarracott and Jalen Bolton are theteam’s top returners at the position,combining for five of Newnan’s seventouchdown catches. The 5-5, 150-pound Darracott led the way with 25catches for 229 yards and “does a lotof different things for us,” said Morris.“He’s a quick kid and plays with a lot ofheart.” Bolton is the returning ‘Z’receiver at 5-10, 170 pounds.

“Some kids are a totally differentplayer that second year (of varsity),”said Morris. “That’s kind of where Jalenis headed. He did a lot better this sum-mer. He’s faster and worked hard in theweight room.”

Senior Samaj Allen hopes to fill thethird receiver hole left by graduatingsenior Shaq Warner, who had 22 catch-es for 232 yards in 2010.

TIGHT END: Nick Cameron, at 6-0,190 pounds, played mostly at line-backer last year but will be counted onto help offset the production lost bygraduating senior Hakeem Wynn, whohad 8 catches for 109 yards, two ofwhich for touchdowns. Senior AndrewAnderson is also working at the posi-tion, with Newnan expected to useCameron again on defense.

OFFENSIVE LINE: Two years ago,Newnan’s staff faced much the samesituation as it does currently – withouta starting returner back up front. Backin 2009, the unit responded by helpinglead the Cougars back to the ClassAAAAA semifinals. So far, Morris hasgiven credit to line coach KenKesselring for grooming a large groupof potential starters led by junior JamalCarlisle (6-2, 300), who is the team’slargest lineman and the only returnerthat saw any action on the varsity.

“Coach Kesselring has done a realnice job taking those guys under hiswing,” Morris said. “We’re not as big aswe were up front last year. But they’vegot a chance to be a real good O-line.”

Aundre Morgan (6-0, 230), whostarted on defense last year, could beasked to play a good bit on the otherside of the line as a two-way player.Seniors Kenny Johnson (6-0, 260) andBrandon Meacham (5-11, 212), aguard, are also in the mix with threemore upperclassmen – MasonBrantley (6-2, 260), Brock Dorman (5-10, 217) and Tyre Bridges (5-10, 300).Junior David Raschen, at 6-4, 261pounds, has good size, while anotherjunior, Jay Russell (5-10, 245) will alsobe in the mix.

DEFENSEDEFENSIVE LINE: Morgan returns

as the unit’s leading tackler a year ago,finishing with 43. Of those, however, awhopping 11 were for losses and thesenior led the Cougar defense with 18hurries in 2010. He maxed out duringthe team’s preseason IronCougar com-petition with a 500-pound squat.

The remaining two starters inNewnan’s 3-man front will come from agroup including Nick Wood andDiamond Leslie. James Primm andKenny Johnson, meanwhile, hope tofill a hole left by graduating senior O.D.Pittman at nose guard. Johnson maxedout at a 565-pound squat during theIronCougar.

LINEBACKERS: After three years ofstrong crops of linebackers, new faceshope to merge to supplement a groupof starters that could be playing a lot onboth sides of the ball.

Seniors Bryant Ball and MauriceWhite are the unit’s top-two returningtacklers. Ball had 64 hits and two sacksand will be moving from the outside toNewnan’s “stack-backer” spot in the 3-5 set.

White, who had 31 tackles, “hasgrown a lot,” said co-defensive coordi-nator Laverrett Pearson. “Last year hematured a bit and got a little better. He’shad a great summer so far.”

Nick Cameron, expected to start at

tight end, will split time with Ball atinside linebacker with both playing onopposite ends of the ball.

Junior Tae Kemp, at 5-10, 180, hasbeen getting reps at the “will” line-backer spot on the outside, with ReggieHightower (5-10, 157) and DarrellMorrow (5-9, 156) thrust into the rota-tion in a more undersized group thanusual.

“That’s one of the biggest questionmarks for us,” Pearson said. “We hadhoped to get those guys some reps onspecial teams last year, but unfortu-nately we weren’t able to do that lastyear.”

SECONDARY: Tray Matthews is asmuch a safety in his position as he is asecurity blanket for the entire unit thisyear. His 68 tackles are the most of anydefensive returner and his four inter-ceptions also led Newnan in 2010. Herecently made a verbal commitment toplay at Georgia.

Overall, however, the defensivebackfield is the deepest among theCougars’ returning starters, with sen-iors Deion Poythress and AntionoBenton both back at the corner posi-tions. Poythress blocked two kicks andhad an interception to go with his 23tackles in 2010. Benton had 14 tackles.

“All those guys got lots of playingtime last year and that’s where I thinkour strength lies,” said Pearson.

Sanchez Woods, and RodneyTennie are also back and will be joinedby Darrell Morrow.

SPECIAL TEAMSFor as much inexperience as the

Cougars have to open the season, sen-ior kicker and punter PatrickMcAlpin’s return certainly bringssoothing thoughts. Last year, McAlpinconnected on eight field goals and fin-ished with 59 points. The 6-1, 180-pound soccer goalie was named a pre-season All-State selection by GeorgiaHigh School Football Magazine.

“We practically had to beg him tocome out and kick for us a couple ofyears ago. But he’s caught on so wellthat he’s gone to several camps and isgetting looks from colleges. He’s beenreal solid for us both with field goalsand on punts. He’s made a lot ofimprovement the past two years withhis punting,” said head coach MikeMcDonald.

Senior Cody Darracott returns asthe team’s main kick returner.

Wednesday, August 24, 2011 — The Times-Herald — 3B

OFFENSERushing

No.Name Att. Yds. Avg. TD45 Chris Robinson 127 1084 8.5 121 Lendell Arnold 150 795 5.3 1324 Lemont Anderson 66 386 5.8 242 Bryant Ball 10 51 5.1 130 Otis Gates 3 31 10.1 146 Marcus Tinney 7 21 3.0 14 Jalen Bolton 1 16 16.0 05 Cody Darracott 2 16 8.0 011 Chris Hudson 2 15 7.5 038 Quinton Dix 2 8 4.0 08 Tito Avalo 1 6 6.0 0Totals 371 2,435 6.6 30

PassingNo.Name Att Comp Yds INT TD1 Lendell Arnold 153 84 805 7 8

ReceivingNo.Name Rec. Yds. TD Avg.5 Cody Darracott 25 226 2 9.021 Shaq Warner 22 232 0 10.54 Jalen Bolton 16 195 3 12.284 Hakeem Wynn 8 109 2 13.611 Chris Hudson 3 33 1 11.038 Quinton Dix 2 8 0 4.042 Bryant Ball 1 3 0 3.045 Chris Robinson 1 2 0 2.024 Lemont Anderson 1 -3 0 -3.0Totals 84 805 9.6 8

ScoringNo. Name TD EP FG 2pt Tot.1 Lendell Arnold 13 0 0 0 7845 Chris Robinson 12 0 0 0 7217 Patrick McAlpin 0 35 8 0 594 Jalen Bolton 3 0 0 0 185 Cody Darracott 2 0 0 0 1284 Hakeem Wynn 2 0 0 0 1224 Lemont Anderson 2 0 0 0 1242 Bryant Ball 1 0 0 0 611 Chris Hudson 1 0 0 0 646 Marcus Tinney 1 0 0 0 630 Otis Gates 1 0 0 0 67 Alberry Melson 1 0 0 0 6DEFENSE 0 0 0 3 6

DEFENSETackles

No. Name Solo Asst. Total32 Trevor Tanner 55 26 817 Alberry Melson 51 21 7228 Tray Matthews 46 22 6835 Denzel Smith 30 36 6642 Bryant Ball 34 30 6495 Aundre Morgan 30 13 4399 J.R. Cameron 25 15 4049 Maurice White 19 12 31 58 Kenny Warren 13 17 3021 Deion Poythress 15 8 2323 Rod Chaney 16 6 2243 Nick Cameron 13 7 2054 O.D. Pittman 12 6 1831 Denzel Cameron 4 13 176 Antiono Benton 11 3 1479 Randale McGruder 7 5 127 James Primm 2 4 693 Nicholas Wood 2 3 585 Reggie Hightower 1 2 350Matt Ireland 1 0 1

InterceptionsName No.Tray Matthews 4Deion Poythress 1Trevor Tanner 1

HurriesName No.Aundre Morgan 18J.R. Cameron 17Kenny Warren 10O.D. Pittman 3James Primm 1Randale McGruder 1J.R. Cameron 1

SacksName No.Trevor Tanner 6Aundre Morgan 4J.R. Cameron 4O.D. Pittman 2Kenny Warren 2Bryant Ball 2Randale McGruder 1Nick Cameron 1Nicholas Wood 1

Forced FumblesName No.Aundre Morgan 2Kenny Warren 2Trevor Tanner 2Alberry Melson 1Denzel Smith 1James Primm 1Fumble RecoveriesName No.Alberry Melson 2Trevor Tanner 2James Primm 1Rod Chaney 1Aundre Morgan 1Maurice White 1J.R. Cameron 1

Pass BreakupsName No.Rod Chaney 3J.R. Cameron 2Nick Cameron 2Bryant Ball 2Antiono Benton 2Trey Mathews 1Deion Poythress 1Denzel Smith 1

THE 2011 NEWNAN COUGARS

Former players in Italics

2010 RESULTSVs. LaGrange W 27-13Vs. Peachtree Ridge L 27-17At Woodstock L 28-16Vs. Newton L 35-32,

2 OTsAt Langston Hughes W 56-19Vs. Westlake W 50-22At Luella W 19-7At M.L. King W 35-34OTVs. Stephenson W 17-14At East Coweta W 14-12Class AAAAA State PlayoffsAt South Cobb W 31-7At Lowndes L 38-14

2011 SCHEDULE(All games Friday, 7:30 p.m., unless noted

Thursday At LaGrange (Callaway)

Sept. 9 At Peachtree RidgeSept. 16 WoodstockSept. 24 At Newton

(Sharp)* Sept. 30 Langston HughesOct. 7 At WestlakeOct. 14 LuellaOct. 21 M.L. KingOct. 28 At Stephenson

(Hallford)Nov. 4 East Coweta*Saturday game

Page 4: 2011 Football Section

hirty-two is the magicnumber that must bedancing through thehead of East Coweta

High School football coachClint Wade.

That’s how many seniors theIndians’ veteran coach has onhis roster, and it is thoseupperclassmen, along with acollection of younger players,that Wade will be counting onto help East Coweta get backto the playoffs this season.

“It looks like all of them willhave a chance to step up andhelp us out on the footballfield, so that adds a lot ofdepth,” he said. “I have neverhad this many seniors on oneteam, so we are trying to uti-lize as many of them as wecan.”

During Wade’s three-yeartenure as head coach with theIndians, he has put togetherconsecutive 7-4 seasons.

Last year, the Indians startedout with seven wins in a rowbefore a tough schedulederailed East Coweta’s hopesfor a region title.

“The kids just kind ofbelieved in what they weredoing,” Wade said.

The Indians ended the yearwith loses to the three tough-est teams in Region 2-AAAAA,falling to Stephenson (30-19),M.L. King (30-23) and Newnan(14-12) before falling toMcEachern in the first-roundof the playoffs.

“We started the playoffsbasically in game six,” Wadesaid. “We played NewtonCounty, then we had that littleteam up there calledStephenson.”

“Then we had that real slowteam, M.L. King,” Wade joked.Then we played those dadgumGoliaths over at Newnan.Then when we got to the play-offs, we had to play a No. 1seed in McEachern.”

Wade wants some of lastyear’s near-misses to be alearning experience headinginto the new season.

“Now I know howVanderbilt must feel playingthat tough schedule in theSEC,” he said.

Despite plenty of depth andexperience, there are some keylosses, and it starts withreplacing Times-HeraldDefensive Player of the YearAngel Santiago. The Indiansare also having to replace All-County selections Nick Girard(offensive lineman), JarinFowler (All-County) and JaredFowler (safety).

The Indians enter the yearwith a new starter at quarter-back for the second straightyear. Gone is Zack Hutchinson,who threw for 1,168 yards andseven touchdowns, but theIndians won’t be without expe-rience at the position. GarrettSchrepfer did get some playing

time last year, completing 16of 24 passes. He also tossedtwo touchdowns.

He enters the 2011 seasonas the starter, winning the job

over Allen Maraman, whoshould also get his share ofsnaps.

“Garrett waited his turn, andit’s his time,” Wade said. “Weare really excited about Allen,too. He really knows theoffense.”

East Coweta’s offensive linehas been banged up during thepreseason camp, but Wadesaid there is still some stiffcompetition to land one ofthose spots.

Senior Mitch McTier (5-10,220) is slated to play centerafter suffering a season-endinginjury early in 2010. SeniorJackson Harrison (6-0, 260) isback at the tackle position andset to start for the secondstraight year. Junior Sang Ko(6-1, 179), who also missedmuch of last year due to injury,has also caught the attention ofWade and the coaching staff athis guard spot.

Senior Jordan Rivers (6-0,171) is expected to return tothe starting lineup.

“We are kind of feeling ourway,” Wade said. “Hopefully,these guys will be ready tostep up and play.”

Senior Cole Trolinger (6-5,225) returns to play tight endfor the Indians.

Lajuwon Johnson (5-9, 164) isthe team’s most experiencedwide receiver, and is back aftercatching 17 passes in 2010.

Travis Taylor (5-10, 171)spent last season at runningback, but has moved over toone of the receiver spots in aneffort to get him the ball more.

Qwaitraz Fenner (5-7, 153)and junior Jay Warner (5-7, 159)bring depth to the team at thewide receiver spots.

Like Taylor, Warner is also aconverted wide receiver.

The Indians return their twoleading rushers from last year.Junior Demarcus Godfrey (5-8,164) rolled up 857 yards ofoffense last season, and foundthe end zone 15 times. Seniorfullback Carl Dann (6-1, 206) isthe short-yardage back for theIndians, and returns to thelineup after compiling 230yards of offense last year.

Senior Derays Jones (5-9,173) has had a produc-tive summer for theIndians, winning theIron Man competi-tion, and he will alsobe counted on atfullback for thesquad. A year ago, hecarried the ball just sixtimes, but picked up 97yards.

“He is a lotstronger this year,and we are going togive him a call every now andthen,” Wade said

Junior Michael Willis (5-8,164) and senior Josh Penn (5-8,155) are also in the mix at tail-back.

Replacing six starters ondefense presents a problem forthe Indians, but Wade is confi-dent he has athletes to get thejob done.

Among the returners fromlast year, defensive linemanand leading tackler WillieHolloway (6-0, 233) enters hissenior year.

Last year, he finished with99 tackles. He also had sevensacks

“Willie is special,” Wadesaid. “He is really a good foot-ball player.”

Terrence Farmer (5-9, 238)is back for his final season ofhigh school football, too.

At linebacker, senior MarioClarke (5-11, 179) enters his jun-ior year as one of the starters.Senior Terrence Bennett (6-0,178) brings experience to theposition after finishing with 25tackles last year.

Junior Edwin Rivera (5-9,191) brings experience to thelinebacker spot. JuniorJaMarcus Godfrey (5-8, 175) isalso battling for playing time.

Senior Marcellus Parrott (5-11, 182) also helps add depth to

the defense.Senior David Singleton (5-10,

148 pounds) is also one of thefew returning starters ondefense.

With some of the inexperi-ence on the defensive side ofthe ball, East Coweta’s veterancoach expects some of hisplayers to have to line up onboth sides of the ball, includ-ing Trollinger, who should seetime at defensive end.

Junior defensive end, CliftonStrong (5-9, 228) has alsocaught the attention of theEast Coweta coaching staffwith solid production thissummer.

Senior Michael Collins (6-2,173) returns to the safety posi-tion. Senior Jacquis Miller (5-9,157) has also excelled duringthe team’s camp and will startat the other safety.

The kicking game isanchored by Spencer Smith.The junior has impressed thecoaching staff with hisimprovement since last year.He is slated to handle thepunting duties, too.

Wade is still evaluating play-ers to serve as the team’sreturn specialist.

“We’ve got do the best wecan,” Wade said. “We just haveto worry about us, and hope-fully things will fall into place.”

It all starts for East Cowetaon Friday night when they hostChapel Hill.

4B — The Times-Herald — Wednesday, August 24, 2011

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NNOO.. NNAAMMEE HHTT WWTT YYRR..1 Lajuwon Johnson 5-9 164 Sr.2 David Singleton 5-10 148 Sr.3 Demarcus Godfrey 5-8 164 Jr.4 Michael Willis 5-8 180 Jr.5 Qwaitraz Fenner 5-7 153 Sr.6 Carl Dann 6-1 206 Sr.7 Jay Warner 5-7 159 Jr.9 Deryas Jones 5-8 173 Sr.10 Jemarcus Godfrey 5-8 175 Jr.11 Wyatt Potter 6-2 167 Jr.12 Allen Maraman 6-1 152 Sr.13 Quandarious Mitchell 5-8 158 Jr.14 Garrett Schrepfer 6-5 247 Sr.15 Markell Boston 6-0 174 So.16 Khalil Wilkerson 5-8 157 Jr.17 Michael Collins 6-2 173 Sr.18 D.J. Slaton 5-8 165 Jr.19 Bryce Ingram 5-11 183 So.20 Jay McKnight 5-11 189 So.21 Jeremy Moss 5-8 176 Sr.22 Marcellus Parrott 5-11 182 Sr.23 Travis Taylor 5-10 171 Sr.24 Josh Penn 5-8 155 Sr.25 Willie Holloway 6-0 233 Sr.26 Patrick Ware 5-6 153 Jr.27 Terrance Bennett 6-0 178 Sr.28 Cole Antley 5-9 140 Fr.29 Justin Garnder 5-10 136 Sr.30 Weylin Orr 5-6 161 So.31 Spencer Smith 6-0 150 Jr.32 Jacquis Miller 5-9 157 Sr.33 Quan Whatley 5-9 157 So.34 Conner Owen 5-8 215 So.36 Nick Fraser 5-7 209 So.37 Hamp Morris 5-10 145 Jr.38 Tyler Brown 5-7 147 Jr.40 Devontay Parker 6-0 182 So.41 Chris Davis 5-10 167 So.42 Edwin Rivera 5-9 191 Jr.43 Cole Trollinger 6-4 225 Sr.44 Cedrick Dodson 6-0 168 So.45 Mario Clarke 5-11 179 Sr.46 T.J. Ingram 5-9 156 Sr.47 Malik Robinson 6-2 178 So.48 Brock Meeker 5-10 175 So.49 Sanoj Allen 6-2 185 So.50. D.J. Mosley 6-1 302 Sr.51 Sang Ko 6-1 179 Sr.52 Michael Dayton 5-9 146 Jr.53 Ryan Adams 5-10 231 So.54 Terrence Farmer 5-9 238 Sr.55 Rashaud Smith 5-11 250 Sr.56 Mitchell McTier 5-10 220 Sr.57 Jordan Rivers 6-0 171 Sr.58 Jamarcus Wilson 5-10 250 So.59 Chris Burton 5-10 233 So.60 Rashard Stegall 5-9 219 Sr.61 Ryan Diederich 5-8 187 Jr.62 Erik Bolton 6-3 253 Sr.63 Luke Clayton 5-11 217 Jr.64 Charles Bush 5-10 259 So.65 Nate Julian 5-7 214 So.66 Billy Ray Brown 6-1 250 Sr.67 Corey Price 5-8 204 So.68 Matt Cheatham 6-1 250 Jr.69 Quan Fuller 6-0 298 So.70 Darius Darby 5-10 247 Jr.71 Dartavyous Walker 6-1 285 So.73 Carson Ankney 6-0 192 So.74 Anfernee Burks 6-0 330 Jr.75 Zack Harness 6-3 270 Jr.76 Jacob Barnett 6-2 236 So.77 Deion Sanders 5-9 281 So.78 Jackson Harrison 6-0 260 Sr.79 Tommy Schnabel 5-9 173 Sr.80 Clifton Strong 5-9 228 Jr.81 Dustin Swanger 5-11 185 So.82 Lance Mons 5-8 130 So.83 Denzel Teagle 5-11 142 Sr.84 Logan Barnett 5-8 129 So.86 Hunter Holmes 5-10 158 Jr.88 Glen Whisby 5-9 135 So.

While thereare big shoesto fill this year

at EastCoweta

heading into agauntlet of a

Region 2-AAAAA

schedule, theIndians also

grow ‘empretty big

on thereservation inSharpsburg.Seniors WillieHolloway, left,and quarter-back GarrettSchrepfer areboth well over6-feet tall and200-pounds.Each expectsto be a largepart of this

year’ssuccess.

Photo byJeffrey Leo

Photo by Jeffrey Leo Josh Penn could fill a need this year for the Indians at running back as one of 32 seniors this year.

Page 5: 2011 Football Section

Compiled by Doug Gorman andChris Goltermann

HEAD COACH: Clint Wade (Fourthseason, 21-12)

STAFF: Clint Wade: (Head Coach),Tom Gochenour (Asst. Head coach,Offensive Coordinator, Offensive line,Ron Beaucham (Linebackers), ToddBeldon (Defensive Backs, Kickersand Punters) Trace Overton (TightEnd, Defensive Tackles), DarronEdwards (Defensive Backs), RocColeman (Running Backs), ToddKelley (Defensive Line), J.R. Revere(Quarterbacks), Andy Washington(Receivers) Lloyd Knott (head trainer)

KEY LOSSES: LB Angel Santiago(Times-Herald Defensive Player ofthe Year), QB Zack Hutcheson (DeltaState), OL Nick Girard (All County), CBJarin Fowler (All County), S JaredFowler (All-County), DL CarltonMartin, DL Houston Mills, DL DenzelSimmons.; Judd Hunter (GenevaCollege), WR Eddie Morris (EasternKentucky)

STRENGTHS: Large senior classshould provide ample depth; Lots ofcompetition at OL; Solid secondary.

WEAKNESSES: Team needs newfaces to emerge at receiver, defen-sive line to add depth.

OUTLOOK: A group of 32 seniorsis by far the most since Wade waspromoted as head coach. If most cancontribute, the Indians should stay inthe playoff hunt in Region 2-AAAA.New faces will have to step up ondefense to surround its nucleus of DLWillie Holloway, LB Mario Clarke,safeties Michael Collins and TerreneBennett and cornerback DavidSingleton. Offensively, several newfaces at the skill positions will alsohave to emerge with running backDee Godfrey scheduled to start ondefense.

“We’ve got 32 seniors. That does-n’t mean we have 32 players. Butthat’s as big a senior class as we’vehad since I’ve been here. I don’tknow if that defines your footballteam,” said head coach Clint Wade.

POSITION BREAKDOWN

OFFENSE:QUARTERBACK: Last season East

Coweta was quite successful using atwo-quarterback system, with one ofthe duo, 6-5, 230-pound seniorGarrett Schrepfer entering the yearas the projected starter. Schrepfer didmost of his damage last year with hislegs, rushing for 230 yards at over 5yards a carry with two touchdowns.He also threw for 241 yards and twotouchdowns.

“He got some playing time justabout every ballgame for us,” saidoffensive coordinator TomGochenour.

East Coweta will stay with its mul-tiple-I set, having also thrown insome wishbone formations ingoalline situations.

Senior Allen Maraman hasshowed he’s ready to step in when-ever needed and could add anotherdimension much like last year’s tan-dem with a strong throwing arm andgood knowledge of the offense.

RUNNING BACKS: As a sopho-more, Demarcus “Dee” Godfreygave the Indians everything andmore after losing All-State runner TayWillis to graduation. Godfrey finishedwith team highs in rushing (857yards) and touchdowns (15) whilegaining 5.8 yards a carry.

Godfrey, however, is pegged to seea bulk of time as a defensive starter,creating an opportunity for seniorJosh Penn and junior Michael Willisto make a push for carries. Eachspent the majority of last year playingfor the Indians JV squad.

FULLBACKS; Senior Carl Dann isa returning start and a hard-nosedrunner with a 5-10, 190-poundframe. The offensive staff is alsolooking for good things from seniorDeryas Jones, who in just six carrieslast year averaged 16.1 yards with atouchdown. Fellow senior WillieHolloway could also be used again alead blocker in goal-line situations ashe was in 2010.

WIDE RECEIVERS: The Indianswill start the year needing new tar-gets to emerge. Last year, seniorbasketball standout Eddie Morrisfilled the void and led the team in hisonly football season with 15 catchesand 302 receiving yards. In all, threeof the team’s five leading receivershave been lost to graduation.

Senior Lajuwon Johnson is theteam’s leading returner at receiver,hauling in 17 catches for 163 yardsand two touchdowns. The staff hasalso moved running backs TravisTaylor and Jay Warner out wide tohelp add some depth.

“That’s been one of our goals thissummer, trying to find some morereceivers to get the ball to,” saidGochenour.

TIGHT END: Returning for his sen-ior year, Cole Trollinger’s 6-4, 240pound frame gives East Coweta itsbiggest target. His one catch lastyear was a 10-yard touchdown andthe goal is to expand on that successthis fall.

OFFENSIVE LINE: Gochenourtakes on the role of position coachthis year and has a lot of players towork with. The key will be trying tofive solid starters from the crowd towork as a cohesive unit. Last year’scenter, Dwayne Mosely has workeda lot of tackle this preseason withsenior Mitch McTier (5-11, 220)returning from a knee injury andexpected to start at the position.

“(Mosely) is my biggest lineman at6-1, 300 pounds,” said Gochenour.“We’ve got seven or eight guys thatwe’re trying to work in there.”

In addition to Mosely, JacksonHarrison (5-11, 230) returns havingseen action as a starter. Junior ZachHarness and senior Sang Ko, whowas also lost midseason due to aninjury, can play the tackle spot.

The guards include 175-poundJordan Rivers and 230-poundRashard Stegall.

DEFENSEDefensive Line: Most college

recruiters that made their way toSharpsburg last spring had one play-er highest on their list of Indians towatch. Senior Willie Holloway, at 6-2, 240 pounds, enters his third yearas a starter on the defensive line andis an impressive package of size,speed and strength from the defen-sive end position. His 99 tackles ledEast Coweta as did his seven sacksin 2010, having been clocked with a4.7 time in the 40, while also bench-ing 400 pounds. A region championin the shot put last spring, he alsoforced three fumbles. “We expect alot of good things from him,” saidhead coach Clint Wade.

The rest of the defensive front,

however, will have to be rebuilt alsogetting contributions from severalseniors last year. Carlton Martin,Houston Mills and Denzel Simmonswere all key contributors. TerrenceFarmer had 14 tackles in 2010 andwill get a chance to start, while 6-2,240-pound Cole Trolinger could geta couple of snaps. Trolinger, whomade 13 tackles, is the team’s topreturning tight end and is expected tobe counted even more this year onoffense. Currently junior Nick Strongand Will Strong are leading candi-dates to start the season as the othertwo starters. Depth is an issue fornow.

“We got a lot of question marks onthe front and I know that’s where itstarts,” said Wade. “That’s wherewe’re goin to have to put a lot ofemphasis on, because otherwisewe’re going to struggle a little bit.”

LINEBACKER: Times-Herald All-County Defensive Player of the YearAngel Santiago leaves a void in themiddle of the defense after centeringthe lineup at middle linebacker. “Hewas something else,” said Wade ofthe 5-8 sparkplug. “He knew thegame real well.”

East Coweta hopes to benefit fromthe return of Mario Clarke, whobegan to see playing time two yearsago in an emergency role due toinjuries at the position. Two years ofexperience, including a junior cam-paign where he made 55 tackles,including 33 solo, should prepare himnicely to take over.

Marcellous Parrott and EdwinRivera also saw time on defense lastyear.

Terrence Bennett saw a lot ofaction as well last year and will getthe start this season at the roverposition.

Assistant Ron Beaucham, who didwonders with last year’s offensiveline, shifts to defense to concentrateon the linebacking corps.

SECONDARY: The Fowler broth-ers, Jarin and Jared, each leave bigshoes to fill after combining for 110tackles and 14 pass breakups in thedefensive backfield. The soothingnews for head coach Clint Wade isthat two other talented starters, freesafety Michael Collins and corner-back David Singleton are back.Collins, at 6-2, 180 “is not real big,but he’s a smart player,” said Wade,with the senior returning from a yearwhere he had 76 tackles.

Singleton, a top-notch hurdler inthe spring during track season, had44 tackles and an interception whileblocking a team-high two kicks. Twoyears ago, Singleton had a game-winning block to beat two-time statechampion Sandy Creek to open the2009 season.

“David came along and did realwell,” said Wade.

This year, assistant Todd Beldonmoves over from offense to coachthe team’s defensive backs.

The other cornerback positionlooks to be filled by leading rusherGodfrey, who may get more defen-sive snaps this season simply to fill abigger need. The junior had threetackles a year ago seeing almost allof his playing time on offense. SeniorT.J. Ingram has varsity experienceas well.

SPECIAL TEAMSJunior Spencer Smith returns

after handling most of the kickingduties in 2010. He had five field goalsand finished with 42 points, secondonly to running back DemarcusGodfrey on the team. He’ll also takeover the punting duties this season.

Wednesday, August 24, 2011 — The Times-Herald — 5B

OFFENSERushing

No.Name Att. Yds. Avg. TD3 Demarcus Godfrey 149 857 5.8 156 Carl Dann 28 230 8.2 114 Garrett Schrepfer 45 230 5.1 233 Travis Taylor 28 155 5.6 230 Angel Santiago 16 103 6.4 29 Deryas Jones 6 97 16.1 118 Justin Smith 13 49 3.8 024 Josh Penn 9 36 4.0 1

Qwaitrez Fenner 2 8 4.0 0Jeremy Moss 1 3 3.0 0

15 Zack Hutcheson 38 -81 -2.1 1Totals 335 1,687 5.0 24

PASSINGNo. Name Att. Comp. Yds. TDs INT15 Zack Hutcheson 170 94 1168 7 214 Garrett Schrepfer 24 16 241 2Totals 194 110 1,409 9 2

RECEIVINGNo.Name Rec. Yds. Avg. TDs81 Eddie Morris 32 502 15.7 210 Rodriquez Barner 19 230 15.3 113 Jarin Fowler 17 236 13.9 11 Lajuwon Johnson 17 163 9.6 25 Jamarcus Young 13 108 8.3 182 Andre Hunt 3 50 16.6 06 Carl Dann 2 35 17.5 09 Deryas Jones 1 23 23.0 043 Cole Trolinger 1 10 10.0 118 Justin Smith 1 6 6.0 030 Angel Santiago 1 4 4.0 133 Travis Taylor 1 1 1.0 0Totals 110 1,409 12.8 8

SCORINGNo.Name TD EP FG 2pt3 Demarcus Godfrey 15 0 0 1 9231 Spencer Smith 0 27 5 0 4230 Angel Santiago 4 0 0 0 246 Carl Dann 2 0 0 0 1281 Eddie Morris 2 0 0 0 1214 Garrett Schrepfer 1 0 0 0 610 Rodriquez Barner 1 0 0 0 613 Jarin Fowler 1 0 0 0 615 Zack Hutcheson 1 0 0 0 61 Lajuwon Johnson 1 0 0 0 680 Anthony Greenlee 0 0 1 0 3

DEFENSETackles

No. Name Solo Asst. Total25 Willie Holloway 58 41 9930 Angel Santiago 57 28 8517 Michael Collins 40 36 7623 Jared Fowler 40 30 7083 Carlton Martin 26 38 6445 Mario Clarke 33 22 5573 Denzel Simmons 20 25 452 David Singleton 32 12 4413 Jarin Fowler 32 8 4058 Houston Mills 21 14 3527 Terrence Bennett 18 7 2584 Marcellus Parrott 14 5 1954 Terrence Farmer 4 10 1443 Cole Trolinger 10 3 1342 Edwin Rivera 5 6 1146 T.J. Ingram 5 4 91 Lajuwon Johnson 3 1 45 Jamarcus Young 2 2 422 Demarcus Rosser 2 1 357 Jordan Rivers 3 0 39 Deryas Jones 2 1 372 Bruce Webb 2 1 36 Carl Dann 0 2 2

SACKSName No.Willie Holloway 7Carlton Martin 4Angel Santiago 3Houston Mills 3Denzel Simmons 3Mario Clarke 2Terrence Farmer 1Terrence Bennett 1Marcellus Parrott 1

INTERCEPTIONSName No.Jared Fowler 2Angel Santiago 2*David Singleton 1*1 for touchdown

FORCED FUMBLESName No.Willie Holloway 3Carlton Martin 1

FUMBLE RECOVERIESName No.Carlton Martin 2Jarin Fowler 1Terrence Farmer 1T.J. Ingram 1Jeremy Moss 1

PASS BREAKUPSName No.Jarin Fowler 10 David Singleton 8Jared Fowler 4Michael Collins 2Terrence Bennett 1Bruce Webb 1Willie Holloway 1T.J. Ingram 1

BLOCKED KICKSName No.David Singleton 2Demarcus Godfrey 1

THE 2011 EAST COWETA INDIANSFormer players

in italics

2010 RESULTS

At Chapel Hil W 31-21Vs.Pebblebrook W 13-5At Troup W 34-14Vs. Luella W 21-6At Newton W 20-14Vs. Langston HughesW 55-13At Westlake W 35-14Vs. Stephenson L 30-19At M.L. King L 30-23Vs. Newnan L 14-12State PlayoffsAt McEachern L 31-19

2011 SCHEDULE(All games Friday, 7:30 p.m., unless

noted

Friday Chapel HillSept. 2 At PebblebrookSept. 16 TroupSept. 23 At Luella*Sept. 30 Newton*Oct. 7 At Hughes*Oct. 14 Westlake*Oct. 21 At Stephenson*

(Hallford)Oct. 28 M.L. King*Nov. 4 At Newnan**Region 2-AAAAA game

EASTCOWETA

AT AGLANCE

East Cowetahead football

coach Clint Wadecontinues to keepa watchful on on

his team. Thehope for 2011 is

that a group of 32seniors will be

able to lead theway back into the

playoffs. Onceagain, the Indians

face an uphillclimb on the

schedule, whichcloses with

games againstnot only rivalNewnan, but

Region 2-AAAAAfrontrunners

Stephenson andM.L. King. Lastyear, the Indiansopened with animpressive 7-0record beforedropping their

last four games. The program,

however, hasn’tmissed the stateplayoffs since the1996 season and

hasn’t finishedunder .500 in

almost 25 years.

Photo by Jeffrey Leo

PUNTINGNo.Name Punts Yd/Avg.80 Anthony Greenlee 50 32.2

Page 6: 2011 Football Section

f all the assetsNorthgate can prideitself on heading into

the 2011 season — and theirnumbers are among a majoritythis year — the one that willtake the Vikings the furthestdoesn’t even have a uniformnumber attached.

The term “trust” works muchdifferently on the football field.

When it’s properly distrib-uted, much like in a handoff,newly-established trustbetween coaches and playersfollowing a year of transitionhas finally seemed to eliminatethe 800-pound gorilla sur-rounding Henry Seldon Field.

By early November, that trustmay carry the team furtherthan anything or anyone else onthe field for a Northgate pro-gram that feels it is headed in apositive direction as TommyWalburn enters his second sea-son as the Vikings’ head coach.

The days of introductionsbetween staff and players is asfar in the rear-view mirror as aflat-footed cornerback on a goroute.

“I’ve always thought youbuild your program on trust.You don’t build trust in a matterof months. It takes years to dothat,” Walburn said. “Havingyour second year, you can startbuilding that trust and intangi-bles that are almost impossibleto build in your first year any-where.”

Change is never easy.Depending on what side of thefence you’re on, the currentterm at 1600 PennsylvaniaAvenue has been quite the chal-lenge.

As for the changes takingplace inside the chain-linkfence on Fischer Road with theNorthgate High football pro-gram, some might feel they’renothing short of revolutionary.

Considering the dark cloudsthat surrounded the Vikingsprior to Walburn’s arrival lastyear, the progress made duringa 5-5 first season far surpassedthe end result on paper. TheVikings lost only one game in2010 to a team that finishedwith a losing record(McIntosh), and Northgate waseven able to turn that into apositive in the long run.

“If we had won that game wemight not have made some ofthe changes we did, so younever know,” Walburn said.

While there are no guaran-tees in high school football, onpaper the situation certainlyshows great potential for notjust improvement, but success.For a program that has onlywon more than six games in aseason in three of its 12 years ofexistence.

Even with all the team’s skillplayers back on offense andplenty of pieces in place defen-sively, it’ll continue to be a chal-lenge in Region 3B-AAAA thisyear (see related story).

But having gotten all last

year’s introductions out of theway, Walburn expects better

results for a team that came avictory away from qualifyingfor the postseason in 2010.

“Those are all positives. Theyknow their coaches. They knowme. They know our moods. Weknow their moods. They learnthe things that I get upsetabout. I know when they’rehaving a bad day. That’s justsomething that happensthrough time,” Walburn said.“What we try to do is win everyday you go out there, whetherit’s the weight room or whetherit’s in practice or if you’re play-ing a scrimmage or a game. Atthe end of the day the record iswhat you get judged on byeveryone else out there.”

For the first time in four sea-sons, the Vikings weren’t heldscoreless during the season. Itwasn’t until running into play-off teams in Whitewater andDutchtown that offensive pro-duction waned. By then, TimesHerald All-County Player of theYear Alex Lakes was en route tolast year’s scoring title in hisfirst year at fullback. As a juniorhe finished with 18 touch-downs, 16 on the ground, whilerushing for 924 yards at 7.2 percarry.

“He’s a natural football play-er. Some kids just know how toplay football,” Walburn said ofLakes. “He was the only guylast year who played both waysand this year when we start theseason he probably will still bethe only guy doing that.

But the list of returning skillplayers on offense is as long assome of those runs.

Both halfbacks, led by PaytonUsher — who had 704 yards atseven a carry — are back.Wingbacks Tony Williams andCole Carter return, as doeshulking backup fullback KyleKovacs.

Behind center, senior startingquarterback Bret Misutka also

returns his top fivereceivers, including sen-ior tight end MitchBemister (14 catches,176 yards) and juniorreceiver BrandonFacyson, the latteralready with a scholar-ship offer from VirginiaTech.

Waiting in the wingsbehind the 5-9 Misutkais towering 6-4 juniorbackup Josh Harrison.

“We feel good about who wehave coming back,” Walburnsaid. “Offensively, we feel likewe’ve get depth at the quarter-back position, depth at runningback position and depth at thewide receiver position. But welost four out of five starters onthe offensive line. And at thispoint we have no depth there.”

For all the weapons, successmay come down to the big boyspaving the road up front. Themajority were junior varsitystarters in 2010, joining lastyear’s only varsity returner, JakeSlagle at right guard. Three ofthe four signed scholarships,with the Raburn twins headingto LaGrange and tackle Cody

Weaversigning with

Division II power Delta State.“We had some bigger line-

man last year and those guysare going to be missed,”Walburn said. “But we’ve got togo with what we’ve got. We feellike these guys are getting bet-ter every day. If there’s anadvantage between this year’sline to last year’s, I think thatthis year’s could be a littlequicker coming off the ball. Wedon’t have the size we had lastyear, but they’re quicker.

Senior Eric Freeland hasearned the starting job at theother guard spot, while seniorBrad Stiles (220 pounds) andjunior Dustin Foley (215) bothplayed every game for the jun-ior varsity squad.

Another junior, Chase Smith,begins the year handling thecenter position.

Most of Northgate’s size willbe found on the defensive linebetween juniors Sean Spencerand De’Andre Johnson. Spencer,at 6-4, 245 pounds, sufferedback-to-back injuries that haveheld him out since a phenome-nal freshman season. But he’llbe the team’s main force at theend spot opposite senior MattKindle.

“Besides Deandre and Sean,we’re not that big up front,”said Walburn, “but we’ll be ableto play a lot of guys.”

Inside at tackle, the 6-4, 320-pound Johnson has equallymatured after playing sparinglyas a sophomore. Senior DavidHiggins, a standout 140-poundwrestler, returns as a starter toprovide a nice change-up ofspeed and size between thepair.

“To me the biggest improve-ment we’re going to have to

make if we’re gong to be goodis that I didn’t feel like ourperimeter defense was as goodas it should have been lastyear,” said Walburn.

Defensive coordinator BubbaJeter moved former secondarymember D’lonzo Harris to out-side linebacker after theMcIntosh loss and the seniorled the team with 57 tackles lastyear. It was just two ahead ofthe Vikings’ other projectedoutside backer, Jonovan Cotton,who equally came on strongduring the final weeks, whichincluded a standout gameagainst eventual state finalistStarr’s Mill.

On the inside of Northgate’s4-4 defense, Jeter has movedformer defensive lineman LeonSapp to inside linebacker withhopes of recreating the successJake Peterson had last year.Peterson, a converted offensivelineman, thrived in the spotwhile eventually earning ascholarship to play at Army.

“That was a big questionmark we got answered,”Walburn said.

Junior Conner Usher, “a littlebit thicker” version of olderbrother Payton, will start at the“Will” linebacker position.

Payton and Brandon Facysonexpect to rotate a lot at one cor-ner to give each a breatherfrom offense. The other cornerspot will likely go to seniorShawn Byron, who saw sometime last season while alsoplaying mostly on JV.

“We like knowing that someof those kids got in sevengames last year on JV,” Walburnsaid. “Your younger programhas to be good. That’s how youget your program built.

Despite losing punter BradSwinney to graduation, seniorWill Lutz expects to be able tohandle both roles. JuniorAndrew Brady also is capableof punting, while Joel Harrison,a senior transfer student fromEngland, is taking his shot atAmerican football.

Lutz’s booming kickoffs,aside from having range fromwithin 50 yards, is anotherweapon returning among last

year’s successes. “He kind of spoils you on

kickoffs that the guys (on cov-erage) will relax,” Walburn saidof Lutz. “We’ve had to force ourkids to anticipate a bad kick justto get them to go full speed.”

Unhappy with the team’spunt and kickoff return units,which gave up field position onseveral big plays a year ago, theNorthgate coach named assis-tant Justin Crews as the team’sspecial teams coordinator.

“I think that’s going to helpus. He’s the type guy, every-thing he does, he does with alot of pride,” he said. “You’vegot to realize that a third ofyour game is special teams. Ournumber one concern is the cov-erage. We’ve got to get better.”

On the whole, however, theVikings should be even furtherahead than they were last sea-son. The days of wearing nametags around one another arecertainly well in the past.

“This team right here hasbeen a real fun bunch of guys towork with,” Walburn said.“We’ve had a full year with thisgroup and I think we’ve had agood offseason. Now we justneed to go out and play.”

6B — The Times-Herald — Wednesday, August 24, 2011

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don’t build trust in a

matter of months.

No. Name Pos. Yr.1 Alex Lakes RB/S Sr.2 Brandon Facyson WR/DB Jr.3 Bret Misutka QB Sr.4 Tony Williams RB Sr.5 Sylvester Johnson OLB Jr.6 Matt Smith DB So.7 Austin Hatney WR Sr.8 Kyle Kovacs FB Sr.9 Torres Johnson DB So.10 Marquis Jennings RB So.11 Christian Gaston DB So.12 Chris Johnson DB Jr.13 Aaron Stargell DB Jr.14 Jonovan Cotton OLB Sr.15 TJ Womack QB So.16 Terrell Taylor DB Sr.17 Armond Upshaw QB So.18 Josh Harrison QB Jr.19 Austin Weller WR So.20 Cole Carter RB Jr.22 Blake McCollium LB Jr.23 Connor Usher LB Jr.24 Trey Ledford LB Jr.25 Payton Usher RB Sr.26 D’lonzo Harris OLB Sr.28 Kyle Henderson RB Jr.32 Shaun Byron DB Sr.33 Kain Elliot DL Sr.34 Dalton Lane OLB Jr.36 Devin Mcelwaney DL So.37 John Proctor OLB So.38 David Higgins DL Sr.40 Alex Rutherford TE So.41 Ben Washington RB So.42 Adrian Fisher TE Sr.43 Devon Nash LB So.44 Chad Garner DL Sr.45 Ryan Fagerstrom LB So.49 Gage Pierson WR Sr.50 Leon Sapp LB Sr.51 Matt Kindle DL Sr.52 Dustin Foley OL Jr.53 Eric Freeland OL Sr.54 Dillion Pittman OL Sr.55 De’Andre Johnson DL Jr.56 Jake Slagle OL Sr.57 Alex Rose OLB So.58 Cody Kellogg OL So.59 Justin Carlock OL Jr.60 Aaron Seabrook OL So.62 Reid Gettle OL So.63 Buck Forsyth OL Jr.64 Aaron Carr OL So.65 Chase Smith OL Jr.67 Alex Rock OL So.68 Andrew Welcher OL Jr.69 Nick Abbadangelo OL So.70 Ross Teague OL So.71 Jonathan Fleckenstein OL Jr.72 Brad Stiles OL Sr.73 Alex Heavner DL Sr.74 Matthew Bowman OL So.75 Nick Heavner OL So.76 Sean Spencer DE Jr.77 Dylan Roach OL So.78 Austin Green OL Jr.79 Andrew Rock OL So.81 Andrew Brady WR Jr.82 Will Lutz K Sr.83 James Carter WR Jr.84 Zach Burrell TE Jr.85 Mitch Bemister TE Sr.88 Jake Humphries WR So.89 Braden Harbuck WR Jr.91 Grant Gower OL So.93 Tevin Gripper DE Sr.96 Malyk Hibbert SE So.97 Zack Braun K Jr.98 Joel Harrison K Sr.99 Nebiyou Maddox DL So.

Northgatereturns all of itstop skill positionplayers this year,

includingquarterbackBret Misutka

Photo by Jeffrey Leo

Photo by Jeffrey LeoSenior fullback Alex Lakes led the county last season with 18touchdowns, 16 of which came on the ground.

Page 7: 2011 Football Section

HEAD COACH: Tommy Walburn (2ndseason, 5-5) Overall: 67-45

STAFF: Bubba Jeter (defensive coor-dinator, recruiting coordinator), KesleyDalrymple (offensive coordinator, run-ning backs), Adrian Anderson (defensivebacks), Lee Golden (linebackers), ChrisRippy (offensive line), Justin Crews(quarterbacks, special teams coordina-tor), Marcellious Johnson (linebackers),Derek Rials (receivers, tight ends).

STRENGTHS: All top skill playersreturning, second year under samestaff, deep at QB, RB, WR and defensiveline.

WEAKNESSES: Offensive line lostfour of five starters. Depth at OL, LB isslim for now.

KEY LOSSES: LB Jake Peterson(Army), OL Cody Weaver (Delta State),OL Adam Raburn (LaGrange), OL RyanRaburn (LaGrange), DL Jonathan Rice(LaGrange), LB Cortez Glenn (Tuskegee),P Brad Swinney, DV Scotty Gaston, DBDevonte LaBlanc, LB Gordy Duncan, LBJosh Barber, OL Brian Fleenor, CB DrewSwinney.

OUTLOOK: There were some keylosses during the offseason, mostnotable on the offensive line and line-backer. But the Vikings have all theirstatistical leaders back from a 5-5 sea-son a year ago, having missed the play-offs by just one victory. In all, a talentedgroup of 26 seniors seems poised to getthe program back in the playoffs for justthe second time in six years.

POSITION BREAKDOWNOFFENSE

QUARTERBACK: Senior BretMisutka and junior Josh Harrison bothreturn while providing two contrastingstyles, each of which could be toNorthgate’s benefit in 2011. Misutka is aprototypical wing-T quarterback, at 5-10, and “he’s got so many intangibles, itmakes up for any lack of size,” saidhead coach Tommy Walburn. “Plus, he’sgot a huge heart.”

With a year under his belt, Misutkawill start the season again behind cen-ter after throwing for 582 yards and twotouchdowns while having four intercep-tions. His leadership qualities may givehim an edge for now over the 6-4, 200-pound Harrison.

“He’s got a real good understandingof the offense,” said Walburn of Misutka.“I tell him all the time that I think he’dmake a good coach one day. He’s gotthe personality people rally around.”

Harrison, however, is the obvious“air” apparent, and it will be crucial forthe junior to get playing time this year.His skills, which included a rocket armthat often simulates 40-50 yard punts inpractice, seem limitless.

“You’ve got Bret, who’s more of awing-T type quarterback, and then youhave Josh, who’s a classic drop-backquarterback who’s got as good an armas anybody I’ve ever coached. The onlything he lacks is game experience,” saidWalburn. “Early in the year we’re goingto play both of them some.”

Regardless, the depth at the positionmay add a sense of relief for Vikingfans.

“At this point, Bret will start thegame. It’s good to have competitioneverywhere. I think it will make both ofthem better,” Walburn said. “I’ve been insituations before where we’ve had justone guy and you pray that nothing hap-pens to him.”

RUNNING BACKS: Arguably thedeepest position on the team, it’s led byAll-County Player of the Year AlexLakes and his area-best 18 touch-downs last season. At fullback, Lakes ,senior halfback Payton Usher and sen-ior wingback Tony Williams were all abig part of reviving a Northgate offensethat racked up 2,100 yards rushing at5.6 yards a carry in 2010.

The converted linebacker managed anear 200-yard effort at halfback whenUsher went down before last year’sgame against Starr’s Mill.

Both the 6-0, 210 pound Lakes andUsher, at 5-9, 175, averaged at leastseven yards a carry, despite their uniqueframes. They gave opponents a changeof pace between running styles to keepdefenders on their heels.

“Payton’s got really good balance. Hegained some weight since last year,”Walburn said of Usher, who had 704yards rushing and six touchdowns. “Heknows how to absorb a blow and thenbounce off him. Nobody really gets agood shot off him.”

Williams had 287 yards rushing andhas been limited by injuries so far. Butthe staff feels that backup Cole Carteris capable of handling a bigger role if

needed. Last year’s surprise may havebeen backup fullback Kyle Kovacs, whohad 156 yards on 32 carries.

The 5-11, 210 pound senior “finallyfound his niche last year,” said Walburn.“He battled some injuries when he firstgot here and we just didn’t know wherehe fit in. But we started working him atfullback and played him a few games.He’s got a knack to make yards. He’sbig and strong and he’s had a great off-season.”

In addition to Carter, sophomoreTorrez Johnson and Aaron Stargellcould see time at wingback. Meanwhile,senior D’lonzo Harris is gaining offen-sive snaps on top of his starting line-backing duties.

OFFENSIVE LINE/TIGHT ENDS: Theline is one of the biggest question marksfacing a lineup that has very few holesto fill. Here, however, the key is replac-ing four graduating seniors, includingthree that signed college scholarships.Aside from senior right guard JakeSlagle (6-2, 230), it will be filled bynewcomers.

“We feel like we have five guys upthere that we’re calling our starters thatwork hard, and they’ve got talent,”Walburn said. “But they just haven’tplayed in a lot of varsity games. Sothat’s the biggest question up there.”

Junior Chase Smith will step in atcenter and senior Brad Stiles, at 6-0,220, “had gained about 30 or 40pounds,” said Walburn, and will try andfill Cody Weaver’s big shoes at quicktackle.

Dustin Foley, at 215 pounds, playedin every JV game last year and will startat the other tackle spot. “He’s going tobe really big,” Walburn said. “He’s reallygetting better every day and just atough-nosed kid.”

The quick guard spot will be filled byEric Freeland, whose hard work earnedhim a starting job.

“He’s one of those type of kids who’seasy to coach. He’s so quiet, you don’teven know he’s there,” Walburn said.“He realizes, to be a good lineman, he’sgoing to have to be technically soundand he’s worked hard at it.”

Senior tight end Mitch Bemister ledthe Vikings in 2010 with 14 catches for176 yards, and the 6-3, 230-pounderwill be a tough man to shadow foropponents. “What I like about Mitch,”said Walburn, “is that in a tight end for-mation, we don’t have to make a sub.Sometimes he can get a mismatchagainst a smaller guy.”

WIDE RECEIVERS: Junior BrandonFacyson went through a much-wel-comed growth spurt that helped himgain attention at summer camps,including one at Virginia Tech. It wasenough that Walburn found a text mes-sage on his phone from Frank Beamer

praising the Viking standout. At 6-3,190, Facyson will easily eclipse lastyear’s five catches and a touchdown.“He’s gotten a lot bigger and moreaggressive,” Walburn said. “We’ll proba-bly play him more on offense than lastyear.”

Junior Andrew Brady may alsoemerge as a weapon in the passinggame. “He’s a really good possession-type receiver, and he’s got good hands,”Walburn said.

DEFENSEDEFENSIVE LINE: A sophomore year

dominated by injuries seems to finallybe behind talented junior SeanSpencer, who started at defensive endas a ninth-grader. The 6-2, 260 poundjunior “has matured physically andmentally,” said Walburn. “He’s a lotstronger and just had a great offseason.We feel like we’ve got all the bad luckout of him now.”

Inside, the Vikings will give oppo-nents a sizable disadvantage with 6-4,320-pound junior tackle De’AndreJohnson. Returning defensive tackleDavid Higgins (5-9, 150) adds achange of pace inside. The seniorwrestling standout is “quick and hard toblock.” Senior Matt Kindle mans theother end after playing mostly on the JVteam last year.

Unlike the offensive line, depth is aplus up front on defense. Kain Elliottand Alex Heavner both played the posi-tion in 2010 and converted linebackersChad Garner and Blake McColliumhave thickened up.

“Besides DeAndre and Sean, we’renot that big up front,” Walburn said. “Butwe’ll be able to play a lot of guys.”

LINEBACKERS: Leon Sapp hopes tofill a sizable hole left by middle line-backer Jake Peterson, who departed forthe college ranks at West Point. The 6-0,210 former defensive lineman seems tohave found a home at the “Sam” line-backer position.

“He’s found his niche. He’s workedhard and is in great shape. That was abig question that got answered.”

Conner Usher, who is five poundsheavier than older brother Payton, willplay the other inside spot.

Northgate hopes to have madeimprovements to its perimeter defenseby keeping D’lonzo Harris on one side-line and Jonovan Cotton on the otheroutside linebacker spot. Last year, theduo finished one-two in tackles.

Harris, a former defensive back,bulked up from 155 to 175 pounds, and“physically his body changed as muchas anybody I’ve seen,” said Walburn,who moved the senior up after theMcIntosh loss. “He can do a lot of differ-ent things. You can put him in cover-ages. He’s a wild card.”

SECONDARY:Facyson returns to acorner spot afterstarting every gamein the secondary andmaking steadyprogress in thespring. SeniorShawn Byrommoves up from theJV team to man theother corner spot,and Aaron Stargell,a junior, hopes to adddepth.

For now, Lakeslooks like he’ll return tohis starting free safety

position while Torrez Johnson isgroomed to take his place in the future.

“We feel like, as the season pro-gresses, he can come in there and dosome things,” Walburn said.

SPECIAL TEAMSNorthgate assistant Justin Crews

takes over as the team’s special teamscoordinator with hopes of improvingcoverage units. Senior Will Lutzremains an asset on kicks, in addition tobe a regular creator of touchbacks onkickoffs. He will take on punting duties,though Andrew Brady is also capable ofpunts. Senior Joel Harrison, anexchange student from England, is alsogetting his first crack at Americanfootball.

Wednesday, August 24, 2011 — The Times-Herald — 7B

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THE 2011 NORTHGATE VIKINGS

OFFENSERushing

No.Name Att. Yds. Avg. TD1 Alex Lakes 129 924 7.2 1625 Payton Usher 100 704 7.0 64 Tony Williams 60 284 4.7 08 Kyle Kovacs 32 156 4.8 127 Isaiah Riddle 21 107 5.1 143 Cole Carter 1 7 7.0 016 Devonte Lablanc 1 4 4.0 0 3 Brett Misutka 28 -82 -2.9 1Totals 372 2,104 5.6 25

PASSINGNo.Name Comp Att. Yards TDINT3 Brett Misutka 45 75 537 2 4

RECEIVINGNo. Name Rec. Yards Avg. TDs85 Mitch Bemister 14 176 12.6 01 Alex Lakes 8 70 8.8 125 Payton Usher 6 70 11.7 08 Kyle Kovacs 6 54 9.0 02 Brandon Facyson 5 82 16.4 112 Scotty Gaston 2 45 22.5 016 Devonte Lablanc 2 19 9.5 081 Andrew Brady 2 11 5.5 027 Isaiah Riddle 1 7 7.0 045 Andrew Schexnayder1 3 3.0 0Totals 47 537 11.4 2

SCORINGNo.Name TD EP FG 2pT TOTAL1 Alex Lakes 18 0 0 0 10881 Wil Lutz 0 27 7 0 4825 Payton Usher 7 0 0 0 423 Brett Misutka 1 0 0 0 62 Brandon Facyson 1 0 0 0 68 Kyle Kovacs 1 0 0 0 6

DEFENSETACKLES

No.Name Solo Asst. Total26 D’lonzo Harris 29 28 5714 Jonovan Cotton 34 21 5511 Jake Peterson 41 19 5030 Josh Barber 34 10 441 Alex Lakes 28 6 342 Brandon Facyson 25 6 3112 Scotty Gaston 24 6 3038 David Higgins 9 14 2321 Courtez Glenn 11 10 2150 Leon Sapp 5 16 21 29 Gordy Duncan 12 7 19

35 Drew Gibson 7 10 1751 Jonathan Rice 10 6 1623 Conner Usher 8 8 1617 Rex Evans 10 2 1299 DeAndre Johnson 3 4 733 Kain Elliott 3 3 676 Sean Spencer 3 3 673 Alex Heavner 2 4 65 Drew Swinney 3 2 59 Julian Britt 3 2 542 Shaun Byrom 3 1 415 Gabe Bennett 2 2 4

Former players in Italics

2010 RESULTSVs. Alexander W 37-14At Jones County L 31-28Vs. Ola W 27-26,

OTVs. Fayette Co. W 24-20At McIntosh L 28-17Vs. Upson-Lee W 42-7At Harris County W 17-14Vs. Starr’s Mill L 35-24At Whitewater L 28-7At Dutchdown L 17-7

2011 SCHEDULE(All games Friday, 7:30 p.m., unless

noted

Friday at AlexanderSept. 2 Jones CountySept. 9 At OlaSept. 16 At Fayette Co.*Sept. 23 McIntosh*Oct. 7 At Upson-Lee*

(8 p.m.)Oct. 14 Harris County*Oct. 21 At Starr’s Mill*Oct. 28 Whitewater*Nov. 4 Region Play-In*Region 3B-AAAA game

NORTHGATE AT A GLANCE

Photo by Jeffrey Leo Assistant coach Chris Rippy works with a pair of Vikings during preseason drills.

TACKLES FOR LOSSName No.Jake Peterson 7David Higgins 4Josh Barber 3Gordy Duncan 2Jonovan Cotton 2Kain Elliott 2Brandon Facyson 1Courtez Glenn 1Leon Sapp 1Jonathan Rice 1Andrew Schexnader 1Alex Heavner 1Drew Gibson 1

INTERCEPTIONS Name No.Jonovan Cotton 2Jonathan Rice 1Alex Lakes 1*Drew Swinney 1Scotty Gaston 1*Scored TD

SACKSName No.Josh Barber 5Leon Sapp 1 1⁄2Sean Spencer 1Gordy Duncan 1Kain Elliott 1 1⁄2Deandre Johnson 1Conner Usher 1Drew Gibson 1⁄2D’lonzo Harris 1⁄2

HURRIESName No.David Higgins 4Josh Barber 3DeAndre Johnson 2Jonathan Rice 2Leon Sapp 1Isaiah Riddle 1Drew Gibson 1Cortez Glenn 1Jake Peterson 1Sean Spencer 1

CAUSED FUMBLESName No.Josh Barber 2Gordy Duncan 1Brandon Facyson 1Scotty Gaston 1Courtez Glenn 1D’Lonzo Harris 1Sean Spencer 1DeAndre Johnson 1

FUMBLE RECOVERIESName No.Jake Peterson 3Sean Spencer 1Jonathan Rice 1

PASS BREAKUPSName No.Scotty Gaston 6Brandon Facyson 5Shaun Byrom 2Jake Peterson 2Josh Barber 1Alex Lakes 1

Page 8: 2011 Football Section

8B — The Times-Herald — Wednesday, August 24, 2011

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Page 9: 2011 Football Section

.ARMY: Jake Peterson (Fr,

Northgate): Peterson is preparingfor his first year at West Point aftersigning in February.

BENEDICT COLLEGE: E.J.Houston (JR, RB, Newnan):Houston enters his junior seasonat Benedict. Finished with threetouchdowns in 2010.

DELTA STATE: Cody Weaver(Fr., OL, Northgate): Weaver ispreparing for his freshman seasonafter signing with the Statemen inFebruary.

FAULKNER: Dylan Vires (Sph.,Arlington Christian): The kickerenters his sophomore year at theschool in Montgomery.

FURMAN: Ryan Storms (R-S0.,C-G, East Coweta): The offensivelineman is battling back from aninjury he suffered midway throughthe season that also kept him outof spring practice. Made threestarts before getting hurt.

UNIVERSITY of GEORGIA: AlecOgletree (So, LB Newnan), ZanderOgletree (So, FB Newnan) andEddie McQuillen (Fr, OT, TrinityChristian): Alec Ogletree headsback to Athens for his sophomoreyear after earning All-SECFreshman Team honors. Heappeared in all 12 game, makingfive starts. Recorded six tackles

against Georgia Tech. Zander, thetwin brother of Alec, was namedthe most improved player onoffense after the Bulldogs’ springgame. Had one catch againstVanderbilt and also made fivetackles on special teams againstthe Commodores. Eddie McQuillenis listed as freshman on theBulldogs’ roster.

GEORGIA STATE: Jamal Ransby(So, CB, Newnan): Ransby was oneof the top defensive players for thePanthers in their inaugural seasonlast year, finishing with two inter-ceptions. He also broke up fourpasses and finished with 20 tack-les.

GEORGIA TECH: Ray Beno (R-Sph.. G, Newnan) and RobertHogan (R-JR, LB, NewnanChristian): Beno saw action inthree games last season, earningplaying time against N.C. State,Virginia, and Middle TennesseeState. Helped Newnan win regiontitles during his high school days.Hogan is a walk-on at GeorgiaTech and is entering his third sea-son with Georgia Tech. An out-standing student, Hogan hasearned ACC-Academic honors.

HIGHLAND JUNIOR COLLEGE(KS) - Tay Willis (Sph., RB, EastCoweta), Jeric Woodall (Sph WR,East Coweta): Willis, who was an

All-State running back as a seniorafter rushing for 1,900-plus yardslast year, and Woodall signed withthe school last spring and will beentering freshmen seasons.

JACKSONVILLE STATE: AlanBonner (Jr., WR, Newnan), ThomasDarrah (SR., QB, Newnan), WillKoran (Jr, LB, Newnan): Bonnerhas turned into the one of theGamecocks’ top wide receivers.Saw action in 12 games in 2010,catching 17 passes, including fivefor touchdowns. He had a 92-yardkickoff return for a touchdownagainst LaGrange. Darrah, whostarted his career for Nick Sabanat Alabama, spent last season as abackup for the Gamecocks. Hethrew his only touchdown pass ofthe season in a contest againstAustin Peay. Koran has reunitedwith Darrah and Bonner afterstarting his career at GeorgiaSouthern.

LAGRANGE—Jonathan Rice(Fr, Northgate), Adam Rayburn,Ryan Rayburn (Northgate) JohnVeal (Fr.,Heritage) and Bremt Veal(Heritage School) are all on thePanthers 2011 roster this year.

LENOIR-RHYNE: Jake Copeland(So., DB, Northgate): Began hiscollege career as a quarterback,but has moved over to the otherside of the ball where he now

plays in the defensive backfield.MIDWESTERN STATE UNIVER-

SITY (Tim McGill SR., DL, EastCoweta): Tim McGill has found ahome on the defensive line atMidwestern State University. Theformer East Coweta Indian beganhis college football life on theother side of the ball where hewas a bruising fullback beforemaking the switch over todefense. Last year, he had 22tackles in 11 games, including twostarts.

SAVANNAH STATE: DustinRussell (LB, Jr. Newnan), Jovante“J.J.” Miller (WR, So. EastCoweta): Russell saw limitedaction last year, recording onetackle against Georgia Southern.Miller was signed by SavannahState to play defensive back buthas been moved to wide receiver.

SHORTER: Austin Ingram (DB,Fr., East Coweta), Spencer Smith(DB, So., East Coweta), KeandreasWynn (Fr., FB, Newnan): TheHawks' program continues to be ahaven for former Coweta highschool talent, with CharlestonSouthern transfer Spencer Smithjoining former teammate AustinIngram and Newnan High'sKeandreas Wynn on the Shorterroster. Ingram and Wynn were both

part of Shorter’s 2010 signingclass last February.

STONEHILL (Mass.) COLLEGE– Devin Johnson (Sr., Northgate)and Dorian Johnson (Sr.,Northgate): The twins are prepar-ing for their final season of collegefootball.

TROY: Kyle Wilborn (JR., OL,Heritage School): Since beginninghis college career, Wilborn hasshown guys from smaller, lesserknown programs can play with thebig boys. The Political Sciencemajor played in all 13 games lastyear for the Trojans despite havinga hurt shoulder.

TUSKEGEE: Cortez Glenn (Fr,Northgate): Ready to enter his firstseason of action of college foot-ball.

WEST GEORGIA: AdamStrakose (So., LB, Newnan), ZachFore (R-Fr., LB, East Coweta),Spencer Whitehead (Fr. OL,Newnan): Strakhose earned theWolves’ Outstanding NewcomerAward in 2010 after finishing with19 tackles. Fore will enter theseason as a redshirt freshman forhead coach Daryl Dickey’s team,which plays in the Gulf SouthConference. Whitehead signedwith West Georgia in February.

It didn’t take long for all ofGeorgia’s football faithful incities from Albany to Zebulon tocatch up with what Newnanalready knew.

Which is what makes theOgletree brothers as unique offthe football field as they areequally skilled on it.

The stage may have gotten awhole lot bigger, but college has-n’t changed the fraternal twinboys of Al and Allyson Ogletreeenough to make their voicesunrecognizable from one anoth-er, even as they get set to cele-brate their 20th birthdays onSept. 25.

Zander, currently pushing for astarting job at fullback, is thesame jovial, fun-loving guy class-mates remember walking thehalls. Alec, or “Tree” as he firstbecame known here, remains hissame straight-forward self, quiteas much the opposite as thepair’s contrasting body styles.

And while the Bulldog sopho-mores may remain easily identi-fiable, split on opposite sides ofthe ball in practice — the 6-3 ,236-pound “Tree” now at middlelinebacker and the 5-10, 224-pound Zander at fullback —when they’ve put their helmetsinto an opposing player, theimpact has been indistinguish-able.

“I know Alec had more acco-lades coming into this thing,”said Georgia head coach MarkRicht. “But if you talk to the teamand the coaches and everything,they say, ‘You’ve got a gem inZander.’ Alec is obvious. ButZander is a good football playerin his own right, and a glue guy.”

Richt took separate paths toearning their commitments fol-

lowing a pair of state semifinalberths at Newnan High School.Scouts quickly took note ofAlec’s size and speed, with theBulldogs finally winning out overMiami and others for his collegechoice.

Zander, meanwhile, played outhis entire season at Newnan, fin-ishing with six more tackles thanhis twin brother, but nowherenear as many offers. Richt’s callcame the morning after his finalvarsity game, a loss in the 2009Class AAAAA semifinals.

But regardless of the pathsthey took, proving themselvesworthy seems high on the broth-ers’ list of priorities.

“I’ve always been taught togive everything I have out there,”said Zander, who is listed with 6-4, 272 pound senior BruceFiggins as the current starter. “Iwant to be the best player I pos-sibly can. If it’s him or if it’s me, Ijust want to be ready to help theteam the best way I can.”

As much a punishing tackler inhigh school, Zander joked, “It’s

not as good as it used to be. But Istill get a chance to get my sharein.”

While Alec hasn’t givenBulldog fans any reason to doubtthe five-star ratings he garneredamong high school recruiting,they’re only just beginning tolearn about Zander’s potential. Inhigh school, however, most knewNewnan High’s No. 33 as a hard-nosed linebacker and runningback who was just as responsiblefor helping the Cougars comewithin two victories of a statetitle in consecutive years.

Zander left the G-Day Game inthe spring as the team’s “MostImproved” player on offense anddidn’t disappoint with his block-ing ability during Georgia’s ini-tial scrimmage of the fall.

“Isolation blocking is, I think,the toughest to do over and overand over,” Richt said afterwards.“Zander got the best of it.”

Both brothers made immedi-ate contributions as true fresh-men, first as special teams play-ers before slowly working theirway into the lineup. Alec startedthe final five games in the sec-ondary, making a team-high 10stops against Auburn. Georgiacoaches even worked him in atone point for a snap on offense.

But he wasn’t completely sur-prised by his move from safety tomiddle linebacker.

“It’s been pretty good, comingin the spring and learning whatto do,” said Alec, who has worn apair of wristbands this fall withthe words “No Complaining”scrawled on them. “It hasn’tchanged that much from what Iwas doing last year.”

He expects to be startingbeside junior ChristianRobinson, who started 11 gamesat linebacker last year, in the

middle of the Bulldog defense.Robinson handles most of thecalls from the sidelines.

“Christian’s definitely hashelped me get used to things,”Alec said. “The biggest thing lastyear was just the game speedbeing so much faster. Now I havethat game experience coming inthis year.”

“Tree,” however, hasn’t lookedmuch like a rookie linebacker ineach of the team’s first twoscrimmages of the preseason,posting team highs in tackles.Last Thursday’s included eighthits as well as a sack.

“’Tree’ gets after it,” outsidelinebacker Jarvis Jones said fol-lowing the team’s second scrim-mage last week. “He loves thegame of football. He loves towork hard. He works hard everyday. He would’ve been successfulat safety, but I think moving himto linebacker is one of the bestdecisions our coaches could’vemade for the overall success ofour defense and our team. Hecan get off blocks. He can runsideline to sideline. He can makebig plays. He’s a high-energy guyand brings it every day.”

In many ways, though, thingshaven’t changed that much forthe twins. They still live togetherand are never that far apart. Thebrothers are even majoring in thesame subject — education.

The hope for Bulldog fans isthat having two Ogletrees fromNewnan will go even furtherthan just one as Georgia preparesfor an immediate test againstBoise State in its Sept. 3 seasonopener in Atlanta at the GeorgiaDome.

“I think we’re going to have agood season,” Zander said. “I’mgetting ready for it. Hopefully Ican do my part.”

HERITAGE SCHOOL —PAGE 2C

ARLINGTONCHRISTIAN— PAGE 3C

TRINITY CHRISTIAN—PAGE 4C

HERITAGE CHRISTIAN— PAGE 5C

LANDMARK CHRISTIAN— PAGE 6C

REGION 2-AAAAAPREVIEW - PAGES

6C/7C

REGION 3B-AAAAPREVIEW

PAGES 7C/8C

Section C

ATLANTA FALCONS PREVIEW — PAGE 9C

ATLANTA — Paul Johnson believes hehas something to prove. He’s hoping hisGeorgia Tech players feel the same way.

He’s entering his fourth season as GeorgiaTech’s coach with a new quarterback and anew reason for motivation.

Johnson was accustomed to success, withseven straight seasons of eight or more winsbefore a 6-7 finish last year.

The losing record was painful enough.Then this summer Georgia Tech was hitwith NCAA penalties that included fouryears of probation and vacating the 2010Atlantic Coast Conference championship.

The Yellow Jackets coach is hoping for arebound, but he must replace B-backAnthony Allen and quarterback JoshuaNesbitt, the top two rushers in his spreadoption offense.

Tevin Washington is the favorite to takeover at quarterback.

Georgia Tech lost five of their last sixgames last year, including their secondstraight loss to rival Georgia. It wasJohnson’s first losing season since a 2-10record in his 2002debut at Navy.

“Last season didn’tend the way we’d likefor it to,” he said. “Wefeel like we’ve got athing or two to provethis year. Hopefullywe’re ready to come out swinging.”

Johnson wants to restore the program’spride. He also wants revenge.

“Revenge is a great motivator for thosethat care,” he said. “I hope you’ve got enoughguys that care.”

A-back Roddy Jones says Johnson neednot worry.

“Definitely. I think the whole team cares,”Jones said. “The whole team remembers thegames we lost and how we lost and they’reexcited this year to get back at those teams. Ithink Kansas is the first one on our schedulethat we lost to. Guys know that and they’reexcited about it.”

Redshirt freshman Synjyn Days and fresh-man Vad Lee are competing withWashington, a junior who started the finalfour games last season after Joshua Nesbittsuffered a broken arm.

Nesbitt, a powerful and productive runner,was the starter in each of Johnson’s firstthree seasons at Georgia Tech.

Days had a strong spring game. Lee earnedearly praise from Johnson in preseason prac-tice.

The Yellow Jackets need steady play fromtheir quarterback after fumbles — always aconcern in the option attack — and poorpassing hurt the team last season.

Georgia Tech’s 20 lost fumbles in 2010 tiedfor the nation’s lead. Nesbitt and Washingtoncompleted only 38.1 percent of their passes,easily the worst completion percentage ofthe 120 FBS teams.

“We’ve got to be better completing passes,and certainly part of it is throwing the ball,”Johnson said.

“I think the more you do the better you areat anything you do. We work on passing a lotin practice. It’s not like we don’t ever throwthe ball.”

Washington completed 25 of 61 passes (41percent) for 417 yards with two touchdownsand three interceptions. He ran for 514 yardsand four touchdowns.

Jones and Orwin Smith, the team’s leadingreturning rusher, lead a deep group of A-backs.

Johnson looks to his B-back, who lines upbehind the quarterback like a fullback, tolead the rushing attack. Preston Lyons, asenior, and redshirt freshman CharlesPerkins entered preseason practice as thetop B-backs. Other candidates include DavidSims, a converted quarterback, and RichardWatson.

Perkins could be the best candidate toemerge as Johnson’s next 1,000-yard rusher.

“They’ll probably all get a chance at somepoint,” Johnson said.

Improvement is expected in the secondyear of defensive coordinator Al Groh’s 3-4scheme. There were problems last season,especially against the run, as Georgia Techgave up 25.2 points per game, ninth in theACC.

Another fall provides another impressive list of former high school football players continuing respective careers at college football programs throughout thecountry. Here's a partial list of Coweta County athletes who will be appearing on teams this fall. The Times-Herald will be posting updates and profiling players

periodically during the season. If you know someone who had inadvertently been left off this list, please e-mail us at [email protected]

Photo courtesy University of GeorgiaNewnan twin siblings Alec, left and Zander Ogletree have adjust-ed immediately to new roles at Georgia. Alec Ogletree has beenmoved from safety to middle linebacker heading into his sopho-more season. Meanwhile, Zander, at right, continues to make apush for the Bulldogs starting job at fullback.

GEORGIA 2011 SCHEDULE

Sep. 3 Boise St., 8 p.m.Sep. 10 South Carolina, 4:30p.m.Sep. 17 Coastal Carolina, 1p.m.Sep. 24 at Mississippi Oct. 1 Mississippi St. Oct. 8 at Tennessee Oct. 15 at Vanderbilt Oct. 29 Florida, 3:30 p.m.Nov. 5 New Mexico St. Nov. 12 Auburn Nov. 19 Kentucky Nov. 26 at Georgia Tech,

Page 10: 2011 Football Section

ou might think a 26-year-old varsity headfootball coach would bein over his head. KevinPrisant disagrees.

The fourth head coach in thebrief, six-year history of TheHeritage School’s program maycertainly be the youngest andleast experienced of threepredecessors with the Hawks,who haven’t won more than sixgames in a season since theirfirst full schedule in 2006.

But he’s arguably beenaround the GeorgiaIndependent SchoolsAssociation longer than any ofthem.

Prisant played and latercoached at Deerfield WindsorSchool in Albany. He gotinvolved in Bulloch Academy’sprogram as an assistant whilestudying at nearby GeorgiaSouthern and later became anoffensive coordinator at yetanother GISA program,Randolph Southern.

What he lacks in experienceas a head coach, he certainlymakes up for in enthusiasm.

“When you first take it, youthink you can change theworld. You think you can comein and do this, this, this andthis,” Prisant said. “You can gothrough dry spells. But I thinkwe have a good thing goingwith the middle school and theelementary program. We losefour seniors this year, and outof those, only one really hadvarsity experience. So I’mhappy about that. It’s a goodsituation to be in.”

Prisant replaces a legend inDanny Cronic, whose teamshadn’t posted a losing record inhis last 23 years as a varsityhead coach until Heritage’s 4-6mark a year ago. During the off-season, Cronic couldn’t pass upan opportunity to become acollege head coach for the firsttime while choosing to build aReinhardt program from theground up.

And while facilities, whichhave included a new press boxand scoreboard in the past twoyears, have been completed —in other aspects, Heritage isstill waiting to add the finishingtouches on the field.

Heritage athletic teams con-tinue to be successful in othervarsity sports, including base-ball, soccer and cross-ountryrunning. But there hasn’t beena breakthrough victory in foot-ball to date. This year’s sched-ule again includes gamesagainst traditional rivalsArlington Christian and FlintRiver. Heritage has gone 0-6against the two.

Add that to the Hawks’ gameagainst GISA newcomer andcrosstown foe TrinityChristian, a possible regionrival heading into next year’sreclassification, on Sept. 2, anda victory against any of thethree could go far at instillingconfidence. There’s sevenhome games to work with,including the first five of the2011 season.

“We need to win those gamesearly,” Prisant said. “I still thinkwe’re a playoff-caliber team.”

Hawks teams have had theirshare of star players. KyleWilborn is now a starting jun-ior offensive lineman at Troy.Three years ago, ChristopherRich helped catapult theHawks to their first-ever play-off berth while setting schoolrecords for rushing.

Younger brother Candler,however, might be the best ath-lete yet to grace a Heritagewhite, red and blue uniform.The junior wingback stands 43

yardsfrom breaking his older broth-er’s career rushing record.

“He might get that the firstcarry,” Prisant said. “I know it’sonly the sixth year of the pro-gram, and not that many peoplehave carried the ball. But at therate he’s going, he’s going to betough to beat.”

As much as winning in 2011may start with Rich, the juniorwho finished with over 2,000total yards in 2010 is really notthe answer to success this sea-son, as stunning as it maysound.

“I don’t want to rely so muchon Candler. We just got to haveplayers who can’t just be satis-fied to be on the team,” he said.“We have that core now of 13,14 guys who can come out andplay. But you have to be deep inthis league.”

With opponents undoubtedlypinning a target on Hawks jer-sey No. 7, the first-yearHeritage coach understands thekey is not only surrounding theAll-State running back with tal-ent, but allowing teammates toexcel by keeping things simpleon both sides of the ball.

“We’re going to run theoption, we’re going to run somemisdirection. And we’re goingto run some short passes, dinkand dunk down the field,”Prisant said. “We’re going tostay with our odd front ondefense.”

Offensively, quarterback JoeBonner and wingback DavidBready may be highest on thatlist. Bonner, at 5-8, 160 pounds,already has two years of experi-ence as a starter behind center.As Heritage expects to add anoption game to last year’s wing-T attack under Cronic, the jun-ior signal-caller has been urgednot to be so quick to let the ballleave his hand.

“He just needs to be a threat.I don’t need him to come outhere and break the mid-lineveer for 85 yards,” said Prisantof Bonner. “Just eight yards.Just get there and go. He’s pret-ty good at his spot throws.We’re trying to get him sowhen (the play) breaks down,he doesn’t always look toCandler.”

As far as leadership, threeyears of growth has alreadypaid huge dividends among alineup that will only have fourseniors in 2011.

“His leadership is unbeliev-able,” said Prisant of his quar-terback. “Everybody knowsthat No. 7 for our team is goingto get the ball and be the focalpoint of the offense. ButBonner can shake things offand when he’s in the huddleand they’re all jibber-jabbering,

hejust takescontrol.”

Bready, a converted tight end,is athletic enough to be con-verted into a runner, havingexcelled on the track lastspring. Getting the talentedsophomore “out of video gamemode” is currently the biggestchallenge.

“He’s never run the ball.Instead of going to the hole andbouncing, he was trying to getto the sidelines and outruneverybody,” said Prisant. “Buthis vision is getting a lot bet-ter.”

Sophomore Dalton Trammell(5-8, 180), meanwhile, is expect-ed to be this year’s starter atfullback, while recent positionswaps on the offensive linecould be beneficial to all fourball carriers.

Senior Richard Ebersbach (5-9, 190), who suffered a tornACL during last year’s seasonopener, has been moved fromcenter to tackle, as much a signof confidence in backup ElliotSmith’s play during hisabsence.

“We didn’t do that becauseanybody was playing bad,” saidPrisant. “We wanted to getsome extra speed in our trapsand be able to move a little bit.

Grayson Parker is capable ofplaying the other tackle spotwhile he’s also now at 100-per-cent following an injury-plagued season in 2010. One ofthe Hawks biggest lineman,he’ll be counted on the defen-sive line, with the Hawks stafflooking to find teammates whocan spell the junior on offense.

The same scenario is in playfor offensive guards Tyler Nix(5-10, 180) and Ben Dudley.Both will start at middle line-backer. Dudley is also theteam’s kicker and punter.Freshman Trevor Henson,“who knows the offense as wellas anybody,” has a chance to bea key backup. Senior Jake Gessand junior Luke Crook arenewcomers who hope to adddepth at tackle. SophomoreBraeden Vandersluis and soph-omores Daniel Kaas-Neal andCaleb Woodruff have potential.

“Once again, it’s about tryingto get them rest,” Prisant saidof his starting guards, Nix andDudley. “They’re in the middleof the field on both sides.”

Sophomore Tyler Henson (6-2, 180) and junior Garrett Jones(6-4) are big targets at tight endat wide receiver, and theHawks staff is adamant aboutfinding ways to get both ath-letes the ball more this fall.Junior transfer Chris Moorecould also get playing timethere, especially after the team

lostbackup tight end Jack Cranfordto a shoulder injury in camp.

Freshman quarterback BradMacke, who helped lead lastyear’s middle school team to aMetro Atlanta Conference title,will also find his way into thegame as a receiver or even awingback, while Nash Woodliefbacks up Trammell at fullback.

Defensively, most offensivestarters will turn around toplay on the other side of theball.

Up front, Moore will playnose tackle on a five-man frontwith Tyler Bean and Ebersbachat the tackles. The ends willconsist of Tyler Henson andTrammell. Woodlief could fillin at an end or outside line-backer spot.

In the defensive backfield,senior Ryan Lynch and Bonnerare expected to start at corner-back, with Macke able to stepin. Rich turns around to playsafety. Will Duke also returnsfrom an extended illness thissummer and could add help.

While the Hawks remain an

undersized team, even for aGISA Class AA school, Prisantsays he feels comfortable put-ting in some of his more knowl-edgeable backups like linemanTrevor Sawyers, even though,on paper, they might be mis-matched.

“He might be the most foot-ball savvy player we have,” saidPrisant. “He’s not as big as aminute. But if you tell him todo something, he’ll do it. I bethe’ll lead us in special teamstackles this year.”

In the end, making the play-offs in a competitive Region 2-AA schedule will ultimatelymean getting as much out ofplayers like Sawyers as it doesstandouts like Rich.

“We’re looking for those guysthat when we’re looking for abreather, we can put in and notmiss a beat,” Prisant said. “Istill feel like we can be compet-itive. In our region, there’s sixteams that could fall anywherefrom two to six. We just got tohave players who can’t just besatisfied to be on the team.Building a program, you’re try-ing to instill those things.”

2C — The Times-Herald — Wednesday, August 24, 2011

THE HERITAGE SCHOOLimagine the possibilities

Come see what we’re about

Just as students are encouraged to challenge themselves academically, they are also given the opportunity to reach their highest potential in athletics. In the 14-sport athletic program, any student who wants to participate in competitive sports may do so, and his or her skills are strengthened in the process. The Heritage School offers three competitive football programs, at the Lower School, Middle School, and Varsity levels.

VARSITY FOOTBALL 2011Date Time Opponent Location

August 26 7:30 pm Dawson Street Academy HomeSeptember 2 7:30 pm Trinity Christian HomeSeptember 9 7:30 pm Mt. Vernon HomeSeptember 16 7:30 pm Central Fellowship HomeSeptember 23 7:30 pm Valwood HomeSeptember 30 7:30 pm Flint River Away October 7 OFF October 14 7:30 pm Harvester Christian - Homecoming HomeOctober 21 7:30 pm SWGA AwayOctober 28 7:30 pm Brookwood - Senior Night HomeNovember 4 7:30 pm Arlington Christian AwayNovember 11 7:30 pm Playoffs TBA

2093 Highway 29 North Newnan, Georgia 30263 770.253.9898 www.heritagehawks.org

The Heritage School is an independent, college preparatory school serving students ages 3 through twelfth grade. We are dually

accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) and by the Southern Association of

Independent Schools (SAIS).

Skipstone Academy

No. Name Pos. Yr.1 Chaz Bankston WR/DB Fr.4 Will Duke RB/DB Jr.5 William Green WR/DB Sr.7 Candler Rich RB/DB Jr.8 Tyler Henson OL/LB So.10 Brad Macke QB/DB Fr.11 David Bready RB/DB So.15 Elliott Smith OL/LB Jr.17 Joe Bonner QB/DB Jr.21 Ryan Lynch WR/DB Sr.23 Nash Woodlief RB/LB Sr.27 Trevor Sawyers OL/DB So.32 Dalton Trammell RB/LB So.33 Phillip Griffies OL/DL Fr.35 Chris Moore TE/WR Jr.44 Trevor Henson OL/DL Fr.47 Ben Dudley OL/LB Jr.50 Tyler Nix OL/LB Jr.52 Daniel Kaas-Neal OL/DL So.54 Caleb Woodruff OL/DL So.55 Luke Crook OL/DL Jr.56 Richard Ebersbach OL/DL Jr.63 Tyler Bean OL/DL Jr.65 Grayson Parker OL/DL Jr.74 Thomas Gruber OL/DL Fr.75 Jake Gess OL/DL Sr.77 Braeden Vandersluis OL/DL So.81 Garrett Jones WR/DB Jr.87 Jack Cranford WR/LB So.Head Coach: Kevin Prisant Assistants: Derrick Clay (Defensivecoordinator); Drew Henderson (line),Murray Parks, Bart Henson, DeanHenson.

2011 ScheduleAll games 7:30 p.m., unless notedFriday DDaawwssoonn SSttrreeeettSept. 2 TTrriinniittyy CChhrriissttiiaannSept. 9 MMoouunntt VVeerrnnoonnSept. 16 CCeennttrraall FFeelllloowwsshhiippSept. 23 VVaallwwooooddSept. 30 At Flint RiverOct. 14 SSkkiipp SSttoonnee

AAccaaddeemmyyOct. 21 At Southwest Ga.

AcademyOct. 28 BBrrooookkwwoooodd SScchhoooollNov. 4 At Arlington

Christian

2010 ResultsDawson Street W 42-0At Holy Spirit W 54-12At Mount Vernon L 35-28Central Fellowship W 21-18At Valwood L 49-34Flint River L 38-14At Harvester W 54-7Southwest Georgia L 32-25At Brookwood L 26-20Arlington Christian L 63-35

Photo courtesy Scott AsanoTHE 2011 HERITAGE SCHOOL HAWKS

Head coach KevinPrisant enters his

first year asHeritage Schoolhead coach and

will have junior All-State running back

Candler Rich byhis side. We triedto show a little bitof the competitive

rivalry thatbegins thisyear when

Heritageplays

cross-town

TrinityChristian

and formerassistant

coach ChrisHanson for the

first time.

Page 11: 2011 Football Section

Wednesday, August 24, 2011 — The Times-Herald — 3C

Pictures courtesy of the Newnan Times Herald.

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2011 Arlington Christian EaglesNo. Name Pos. Ht/Wt Yr.1 Lonnie Perryman LB/FB 5-10, 220 Jr.2 Demetrius Monday DB/WR 6-0, 185 Jr.4 Kalon Baker DB/WR 6-0, 170 Sr.5 Antonio Williams RB/DB 5-10, 180 Jr.7 Jack Berry P 5-11, 185 Sr.8 Will Watson QB 6-0, 170 Sr.9 Dani Mambobo OL/DL 6-1, 210 Sr.10 Jabari Pompey WR/DB 5-9, 155 Sr.11 Jeremiah Guilford-Mann QB 5-10, 165 Fr.12 Shaw Powell WR/RB/DB 5-6, 150 Jr.15 Greg Pulliam OL/LB/QB 5-10, 160 Jr.16 Ben Copeland RB/SS 5-10, 160 Jr.20 Ashton Norwood FB/LB 5-10, 195 Jr.22 Chris Brownlee TE/DB 5-11, 180 So.32 Brigh Wiggins OL/DL 6-2, 175 Jr.45 Nolan Huber TE/DL/OL 6-0, 215 Sr.52 Michael Brock OL/DL 6-3, 240 Sr.56 Austin Weiss OL/DL 5-7, 185 Jr.58 Chandler Worthen OL/DL 5-10, 190 Sr.62 Evan Dudley OL/DL 6-2, 190 Sr.64 Joseph Biggers OL/DL 5-6, 240 Fr.70 David Kissinger OL/DL 6-6, 225 Sr.74 Darius McNear OL/DL 6-6, 225 Jr.82 Swade Hutchinson WR/DB 6-1, 170 Jr.Head Coach: Robert Edwards (2nd season, 7-4 overall)Asssistants: Demetrius Douglas, Demetro Stephens, Lance Pepin, Rod Perrymond

obert Edwards was never an athletewho needed to be shown the exactpath where to run on the footballfield. That just came naturally as astandout both at Georgia and even-

tually in the NFL. But after going through his share of

twists and turns as a first-time coach in2010, Edwards has finally been able to relymore on his instincts while stepping intoyear two as head coach of ArlingtonChristian’s program.

The Eagles come off the program’s thirdconsecutive state playoff season, havingqualified for the postseason in all but itsfirst year of play in 2007. Steady progress in2010 came in the form of — what else? — ahigh powered Arlington offense that scored40 or more points in all but one of its sevenvictories.

An even better sign of things to come,though, was having most of that unitreturning from a year ago, includingArlington’s entire offensive line.

“We only lose four seniors, so I’m think-ing we should be in better shape on theoffensive side than we were last year,”Edwards said during a preseason 7-on-7camp at The Heritage School. “Really, we’relooking for good things both this year andnext year.”

First things, first. Edwards probablywon’t need to skip ahead too far whenanticipating big things for his team. It’smeant replacing some key players includingrunning back Charod Strickland, who will

walk on at Georgia Southern. Over thesummer, however, Arlington welcomed sev-eral new faces to the lineup as weapons togo with returning senior quarterback WillWatson. Newnan student Ben Copeland, ajunior, is among them in the backfield.

“I am counting on the seniors to lead usthis year,” said Edwards, whose teamblanked Griffin Christian 19-0 in its presea-son scrimmage.

Watson will again have three talentedlinemen centering the offensive front.Junior Greg Pulliam (5-10, 190) is an all-around talent at center and linebacker. Heeven managed to get in reps at quarterbackover the summer.

Senior Michael Brock, at 6-3, 240 poundsalso started last year, with another upper-classman, Dani Mambobo (6-1, 240), return-ing at guard. Junior Darius McNear hasgrown tremendously both in size and skilland the 6-6, 225 lineman was running passroutes at Heritage this summer with preci-sion.

McNear will be as much a force on thedefensive line. Seniors Chandler Worthenand Evan Dudley hope to add depth upfront to allow a rotation on both sides ofthe ball.

Transfer Lonnie Perryman arrives fromLangston-Hughes as one of the new faces,and the 5-10, 220-pound junior will playfullback and linebacker. Juniors AntonioWilliams and Ashton Norwood are the twoother new faces in the backfield to go withreturning scat-back Shaw Powell (5-6, 150).

Senior Kalon Baker expects to be one ofthe team’s deep threats again at widereceiver.

THE 2011 ARLINGTON CHRISTIAN EAGLES

Photo by Bob FraleyArlington Christian returns most of its skillposition players this season.

22001111 SSCCHHEEDDUULLEE Friday Mount Vernon Sept. 2 At Dawson StreetSept. 9 At Trinity ChristianSept. 16 Windsor AcademySept. 23 At Brookwood SchoolOct. 7 Southwest GeorgiaOct. 14 At Flint River AcademyOct. 21 At ValwoodOct. 28 Crown AcademyNov. 4 Heritage School

22001100 RREESSUULLTTSSAt Mount Venon L 27-14Dawson Street W 46-14Holy Spirit Prep W 41-14At Windsor Academy W 40-21Brookwood School W 47-17At Southwest Georgia L 26-18Flint River Academy W 21-14Valwood School L 23-22At Harvester Christian W 67-21At Heritage School W 63-35At Edmund Burke Aca. L 35-16

Page 12: 2011 Football Section

hris Hanson’s leftleg still has plenty oflife in it. Give himsome open spaceand a football and

the one-time Pro Bowl puntercould easily show you why hestill is capable of performing inthe NFL.

But as so many veteran play-ers come to learn, leaving thegame doesn’t always come onone’s own terms.

Instead, another uniqueopportunity awaited the 34-year-old Coweta Countynative, one he never quiteexpected.

As a first-time varsity headfootball coach at TrinityChristian, teaching the gamehas been just as rewarding asplaying it professionally inwhat is as much a debut in 2011for the Lions’ young program.

Trinity officially completedthe jump from 8-man footballto play in the GeorgiaIndependent SchoolsAssociation with last Friday’sseason opener against FlintRiver.

“In my heart, I know I canstill play at the highest level,”Hanson said prior to lastweek’s season opener. “But Ialso know God has a plan forall of us. And I think right nowit’s to be here, with my family,coaching these kids. And I’menjoying every minute of it sofar.”

What first led to a part-timeposition under his former highschool coach Danny Cronic atThe Heritage School blos-somed into a passion that kepthim close to the game and,more importantly, to youngathletes in the same positionhe was in the mid 1990s.

“Because I had been aroundso many different coaches. I'veseen how they've affectedmen's lives,” he said, upon tak-ing the new job. “It's all aboutcreating relationships."

After finishing the year withHeritage under Cronic,Hanson saw an opening atcross-town Trinity when hisformer coach grabbed aunique opportunity to start acollege football program atReinhardt.

In Hanson’s mind, it was justanother part of a divine plan.

“I never set out to become acoach. This was just some-thing that kept me busy while Iwas waiting for another oppor-tunity,” he said. “But it’s turnedout to be a whole lot more. Tobe able to work with these kidsand be at home with my fami-ly, it truly has been a blessing.”

Coming off a perfect 13-0season and a state title in theIndependent Christian Schools

of Georgia and Alabama,Trinity high school principalMatt Schock, the Lions’ headcoach the past two seasons,feels he’s left the program ingood hands.

“When we hired [defensivecoordinator] J.P. [Weaver], Iknew we were set with ourstaff,” Schock said.

A proud new father of ababy girl this month, Schockwas all smiles watching theteam from beyond the side-lines during both its preseasonscrimmage and Friday’s seasonopener at home.

The earliest results, so far,have resulted in disappoint-ment. It was enough to providewhat at least one assistantagreed was a “wake-up call” tothe Lions following lastFriday’s 28-6 humbling loss toa well-established GISA pro-gram in Flint River Academy.

The promising news is thatmost of Schock’s staff from last

year’s perfect season are backto join Hanson and Weaver,who worked together underCronic last year at TheHeritage School. Offensivecoordinator Tony Clark andassistants Ryan McCoy, MikeStearley, Mark Bryan and SteveIrwin have helped provide asmooth transition.

The lineup, meanwhile, is asmuch a similar mix of newfaces and top returners fromlast season’s ICSGA statechampions.

Several new faces, led bysophomore quarterback DanielShoates and receiver JonathanBonner, add to Trinity’s poten-tial explosiveness on offensewith returning sophomorerunning back DonterriousSnelling.

But, for now, the growingpains have yielded two offen-sive touchdowns in eight quar-ters of play, both coming in theteam’s preseason scrimmage.

Hanson has been relentlessin preaching team play duringhis first seven months on thejob. His philosophy has beenunyielding, enough so that hehas shied from — as politelyand genuinely as possible,mind you — addressing theachievements of individualplayers for now.

It may be as much a productof his former coaches’ influ-ence at both the pro and highschool levels.

Most of the time when see-ing a “reporter” now on cam-pus, Hanson smiles andrepeats eight words that havemade up most of his“Coachspeak” this preseason.

“We’re working hard, justtrying to get better,” he said.

Last Friday’s loss may nothave been as much a step back,but a step into reality for Lionsplayers. Most are playing atleast two and as many as fivepositions, many unselfishly.

Senior Adam Downs, lastyear’s starting quarterback,heads that list. After helpinglead Trinity to a state title, thestaff felt he could be a biggerasset at tight end and on thedefensive line, which wasarguably the best unit on thefield for Trinity’s first twogames.

Downs caught a 5-yard passon the team’s first play of theseason.

“It just goes to show youwhat kind of player he is,” saidWeaver. “We need him there. Ifeel like we did some great

things [in the scrimmage].Which is why it leads me tobelieve we’re going to getthere soon.”

Shoates, who arrives fromSandy Creek’s back-to-backstate championship programas a transfer, showcased hispotential in the preseasonscrimmage, enough to sup-plant Downs as the team’sstarter.

Snelling joins sophomoreAuggie Pettit and juniorLandon Comeans as the team’sleading rushers heading intothe season. Snelling was theteam’s offensive sparkplugthroughout last season andcontinues to quickly emerge asboth a top threat as a runnerand receiver out of the back-field.

“He can be a leader throughwhat he does on the field onoffense and defense,” Weaversaid of Snelling. “He’s the typeof player you want to try andlead your program.”

Pettit had the most successlast week, making up most ofhis 70-plus rushing yards onTrinity’s final possession.

Newcomer Jonathan Bonner,a junior, adds another immedi-ate weapon, filling a big holeleft by last year’s top receiver,John Hogan. Bonner showedhis potential by scoring

4C — The Times-Herald — Wednesday, August 24, 2011

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THE 2011 TRINITY CHRISTIAN LIONS

1 Donterrious Snelling RB/DB So.2 Christian Stearley FB/DE So.4 Connor Adams RB/LB Jr.5 Adam Downs QB/DE/S/K/P Sr.6 Jacob Pape T/DE/LB Jr.7 Devin Colburn RB/DB Fr.8 Daniel Shoates QB/S So.9 Quantez Mott G/FB/LB/DE Jr.10 Christian Downs WR/S Fr.11 Jonathan Bonner WR/S/DB Jr.12 Joe Hogan WR/DE So.22 Caleb Hess RB/CB Fr.23 David Ito RB/CB Fr.24 Cody Houser WR/CB/S/K/P Jr.28 Gavin Smith RB/LB Fr.35 Luke Murray G/T/DE Jr.38 Auggie Pettit FB/LB So.42 Landon Comeans RB/LB Jr.43 Rodney Neely Jr. FB/LB/DE So.44 Aaron Johnson WR/S Jr.45 Robby Blanchard G/LB/DE Fr.51 Logan Maloy G/T/DE/DT Jr.55 Aaron Anderson G/LB/DT Sr.56 Mark Collier G/LB Jr.60 Cole Barnes C/DT Jr.68 Byron Gilliam G/DL Jr.75 Christian Salvenera C/DL So.76 Brandon Ganey T/DL Jr.77 Michael Henderson T/DL Jr.78 Josh White G/DL Sr.Head Coach: Chris Hanson (1st year)Assistants: Tony Clark (Offensive Coordinator), J.P. Weaver (DefensiveCoordinator), Ryan McCoy (Line Coach), Mike Stearley, Mark Bryan, SteveIrwin, Jared Bidne (Strength and Conditioning).See TRINITY, page 5C

First year Trinity Christianhead coach Chris Hansontakes over a brand newGISA football program asthe Lions move from theirdominance among 8-manfootball.

2011 ScheduleAug. 19 Flint River L28-6Sept. 2 At Heritage

SchoolSept. 9 Arlington ChristianSept. 16 At Mount de Sales*Sept. 23 Stratford Academy*Sept. 30 Tattnall Square*Oct. 14 John Milledge

Academy*Oct. 21 Griffin Christian*Oct. 28 Mount VernonPresbyterian**Region 2-AAA game

Page 13: 2011 Football Section

t doesn’t matter whatleague of high schoolfootball you’re a fan of.If you’re a head coach,the challenges that come

with creating chemistry from anew group of faces each yearare always daunting.

Rare, if ever, do coachesmaintain the same faces in uni-form collectively on a season-by-season basis. Finding eightplayers in a game that usuallyrequires 11 doesn’t seem likemuch of a chore to an outsider.

Yet depth remains an asset onany of the three high schoolfootball fields in Sharpsburgthese days, whether you’re atthe big school on Highway 154,are with the folks who used torule the 8-man league of theIndependent Christian Schoolsof Georgia and Alabama, or atHeritage Christian — which isbeginning to take the same roadtoward bigger successes a fewmiles away.

After several years of acrosstown 8-man rivalry in theISCGA, the Crusaders are ontheir own locally in the ICSGA’s8-man league, with TrinityChristian having made the jumpto 11-man football in the GISA.

Just as Trinity’s numbers andsuccess grew into an ICSGAstate title last season, HeritageChristian has quietly mademajor steps of its own aftermaking the league playoffs in2010.

A look between last year’slineup and the Crusaders’ line-up for 2011 and a majority ofnames remain, the team havinglost just two seniors to gradua-tion.

More importantly, though, forsecond year head coach AlWilliams — a staff member formost of the program’s short

existence — he is beginning tosee the heights and weights ofreturning players spike in size,in addition to growth in num-bers.

A solid summer in the weightroom may do wonders for aHeritage Christian programthat was peaking at year’s end,enough to get into the ICSGAplayoffs and make some noisein a first-round state playoffgame that went to halftime tied.

“We’ve got a lot more twohundred-pounders this year,which is good,” Williams said.“It’s always a challenge. You’realways going to have five or sixdifferent kids than last year.Most of our guys are going tohave to play both ways.”

There’s been more additionsthan subtractions, though, for2011. In addition to a roster of 21players, five more than last year,Williams added the help of sci-ence teacher Rob Caney, whoplayed football at New MexicoState, to go along with returningoffensive and defensive coordi-nators Kelsey Holt and PaulFrantz.

“We really ended on a goodnote last year,” Williams said.“We made it into the playoffs.Our coaches are all back and weonly lost two seniors from lastyear’s team.”

Of this year’s upperclassmen,starting running back and line-backer Noah Parkerson (6-3,235) brings plenty of potentialto lead the Crusaders both onand off the field. The bruisingrunner and tackler has bulkedup 20 extra pounds from wherehe was a year ago and will bethe centerpiece of the defensiveunit.

The program went from hav-ing just three players over 200pounds last year to at least 10

heading into Friday’s seasonopener at home againstCommunity Christian. Williamsattributed the offseason, whichincluded workouts at SonriseBaptist Church’s weight facility,among the reasons for theimprovement.

On offense, junior quarter-back Dutch Williams (5-10, 150)came along nicely in his firstyear as a starter in 2010, withHolt able to open the playbookmore as the season progressed.

“We’ve gone to more of atriple-option the last couple ofyears,” said Williams of Holt’sbackground as a former playerat Union College in Kentucky.“But we’re starting to expandon it more and more and dosome different things with ourreceivers. [Dutch] is starting tograsp more and more.”

With the ICSGA 8-manleague looking much the samein the North Region minus thedeparture of Trinity, opponentswill most likely be centeringtheir focus on Parkerson andWilliams, both of whom expectto be leading the way in thehuddles.

“Noah’s kind of my captainon defense and Dutch is mycaptain on offense,” Williamssaid.

Austin Reaves, a junior bas-ketball and baseball player,moves from guard to end withhopes of using his 6-2, 180-pound frame as a top target.Also in the backfield will besophomore fullback J.D. Farlow(6-1, 205), junior Darius Ervin(5-10, 210) and senior PaulFrantz (5-10, 185), who is a topreturner at defensive end.

Heritage Christian has had afew injuries in the preseason,including a deep bone bruise to

newcomer Austin Stover, pro-jected to contribute at runningback and safety.

“We’ve got two or three guysright now that we probablywon’t have until midseason,” hesaid.

Among a trio of Parkersonbrothers, Christian, a sopho-more, is back after starting atcenter. Guards Colt Crouch andTyler Smith also played theposition a year ago and arejoined by senior Hunter Reaves(5-10, 215) and sophomore JeraldDwveall.

Junior Gordon Smith joinsChristian Parkerson, Franz,Ervin and sophomore TrevorMann among defensive linemenwith freshman Jesse Parkerson.

The linebackers could be theCrusaders’ strongest unit, ledby Noah Parkerson andWilliams. Reeves, seniorWestley Christian and sopho-more Caleb Plowman are alsoplaying the position, whileeighth-grader Jared Farlow getshis first varsity action this year.

Trinity’s only touchdown lastweek on a highlight-reel wor-thy kickoff return.

The Lions’ biggest losses onoffense came on the offensiveline, losing five seniors to grad-uation. Most of the early playfrom the incoming group hasbeen hit and miss so far, withsenior Aaron Anderson andsophomore Christian Salveneraamong just a few returners thatgot playing time last year.

Trinity also took an early hitat the position due to seniorMark Collier’s ankle injury. Thesenior guard expects to be outat least a month.

The potential for a cohesiveunit is already in place, howev-er. Junior Cole Barnes hasstepped into the center posi-tion and newcomers BrandonGaney and Michael “Big Mike”Henderson are two sizeableassets at the tackle spots.Senior Aaron Anderson,Salvenera and defensive stand-out Byron Gilliam are amongthose working at the guards.

Gilliam and Downs are sta-ples on the defensive front,which goes from a 3-man lookin the ICSGA last year to a 4-man front this year. JuniorQuantez Mott has been at theother defensive end withDowns for the past two weeks,while Gilliam has started atdefenisve tackle with Salveneraand Henderson rotating in.

The loss of Collier to injurymoves Anderson into a startingrole at middle linebacker.Connor Adams is beinggroomed into a starting rolewith Comeans, Pettit and GavinSmith at the position.

Bonner and Snelling man thesafety postions while JoeHogan, Cody Houser and DavidIto have been rotating amongthe cornerback positions.

Houser, who won Trinity’sfirst-ever Ironman competitionin the preseason, may havemade his head coach proudwith his prowess on punts lastweek. The junior fielded morethan one rolling snap and gotoff high, clean kicks each time.

Wednesday, August 24, 2011 — The Times-Herald — 5C

HeritageChristian School

“Distinctively Christian...Distinctively Different”

Tradition......Excellence...Character......Experience...Opportunity...

Our way of educatingsince 1965

3613 Hwy. 34 East Sharpsburg, GA 30277Phone: 770-252-1234 / 770-252-9298

www.heritagechristianschool.cc

TRINITYContinued from page C4

NNeeww ffaacceess oonn ooffffeennssiivvee lliinnee tthhiiss yyeeaarr

Photo by Bob FraleyTrinity senior Adam Downs’ selfless play as a starting defensivelineman expects to pay dividends this year. Downs goes from quar-terback to playing both on defense and as a receiver.

No. Name Pos. Ht/Wt. Yr.10 Gordon Smith TE/DE 6-0, 165 Jr.12 Caleb Plowman TE/LB 5-9, 150 So.15 Jesse Parkerson C/DL 5-9, 200 Fr.17 Paul Frantz RB/DE 5-10, 185 Sr.18 Tyler Smith QB/G 6-3, 235 Jr.20 Austin Stover RB/S 5-8, 165 Fr.22 Westley Christian LB 5-8, 140 Sr.27 Darius Ervin RB/DE 5-10, 210 Jr.30 Dutch Williams QB/LB 5-10, 150 Jr.42 Christian Parkerson C/DL 6-0, 205 So.44 Noah Parkerson RB/LB 6-3, 235 Sr.45 J.D. Farlow RB/LB 6-1, 205 So.50 Austin Reaves TE/LB 6-2, 180 Jr.55 Conner Haydon TE/G 6-1, 200 Fr.60 Colt Crouch G/TE 5-9, 205 So.66 Trevor Mann TE/DE 6-4, 190 So.71 Jeremiah Winkley T 6-0, 160 So.74 Hunter Reaves G 5-10, 215 Sr.80 Jared Farlow LB 5-7, 135 8th80 Jerald Dewveall G 6-1, 265 So.82 William Christenson S 5-10, 160 Jr.Head coach: Al Williams (2nd year)Assistants: Paul Frantz (Defensive coordinator), Kelsey Holt (offensivecoordinator), Rob Caney, Joey Farlow (Special Teams)

Photo by Bob FraleyHeritage Christian head coach Al Williams and his staff have more size in the Crusader lineup in 2011.

2011 SCHEDULEFriday CCommunity Christian*Sept. 2 At North Georgia Christian*Sept. 9 At Praise Academy*Sept. 16 Harvester ChristianSept. 23 At Ga.-Ala. Christian SchoolSept. 30 Grace BaptistOct. 7 Colonial ChristianOct. 14 At Faith Christian

Academy*Oct. 28 Ballard (Ala.) Christian* ISCGA North Region game

Page 14: 2011 Football Section

To be the best football teamin Region 5-A these days is noeasy task. A predominantlyyoung Landmark Christianteam found that out the hardway in 2010.

A fifth consecutive six-winseason, be it with an influx ofyouth in one of Class A’s deep-est divisions for talent, was “aninch away” from what headcoach Kenny Dallas felt couldhave been a 9-1 mark andanother potential state playoffberth.

But between the group of 13senior players and another 10that started as either freshmenor sophomores, Landmark’slineup might be primed tomake its deepeststate playoff runsince reaching thestate quarterfinalsduring Dallas’ sec-ond season with theprogram in 2003.

“I’m excited about the quali-ty of the group that we’ve gotcoming back,” said Dallas, whoin 10 previous seasons at theFairburn school has yet to haveone of his teams finish with arecord below .500. “We’ve gotmore depth than we’ve had inthe last couple of years. In sin-gle A that’s not always thecase. There are so many fac-tors involved. You’re alwayswondering not just about thenumber of players but if youhave enough depth to havebackups.”

This year’s seniors, whowere the first group to winLandmark’s current middleschool league’s championshipas eighth-graders, have alsorealized in order to be the bossof Region 5-A they have to bethe BOSS.

“One of our eighth-gradersthat year, Donald Payne, losthis father that year and it reallybrought that group together,”said Dallas, whose teams are76-38 during his 10 years ashead coach. “They put togeth-er a theme this year they callBOSS, which stands for‘Brothers Obtaining SpiritualStrength.’”

In addition to returningupperclassmen, highlighted bythe rise of Cantrell Frazier tothe team’s projected startingquarterback, the War Eagleshave added two new seniorfaces to the lineup. The hope isthat a strong nucleus of leader-ship along with the returningcrops of young starters willpay dividends in 2011 with areturn to the state playoffsafter a year’s absence.

Last year, 5-A schools dottedstate rankings led by Eagle’sLanding Christian’s surge to a aregion title with an unbeatenrecord before eventually fallingin the state quarterfinals.

“At the end of the day, welook at Proverbs 27:17, ‘as ironsharpens iron,’” he said. “Thisregion gives you a chance tofind out who you really are.We look at it as a challenge.”

Finishing third in 5-A’s Southsubdivision, the War Eagles satat the doorstep for postseasonplay heading into its regionplay-in game against PaceAcademy. Landmark took a 21-0 lead behind senior quarter-back and Samford signeeCarson Barnett at halftimebefore unraveling in the sec-ond half.

“We blew leads in a coupleof big ballgames last year and Ifeel we were an inch awayfrom having a 9-1 year with avery young team,” Dallas said.“When you factor all the play-ers that are coming back, it’s

an exciting time for us.We had a pretty good off-

season. We have somebig losses, especially

Carson, but we thinkthere’s still a lot of

potential at thosepositions.”

Frazier provides excitingpossibilities after leading the

team at receiver with juniorJosh Nobles in 2010. While the6-2 Barnett gave Landmark apocket presence behind centerlast season, Frazier has com-pleted a long road back from a“terrible” injury as an eighth-grader where he tore twomajor knee ligaments and suf-fered a broken patella.

“He pretty much missed hisentire ninth and 10th gradeseasons coming back from it, “Dallas said. “Last year wasreally his first year of highschool and he was All-State.He’s just a very special ath-lete.”

Frazier will benefit from allfive starters returning on theoffensive line. They includemassive junior Jon Paul Reed,at 6-5, 310 pounds, and guardsDonald Payne (5-11, 180) andBen Patterson (6-1, 190).

Another of thosereturners, juniorBrooks Austin, hopesto fill a vacancy atnose guard defen-sively left by gradu-ate Chris Johnson,

now a freshman at WestGeorgia.

Sophomore JeremiahKirkland (5-01, 170), a formerslot receiver, moves back into arole as starting tailback, withseniors Cole Anderson andJames Roberson returning toshare fullback duties whileeach is also scheduled to playlinebacker.

Along with Nobles, who ledthe team in receptions,Landmark adds soccer stand-out Garrison Adams, one of apair of new senior faces thisseason, at the receiver spot.

“He’s the type of player thatcan instantly help you as a sen-ior,” Dallas said. “It’s rare to getsomeone like that who hasn’tbeen playing football.”

Defensively, junior ReedMcGuire (6-4, 210) has sizeand skill that the coach expectswill eventually attract DivisionI scouts before his varsitycareer ends. Senior BrandonHernandez (5-10, 180) is “anoutstanding defensive end,”said Dallas. “I’m looking for-ward to watching them playtogether.”

The returning linebackerson the inside include seniorChase McFarlin (5-10, 180) andWilliam Higbie (6-1, 190), wholed the War Eagles in tackles asa freshman. Senior C.J.McWilliams returns at outsidebacker and will be joined byformer safety Reed Sewell (5-10, 170).

At cornerback, Paynereturns for his senior seasonand third as a starter. “He may

be the best cover corner we’veever had,” said Dallas.

Ben Patterson and EthanSewell both vie for the othercorner spot.

At safety, Frazier can also startand the Landmark head coach islooking toward junior ColeHigby, a standout baseball player,to also emerge after sitting outlast year’s football season.

Dallas feels with 16 returningstarters, including nine onoffense, last year’s near-misseswill be valuable in motivatingthis year’s lineup.

“The kids understand thatthere’s a fine line betweenwinning and losing. It’s a goodthing for them to understand.You have to play like you prac-tice,” he said. “Friday night isno different than Monday toThursday.”

6C — The Times-Herald — Wednesday, August 24, 2011

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Luella football coach NicVasilchek might have said itbest last year when he calledRegion 2-AAAAA the “SEC ofGeorgia High School football.”

Vasilchek was referring tojust how tough the league hasbecome with its collection ofperennial playoff powers andDivision I college prospects,including both Newnan andEast Coweta.

“When you have to faceteams like Stephenson, M.L.King, East Coweta andNewnan every week, youknow you better be ready,”Vasilechek said.

All four of those teamsmade the playoffs last year andare again expected to contendfor the postseason spots n2011.

East Coweta coach ClintWade also knows how tough itis to get ready for Region 2-AAAAA action.

“Stephenson and M.L. Kingare the elite, and you have tothrow Newnan in there,”Wade said. “Mike (McDonald)does a great job, and he’s gotsome great athletes overthere.”

However the cream of thecrop among Region 2-AAAAAfoes belongs to two DeKalbCounty schools, Stephensonand M.L. King.

In a recent vote by Region 2-AAAAA coaches and media,M.L. King and Stephensonwere picked to finish in thetop two spots in the league.

It could be continuation ofwhat happened last seasonwhen those two teams foughtit out for the region title.

M.L. King garnered six first-place votes, while Stephensonhad four first-place votes. EastCoweta was picked third andNewnan fourth in this year’scoaches/media voting.

Both squads finished with a6-1 league record a year ago,with M.L. King (8-4 overall)claiming the title with a 26-24win over Stephenson (9-2) and

winning in a tiebreaker.Although Newnan has the

personnel to fight it out for aregion title, McDonald knowsthere is nothing guaranteedwhen it comes to winning inRegion 2-AAAAA.

“It’s tough,” McDonald said.“There is no doubt about it.Everybodyplays suchgreat defensein thisregion.”

Stephensonleads the waywith sevenSEC commit-ments, twoplayers hop-ing to signwith ACCschools and one with a BigEast program.

Those numbers should beenough to make Stephensonnot just one of the teams tobeat in the region, but also oneof the top teams in the state.

Still, Stephneson headcoach Ronald Gartrell knowsnothing in this league is guar-anteed.

“We’re pretty good on paper.But I tell our guys all year, youcan’t win games on paper,”Gartrell said.

Newnan (7-5 overall ) andEast Coweta (7-4 overall), ofcourse, have a rich footballhistory on their side.

The Cougars are tryingrecapture the recent glory that

included winning four-straightregion titles until the streakended last year.

To do so, they will have fillsome slots with some first-time starters.

East Coweta has been to theplayoffs 14 straight years, whileNewnan has been to the post-season eight consecutiveyears.

The Indians 32 seniors onthis rosters, so that experiencecould carry them along way.

Region 2-AAAAA hasturned into a hotbed for col-lege recruiting. Seven of theeight schools have players list-ed as college prospects, withStephenson leading the waywith many as 13 NCAADivision I prospects.

East Coweta and Newnanalso have plenty of playersentered in the college footballsweepstakes.

The rest of theleague spent alot of timelooking up atM.L. King,Stephenson,Newnan andEast Cowetaduring the2010 season,but Wadepredicts last

year’s bottomtier teamx will be better.

“You are going to see a lot ofimprovement,” he said. “Thereare just good players and goodcoaching.”

Newton just missed out onthe playoffs, finishing onegame behind East Coweta inthe league standings with a 3-4record. The Rams did pull offlan upset last season with a 35-32 victory over Newnan, andcould be one of the teams toget an eye on.

Westlake (2-5), Luella (1-6)and Langston Hughes (1-6) fin-ished in the final three spots ofthe Region 2-AAAAA stand-ings and are expected finishnear the bottom of the regionagain.

(2010 record in parenthesis)1. Stephenson (9-2, 6-1) - Most balance, addition of T.J. Moon to Florida commitment Mike Davis givesJaguars a lethal pair of rushers.2. M.L. King (8-4, 6-1) - If defense doesn’t improve, could again falter at finish despite outstanding passgame.3. Newnan (7-5, 5-2) - 8 game win streak over ECHS gives them slight edge right now after big two.4. East Coweta (7-4, 4-3) - Will have another chance to break string of 7-4 seasons with 32 seniors.5. Newton (6-4, 3-4) - Experienced defensive line should keep Rams dangerous6. Luella (3-7, 1-6) – Will catch somebody napping this year with 10 returners on offense, tweaks inscheme.7. Westlake (3-7, 2-5) - Should be much improved following lapses last fall8. Langston Hughes (2-8, 1-6) - Playing lots of freshman in region dominated by seniors

REGION 2-AAAAACOACHES/MEDIA POLL

(Number of first placevotes in parenthesis)

Votes based on 8 points for first placeand 7 for second in decending order

M.L. King (6) 82Stephenson (4) 79East Coweta 59Newnan 55Newton 42Luella (1) 34Westlake 27Chapel Hill 18

“We’re prettygood on paper. ButI tell our guys allyear, you can’t wingames on paper.”

No. Name Pos. Yr.1 Donald Payne DB/WR Sr.2 Nolan Bryant WR/LB So.3 Cantrell Frazier DB/QB Sr.4 Darius Smith DB/RB Fr.5 Josh Nobles WR/DB Jr.6 Ben Baggett QB/DB Fr.7 Will Martin QB/DB Jr.8 Sterling Dixon WR/DL Fr.9 Caleb Greer DB/WR Fr.10 Garrison Adams WR/DB Sr.11 Reed Sewell OLB Sr.12 Evan Price QB/LB Fr.15 Reid Kemp QB/LB Jr.17 Cole Higbie DB/WR Jr.18 Aaron Burtz DB/RB Fr.20 Gerald Davis RB Jr.22 Jeremiah Kirkland RB/DB So.25 Ben Patterson DB Jr.28 Cole Anderson FB/LB Sr.32 Ethan Sewell RB/DB Jr.33 Will Yancey DL/TE Fr.34 James Roberson RB Sr.43 Chase McFarlin LB/FB Sr.45 Jacob Cobb OLB/ILB Jr.47 William Higbie ILB/WR So.48 CJ McWilliams OLB Sr.50 Deion Hill DL/FB So.51 Titus Creamer LB/OL Fr.52 Connor Swords OL/ILB Jr.53 Brandon Larry OL/DL Sr.54 Drew Murrain LB/OL Fr.55 Brandon Hernandez DL Sr.56 Jacob Weirs OL/DL Sr.60 Robert Blackadar OL/DL Sr.62 Josh Apter OL/DL Jr.64 Nolan Cartledge OL/DL Fr.70 Michael Johnson OL/DL So.74 Devon Pruitt OL/DL So.75 Jon Paul Reed OL/DL Jr.77 Austin Brooks OL/DL Jr.86 Joshua Vineyard K Sr.80 Sam Dobbs WR/DB Fr.81 Will Walters TE Jr.91 Reed McGuire DL/TE Jr.

22001111 SScchheedduullee Friday AquinasSept. 2 At Athens ChristianSept. 9 Riverside MilitarySept. 16 At Our Lady of Mercy*Sept. 23 Whitefield Academy*Sept. 30 SW Atlanta Christian*Oct. 14 Eagle’s Landing Chr.* Oct. 21 At First Presbyterian*Oct. 28 At Strong Rock*Nov. 4 Region Play-in game*Region 5-A South game

22001100 RReessuullttssAquinas L 35-17Athens Christian W 24-6Riverside Military W 31-15Our Lady of Mercy* L 42-35Whitefield Academy* W 28-7SW Atlanta Christian* W 54-26At Eagle’s Landing Chr.* L 49-3First Presbyterian* W 23-21Strong Rock Chr.* W 40-0Pace Academy^ L 31-21*Region 5-A South game

Page 15: 2011 Football Section

Head Coach: Clint Wade (Fourth sea-son, 21-12)Starters Returning: Offense 6:Defense 5Offensive Formation: Multiple-IDefensive Formation: 8-Man Front2010 Record: 7-4, 4-3 region (4th),lost to McEachern 31-19 in first roundof Class AAAAA state playoffs.Recent History: 2009 – 7-4; 2008 -7-4; 2007 – 10-2; 2006 – 6-5; 2005 –6-5Preseason Poll: (3rd out of eight)Key Losses: LB Angel Santiago(Times-Herald Defensive Player of theYear),QB Zack Hutcheson (Delta State),OL Nick Girard (All County), CB JarinFowler (All County), S Jared Fowler(All-County), DL Carlton Martin, DLHouston Mills, DL Denzel Simmons.;Judd Hunter (Geneva College), WREddie Morris (Eastern Kentucky)

SENIOR RETURNERS:(2010 STARTERS IN BOLD)

QB: Garrett Schrepfer(6-5, 230), AllenMaramanRB: Josh PennFB: Carl Dann (5-10, 190), WillieHolloway (6-2, 240), Deryas JonesOL: Dwayne “D.J.” Mosely (6-0, 270),Jackson Harrison (5-11, 250),Rashard Stegall (5-11, 230), MitchellMcTier (5-11, 220), Sang Ko, JordanRivers (6-0, 171)TE: Cole Trolinger (6-4, 240)WR: Jamarcus Young (6-0, 170),Lajuwon JohnsonDefenseDL: Holloway, Terrence Farmer,TrolingerLB: Mario Clarke, Marcellus ParrottRover: Terrance BennettS: Michael Collins (6-2, 180), JacquisMillerCB: David Singleton (5-11, 170)

Key returners: RB/CB Dee Godfrey (5-8, 170) Jr., RB/WR Travis Taylor, Sr.;K/P Spencer Smith (6-1, 170), LBEdwin Rivera (5-9, 191) Jr.; LBJaMarcus Godfrey Newcomers: RB Michael Willis, Jr.; DLBilly Ray Brown, Sr., T Zach Harness,Jr., DE Clifton Strong (5-9, 228), Jr.Strengths: Large senior class shouldprovide ample depth; Lots of competi-tion at OL; Solid secondary.Weaknesses: Team needs new facesto emerge at receiver, defensive lineBest athlete: Holloway. Division Ischools have shown tremendousinterest in the senior, who had a benchpress of 400 pounds and a top squatof 510 last spring. He was a statequalifier in the shot put as a junior.Difference maker: Schrepfer. If thetowering senior can play to hisimpressive frame, opposing defenseswill have a tough time.Coach Speak: “Thirty two seniors isthe most I can remember since I’vebeen here. I’m not used to this. Thebiggest thing is getting kids in theright spot.” – Head coach Clint Wade.2010 ResultsAt Chapel Hill W 31-21Vs.Pebblebrook W 13-5At Troup W 34-14Vs. Luella W 21-6At Newton W 20-14Vs. Langston Hughes W 55-13At Westlake W 35-14Vs. Stephenson L 30-19At M.L. King L 30-23Vs. Newnan L 14-12Class AAAAA State PlayoffsAt McEachern L 31-19

2011 ScheduleHome games in boldFriday Chapel HillSept. 2 At PebblebrookSept. 16 TroupSept. 23 At LuellaSept. 30 NewtonOct. 7 At HughesOct. 14 WestlakeOct. 21 At Stephenson (Hallford)Oct. 28 M.L. KingNov. 4 At NewnanComment: Other than the gauntlet pro-vided with the Region 2-AAAAA sched-ule, it’s promising. Two of the team’snon-region games are at home, withits longest trip coming in late Octoberat Stephenson. The toughest threegames are at the back end of theschedule.

OUTLOOKA group of 32 seniors is by far themost since Wade was promoted ashead coach. If most can contribute, theIndians should stay in the playoff huntin Region 2-AAAA. Don’t be surprisedif East Coweta again jumps out to a 7-0 record. But getting a win over thebig three (M.L. King, Stephenson andNewnan) is the breakthrough the pro-gram will need to avoid a possiblefourth straight 7-4 season. Hollowayand Trolinger were both named pre-season All-State players by GeorgiaHigh School Football Magazine.

Colors: Black, Green & GoldHead Coach: Willie Cannon (4-15, 3rdseason)Starters Returning: Offense 9,Defense 7Offensive Formation: Multiple SpreadDefensive Formation: 4-32010 Record: 2-7, 1-6 in region (6th) Recent History: 2009 - 2-7 (playednon-region schedule)Preseason Poll: (8th out of eight)Key Losses: WR Raymond Yarbrough,QB Blaize Schaeffer (6-2, 200)Key Returners: WR Terry Pettis (6-6,220), Sr.; RB D.J. Payne (5-7, 143), Sr.;OL Todd Vaughn (6-2, 220) Sr.; QBJames Boyd (6-1) So; QB KennyMoxie, So. WR Joseph Kearse, WRDevaughn Morton (6-1, 180, So), OLZentevia Delaney (6-1, 215); OLQuanderious Simon, Jr.; OL TrevorArnold (6-1, 225) So.; OL Joshua PaigeSo.Strengths: Three sophomore linemen,part of a large class of 10th graders,are back after starting as ninth

graders. Depth, speed among skillpositions.Weaknesses: Arguably the smallestteam in region. Defense will start threeto four freshmen. Young, unprovenquarterbacks. Lots of improvements tomake for an offense that averaged just14.3 points and also gave up 40.6 pergame.Best Athlete: Pettis may be one of thetop receivers in the region should hispair of sophomore quarterbacks beable to get him the ball.Difference Maker: Payne. Thoughundersized, the hard-working runningback is described by Langston Hughescoaches as “the heart and soul of ourteam.”Coach Speak: “The defense is theyoungest part of our team. We’ll bestarting three or four freshmen. They’llbe a lot of open competition.” – CoachSmith.2010 ResultsAt Osborne W 27-24At Campbell L 35-29 OTVs. Columbia L 34-19At M.L. King L 43-0Vs. Newnan L 56-19At East Coweta L 55-13Vs. Stephenson L 52-13Vs. Luella W 23-21At Newton L 42-6Vs. Westlake L 44-62011 ScheduleHome games in boldFriday OsborneSept. 2 CampbellSept. 10 At Columbia (Hallford)Sept. 23 M.L. KingSept. 30 At NewnanOct. 7 East Coweta (Homecoming)Oct. 14 At Stephenson (Hallford)Oct. 21 At LuellaOct. 28 NewtonNov. 4 At Westlake Comment: The Panthers have achance to gain some early confidencein non-region games against Cobbrivals Osborne and Campbell in addi-tion to a trip to Columbia, havingscored at least 19 points in all threegames last year. They’ll need it. Theyface all four of last year’s state quali-fiers from Region 2-AAAAA in consec-utive games including a homecomingmatchup with East Coweta in Fairburnon Oct. 7.

OUTLOOKLike any new program, patience con-tinues to be key, especially in a talent-ed region. Without an overall advan-tage among depth or size, thePanthers will have to hope that theycan use its speed to stay in ballgames.Moxie and Boyd are competing for thestarting job behind center. Both areunproven sophomores.

Colors: Navy, White and GreyHead Coach: Nic Vasilchek (SecondYear, 3-7 Overall)Starters Returning: Offense 10,Defense 6Offensive Formation: Multi-Pro(Rebel Green coordinator)Defensive Formation: 3-3-5 (JamondSims coordinator)2010 Record: 3-7, 1-6 region (6th)Recent History: 2009 – 4-6; 2008 –7-4; 2007 – 5-5; 2006 - 4-6; 2005 –2-8.Preseason Poll: (6th out of eight)Key Losses: DL Marcus Dallas, KGrant Palmer, LB Chase Scott, RBJarrell Sutton; LB J.T. Howard, OL A.J.Colstock; OL Tafarie Hodge;

RETURNING SENIORS:(2010 STARTERS IN BOLD)

QB: Kameron Hughes (6-3, 190)FB: Delano BrownWR: Reise McDaniel (5-10, 190), JakeBartrum, Jalen McGlottenOL: Orlando Brown (6-0, 230 LG; 3year starter), Daniel Chandler (LT),Jabari Wilder (5-11, 230, RG), JacobRamos (5-10, 190 RT), DylanThompkins (C)TE: Reece PowellDL: Jason Carr (6-3, 190), DelanoBrownCB: Alvin Hill (5-10, 180), GarrettToomer (5-10, 180)MLB Holden Keith (5-10, 180)Key Returners: QB Jared Hendricks(5-11, 180); RB/CB Gabe Smith (5-10, 190); CB Aaron Davis (6-3, 180)Jr; DE Tevin Jones (6-3, 240) Jr.;Newcomers: RB Laquez Freemon, Jr.;ILB Keegan Walker, Jr.; OLB MannyLowery, Jr.; RB/FS Trey Brown, So.; LBSteve Osandu, So.; LB Ryan Callahan,SoStrengths: Experienced offensive lineamong large group of returners on thatside of the ball; Secondary should becenterpiece of defense.Weaknesses: Depth at defensive line,linebacker; Overall size; Lack of adefining victory, winning season foryoung program.Best Athlete: Hill. The Maryland com-mitment is coming off a year where heset a school record with six intercep-tions as an All-Region First Teamselection.Difference Maker: Luella addedoffensive line coach Lewis Kelly, whoplayed six years in the NFL with theVikings and Giants from 2000-06before deciding to get into teaching.He’ll coach the first all-senior unitLuella has had since Vasilchek cameinto the Lions young program in 2006.“We think he’ll be a huge addition for

us,” he said.Coach speak: “We felt like we playeda lot of close games last year. We’relooking to take that next step.” – Headcoach Nic Vasilchek.

2010 ResultsAt Villa Rica L 41-8At Jones County W 26-8Vs. Eagle’s Landing W 36-6At East Coweta L 21-6Vs. Stephenson L 21-0At M.L. King L 26-0Vs. Newnan L 19-7At Langston Hughes L 23-21Vs. Westlake W 7-0Vs. Newton L 28-202011 ScheduleHome games in boldAug. 19 Villa RicaAug. 26 Jones CountySept. 2 At Eagle’s LandingSept. 23 East CowetaSept. 30 At Stephenson (Hallford)Oct. 7 M.L. KingOct. 14 At NewnanOct. 21 Langston HughesOct. 28 At WestlakeNov. 4 At Newton (Sharp)Comments: Luella opened the seasona week early last Friday, but againfaces a three-week layoff next month.Last year, it arguably hurt the Lionsmomentum. After a 2-1 start, Luellalost six of its last seven games, threlast four by 12 points or less.

OUTLOOKVasilchek has a full staff, a large groupof returners and a second summer inthe weight room. It’s one reason whythey garnered the only other first-place vote in the Region 2-AAAAA pre-season poll not given to M.L. King orStephenson. Last year’s split-backveer made Luella one-dimensionaland an easy target for opponents, sooffensive coordinator Rebel Greenexpects to open the playbook more in2011, though sticking to a two-backset.“The option will still be a big part ofwhat we do,” he said. “But we thinkwe have the receivers to try and dosome different things and throw theball more.”Regardless, after keeping things closein 2010, Luella could be the teammost likely to play spoiler should thenew-look offense catch up.

Colors: Maroon and SilverHead Coach: Michael Carson (Secondyear 8-4, Overall: 15-18, three sea-sons)Starters Returning: Offense 4,Defense 3Offensive Formation: Multiple Spread(Kenton Evans coordinator [previouslyat Towers])Defensive Formation: N/A2010 Record: 8-4, 6-1 region (1st);Lost 48-47 to Colquitt in the secondround of the Class AAAAA state play-offs.Recent History: 2009: 10-2; 2008 —8-3; 2007 — 12-1; 2006 — 10-2;2005 — 9-3.Preseason Poll: (1st out of eight)Key Losses: WR Demarco Robinson(Kentucky), FB/LB Kevin Byard (MiddleTennessee St.), Nick Wright (GeorgiaSouthern), LB Patrick Callaway(Delaware) Returning Seniors: (2010 starters inbold)QB: Jonquil Dawson (6-0, 200; 3,612yards passing, 41 TDs – DeKalbCounty records)WR: Blake Tibbs (6-1, 170, 1,053yards receiving, 8 TD)OL: Joshua Outlaw (6-4, 270)DL: Ugo Obata (6-0, 250), CameronMobley (6-0, 260)CB: Alan Carson (5-9, 160)LB: Toronto Thomas (6-1, 200);Carlos Garrett (5-8, 180)Newcomers: RB Andreas Jackson (5-11, 200), WR Demarquis Polite, Jr (6-0, 170), WR Joshua StanfordStrengths: Offensive firepower startswith Dawson at QB. Team won six ofits eight 7-on-7 passing tournamentsthis summer. Addition of transfer run-ning back Andreas Jackson could addbalance.Weaknesses: Other than Thomas,Garrett and Alan Carson, eight starterswill have to be replaced from a unitthat gave up 24 points a game includ-ing the entire defensive front. Noestablished kicker or punter in theevent teams do find a way to stop theLion offense. Offensive line needsrebuilt to protect Dawson.Best athlete: Dawson. Not only did heset county records, but as a junior, theLions quarterback connected on 62-percent of his passes.Difference maker: Jackson, whocomes in from Southwest DeKalb,rushed for 560 yards and eight touch-downs on 8 yards a carry last year.M.L. King did not have a rusher in thetop-25 of its own county in 2010.Coach speak: “We played in eightseven-on-seven tournaments and onlylost two of those. If that’s an indicatorof where we’ll be in September andNovember, that’s pretty much wherewe need to be.” – Head coach MichaelCarson.

2010 ResultsAt South Gwinnett L 44-41At Collins Hill W 43-36At Westlake W 42-28Vs. Langston Hughes W 43-0Vs. Valdosta L 43-28Vs. Luella W 26-0At Newton W 35-24Vs. Newnan L 35-34Vs. East Coweta W 30-23At Stephenson W 26-24State PlayoffsVs. Harrison W 25-17Vs. Colquitt County L 48-472011 ScheduleHome games in boldSept. 1 South Gwinnett (Hallford)Sept. 9 Collins Hill (Hallford)Sept. 16 Westlake (Hallford)Sept. 23 At Langston HughesSept. 30 At ValdostaOct. 7 At LuellaOct. 14 Newton (Panthersville)Oct. 21 At NewnanOct. 28 At East CowetaNov. 4 Stephenson (Hallford)Comment: Swapping last year’sschedule forces M.L. King to make along trip to Valdosta in 2011, as wellas consecutive trips to Coweta Countyin October. The final six games won’tleave much room for error.

OUTLOOKOn paper, teams might expect much ofthe same from the Lions this year.Opponents will have to find a way tooutscore a lethal passing attack thatadded Jackson, a transfer fromSouthwest DeKalb in the offseasonwith hopes of strengthening the run-ning game. The team has used asmany as six receivers in offensiveschemes.But the team is under its seconddefensive coordinator in as many sea-sons after Gary Wansley was hired atnearby Clarkson. All but four gameslast year were decided by 10 points orless, including M.L. King’s final sixgame of the season and two by amissed extra-point. Finding a kickercould be the difference between asecond straight Region 2-AAAAA titleor regressing. Otherwise, it’s literally

hit or miss for the Lions.Colors: Navy and Gold Head Coach: Mike McDonald (3rdseason, 13-1; Overall 39-21, five sea-sons)Starters Returning: Offense 2,Defense 6Offensive Formation: Multiple Spread(Coordinator: Kenny Morris)Defensive Formation: 3-5 (Co-coordi-nators: Jeff Bryant, LaVarrett Pearson)2010 Record: 7-5, 5-2 region (3rd) Recent History: 2009: 13-1; 2008 –13-1; 2007 – 11-2; 2006 – 7-4; 2005– 4-7.Preseason Poll (4th out of eight)Key losses: QB Lendell Arnold (Lenoir-Rhyne) RB Christopher Robinson(Lenoir-Rhyne), LT Chris Beno(Shorter), OL Alex Farmer (SienaHeights), OL Ron Wroble (Samford) ,OLSpencer Whitehead (West Georgia), OLOntarion Brewer, TE Hakeem Wynn,WR Shaq Warner, DL O.D. Pittman, DLJ.R. Cameron, LB Trevor Tanner, LBDenzel Smith, CB Rod Chaney; LBAlberry Melson (Virginia Union)Returning Seniors (2010 Starters inbold)QB: Nick Smith (6-2, 180)RB: Bryant Ball (6-0, 190), MauriceWhite (6-0, 220)WR: Jalen Bolton (5-10, 170, 216rec); Cody Darracott (5-8, 170 243yards rec.), Semaj Allen (6-1, 171)OL: Jamal Carlyle (6-2, 280); BrockDorman (6-0, 220); G BrandonMeacham(5-10, 235); Aundre Morgan(6-0, 230), Mason Brantley (6-2, 233),Tyre Bridges; Kenny Johnson (6-0,250)TE: Nick Cameron (6-0, 190)DL: DE Aundre Morgan (6-0, 230), NGJames Primm (6-0, 230), DE NickWood (6-1, 210); DE Diamond Leslie;NG Durrell JohnsonLB: Maurice White (6-0, 220), DenzelCameron, Ball, Nick Cameron, DormanCB: Antonio Benton (6-0, 170), DeionPoythress (5-9, 170)K/P: Patrick McAlpin (6-1, 180)KR: DarracottKey Returners: S Tray Matthews, Jr.Newcomers: RB J.K. Britt, Fr.; RBQuinton Dix, Jr., QB Bryant Bailey, Fr.;LB Tay Kemp, Jr., LB ReggieHightower, Jr., OL Jay Russell, So., QBDiamond Jones, So., OL DavidRaschenStrengths: Defensive secondary, topreceivers return; Large nucleus of sen-iors defensive line.Weaknesses: Overall inexperienceheading into season at key positions.Entire O-line has to be rebuilt fromscratch for second time in three yearsand may not have the overall size of2010. New quarterback and younggroup of unproven backs on offense.Depth needs restocked at linebackerwith Ball, Nick Cameron playing bothways.Best Athlete: Georgia head coachMark Richt’s scholarship offer toMatthews may have only confirmedthe junior’s abilities to step into bigshoes left by former and future team-mate Alec Ogletree at safety. He maybe a step ahead of Ogletree’s pace at

this time of his career.Difference maker: Smith. The next ina long line of promising Newnan quar-terbacks, the senior finally gets hischance to show what he can do. Hispredecessor, Lendell Arnold, didn’t dis-appoint, never relinquishing the start-ing job in two seasons after being alate injury replacement a few daysprior to the 2009 opener. Ironically thatteam resembles the 2011 edition inthe number of talented, yet untestedplayers moving into the Cougar lineup.Coach Speak: “This is the most inex-perience we’ve had in a long time. Theregion we were in before we couldplay a lot of guys. Last year it seemedlike every game went into the fourthquarter. It was a dogfight.”

2010 ResultsVs. LaGrange W 27-13Vs. Peachtree Ridge L 27-17At Woodstock L 28-16Vs. Newton L 35-32, 2 OTsAt Langston Hughes W 56-19Vs. Westlake 50-22At Luella W 19-7At M.L. King W 35-34 OTVs. Stephenson W 17-14At East Coweta W 14-12Class AAAAA State PlayoffsAt South Cobb W 31-7At Lowndes L 38-142011 ScheduleHome games in boldThursday At LaGrange (Callaway)Sept. 9 At Peachtree RidgeSept. 16 WoodstockSept. 24 At Newton (Sharp)Sept. 30 Langston HughesOct. 7 At WestlakeOct. 14 LuellaOct. 21 M.L. KingOct. 28 At Stephenson (Hallford)Nov. 4 East CowetaComments: The Cougars only playedthree opponents that didn’t eithermake the state playoffs or finishedwith a record above .500. With fourroad trips in the first six games of theseason, the path to the state playoffsdoesn’t get any easier. Should Newnanhurdle that obstacle, having two of itsthree toughest region games at homecould be a definite advantage.

OUTLOOKMost of this group of seniors has beenwaiting anxiously for their turn, andthe 2011 season will rest of whetherthey can immediately step into startingroles to fill the large void left by gradu-ation. On paper, it may not look likemuch – an offense without a quarter-back who threw a varsity pass and atop returning rusher who had 51yards. But having dismantled a Griffinteam that is in much the same modeduring the preseason scrimmage, onehas to think the Cougars are againreloading, and not rebuilding in 2011.

Colors: Navy and WhiteHead Coach: Cortez Allen (2nd year, 6-4)Starters Returning: Offense 4,Defense 5Offensive Formation: Multiple-Pro(Camille Grant coordinator)Defensive Formation: Multiple front(Spencer Fortson coordinator)2010 Record: 6-4, 3-4 (5th in region)Recent History: 2009: 6-5; 2008 – 3-7; 2007 – 1-9; 2006 – 3-7; 2005 – 4-6Preseason Poll (5th out of eight)Key Losses: QB Tyree Williams,WRDevon Mann (Morehouse), RB AkeemHunt (Purdue), TE Cadarius Terrell, CBBill Hicks, C Clay Johnson, RT RobertRoquemore (Memphis), LT JoshWilliams, RB/LB D.J. Hill (Virginia), KEsteban Guitterez, LB Cornelius Hudson(Tusculum), S Chris Dickerson, FBSammy Merchant (ChattahoocheeTech).

SENIOR RETURNERS:(2010 starters in bold)

QB: Gmatreian BrownRB: Javonte Williams (5-9, 165)FB: BJ ReidOL: RT Tommy Parks (6-5, 290), TChase DialWR: Deshawn McKenzieDL: DE Damon Greshman; JayCallaway,LB:Antonio WilliamsCB:Treshawn Curry, Nick HardemanKey Returners: NT TreyvonRichardson Jr., DT Kingsley Ejike,Jr.; G Darren Garner Jr.; OL/DL DanielDurden, So.; FB Joe Rocket, Jr.; RBDarius Dean, Jr.; P/K Zach SullivanNewcomers: TE Dvon Ballard (6-6,280), Jr; OL Corey Thomas (6-3, 280)So.; Darius Simmons (6-4, 175), Sr.;WR/RB Dale WarrenStrengths: Offensive line. Defensiveline remains one of best in region.Weaknesses: First-year quarterback.Core of receivers needs to be replaced.Secondary also needs to be rebuilt.Best Athlete: Dean.The junior was amember of Newton’s state champi-onship 400 meter relay team and couldgive Newton the speed to replace for-mer standout Akeem Hunt, who’s nowat Purdue.Difference maker: Brown.The seniorquarterback was the biggest questionmark for the Rams heading into lastspring, having lost two-year starterTyree Williams to graduation. So far,however, “he’s exceeded all our expec-

tations,” said offensive coordinatorCamille Grant. “He makes us feel awhole lot better about where we’reheaded.”Coach Speak: “We’ve got a lot of newfolks who just haven’t had that experi-ence yet. This is by far one of thetoughest regions in 5A.You have tocome to play every Friday night.” –Head coach Cortez Allen.

2010 ResultsVs. Shiloh W 24-6At Eastside W 20-14Vs. Northview W 37-7At Newnan W 35-32 2OTVs. East Coweta L 20-14At Stephenson L 22-16Vs. M.L. King L 34-24At Westlake L 33-13Vs. Langston Hughes W 42-6At Luella W 28-202011 ScheduleHome games in boldAug. 26 At ShilohSept. 2 EastsideSept. 16 At NorthviewSept. 24 NewnanSept. 30 At East CowetaOct. 7 StephensonOct. 14 At M.L. KingOct. 22 WestlakeOct. 28 At Langston HughesNov. 4 LuellaComment: The region schedule againststarts with a bang against all four oflast year’s state playoff qualifiers. Lastyear’s six-point loss to East Coweta athome threw the Rams into a spiral.Surviving that same four game stretchbeginning at Newnan will be key toNewton’s playoff hopes.

OUTLOOKNewnan and Newton aren’t separatedmuch in either alphabetical order or sit-uations coming into 2011.The Ramshave a mix of returning talent andpromising newcomers. Success,though, will rely on creating chemistrybetween those two groups.

Colors: Royal Blue, Black and WhiteHead Coach: Ron Gartrell (125-45,15th season; Overall 161-94, 24 sea-sons)Starters Returning:Offense 7, Defense8Offensive Formation: Multiple-WingDefensive Formation: Multiple (5 and4 man front) (Donald Sellers coordina-tor)2010 Record: 9-2, 6-1 region (2nd);Lost to Hillgrove in first round of stateplayoffsRecent History: 2009 – 11-1; 2008 –9-2, 2007 – 8-3, 2006 – 10-3, 2005 –12-2.Preseason Poll (2nd out of eight)Key losses: QB Jordan Tolfer,WRCeyron Willingham (Middle TennesseeState), LB Regis Ball (Memphis) DEPreston Smith, FB Jonathan Abrams,Jeremy Sheppard, G Jarrod Parks, CBDonald Sellers, CB David Stephenson(UConn), CB Jared Boyd, C Tyrik Cook,RB Willie Davis, LB Jordan Mincy, FSJared Boyd (Duke), K/P Colin Anderson

SENIOR RETURNERS (2010 starters in bold):

QB Shawn Blalock (5-11, 180)RB: Michael Davis (6-0, 200 Floridacommit)WR: DeMarcus Sweat (Kentucky com-mit)TE: Joshua Parris (Syracuse commit)OL: G Jafar Mann (6-4, 295; Floridacommit); G Steve McKenzie (6-2, 300)T Nick Gibbons (6-5, 300; Memphiscommit) T Carlos Hood (6-3, 270)DL: Jarontay Jones (Va.Tech commit);Mann LB: Raphael Kirby (Miami commit);Darreon Herrin (6-2, 210; Vanderbiltcommit)DB: Shawn Blalock (6-0, 180;Kentucky commit); Kristoff Ricks (5-11,175)S: Kyle Fleetwood (6-0, 200; SouthCarolina commit)Key Returners: SS Ali Groves (6-0,180) Jr.;Newcomers: QB Justin Holman (6-2,175) Jr., QB Shawn Blalock, Sr.. TEParris, Sr.. RB T.J. Moon, Sr. (5-9, 210,Union Grove transfer), C Jordan DuhanStrengths: Running back, defensiveline, offensive lineWeaknesses: Unproven quarterback,new center, new kicker/punter.Best Athlete: Davis, who rushed for1,151 yards and 10 touchdowns lastyear at an impressive 9.1 averagecarry. “We feel like he’s one of the bestrunning backs in the country,” saidGartrell.Difference maker: TBD.Three playersare currently competing for the startingquarterback job. It remains the biggestfactor between Stephenson havinganother short playoff run and a poten-tial first state title for the program.Coach Speak “We’re pretty good onpaper. But I tell our guys all year, youcan’t win games on paper.” – Headcoach Ron Gartrell.

2010 ResultsAt Parkview W 21-14 2 OTVs. Cedar Grove W 24-18Vs.Tift County W 14-7Vs.Westlake W 50-0At Luella W 21-0Vs. Newton W 22-16At Langston Hughes W 52-13

At East Coweta W 30-19At Newnan W 17-14Vs. M.L. King L 26-24State PlayoffsAt Hillgrove L 28-232011 ScheduleHome games in boldFriday Parkview (Hallford)Sept. 2 At Cedar Grove (Hallford)Sept. 9 At Tift CountySept. 23 At WestlakeSept. 30 LuellaOct. 7 At Newton (Sharp)Oct. 14 Langston Hughes (Hallford)Oct. 21 East Coweta (Hallford)Oct. 28 Newnan (Hallford)Nov. 4 At M.L. King (Hallford)Comments: Other than ending witharguably its three toughest regiongames, the stars might be aligned forthe Jaguars, who will only make onemajor road trip all season (Sept. 9 atTift). They’ll be at home for five of thelast six weeks including all three oftheir final regular season games.

OUTLOOKStephenson continues to lead theregion in most Division I prospects andin forcing the most bottles of antacidinto opposing coaches’ stomachs.Seven – yes SEVEN – players alone arealready committed to SEC schools.Addthat two a pair of ACC commitmentsand new tight end Joshua Parris (com-mitted to Syracuse) and you have afuture NFL team in waiting. Oh, and theJaguars also welcomed former UnionGrove star T.J. Moon, giving them twospeedy tailbacks. Most of all, however,the Jaguars have worked at improvingthemselves mentally after having sev-eral internal issues during the 2010sason.

Colors: Royal Blue, Silver and WhiteHead Coach: Greg Minnis (3rd season,16-15 overall) Career 34-20.Starters Returning: Offense 8,Defense 7Offensive Formation: Multiple-I,SpreadDefensive Formation: 4-32010 Record: 3-7, 2-5 (sixth)Recent History: 2009: 2008 – 6-4,2007 – 5-5; 2006 – 6-6; 2005 – 9-3Preseason Poll: (7th out of eight)Key Losses: SS Ronnie Harris (6 Int in2009), QB Quenton Rucker (6-2, 200),LB/TE Chris Tavarez (6-0, 190), DE AmirMustufaa (6-2, 220) WR MatthewThomas-Quick, LB Tyrell Peters (6-2,195), SS Tahir Blount (5-10, 172),DE/DT Devaughn Morrow (5-10, 240),FB/DL Marcellus Colton (5-10, 225).Senior Returners (2010 starters inbold)QB Javaree Williams (5-9, 170)RB Charles Purnell (5-9, 180)WR Carnell Boyd (6-0, 180); WRKhalil Stinson (6-2, 190); WR DevinAnderson (6-4, 180)OL LT Adrian Jacklyn (6-5, 230), CBrice Smith (6-2, 250); G CalvinHoustonDL Adarian Dunmeyer (6-0, 270)LB Christian Hampton (6-2, 200)DB Chris Tavarez (5-11, 200)S Antonio Thomas (6-0, 180)Strengths: Lots of skill players return-ing; Three returners on O-line.Weaknesses: Team lost a three play-ers including All-Region center toAlpharetta. Overall size, depth up front.Best Athlete: Boyd.A third year starterat receiver, the hope is that quarterbackJavari Williams, can get him the ball.Difference Maker:Williams.Coach Speak: “I think it was a shellshock for our kids to see that level ofcompetition. These seniors have takenresponsibility.” – Coach Hill.

2010 ResultsVs.Washington L 33-26Vs. McNair W 22-12At Colquitt Co. L 43-27Vs. M.L. King L 42-28At Stephenson L 50-0At Newnan L 50-22Vs. East Coweta L 35-14Vs. Newnan W 33-13At Luella L 7-0At Langston Hughes W 44-7

2011 ScheduleHome games in boldFriday At Washington (Grady)Sept. 3 At McNair (Panthersville)Sept. 9 At Colquitt CountySept. 16 At M.L. King (Hallford)Sept. 23 StephensonOct. 7 NewnanOct. 14 At East CowetaOct. 22 At NewtonOct. 28 LuellaNov. 4 Langston HughesComment: There’s only four homegames on the schedule, which beginswith four consecutive bus rides.A new-found attitude may lose some of its lus-ter should the team struggle through afive-game stretch starting at Colquittand concluding at East Coweta, allagainst state playoff teams.

OUTLOOKThe Lions, who were coming off a twostraight winning seasons last year, tookan about face, leading to several seniordefectors.What the team may have lostin size, they may be able to make up inunity. It’ll be up to Westlake to takeadvantage of its speed in order to wingames.

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REGION 2-AAAA AT A GLANCE

Page 16: 2011 Football Section

ne year. That’s how long WhitewaterHigh School’s football team has beenthinking about Starr’s Mill. Or HarrisCounty about Upson-Lee. Or Upson-Lee about Northgate. Or the Vikings

about McIntosh.And on and on and on.That’s because, in Region 3B-AAAA, “the one

that got away” doesn’t ever seem to leave one’smind. Not at least until a chance for an opportu-nity for redemption arrives.

Maybe that’s as much a reason for its headcoaches to be anxious to start the 2011 season,even though it means going through the gaunt-let all over again.

This year, just getting into position for apotential Class AAAAstate playoff berth is anachievement in itself.Any math student willtell you four playoffspots do not divideevenly among 14schools.

“You look at ourregion, especially ourside because it’s a regionin itself, every team hasgood players. Everyteam on our side hasgood coaches. Theywork hard, they do justlike we do and they’vegot a lot of pride and itjust makes it tough,”Northgate head coachTommy Walburn said.“I’ve got buddies all overthe state and I try to tellthem this is a good region.”

Non-believers only need to look at last year’sstate playoffs, where the subregion’s two repre-sentatives — Starr’s Mill and Whitewater —advanced to the state finals and quarterfinals,respectively. The pair could have easily haveswitched paths had a 21-14 Panther victory overthe Wildcats ended differently. Whitewaterdrove three times deep into Starr’s Mill territoryand came away empty-handed.

“Look at the playoffs. Whitewater was as goodas anybody when they got all their players(healthy),” Walburn said. “Starr’s Mill makes thestate championship. And Dutchtown over there(on the other side), we were the last team toscore points on them before they got beat. Theyhad one of the best defenses I’ve ever seen.”

Harris County head coach Tommy Parks mayhave felt the worst of close subregion losses.Four of his team’s six games in 3B-AAAA weredecided by a touchdown or less, with the Tigerswinning only one of those. One included a 3-0overtime loss to Upson-Lee, which came twoweeks after another three-point loss toNorthgate, where Parks’ field-goal unit wasn’table to get a tying attempt off before the clockran out.

"We felt like last year we played pretty well,"

Parks told Chris White of the Columbus LedgerEnquirer earlier this month. "But that's whatseparates good teams from great teams. Thisregion is very well coached with lots of goodplayers in this region, and you better come withyour A-game every week."

If not, it’s a long summer filled withreminders.

Walburn is constantly reminded ofNorthgate’s losses to McIntosh and Starr’s Millfor different reasons. The Chiefs “whooped ourtails” in easily the poorest-played Viking gameof the season. Starr’s Mill, meanwhile, gotarguably the best of Northgate before the gamefinally got away from the Vikings on ZachLaskey’s kickoff return after the home team atHenry Seldon Field tied the game.

“There isn’t a day that goes by we don’t men-tion those two games,” Walburn admitted.

For all of their success last year, Starr’s Millmay be as concerned as any of the subregion’sseven teams. The Panthers lost 32 seniors,including Laskey, now a freshman at GeorgiaTech. Head coach Chad Phillips also finds him-self with a new quarterback and a vacancy atreceiver following the graduation of top playersAdam Holley and Jeffrey Greene.

The end result is a lot of incoming youth andinexperience for a program that will be wearinga bullseye in 2011 after winning the subregiontitle in 2010.

“We will be extremely young,” Phillips said.“If the defense can hang on until our skill guysgain experience and confidence, then we maybe competitive in the region.”

Whitewater is also looking to replace its topstars, all of whom were highly pursued by out-side interests. Running backs Josh Clemons andBrandon Collins are now at college programsand quarterback Renaldo Jenkins is in theminor-league system of the Milwaukee Brewers.

The center-piece of this year’s lineup for headcoach Amos McCreary expects to be quarter-back Jon Mark Rhodes, one of four playersreturning who saw some playing time onoffense. The hope is that a pair of returningoffensive lineman including center ColtonScurry will join hulking newcomer PatrickDalton, 6-6, 350 pounds, to form a wall up front.

8C — The Times-Herald — Wednesday, August 24, 2011

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Colors: Black and GoldHead Coach: Mike Davis (1st

year 0-0)Starters returning: Offense

5, Defense 4Offensive formation: Split

Back VeerDefensive formation:

Multiple2010 Record: 2-8, 0-6 in

region (7th)Recent history: 2009 – 3-7;

2008 – 1-9; 2007 – 11-1*;2006 – 2-8

* State playoffsKey Losses: WR Eric

Lauderdale; OL/DL KristoferCurtis, WR Maurice Williams, LBTrey Washington.

Returning Players: QB TagoSmith (5-11, 200) Sr.; RB DionteRichards (5-11, 198); OT AkilHawkins (6-3, 270); OG WillisHoward (6-2, 265), C NickRidikas (5-10, 245), TE JonathanShirey (6-0, 210), LB TorreyDavis (5-10, 205), LB JustinMurray (6-2, 225), DE JamesEdmondson (6-5, 210), CBTrevus Edwards (5-9, 165), WRJustin Masler (5-10, 160), WRAntonio Messick (6-5, 200), WRAlex Phillips (5-9, 160).

Strengths: Still lots of skillplayers to work with, good sizeon both sides of line

Weaknesses: Depth andinexperience, Team struggledwith kicks/punts last year, QBmoving into new position couldtake time to adjust.2010 ResultsVs. Woodland (Henry) L 34-18At Union Grove W 16-0At Northgate L 24-20Vs. Harris County L 23-16At Starr’s Mill L 34-0Vs. Whitewater L 28-13Vs. Upson-Lee L 21-13At McIntosh L 28-12At Sandy Creek L 10-0At Alcovy W 14-62011 ScheduleHome games in boldFriday At WoodlandSept. 2 Union GroveSept. 16 NorthgateSept. 23 At Harris CountySept. 30 Starr’s MillOct. 7 At WhitewaterOct. 14 At Upson-LeeOct. 21 McIntoshOct. 28 Sandy CreekNov. 4 Region Play-In

OUTLOOKDavis, who replaces Tommy

Webb as head coach after eightseasons, comes from the collegeranks after spending last seasonwith Clark Atlanta and will betasked at trying to rebuild a pro-gram that has posted just onewinning season in that time. Hebrings a winning vibe to Fayette,having won three national titlesat Carson-Newman and hadcoached 16 years of high schoolfootball, including six as a head

coach, before taking his mostrecent job at Clark Atlanta.

He’ll be tasked with turningaround a Tigers program thathad a chance to win all but onesubregion game, but wound upwinless in 3B-AAAA. The biggestgoal might be turning Fayette’splayers into believers and addingenough depth to keep the Tigersfrom running out of gas in thefourth quarter like last season.

Considering Fayette’s contin-ued prowess on the basketballcourt, the talent should be therewhile led by converted runningback turned quarterback TagoSmith.

Colors: Black and GoldHead coach: Tommy Parks

(9th season, 32-41 overall)Offensive formation: Wing-

T/OptionDefensive formation: 3-52010 Record: 3-7, 2-4 (5th)Recent History: 2009 – 5-6;

2008 – 6-5; 2007 – 7-4; 2006 –4-6.

Key Losses: QB Tay Buggs(Highland CC), TE/DE LaMichaelFanning (Alabama), LB CorriganMiller, OL Carlton Williams.

Returning Seniors: DEJordan Jenkins (6-3, 350); LBJagger Buggs (6-2, 230; LBJallaine Coverson (5-10, 200);RB Zach Rovig (6-0, 210; OLCurtis Johnson (6-2, 230); DEJordan Durham (6-3, 220); SRoquez Harris (6-0, 170).

Key returners: CB DevonMoore (5-10, 170), RB TevonMoore (5-10, 170), OL CurtisJohnson (6-2, 230), DE JayEllison (6-2, 280), ATH DiQuanRoberts (6-0, 180).

Newcomers: QB TaQuanMarshall, Fr.; QB Justin Wright,Jr.

Strengths: Overall Size.Seven starters return ondefense; D-line and linebackerscould be best in subregion. Maybe the strongest team in subre-gion.

Weaknesses: Offense needsto be rebuilt with only one starterback on the line.

Best player: Jenkins. The 6-foot-3, 255-pound senior origi-nally from Washington has morethan a dozen scholarship offers,mostly from SoutheasternConference and Atlantic CoastConference programs, is rankedby recruiting website rivals.comas the country's No. 5 seniorweakside defensive end.

Coach Speak: “We showedvast improvement over thespring and we’ve got a lot ofguys back defensively. We’regoing to be fairly young offen-sively, so we’re trying to workout the mistakes early.”- Headcoach Tommy Parks.

2010 ResultsVs. Hardaway L 13-6 OTAt Alcovy W 28-0Vs. Griffin L 14-7Vs. Whitewater L 17-14At Fayette County W 23-16Vs. McIntosh W 28-14Vs. Northgate L 17-14At Upson-Lee L 3-0 OTAt Starr’s Mill L 42-8At Ola L 21-142011 ScheduleHome games in boldSaturday At HardawaySept. 2 AlcovySept. 9 At GriffinSept. 16 At WhitewaterSept. 23 Fayette CountySept. 30 At McIntoshOct. 14 At NorthgateOct. 21 Upson-LeeOct. 28 Starr’s MillNov. 4 Region Play In

OUTLOOKThe Tigers 3-7 record last

year was in no way indicative oftheir efforts, having held oppo-nents to 10 points a game. Fiveof the losses, including a heart-breaker to Northgate, were with-in a touchdown. Seven startersare back from the defensive unitincluding five-star prospectJordan Jenkins and linebackersBuggs and Coverson. Theoffense will be young with fresh-man TaQuan Marshall and juniorJustin Wright competing for thequarterback opening left by TayBuggs to graduation.

Colors: Kelly Green and BlackHead coach: Lee Belknap

(1st year, 0-0)Offensive Formation: Spread

Option (Brad Campbell, coordina-tor)

Defensive Formation: 4-3(Belknap, coordinator)

2010 Record: 2-8, 2-4 sub-region (6th)

Recent history: 2009 – 4-6;2008 – 2-8; 2007 – 2-8; 2006 –0-10

Key Losses: QB Cam Porter,RB Joe Trevena; TE/LB MattFergus; WR/DB Robert Trotter;WR/DB Phillip Ojukwu; DLJonathan Hust; DE Alex Ishmael;LB Ben Williams; DB HamiltonPaul; DB Daniel Thompson

Returning players: P DanLenze (6-0, 190), Sr; S NickEnzor (5-11, 170), OL AlexOstendorf (6-0, 230), LB MattSalisbury (5-11, 200), WR JakeTurner (5-6, 150); S Tim Bryan(5-10, 180); OL/LB Connor Sloan(5-11, 195).

Strengths: Offensive line,secondary units should be solid.Staff familiar with personneldespite coaching change.

Weaknesses: Team lostoffensive leaders including 3-

year starter at QB; Graduation oftop skill players; Program hasn’thad a winning season since1995.

Best player: Enzor. The sen-ior safety was a First Team All-County player in 2010. Lenze isamong the best specialists in thesubregion and will also be anasset with punts and field goals

Coach Speak: “Our goal is totake it one week at a time andhopefully qualify for the regionplay-in game.” - Head coach LeeBelknap.2010 ResultsAt Pike County L 10-6At Dutchtown L 40-0Vs. Jones County L 31-12Vs. Northgate W 28-17At Harris County L 28-14Vs. Starr’s Mill L 48-0At Whitewater L 41-13Fayette County W 28-12At Upson-Lee L 21-17At Woodland L 49-62011 ScheduleHome games in boldFriday Pike CountySept. 2 DutchtownSept. 9 At Jones CountySept. 23 NorthgateOct. 7 At Starr’s MillOct. 14 WhitewaterOct. 21 At Fayette CountyOct. 28 Upson-LeeNov. 4 Region Play In

OUTLOOKBelknap, who was the

Chiefs defensive coordinator,was promoted to head coachafter Glenn Griffin retired fromthe Fayette County SchoolSystem. Griffin eventually took ajob as defensive coordinator atOur Lady of Mercy under ex-Starr’s Mill coach Mike Earwood.Most of last year’s staff remainsincluding offensive coordinatorBrad Campbell, who will need togroom a new quarterback fol-lowing Porter’s departure.

Most of last year’s skill play-ers will have to replaced, thoughthere will be a solid group oflinemen up front to work with.Scoring points was a problem in2010.

Specialist Dan Lenze is a def-inite asset should the Chiefs beable to keep games close.

Colors: Cardinal and WhiteHead coach: Tommy Walburn

(2nd year, 5-5; 68-45 overall)Starters returning: Offense

7; Defense 7Offensive formation: Wing-T

(Kesley Dalyrmple, coordinator)Defensive formation: 8-man

front (Bubba Jeter, coordinator)2010 Record: 5-5, 3-3 (3rd in

subregion)Recent history; 2009 – 3-7;

2008 - 6-5*; 2007 – 1-9; 2006 –5-5

* state playoffs

(2010 record in parenthesis)1. Whitewater (9-3, 5-1)- Will be waiting to pounce with established QBs, O-line with team that’s been there, done that.2. Northgate (5-5, 3-3) - We’re tempted to put the Vikings higher with the sheer number of returners. But the program stillhas to clear the hurdle of beating a top contender during the regular season.3. Harris County (3-7, 2-4) – Led by top prospect Jordan Jenkins, defense continues to be superb. But can the Tigers scoreenough in 2011 and make playoffs for first time in history. 4. Starr’s Mill (14-1, 6-0) – Lots of youth, inexperience could make it tough to repeat phenomenal success in 2010 5. Upson-Lee (3-7, 3-3) – Nine starters back on defense and six on offense make Knights dangerous team6. Fayette County (2-8, 0-6) – Talent is there, but it might take a year for new head coach to turn players into believing theycan win big in a season other than basketball.7. McIntosh (2-8, 2-4) – Loss of skill positions might be too much to overcome

MMoosstt WWeeaappoonnss::Northgate

BBeesstt DDeeffeennssee:: Harris CountyOOnn tthhee RRiissee::

Harris,NorthgateSSppooiilleerrss:: Harris,

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Starr’s MillTTeeaamm iinn

ttrraannssiittiioonn::Fayette County

REGION 3B-AAAA AT A GLANCE — COMPILED BY CHRIS GOLTERMANN

By Chris Goltermann [email protected]

You’d like to go inthere and blow everybody

out. But at the same time, youknow that there’s a challenge inthat you’re coaching against

some of the best coachesin the state.”

See 3B-AAAA, page 9C

Page 17: 2011 Football Section

“If I had to pick a favorite, Ithink Whitewater’s got thenucleus of having a really goodteam again. That’s a program,”said Walburn. “I feel like Starr’sMill’s a team you’ve always gotto look at because of the pro-gram. People will say they lost30 something seniors. Well Isaw their JV and ninth-gradeteams play. Those guys, by thetime we get in the region,they’re going to be tough.”

Defensively, Harris Countyhas seven starters back from aunit that only allowed an aver-age of 10 points per game. Thegroup is led by top prospectJordan Jenkins, who at 6-3, 255pounds was ranked the No. 5best defensive end byRivals.com.

This year looks as good asany for the Tigers to make theplayoffs for the first time since2007.

“I don’t know if there’senough stars for all of us,”Walburn said. “I think it’s goingto be balanced. And I feel likeHarris County is a team you’vegot to look at. They’ve got thebig nose guard who’s a kidwho’s young and people arejust starting to take a look at.And then they have that defen-sive end.”

Upson-Lee may also be readyto make a move after changingthings up in the offseason. TheKnights scrapped their tradi-tional split-back veer in thespring for a spread attack thathopes to benefit a solid groupof receivers. In all, 16 startersare back on both sides of theball.

Fayette County and McIntoshwill be under new head coach-es. Former Clark Atlanta assis-tant Mike Davis takes over withthe Tigers, while Lee Belknapwas promoted with the Chiefsafter head coach Glenn Griffinretired from the Fayette schoolsystem and rejoined formerboss Mike Earwood at OurLady of Mercy as its defensivecoordinator.

“You look at last year. We

lose to McIntosh and turnaround and beat Upson-Lee(42-7),” said Walburn. So I tellour kids on any given night ifyou don’t show up, you will getbeat no matter who you play.”

In 3-AAAA, however, finish-ing second in the subregionstill doesn’t guarantee a state

berth. The final regioncrossover pits the No. 2 andNo. 3 finishers from opposingsubregions against one anotherfor the right to advance.

“We’re at a disadvantagebeing in a 14-team region, butthat’s what we’ve got – at leastfor one more year. We made

the playoff, to try and get intothe (state) playoffs,” Walburnsaid. “You’d like to go in thereand blow everybody out. But atthe same time, you know thatthere’s a challenge in thatyou’re coaching against someof the best coaches in thestate.”

Wednesday, August 24, 2011 — The Times-Herald — 9C

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3B-AAAAContinued from page 8C

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Key losses: OL Cody Weaver(Delta State), LB Jake Peterson(Army), LB Cortez Glenn (Tuskegee),, DL Jonathan Rice (LaGrange), PDrew Swinney, LB Gordy Duncan,WR/DB Scotty Gaston, DL/TEAndrew Schexnayder, G BrianFleenor, C Ryan Rayburn(LaGrange), T Adam Rayburn(LaGrange).

Returning seniors (2010 starters in bold)QB: Bret MisutkaFB: Alex Lakes, Kyle KovacsWB: Payton Usher, Tony WilliamsOL: Jake SlagleTE: Mitch BemisterWR: Brandon FacysonDL: David Higgins, Alex Heavner,Kain ElliottLB: Jonovan Cotton, DlonzoHarris, Leon SappCB: Facyson, Shawn Byron, PaytonUsherS: LakesK: Will Lutz

Key returners: QB JoshHarrison (6-4), Jr.; DE SeanSpencer, Jr., DT De’Andre Johnson,Jr.; LB Conner Usher, Jr., WB ColeCarter, Jr., C Chase Smith, Jr., WRAndrew Brady, Jr., OL Dustin Foley,Jr.

Newcomers: S Torres Johnson,So.

Strengths: Every major con-tributed among skill positions isback; Defensive line should bestout with linebackers and second-ary both improved over last year.Kicker and punter still a strength.

Weaknesses: Offensive line is aconcern, as is depth. Perimeterdefense still an issue.

Best Player: A lot to choosefrom, but Lakes is the most obvi-ous. Not only talented, the two-waystarter at fullback and safety, grewup with a coach’s mentality instilledby his father. He may wind up beingthe latest Viking standout at AirForce, which is extremely high onthe senior.

“Last year (against Upson-Lee) Iremember trying to motion him tothe center of the field and he’sshaking his head,” said head coachTommy Walburn of Lakes. “Hewinds up picking off the pass andrunning it back for a touchdown. Hetold me ‘Coach, I could see in (thequarterback’s) eyes where he wasgoing. You can’t coach that.”

Lakes wound up with five touch-downs and nine tackles in his firststart at free safety during a 42-7blowout win.

Coach Speak:“You look at ourregion, especially our side becauseit’s a region in itself. Every team hasgood players. Every team on ourside has good coaches. They workhard, they do just like we do andthey’ve got a lot of pride and it justmakes it tough. I’ve got buddies allover the state and I try to tell themthis is a good region. Just look atthe playoffs. I think it’s going to bebalanced.” - Head coach TommyWalburn

2010 Results Vs. Alexander W 37-14At Jones County L 31-28Vs. Ola W 27-26, OTVs. Fayette County W 24-20At McIntosh L 28-17Vs. Upson-Lee W 42-7At Harris County W 17-14Vs. Starr’s Mill L 35-24At Whitewater L 28-7At Dutchdown L 17-72011 Schedule(Home games in bold)Friday at AlexanderSept. 2 Jones CountySept. 9 At OlaSept. 16 At Fayette CountySept. 23 McIntoshOct. 7 At Upson-Lee (8 p.m.)

Oct. 14 Harris CountyOct. 21 At Starr’s MillOct. 28 WhitewaterNov. 4 Region Play-In

OUTLOOKThere’s plenty of potential here,

enough for not only a playoff berth,but to advance as far as the 2000Vikings did. Back then, however, theprogram was just getting ready forthe jump to Class AAAA.

There’s only four home gameson the schedule, but

If the time is now, it’ll have tocome down to the whether or notthe offensive line and younger play-ers that can add depth in key areas.If so, then there’s plenty of reasonswhy Northgate could be playing fora Region 3-AAAA title in earlyNovember.

Colors: Columbia Blue, Black,White and Silver

Head coach: Chad Phillips (2ndyear, 14-1, Overall 14-1)

Starters Returning: Offense 3,Defense 4

Offensive Formation: FlexboneDefensive Formation: 3-52010 Record: 14-1, 6-0 in sub-

region (1st) Lost in state finalsRecent History: 2009 – 6-5*;

2008 – 3-7; 2007: 5-5; 2006: 9-4** state playoffsKey Losses: WR Jeffrey Greene

(Georgia Tech), RB Zach Laskey(Georgia Tech); QB Adam Holley(West Georgia), DL Jack Thomas(West Georgia), K/WR Ryan Nowicki(Ole Miss), LB Elijah Goodrich(Shorter), DL Ufomba Kamalu, OLAlec Barr (N.C. State)

Returning players: LB DavisAasen (6-1, 215), C Matt Mosgrove(6-0, 220), OLB Dylan Autera (6-0,220); RB Alex Riddle (5-10, 160), SJoshua Roberts (6-2, 200), G GriffinDeJoy (6-0, 210), DL ConardCooper (6-1, 240), LB LoganWilliams (5-10, 200), LB MikeMuska (6-0, 210), LB Zach Hughes(6-0, 200), DL Evan Krug (6-1, 260),LB Thomas Loftis (6-0, 220), WRRandon Ruff (6-0, 180).

Strengths: Senior linebackersshould be heart of defense. Twoveterans back on offensive line.

Weaknesses: Loss of 32 sen-iors including 10 who signed schol-arships on Signing Day brings lotsof youth and inexperience.Secondary, skill positions hit hardby graduation.

Best player(s): Aasen is theprototype for this year’s Starr’s Millteam. Following the flash and dashof last year, he is a lunchpail-typelinebacker who hits hard. The depthat the position has allowed Phillipsto go to a 3-5 defensive scheme toput as many in that group on thefield at once. Alex Riddle is anunderrated playmaker from lastseason who will step in on offense.

Coach Speak: “We will beextremely young. If the defense canhang on until our skill guys gainexperience and confidence, thenwe may be competitive in theregion.” – Head coach ChadPhillips.

2010 ResultsVs. Coosa W 41-0At Woodland (Henry) W 21-7Vs. Alcovy W 27-0

Vs. Upson-Lee W 45-19At Whitewater W 21-14Vs. Fayette County W 34-0At McIntosh W 48-0At Northgate W 35-24Vs. Harris County W 42-8At Griffin W 24-7Class AAAA State PlayoffsVs. Hardaway W 42-9Vs. Brunswick W 42-34Vs. East Paulding W 28-0At Tucker W 20-19Chattahoochee L 24-0

2011 Schedule (Home games in Bold)Friday At CoosaSept. 2 Woodland (Henry)Sept. 9 At AlcovySept. 16 At Upson-LeeSept. 23 WhitewaterSept. 30 At Fayette CountyOct. 7 McIntoshOct. 21 NorthgateOct. 28 At Harris County

OUTLOOKPrior to last year’s breakthrough,

the program went through a bit of adip with a 14-17 record in threeseasons and just one playoffappearance. Getting back to thepostseason in a much deeper sub-region will be no easy task, even fora defending state finalist. ThePanthers are the only subregionprogram, however, coming off con-secutive state playoff appearances.That success, especially throughplaying a 15 game schedule a yearago, could be a benefit to this year’sstarters.

Colors: White, Black, Silver andPurple

Head coach: Tommy Watson(4th season, 9-21 overall)

Starters returning: Offense 6,Defense 9

Offensive formation: Spread(Gus Condon, coordinator)

Defensive formation: 4-32010 record: 3-7, 3-3 (4th)Recent history: 2009 – 3-7;

2008 – 3-7; 2007 – 6-4; 2006 – 4-6

Key Losses: QB Tay Matthews,DL Alvin Caldwell, RB MelvinFerguson, OL Jordan McKissick, KLuke Paul, WR Guy Robinson, WRMartigo Fowler, RB Myron Walker

Returning Seniors: RB JaredJordan (6-0, 170) Sr.; WR JacarusCarthon (6-3, 190) OL Gage Greene(6-1, 260), ATH Dexter Reviere (5-10, 150), DB Dontavius Tucker (6-1, 170), OL Fred Sparks (6-2, 260),DE Keaton Tomlin (6-6, 220); DL VicLawrence (6-2, 230), LB EzbonRisper (6-0, 210), OL Jacohn Evans(6-2, 260), , DB Deion Wilkins (5-11, 170), WR Xavier Harris (6-0,180).

Key returners: DB WilliamDebose (6-2, 190), Jr.; WR TravisPittman (6-2, 190), DE CornellHarris (6-0, 200), ILB MarcusBussey (6-0, 220), ILB NickKennedy (6-0, 200) Jr.; DL TeionDavis (6-0, 210), So.;, QB CoryMoss (6-1, 160), Jr., LB RammonRoninson (5-10, 180), RB KeltonRaines, So.

Strengths: Tons of experience,good size on both sides of line.Entire secondary returns.

Weaknesses: First-year quar-terback and a new system foreveryone involved, Overall depth an

issue with less than 20 seniorsexpected. Team struggled in pre-season, especially on specialteams.

Best Athlete: Carthon might bethe big-time playmaker that couldhelp provide a deep threat in theteam’s new spread attack.

Coach Speak: "We felt like itwas time for a change with ouroffense. We feel this will allow us toget the ball to our playmakers onthe perimeter. I think the kids areexcited about it, and that is alwaysimportant, getting the players excit-ed about football." – Head coachTommy Watson on the switch to thespread offense last spring.

2010 ResultsAt Woodward Academy L 31-10At Griffin L 40-3Vs. Dutchtown L 28-12At Starr’s Mill L 45-19Vs. Whitewater L 21-14At Northgate L 42-7At Fayette County W 21-13Vs. Harris County W 3-0 OTVs. McIntosh W 21-17At Jones County L 42-21

2011 Schedule(Home games in bold)Friday Woodward AcademySept. 2 GriffinSept. 9 At Dutchtown Sept. 16 Starr’s MillSept. 30 At Whitewater Oct. 7 NorthgateOct. 14 Fayette CountyOct. 21 At Harris CountyOct. 28 At McIntoshNov. 4 Region Play-in

OUTLOOKFor the first time since the

school was opened in 1992, anUpson-Lee football team won’t berunning the split-back veer. Instead,head coach Tommy Watson broughtin coordinator Gus Condon fromnearby Lamar County to run aspread attack with hopes of usingan array of returning athletes totheir advantage. Rising junior quar-terback Corey Moss, who playedsparingly last year, is expected tostart behind center. He’ll haveweapons in running back JaredJordan and wide receiver JacarusCarthon. Defensively, depth on theline and in the secondary should bea key.

The Knights have gotten off to aslow start, however, due to theheat, which limited the team to fourdays in full pads prior to its presea-son scrimmage with Lamar County.They’ll have to catch up fast, espe-cially with a new offense. Gettingoff to a good start will be crucial toany hopes of the program makingthe playoffs for the first time since2005. They could still easily playthe role of spoiler for another sub-region’s playoff hopes.

Colors: Cardinal Silver and BlackHead coach: Amos McCreary

(52-22, 8th year, 126-60 overall)Starters Returning: Offense 4,

Defense 5Offensive formation: Hybrid

Wing-T (Wes Hardin,coordinator)Defensive formation: 3-5

(Richard Penland, coordinator)2010 Record: 9-3, 5-1 (2nd)

Recent history: 2009 – 5-5;2008 – 7-4*; 2007: 9-3*; 2006: 7-4*

* State playoffsKey Losses: RB Josh Clemons

(Kentucky), RB/CB Brandon Collins(West Georgia), QB Renaldo Jenkins(drafted by Milwaukee Brewers),TE/DT Matt Serpico, DT/TE McClainHead (Georgia State); WR/CB BrianCovington; OL/NG David Richardson(Shorter), Joel Van Asch.

Returning seniors: QB JonMark Rhodes (6-2, 190), RB/LB TreyWafford (6-0, 190), C Colton Scurry(6-3, 260), T Jordan Watson (6-4,290), S Brandon Bolden (5-10,170),Parker Bright, DL Brad Partridge,John Tyler Nash, OL AndrewBradberry, LG Sawyer Woodworth,(6-0, 260); TE/DE Brad Partridge (6-2, 235); CB/WR Tony Battle (5-10,160); LB Roshaud Turner (5-10,210)

Key returners: K Austin Barnard(6-0, 180), Jr.; T Patrick Dalton (6-6,350)

Newcomers: Blake Barnes,ZachEnlow, OL Christian Kennedy,

Strengths: Good size up front,Rhodes shared time at QB and isready to start.

Weaknesses: Outside of QBmost of last year’s top skill playersneed to be replaced. Only 2 startersback on O-Line. Entire defensiveline and secondary both needreplaced.

Best Athlete: Rhodes is certain-ly the man on the spot. But Waffordis going to be needed on both sidesof the line at running back and line-backer, both thin positions followinggraduation.2010 ResultsVs. Sandy Creek L 20-14At Ola W 49-19Vs. Union Grove W 28-14At Harris County W 17-14Starr’s Mill L 21-14At Upson-Lee W 21-14At Fayette County W 28-13McIntosh W 41-13Northgate W 28-7Union Grove W 44-6Class AAAA State PlayoffsAt Northside W-R W 28-21At Ware County L 21-13

2011 Schedule(Home games in bold)Friday at Sandy CreekSept. 2 OlaSept. 9 At Union Grove Sept. 16 Harris CountySept. 23 At Starr’s MillSept. 30 Upson-LeeOct. 7 Fayette CountyOct. 14 At McIntoshOct. 28 At NorthgateNov. 4 Region Play-in Game

OUTLOOKDespite losing its big three on

offense – Josh Clemons, BrandonCollins and baseball prospectRenaldo Jenkins, it’s the defensethat might have McCreary and hisstaff concerned. Entire defensiveline and secondary units will needto be replaced and already theWildcats showed some strugglesduring its preseason scrimmage atEast Coweta. Massive tackle PatrickDalton, at 6-6, 350-pounds, is oneof the newcomers on the front line.The team also puts its offensive inthe hands of Jon Mark Rhodes, whoshared time last year at quarter-back with Jenkins. Rhodes givesWhitewater a pocket presence thatwill force teams to have to respecthis arm.

The team will know a lot moreabout their potential after openingFriday against two-time defendingClass AA state champion SandyCreek.

REGION 3B-AAAA AT A GLANCE — CONTINUED

ATLANTA — In just threeseasons, Matt Ryan hasalready earned that elusive tag:franchise quarterback.

You know, the kind of guywho’ll be the centerpiece ofyour team for a decade ormore. Just put some goodplayers around him, standback and watch the wins comerolling in.

So far, that plan has workedto perfection for the AtlantaFalcons.

In the regular season, atleast.

Now, it’s time for Matty Iceto show he can win a playoffgame.

“I understand how the NFLworks, and how the fans worktoo,” Ryan said. “You arejudged by what you do inJanuary. You have to embracethat. Hopefully, we’ll fully haveanother opportunity to changethat perception.”

The Falcons have gone 33-15since Ryan arrived in 2008 asthe No. 3 overall pick. Heclaimed the starting job rightaway and fast-forwarded arebuilding job that was sup-posed to take several seasonsafter Michael Vick went toprison for dogfighting.

Ryan has already thrown formore than 10,000 yards, with66 touchdown and just 34interceptions. More important,he’s guided a franchise thathad never had back-to-backwinning seasons to three in arow, including an NFC Southtitle and two trips to the play-offs.

It’s in the postseason wherethings have taken an ugly turn.

He’s thrown only threetouchdowns and been pickedoff four times. He’s beensacked eight times, once for asafety. He’s coughed up twofumbles, one of them returnedfor a touchdown. Not surpris-ingly, both trips to the playoffsended right away with losses,including last season’s hideous48-21 blowout at home by theeventual Super Bowl champi-onship Green Bay Packers.

“There’s a lot of things youlearn in those situations,” Ryansaid. “If given that opportunityagain, hopefully we canimprove on that.”

On draft day, general man-ager Thomas Dimitroff mort-gaged a great deal of his futureto acquire receiver Julio Jones,the sort of breakout threat thatseemed to be missing a yearago even with an offense that

included Pro Bowlers Ryan,receiver Roddy White, rightend Tony Gonzalez, runningback Michael Turner, fullbackOvie Mughelli and tackleTyson Clabo.

Dimitroff didn’t neglect thedefense, either.

As soon as the lockout wassettled and teams could beginsigning free agents, Atlantaaddressed its biggest need onthe other side of the line.Former Minnesota Vikingsdefensive end Ray Edwardswill be lining up on the oppo-site side from John Abraham,a major upgrade over lastyear’s starter, Kroy Biermann.

Given the trade for Jonesand the signing of Edwards,anything less than a trip to theSuper Bowl will be a major let-down for a team that went 13-3last season.

“The opportunity is short inthe NFL. You have to takeadvantage of it while you haveit,” Gonzalez said. “The morethe merrier, and let’s make aserious run at this thing.”

Last season: (13-3, lost to Green Bayin the NFC divisional playoffs)

New faces: WR Julio Jones, DE RayEdwards.

Key losses: OG Harvey Dahl, WRMichael Jenkins.

Strengths: The Falcons have as manyoffensive weapons as anyone in theleague with QB Matt Ryan, WR RoddyWhite, RB Michael Turner and TE TonyGonzalez — all of them Pro Bowlers. Andnow, they have first-round pick Jones,who should address the team’s most glar-ing offensive weakness last season, thelack of passing plays covering at least 20yards. The Falcons ranked next-to-last inthat category but should improve dramati-cally if Jones lives up to expectations withhis speed and size.

Weaknesses: Packers QB AaronRodgers carved up the Falcons in a 48-21postseason rout, exposing a defense thatdidn’t bring much pressure outside of DEJohn Abraham. Well, that should changewith the signing of Edwards, who had16.5 sacks the last two years with theMinnesota Vikings. Atlanta ranked 20th inthe league with 31 sacks in 2010, andAbraham had 13 of those. No one elsehad more than four.

Outlook: Super Bowl or bust. TheFalcons didn’t mortgage much of theirfuture acquiring Jones without expectinghim to pay immediate dividends. The earlyschedule is brutal: four of the first fivegames are against NFC playoffs teams,and the other is against Tampa Bay, whichnearly got in. The Falcons will likely beplayoff bound for the third time in fouryears if they get come out of that stretchat least 3-2.

ATLANTAFALCONS

AT AGLANCE

Page 18: 2011 Football Section

10C — The Times-Herald — Wednesday, August 24, 2011

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