The Skinny
Coach Vince Strine guided the Chattahoochee Cougars back to the playoffs for the first time in six seasons. The Cougars finished third in the region behind Alpharetta and Centennial. The Cougars should be back in the mix with the return of some key players. However, Coach Strine addressed one of the biggest challenges he and his staff face going into the season.
“Keeping everyone focused on the Fall season and not get sidetracked with all of the 7v7 hype that summer tends to bring. Every day we have to get better with the purpose of playing great football in the Fall,” Strine said.
Coach Strine’s Cougars will get a boost with the return of First Team All-Region running back Max Webb. We asked Coach Strine about his offense.
“Our OL is pretty much still intact from last season. Our RB, Max Webb rushed for nearly 1,300 yards last year, so I would say all of those things is pretty good to have return,” he said.
One of the key returners on the offensive line is Jake Green. Green garnered First Team All-Region awards in 2017.
Coach Strine also likes what he sees on defense.
“Our DL and Outside LB’s should be a strong point for us this year. We have some speed in our defensive backs as well. The defense is really going to have to play as a unit,” Strine said.
We asked Coach Strine about players that might be flying under the radar or poised for a breakout season.
“I think we have several guys that have worked really hard for a great season. Many times a guy has a breakout year and it comes completely unexpectedly,” he said, “our offense has been pretty good the past few years, and I really expect our Defense to have a great year.”
So what about games that are circled on the calendar for the Cougars?
“Game 1. I think it is really important to win your first game and build on that. We try really hard to keep our players focused on the first game, and then each one after that…One at a time. Too much can change week to week to worry about other games,” he explained.
Finally, we asked coach Strine how success would be defined this season.
He said, “We certainly want to build off the momentum of making the playoffs last year. Our succes comes in our progress and growth each week. We don’t want to be playing our best football week 1 and we want to continue to find new ways to challenge ourselves.”
