Forsyth Central Bulldogs Football Preview

Posted on August 11, 2018 by admin

 

The Skinny

 

Coach Frank Hepler will begin his 3rd season at Forsyth Central in 2018. While the Bulldogs were winless in 2017, it certainly doesn’t mean they were not competitive. So it might be easy to assume that Coach Hepler’s definition of success would be winning a few games this season. But it looks like Hepler is building far beyond wins and losses.

“So many ways that don’t have anything to do with winning, but will eventually lead to winning. We are still in a building process,” Hepler said.

Offensively, Coach Hepler will have a few skill players returning to help build upon. Running backs Hunter Cagle and Devron Orsan return for the 2018 campaign. Orsan was a Second Team All-Region selection and lead the Bulldogs in rushing with 591 yards and 10 TDs. On the line, Ben Ranke looks poised to help make running lanes available for Orsan and Cagle.

 

 

On defense, the Bulldogs return their leading tackler Jackson Leak. Leak was a First Team All-Region selection last season. Joining him in the box will be lineman Matt Quinn and linebacker Mitchell Weber.  Matt Quinn brings back quality experience in the secondary.

While Coach Hepler isn’t taking any game for granted, the game that is probably circled on the calendar is the first region game. This season that happens to be County rival, North Forsyth.

We will keep an eye on the Bulldogs as Coach Hepler continues to rebuild the program.

 

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Meadowcreek Mustangs Football Preview

Posted on August 11, 2018 by admin

 

The Skinny

 

Last season, Coach Jason Carrera led the Meadowcreek Mustangs to their first playoff appearance since 1988. The Mustangs also tied a record for the most wins in school history. The Mustangs will be without First Team All-State running back Chauncey Williams. While we know that will be a big challenge for the Mustangs, we asked Coach Carrera what would be one of the biggest challenges outside of replacing Williams.

“Transiency and building numbers, depth,” he said.

The Mustangs will return their starting quarterback, Quincy Bonner. Bonner was second on the team in rushing in 2017. Demarcus Jones is shaping up to be a go to receiver for Bonner.

 

Two way players James King (OL/DL) and Desmon Jackson (RB/DE) should be returners that help out both the offense and defense. Promise Williams will add experience to the defense as well.

We asked coach Carrera if there was any game that was circled on the schedule for the Mustangs.

“The first one and everyone after that,” he said.

How will Meadowcreek define success this season?

“Being the best we can be each week with perfect effort and demanding excellence,” said Carrera.

 

 

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Parkview Panthers Football Preview

Posted on August 11, 2018 by admin

 

The Skinny

The Parkview Panthers enter the 2018 season with a “youthful, but talented offense” according to head coach Eric Godfrey. Coach Godfrey’s Panthers reached the quarterfinals last season. It was the team’s best finish in the past five years. This season the Panthers will be without All-State Honorable Mention QB Fred Payton and 2nd team All-State RB Christian Mallory.

The Panthers lost most of their production on offense to graduation. However, the teams second leading receiver, Malik Washington returns for his senior season. His season was cut short, but in 6 games he did manage 517 receiving yards that was good for second on the team. Godfrey has high praise for his senior receiver.

“Malik Washington (is) probably the best overall athlete in the state of Georgia,”  Godfrey said.

But Coach Godfrey is not alone in his assessment. In 2017, GHSF Daily named Washington as on of the top 10 athletes in the state.

 

 

Junior LB Kobe Wilson, was second on the team in tackles last season, with 90.  DE Bryce Wilson is also a sure tackler. He led the team with 3.5 sacks on the season. Justin Triplet, a 6’2” 284lb defensive end will help bolster the Parkview defense. We also expect for Malik Washington to be patrolling the defensive secondary for the Panthers as well.

While the Panthers won’t be overlooking any of their opponents this season, you can believe that they will be eagerly anticipating their annual matchup against neighborhood rival Brookwood on October 19th in the Battle of Five-Forks.

Postseason play has become the rule and not necessarily the exception for the Panthers. With that said, it’s no surprise that when asked about what would make this season a success for the Panthers.

“Playoff victories,” Coach Godfrey said.

 

 

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Cherokee Warriors Football Preview

Posted on August 10, 2018 by admin

 

The Skinny

 

The Cherokee Warriors were plagued last season by injuries and a bit of inexperience. But after breaking in several new starters in 2017, the Warriors should have some  much-needed game experience as the 2018 season approaches.

Two of the top returners to the team will be lineman Garrison Blackmon and running back Garrett Miles. Blackmon was a second-team All-Region selection last season for the Warriors. (Miles missed his junior season with an injury.). Coach Shaw believes that wide receivers DeAndre Turner and Devin Ellison could be a couple of players that can contribute offensively this season.

On defense, seniors McKinley Hunter (LB), Grant Mogelnicki (DB) and Kerwin Majano (DL) look to lead the way for the Cherokee Defense. Mogelnicki and Majano earned second-team All-Region honors in 2017, while Hunter was an Honorable Mention selection. In addition to these three, look for contributions on defense from LB Grant Hornbuckle, (second team All-Region), DB Blake Kenney, and DL Jaden Williams.

 

 

Which games are circled on the calendar for the Warriors?

“All the region games. Those are the ones that decide if you make it to a game 11,” said Shaw.

He continued,  “Obviously Etowah & Woodstock for being in-county region opponents.”

Success this season for Coach Shaw and his staff might be defined differently than you think.

“Obviously to ‘outsiders’ it will be wins/loses. But for our coaching staff, it will be how our players grow as a family and play for each other,” Shaw explained.

We asked Coach Shaw about some of his standouts in the community.

“We have a lot of them; as serving others is the backbone of our program. Too many to list.” Shaw said.

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Creekview Grizzlies Football Preview

Posted on August 10, 2018 by admin

The Skinny

 

Coach Adam Carter takes over as the new head coach of the Creekview Grizzlies. Coach Carter inherits a Creekview team that has missed out on the playoffs the last two seasons. We asked Coach Carter what his biggest challenge would be coming into 2018.

“Creating a new culture,” Carter said.

While Coach Carter is busy instilling that blue-collar culture, he will have some pretty good pieces to build upon. The Grizzlies return First Team All-Region running back Cade Radam and First Team All-Region lineman Nick Pendley. Radam rushed for over 1,300 yards in 2017 and also had 22 receptions out of the backfield.

Joining Pendley to anchor the offensive line will be “Big” John Williams and Tanner Taranto. Both Williams and Pendley stand at 6’5” and both weigh in at over 270lbs. Dual sport athlete, Paxton Nayman is poised to help both in the run game and the passing game for the Grizzlies. Nayman hauled in 12 catches and had 3 receiving TDs last season. He has garnered plenty of interest from D1 coaches this past off-season.

 

 

 

The Grizzlies will have a new starter at QB in 2018. Ethan Dirrim is poised to be under center when the Grizzlies visit Cambridge on August 17th. Dirrim did see some action at quarterback last season, completing over 65% of his passes. Jacob Pfundt could become another big target for Dirrim this season.

The Grizzlies defensive line will be anchored by John Hanaford and Avery Rocks. Hanaford garnered Second Team All-Region honors last season. Creekview also return their three top tacklers from a year ago, Safety Andy Davis (101 tackles), and linebackers Chance Schwartz (78 tackles) and Jacob Graham (77 tackles).  Davis, a recent Citadel commit, was also a Second Team All-Region selection last season.

Coach Carter said the team doesn’t have any particular game circled on the calendar. The next game is the most important game for the Grizzlies.

We asked Carter how his team would define success this season.

He said, “Kids playing hard, playing for each other.”

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Etowah Eagles Football Preview

Posted on August 10, 2018 by admin

The Skinny

 

Coach Dave Svelha returns to Etowah for his seventh season as head coach. Coach Svehla has guided the Eagles to five consecutive playoff appearances including an appearance in the semi-finals in 2014. As with many teams in Cherokee County the Eagles will be looking to replace starters at the skill position.

While the Eagles lose the production of starting quarterback Patrick Ferris and the dynamic wide out Blake Jones, the Eagles do return running back Nick Maddox. Maddox was a First Team All-Region selection in 2017. Dominick D’Antonion will anchor another talented Cherokee County offensive line. D’Antonio, a First Team All-Region selection last season will be joined by Porfirio Acosta, who was an Honarable Mention selection and newcomer Will Robertson.

Defensivley, the Eagles will be paced by a pair of linemen in Dalton Nicolai, a First Team All-Region selection and Cole Milovanovic, an Honorable Mention selection in 2017.

While we did not have a chance to talk to Coach Svehla, the one thing we can say from seeing them play over the years, is that his teams are always tough and always play hard. While there will be some offensive fire-power to make up for, this should be a very competitive team and we wouldn’t be shocked to see them back in the playoffs in 2018.

 

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River Ridge Knights Football Preview

Posted on August 10, 2018 by admin

 

 

**Stay tuned for our podcast interview with Coach Wynn..Scheduled to be released on Tuesday, August 14th.**

 

The Skinny

 

Like several teams across the state, the River Ridge Knights will be looking to fill some holes with the losses due to graduation. When we asked Coach Wynn about some of the biggest challenges of 2018,.

“Preparing our youth who will need to step in and fill some spots immediately,” he said.

The offense graduated all of their scoring from last season. So statistically, there are no points returning from last year’s team. Running Back Kofi Reeves-Miller could be one of the new faces on offense that can help provide production. Eric Bennett (WR) could be another weapon for the Knights in the passing game

 

 

The defensive unit for River Ridge also suffered heavy losses to graduation.

“We are returning 3 defensive starters from last year – Chico Ward (S), Chase Tomlinson (LB) , and Trenton McAllister (DL)”, he said.

Coach Wynn and his staff will certainly be working to getting the less experienced Knights prepared for a difficult schedule that includes county foe Etowah, defending Class-AA State Champ, Hapeville Charter, as well as a challenging region slate that includes Dalton, Harrison, Allatoona, Creekview and Sequoyah to name a few.

“Success will be defined through our ability to get better every week and how we handle the things we can control – Effort and Attitude.” Said Wynn.

 

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Sequoyah Chiefs Football Preview

Posted on August 10, 2018 by admin

 

**Don’t forget to check out our podcast interview with Coach Teter. The link for the interview is here: Coach James Teter Podcast Interview **

 

The Skinny

 

Coach Jim Teter enters his 10thseason as the head coach of the Sequoyah Chiefs.  Coach Teter has guided the Chiefs into the post-season in five out of the last six seasons. While folks in Hickory Flat have become accustomed to post season play, Teter knows that each season presents it’s own sets of challenges. We asked Teter about the biggest challenge that his team faces this season.

“Developing depth at each position,” he said.

While the Chiefs are busy developing that depth in the pre-season, they do return five starters on offense and six on defense.

The Chiefs Wing-T offense will have experienced ball handlers in Second Team All-Region quarterback Collier Pecht (1,117 yards passing, 12 TDs) and running backs Cole Jacobs (889 yards from scrimmage, 11 TDs) and Jackson Smith (274 yards rushing) all returning. Others working to earn a spot in the backfield are Mason Webster, DJ King  and D’Angelo Smith.

The Chiefs will need to rebuild an offensive line that returns two starters in Alex Majeed, a 6’4 290 tackle that was a First Team All-Region pick. Majeed was also awarded the 2017 Cherokee Gridiron Offensive Lineman of the Year this past season. Joining Maheed will be Wyatt Hampton, a 6’2 240 guard. Other players fighting for playing time on the offensive line will be Cole Stewart, Nick Balance, Spencer Clark, Connor Johnston, Matthew Meyer and Spencer Smith.

At Tight End and Wide Receiver the Chiefs look to replace two 3-year starters with the loss of Wesley Potter and Patrick Ballance. The Chiefs will look to Joshua Estrada, Adam LaSelva, Jordan Bowers and Shayne Smith. Emmanuel Jenkins, Myles McGee, and Christian Hodgins will compete at Wide Receiver.

 

 

Defensively for the Chiefs, Emmanuel Jenkins (37 tackles, nine pass breakups) has over 10 Division I offers.  The defensive line will be a strength with returning starters Spencer Clark, Connor Johnston, Jordan Bowers (six sacks). Several others could see time on the line including Cole Stewart, David Traynor, and the aforementioned Majeed.

The Linebacker corps should be another strong area for the Chiefs as they return their second leading tackler from last season, Adam LaSelva.  LaSelva was  garnered Second Team All-Region honors last season. He will be joined by Junior, Grant Gibson. Other players to watch for  at linebacker will be Jackson Smith and Tray Bray.

The aforementioned Jenkins, a Second Team All-Region selection, is the only returning starter in the Chiefs secondary. The Chiefs will look to Myles McGee, Mason Webster and Cole Jacobs to help fill the void left by Cam Stewart, Brooks Morris and Wesley Potter.

The kicking game should be solid with returning punter Tyler Price and Sophomore Jordan Campbell.

We asked Coach Teter if there were any games that were circled on the calendar this season.

He said, “(we are) not looking past the first game.”

We followed up by asking how success would be defined this season for the Chiefs.

His response was simply, “By getting along and working together.

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Woodstock Wolverines Football Preview

Posted on August 10, 2018 by admin

 

The Skinny

 

Coach Brent Budde enters his 9th season at the helm for the Woodstock Wolverines. Coach Budde has guided the Wolverines into the post season for the past two years. Budde’s Wolverines will have to replace several key pieces from last year’s team. Which featured not only the Region offensive player of the year (Noah Frith) but also the defensive player of the year, Latrell Bankston. We asked coach Budde what the biggest challenge would be this season.

Budde said, “Making sure the players know that just because we don’t have a lot of experienced players doesn’t mean we can’t be successful.”

While they Wolverines won’t return a lot of experience on offense, the do return First Team All-Region tackle, Trevor Stephens. Stephens will certainly be a key building block as the Wolverines break in several new players at the skill positions. Stephens will be joined on the line by fellow tackle, Jaylen Reid.

Dean Braxton is projected to take the reins at quarterback. Braxton did not have any pass attempts last season. Receiver Jabari Overton and tight end Drew Sheehan will look to fill some of the void left by Noah Frith and Louis Hall.

 

 

Ryan Martin is the most productive skill player that the Wolverines have returning. Martin rushed for over 460 yards last season.

On defense there will also be plenty of opportunities for a new crop of Wolverines to make their mark. Defensive back, Andrew Bartolero, a Second Team All-Reigion selection does return for his junior season. Bartolero was third on the team in tackles last season. He will be joined in the secondary by David Daniel. Line backers Caleb Conley and Campbell Price are projected as players that could make an impact on the Wolverine defense.

We asked Coach Budde if there were any particular games that were circled on the schedule this season.

“All of our region games are circled,” he said.

The Wolverines are quickly becoming accustomed to post season play, so it’s no surprise how Coach Budde described what a successful season would look like for his young Wolverines.

Budde said, “Qualifying for the play-offs for the 3rd year in a row.”

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Conversations with Coaches Kagan McClain West Laurens Raiders

Posted on August 10, 2018 by admin

The West Laurens Raiders advanced to the second round of the state tournament last season. As a matter of fact, the Raiders have qualified for the state tournament for 4 straight seasons. However, Coach McClain knows that each new season brings its own set of challenges. Tune in as Coach McClain talks about these challenges, his background, and gives us some insight about the Raiders for the 2018 season.

 

 

You can check out our West Laurens Preview here: West Laurens Football Preview

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