The Skinny
Coach Sean Gray enters his 7thseason at the helm for the Southeast Whitfield Raiders. Coach Gray guided the Raiders to a 7-3 season last year and narrowly missed out on a playoff berth after falling to Pickens High in the play-in tiebreaker game. The seven-win tally was the most wins for the Raiders since the 1985 season.
This year, one of the biggest challenges for Southeast will be replacing the defensive line and First Team All-State lineman Luke Johns.
Junior quarterback Adam Sowder takes over for Porter Johnson. Last season the Raiders passed for just under 2,000 yards. Receiver Zac Cole will look to step in and help replace the production of tight-end Oscar Gonzalez. Gonzalez was a First Team All-State selection last season, who led the team in receiving with 891 yards and 13 touchdowns.
While the Raiders fine tune the passing game, the run game looks to be in good shape with the return of Christian Gillespie. As a sophomore last season, Gillespie led the team in rushing with 845 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Gillespie will more than likely see time on both sides of the ball. Defensively, he will line up as linebacker. Cornerback Mike Zilbert is projected to lead the secondary.
As mentioned before, the Raiders had their best season in 32 years. Graduation however, has taken its toll on this squad. They lost 24 seniors off of the 2017 team. Matching last years win total will be a tall task.
Looking at the 2018 schedule, there is no question that the biggest game of the season for the Raiders is their county rival Northwest Whitfield.
