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Friday, April 25, 2008
Spring Football Fling: Brookwood’s got talent, but lacks needed experience
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
THE SPRING FOOTBALL FLING
In upcoming weeks, teams throughout the state will spend 10 days on the practice field preparing for the 2008 football season. In a series of stories, ajc.com will provide an offseason outlook for 25 of the top teams in the metro and state.
This Week’s Lineup
• 4/21: ML King • 4/22: Valdosta • 4/23: Buford • 4/24: P’tree Ridge • 4/25: Tucker • 4/26: Fayette Co. • 4/27: Brookwood
You make the call: What’s the buzz on Brookwood in ‘08? Will inexperience hamper the Broncos? Games start in August. Talk starts NOW.
The week before spring practice was to begin for Brookwood, coach Mark Crews and a group of friends took a trip to Mississippi to golf and relax. It was one last chance for Crews to kick back before embarking on perhaps his most challenging season as Broncos coach.
Gone are a group of high-caliber players who carried the team on a nine-game winning streak last year. The 2007 season began with concerns about quarterback and running back, but Terence Davis and Kenny Miles emerged as leaders, and Brookwood maintained its position among the state’s elite programs.
Now, Crews and his staff have more work to do. Davis, Miles and a collection of other pivotal players, including kicker Dawson Zimmerman and key offensive and defensive linemen, are leaving.
Worse, there are no clear-cut replacements.
“It seems like every year we start over,” Crews said after a round of golf. “We have a lot of pieces to put back together. It’s so much of a team game. We’ve got a real challenge as coaches to match talent and personalities with positions. We’re pretty green.
“We’ve got to find a quarterback. We’re not set at running back or any of our skilled positions. So we have more questions this year than ever before.” The answers are so fuzzy Crews did not even provide names of potential candidates.
“There is a lot in the air,” he said. “There are four or five kids we’re going to be looking at running back. Four or five at quarterback. The competition is good. We just hope someone rises to the top.”
Significantly, the offensive and defensive lines were hit hard by graduation. “The lines were always our strengths,” Crews said. “But we have kids growing up in the program from the seventh and eighth grades. We always wind up with a lot of senior linemen because it takes all those years in the weight room building their body.
“We have several juniors who are good athletes. We just have to do a good job of coaching and putting them in the right places. So, it should be both a fun year and scary. You love to see the kids develop as players and young men. You just hope it happens quickly.”
Brookwood Broncos
Region 8-AAAAA
Spring practice dates: May 5-16.
Last year’s record: 9-3, lost in the state quarterfinals.
Reclassification challenge: Does not apply.
Working on: Brookwood is trying to replace starters in key positions, including QB. Four players are vying for the spot. It’s the same at running back, where Kenny Miles’ emergence saved the team last year.
Key starters lost: QB Terence Davis; RB Kenny Miles; WR/DB Josh Jackson; K Dawson Zimmerman; OL Eric Grube; OL A.J. Mackey; TE Jarrett Mackey; LB Eric Tatum.
Key starters returning: LB Chris Martin; LB David Cooper; S, Wade Brogdon.
2008 strengths: The Brookwood tradition and coaching. The Broncos have a vast feeder program that produces fresh talent yearly. The coaching staff molds the talent. Linebacker Chris Martin is a force.
2008 weaknesses: Inexperience. The Broncos have no identifiable offensive threat. Significantly, the core of Brookwood teams - the offensive line — has been decimated by graduation. And top skill position players will graduate.
This season’s projection: Last year, Terence Davis was a solid pick to play quarterback, and Kenny Miles arose from obscurity into the top running back in the county. The Broncos are hoping several players turn an opportunity into something special. If that happens, the Broncos will be strong. If not, it could be a struggle at times, as players grow into their roles.
You make the call: What’s the buzz on Brookwood in ‘08? Will inexperience hamper the Broncos? Games start in August. Talk starts NOW.
Permalink | Comments (4) | Post your comment | Categories: Spring Football
Spring Football Fling: Fayette believes it can repeat ‘07 surprise success
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
THE SPRING FOOTBALL FLING
In upcoming weeks, teams throughout the state will spend 10 days on the practice field preparing for the 2008 football season. In a series of stories, ajc.com will provide an offseason outlook for 25 of the top teams in the metro and state.
This Week’s Lineup
• 4/21: ML King • 4/22: Valdosta • 4/23: Buford • 4/24: P’tree Ridge • 4/25: Tucker • 4/26: Fayette Co. • 4/27: Brookwood
Photos: A look at Fayette
You make the call: What’s the buzz on Fayette in ‘08? Can the Tigers repeat 2007’s success? Games start in August. Talk starts NOW.
In his short time at Fayette County, Tim Pettaway has seen two major attitude adjustments toward the football team from people around the school.
At first, they didn’t believe in the program, but then the 2007 season got started and it was magic on Tiger Trail.
“Once we started winning, they started taking us in like we were their own,” said Pettaway, who transferred last summer from a school in Massachusetts. “Instead of saying, ‘Who are y’all playing,’ it was, ‘Who are we playing?’”
But 2007 is over, and the good will of the people, Pettaway said, has to be earned again.
“It seems like nobody believes in us,” he said, “but we believe in each other. I have trust in my teammates who are coming up to play. I think we’ll get the job done.”
It remains to be seen how far self-belief will take the Tigers, who count Pettaway as their only returning full-time starter on offense, and he could be playing a new position. A running back last year, he’ll be competing for the quarterback slot when spring drills open Monday.
Fayette coach Tommy Webb characterized it as an open tryout to replace Brandon Boykin, who passed for 416 yards and rushed for 728 last year, when the Tigers averaged 33 points per game.
Whether he’s at quarterback or somewhere else, it seems likely the rebuilding project will center around Pettaway’s skills. He rushed for 556 yards in 2007.
“It’s not that big of a deal,” he said. “I just want to help the offense whatever way I can.”
Fayette Co. Tigers
Region 5-AAAA / Subregion A
Spring practice dates: April 28-May 9.
Last year’s record: 11-1, lost in Class AAAA second round to Bainbridge.
Working on: Offense. The Tigers lost 10 of 11 starters from an offense that scored 346 points in 11 games last year. The good news is they got to play a lot of backups during lopsided victories. But there are big holes to fill, starting with the featured running back slot vacated by Matt Daniels, who rushed for 1,436 yards and 21 touchdowns. QB Brandon Boykin heads off to Athens, and his position is up for grabs.
Key starters lost: QB Brandon Boykin (Georgia), FB Matt Daniels (Duke), DE/TE Barack Little (Colgate).
Key starters returning: RB/DB Tim Pettaway, WR/DB Tashawn Pettaway, DL Malcolm Reed.
2008 strengths: The Tigers held nine opponents to two touchdowns or less, and they return seven starters on defense. The secondary was hit by graduation, but the front seven are intact from a unit that had 58 tackles for losses and forced 30 turnovers. Linebackers Andre Columbus, Evan Reid, Josh Atwater and Chad Jones were mainstays, and all of them are back. “The kids we lost in secondary were big-play players and good kids,” said Webb, but the defense should benefit from playing a lot of players in 2007. “We’ll have to play well early while our offense comes around.”
2008 weaknesses: Inexperience, particularly on offense. Webb expressed little concern about his skilled players, but essentially building the line from the ground up poses a big question mark. But the Tigers have more size than they’ve had the majority of Webb’s five years on the job. “That’ll be a big important part of our spring. We’ll be bigger than we’ve been in the past, but we’ll have to see how well these guys play.”
This season’s projection: A repeat of last year, when the Tigers won 11 games for the first time in school history, seems unlikely.
Comment: “I’m hoping that next year’s team took a lot from what transpired last year in terms of character, how well they did in the classroom and how well they did in the offseason. Like I told them, this is a brand new season, a brand new team. They can’t be riding on last year’s coattails.”
Photos: A look at Fayette
You make the call: What’s the buzz on Fayette in ‘08? Can the Tigers repeat 2007’s success? Games start in August. Talk starts NOW.
Permalink | Comments (1) | Post your comment | Categories: Spring Football
Spring Football Fling: Tucker must replace most of defense, find new QB
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
THE SPRING FOOTBALL FLING
In upcoming weeks, teams throughout the state will spend 10 days on the practice field preparing for the 2008 football season. In a series of stories, ajc.com will provide an offseason outlook for 25 of the top teams in the metro and state.
This Week’s Lineup
• 4/21: ML King • 4/22: Valdosta • 4/23: Buford • 4/24: P’tree Ridge • 4/25: Tucker • 4/26: Fayette Co. • 4/27: Brookwood
Photos: A look at Tucker
You make the call: What’s the buzz on Tucker in ‘08? Are the Tigers AAAA contenders? Games start in August. Talk starts NOW.
It will be remembered as the season that went up in smoke.
Tucker was ahead 28-7 against Northside-Warner Robins, two quarters away from a school-record 14th victory and a trip to the 2007 state finals, when an undefeated season imploded.
After losing nine players on defense to graduation, the questions abound for a team that is widely considered one of the top title contenders in Class AAAA.
“That’s a huge hole to fill,” coach Franklin Stephens said. “It’s going to be a hard hole to fill because, out of those nine kids, you have some very good football players. You’re losing kids who played for two or three years. That’s a lot of experience.”
In 2007, nobody scored on Tucker until the sixth game against Mays. Tucker had seven shutouts, and only three teams scored more than eight points.
Without that level of defense, the offense likely will need to improve. It occasionally sputtered last season against defenses that could match its speed.
Seniors Jonathan Davis and Drayton Calhoun are the only runners with experience.
“Those two individuals are going to have to carry us for a while,” Stephens said. “The great thing about last year is we had depth. This year, we’re going to have some good players, but we’re not going to be nearly as deep. We’re going to have to avoid injuries.”
Tucker Tigers
Region 6-AAAA
Spring practice dates: May 8-20.
Last year’s record: 13-1, lost in the semifinals to Northside-Warner Robins.
Reclassification challenge: Does not apply.
Working on: The biggest challenge for Tucker may be replacing nine starters on defense, including the entire secondary. After that, finding a quarterback is next on the agenda for a team that won its first 13 games last season. Tucker will try to decide who’s going to fill the holes on the defense that often carried the team.
Key starters lost: WR/DB Jamoris Slaughter; RB/LB Tristan Carter; WR/DB Derrick Harris; WR/DB Neiko Lipscomb; QB Chris Simpson; TE/LB Marcus Nedd.
Key starters returning: RB/LB Jonathan Davis; RB/DB Drayton Calhoun; OL/DL Malcom Davis; OL/DL Carl Taylor.
2008 strengths: The Tigers should be more athletic and have more speed than most of their opponents. Jonathan Davis is still one of the most talented linebackers in the state.
2008 weaknesses: When depth and experience are two of your biggest strengths one year, they’re often your biggest weakness the next. Tucker will have experienced athletes, just not as many.
This season’s projection: Southwest DeKalb would appear to be the only true test for the Tigers in the new subregion B. There should be no problem reaching the playoffs.
Comment: “We’ve been knocking on the door, and we just need to take that next step up,” Stephens said. “It could have happened for us last year, but it didn’t. That’s always going to be our goal, to win a state championship.”
Photos: A look at Tucker
You make the call: What’s the buzz on Tucker in ‘08? Are the Tigers AAAA contenders? Games start in August. Talk starts NOW.
Permalink | Comments (7) | Post your comment | Categories: Spring Football
