New HS football coaches who've made impact

By GHSF Daily staff

For the AJC

There were about 50 new head coaches hired for his season. Here are five that good have proven to be good hires:

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Johnny Crawford, AJC Jamie Aull, a former linebacker for Mt. Zion-Jonesboro, now coaches his old team.

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Jamie Aull, Mount Zion (Jonesboro): A year ago, there were 17 new coaches who inherited teams that won at least eight games the season before. None of them improved on his successor's record. Aull is 8-2 compared to Mount Zion's 8-5 record last season. Aull is a former Mount Zion player who had been an assistant there.

Dante Ferguson, Stone Mountain: Stone Mountain is 6-3 after a 3-7 finish in 2007. A loss last week to Chamblee could cost the Pirates a playoff berth in Region 6-AAAA, but few expected them to be in the race after Ferguson was hired in the summer.

T. McFerrin, Jefferson: It's hard to improve an 11-1 team, but McFerrin, the 300-game winner who came out of retirement, might have done it. His Dragons are 9-0.

Larry Milligan, Oglethorpe County: The former Greene County coach has Oglethorpe on the verge of a 5-5 season after finishes of 1-9 and 2-8 the previous two years.

Brad Waggoner, Chattooga: Chattooga, which went 6-4 with three head coaches last year, is 8-1 and having its best season since a 9-2 finish in 2000. Waggoner is a Georgia native and former Georgia Tech player who was a head coach in Alabama last season.

-- Produced by The Georgia High School Football Daily staff