Oconee County enters Class AAA after a runner-up finish in the Class AAAA championship game 2019. The Warriors lost 17-14 to Blessed Trinity in the title game in coach Travis Noland's seventh season at Oconee.
He is aware of the task ahead, even with a drop in class, and the "Who's Who" his team will face in AAA.
"Class AAA is strong," Noland said. "There are the teams that are always in it, like Peach County and Cedar Grove. But it wasn't too long ago when we were in AAA. So it's not like it is uncharted waters for us."
Noland coached at North Carolina's Clyde Erwin from 1998-2002 before taking the head coaching job at Tuscola, also in North Carolina. He came to Georgia in 2005 after taking the head coaching job at Stephens County, then moved to Oconee County in 2013 to take over after Mitch Olson's departure.
Noland spoke Tuesday about what his team is doing without spring practice, the drop in class and several other topics:
Q. What kind of team will you put up against the AAA field in 2020?
A. You can't really say. It is hard to evaluate when you have been removed from something. We have only compared ourselves or been able to compare ourselves to things we have been familiar with. I am so unfamiliar with (AAA teams), even though we played Cedar Grove a few years back. I have not seen much AAA football film to know where those programs are. I know that those teams like Crisp County and (others) are very talented and they are set for a very good next year. So we will see where we stand.
Q. Tell me about your new region, 8-AAA.
A. I know Hart County had a great year. They've been building a program under Rance Gillespie during the last few years. I think they're really excited about what they have coming back and the opportunity they have. Monroe Area has been very good the last few years. We know they will be a challenge. We haven't played them in quite a while, aside from JV. So I know they will be a very talented, well-coached team. There are a few teams we haven't seen in a while, like East Jackson and Franklin County. We are very familiar with Stephens County, who I think they'll be one of the top teams, if not the top team, in our region. They have a lot of people back and will be a challenge for us. So we just have to find a way to put ourselves in position to have a chance at the playoffs again.
Q. So what's the lost spring been like for Oconee County?
A. We are probably a little different than most people think. We haven't bothered our players hardly at all. We talk to them, positionally. In other words, I jumped into a zoom meeting this morning that our fullbacks and tight ends were having, and our running backs have a meeting with their coaches tomorrow. Our position coaches try to meet with them once a week, as more of a wellness check than football-related. We haven't talked much football. We just feel like we have a plan in place, whether we get to come back in June, July or August. Until then, and until we know, we are just spinning our wheels trying to do a lot of things, but at the end of the day, you'll have to start over when you get in person. Other than keeping up with them and making sure they're doing OK, we haven't don't much with our guys. There's just no right or wrong way to handle this situation. It is just something we hope passes and we can get through and move forward.
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