Well Class A Heads, the time has come. This will be the final football blog for this season.
Starting Saturday we’ll be full tilt basketball, though I will post nuggets from time to time on players who commit or sign with a school to play college football, and will mention any coaching changes. Also, if the Georgia High School Association makes any changes or tweaks to any of its rules that will have an impact on Class A football, we’ll report that here as well.
But before we turn out the lights on this season, congratulations to the champions – Hawkinsville and Mt. Paran Christian. And speaking of the champs, what if we had a “plus one” game this weekend to decide the Class A champion? How would that turn out? Who would win?
We asked Hawkinsville head coach David Daniell and Mt. Paran head coach Mitch Jordan how they would craft a game plan, if they had to face each other this week. After that, check out some final comments on this season from some of the coaches in Class A.
Hawkinsville on offense vs. Mt. Paran’s defense, according to Daniell
“We would do the same thing we’ve done all season and that is be physical up front, make first downs, control the clock and grind it out. We averaged close to 29 minutes in time of possession this season (games are 48 minutes), which kept our defense off the field and fresh because we’re fortunate enough to not have a lot of guys going both ways. It’s the system we believe in and our kids are suited to that system and they have bought in. We don’t have any of those backs that break long runs. We may have had two touchdowns this season on runs longer than 40 yards. But we have two big backs (seniors Warren Singletary Jr. and Reginald McDonald) that are 200 pounds-plus and we use that to our advantage.”
Hawkinsville on defense vs. Mt. Paran’s offense, according to Daniell
“I saw a few of their games. They’re very explosive. Our goal is always to take away the run and we would try to do the same thing against them – take away their running game, which is very explosive. [In the final against Irwin County] We did a great job of being physical and fundamentally sound up front by staying in our gaps and cutting off the cutback lanes. That prevented [Region 2 Player of the Year Jakyron] Young from getting any long runs. We would try to take away [Mt. Paran’s] running game and force them to do things they aren’t comfortable doing.”
Mt. Paran on offense vs. Hawkinsville’s defense, according to Jordan
“I know about the tradition of Hawkinsville and defense. They’ve always done a great job and coach Daniell has continued that. But we would stay with our base offense. We’re blessed to have a group that can also be effective when we get in a spread, and [senior quarterback] Jake Allen has the ability to pass for 3,000 yards if we needed him to do that. He has that type of ability.”
Mt. Paran on defense vs. Hawkinsville’s offense, according to Jordan
“That physical running game would create some problems for us. A team that is big and physical like that, that gets three or four yards each play, keeps the ball away from us and keeps our offense off the field. We’d have to find a way to get the ball back for our offense.”
Final thoughts on 2014
We asked several coaches to give us their assessment of the season. Here are the answers from those who responded:
Wayne Brantley, Landmark Christian
What went right this season or biggest positive game/moment: It was a great season, 8-2 regular season. We beat a 5A school and two AAA schools. It was our 14th consecutive winning season. The highlight of the year was seeing our players fight for each other each week. We had a very unified group that loved each other and played their hearts out for each other. We have made the playoffs 13 of the last 14 years and 4 in a row. Our senior class was great, they finished their careers as the winningest class in Landmark history with 37 wins in four years. A state runner up finish and a state semi-finals finish.
Will you have spring practice, or forgo it in order to schedule an extra scrimmage: We will have spring practice in late May after baseball and track ends.
Mike Earwood, Our Lady of Mercy
What went right this season or biggest positive game/moment: Finally, we played ELCA competitively (OLM lost to ELCA, 19-11, on Oct. 31).
What went wrong this season or most disappointing game/moment: Didn't make the state play-offs. The loss to ELCA knocked us out due to their brutal non-region schedule. We received 2 points for that game and missed the play-offs by .15.
A player(s) who exceeded your expectations, and how: Senior DE Charles Oakley. Defensive Player of the Year. Played at a high level...led the team in tackles....and is getting some recruiting looks.
What will it take to continue your program's success, take it to the next level, or drastically improve it: We have got to improve our line of scrimmage. Very much outmanned by the state's top teams.
Key area(s) of focus during the offseason: Replacing QB and finding some receivers.....entire D-line and linebacker units graduate.
Number of starters/key contributors returning on offense and defense: 4 offensive starters return..3 on defense.
Will you have spring practice, or forgo it in order to schedule an extra scrimmage: We will have spring practice.
If your non-region schedule is set, list big/important non-region game(s) with location(s) and date(s): Pace Academy – home; KIPP Academy – away; Aquinas – home; Terrell County – home; Lumpkin County – away; Haralson County – away.
Jonathan Gess, Eagle’s Landing Christian
First, name your key assistants here, along with their area(s) of responsibility (always good to give them some credit!): Kenny Dallas was unbelievable this year and a huge reason why we were able to overcome so much adversity. Zach Davis was our DC and did a tremendous job. Our AD Scott Queen does a tremendous job as our AD and our wide receivers coach. Joe Bryan, Bryan Shockley, Travis Rogers, Tim Creamer and Drew Walston are competitive coaches who demand excellence from our boys!
What went right this season or biggest positive game/moment: The biggest moment for us was when we were 1-6 and went and played 6-1 Landmark. We had to win to keep our playoff hopes alive and we did. Playoff victories at Prince Avenue and Calvary rank high as well.
What went wrong this season or most disappointing game/moment: Obviously losing so bad against Paran was disappointing but I think it is going to propel us to being a better team next year. I think it is imperative to use the most disappointing moments as opportunities that generate success in the future. All negatives must be used to make a positive!!
A player(s) who exceeded your expectations, and how: Davis Reynolds exceeded our expectations from a leadership standpoint and productivity standpoint. He is a 5'11 190 safety who is one of the smartest kids in the country. He scored perfect on the verbal sections of his SAT. Over the past 2 years I lost two tremendous safeties in DJ Curl (starting as a sophomore at Charleston Southern) and Bryson Durden and didn't know if davis could perform at their level. He ended the year with 7 int's and 61 tackles. He met and exceeded expectations!
What will it take to continue your program's success, take it to the next level, or drastically improve it:
We have had a lot of success over the years but we still would like to take our team to another level. We need to ramp up or off-season team building/character building process and educate our players more on their diet and how that impacts their speed and strength. I am excited to get started and improving in these areas.
Key area(s) of focus during the offseason: Like I mentioned above, we have always done tremendous job developing our kids speed and strength wise individually. We need to do a better job developing the collective group. Team Building and Character Building will be crucial pieces of our off-season program. I believe we can do a better job helping our kids understand how diet correlates with strength and speed as well.
Number of starters/key contributors returning on offense and defense: We have 8 offensive starters returning and 6 defensive starters returning.
Will you have spring practice, or forgo it in order to schedule an extra scrimmage: That is a great question. With so many kids playing baseball I could see us forgoing spring practice in replace of a scrimmage. We will see though, kids love spring practice.
If your non-region schedule is set, list big/important non-region game(s) with location(s) and date(s):
We will play Mt. Paran Aug 23rd at Mt. Paran. That is as big as it gets for us right now!
Jeff Herron, Prince Avenue Christian
First, name your key assistants here, along with their area(s) of responsibility (always good to give them some credit!): Richard Bell – Defensive Coordinator; Chance Jones – Offensive Coordinator
What went right this season or biggest positive game/moment: Bounced back from a 2-2 start to win back to back Region Championships; biggest game was probably 48-21 win over Commerce when we had not played well to that point
What went wrong this season or most disappointing game/moment: Always disappointing to lose your last game; vs ELCA but turning the ball over 6 times and losing to Athens Christian in September was probably the worst game. Worst moment was losing Kevon Hudson on opening kickoff of the season to torn ACL.
A player(s) who exceeded your expectations, and how: After the way our season started I would have to say the ALL exceeded our expectations. They overcame adversity and had a very good year.
What will it take to continue your program's success, take it to the next level, or drastically improve it:
Staying away from injuries and getting more kids involved in football are huge keys at this level.
Key area(s) of focus during the offseason: Weight room; getting more kids out.
Number of starters/key contributors returning on offense and defense:
7 return on offense; 8 return on defense
Will you have spring practice, or forgo it in order to schedule an extra scrimmage:
Spring practice
If your non-region schedule is set, list big/important non-region game(s) with location(s) and date(s):
Go to Aquinas to open the season and for us going to Athens Christian and Commerce this year will be huge.
Mike Swaney, Marion County
First, name your key assistants here, along with their area(s) of responsibility (always good to give them some credit!): Richard McCorkle, offensive coordinator.
What went right this season or biggest positive game/moment: Winning region championship and having a 17-game winning streak.
What went wrong this season or most disappointing game/moment: Two-point semi-final loss was biggest disappointment.
A player(s) who exceeded your expectations, and how: Our quarterback Dustin Eckert exceeded all expectations – 25-2 as a starter with two region and one state championship.
What will it take to continue your program's success, take it to the next level, or drastically improve it:
We must develop our kids at the lower levels.
Key area(s) of focus during the offseason: New quarterback and offensive line will be our focus in the off season.
Number of starters/key contributors returning on offense and defense: 8 on defense; 7 on offense
Will you have spring practice, or forgo it in order to schedule an extra scrimmage: Spring practice
If your non-region schedule is set, list big/important non-region game(s) with location(s) and date(s): Columbus is our biggest non-region game because they are AAAAA, Sept. 18.
