GHSF Daily asked each of Georgia's eight 2017 state-winning head coaches to answer these four questions. We'll report from a different head coach each day.
Jim Dickerson, Class A public-school champion Clinch County
1. With a full offseason to reflect, what is the most memorable or special thing that you take from your championship season? "The worst memory was driving a little over four hours up to Atlanta and actually getting a rock's throw from our hotel and getting the call from Georgia High School that the games had been canceled and would be made up the next week at a high school stadium. We had such high expectations of playing in the Benz. But it was a momentary thing. It didn't last. The best memory was playing our region foe, Irwin County, that had already taken us to the woodshed in the regular season and getting revenge on their home field for the state title. That made it an unforgettable Hollywood-type deal."
2. What did winning this championship teach you about what it takes to win a championship that you didn't already know? "One thing is that you've got to get better as the season goes along. It's not necessarily the team that's better in Week 1 that is going to be better in Week 15. We have a saying: 'Every day you change. You either get better or get worse.' Our goal is to get better every day. Another thing you need is depth. Last year we had a blessing in disguise when we had a great player, Trezmen Marshall, miss the first five or six games. With him missing, that taught us not to rely on him and build depth. Then getting him back was just great for us."
3. The 2017 finals had some controversies. One was the weather postponement of several games out of Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The other was a call in the Peach County-Calhoun game that sparked a debate about the use of instant replay. How would you critique the GHSA's handling of those situations? "For the kids, to get to play in the Benz, to play where the Atlanta Falcons play, that is almost as big a deal nowadays as playing for the state title, so that was disappointing. But kids are more resilient than adults sometimes. After about 30 minutes, they were fine. Georgia High School has done a great job through the years. I know they haven't been perfect. But I don't think it was entirely their call. I think the Mercedes-Benz had a stronger voice. They had their own safety protocol in getting their workers back home. I'm sure it did save some people that could've been driving in hazardous conditions. It's a good thing I'm not making calls or there would be a lot more controversies."
4. What's the outlook for your team this season? What are your chances of repeating? "That's certainly our goal. Realistically, I think we have a good football team, and the only thing that's different is we don't have as much depth. The guys we throw out there are going to have a chance to be as good, but some will be playing old Class A football where they'll be starters on offense and defense and literally don't come off the field. We've got to be fortunate in terms of injuries because we're pretty average in depth, whereas we've been on the high end of that these past few years."
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