Four Questions with Hancock Central head coach Marleau Blount

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GHSF Daily's Four Questions feature historically poses the same questions to a different Georgia head coach each issue. This season, head coaches are being asked Four Questions tailored to current events. Today's interviewee is Hancock Central head coach Marleau Blount, whose Bulldogs defeated Washington-Wilkes 28-20 on Friday to end a 27-game losing streak in the series. Blount's team, which started last season 0-7, is 4-1 overall and 2-0 in region play for the first time since 2006.

Marleau Blount, Hancock Central head coach 

1. What did the victory over Washington-Wilkes mean to your program, given the history of that series? "The win means that we are doing the right things within this program. My intentions were to change the culture around Hancock Central. We have bunches of athletes here. This coaching staff is stressing weights, structure and discipline first, and the winning will take care of itself. As far as the region, the goal is to be in the region championship hunt as well as the playoffs. Other than making some history, Washington-Wilkes is a region contender, dropping from AA to A. They were in the region championship game two years ago. If we can play with them, we are going to contend."

2. What are some of the challenges that are perhaps unique to Hancock Central when it comes to building a good football program? Why has the program struggled historically? "Hancock Central has been a basketball school since the Grant brothers [NBA players Horace and Harvey Grant] in the early '80s. Every athlete here was focused on basketball. The challenge was to get the athletes to focus on the other sports. Now that we have placed in the top four in Class A track, including two state championships, I plan on doing the same with football and promote this program. This is my third year as head football coach, and everything is going to plan. I have a small coaching staff of four assistant coaches, but they will outwork a staff of 10 easily. We will add more personnel in the coming year."

3. What are some of the things you've done to address some of those challenges to get the program to where it is? "Spending more time outside of the school with our program and getting the community involved and making Hancock County citizens and stakeholders a part of what we do on a daily basis. Making scholarship opportunities for our players, college visits, former alumni coming back to impart knowledge. Making students want to be a part of Hancock Central football. We are preparing our players to play - weights, academics, being technically sound in their positions."

4. Coincidental to your win Friday, your alma mater, Warren County, ended a 43-game losing streak to Lincoln County. What's happening in your region [7-A]? "It is hard to replace a living legend, Larry Campbell, so Lincoln County has a tough task finding a replacement for him. I was glad to see the Screamin' Devils win that game. I myself have been a part of several games with Lincoln County that have been close to making history for Warren County. There were some classic battles in the late '80s, '90s and 2000s. The private schools have made Class A regions and state playoffs interesting. The private schools have a distinct advantage over our small Class A schools. That is an argument forever and a day. Half of the teams in our region are private schools. [Aquinas is the defending champion.] The playoffs will be interesting. We hope to be there in the hunt."

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