Moving up in classification hasn’t been an issue for some of the top teams in Class AAA. Among the teams ranked in the top 10, three (Calhoun, Jefferson and Westminster) were in Class AA last year. Two others (Laney and Cook) are going to make the playoffs after moving up a division and possibly earn a home date for the first round of the playoffs.
Things have really turned around at Cook, which has started to hit its stride under first-year coach Jon Lindsey, who was the defensive coordinator at Camden County from 2005-2010. Lindsey was the head coach at Irwin County the last three years and took the Indians to the Class A semifinals in 2013.
After an 0-2 start – 28-0 against much-larger neighbor Tift County and 21-14 to neighbor rival Berrien – Cook has started to hit its stride. The Hornets have won five straight games and stand 4-0 in Region 1-AAA. Cook was 6-5 last year in Region 1-AA.
“The main thing we’ve done is get people in the right position,” said Lindsey, who was part of two state championship teams while at Camden County. “Sometimes you might not see yourself as a fullback when you’ve been playing wide receiver.”
There were a lot of changes when Lindsey brought in the hybrid Wing-T offense to replace the spread attack run by the previous regime. Lindsey sounds very old-school (yet very correct) when he said, “You’ve got to be able to run the football.”
He has developed an undersized offensive line that continues to improve. “They’re physical and not scared of contact,” he said.
That’s been a help to quarterback Connor Hilliard, a junior who does a nice job managing the offense and has continued to improve as a passing threat. The deep stable of running backs is led by seniors Jalen Bennett and Jay smith, Junior Tavian Allen and sophomore Kejon DeBerry.
“We want to be two and three deep at each position so we can interchange guys and keep them fresh for the fourth quarter,” Lindsey said.
The defense is playing at its best. Cook’s varsity defense has not allowed a point over the last four games. Defensive end Tommy Owens, linebacker Spencer Joiner and free safety Jeremy Walden are the sparkplugs on the defense.
Cook finishes the region schedule with games against Appling County and No. 10-ranked Dodge County. A win would assure the Hornets if the subregion title. A split would likely assure them of a spot in the top three and a place in the play-in game to reach the state tournament.
What about some of the others who moved up in classification:
Region 1: Toombs County has taken its lumps in the move up. The Bulldogs are 2-4 overall and 0-3 in the region after going 4-6 last year.
Region 2: Three new Columbus-area teams came into the region and have drooped to the bottom. Jordan (2-5), Spencer (1-5), Kendrick (2-4) have had difficulty staying on the field against the likes of Westside, Peach County and Jackson. Kendrick made the 5-AA playoffs last year and won a first-round playoff game.
Region 3: Laney (3-3) and Westside Augusta (3-3-1) have been competitive and is expected to make the playoffs in the wide-open race to finish second behind No. 1-ranked Washington County. Josey (1-6) has struggled just as it did in the lower division when it went winless in 2013.
Region 5: Pepperell is 1-5 and in last place. The Dragons were 4-7 last year and made the playoffs in Region 7-AA.
Region 6: Calhoun (7-0) has plenty of athletes and easily made the transition. Not so much for Murray County (1-5), which has struggled again on the heels of last year's 1-9 season.
Region 8: Jefferson (7-0) has helped this tough region become the deepest and most competitive in the state. It's one of the rare leagues that will leave an above-average team at home for the playoffs.
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