There were 90 new head football coaches hired this past offseason. Here are eight that have made ripples just a month into the season:
*Justin Rogers, Jones County: Rogers is the runaway leader for rookie coach of the year in Georgia. Jones County (4-0) is ranked for the first time since 2001 after its victory over No. 1 Northside of Warner Robins last week. It was the manner in which it was done that opened eyes. Jones County put up 561 yards in total offense. Rogers won a state title at Griffin last season as offensive coordinator for a team that averaged 42.7 points per game.
*Steve Davenport, Woodland (Stockbridge): Woodland is 4-0 for the first time. The Wolfpack hadn't won four games total in a season since 2009 (7-4). It will get tougher with region play starting this week. Davenport is the former Savannah State head coach who had good runs as a high school coach at Decatur and Redan.
*Travis Noland, Oconee County: The Warriors are 4-0 for the first time since 2001. Granted, their schedule is rated the sixth-easiest in Class AAA by the Maxwell Ratings, and one game was a forfeit (Putnam County declined to play because of weather concerns), but it's important to build some excitement around a program that hasn't had a winning season in a decade. Noland was 73-30 in his nine seasons at Stephens County. His son, Zeb, has done well as the new quarterback. A rising star is sophomore RB Christian Casey, who has rushed for 324 yards in three games.
*Franklin Stephens, Ware County: Some coaches are masters at taking bad programs and making them better. That's not easy. But what about taking good programs and making them great? Ware was already good, winning 10, 10, 13 and 11 games over Ed Dudley's final four seasons, and it's too soon to tell if the Gators will take the next step. But Ware is No. 1 in the rankings. Stephens has experience making great out of good, winning Tucker's first state titles in 2008 and 2011 and taking Lamar County to the state final last year.
*Ben Stready, Riverwood: The previous coach, Robert Ingram, built Riverwood into a winning team. The Raiders were 7-4 last season. Stready, the defensive coordinator, is moving the ship forward still. No game has been closer than 31-10, and Riverwood has a decent shot to be sitting 7-0 when Kell comes to town on Oct. 17. Stready was the defensive coordinator at Tift County in 2012 and East Paulding before that under John Reid.
*Charley Waters, Jenkins County: Jenkins County was saved from a winless season in 2013 because Region 3-A gave its last-place team a 10th game against Glascock County. Region 3-A will be tough again, and next week's game against No. 3 Calvary Day will be a reality check. Even so, it has been a change of attitude under Waters, who was Jenkins County's interim coach in 2011 before taking a step back.
*Heath Webb, Winder-Barrow: The Bulldoggs (2-2) have matched their victory total from 2013 (2-8) or any season since 2007 (5-5) and are hoping for their first winning season since 2003 (8-3). Webb came from Peachtree Ridge, where he was the quarterbacks coach. He started North Paulding's program and had an early star player in Chris Conley, now at Georgia.
*Chris Williams, Athens Christian: There are three private schools in Athens playing in Region 8-A. Prince Avenue Christian is the reigning champion, and Athens Academy has had a winning season or made the playoffs every year since 1992, one of the longest streaks of its kind in any classification. The third, Athens Christian, pulled the rug from under both of them this season, beating Athens Academy 31-14 on Aug. 29 and Prince Avenue Christian 42-32. That's the first sweep of the two rivals in Athens Christian history. That must be satisfying to an Athens Christian alumnus and former Eagles quarterback, Williams, who was promoted from offensive coordinator this season.
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