Lincoln County head coach Kevin Banks has Red Devils 5-0; Pinecrest, Turner County atop new power ratings

Today we check in with Lincoln County head coach Kevin Banks, who has the folks in Lincolnton talking state title again as the Red Devils are 5-0 for the first time since 2011 and are back in the AJC Top 10 at No. 9. And we’ll have the latest Georgia High School Association/MaxPreps Power Ratings.

Kevin Banks has Lincoln County back in the state championship hunt

Following a legend in anything is never easy. But that’s the task confronting Lincoln County head coach Kevin Banks, who took over last season for Larry Campbell, the winningest coach in Georgia high school football history (477-85-3). The Red Devils went 7-4 in 2013 under Campbell, and then repeated that record last season, Banks’ first. Folks in Lincolnton are not accustomed to first-round playoff losses, and most certainly not for two years in a row. But the seeds Banks and his staff planted last season already appear to be baring fruit, as the youthful Red Devils are off to a 5-0 start.

On how he came to Lincoln County over 20 years ago

“I grew up in Newton County and graduated in 1985. I was able to earn a football scholarship to South Carolina State University, but I transferred to Fort Valley State and graduated in 1990. I took a job as a math teacher at Georgia Military College and was there for two years. We made it to the playoffs for the first time in something like 30 years. The next year I came to Lincoln County and I’ve been here ever since.”

On how he got the job taking over for Larry Campbell last season

“Myself and Howard Ellis had been on coach Campbell’s staff the longest. He had been here even longer than me. He retired a few years ago, but got bored and started coaching at [Class AAAA] Thomson and was there for five years. When I became the head coach last year, I brought him back as my defensive coordinator.”

On the makeup of his staff

“My offensive coordinator, Sean Patrick, was at Thomson and he has 10 years of coaching experience. Coach Ellis has 37 years. The rest of my staff, I coached them here at Lincoln County. That is a really good thing because I think it allows us to coach them harder. The kids know we love them because we know them. We watched them grow up. We know their mommas, their daddies and their grandparents.”

On the importance of that family connection to the success of the football program

“It’s huge being able to be close to our youth program, our Pop Warner program. For instance, right now I can tell you who our quarterback is going to be five years from now. Football means so much around here. It brings us all together, black and white. This town shuts down when we play. Last year, when we went to Charlton County for the playoffs, we took 10 charter buses.”

On the pressure of winning big at Lincoln County

“Oh there is a lot of pressure. A lot of pressure. Coach Campbell established a winning tradition and people expect us to compete for championships. [A] 7-4 [record] might be something to be proud of in a lot of places. Not here. People here want to know when are we going to win a championship again.”

On the tough love he had to dispense last season

“We had to get rid of seven kids last season, four of them were starters. They were not doing the things we needed them to do in order to be a part of this program. They were disrespectful to coaches, not living up to our standards in the classroom. I couldn’t tolerate it. Kids are just different today. A lot of them want to be Red Devils, but they don’t want to put in the work to be a Red Devil.”

On how that move impacted the season and the program

“We started the season 1-2 and then we played Twiggs County, and they had not won a game yet at the time. Well, they returned the opening kickoff against us. I thought to myself, what in the world have I done. But we ended up coming back and winning (41-13). Parents and other people called me, black and white, telling me that I did the right thing and that it was good that we were trying to instill more discipline in our kids.”

On last year’s first-round playoff loss (23-22 in OT) at Charlton County

“We went up 16-0, but ended up losing. But on the bus ride back, we got together as a staff and talked about how we were on the right track. We just needed to believe in what we were doing and have a good offseason.”

On the offseason program

“Our kids really bought in and responded. All summer, we only had three kids to miss a workout. We have 70 in our program and we dress 55 on the varsity. When we won back to back state championships in 2005 and 2006, we only dressed 40. We don’t have any linemen going both ways, which is huge for us.”

On his small senior class

“We only have eight seniors. Four of them are starters:  Devon Holloway (6-4, 215) plays defensive end, Jason Gartrell (6-1, 215) is a linebacker, Corey Davis (6-3, 265) is one of our offensive linemen and Ryan O’Neill is one of the best kickers in the state that nobody knows yet. He kicked a 50 yarder last week. Recruiting for him and for Devon is starting to pick up. A few [Football Championship Subdivision, or Div. 1-AA] schools are interested in them, and I think as the season goes along things will pick up for Jason and Corey. They are all very good players and they have been excellent leaders for us. Jason is not vocal, but all of our younger players look up to him because of how hard he works.”

On the key contributors this season

“We’re still a very young team, but guys are stepping up.  On offense, Quay Hartsfield (5-5, 165) is our leading rusher and Mitch Matthews (6-4, 270) is one of our offensive linemen. They are both juniors. Our quarterback, Javon Reid (6-1, 165) is a sophomore. On defense, our free safety Ty Elam (5-11, 170) and Traijan Crawford (6-0, 225) are both juniors. All of them are really good players. We just need to play more games to get them some more exposure. I think Traijan is really going to turn some heads.”

On players who have been a surprise

“David Burns (DE/RB; 5-8, 175), is a senior who seems like he has been in our program for years. Even though he is not a starter, he has stepped in this year and does an excellent job when he’s in there. And Austin Scarboro (OL; 6-2, 225), another senior, is a kid I never believed would start for us. He just wasn’t aggressive enough. But I’ll tell you what, he worked his butt off in the off season and he has come out and been a totally different kid this season. He’s doing a great job.”

On when he thought his team would be pretty good

“At the end of the summer, I thought we would have a decent team. When we beat [Class AA] Washington-Wilkes (26-13, Week 2), I knew we had a shot to be pretty good. Then last week we beat [First Presbyterian Day] (14-0), and they have a good team. [FPD head] Coach [Greg] Moore is someone I really respect a lot. He told me you guys have a really good team.”

On what his team is doing well, and what it needs to improve

“Right now, we’re really running the ball well and on defense we are flying to the ball. We have a lot of speed. But people are going to stack the box on us, and so we have to improve on throwing the ball, which is something I think we can do. Defensively, we’re missing too many tackles. We’ve been working on that. We took time to work on it in practice [Monday].”

On the importance of bringing a championship back to Lincolnton for the first time since 2006

“It’s so important to this community. People support us so much. Let me give you an example:  Our churches, black and white, provide our pre-game meals. Sometimes they fuss with each other about being the ones to do it because it’s such a big deal. We keep the schedule on our calendar and all of the dates are booked up by June. Our town shuts down when we play. We even have an audience when we practice. People want a championship here again, and our kids are working hard to get it done. I have to give them a lot of credit. If we keep working hard and improving in the areas where we need to improve, I think we have a shot.”

Pinecrest, Turner County sit atop newest Power Ratings

You’ve gotta love the Georgia High School Association/MaxPreps Power Ratings. In spite of losing by three touchdowns to Mt. Paran Christian (5-0), Pinecrest Christian remains in the top spot on the private school side, while Mt. Paran slipped from third to fourth. On the public side, Turner County, one of the surprise teams of the year thus far, jumped into the top spot, replacing the team the Rebels blasted (44-0) last week, Charlton County.

Private

Worst Record In:  No. 11 Brookstone, No. 14 (Tie) FPD and Stratford Academy, all 2-2

Best Record Out: No. 19 Savannah Christian (3-2)

First Team Out:  No. 17 Fellowship Christian (2-2)

Who Dropped Out: Athens Christian (1-4) and Savannah Christian (3-2)

Who Jumped In: No. 11 Brookstone (2-2) and No. 16 Tattnall Square (3-1)

Noteworthy:  Savannah Christian dropped from No. 10 to out of the top 16, even after winning last week.

Public

Worst Record In:  No. 14 Twiggs County (1-3)

Best Record Out: No. 24 Treutlen (3-2)