The success or failure of a football program starts at the top. So you can imagine the four remaining teams in Class AAA each has a talented coach in charge of the program.
Here’s a look at the four men who are leading the Class AAA semifinalists:
Blessed Trinity: Tim McFarlin
Credit: Stan Awtrey
Credit: Stan Awtrey
This is McFarlin’s 15th season as a head coach, with an overall record of 132-47-2. He began in 1998 at Roswell, where he succeeded longtime coach and mentor Ray Manus, who had been there from 1975-97. McFarlin led the Hornets’ program for 10 years and shared a Class AAAAA championship with Peachtree Ridge in 2006.
McFarlin moved to Blessed Trinity in 2011 when Ricky Turner decided to become the fulltime athletic director. The Titans showed steady improvement under McFarlin. They reached the second round of the playoffs his first two seasons and got to the third round in 2013.
The big breakthrough came in 2014 when Blessed Trinity went 13-1, losing to Washington County in the semifinals. This year the Titans are 12-0-1 and ranked No. 1 in the state.
Calhoun: Hal Lamb
Credit: Stan Awtrey
Credit: Stan Awtrey
Lamb is part of Georgia coaching legacy. His father, Ray Lamb, won xxx games and remains one of the state’s most respected and admired men who have coached here. Hal Lamb has only enhanced the family coaching tree.
There was nothing in Lamb’s first two seasons at Upson-Lee that indicated coaching greatness; his teams went 5-15 in 1997-98. That all changed when Lamb decided to take the job at Calhoun, where Johnny Gulledge was leaving after 10 seasons.
Lamb’s first team went 2-8. That was the last time the Yellow Jackets failed to make the state playoffs.
Lamb’s second team went 7-4 and made the playoffs. That was the last time the Yellow Jackets failed to win fewer than 10 games.
Calhoun first reached the state championship game under Lamb in 2005 and lost to Charlton County. They were back in 2008 (losing to Buford), 2009 (losing to Buford), 2010 (losing to Buford), 2011 (going 15-0 and beating Buford), 2012 (losing to Jefferson) and 2014 (going 15-0 and beating Washington County).
In 19 seasons, Lamb’s record is 201-46. It’s 196-31 in 17 years at Calhoun.
Cedar Grove: Jermaine Smith
Credit: Stan Awtrey
Credit: Stan Awtrey
Jermaine Smith is the newcomer among the coaches in the final four. He took over in 2013 and has the Saints in the semifinals for the first time since 1991.
Smith took over from Ray Bonner, who went 51-54 in 10 seasons at Cedar Grove and took the team to the third round in 2010. Bonner retired and moved back to Tennessee and Smith was promoted from offensive coordinator.
Smith has been at Cedar Grove since 2007. A former Tennessee State quarterback, Smith helped develop Jonathan McCrary, who rewrote the DeKalb County passing records before signing with Vanderbilt. He is now developing quarterback Jelani Woods, who benefits from directing a balanced offensive attack that has failed to score at least 26 points only once all season – the 13-13 tie to Blessed Trinity in the Region 4-AAA title game.
Smith has also cultivated a proud defensive culture. The Saints take great pride in their ability to force turnovers and change the momentum with their defense, something they did twice within a two-minute period in the quarterfinals against Westside-Macon.
Westminster: Gerry Romberg
Credit: Stan Awtrey
Credit: Stan Awtrey
Romberg is one of the longest-tenured coaches in the state. He’s spent his entire career as a head coach at Westminster, starting in 1992, and has a career record of 178-103. He spent time as an assistant in college (The Citadel, South Carolina and Coast Guard) and at Dunwoody High School before coming to Westminster.
After going 1-9 the first season, the Wildcats steadily improved and have become a perennial playoff team. Since first qualifying for postseason in 1994, the Wildcats have failed to qualify only three other times.
Westminster has enjoyed six seasons of double-digit wins under Romberg, including a trip to the semifinals in 2003 and in 2014. Last year the Wildcats were beaten by Calhoun in the semifinal game.
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