GHSF Daily is chronicling the many coaching changes in the offseason. We continue today with Class AA.
Number of hires: 14
Best hire: Robby Robinson, McIntosh County Academy
Hardest to replace: Dwight Hochstetler, Bowdon
Best job: Washington-Wilkes
Toughest job: Long County
Most interesting: Bowdon's Dwight Hochstetler, whose 345 victories in Georgia rank No. 4 all-time, retired after 37 seasons as a head coach. It was thought that Hochstetler's son, Evan, the offensive coordinator and former quarterback at the school, might get the job, but he left his hometown to become head coach at Region 5 rival Manchester - and he hired Dwight as offensive line coach. Bowdon went with North Gwinnett defensive coordinator Robert Andrews.
Region 1
*Pelham hired Thomasville offensive coordinator Dondrial Pinkins to replace Frankie Carroll, who resigned to become athletics director at Worth County. Pinkins was head coach at Mitchell County from 2009 to 2011 and had a 19-13 record. He assisted at Valdosta before joining Thomasville's staff. Pinkins is a former Mitchell-Baker and South Carolina quarterback.
*Seminole County promoted assistant Wes Williams to replace Alan Ingram, who retired. Williams has been at Seminole since 2005. He has also coached at Calhoun County and Southwest Georgia Academy. Seminole County was 83-42 and won three region titles in 11 seasons under Ingram.
Region 2
*Bryan County hired Metter offensive coordinator Allen Cartwright to replace Mark Wilson, who took the Taylor County job. Cartwright has a deceiving 38-63-1 record as a head coach. He led Claxton (2006-11) to its first winning season in six years and Windsor Forest (2001-2004) to its first winning season in 13 years.
*Long County promoted offensive coordinator Eric McNair to replace Ron Flott, whose teams were 10-30 in four seasons at a school that has had one non-losing season (5-5 in 2012) since restarting football in 2002. McNair also has coached at alma mater Tattnall County and Metter. Flott is now an assistant at Bryan County.
*McIntosh County Academy hired Washington-Wilkes coach Robby Robinson, the coach it fired four years ago, to replace Gary Mintier, who was 0-10 in one season. Robinson was 54-24-1 in seven seasons at MCA (2004-10) but dismissed after a 7-5 finish. Robinson then was 33-14 at Washington-Wilkes while MCA achieved just one winning season in Robinson's absence. Robinson never sold his house in McIntosh County. Mintier is now on Rancie Gillespie's staff at Valdosta.
Region 3
*East Laurens hired Buddy Sorrow, its coach from 1994 to 2002, to replace Gary Morton, who was 12-38-1 in five seasons, 2-7-1 in 2014. Sorrow started coaching in 1971 and has retired multiple times, only to return. His career record is 101-62-2 with stops at Southeast Bulloch (1987) and Edmund Burke Academy (2008-12). Edmund Burke was the 2011 GISA Class AA runner-up. Morton, whose 6-5 finish in 2012 is the school's only winning season since 2003, is now an assistant at Bleckley County.
*Harlem hired Grovetown assistant and athletics director Todd Booker to replace Jimmie Lewis, who resigned after 23 years as head coach (39 overall at his alma mater). Booker, an Augusta native, was a head coach at Hephzibah (2002-04) and assisted at Burke County before coming to Grovetown in 2009. Lewis' 23 years made him the second-most tenured coach in AA, behind Bowdon's Dwight Hochstetler, who also retired. Lewis will remain as Harlem's baseball coach.
*Metter hired West Forsyth special teams and running backs coach Chris Johnson to replace Mike West, who resigned to become defensive coordinator at Tift County. Johnson, a Statesboro native, had been with West Forsyth the past six seasons. West's teams were 23-28 in five seasons, 4-6 in 2014. Metter's 7-4 finish in 2013 was the program's best since 2003.
Region 4
*Macon County hired Twiggs County coach Dexter Copeland to replace Larry Harold, who took the Brunswick job. Copeland has a 101-58 record in 15 seasons that include two stints at Twiggs County and one at Baldwin. Macon County was 9-3 in 2014, its best finish since 2005.
Region 5
*Bowdon hired North Gwinnett defensive coordinator Robert Andrews to replace Dwight Hochstetler, who retired as a head coach with a career record of 345-114-1. Andrews has been North's defensive coordinator since 2013 and held the same post with Grayson from 2005 to 2012 and was part of Grayson's 2011 Class AAAAA championship team. In 2013, Andrews was announced as the head coach at East Jackson but resigned before the season began, citing a bad fit.
*Manchester hired Bowdon offensive coordinator Evan Hochstetler to replace Tanner Glisson, who became head coach at Troup. Hochstetler played and coached at Bowdon under father Dwight Hochstetler, who retired as a head coach with 345 victories, then joined his son's staff as Manchester's offensive line coach. Manchester was 10-11 in two seasons under Glisson, an alumnus.
Region 7
*Gordon Lee hired alumnus Greg Ellis, its coach from 1999 to 2005, to replace Charlie Wiggins, whose teams were 11-19 in three seasons. Ellis was an assistant at Signal Mountain in Tennessee for three years and part of a state-championship team in 2010 before returning to Gordon Lee as a faculty member and assistant athletics director. Ellis was the quarterback on Gordon Lee's last region-championship team (1978) and coach of its last 10-win team (2002). Wiggins is now an assistant at Lakeview-Ft. Oglethorpe.
Region 8
*Riverside Military promoted defensive coordinator Kelly Davis to replace Gary Downs, who took a job on the staff of East Tennessee State. Davis also coached at Dunwoody for seven seasons.
*Washington-Wilkes hired Rockmart offensive coordinator Jacob Kelley to replace Robby Robinson, who took the McIntosh County Academy job. Kelley was Washington-Wilkes' offensive coordinator for two seasons under Robinson. He has also coached at McIntosh County Academy and Screven County. Washington-Wilkes was 33-14 in four seasons under Robinson, 7-5 in 2014.
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