One of the biggest surprises of last year’s football season was Ringgold’s magical dance to the Class AAA semifinals. It took a road trip to Sandersville and a date with Washington County to end the Tigers’ dreams.
But guess what? They weren’t satisfied with that historic run of firsts – first time to win double-digit games, first time to win a playoff game, etc. The Tigers seem intent on improving on their accomplishments from 2013. So far Ringgold, ranked No. 7, has stayed on that path, although more will be known after it plays Adairsville on Friday night.
Ringgold lost 14 seniors, including all-state quarterback Slade Dale, who seemed to carry the team at times. But coach Robert Akins returns 23 seniors and has 80 players on the varsity roster, a sizeable number for a AAA program.
The offense, which scored 30 or more points in each of its 11 wins last year, appears to be strong again. They opened with a 21-11 win over Northwest Whitfield and followed it with a 44-23 win over Heritage.
“But we left a lot of points off the scoreboard,” Akins said. “We have to make some adjustments so we score more when we get in the red zone. We’ve got to do things a lot better.”
Ringgold has a talented duo of backs in Kile Sholl, who had 2,000 yards in total offense last year, and D.L. Goins, who had more than 1,000 all-purpose yards. They flourish in the team’s zone option attack.
At quarterback is junior Devin Lancaster, who is the behavioral opposite of Dale. Lancaster is the quiet type, opposed to the overtly confident and vocal Dale. But Lancaster, the No. 2 pitcher on last year’s baseball team, has been in pressure situations and risen to the occasion.
“Devin has a maturity about him,” Akins said. “He’s quiet, so you never know what he’s thinking. I think he’ll get better and better.”
Lancaster has a new set of receivers to sort out, but he’s got a solid offensive line that’s led by Hunter Sosebee, who is being recruited by the likes of Presbyterian and Illinois State, and Bryan Derben.
The defense is led by Zach Morris, a 6-foot-5, 295-pound senior who has committed to Duke. But Morris hasn’t played a down in two games and remains day-to-day as he attempts to return from knee surgery.
Ringgold got a pair of talented transfers who have worked their way into the starting lineup. Seth Pierce, a middle linebacker, transferred from Northwest Whitfield. Mike King, a defensive end, moved in from nearby Heritage. Akins estimates as many as 10 new players transferred to the school since last season.
The secondary is in good shape with Sholl and Goins at safety and Garrett Yates at cornerback.
Akins may be one of the best-kept secrets among Georgia coaches. He's starting his eighth season as head coach, a job he took after one unsuccessful season as the girls basketball coach. He's won 275 games over his career (much of it spent in Mississippi) and has only one losing season at Ringgold.
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