GHSF Daily is chronicling the many coaching changes in the offseason. We continue today with Class AAAAA.
Number of hires : 26
Best hire : Franklin Stephens, Ware County
Hardest to replace : Lyman Guy, Richmond Hill
Best job : LaGrange
Toughest job : Clarkston
Most interesting : Rocky Hidalgo, who led Walton to the 2012 championship game in Class AAAAAA, left the only high school he has known as a coach and moved 330 miles to the Georgia coast, where he inherits a Glynn Academy program that last won a region title in 1972.
Region 1
*Harris County hired Jones County coach Dwight Jones to replace Tommy Parks, who took the Upson-Lee job. Jones, who was 31-30 in six seasons at Jones County, also has been a head coach at Hardaway (1995-2000) and Northside of Columbus (2004-05).
*LaGrange hired LaFayette (Ala.) coach Dialleo Burks to replace Donnie Branch, who resigned. Burks, a member of LaGrange's 1991 state championship team, was at LaFayette only one season. He was on Branch's staff at LaGrange for two seasons. He also assisted with the Georgia Force of the Arena Football League and LaGrange College. Branch, who had been at LaGrange since 1986, is not coaching or teaching this fall.
Region 2
*Greenbrier hired Jarrett Troxler from Lakeside of Evans to replace Kevin Hunt, who resigned after two seasons. Troxler was 21-22 at Lakeside, where he began in 2007 as an assistant. Troxler has coached in North Carolina, Virginia and his native South Carolina. He came to Georgia from North Carolina with former Lakeside coach Jody Grooms. Hunt has joined the coaching staff at county rival Grovetown.
*Jones County hired Griffin offensive coordinator Justin Rogers to replace Dwight Jones, who took the Harris County job. Rogers was at Griffin for four seasons. His offense averaged 42.2 points per game during a 15-0 season in 2013. Rogers previously had been an assistant football coach and head basketball coach at Harris County, where he worked for nine years.
*Lakeside (Evans) hired Westside (Augusta) coach Steve Hibbitts to replace Jarrett Troxler, who left for the Greenbrier job. Hibbitts was 13-29 at Westside. He was a defensive coordinator at North Augusta (S.C.) before that.
Region 3
*Bradewll Institute hired Central of Carroll County offensive coordinator Greg Hill to replace Adam Carter, who was hired as defensive coordinator at Reinhardt University. Hill, the quarterback on Georgia Southern's 1999 national championship team, coached at Statesboro for eight seasons before coming to Central in 2012.
*Glynn Academy hired Walton coach Rocky Hidalgo to replace Rob Ridings, who took the Thomson job. Hidalgo was 40-18 in five seasons at Walton. He joined Walton's staff in 1996 and has never coached at another high school.
*Richmond Hill promoted offensive line coach Josh Eads to replace Lyman Guy, who took the Toombs County job. Eads also has assisted at Paulding County, Hiram, Campbell and Tift County.
*Ware County hired Lamar County coach Franklin Stephens to replace Ed Dudley, who took the Carrollton job. Stephens is 90-8-1 as a head coach and won state titles with Tucker in 2008 and 2011. Stephens led Lamar County to the Class AA final and a 14-1 finish in 2013.
Region 4
*Drew promoted defensive coordinator Dorwyn Lyles, who has been on staff since the school opened in 2009, to replace Jarrett Laws, who was hired at Griffin. Lyles has been a head coach at Morrow (2003-04) and Mundy's Mill (2008).
*Dutchtown hired Henry County offensive coordinator Mark Myers to replace Kevin Jones, who took the Mount Zion (Jonesboro) job. Myers, who got into coaching in 2006, had previously been an assistant at Hiram, Stockbridge, North Atlanta and McEachern, his alma mater. He also has played and coached Arena Football after a solid career as a running back at Georgia Southern. Jones was 4-6 in one season.
*Forest Park hired former NFL player and Atlanta native Reggie Austin to replace John Diehl, who resigned after a 2-8 finish in his only season but remained on faculty but no longer coaches. Austin has been an assistant coach at Central Gwinnett, North Atlanta and Mays. Austin, a former cornerback, played at Wake Forest. Austin is Forest Park's sixth coach in six seasons.
*Ola hired Westlake offensive coordinator Jared Zito to replace John Kozvel, who resigned and later was hired as Ola's boys basketball coach. Zito has been head coach at Dacula (2011-12) and North Forsyth (2007-10). He came to Georgia in 2006 to be the offensive coordinator at Etowah and had been a head coach in Florida.
*Woodland of Stockbridge hired former Savannah State head coach Steve Davenport to replace Scott Schmitt, who started the Woodland program and was 23-46 in seven seasons. Davenport, a former star receiver at Southwest DeKalb and Georgia Tech, was head coach at Redan (1998-2001) and Decatur (2003-04) before leaving for the college ranks. Decatur made the Class AA semifinals in 2003. Davenport was an assistant at UAB for six seasons before getting the Savannah State job. He was out of coaching last season. Schmitt remains at Woodland as public safety officer.
Region 5
*Chapel Hill hired New Manchester defensive coordinator Justin DeShon to replace Geoff Pastrick. DeShon also has been defensive coordinator at Alexander (2006-10) and linebackers coach at West Georgia (2005). DeShon also had been New Manchester's head baseball coach. Pastrick who was 11-11 in two seasons, appeared headed to South Cobb, but the school board rescined the offer three weeks after he accepted the job. Pastrick, now on McEachern's staff, alleged racial discrimination, filed a complaint and was given $10,000 by Cobb schools in a settlement.
*Lithia Springs hired Craig Chatman, Lovejoy's offensive coordinator since 2002, to replace Scott Dean. Chatman is a Lovejoy alumnus. Lovejoy was 47-6 over the past four seasons. Dean, who was 3-27 in three seasons, remained on faculty at Lithia Springs, his alma mater.
Region 6
*Banneker hired Greenville-Weston (Miss.) coach Shannon Williams to replace Ryan Andrews, an alumnus and longtime assistant who was forced out with his staff late in the academic year after a change in administration. Williams has coached at Westlake and Mays in Georgia and was Osborne's coach in 2003. Andrews is now the cornerbacks coach at Marietta.
*Clarkston hired Terrance Hughey to replace Gary Wansley, whose record of 9-10-1, albeit against a non-region schedule, is the best two-season run for the Angoras in 15 years. Hughey, a state champion in the long jump at Marietta who participated in track and field and football at Clemson, is a former Clarkston assistant but had been out of coaching. Wansley is on staff with Horizon Christian in Cumming.
*M.L. King hired Nicolas Kashama, its defensive coordinator from 2010 to 2012, to replace Cortez Allen, who resigned after one season, calling it a bad fit. Kashama spent the past season on the staff of former M.L. King coach Michael Carson at Georgia Prep Academy. A native of the Congo, Kashama played at UConn and in the CFL and began his coaching career with Carson at Avondale in 2007. Allen is now defensive coordinator at Woodland of Stockbridge.
Region 7
*Cass promoted defensive coordinator Bobby Hughes to replace Rick Casko, who was 43-68 in 11 seasons. Hughes was a head coach at Macon County (2003-07) and Howard (2008-10) before coming to Cartersville. Casko was hired as head coach at Glades Central (Fla.), where he had coached 20 years earlier.
*Riverwood promoted co-defensive coordinator Ben Stready to replace Robert Ingram, who was 26-35 in six seasons. Stready was the defensive coordinator at Tift County in 2012 and East Paulding before that under John Reid. He was receivers/secondary coach at Mundy's Mill in 2004 and 2005. Stready was a teammate at Forest Park with Hines Ward and played at Savannah State.
Region 8
*Cedar Shoals re-hired Scott Wilkins, the school's head coach from 1994 through 2007, during which his record was 106-50-1. He is Cedar Shoals' all-time winningest coach. Wilkins led the Jaguars to the 1995 state final. Wilkins had been an assistant the past six years at Athens Academy. Wilkins replaces Chris Davis, who is now assistant head coach and director of strength and conditioning at Winder-Barrow.
*Heritage (Conyers) hired Shiloh defensive coordinator Wendell Early to replace Mike Parris, who was hired at Loganville. Early has been head coach at Berkmar (2003-07) and South Forsyth (2008-09). He was an assistant at St. Pius in 2011 and 2012. Early won three district championships in four seasons at Westwood (Fort Pierce, Fla.) before coming to Georgia.
*Lanier promoted offensive coordinator Korey Mobbs as interim coach to replace Billy Wells, who resigned last month to become athletics director and assistant principal at North Hall. Mobbs, a starting safety on Parkview's 1997 state championship team, helped Wells start the Lanier program in 2010 after coaching at Collins Hill (2004-09). Lanier was 9-2 in 2013, its second full varsity season.
*Loganville hired Heritage (Conyers) coach Mike Parris to replace Eric Godfree, who took the job at Parkview, his alma mater. Parrishad been a head coach at Forest Park (1992-95) and Jackson (1996-2012) and had led both schools to the semifinals and coached seven teams that won at least 10 games. His record is 164-83. His Heritage team defeated Loganville 21-7 last season in a game that essentially put Heritage in the playoffs from 8-AAAAA and kept Loganville out.
*Winder-Barrow hired Peachtree Ridge quarterbacks coach Heath Webb to replace David Wagner, who was 3-37 in four seasons. Webb was North Paulding's program founder and was 17-23 there from 2008-11. He also has been an assistant at Flowery Branch, Lumpkin County, Milton and Habersham Central. Wagner is now the assistant head coach and defensive coordinator at Flowery Branch.
Coming Wednesday: Class AAAA preseason all-state team.
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