Led by Super 11 pick Kaiden Prothro, Bowdon seeks fourth-straight title
Credit: Stan Awtrey
It was the middle of July and the season opener was still a month away, yet the bank sign just off the main drag in Bowdon was already pumping up the enthusiasm. And almost every store in town already had some sort of Red Devils T-shirt or hat on the shelf.
In these parts, it’s never too soon to jump on the Bowdon Bandwagon.
That comes as no surprise, considering the Red Devils will be trying this fall to win their fourth straight state championship. The last team to experience that sort of success was Eagle’s Landing Christian, which won four straight Class A Private titles 2016-2019.
“The existence of football has been going on for close to 100 years now,” Bowdon coach Rich Fendley said. “It’s a small community, and when Friday nights get here, the businesses shut down. They love their football, and a lot of people stay in the community, so you’ve got different generations in this program.”
Credit: Stan Awtrey
Bowdon is a small town — population 2,161, according to the 2020 U.S. Census — in Carroll County, about an hour west of Atlanta and 10 minutes east of the Alabama state line. The school fielded its first football team in 1926 and won its first championship in 1971 under coach Ben Perkins.
The school’s longest period of sustained success came under Hall of Fame coach Dwight Hochstetler. His teams went 241-89 over 27 seasons with 13 region championships and the 1992 state championship.
After Hochstetler retired in 2014, the program took a step back, with participation falling and top players moving on to greener pastures. Fendley took the reins in 2018 and had only 27 players in the program. After enduring a 1-9 first season, the Red Devils were back in the game. Over the past four years, Bowdon has posted a 50-7 record with three straight titles.
“The big thing was, let’s get here and keep Bowdon kids here and make a program that’s so good that other kids will want to come play in this program,” Fendley said. “We went 1-9, but we lost a lot of close games and I knew we were going to be pretty good because we had a bunch of good kids.”
One of the homegrown kids is Kaiden Prothro, an AJC Super 11 selection who has committed to play at the University of Georgia. Prothro stands out on the practice field; at 6-foot-6 he’s a head taller than the rest of his teammates. He starts at tight end — which will be his college position — and at safety for the Red Devils.
Prothro knows all about Bowdon pride. His father, Clarence “Pops” Prothro, is a Bowdon High School legend, a two-time all-state selection and member of the 1992 championship team. The elder Prothro has coached in the recreation leagues and at the high school and influenced a lot of youngsters, including his own son.
“Just growing up here, I’ve always wanted to play football for the Red Devils,” Kaiden said
The younger Prothro has made a big impact. He caught 56 passes for 1,203 yards and 22 touchdowns as a junior after 33 receptions for 831 yards and 13 touchdowns as a sophomore. (He also averaged 20.7 points and 16.5 rebounds for the basketball team as a junior and was an all-region outfielder on the baseball team.) He had a box full of offers, and Georgia withstood pushes from Texas and Auburn to keep him.
Prothro has gotten used to being singled out by the opposition. In a late summer seven-on-seven session against Villa Rica, a defensive back jumped up and knocked a pass away from Prothro. The defender and a couple of his teammates were celebrating like they’d just won a state championship. Two plays later Prothro caught a touchdown pass over the same cornerback.
“He knows he’s going to get everybody’s best cover guy every week,” Fendley said. “They’re going to knock a ball down at some point — and they do. He’s just such a non-emotional kid, and he knows he’s going to come back and get his.”
Bowdon opens defense of its championship Aug. 15 at Fellowship Christian, the program that upset the Devils in the first game a year ago.
About the Author
Stan Awtrey has been covering sports for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution since 1977. He currently writes about high school sports, Georgia State University athletics and golf.
