Newnan coach describes comeback that ‘will be talked about for years to come’
Today’s Four Questions interviewee is Newnan coach Chip Walker, whose team beat county rival East Coweta 60-56 last week. Newnan trailed 49-24 late in the third quarter and 56-39 with five minutes left. Newnan passed for 516 yards and rushed for 213 for 729 total yards. Walker’s coaching record is 173-68-1 at Sandy Creek (2005-16) and Newnan (2017-25). His Sandy Creek teams won three state titles.
1. What turned the momentum in the game? Down 49-24, and it’s getting late, what happened? “I think the momentum started to turn when Josiah Smith blocked a field-goal attempt early in the fourth quarter after we had made the score 49-32. We then scored to pull within 49-39. After they scored to make it 56-39 with 4:55 to go in the game, our guys scored quickly to pull within 56-46. Our defense got a stop on the ensuing drive, and then the offense marched 80 yards to bring the score to 56-53 with 52 seconds left in the game. We recovered the onside kick with 48 seconds and no timeouts left. Brodie Campbell completed passes to Jaylen Britt and John Matthews to get us to the 24-yard line with 10 seconds left to go. He then threw a TD pass to Jaylen Britt with two seconds left for the final score.”
2. Tell people about this QB-WR group. What’s the skill set that each of these guys bring?
“Brodie Campbell (a junior with offers from Georgia State and Troy) is the best quarterback I’ve ever got to coach. He is the son of Brad Campbell, a longtime coach in the state, so as a coach’s son, he has a great understanding of the game. What separates him from most other quarterbacks is his attention to detail in studying film and his dedication to his craft. We feel like we have one of the best wide-receiver rooms in the state. Senior Colton Dodds (13 receptions, 217 yards, two touchdowns in two games) is a bigger physical body that has great route-running abilities and hands. Junior Jaylen Britt (18-171, four touchdowns) is a dynamic playmaker with the ball in his hands. His elusiveness allows him to be a threat from anywhere on the field. Sophomore John Matthews (13-333, one touchdown, a top-200 national recruit) is a wide receiver that combines great route running, hands and big-play capability.”
3. You’ve won three state titles, so this can’t be the biggest win of your career, but how would this win compare to some other coaching thrills?
“Outside of the state championship games, this is the best win I’ve ever been a part of. The Newnan-East Coweta rivalry is unlike any other in the state. It’s always an electric atmosphere and a game that impacts the two communities 365 days a year. It was an instant classic that if not the best game in the history of the rivalry, was one of the best games in it. It will be talked about for years to come.”
4. What’s the state of the program and this particular team? What is its potential?
“We feel like we are trending in the right direction. We had a second-round appearance last year and return a lot of guys on both sides of the ball. We are a well-rounded team that can be good in all three phases of the game. Our strength and conditioning program, led by coach Dano Burdette, is the best in the state, in my opinion, and it showed last Friday with our guys being able to play a full 48 minutes in such an intense environment. We have to continue to get better as a team and a program each and every week, and that’s what our young men have done for the last 18 months since we moved into our new facilities.”
Note: Walker is the son of Rodney Walker, a retired 300-game-winning coach whose Georgia career spanned from 1972 to 2011. In contrast to his son’s most recent game, Rodney Walker once had a team that didn’t score 60 points in a whole season — 1974 Villa Rica with 54. He had three other teams — 1978 Gilmer, 1984 West Rome and 1991 Stephens County — that didn’t allow 50 points in a regular season. Both Walkers have won GHSA titles. They were the first father-son pair to accomplish that feat.