Lee County coach concerned about Sprayberry’s ‘playmakers all over the field’
Today’s Four Questions interviewee is Lee County coach Dean Fabrizio, whose team plays at Sprayberry on Friday night in the only first-round game between top-10 teams. Lee County is No. 8 in Class 5A. Sprayberry is No. 10. The teams met in the 2024 quarterfinals, and Lee County came away with a stunning 64-0 victory. Lee County is a 4-point favorite in the rematch, according to the computer Maxwell Ratings.
1. How does a coach explain to his team that the opponent you beat 64-0 last season is a serious threat to beat you this time? How confident can you be that teenagers will truly get it?
“I don’t think the score last year was indicative of how good a team Sprayberry really had. We jumped on them early, and things just kind of snowballed from there. We were very concerned going into that game as they had a heck of a football team. Our players know we are going up against a top-10 ranked team on the road and we will need to be at our best. (Former coach Brett Vavra) did a great job with that team last year, and (current coach Pete Fominaya, hired from Hiram) and his staff have continued that this year.”
2. What do you see in this year’s Sprayberry team that concerns you?
“They have playmakers all over the field. They run an offense that is a different system than we have seen this year as well. Their quarterback (Jaden Duckett, who committed to The Citadel last month) is a playmaker running and passing the football. (Jorden Edmonds, an AJC Super 11 player committed to Alabama) is a big- time talent at wide receiver, and No. 6 (Kealan Jones, committed to Georgia) is a big-time threat at running back. They have several other very talented players up and down their roster as well.”
3. What’s the scouting report on your own team this season? And reflecting back on last year, has there ever been a better RPO situation than you had with Weston Bryan and Ousmane Kromah? What do you try to do on offense this season with the different skill sets that you have?
“Well, obviously losing a generational talent like Ousmane (to Florida State) and a quarterback like Weston (to Georgia Southern) who had one of the best years of any quarterback in Georgia history (29 passing touchdowns, 34 rushing touchdowns) is going to be tough to replace. What people don’t see is the experience and leadership we lost with those two. In addition, we had a veteran offensive line last year with four seniors. All four are currently playing college football. We have a younger team across the board this year but especially on offense. Despite our youth, we feel we have a lot of talent on offense and can be very diverse. Our quarterback, Marcus Snipes, has been in and out of the lineup with injuries this year, but he has been back these last few weeks and has played well. He had 391 yards passing against Houston County. We don’t have Ousmane, but we have a group of really good running backs in Canton Williams, J.R. Walker, Dominique Ball and Jordan Bush, who has had to play QB a lot too. We feel this group on offense has really gotten a lot better as the season has progressed and they gained experience.”
4. You’re the only top-10 team on the road this week. If this were 2026, using the GHSA’s new seeding plan based on a computer model, you’d be the No. 12 seed playing a team that happens to be a fourth-place finisher in its region, East Paulding, this week. What do you think of the GHSA’s new format, or did I just answer that question? And what impact might it have on how you schedule opponents, knowing that playing better teams could hurt your winning percentage?
“Yes, I think you just answered that question. Unfortunately, when you play in a really tough region, good teams end up having to travel for the first round of the playoffs. We have been fortunate that since 2017 we have played 24 playoff games at home and only five on the road and two at neutral sites. We are still focused on this season and really haven’t thought about scheduling for next season yet, but how this new system works is certainly something we will have to take into consideration. We always seem to have a hard time finding people to play us, so anyone who reads this and is looking for a game please reach out to me.”
About the Author
Todd Holcomb covers high school sports across the state. He rejoined The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in 2025 and has worked with the AJC in varying capacities since 1985. He is a co-founder and editor of Georgia High School Football Daily.
