He’s won 457 football games, but Friday’s playoff win was among his favorites
BOGART — After 41 years of leading Marist football, Alan Chadwick can make only so much more history.
But Chadwick etched another record Friday when Tyler Baradel converted a 35-yard field goal as time expired, lifting the War Eagles over North Oconee 23-20. The kick sent Marist to its third-straight semifinals appearance for the first time in the program’s 113-year history.
It also avenged Marist’s 14-7 loss to North Oconee in the state championship last December.
“It was definitely a topic, getting revenge for last year and snapping the win streak,” Baradel said. “It’s something that we kind of kept on our shoulder all week, and it definitely motivated us to get that win.”
Chadwick has had many memorable wins, from state championships to five-overtime playoff victories. But Friday night’s kick was one of his favorites, he said.
“It’s right up there with a lot of others that we’ve had like this,” Chadwick said. “This is huge. This is really big.”
It wasn’t just the kick that made it special for Chadwick, he said. It was the resilient and opportunistic culture that has made Chadwick’s teams consistent winners for four decades.
The War Eagles and Titans were tied at 13 entering the fourth quarter. Marist’s run-heavy offense faced a third-and-2 with 11:20 left in the game.
Marist came out of the huddle in a heavy wishbone formation — a fullback, two running backs and a tight end. One receiver stood on the numbers on the far side of the field.
The entire stadium expected another run play.
It started that way, as Marist quarterback James Lasco pitched the ball to running back Owen Rice, who darted toward the sideline. The entire defense collapsed on what appeared to be an outside run.
Then Rice threw downfield to the only receiver on the field, a wide-open Hamilton Feldman. The senior was 10 yards ahead of the nearest defender when he caught the ball, and he raced 38 yards to the end zone.
“We’re a ground and pound team. Move the chains, get the first down, try to stay ahead of the chains as much as we can,” Chadwick said of his run-heavy offense creating explosive passes. “You’ve got to take advantage of those things when they come open.
“We’re making some plays, and that’s what it takes this time of year.”
Chadwick’s defense made a game-changing play of its own Friday night when the game was tied 20-20. Lasco intercepted a North Oconee pass with under four minutes left, giving the War Eagles the ball on their 44-yard line.
Lasco remembered that resilient culture taking over when Marist’s offense took the field a few first downs away from snapping North Oconee’s 36-game home winning streak.
“Looking in the huddle, everyone had that look like, ‘We’ve got this, no one’s going to stand in the way of this one,’” Lasco said. “And we just ran it down their throats, kicked the field goal and won the game.”
Chadwick recognized the team culture signified in the win.
“They’ve come to believe that they can do it,” he said. “They’ve become a brotherhood, and they believe in each other. They play for each other, and they don’t quit.”
Chadwick has led the War Eagles to 19 state semifinals and eight state championship games during that time. He is chasing his fourth state title since taking over in 1985.
Perhaps the most impressive part of Chadwick’s three state championships is that they aren’t bunched together — 1989, 2003 and 2020 — and his methods have endured through decades of change in the sport.
Marist offensive coordinator Paul Etheridge played for Chadwick in 1986 and 1987, the second and third seasons of Chadwick’s head coach tenure, and has been on his staff since 2000.
“The remarkable thing about Alan Chadwick is he hasn’t changed much in 40 years,” Etheridge said. “The practice schedule is the same, his intensity is the same, he coaches the exact same way.”
Etheridge is one of several former players on Chadwick’s staff. Defensive coordinator Jef Euart and associate coach Dan Perez also played for Marist and have coached under Chadwick for more than 20 years.
“The best thing that Alan does is he trusts his assistants, and he lets them coach. He’s a fantastic CEO,” Etheridge said. “Nowadays, that’s kind of a lost art. I think ego gets in the way of a lot of people, and they feel like they’ve got to do it all.
“The thing about Alan Chadwick is, if you know him, there’s absolutely zero ego.”
Etheridge said Chadwick didn’t know he was extremely close to another piece of Georgia high school football history: the state’s career wins record. Chadwick won his 457th game Friday and is 20 wins from the state’s all-time leader, legendary Lincoln County coach Larry Campbell.
Chadwick is on pace to break that record by the end of the 2027 season, which would be his 43rd.
But all Chadwick is focused on is the chance to return to a state championship with a win at Benedictine on Friday.
Neither team is favored by the Maxwell Ratings. Marist and Benedictine appear to be slated for a four-quarter battle in Savannah.
The War Eagles believe they’re ready for the fight, leaning on the same culture that has proved itself 457 times in Chadwick’s career.
“He combines the best of an old school mentality with always trying to evolve with the game, and just an unbridled work ethic and commitment to the program has been the key to his success and longevity,” Marist athletic director Derek Waugh said. “He’ll come back from a road game on Friday night and then be at the eighth-grade game at 9 a.m. the next morning.
“He would probably tell you he’s a better delegator than he was earlier in his career, but his effort has not waned one bit from when he first took over in the 1980s.”
About the Author
Jack Leo is a sports writer and reporter for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Jack worked for the AJC throughout his four years studying journalism and sports media at Georgia State University and the University of Georgia. He's now focused on telling stories in the grassroots: bringing comprehensive coverage of high school sports for AJC Varsity.
