Cedar Shoals coach eyes shift with first win since 2023, community ‘bloodline’
Today’s Four Questions interviewee is Cedar Shoals coach Rusty Charpia, who led the Jaguars to their first win since 2023 on Friday. The 33-17 win over Seckinger snapped a 22-game losing streak. Cedar Shoals will face Hart County this Friday, which is 2-0 and has scored 51 points in both of its wins.
1. How is practice affected by winning the last game, as opposed to coming off a loss?
“It really felt like all our Monday practices where it’s very structured with walkthroughs and meetings, and we just try to focus. I don’t mean to sound so cliche, but it is true. The process is what really the kids have to learn to respect and do, and the W’s will come once everybody does what they’re supposed to do. I think there probably was a few smiles on kids’ faces, but, you know, most of the time it’s 90-something degrees, and they’re in full gear on a Monday. I think most of the excitement … they’re just trying to get through practice and get ready for the next game. A 16-, 17-year-old, he’s in the moment. That heat and coaches yelling and whistles blowing. He’s just trying to make it through the day, but I think that probably in the back of their mind, they were a little pleased that they could finally come to school on Monday morning and hold their chins up high that they’d actually won a ball game.”
2. In the 0-10 season last year, your team lost four games by seven points or less. How did that build the hunger for winning?
“It felt good to get the win, but I think every seasoned coach will tell you that the wins never feel to the extent of how bad a loss feels. It’s almost a sense of relief because it’s time to get ready for the next opponent. But I was very happy for our kids to taste a victory. Most of our kids had played JV the year before, and, of course, the JV went 6-1. I kind of saw last year when I got here that — and I didn’t want to mistreat the seniors — but because of just maybe the structure of the weight program and the numbers that it was going to be difficult to to win many games last year. So it kind of focused on being fair to the guys that were going out, but also, let’s kind of put our focus on the next year or two and see if we can’t get this thing back it used to be a good while ago. So it did feel good to win.
(Seckinger coach Tony Lotti) is an excellent coach. I know a lot about Seckinger. I actually had done an interview for that job when it came open. I’d been thinking about coming to Georgia and knew that that was a program that was probably going to take a little bit to get going, and he had a wonderful year last year and he does a great job. So we were very pleased to be able to come out on top of such a well-coached team. Moving forward, it gets even tougher because now Hart County, we see what they’re doing. They’re putting up 50-something points a game, so we really don’t have much time to celebrate. It’s time to grind and try to get ready and see if we can’t make a good showing against a very good Hart County team.”
3. What does it look like to capitalize on that momentum as you build the program?
“One of the reasons I was interested in this job is I knew the history of the school. Being a Clemson guy, everybody who’s a diehard Clemson fan knows that Homer Jordan came from here, and, of course, I know that was so long ago, but it does speak volumes. Then, of course, (Tyrone Davis) was a defensive back, and I played with Norman Haynes and Bruce Taylor, they’re on my staff. I’ve got a lot of good friends from Athens, and I know where (Cedar Shoals) used to be, so that was something that really intrigued me, that they’ve been down for a little bit here, but when you’ve got that type of history, that bloodline is still in the community. So those people that were playing here in the ’70s and ’80s, a lot of their children and grandchildren are still around.
So in my mind, if we could get this thing going and we could get all these kids back doing what they’re supposed to do when it comes to football … we’ve got to change the structure just a little bit. They still kind of have the structure that they had in the 80s and 90s, and things have changed now. The schools in the area that aren’t far from us, all their kids are in weightlifting. They’ve got a lot of assistant coaches, and they’ve got a lot of money in their budget. So we’re working all those things. People have been very supportive. I think they’re listening to what I’m saying, and hopefully the product that we put on the field and the competitiveness that I think that some people starting to see will sort of make some of those changes. You can’t make them overnight, but I can tell you this: There’s not a waking hour that I spend that I’m not trying to make this program the best as it could be. To answer your question, I think the question was: How does this work, the momentum? It can’t do anything but be positive.”
4. Cedar Shoals is back in a region with Clarke Central this year. Does that excite you, as someone who is connected to that old Athens rivalry?
“It does because our kids — I found out very quickly here that though we’ve only won one in about the last 12 years, and I think the last time we won was 2018 — they still believe that they can beat them. Our subvarsity beat them twice last year and then, of course, our JV lost in a close game the other night. … They all know each other and they all live so close to each other. There’s two kids that played for us last year that transferred. They’re playing over there, and then, of course, our quarterback played there last year, who’s playing exceptionally well. I mean, he is quite the player. I think he’s kind of under the radar right now, but he is a very good college potential quarterback, without a doubt. I’ve had so a lot of good ones go play different places, and I sure wish I’d got him a little earlier, but he’s a player.
But to answer your question, yeah, we’re excited about it. Last year, we almost pulled off the upset. If we make one more first down or kick a field goal, we’re actually going to win that game. … But with the new quarterback and the really good running back (Desmond Moss) and with the skill guys we’ve got, (receiver Jakiese Eberhart), those guys are some really good players. So hopefully that game this year will be up to the same hype it always is, and we feel like we’ve got a good shot. I think they’ve even scheduled us for homecoming.”