Today’s interviewee is Decatur coach William Felton, whose team won its first region title since 2004 last week with a 40-38 victory in a winner-take-all game against Chamblee in Region 4-5A. Felton took over the program in 2020 and helped the Bulldogs win their first playoff game since 2003, when Decatur was a Class 2A school.
1. What was the difference in Friday’s game? What gave you the advantage? “The difference in the game was time management and fighting to the last second, literally. There was no real advantage. Both teams had great game plans, and it just came down to the last possession of the ball game. The last touchdown was one of our trick plays. Chamblee did their trick plays earlier in the game, and they were successful. We just saved ours for that critical moment when it wasn’t expected. Junior running back Tristan Strickland received the toss from senior quarterback Harrison Hannah and threw it 60 yards to junior Malachi Miller for the touchdown.” [The winning touchdown came in the final minute of the game. Decatur had trailed 30-14 early in the second half. Hannah passed for 277 yards and rushed for 126.]
2. What does the win and the region title mean to your team/program? “This title means a lot for the school and the community. For me it’s special because I have been coaching here since 2008 and never won region. It was great to see a team that I lead experience this.”
3. What are some things that people might want to know about your team if they haven’t seen you play? “If you haven’t seen us play, just know that we are going to give you our best. We have some great kids and great athletes who can make plays for us. We are led by seniors, quarterback Harrison Hannah, wide receivers Kenric Lanier and Kedric Lackey and superstar junior Malachi Miller, a wide receiver, safety and returner. Our O-line fights hard and make it all possible for the offense to thrive like they do.”
4. What do you feel that you and your staff have done that’s made the biggest difference in getting the program to this point? Do you have a challenge that’s different than most programs? “The challenge for our program is definitely funding, which leads to lack of resources. Our approach to this season was different than it was in previous years. I decided to front load the schedule with tough, playoff-caliber opponents to help elevate our play and identify areas we are deficient in early so we could correct them before the playoffs. Working so far, I guess, right?” [Decatur was 1-4 in its pre-region schedule but is 4-0 in region play with one game left against a 2-7 team.]
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