Today’s interviewee is Early County coach Joel Harvin, whose team is ranked No. 1 in the new Class A Division II after a 4-0 start. Early County had played in Class 2A since 1984, and in recent years, the Bobcats competed in a region with 2021 state finalists Fitzgerald and Thomasville and sometimes with Brooks County. This season, the southwest Georgia school was assigned to the class for the GHSA’s smallest schools.
1. What does the creation of Division II mean for your school and those your size? What were your thoughts when it came about in reclass and why you support it? “I think the creation of Division II is great for the smaller schools in that it creates a more equally competitive league throughout the state. I think the GHSA had to act because of the large number of private schools still left in the association, and I believe they got it right. I would still like to see a competitive-balance formula used for all schools, though, much like the Alabama High School Athletic Association uses, in that if a school dominates in one sport and is continually winning or playing for a state championship, then that school gets bumped up in classification in just the sport they are succeeding in. This gives other schools a chance to play for a state championship for a few years.”
2. Early is ranked No. 1 this week for the first time since 1994. How do you feel about that? Does it require you to discuss with your team the outside attention you might be getting? “I think it is a blessing and a curse. It’s a blessing because it shows just how much our kids have bought in and worked through the offseason and that their hard work has paid off. It’s also a curse because kids can be overconfident, and if they have never been in that situation before they may not be ready for what’s to come. We will only get the best from the teams we play from here on out, and the target on our back has gotten to be pretty big. We will discuss making sure to keep our heads on straight and to carry ourselves like we are the No. 1 team in the community, classroom, and at practice.”
3. For those who haven’t seen your team play, how would you describe your team, its style and identity? “We pride ourselves on being physical. Our coaches and players have bought into the concept to be the last man standing at the end of the fight and never give in. We play four full quarters of physical football, and our seniors have played against some really good physical football teams throughout their careers like the Fitzgeralds, the Thomasvilles, the Bleckleys. Our defense has played solid all year being in the right spot and making tackles, and we hope to get our main running back Ty Stovall back pretty soon. He has been recovering from a preseason injury.”
4. Not many Division II teams are still undefeated. You’ve got to play Irwin and Brooks and other good teams. Is it almost better not to be undefeated going into the playoffs if you have legit hopes of winning the state title in this class? “Well because of how everything fell with the reclassification [Early was originally slotted for Division I until winning an appeal to go to Division II], we had most of our schedule set and ended up having most of our region games first with our non-region games being last. I wanted to use the non-region games to give us a tune up for the playoffs, so I scheduled what I think are some of the best teams in two states in those three games. Brooks, Eufaula (Ala.) and Irwin will definitely give us a good look at what we need to fix heading into the playoffs.”
Produced by Georgia High School Football Daily, a free e-mail newsletter. To join the mailing list, click here.
About the Author
