Today’s interviewee is Roswell coach Chris Prewett, whose team beat Cherokee 35-28 last week in a game between unbeaten teams in Region 5-7A. Roswell is 6-0 and ranked No. 7 in Prewett’s first season as head coach. He was promoted from defensive coordinator in the offseason.
Chris Prewett, Roswell head coach
1. How did Friday’s game play out? What gave your team the edge in the end? “Friday’s game played out close to the expectations our staff had going into the game. Cherokee is a very good team and has a lot of good players on both sides of the ball that make it difficult for you to have a lot of success and execute your game plans. I was very proud and excited about how our team executed, especially in the second half, and the adjustments our coaching staff made at halftime had an impact on creating some momentum for our team in the fourth quarter. It is nice to see our team hit some adversity and have to persevere themselves to a victory.”
2. Many wondered how teams in Fulton and other counties that delayed the regular season might fare. Has that been a disadvantage, and what things did you and your staff do to mitigate it? “Fulton County athletic director Dr. Steven Craft and Roswell athletic director Ben Sutter have done an amazing job giving myself and our staff all the resources and guidelines that we need to be successful. By no means has it been easy, but it has allowed us to keep player and staff safety our number one priority. Our county has a screening process that we continue to follow, and outside of that process, our staff has changed cleaning procedures, locker room clean-up, etc. If anything has happened through this, I believe we have noticed how little things were cleaned and have made us aware of how important cleanliness is in our building. Our staff tried to make it a positive in the fact that we were replacing a lot of starters and installing a completely new offense. It gave us a lot of time to set up game-like scenarios in practice and put our players in difficult situations that you would normally get during scrimmages, spring games, etc.”
3. What would you like people to know about your team? If someone has not seen the Hornets play this season, what could they expect to see? “Our Roswell team this season is a special one to me. When I got to Roswell in 2017, these current seniors were freshmen. I have seen their maturation and growth all the way through high school, and their leadership and togetherness has improved every single season. Above all, I believe our team has a lot of hard-working and determined players who have bought in to giving up their own glory at times for the team to have success. Our team is filled with players who are going to play tough and have elite effort through all four quarters.”
4. At 30, you are among the youngest head coaches in Georgia, especially in Class 7A. Did you see yourself in this position this early, and what has this first year as a head coach been like for you? “I recognize that I am probably one of the youngest head coaches in the state, but to be honest, things have not changed that much on the field. One of my early lessons in coaching was to be 100 percent present in whatever job you have, and I think that attitude and mentality has helped my coaching career. Wherever or whatever position I have had, I have put all my efforts and energy into that job and try to do the best job humanly possible. I do my best to be consistent every single day, be open and honest to our players and treat each player like they are one of my sons.”
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