New coaches in Class 3A: Patrick moves from Cedar Grove to Crisp County

Hardest to replace: Miguel Patrick, Cedar Grove

Best job: Crisp County

Toughest job: Long County

Most interesting: Cedar Grove denied Crisp County its first state title in 2019, winning 21-14 in the Class 3A championship game at Georgia State. In 2020, Crisp got revenge, beating Cedar Grove 25-13 in the quarterfinals, but the Cougars came up short again the next round. A few weeks later, Crisp surprisingly ousted coach Brad Harber despite his 40-12 record in four seasons and hired Miguel Patrick – Cedar Grove’s coach. Patrick was blunt in his criticism of DeKalb County Schools, his former employer. “When you don’t feel you have the backing of the county, it makes it tough to continue to compete at a high level,” he said. The contrast will be stark. Cedar Grove remains rich in talent, a three-time state champ, but it competes for limited resources in a 19-school district that shares five stadiums. In Cordele, Patrick is operating in a one-school county with a revved-up South Georgia fan base starving for that elusive championship.

Region 1

*Appling County promoted defensive coordinator Jordan Mullis to replace Rick Tomberlin, who retired. Mullis was an assistant coach at Wayne County for 10 seasons before coming to Appling in 2019. Tomberlin’s teams were 24-10 in his three seasons. His final record as a Georgia head coach is 270-129 in 34 seasons. He ranks 17th all-time in GHSA victories.

*Long County hired South Effingham assistant head coach Mike Pfiester to replace J.T. Pollock, who retired. Pfiester also was South Effingham’s offensive line and strength coach. He previously worked at Creekview, Kennesaw Mountain and Woodland of Cartersville. Long County has gone 2-45-2 over the past five seasons.

Region 2

*Crisp County hired Cedar Grove coach Miguel Patrick to replace Brad Harber. Patrick led Cedar Grove to the Class 3A championship in 2019 in his first season as head coach and was the defensive coordinator for state winners in 2016 and 2018. Harber is now wide receivers coach at Bleckley County.

Region 3

*Beach hired former Memorial Day coach Michael Thompson to replace Corey Phillips, who continues to recover from a stroke suffered during an Oct. 8 game. Thompson led Memorial Day, his alma mater, to six state titles and a 103-31-1 record across 12 seasons in the Georgia Independent School Association. Thompson also led Memorial Day’s basketball teams to two GISA championships. Thompson was Beach’s offensive coordinator in 2019, helping the Bulldogs set a season scoring record, and reportedly got the job to replace retiring head coach Ulysses Hawthorne in the spring of 2020. The school board didn’t approve the promotion, however, and he sat out the 2020 season. Beach was 2-6 last season, with most of its games directed by interim coach Moses Green, and most recently made the playoffs in 2011.

*Southeast Bulloch hired Ola coach Jared Zito to replace Barrett Davis, who became head coach at Evans. Zito was 36-37 in seven seasons at Ola and led the Mustangs to their best record, 9-2, in history in 2020. Zito also has been a head coach at Dacula (2011-12) and North Forsyth (2007-09). Southeast Bulloch was 6-4 last season and won its first region title since 1994.

Region 4

*Cross Creek hired Richmond Academy offensive coordinator and athletic director Brian Lewis to replace Monte Dilworth, who stepped down to be closer to family in Florida. Lewis, at Richmond Academy the past two seasons, also is a former defensive coordinator at Washington-Wilkes and offensive coordinator at Lincoln County and has been on staffs at Burke County, Thomson, Grovetown and Statesboro. Cross Creek was 2-18 in two seasons with Dilworth.

*Morgan County hired Dacula coach Clint Jenkins to replace Bill Malone, who retired. Jenkins was on Morgan County’s staff from 2001 to 2009, finishing up as defensive coordinator under Malone. Jenkins’ Dacula record was 31-8 with Class 6A semifinal appearances in 2018 and 2019. Morgan County was 6-5 last season and 83-67 with two region titles in Malone’s 14 seasons.

Region 5

*Cedar Grove promoted defensive backs coach John Adams to replace Miguel Patrick, who became head coach at Crisp County. Adams coached Cedar Grove’s defensive backs during the 2016, 2018 and 2019 state championship seasons. He previously coached at Miller Grove, North Atlanta and Northwest Rankin in Mississippi. Cedar Grove was 3-5 last season with four victories overturned by forfeits resulting from the use of an ineligible player.

*Douglass hired Arabia Mountain coach Stanley Pritchett to replace Rodney Cofield, who became head coach at McDonough. Pritchett also has been a head coach at Washington, North Atlanta and Westlake. He led Arabia Mountain to region titles in 2016 and 2017. He was a 1991 all-state tight end at Douglass but played fullback at South Carolina and then in the NFL from 1996 to 2004. Douglass was 0-5 in a 2020 season truncated by COVID but 11-2 and 10-2 the previous two seasons.

Region 6

*LaFayette hired Hiram defensive coordinator Andy Scott to replace Paul Ellis. Scott also had been a head coach at Perry (2005-09) and Kennesaw Mountain (2012-17). He’s assisted at Troup, Coffee, Walnut Grove and Lee County. LaFayette was 4-6 in 2020 and made its first state-playoff appearance since 1969. Ellis is now head coach of Chattooga’s middle school team.

Region 7

*East Forsyth hired Union County coach Brian Allison to start the program at Forsyth County’s seventh public high school. Allison’s teams were 121-77 at Union County, his alma mater. He also was Winder-Barrow’s coach from 2002 to 2007. East Forsyth’s nickname is the Broncos, its colors navy, orange and gray. Its district is in the northeast corner of the county bordering North Forsyth, Forsyth Central and Hall County. The team will play a non-region schedule this season.

*Gilmer hired St. Pius coach Paul Standard to replace Kevin Saunders. Standard was 174-72 in 20 seasons at St. Pius, his alma mater, which had won only 67 games in the 20 seasons prior. Gilmer was 3-6 and 4-6 under Saunders, who had inherited a 30-game losing streak. Saunders is now Howard’s offensive coordinator.

Region 8

*Franklin County hired Lincoln County defensive coordinator Parker Martin to replace Paul Sutherland, who became head coach at Liberty in South Carolina. Martin also has assisted at Lamar County, Washington-Wilkes, Oconee County and alma mater Elbert County. Franklin County finished 7-3 in 2020 with its first playoff appearance since 2016 and most victories since 2000.

Coming Monday: Class 2A

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