prep football preview
SUPER SIX FOOTBALL CENTER
By Will Hammock will.hammock@gwinnettdailypost.com
A vocal crowd for an all-Gwinnett County matchup in the 2021 Corky Kell Classic, inside massive Mercedes-Benz Stadium, set up as a tough atmosphere for a first-time varsity player like Cortez Smith.
At the time, he was a Parkview freshman. And just 13 years old, starting at center against Mill Creek.
Smith began to show potential that afternoon in his first varsity football game, despite an inauspicious snap to quarterback Colin Houck.
“His very first snap went over Colin’s head,” said then-Parkview head
coach Eric Godfree, now at North Gwinnett. “But he settled in and played well after that. … We felt comfortable (with him starting as a freshman). He was a big kid and the way he worked. We knew he was strong. You never want to put a young man in harm’s way that can’t physically handle it. And he was physically and mentally capable at the time.”
Three seasons later, Smith is more than capable. The senior is a dominant Georgia Bulldogs recruit, something Godfree has enjoyed watching develop from across the county.
“I’m very excited for him,” Godfree said. “He has the opportunity to go to Georgia and play ball for
them. He’s continued to get bigger and knowing him and his family and the amount of hard work and time they’ve put into it makes me happy.” Smith, now 6-foot-3, 320 pounds, can play any position on the line, but he is expected to play center, the position he stepped into as a freshman, once again this season.
“(The coaches) kind of just put me at center (as a freshman),” Smith said. “I came in to play tackle as a freshman, but we had two big tackles. They’re at Georgia Tech and Morehouse now. They put me at center because I was smaller than them, but they wanted
Rangy Perlotte a versatile playmaker for the Wolves
By Will Hammock
will.hammock@gwinnettdailypost.com
From the moment he first stepped on the football field to his upcoming senior season at Buford, Jadon Perlotte has worn the Kelly Green and Vegas Gold.
“My dad coached me and my squad and most of the boys since we were 6 to eighth grade,” he said. “I’ve been rocking with the Wolves since I was 6.”
Through those years, Perlotte watched plenty of Buford football at the youth level — his father Kenny, a former running back at Elbert County, is a longtime Gwinnett Football League coach for the Wolves — and at the high school level. From the start, he gained an appreciation of the standards within the program. That included a direct connection with his older brother Jordan, a 2015 Buford grad. A defensive end and fullback, Jordan Perlotte played on state championship football teams his final three seasons, the end of a run when the Wolves
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Dale Zanine
Parkview senior Cortez Smith, a Georgia Bulldogs recruit, poses for a preseason photo at Hammersmith Sports in Suwanee.
Buford senior Jadon Perlotte is one of the nation’s top linebacker recruits.
By Colin Hubbard Staff Correspondent
OFFENSE
The Archer Tigers had a rollercoaster of a year in 2023, going 5-5 during the regular season before earning a spot in the Class AAAAAAA state playoffs for the first time under second-year head coach Dante Williams.
2023 was a big step in the right direction for the Tigers, especially on offense. After scoring just 127 points in 2022, their lowest mark in program history, the Tigers scored 254 points last season, and it resulted in three more wins.
A big reason for their jump in success was the play of then sophomore quarterback Jordan Do, who threw for 1,859 yards, and ran for another 490. All in all, Do was responsible for 21 touchdowns on the season and is hoping to take the next step in 2024 in his second full season as a starter.
“Jordan had a very successful year last year,” Williams said. “He has some intangibles that I can’t really take credit for. He’s a competitive monster. He’s the starting point guard for our basketball team as well. He’s dedicated this offseason to improve some deficiencies that he wants to improve upon.
I think he’s done a really good job of that. We’re excited to have him back.”
Heading into 2024, Do is back and looking to take the next step, but he will be without his favorite target in Jonathan Stafford, who transferred
By Jack Batten Staff Correspondent
OFFENSE
Under second-year head coach Andrico Hines, Berkmar football looks to find its way out of the cellar in Gwinnett County football.
Building off a 3-6-1 record in 2023, which included the Patriots’ first region win since 2019, the offensive unit will have to improve on a year that saw them average 18.8 points per contest.
Taking over the reins of the offense appears to be the job of quarterback Ethan Sharpe, a 6-foot-4 junior. The challenge at hand for the Patriots will be keeping Sharpe upright in the backfield.
“Our biggest area of improvement in the offseason has been our offensive line,” Hines said. “That was my main focus as a coach whose firm belief is that games are won up front. I think our staff has done a great job of coaching in the way of improving our
By Will Hammock will.hammock@
OFFENSE
All of the key ingredients — a big offensive line, a Power 5 running back prospect and a loaded tight end group — point to one area of emphasis for the Brookwood offense in 2024.
“You’ll be seeing a return to Brookwood’s more typical personality of run-first,” Broncos head coach Philip Jones said. “We’re definitely going to line up and we hope we can run the ball well. Everybody wants to run the ball well of course, but way more than years past this will be way more of our identity. … We feel really good about our returners on the offensive line and the offensive line group. Even in Gwinnett, we feel like we’ve got the bodies to run the ball well and we’ve definitely got the running back to do it. That will be where we start.”
That running back is sophomore Brayden Tyson, who already has more than 20 top
ARCHER TIGERS
to Grayson during the offseason. Stafford led the Tiger in receptions, yards and touchdowns in 2023. Do and the Tigers also will be without their second leading receiver, all-county player William Wallace, who graduated. But it isn’t all doom and gloom for the Tigers and their receiving corps heading into 2024.
They will get back Colby Alexander, who after missing the first five games last season, went on to catch 19 passes for 309 yards and scored three touchdowns. With Stafford and Wallace gone, Alexander will be the feature receiver for the Tigers in 2024. “When he came back, yards-per-catch were out of this world,” Williams said of
Alexander. “I think he was top 3 in the county. Speed runs in this dude’s DNA. He’s part of our 4 by 100 team at Archer that set the school record and the second-fastest time in Gwinnett County history in 2023. This past track season, his 4 by 400 team set the school record. His brother plays running back at Georgia Tech right now, so it runs in the genes. He will definitely be our big-time playmaker.”
Another receiver at Do’s disposal in 2024 will be Ken’marico Husband, who has a tremendous offseason according to Williams. Ethan Campbell, a transfer from Collins Hill, will be a two-way player for the Tigers at receiver and cornerback. While replacing produc-
tion at wide receiver won’t
be all that difficult of an issue to solve for the Tigers in 2024, solving the production at running back will be a bigger challenge after graduating their two leading rushers in Emmanuel McRae and Jason Fisher.
The duo combined to rush for 724 yards and seven touchdowns last season.
Battling for reps in 2024 will come from three different running backs, junior Tyree Begne, senior Kade Spence and sophomore Gary Isaac.
“That’s been the one position of emphasis trying to see who is going to emerge,” Williams said. “We’ve got a young room. They’re talented, but in different areas. As a coach, I just have to kind of formulate that ahead of time to accent those guys. These last few weeks of practice will be huge to see what those guys are going to do and who is really going to emerge as the top guy.”
Up front, the Tigers are in great shape heading into 2024. They return four starters to the offensive line, and it’s a group Williams and his coaching staff thinks will help carry them this season.
Jaylen Gamble, Suleiman Adelekan, Michael Gerard and Johnathan Williams are four of the five linemen that are expected to start up front for the Tigers.
“We voted as a staff our offensive line as being our best position group on the team,” Williams said. “We feel really
BERKMAR PATRIOTS
fundamentals and technique.”
Spearheading the unit will be a mix of old and new faces, as the group returns senior guard Bryan Nguyen, while adding Noah Armour-Williamson and Khaleel Annunziata from Riverdale.
“Last year I felt like we would sometimes just go through the motions,” Nguyen said. “But now you can tell our football knowledge has increased. We can watch film and understand what progressions we need to make.”
Although not on the roster in 2023, Armour-Williamson (6-4, 230) and Annunziata (6-5, 280) can already sense a change in the Berkmar culture.
“I really like the competitiveness that I see in practice every day,” Armour-Williamson said. “Where I was before, I really didn’t see too much of that. Nobody wanted it as bad as they do here. It’s a much different vibe, and I like it.”
“Going off of that, it was easy to see that people care
more at Berkmar compared to my old school,” Annunziata said. “My teammates want to wake up early, get in the weight room, and compete in drills to get better. I can tell it was a better fit and it’ll be a good year.”
DEFENSE
Although last year’s numbers may not have been indicative, the Patriots’ defense
played well in parts of the season, particularly in a 65-0 shutout of Clarkston and the aforementioned 22-6, Region 7-AAAAAAA win at Discovery.
For Hines, as promising as the offensive line looks, he believes his defensive line is just as improved.
“Our strength is our defensive line on that side of the ball,” Hines said. “We want to live in the backfield this
BROOKWOOD BRONCOS
college offers, including the in-state Georgia Bulldogs.
“(Tyson’s) been fantastic,” Jones said. “He’s gotten a lot of love and attention and he’s been very humble through the whole thing. He’s just hardworking and he’s leaned up a bit. He was about 220 during the season last year, and he’s down to around 215, still about 6-foot-2. With his body type, you’d think he’s a between the tackles guy and he is a physical back. He is all of that. But one thing that’s special about him is his agility, his ball skills, his hips, all the things you don’t necessarily think about when you see him because he’s so big and physical.”
Deyron Groce and Nijous Ross will spell Tyson at running back when they aren’t at other positions, taking advantage of an offensive line that features Zayden Walters, Caden Francois, Jonathan Green, Xaiden McKenzie and Izaiah Sanjuro. Ishmael Hernandez and Unitas Baltimore also are expected to contribute on the offensive front.
Evan Gober, Logan Mixon and Devon Lonergan are part of the impressive tight end group, while the Broncos also have big receivers Manny Scott and Marcus Parks alongside playmakers like Kris Brunson, Julian Elzey, Will Hagelgan, Day Day Pearson, Zy’Aire Conaway, Ross, Ammon Womble, Bryce Patterson and Cobe Williams.
“It’s really big to have so many (good tight ends),” Gober said. “I love the position and it really helps the offense. The tight end position is very important and we’ll be utilizing it well in this offense.”
Senior C.J. Franklin, who split time at quarterback last season, is the favorite to man the position full-time this year, though the Broncos also are high on strong-armed sophomore Gary Chatman.
DEFENSE
The Brookwood defense was young last season, so it features plenty of returning starters like the offense. The unit’s leader is returning all-
strong about the offensive line position.”
DEFENSE
Getting the defense ready for the start of the 2024 season has been an arduous task for Williams and his coaching staff.
The only starter returning for the Tigers this season is defensive back Russell Richmond, and that’s created a ton of competition and sleepless nights for Williams and the Tigers. But as we inch closer to the start of the 2024 season, Williams said he feels good about how they have progressed as a team, especially in the secondary.
“We’ve put a major emphasis on getting those guys reps and up to speed,” Williams said. “After our full offseason, spring and summer, I feel like our back end is as good as we’ve ever had. I’ll put our defensive backs up against anyone.”
Lining up in the secondary for the Tigers this fall will include Richmond, Campbell, Wanye Chukes, Kevin Gwibuka, Nathaniel Pitt and others.
“The only starter coming back is Russell,” Williams said. “He will graduate as a four-year starter in Gwinnett County. He’s got incredible experience and incredible intangibles. He knows ball and he’s a natural leader, so I’ve leaned on him to bring these guys together.”
At linebacker, the Tigers plan to start any combination of Christon Jones, Bryson Williams, Arie Benjamin and Jef-
ferey Hammonds. Only Jones and Benjamin received minimal varsity snaps for the Tigers last season.
“The linebackers have been a pleasant surprise,” Williams said. “These guys have a lot of speed. They’ve taken the coaching and they’ve probably grown the fastest out of the entire core of the defense. I’m excited to see them play.” Up front, the Tigers will be very young as well. Dontae Samuels, a rising junior at defensive end, is a name to watch, Williams said. He will be featured alongside Zion Benjamin, the twin brother of Arie, and Antonio McCloud.
“This program runs through its defense,” Williams said. “Even though I’m an offensive guy, I put a premium on defense and they know it. I harp on it all the time. We know our No. 1 pillar is to have great defense at Archer as long as I’m there. Everything else will take care of itself.”
ETC.
The first two years under the direction of Williams have not been easy.
Former head coach Andy Dyer, who coached the Tigers from their inaugural season in 2009 up until 2021, left the cupboard relatively bare for a program that has had enjoyed a lot of success over its short lifespan.
After a rough 2022 campaign for Williams in which the Tigers went a disappointing 2-8 and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2012, Williams
county linebacker Cole Van Hassel, a senior.
“It probably starts with Cole Van Hassel,” Jones said. “He’s a three-year starter for us. … He was the only junior elected captain for us since I’ve been here. Not only that, he’s the engine that makes us go on defense. We’re very excited about him.”
Michael Barlow and Jeremiah Brinson also are returning starters at linebacker, where King Lee and Daniel Diggs also figure to be important contributors. They will play behind a deep defensive line, where the Broncos will rotate in a number of players, including Baltimore, Hernandez, Xzavier Pfister, McKenzie, Walters, Francois, Reda Oughriss and Rama Leslie.
Pearson is back as the starter at free safety, and he will be surrounded by a pack of standouts — many of them young — including Josh Burrell, Elzey and Brunson.
“I’m excited about the experience coming back and the athleticism and the speed we’ve
year and I really feel like we have the pieces to be able to do that. After that, the secondary has taken a big jump. That’s a unit that has great leadership. We’re looking forward to seeing how the defense plays this year.”
Anchoring Hines’ defense are linebackers Yadiel Benedith and Abdulsalam Adejumoh, both looking to play big roles in the middle of the unit.
“For me, I’ve been trying to just be more explosive off the ball and using my hands more efficiently,” Benedith said. “The biggest change I’ve seen from last year’s team is a much more serious attitude. Everybody wants to be great, everyone wants to win.”
“We’ve all grown from last year,” Adejumoh added. “We’ve bought in. Our coaches have done a good job of getting the message through to us about that this season.”
ETC.
Hines, hired at Berkmar in March 2023, enters Year
2 with a head coaching record of 3-6-1. Previously, he was the offensive coordinator at Langston Hughes, leading the Panthers to the 2022 Class AAAAAA state championship. That squad broke the Georgia state record for points in a season, 792, and points per game, 52.8. As the Patriots switch from Region 7-AAAAAAA to 7-AAAAAA, the program will still play its annual foes of Duluth, Norcross, North Gwinnett and Peachtree Ridge, but will add perennial powers in Brookwood and Parkview.
“From the outside looking in, it’ll be another tough region, but it’ll be good for our kids,” Hines said. “It’s exciting to rekindle some old rivalries, but the thing about a rivalry is that you have to win some. It would mean a lot to our kids to be able to stand up and take pride in playing for Berkmar. Parkview and Brookwood are two teams that are able to do that. It’s a great test for our players.”
got on defense,” Jones said. ETC. Brookwood also returns a steadying force on special teams in senior Caitlyn Soroka, a first-team all-county selection and the Touchdown Club of Gwinnett’s Specialist of the Year last season. She was 20-for-20 on PATs, 7-for-8 on field goals, converted two onside kicks and hit one gamewinning field goal last year.
“She was the first female ever to make an all-county (football) team and to boot was the Specialist of the Year, so we’re extremely proud of her,” Jones said. “She’s a great student, a great leader and a great teammate. … The guys love her. She just wants to help the team. That’s what she’s all about. We’re so proud of her and she’s worked hard to improve her range on field goals and distance on kickoffs.”
anthony Rhoads
Berkmar players take the field for a 2024 preseason football scrimmage against North Clayton.
dale Zanine
Brookwood’s Brayden Tyson (24) runs against McEachern during the 2023 Corky Kell + Dave Hunter Classic at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
By Colin Hubbard Staff Correspondent
OFFENSE
Class AAAAAAA was not kind to the Buford football program in the two years it competed in 2022 and 2023.
Looking to win a state championship in their seventh different classification, their plans were shattered for a second straight year, this time by Grayson in last year’s state quarterfinals in a game where they struggled to find offense.
Heading into 2024, the Wolves are back in AAAAAA, albeit still the state of Georgia’s largest classification, and the goal remains the same — to win a state championship, which would be the 15th in program history.
Five-star quarterback Dylan Raiola, who transferred to Buford before the start of last season, has graduated. Locked in a battle to take over the job this season is his younger brother Dayton, a rising junior who attempted 16 passes as a sophomore last season.
Raiola has been competing for the job with Collins Hill transfer T.J. Wilcox, who threw for 1,861 yards, 15 touchdowns and 10 interceptions last season for the Eagles.
“I think they’re in a good spot,” Appling said of the QB battle. “Dayton has done a great job. He’s a lot like his
By Colin Hubbard Staff Correspondent
OFFENSE
For the past two seasons, Central Gwinnett’s best option at quarterback has been Makhi Cunningham, who prior to that had never played the position.
It was a big ask from then first-year head coach Larry Harold, who took over the program in 2022 and was looking to find immediate success. A position change from wide receiver to quarterback in 2022 for Cunningham resulted in a 5-0 start in 2022, their best start to a season since 1980.
But since then, the Black Knights have treaded water.
They finished 5-5 in 2022, and won just three games in 2023, which has Harold and the Black Knights switching things up heading into 2024.
Planning to start at quarterback this fall for the Black Knights is rising senior Noah Sheffield, who spent his junior season at Southwest Dekalb. He appeared in two games and completed 11 passes. Cunningham is planning to switch back to wide receiver this fall, a position that he feels a lot more comfortable playing. Harold said that Cunningham could also receive some carries at running back as well.
“It feels good that the ball is going to be in my hands most of the time,” Cunningham said. “During the offseason, coach told me I was going to be playing wide receiver during our camps and I was pretty excited. It’s been going good.” Harold said that the dy-
BUFORD WOLVES
brother, just left-handed. The ball comes out of his hands a little bit different, but they’re getting used to it. T.J. has fit in really well. I think they both have a good working relationship and both of them have skill sets that can help us. We’re just trying to figure out who is going to be the guy in certain situations. But I do believe both of those guys can help us.”
For anyone who has watched Buford football over the last decade plus, two-quarterback systems aren’t anything new for the Wolves. They last won a state championship in 2021 with Ashton Daniels and Dylan Wittke splitting playing time at quarterback.
“I think four out of the last five state championships we’ve won have been with two-quarterback systems,” Appling said. “So we’re not afraid of it. If they both can play, they’re both going to play. Just like a running back. Just like a defensive lineman, whoever. We love to play multiple guys at every position and quarterback is the same way.”
The Wolves are set to return their second leading receiver this fall in Jordan Allen, a Louisville commit. They say goodbye to leading receiver K.J. Bolden, who will be fighting for playing time at the University of Georgia as a true freshman this fall.
Auburn recruit Devin Williams, who finished third in
receiving last season with 392 yards, is injured to start the season, and that has created opportunities for some young guys, as well as putting a bigger focus on a talented and deep tight end room for the Wolves.
“Kyle Carpenter has done a good job,” Appling said. “We’re going to lean on him a good amount. And I’m proud of our tight ends Cooper Berry and Hayden Bradley. They’ve done a great job catching passes.”
Bradley committed to Ole Miss in late April while Berry recently committed to Mercer. At running back, leading rusher Justin Baker is back for his senior season. The Tennessee commit rushed for 471 yards and four touchdowns last season and will likely have an even bigger role in the offense in 2024.
DEFENSE
The Wolves graduated some big names off of their defense, including defensive end Eddrick Houston, who is now a freshman at Ohio State, and Bolden in the secondary.
But the Wolves are set to return a plethora of talent, especially in the front seven.
Defensive tackle Nicco Maggio, a Wake Forest commit, will help anchor the defensive line with four-star defensive end Bryce Perry-Wright, who led the team in sacks last season with 7.5. Rising ju-
nior James Morrow will join them on the defensive line, and he has several Power 5 offers himself.
“It starts up front with Nicco setting the tone down the middle,” Appling said. “We’ve got Bryce and James, too, and there’s a bunch of guys behind them that will rotate in. All the way down to some freshmen right now. Ever since I’ve been here, the tone has been set on the defensive line and that’s what we’re trying to get back to.”
The Buford linebacking corps will be one of, if not the best in the state with rising seniors Jadon Perlotte, a four-star Southern California commit, Mantrez Walker, a four-star Colorado commit, A.J. Holloway, a three-star South Carolina commit, and Kenyon Rivera, a three-star Kansas commit.
Appling and the Wolves have had to do some reshuffling on the back end after losing Bolden, Williams, Kobi Blackwell, Tyshun White and Osiris Gilbert, who transferred to Peachtree Ridge.
But the cupboard is far from bare with rising senior Chris Garland and rising junior Nassir McCoy set to return. Allen, their top receiver, is also an option in the secondary for the Wolves, but it’s an option Appling is hoping they don’t need.
“We lost two guys that were three-year starters at safety,” Appling said. “But
we’re moving some pieces around trying to find what’s the best thing that we can do so that we don’t have to throw Jordan Allen out there. He’s dang good, but he’s an emergency.”
ETC.
Buford’s chances of winning a state championship this fall won’t be any easier. They faltered down the stretch for one reason or another in each of the past two seasons, but with that a thing of the past, Appling and the Wolves are busy focusing on the now.
“I’m focused on today,” Apping said. “The guys will tell you, it’s all about going 1-0 and that’s not just a cliche. We really want to break it down to the minute thing. You can have a great Monday and Tuesday
(of practice) but if Wednesday ain’t worth a crap and Thursday ain’t worth a crap then Friday won’t be worth a crap. So I’m challenging them a lot and worrying about today before we’re worrying about tomorrow.” With that said, Appling and the Wolves are confident that this is the year they break through with the program’s 15th state championship and their first since playing in the state’s largest classification.
“I think this is the closest our team has been in the last two to three years,” Appling said. “We’ve done a lot this summer and I’ve seen growth. The big deal is once we get to playing is does that growth show up on the field. But I’m proud of where they are right now.”
CENTRAL GWINNETT BLACK KNIGHTS
namic of moving Cunningham to wide receiver and replacing him at quarterback with Sheffield should lead to a lot more success in 2024.
“Makhi never really wanted to play quarterback,” Harold said. “I kind of forced him to because we didn’t really have anyone else. Now seeing him free and having fun again and enjoying the game is great. There used to be so much pressure on him on a Friday night. When we have a kid like Noah that wants the position and embraces the position, everything is fitting together. We’re now able to open up the offense more because we have a quarterback that can throw the ball really well.”
As for Sheffield, he said he’s looking forward to the opportunity of leading the Black Knights this fall.
“It’s exciting getting to meet new people and a new team,” Sheffield said. “I like the scheme that we’re running. We’ve been working hard all season so it’s exciting.”
Joining Cunningham at wide receiver this fall will be a combination of junior George Nagby, junior Tariq Henry and freshman Jaren Joseph. Of the team’s 538 receiving yards last season, only Cunningham’s two receptions for six yards return to the team in 2024.
“We’ll be relatively young,” Harold said. “We’ll be starting a bunch of new wide receivers. Makhi is the only senior that we have within the receiving corps. We’ve had about three new receivers trying out this summer.”
At running back, the Black
Knights will trot out Carmelo Jeffries, who missed all of last season with a torn ACL.
“Our top two backs both tore their ACL last year and that really hurt us,” Harold said. “Carmelo just got cleared from the doctor two weeks ago. We feel like he can be a 1,000-yard running back for us and that will help our passing game in a huge way.”
DEFENSE
The Black Knights’ defense will have its fair share of new faces in 2024.
But one area of the field that is expected to be a strength is at linebacker. Skylier Kinyon, who recorded more than 70 tackles as a sophomore last season, is set to return to his inside linebacker position.
He will be joined by Cortez White, a rising sophomore who will take over one of the outside linebacker positions.
Where the Black Knights will be really inexperienced is in the secondary.
“They kind of keep me up at night, but through the 7-on7s and since we’ve started our padded camp, I think they’ve really grown and understand what we’re trying to do schematically,” Harold said.
ETC.
After starting 5-0 in Harold’s first season as head coach, the Black Knights have gone just 3-12 since.
Having played in one of the toughest regions in the state the past two seasons that has included the likes of Mill Creek and Buford, wins in region play have been hard to come by for the Black Knights.
Things won’t get any easi-
er from a region standpoint this season with the addition of Collins Hill, but with an offense better positioned to succeed, Harold thinks they can battle for a playoff spot, which would be their first since 2019.
“That’s the biggest goal right now,” Harold said. “I don’t care how we do it. I don’t care what seed. We know that the region we play in is probably one of the best in America. I think we have a really good non-region schedule. We go
down to Lowndes this year and I think it’s a good test for them. We won a region game last year for the first time since 2019, so now they want to win a couple more and earn a spot in the GHSA playoffs.”
david mcgregor
Buford’s Jordan Allen (4) tries to break a Carver tackle at Tom Riden Stadium in Buford on Sept. 15, 2023.
Brian Bates
Central Gwinnett’s Makhi Cunningham (5) awaits the snap against Discovery on Aug. 18, 2023.
By Colin Hubbard Staff Correspondent
OFFENSE
There was a lot to like about the way Collins Hill played under Drew Swick in his first season as the program’s head coach last season.
They won just five games, but ended the season on a relatively high note after upsetting North Cobb in the first round of the Class AAAAAAA state playoffs as a No. 3 seed before losing to the eventual state champs Milton in Round 2.
Having been competitive in every game they played last season with the exception of their 43-0 loss to Buford in region play, Swick and the Eagles enter 2024 confident about building upon last season’s step in the right direction.
On offense, Swick has had his work cut out for him this offseason after losing last year’s starting quarterback T.J. Wlicox, who transferred to Buford. The Eagles also lost backup quarterback Christian Langford, who transferred to Langston Hughes. But with loss comes opportunity for the Eagles, who currently have three quarterbacks battling it out for the starting job this fall. A.J. Bush, a rising junior, Makyree Cross, a rising sophomore, and P.J.
By Colin Hubbard Staff Correspondent
OFFENSE
Heading into 2024, the Dacula Falcons are ready for a fresh start.
On offense, both quarterbacks who saw action last season are set to return. Rising senior D.J. Quary, who threw for 593 yards and three touchdowns, has been competing against rising junior Garrison Cantrell, who threw for 682 yards and four touchdowns, this summer.
Right now, the Falcons aren’t ready to name a starter heading into their first game.
“D.J. has been doing an excellent job,” assistant coach Efrem Hill said. “He’s been moving around a little bit, but I told him that if you’re playing quarterback, you’re going to do great. If you’re not playing quarterback, you’re going to help us somewhere else. Are we going to have a two-quarterback system? That’s going to be up to him and Garrison. Both
By Jack Batten Staff Correspondent
OFFENSE
It’s not a bold take to say the Discovery offense struggled to find the end zone in 2023. The Titans managed just 57 total points in 10 games, scoring in double figures only twice. But if you had to bet on a guy that could turn it around, Discovery head coach Roy Groshek would be a good choice. Entering his second season as signal caller for the Titans, the passionate Groshek predicts a brighter future for his group, with changes around the corner.
“We switched up our offense, we’ll run more of an option style that will really showcase the talents of our senior quarterback Rylee Bradley-Roberts,” Groshek said. “He’s taken ownership of the offense and you can see him getting better and better every day. The way he makes his reads and decisions, they translate into his pitches in the option game. So this year we change things up to show -
COLLINS HILL EAGLES
Wolfe a rising junior. Swick said that while they have three guys battling for the job, it’s Bush’s job to lose as we inch closer to Week 1 of the regular season.
“Right now, A.J. Bush was a guy that was playing behind T.J. last year and he’s our upperclassman,” Swick said. “Makyree Cross is going to be a sophomore this year and he’s also just as good. A.J.’s kind of the one at the top with Cross behind him.”
The Eagles were as balanced as an offense can get last season between throwing the ball and running the ball. They attempted 269 passes and rushed the ball 281 times. That will likely change this
season, however, with inexperience at quarterback and a plethora of experience returning at running back for the Eagles.
Both Jacari Thomas and Cam Jones return for their senior seasons at running back after combining for 949 yards and eight touchdowns last season.
“We call them thunder and lightning,” Swick said of Thomas and Jones. “Both of those guys split carries last year and we got great production from those two. With the production they had last year, it’s going to amplify this year. We’re going to rely on them to set the run and be able to throw the ball later on.”
DACULA FALCONS
of them have been battling and both of them have had some great days.”
When it comes to who will be catching passes from either Quary or Cantrell this season, it will depend largely on who is throwing the passes.
“Our best wide receiver is probably Quary,” Hill said.
“We’ve got some young guys. Isaac Maman. Jaden Perry is a senior that got some good reps last year. Quary is a 4.0 GPA kid, so we know he can do it. He’s doing a great job. At the end of the day, he’s never going to leave the field. He’s going to be on the field somewhere trying to help us win.”
At running back, the Falcons have a three-horse race for reps this fall. Hector Davies, M.J. Allen and Frankie Onumah will likely all get carries this fall, according to Hill. Davies returns with the most experience of the three after rushing for 205 yards and two touchdowns last season. Where the Falcons have
The potential switch to a run-heavy offense appears to be even more inevitable with the size the Eagles have on the offense line, led by three-year starters Cam Daniels and Jaydon Martin. Both Daniels and Martin stand at 6-foot-3 and weigh in at well over 200 pounds.
At receiver, rising senior and team captain Alijah Patillo returns after catching 25 balls for 394 yards and two touchdowns last season. He’ll line up opposite of C.J. Hector, another rising senior who caught nine passes with limited reps as a junior.
“Alijah was voted as a team captain,” Swick said. “We didn’t get him the ball as much as we should have. Towards the end of the year, he became our go-to target. He’s a dog and an alpha. When that ball is in the air, it’s his. He’s probably the best route runner that we have right now.”
DEFENSE
Swick and the Eagles are excited about what and who they’re getting back on defense this fall.
Eight starters are set to return and nine of their 12 leading tacklers. Finishing in a tie for first in tackles last season was four-star rising junior defensive lineman Deuce Geralds, who finished with 81 tackles and a team-high
taken the next step is on the offensive line. They return multiple starters, including Donovan Lawrence and Jaden Gould. Esteban Ortiz will be another key piece on the offensive line for the Falcons this upcoming season.
“Up front is where we’ve been standing out,” Hill said.
“We’re really not worried about who we put at running back or receiver, because we’ve got a great line up front. The entire offensive line has done
a great job this summer and that’s probably been our biggest improvement.”
DEFENSE
On defense, the Falcons have at least one standout at every level which should lead to some improvements from last season.
Up front, A.J. Hill will lead the charge for the Falcons. At linebacker, Tyshawn Sessions returns to his starting position where he finished
DISCOVERY TITANS
case the talent that we do have offensively, and we’re really excited about that.”
Bradley-Roberts got the majority of the snaps under center, but then-freshman Chase Wilson shouldered some of the load. Bradley-Roberts saw his success come in the running game as he carried the ball 39 times for 228 yards and three touchdowns — all team highs.
A crucial facet of how the Titan offense performs this year will be the play of the offensive line, which is also coached by Groshek.
“We have a really solid Oline,” Groshek said. “And the great thing about them is that they’re all young. We’ve got three juniors and two sophomores up front. Our starting right guard Kentrell Gibbs is one of those guys that we really look to step up and be a big leader.”
Although the offense expects to rely on a run-heavy formation, junior wide receiver Isaac Dukes has turned heads in the offseason.
“Isaac is a kid that we knew had some real tal -
ent last season as a sophomore,” Groshek said. “But the growth that he’s shown from then to now is easy to see. Going through summer camps and 7-on-7s, he was frustrated because he was getting double-teamed so often. I told him it was because people know who you are now, everybody in the county will be watching you. So he’s definitely going to be the guy to watch this year, he’s the real deal. And not only that, but he can fill in on the back end defensively when we need someone.”
Also helping key the Discovery offense will be senior running back Jakoi Horne, who rushed for 173 yards last season, and junior Rickey Billups, who finished with 142.
DEFENSE
As poorly as the offense played at times for the Titans last year, the defense labored just as much. The unit allowed 42.4 points per game, as the team went 1-9 and 0-6 in Region 7-AAAAAAA play. However, if there’s one shining moment from the
14 sacks. Geralds, who holds offers from Alabama, Florida State, Clemson and more, will be joined on the defensive line by another big-time junior prospect in Katrell Webb, a defensive end who recorded five sacks last season. Both will be joined on the defensive line by Daniels, who will start at nose tackle.
At linebacker, Javyon Hatch returns for his senior season after tying Geralds for the team lead in tackles with 81 last season. His 47 solo tackles led the team. Lining up outside of Hatch in most cases will be Martin, who has taken a big step this offseason while doubling as one of the team’s starting offensive tackles.
In the secondary, the Eagles will return multiple starters including Cameron Bass, who can play multiple positions including corner, safety and outside linebacker. Bass finished fifth on the team in tackles last season with 51, recorded three sacks, and intercepted a pass.
Also returning to the Eagles secondary is Hector, who recorded 43 tackles and intercepted a pass last season. Stephen Barjolo recorded 36 tackles in seven games last season as a sophomore.
To make a good secondary that much better, the Ea-
gles received a move-in from Alpharetta this offseason in Donavon Stephens, a speedster who plays corner.
ETC. After playing one of the toughest schedules in the state last year, which saw the Eagles face off against the Class AAAAAAA state champ Milton twice, as well as Class AAA state champ Cedar Grove, the Eagles’ schedule won’t get any easier this year. They open up the season against Grayson, one of the favorites to win the Class AAAAAA state championship, Woodward Academy, who played for a state championship last year, Cedar Grove and Parkview for their nonregion schedule.
Buford and Mill Creek will then await them in Region 8-AAAAAA play — those two teams handed the Eagles their only two losses in region play last season.
“We always want to play the cream of the crop at the beginning,” Swick said. “That gets us ready for the tail end of the season. Going against Grayson, Woodward Academy, Cedar Grove and Parkview, that’s going to be four really good tests for us and I’m super excited to see the transition and the progress that we made from last year.”
2023 season, it’s that the defense was mainly responsible for the team’s lone win with two defensive TDs in a 12-6 struggle against Stone Mountain.
Nonetheless, Groshek expects 2024 to be a turning point on the defensive side of the ball.
“The defense will be majorly improved,” Groshek said. “We have some really key seniors and our secondary is going to be really good behind seniors Cristian Turner and Quentin Walker, those guys are really stepping up. We do have some younger guys that caught my attention in the spring and summer. But we’re more aggressive, more physical and you can definitely see that the communication is better. The kids have a better understanding of what it is we’re trying to do. We can play in multiple fronts, whether it’s a 4-man, a 3-man, and you can see the improvement because they’re more comfortable with what we’re doing.”
ETC.
Entering his second season, Groshek looks to im -
third on the team in tackles with 51 last season. And on the back end, Elijah Cushing will provide stellar play wherever they choose to line him up.
The Falcons played well in spots last season despite not getting much help from the offense. Hill said that so far this summer, the defense has shown flashes of greatness, something they will need to have in order to take the next step.
“They’re doing a great job,” Hill said. “They’re flying around. They might not be as big, but they’re moving. They’re strong, they’re quick and they know football. We’ve got a great defensive line coach in Courtney Upshaw, so they’re going to get it done.”
ETC.
No matter how you slice it, 2023 was not a good year for the Falcons.
They finished the regular season 1-9, their worst season since 2012, and a lack
of production on offense was a big reason why. The Falcons struggled to score points for much of the season, and that made for a lot of long nights for first-year head coach Reggie Stancil. Their leading receiver from last season, Kobe Adeleke-Hokes, transferred to Peachtree Ridge, and defensive back Judah Knight transferred to Gainesville during the offseason. But the Falcons aren’t letting the noise get to them with a new opportunity to prove themselves in 2024.
“I feel like a lot of people on our team feel like we’re getting disrespected,” Cushing said. “At the end of the day, it is what it is. We can’t do anything about that except win. That’s all we can do.”
Things won’t get any easier from a scheduling standpoint, however. The Falcons will still be playing in one of the toughest regions in the state — Region 8-AAAAAA includes Mill Creek, Buford and Collins Hill.
Discovery’s Rylee Bradley-Roberts runs against Central Gwinnett during a matchup in Lawrenceville on Aug. 18, 2023.
prove on his varsity head coaching record of 1-9. A Gwinnett County veteran, Groshek was the offensive line coach and run game coordinator for Central Gwinnett in 2022, the offensive line coach at Meadowcreek from 2017-21 and was previously the ninth-grade head coach at Collins Hill. Groshek knows the GHSA region realignment will be an adjustment for his Titans, but it’s the type of schedule that improves the mentality of a program. “It’s easy to get wide eyes when you find out you’re in
a region with Buford, Mill Creek and Collins Hill,” Groshek said. “Three teams that have won state championships in the last five, six years are now in our region, and we host all three at our place. There’s no place to hide anymore, and in my eyes, Gwinnett is the best county in the country for high school football. But we feel like we can compete, we’re excited to go out there and show everybody what we’re capable of doing, and we know it’s going to be tough, but we’re ready for the challenge.”
craig cappy
Collins Hill’s Jacari Thomas (0) finds running room and picks up a first down before he is tackled by Mill Creek’s Nathan Waters (60) during an October 21, 2023 game.
dale Zanine
Dacula’s Jaden Gould (72) blocks during a game against Mill Creek on Oct. 27, 2023.
Brian Bates
By Jack Batten Staff Correspondent
OFFENSE
2023 was a breakthrough year for the Duluth football program, finishing 7-4 and claiming just its second winning season since 1995.
Helping guide the Wildcats was an offense that averaged more than 26 points per game, a nearly four-point increase from 2022. Splitting time under center was senior quarterback Craig Killings and sophomore Connor Langford. Killings revived the run-heavy playbook (70 carries, 304 yards and six rushing touchdowns), while Langford led the team with 1,177 yards in the air to go along with 10 touchdown passes. Behind a solid offensive line group and the keys to the offense, head coach Cam Jones expects to see a leap forward from Langford.
“Connor will be a triggerman this year,” Jones said. “He’s really had a good offseason for us. He’s played well in 7-on-7, which is always good to see and he’s got great chemistry with the guys. But I think it all
By Colin Hubbard Staff Correspondent
OFFENSE
The Grayson offense will have its fair share of new faces this season, and that starts with quarterback Travis Burgess, a rising junior who is set to take over the starting job.
Burgess replaces J.D. Davis, who had a very successful senior campaign throwing for 3,088 yards and 35 touchdowns while helping lead the Rams to a Class AAAAAAA state
DULUTH WILDCATS
starts up front. I’ve taken over the offensive line with the help of some great assistants. We have a lot of turnover in that unit, senior Damola Ajidahun is the lone returner from that group. But I still think we have the potential to have one of the top O-lines our program has seen in the last couple of years.”
As for the state of the ground game, the Wildcats graduated four of their five leading rushers, including top running back Amari Degraffenried. Expecting to shoulder much of the load this year is senior Brandon Lyons, who tallied 69 carries for 439 yards and three rushing touchdowns in 2023.
“I think as a team, our overall mentality has gotten so much tougher,” Lyons said. “Just being able to push ourselves past our previous limits heading into the season is definitely going to help. Everybody can tell that we’ve grown a lot.”
Similar to the running back unit, the receiving core lost its leader in R.J. Lindsey (47 receptions, 708 yards and six touchdowns), but does return Braylon Gray, who caught 20 balls for 376 yards and five scores. The
Despite graduating the team’s two leading tacklers in Malachiah Small and Jayden Newkirk, upcoming senior Brock Enterline will spearhead the defense at middle linebacker. Enterline racked up 28 tackles last season, but was tied for third on team with eight tackles for loss.
rising senior broke through in last year’s September win over Chamblee, hauling in three passes for a career-high 127 yards and two touchdowns.
DEFENSE
Jones’ defense may have been the area with the most question marks following an offseason coaching change, but as the season approaches, the unit looks as poised as ever.
“We’ve had some turnover at the defensive coordinator
GRAYSON RAMS
semifinal appearance.
“Travis is a super talented kid,” Grayson head coach Santavious Bryant said.
“I think he got to learn a lot last year behind J.D., who had a record-breaking season. J.D. did things the right way, so I think he was a really good example for what it should look like.
He’s had a good spring and summer, so we expect that to carry over and for him to have a big year.”
At running back, there won’t be any drop-off this season with both Elijah
Miller and Amari Alston returning for their senior seasons. The Rams do graduate their leading rusher in Dylan Elder, but return two backs who combined to rush for 1,263 yards and 15 touchdowns one season ago.
“That’s Grayson football,” Bryant said. “We’re going to be physical and run the football. Being able to have that running back room back, it’s a good room and a deep room. It’s going to be loaded again this year and very successful.”
position,” Jones said. “Both DCs have gone onto different jobs in two straight years. My defensive coordinator just took a head job in Colorado, and we’re excited for him. Fortunately, I was able to promote from within the program, and we expect the defense to be really solid. We simplify things on defense so that we can play fast and physical, and the kids have been in the system for a while, so they know what to expect.”
“With Brock in the middle of our defense, I feel like the group is playing with a different type of swagger, energy and physicality, which is really good to see,” Jones said. “We also have another upperclassman, Henri Rutherford, who’s a guy that’s all over the field. He’s a menace to our offense in practice, which we like. And then in the secondary, we have Peyton Dyer, Landon Edmondson and some emerging talent in John Calvin and Daniel Jackson that we’re excited about. One thing that we know is that we’re going to be really quick defensively, we’ve definitely seen that in practice.”
ETC.
Entering his sixth season as Duluth head coach, Jones holds a 23-29 overall record. In his first five years at the
helm, Jones is responsible for overseeing both winning seasons for the Wildcats in the 21st century (2020, 2023). With the GHSA region realignment, Duluth’s core rivals remain the same, but the schedule adds the opportunity to relight the flame of historic Gwinnett County battles.
“The good thing is that our rivalries with the blue school (Peachtree Ridge) and Norcross are still there as region games,” Jones said. “Now adding Brookwood and Parkview, two of the blue bloods of the county, will be a good thing for us. For a while, Duluth hasn’t been a traditional power, really since the ’70s. It’s exciting to be able to play teams like Brookwood and Parkview every year. It’s definitely made our region more difficult, but the competitor in me looks forward to these kinds of matchups. I’m ready for Duluth’s name to start being thrown around with the powerhouse teams of Gwinnett County. Now what we have to do is go out on Friday nights and prove it.”
At wide receiver, the Rams received a big-time transfer from rival Archer in Jonathan Stafford, who led the Tigers in catches (86), yards (837) and touchdowns (6) last season.
Stafford, a rising junior, will join the duo of rising seniors Aiden Taylor and Alex Sanchez, who combined for 1,328 yards and 15 touchdowns as juniors.
“I think our receiving corps is super talented,” Bryant said. “We have guys
Quality care
changes
Jim Blackburn
Duluth Wildcats wide receiver Braylon Gray (4) catches the ball for a touchdown against Seckinger on October 13, 2023 in Duluth.
coach: santavious Bryant (11-3 at grayson, 11-3 overall)
4- aaaaaa
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Grayson’s Amari Alston runs down the sideline against Newton on Sept. 29, 2023 at Grayson High School.
By Colin Hubbard Staff Correspondent
OFFENSE
After a disappointing twoyear stretch for Greater Atlanta Christian that saw them finish with back-to-back losing seasons for the first time since 200809, longtime head coach Tim Hardy and the Spartans got things back on track in 2023. They finished with a 9-1 regular season, but were eventually bounced in the first round of the Class AAAAA state playoffs by Dalton.
Heading into 2024, Hardy and the Spartans have been hard at work to make sure that their resurgence in 2023 isn’t just a one-off, but a season they can build upon for the foreseeable future.
“We had a big group of guys graduate,” Hardy said. “I appreciate those guys. I love those guys, but these guys are ready for what’s next. I think we’ve had a really good summer. I think our team has a really good flavor in terms of work ethic, attitude and just some togetherness.”
Of the players who graduated for the Spartans, Jack Stanton,
The Lions took a step back on offense last season, and that didn’t come as much of a surprise after losing Gavin Hall, who transferred to Gainesville after putting up video game numbers at quarterback in 2022.
Turning to Buford transfer Thomas Stallworth, a more traditional pocket passer, Hebron relied heavily on its ground game to score points. Of the Lions’ 42 touchdowns scored on offense, 29 came on the ground (69 percent).
And while Stallworth still managed to throw for 968 yards and 10 touchdowns on a team that was built around running the football, Lions head coach Jonathan Gess said they’ve got a much better game plan for what to do with their passing game heading into 2024.
“Last year, we had to learn Thomas and what he could do,” Gess said. “A little bit last year was kind of a struggle offensively just trying to find an identity. Thomas has a phenomenal arm and we have all of these skill guys coming back, so I went and hired Bruce Miller, a legend from Gainesville, to try and build an offense around Thomas’
By Jack Batten Staff Correspondent
Despite graduating two premier offensive weapons, Lanier and head coach Tyler Maloof expect to see the unit pick up where it left off following a successful 2023.
The Longhorn offense will see new faces this season, as quarterback Preston Ratliff and top receiver Chase Jameson each move on to play at Limestone University. A two-year starter under center, Ratliff racked up 29 passing touchdowns and 2,275 yards in 2023, helping guide the team to a 9-3 record and a second-round state playoff appearance. Jameson hauled in 52 receptions for 861 yards and seven touchdowns, leading the team in each category.
Carrying much of the load on offense in 2024 will be senior running back Tojuan Peyton Jr. After splitting carries with Tayo Ashadele in the backfield last year, he looks to build off a season that saw him run for seven scores and 714 yards.
“We did lose Preston, Chase and a really good running back,
GREATER ATLANTA CHRISTIAN SPARTANS
their starting quarterback from a season ago, is one of them. Stanton put together a really good senior campaign in 2023, throwing for 2,309 yards and 24 touchdowns. Right now, rising junior Denzel Watkins and rising senior Tommy Young have been in a battle to win the starting quarterback job, and Hardy said it might not get settled before the season starts.
But at the end of the day, Hardy said he feels good about the position, no matter who is on the field for them this fall.
“We’re confident that we’ll be good at that position and can utilize ‘the other guy’ in other ways,” Hardy said.
To make either Watkins or Young’s job a little easier on Friday nights will be the talent returning at wide receiver for the Spartans.
Gabe Daniels and Jaden Henry are both returning for their senior seasons after combining for 673 yards and six touchdowns as a duo last season.
“One of our strengths offensively is our receiving corps with Gabe and Jaden,” Hardy said. “We have some experience coming back and some yards
coming back and speed. And that’s impossible to coach. So that’s one of the strengths of our offense for sure.”
At running back, Maceo Woodward is set to take over the starting job after Gianlucca Tiberia and his team-high 1,300 rushing yards graduated. Woodward played sparingly at running back last season for the Spartans, rushing 24 times for 196 yards.
“I’m super excited,” Woodward said. “With the opportunities that I had last year, I was super nervous and anxious at first. But I think I stepped into
the role and I’m really excited to get a bigger role this year. I feel like I’m really prepared.”
DEFENSE
The Spartans haven’t had as many holes to fill on the defensive side of the ball this summer, and that has Hardy excited for what’s to come.
A vast majority of the Spartans’ front seven is returning, including leading tackler Reid Voyles, who will be a junior this season. The Spartans also return Woodward, who on top of starting at running back, will start at outside linebacker.
Stephen Michael-Phillips, who also will play tight end on offense for the Spartans, will see time at inside linebacker.
“Our front seven is going to be really good,” Hardy said. “It starts with our defensive line. Micah is a bulldog there and Amari plays a ton, too. We’ve got a lot of depth up front on the defensive line. We’ve got really good athleticism and we have some strength and explosion there. So that’s a key piece.”
Up front, Micah Pryor returns for his senior season after recording 4.5 sacks in just six games last season. Mikyle Mallay-Elliot and Cooper Parsonnet will also be returning, as well as Amare Hughes.
“I think our defensive line has a chance to be as good as we’ve had,” Hardy said. “We’ve got some guys that will need to develop, but I think it will be a really nice group.”
The secondary has been the one area of concern for the Spartans this summer, but Hardy said he has liked how that unit has progressed throughout their time on the practice fields and in 7-on-7 competitions.
HEBRON CHRISTIAN LIONS
skillset and our skill players. We’re building the offense around Thomas and he’s answering the call. He’s been a great leader and he’s got a command of the offense.”
The Lions have no shortage of skill players returning in 2024.
At running back, the Lions are set to return each of their top three rushers, including Devon Caldwell, who rushed for 1,082 yards and 12 touchdowns as a sophomore last season. Jarvis Mathurin, who doubles as a wide receiver, rushed for 561 yards last season, while Adrian Hollingshed, the lone rising senior of the group, rushed for 451 yards.
“With your two top running backs coming back and with Gerrit coming back, it will make us really hard to defend,” Gess said. “Gerrit is 6-foot-3, 190 pounds, and on the other side is Jarvis, who is a phenomenal wide receiver as well. We expect to have a pretty explosive offense.”
Gess said that he’s really excited to see what Caldwell can do in his second full season as the school’s starting running back.
“I definitely think he’s an elite Division I running back,” Gess said of Caldwell. “He’s extremely powerful, quick and shifty and he’s extremely intelligent. So it’s going to be
a big-time year for him. The thinking is how are you going to stop Devon and Gerrit and Jarvis, and we’ve got Adrian back as well, who is going to be a phenomenal running back.”
The Lions did lose four of their five starters on the offensive line, which has forced Gess and his staff to fill some holes this offseason. Fletcher Turk, Adam Cannon, Zach Timberlake and Elijah Morrison will fill four of the five spots while Sichan John and Carrington Coombs, two standouts on the defensive side of the ball, will rotate at left tackle.
“We lost four offensive linemen, so that’s the one place that we really have to rebuild,” Gess said. “I don’t want Sichan and Carrington to play both ways, but just to make us as good as we possibly can be, they’re both going to play left tackle and that really makes us a great offensive line.”
DEFENSE
The jump in defensive talent and production was quite evident last season. As a team, the Lions allowed just 17.4 points on the season, their lowest mark since 2018 and the third lowest in program history dating back to 2007.
And much like the offense, the Lions are set to return the vast majority of the talent that
made the defense turn a corner last season.
“We think our defense is going to be elite,” Gess said. “Obviously Sichan John and Carrington Coombs down there on the defensive line leading that group, but there’s five or six other kids that just get after it. Then you have Nick Wade and Albert Wilham returning at linebacker, which are two phenomenal football players.”
Standing at 6-foot-3 and weighing in at 290 pounds, John is a three-star defensive lineman committed to Virginia. Coombs, a 6-foot-2 defensive end for the Lions, is committed to Georgia Tech.
The Lions play five defensive backs at any given time, and there’s a plethora of talent that will be manning the backfield in 2024.
Some combination of K.J. Thomas, Max Steve, Tyson Craig, Stroud Morris, Kemp and Mathurin will be on the field for virtually every snap this season, and it’s a unit that combined to intercept five passes and defend 20 passes.
“We play five defensive backs and our two safeties are Stroud and Max,” Gess said. “They’re very multiple. They can come in the box, they can play outside and can play safety. We have K.J. at corner who is an Elon commit. Tyson is returning, and then you have Gerrit
LANIER LONGHORNS
but we do get a great group coming back this year,” Maloof said. “T.J. is poised for a big year, he committed to Memphis and we expect more big things from him.”
A 5-foot-9, 200-pound bruiser, Peyton’s willingness to carry the offense was on display in last year’s October 5 win against then-region foe, North Forsyth. Peyton carried the ball 16 times for 140 yards and a pair of touchdowns, leading the Longhorns to a 27-21 victory. The newly committed senior held offers from the likes
of James Madison, Georgia Southern and Georgia State, but ultimately chose to be a Memphis Tiger.
“I definitely have the same mentality as last year, but I want to keep holding myself to a higher standard,” Peyton said. “I always believed I was poised to be a Division I player, so now it’s all about continuing to prove myself and playing my game.”
Following last year’s offense that averaged nearly 30 points per game and eclipsed the 35-point mark five times, the
2024 squad has seen what the program can accomplish, and wants even more for the upcoming season.
“The biggest thing about having a season like last year was that we showed everybody in our program that we have a good team and good players, and we can win big games,” Maloof said. “So having that confidence bleed over into the off season has really helped us get over that hump. These guys believe in each other, they believe in what we’re doing and they’ve stepped up in leadership roles that hold each other accountable.”
The offense also returns allregion first-team tight end Ethan Montenegro and second-team lineman Tomas Hernandez.
DEFENSE
As impressive as the Longhorn offense was last season, it was the defensive side of the ball that turned heads in the county. The 2023 Lanier team gave up 24 points per game, more than five points less than the previous year. Maloof’s defense also allowed 14 points or fewer on five dif-
“In the secondary, we did lose a number of guys,” Hardy said. “But guys are ready to step up. A guy like Gabe is going to be catching passes on one side and knocking them down on the other side. Players like Chandler Dawson, Matthew Lazarus and Adrian Hughes, a younger corner, showed a lot of flashes this summer. At safety, Will Polhill is a guy that has played some. Jayden Holland and Jack Griggs will be back there as well.”
ETC.
After making a two-classification jump to Class AAAAA in 2022, the Spartans are back down to Class AAA heading into 2024. They find themselves back in a similar region to one they played in from 2016-19 with Hall County schools, as well as Lumpkin County and Dawson County. During their four years playing in that region, they won four region championships and made a state championship game in 2016. They also made two state semifinal appearances during that stretch.
Christian’s Gerritt Kemp (0) celebrates during a
and Jarvis who are also going to get into the mix on defense as well.”
Kemp intercepted three passes on defense last year to lead the team, and finished second in passes defended behind Steve.
“Gerrit was offered as a defensive back at Georgia, LSU, Ole Miss, but he ended up committing to Duke as a wide receiver,” Gess said. “This is a kid that got offered by the top schools in the country as a DB, so he’ll be back there as well.”
ETC.
With the talent that the Lions have on paper, they will enter the regular season in the mix to compete for a Class AA state championship, which would
be the first in program history. Arguably the biggest competition to that of the Lions comes from a team within their own region, Prince Avenue Christian, which has played for a state championship in each of the past four seasons and has won three of them. It’s a program Gess knows well from his days coaching at Eagle’s Landing Christian Academy. Gess is 5-1 all-time against the Wolverines, last playing them in 2020. And it’s also a team that the Lions program knows well. The Lions are just 1-10 all-time against them and have lost the last 10 meetings. Now both members of Region 8-AA, they were last in the same region seven years ago in 2017.
ferent occasions, including the group’s 21-14 win over East Paulding in the first round of the state playoffs.
Emerging as a star in the defensive unit was defensive back Logan Laughlin. An allregion first-teamer, Laughlin finished with 91 tackles and a Gwinnett County-best five interceptions.
“Really excited to see Logan continue to have a bigger role and become a field general and quarterback of the defense,” Maloof said. “We also have a great group of defensive linemen, which is probably our deepest position. So we’re going to rotate a lot of guys up there, maybe even a freshman or two. We get another safety back in Joseph Curry, and one of our corners, Ivis McNeil. We’ve got a lot of pieces on defense coming back from last year.”
Laughlin appears to be the on-field leader of the stout Lanier defense, and the senior is ready for it.
“I know I have to step up and play a big role,” Laughlin said. “If I get down, people will follow, so as long as I stay
up, and lead everyone with my actions, I feel like we’ll have a pretty good group.”
ETC.
Maloof enters his third season as the play caller at Lanier, holding a 13-10 overall record. Maloof was named Region 8-AAAAAA Coach of the Year in 2023, leading the Longhorns to their first winning season since 2019. This year, Lanier — along with all GHSA schools — will be competing in a new region. Now in Region 7-AAAAA, Maloof’s team will enjoy having its travel cut down, but may see the competition level rise.
“I look at it as a really good challenge for us,” Maloof said. “Obviously there are a ton of good teams that have played and won in the highest classification. You look at Milton, who won it all last year, Roswell, who’s been a successful 7A team, Gainesville, Chattahoochee, Johns Creek are all really good programs, so it gets me excited. I think if we can stay healthy, we can manage it and have some success.”
eric graham
Greater Atlanta Christian’s Gabe Daniels (5) jumps up after a scoring play in a win over Meadowcreek on Aug. 18, 2023.
By Colin Hubbard Staff Correspondent OFFENSE
Janine greco
Hebron
2023 Lions game.
Jim Blackburn
Lanier’s Logan Laughlin (37) runs after an interception against North Forsyth on October 5, 2023 in Sugar Hill.
By Jack Batten Staff Correspondent
OFFENSE
Coming off a season that saw them decimated with injuries, the Meadowcreek Mustangs expect, and hope, to see much more consistency on the offensive side of the ball.
Meadowcreek was forced to start four different players at quarterback in 2023, which head coach Todd Wofford will quickly tell you is not a recipe for success.
“Having to play that many guys at quarterback is something that I’ve never seen, let alone experienced as a head coach,” Wofford said. “But from spring to this point, the guys have worked really hard, and we’re getting better at every phase. I was just telling another coach, what I like about this year’s group is that it’s so coachable.”
The onslaught of injuries began in Week 1 as sophomore Yourhinest Carter saw his season cut short following a strong first-half performance at GAC. From
MEADOWCREEK MUSTANGS
Head coach: todd wofford (9-12 at meadowcreek, 55-73 overall)
there, the team subbed in Quinton Knuckles, Marcus Mitchell and Danirion Moxey en route to a 2-8 season. This year, look for sophomore transfer Stephen Gyermeh to open some eyes under center for the Mustangs. Coming from Blake High School in Cloverly, Maryland, the 6-foot-1 lefty already holds an offer from Louisville.
Joining him in the backfield is Rockdale County transfer James Mitchell, M.L. King transfer Khari Cuffie and a returner from last season, Tyree Thomas.
“It’s hard to even compare this roster to last season because there were so many guys playing out of position with the injuries,” Wofford said. “But we have several dynamic playmakers, who are all really skilled. James and Corey are two guys that are dangerous with the ball. Tyree is a player that contributed last year out of the backfield. If these guys play up to their capabilities, we should be in good shape.” Up front, the Mustang
really good summer. As well as he played last season, he’s taken it up a notch this year. We have a new scheme this year, and it’s one that I wish we had the last two years. It’s simple, but the guys communicate and play really fast. It’s what you want from that side of the ball.”
Hughley and company will have to account for the loss of leading tackler Ajai Cummings, who transferred to South Gwinnett. Amare McBride, the Mustangs’ third-leading tackler in 2023, bolted for Duluth.
from 2010-19, compiling a 46-61 record. In two seasons at Meadowcreek, he’s 9-12 and 6-6 in region play.
The GHSA region realignment in 2024 won’t be a drastic change for the Mustangs, who keep the same core of rivals, but will add Brookwood and Parkview to the annual slate.
returning that had a bunch of production last year. With them, and the addition of Stafford, he’s come over and meshed well. He falls right in line with what we want as a program.”
As if things weren’t already falling into place nicely for the Rams this summer, the luxury of having four of their five starting offensive linemen returning this season will make everyone’s job that much easier this fall.
Joshua Threat, Alex Demesier, Don Egbe and
Chris Gardner all started up front for the Rams in 2023 and Bryant said he’s expecting big things out of them again this season. For an offense that had its best output since winning the state championship in 2020, the Rams are positioned to have another big year on offense. One that could even top last year’s offensive output.
“As an offense as a whole, it’s going to be super explosive,” Bryant said. “This year, we’re going to be prepared for just about anything that we’re going to see. There won’t be any competition that they haven’t gone up against before. So for us, it’s just about building upon it
offensive line is led by senior Jabari Springer and junior Ari Shepherd — Wofford speaks highly of both players.
“Our offensive linemen have shown a lot in the offseason,” Wofford said. “We have some real size up front. That’s a big strength that I don’t think we’ve had in a couple years.”
“As a unit, our goal as an offensive line is to finish in the top five in rushing yards in the county, or
and being more dominant.”
DEFENSE Grayson’s defense had its fair share of ups and downs in 2023, but the good outweighed the bad. In their 11 wins, the Rams allowed just 10.8 points per game. In their three losses, they allowed 41.7.
Heading into 2024, there’s a lot to like about the Rams’ defense and their potential to slow down opposing offenses, and that starts with superstar junior Tyler Atkinson, who led the team in tackles with 197 and recorded a team-high 10.5 sacks.
He’ll be joined by rising senior Dre Fuller, who
even the state,” Springer said. “We’re confident in our guys up front, and we know we have the running backs behind us to do it.”
DEFENSE For a defensive unit that struggled in 2023, all-region first-team linebacker Walter Hughley was a bright spot and looks to be the anchor this year.
“Defensively, it all revolves around Walter,” Wofford said. “He’s had a really,
recorded eight sacks as a junior last season, as well as rising senior Chandler Covington, who recorded 4.5 sacks a season ago.
Outside linebacker Anthony Davis is expected to step into a bigger role this season as a junior after recording 67 tackles last season.
In the secondary, the Rams return rising seniors Jaylen Bell, Uriah Points and Jaylon Williams, a trio that made a ton of big plays on the back end last season.
“Last year, we had a bunch of guys that hadn’t played a lot of snaps,” Bryant said. “Regardless of grade, just hadn’t played a bunch of snaps. So the experience
The defense allowed 34.7 points per game last season, allowing 24 points or more in each of the 10 games.
ETC. Wofford was named head coach in January of 2022, following two seasons as Collins Hill’s assistant head coach, wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator. There he helped lead the Eagles to the 2021 Class AAAAAAA state title. Wofford served as the head coach at Central Gwinnett
we gained last year is going to be really important carrying over into this year. We’ve grown a bunch and we have a lot more chemistry. Another year in the scheme and with this staff, that’s going to help a bunch.”
ETC.
The Rams found themselves in a position to play for a state championship last season before losing at home in a heartbreaker to the eventual state champs, Milton in the semifinals.
“This region reminds me of when I was starting out at Central Gwinnett,” Wofford said. “That region was probably the hardest in the state, because nearly every team was a perennial power. This year is very similar because it’s competitive top to bottom. As a competitor, you want to play in a region like this. Everybody wants the attention from colleges, and playing in a league like this will do that. We were recently at a clinic where it was announced that two years ago, Gwinnett County had more players drafted than 20 states did. That number is only going to go up with how talented the players are. Playing in this county makes Friday nights very exciting.”
Heading into 2024 and with the vast majority of their team set to return, the Rams will without a doubt be one of the favorites to play for a Class AAAAAA state championship. Getting a full offseason under Bryant’s staff, which didn’t fully come together until June of last year, has only helped the Rams this spring and summer get them better positioned for success in 2024.
2024 Public Safety Fall Festival
Saturday, September 7 | 10:00am to 2:00pm
Coolray Field | 2500 Buford Drive, Lawrenceville
“Last year, we didn’t really have a true offseason,” Bryant said. “We didn’t have our full staff there until about June, so there was a lot of rushing and throwing things together. This year, we’ve been able to go through a winter and a good spring and summer. We’re really excited for the year and excited for everything that’s coming to come with it.”
Gwinnett Police and Gwinnett Fire and Emergency Services are hosting the 15th annual Public Safety Fall Festival featuring a car show, giveaways, food trucks, touch-a-truck experiences, live demonstrations, and much more!
This year’s festival includes the exciting Peach State Rodeo. You’ll see highly trained police motorcyclists from across the country performing different challenges, including a speed competition.
We hope to see you there!
Scan the QR code for more information
oscar guevara saenz
Meadowcreek football players answer questions during the 2024 Gwinnett Football Media Day at TopGolf Mall of Georgia on July 29, 2024.
By Will Hammock will.hammock@ gwinnettdailypost.com
OFFENSE
Mill Creek followed up its 2022 state championship with a trip to the Class AAAAAAA state quarterfinals last season, and it did so with a typically powerful — and balanced — offense.
The unit averaged 38.5 points, 194.8 rushing yards and 151.8 passing yards, and it featured several talented seniors who are now playing college football like running back Cam Robinson (Washburn signee, 1,593 rushing yards, 18 touchdowns) and wideouts Trajen Greco (Missouri signee, 39 catches, 513 yards, 10 TDs), Justin Content (Texas El Paso signee, 24-433-5) and Jaiden Patterson (North Carolina signee, 19-387-4).
While those standouts must be replaced, the offense does return a key skill player in quarterback Shane Throgmartin, a Penn commitment. The senior passed for 1,964 yards and 23 TDs last season.
“It always helps to have your quarterback back,” Mill Creek head coach Josh Lovelady said. “To have Shane coming back, we have the phi-
By Will Hammock will.hammock@ gwinnettdailypost.com
OFFENSE
Mountain View head coach
John Poitevint hired Richard Gillespie, an experienced coach in Gwinnett football, as the Bears’ new offensive coordinator in the offseason. He has been charged with installing a new offense for the 2024 season.
Gillespie has 28 years of experience, coaching most recently at Winder-Barrow. He also was an assistant for 10 years at Grayson, as well as a past head coach at Duluth, his alma mater.
“We went in a totally different direction offensively and hired Richard Gillespie,” Poitevint said. “We’ll be more true spread, RPO and utilize our skill players and our really good offensive line. We have four starters coming back (on the line).” John Thompson, a 25-
By John Batten Staff Correspondent
MILL CREEK HAWKS
Mill Creek’s Daniel Smith (7) runs through the Camden County defense during the Class AAAAAAA state quarterfinals on Nov. 24, 2023.
losophy of ‘Here’s the keys, don’t wreck the car.’ He’s got a lot of stuff built in where he can check to certain things. We have a lot of RPOs with ‘Do I throw it or just hand it off?’ We have a lot of trust with him back there of making good decisions and ball security.”
Throgmartin will work with a revamped group of wideouts who don’t have a lot of varsity experience outside of senior Trey Walker, who had 10 catches for 124 yards and a TD last season. Meanwhile, the ground game should fare well with the return of last year’s backup, Daniel Smith (78 rushes, 587 yards, sev-
en TDs), a talented group of tight ends — maybe the most talented position group on offense, Lovelady said — and the annual tradition of a stout Mill Creek offensive line that is led by Jax Murphy (Air Force commit), Arturo Garcia, Kayden Hillman, Cooper Harris, Ryan Bell, Jaylen Hillman and Chris Tiger. The line built some depth last season when it played three different centers after a rash of injuries.
Malachi Miller joins Smith as the top running backs for an offense that must replace Robinson, who also starred on the 2022 state title team and was a threat as a receiver
(20 catches last season). The deep tight end group is led by D.Q. Forkpa, Luke Metz and Miles Gindlesperger, three of the Hawks’ top defensive players who will log heavy snaps on both sides of the ball.
“I think we can do everything on offense — run, play action, whatever we have to do,” Throgmartin said. “We have various things we can do. A lot of teams can just run it or just pass it. We can do everything.”
DEFENSE
Like the offense, the defense must fill some key holes because of graduation losses, but it also brings back five returning starters.
The main question mark over the offseason was in the secondary, where nearly every major contributor graduated, including Greco, Patterson and Content — now defensive backs at the college level. Shawn Cummings looks to be the leader of the new look secondary.
“The way we’re built at Mill Creek is we try not to have any rebuilding seasons, just reload,” Lovelady said. “The question is — where do you have to reload? Where does graduation hit you the hard-
MOUNTAIN VIEW BEARS
year coaching veteran and former head coach at Berkmar, is the new offensive line coach who will work with a stellar group up front led by Orville Beckford-Duffus, Hunter Britt, Dwayne White and Jaheer Foucalt.
“It starts up front with our offensive line,” Poitevint said. “We will build around them.”
“I feel like it’s a very important burden to carry,” Beckford-Duffus said of the line leading the way. “Being able to lead up front and take charge of the field, we set the tempo. It’s good to rely on the O-line and we’re going to be there to back up our team.”
Running Jahmir Joseph, a second-team all-region selection last year, also is among the key offensive returnees after rushing 74 times for 535 yards (7.2 per carry) and seven touchdowns as a sophomore. Christian Hudgins is another good,
young back for the Bears.
At wide receiver, Mountain View will rely on a pack of young, talented players like Deion Saunders and 6-foot4 Seven Rashad, while the quarterback role goes to 6-6, 210-pound junior Dream Rashad.
DEFENSE
Like the offense, the Mountain View defense has a new
coordinator, Todd Welborn, who previously worked with the team’s running backs. The 24-year coaching veteran has spent the bulk of his coaching career in Gwinnett, including a long stint at Collins Hill (his alma mater) and at Lanier.
Unlike the offense, Mountain View doesn’t have a lot of experience coming back with only two returning start-
NORCROSS BLUE DEVILS
No matter the level of football, it’s always a luxury to return experienced players, especially at the quarterback position.
Although upcoming senior quarterback Dillon Mohammed may not have taken as many snaps as A.J. Watkins did in 2023, Norcross head coach Keith Maloof was reluctant to call him a backup.
“I never considered Dillon a backup last year,” Maloof said. “He did some great things alongside A.J. We truly had a dual threat with those two. Credit to Dillon because he was able to do everything that he needed to do to be on that field. It just so happened that we had a two-year starter before him. So we consider Dillon to be another two-year starter.”
Next to Watkins, who’s now at Jacksonville State, Mohammed appeared in 12 games, passing for 823 yards and nine touchdowns to just one interception. He also carried the ball for 202 yards and three rushing scores, helping lead the Blue Devils to 35.3 points per game.
“I learned a lot of great things from A.J. over the past two, three years,” Mohammed said. “He taught me how to be a leader, how to command an offense. Last year, just getting to be on the field with
him and seeing that firsthand was a really great thing. So I’m excited for this year, and I’m ready.”
The Blue Devil offense also returns last year’s second-leading rusher, Kevin Maven, who ran the ball 140 times for 907 yards and eight touchdowns. The 5-foot-6 workhorse’s dominance was on display in an October 27 win over Peachtree Ridge, when he rushed 34 times for 234 yards.
As for the receiving corps, Mohammed will look to heavily incorporate senior Jamari Harrold. Leading last year’s team with 541 receiving yards, Harrold holds several Division I offers heading into 2024. Second-leading receiver Jahsaun “Sauce” Clarke also returns, giving a bevy of options to Mohammed in the passing game.
DEFENSE
At times last year, it would’ve been hard to find a defense in the state that was more dominant than Norcross. The Blue Devils allowed under 18 points per game on the season, less than 14 points in region play and claimed three shutouts.
When asked about this season’s version of the group, Maloof’s eyes lit up in anticipation.
“Our box is going to be awesome,” Maloof said. “You’re going to find out that our front seven is about as good as it’s been at Norcross in a long time. We do
have some youth at the back end, but when you are really good up front, that means the quarterback has got to get rid of the ball a lot quicker. When our defensive line gets to him, there will be some opportunities for our backline to go get some of those balls in the air.”
Senior defensive tackle Tito Jones Jr. and junior Carter Luckie will man the front seven, each coming off monster seasons. Jones totaled 46 tackles (19 for losses), while Luckie dominated with a team-high 29 tackles for losses.
A 247Sports three-star recruit, Luckie enters his junior year holding offers from the likes of Georgia (where his brother, former Norcross tight end Lawson Luckie, plays), Ohio State and Michigan.
“We have a lot of returners from last year and I can’t see how we don’t improve significantly from last season,” Luckie said. “Basically our whole defense is back, so I know we’re going to be tough.”
“We’ve gotten better, stronger and faster,” Jones said. “Like Carter said, we have so many returning players on defense. That advantage experience-wise will really help us this year.”
The defense also returns senior linebacker/safety Ezekiel Theodoris (66 tackles, 14 for losses in 2023) and senior outside linebacker Jaylen Brown (58 tackles, 23 for losses), both who will complete what looks to be a lethal
est? This year it hit us a little bit at the skill positions. We’ve had quite a few guys with the secondary and receivers who graduated, guys who played both ways.”
While there was uncertainty in the defensive backfield, the Hawks knew there was talent coming back in front of them in 2024. That starts up front with three-year starter and North Carolina commitment Devin Ancrum, a 6-foot-2, 300-pound anchor on the interior. He had 58 tackles (10 for losses), two sacks, nine quarterback hurries and two blocked kicks last season.
Gindlesperger (27 tackles, three for losses, one sack, two caused fumbles) brings experience at defensive end.
“We’re looking strong,” Gindlesperger said. “We’re young, but we also have people who have experience to build them up. We have the leadership, so it’s looking great.”
Metz, an Alabama recruit, and Forkpa, a Power Five prospect who is a junior, are the leaders at linebacker. Metz is the team’s top returning tackler with 61 last season along with five sacks, while Forkpa had 43 tackles (eight for losses) and three sacks. They will fill a lead-
ership void from the loss of leading tackler Josh Anglin (101 stops) to graduation. “Our linebackers are very experienced with three seniors and a junior that’s very talented,” Lovelady said. “We have the foundation there.”
ETC.
Another Mill Creek tradition is an impressive special teams unit, which should be the case again this season with the return of Brady Lane. The senior averaged 32.6 yards per punt last season (14 inside the 20-yard line), made 15 of 21 field goals, converted 60 of 61 PATs and sent 37 of his kickoffs into the end zone for touchbacks. In addition to Lane’s big season, the Hawks also blocked four kicks and three punts in 2023. … Mill Creek went 12-0 and won the Region 8-AAAAAAA title last season on the way to the quarterfinals. … Lovelady is 52-13 in five seasons as head coach, highlighted by the program’s first state championship in 2022. He was previously offensive line coach, offensive coordinator and assistant head coach for head coach Shannon Jarvis, who launched the program in 2004 with Lovelady as one of his top assistants.
ers, Marley Ashley at linebacker and David Booth in the secondary.
“I really like the defense,” Poitevint said. “We’re not as big as we’ve been, but we’re faster. There’s not a lot of experience, but they’re hungry. We went to a camp (in late summer) and I felt like we were playing faster than we have in a year or two.”
“Our defense is very young,” Booth said. “We’re working on pursuit. We know we’re not the biggest in the league we’re playing in. But we’re working on speed, pursuit and trying to get faster. We’ve got a very young team so we’re trying to force maturity on them. We’re working harder in the weight room and doing extra stuff outside of practice, trying to be the best we can be.”
“We’re just a young team so we’ve gotten a lot better each day,” Poitevint said. “I think everybody’s made improvement. It’s not a very big senior class — I think we have 12 seniors. But the ones we do have, they have a lot of experience and have done a lot of good things for us. We’re going to lean heavily on them.”
The defense also expects big things out of defensive back Isaac Nyenabo, while linebackers Jackson Weston and Tyson Higginbotham also have excelled in the offseason. A big, experienced defensive line graduated off the 2023 team, leaving an opportunity for new linemen Jamari Sumpter, Zion Robinson and David Ruiz-Diaz. ETC. The Bears have made the state playoffs the past three seasons, as well as seven of the last eight seasons, but they are searching for their first winning season since 2018. They plan to rely on a tight-knit senior class to make that happen.
Jim Blackburn Norcross running back Kevin Maven (28) runs for the touchdown against Denmark during a Class AAAAAAA state playoff game on Nov. 10, 2023,
ETC.
Maloof, who began at Norcross in 1999, became Gwinnett County’s all-time winningest coach last year with a 41-14 win over Duluth on September 28, claiming his 198th with the program.
“It just means I’m old,” Maloof laughed. “But it also means I’ve been around and had some really good players, and that’s why I love Norcross. The minute you walk out of the field house, walk onto the field with Norcross across your chest, people respect you in this community.”
Now in Year 26 with the Blue Devils, Maloof will see Brookwood and Parkview entering the region, a challenge he looks forward to.
“With those two powers coming in this year, Peachtree Ridge taking a leap last year, North Gwinnett is always good, and you can’t count out Meadowcreek and Duluth, it’s going to be a very competitive group of teams,” Maloof said. “We can’t go into any game thinking it’ll be automatic for us. Everybody is shooting for us. We’ve been successful for a while, so we’ve got to be ready for each and every week.”
dale Zanine
andrew Weathers
Mountain View’s Jahmir Joseph (32) gains yardage against Lambert on Sept. 1, 2023.
Norcross front seven.
in Norcross.
By Will Hammock will.hammock@ gwinnettdailypost.com
OFFENSE
Eric Godfree’s first season as North Gwinnett’s head football coach got off to a slow start offensively as the Bulldogs managed just 14 points against Mill Creek in a Corky Kell + Dave Hunter Classic loss. From there, things got much better.
North averaged 37 points, scored 51 on Norcross in Game 10 (which clinched a share of the Region 7-AAAAAAA title) and went 8-4, reaching the second round of the state playoffs.
“We ended up in the state top 10 in scoring and we were not good at the beginning of the year,” said Godfree, hired after a successful tenure as Parkview’s head coach. “Hopefully, we will continue with that and improve throughout this season.”
One big reason for optimism is the return of Ryan Hall, one of the state’s top dual-threat quarterbacks.
NORTH GWINNETT BULLDOGS
lines regularly, something that should happen again in 2024.
Three-year starter Cole Funderburk, a Wake Forest commit, and 6-foot-4, 305-pound Braxton Kyle, a Rutgers commit, lead the way, while Connor Coxwell and London Seymour also are talented players. Funderburk had 65 tackles (35 for losses), 16 sacks and 25 quarterback hurries last season, and Kyle had 55 tackles (23 for losses), 11 sacks and 10 QB hurries.
“Coach (R.J.) Luke does a great job (with the defensive line),” Funderburk said.
ing starters and pretty high expectations,” said Jordan, a Power Five prospect, said of the secondary. “The talent we have back there as a unit, I think we’re going to be pretty scary. Our DB corps is elite. I think we’ll be one of the tops in the state.”
ETC. Now more settled at North, Godfree has high hopes for Year 2 in Suwanee.
“Just the expectations are high with a lot of returning starters, a lot of really good seniors and underclassmen,” he said. The Bulldogs get a slightly different Region 7-AAAAAA this season with the addition of two schools he knows very well.
By Colin Hubbard Staff Correspondent
OFFENSE
A quick glance at last year’s stat book from an outsider’s perspective would lead them to believe that the Parkview offense will take a step back in 2024.
According to second-year head coach Joe Sturdivant, that’s simply not the case.
“At Parkview High School, we don’t rebuild, we reload,” Sturdivant said. “Some of these guys have been waiting their turn and some of these guys have been starting for a long time. We’ve got some guys that are ready for their turn and have a little chip on their shoulder. We did graduate some talent, but we replaced them with great football players.”
At quarterback, Cooper Frank is set to take over the starting job for the Panthers, replacing Jaiden Jenkins, who threw for 1,388 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Frank wasn’t your average backup quarterback last season, however. The junior started the Panthers’ firstround playoff game on the road at Colquitt County and exceeded expectations.
After seeing action in seven of 10 regular season games and tossing five touchdown passes, Frank threw for a career-high 253 yards and two touchdowns against the Packers in the playoffs, solidifying himself as the next starting quarterback at Parkview heading into 2024.
“Every third series, he was getting in (last year),” Sturdivant said. “I think that experience paid off. What you saw last year is probably a fragment of what I believe
From E1
me to block because I was still kind of big.” Smith never lacked for size and almost immediately found his way to the line — with the exception of his first season at Shiloh, when he was quarterback. That didn’t last long, which was fine with his father Ornando, a former offensive lineman at Alcorn State. The younger Smith made his mark as a
Hall, a Georgia Tech baseball commit, threw for 2,178 yards and 25 touchdowns (with only four interceptions) last season, in addition to running for 723 yards and 11 more scores. “I trust Ryan running the ball,” North running back Tommy Lafayette said. “He pulls that thing, he can go. I’ve seen his highlights. And he can throw, too.”
Lafayette, a Lambert transfer, factors heavily into North’s
“Having our quarterback Ryan back — this will be his third year starting — is big,” Godfree said. “His ability to come in and lead, along with an offensive line that’s continued to improve, is exciting. We only have one senior on the offensive line, but they’ve showed leaps and bounds of improvement up front.”
rushing attack, which must replaced the graduation loss of Julian Walters (876 rushing yards, 14 TDs). He will benefit from an offensive front led by tight end Hudson Morton and linemen Zach Lewis, Chase Morrow, Christian O’Dell, Josh Jones, Deantae Benemon and Quintin White.
“I’m really excited about the season,” Hall said. “I feel like I’ve got all my missing pieces put together now. Once we can all put it together as a unit, we’re going to be really hard to stop. This kind of back-
field, it’s going to be really hard for defenses to pick out if we’re going to go air raid or if we’re going to pound the rock. Once we pound the rock, it’s 50-50. Who are you going to pick to stop?” North also returns most of Hall’s top targets in Erik Ronning (34 catches, 584 yards, 8 TDs), Nicholas Bookman (34-377-4) and Morton (22328-5).
DEFENSE
North has fielded one of Gwinnett’s top defensive
PARKVIEW PANTHERS
he can do. I think he’s an elite quarterback and he’s going to show it this year. He’s a Parkview kid, so I’m super excited about Cooper. I think he’s going to surprise a lot of folks.”
Frank said he ran track this past spring for Parkview and has been working hard on his speed to become a dual-threat quarterback for the Panthers this fall.
At running back, the Panthers will return rising senior Davin Rouse, who finished last season as their secondleading rusher with 478 yards on 73 carries.
“Davin had a big run every game last year,” Sturdivant said. “He’s a guy that every offense is looking for. A guy that can give you those huge chunk plays. He’s also a guy that can endure a large amount of carries and can play in any situation.”
Rising junior Brian Stokes will get his fair share of touches at running back as well after rushing for 372 yards and four touchdowns on 60 carries last season. At wide receiver, Sturdivant and the Panthers have the least amount of varsity experience returning after losing their top four pass catchers from last season, including Power 5 receiver Mike Matthews.
And while that might be next to impossible to replace for most teams in the state, Sturdivant said it hasn’t been all that difficult finding receivers to fill those shoes this spring and summer.
“You’re about to find out really quick,” Sturdivant said of his new crop of wide receivers. “That’s the group that says Parkview graduated a lot of talent. Yes,
blocker throughout youth football with teams at Shiloh, Tucker and Parkview, where he began playing as a middle-schooler.
After stepping into the starting lineup as a Parkview freshman, Smith has become one of the nation’s top offensive line talents. He is a consensus four-star recruit who is ranked as high as the No. 80 prospect nationally and the No. 2 interior offensive lineman nationally by ESPN. And he’s still young for his class at 16. He won’t turn 17 until October.
but we also replace it with some extremely good players. Chance Delk has stepped up to be a big-time player. Elfonzo Soloman is going to be huge and Sean Ferguson is a blue bell receiver. I think he can play D-I football on both sides of the ball.”
Sturdivant also mentioned Grant Williams, Garland Holliday and Chris Nunn as options at receiver this fall.
“We have a great mix of guys that can share roles,” Sturdivant said. “We’ve got a tough, physical group of receivers and that’s hard to deal with, especially with our running game. Our track team won the state championship in the 4 by 100 with football players, and we’ve got to utilize that speed.”
Bringing everything together will be Parkview’s ultra-talented offensive line that stars Georgia commit Cortez Smith, Anthony Arrington and others.
“We have a very physical offensive line,” Sturdivant said. “They’ve got their own motto and saying now. They hang out together, they eat together. That’s the type of bond that you want when those are the guys that are protecting our skill guys.”
DEFENSE
The strength of Parkview’s defense this season will come from the linebacker position with both Justin Nunn and Mysean Nesbitt returning to their starting jobs.
Nunn finished his junior season with 67 tackles and 13 tackles for a losses while Nesbitt recorded 35 tackles and 10.5 tackles for a losses. Nesbitt finished in a tie for second in sacks last season (4) with Marcus Mapp, who
“I don’t know if we should set a ceiling on him,” Parkview head coach Joe Sturdivant said of Smith’s talent. “He’s very good. He’s also probably a year younger than all the other seniors. He’s going to continue to develop. He’s super fast. He can run. His chest is over his belly so they can probably put another 20 pounds on him. He’s a kid that can play center or guard. He’s super powerful and strong.
He’s got a shot to play early (in college) and play for a very, very long time.” Georgia’s coaches liked
“He’s always done a great job putting out defensive line talent and making defensive linemen great. He does it with everybody he coaches. It ’s a really big deal to be part of this defensive line group. We’ve got a good brotherhood.”
Andruw Gist, Ethan Robinson and Jake Godfree (78 tackles last season as a freshman) head up the linebackers, while North also boasts another talented secondary with players like Chandler Jordan (a 6-3, 200-pound cornerback), Chauncey Davis Jr. (four interceptions last season), Malekhi Weedon, C.J. Hollinquest, Jalen Gist and Kalil Mazone.
“We’ve got a lot of return-
“It’s a tougher region, which is good,” Godfree said. “It’s why we set up our pre-region play so difficult and tough, to get them ready for region play. To be able to play Parkview and Brookwood again, I was in the same region as those guys, so I’ve got a lot of familiarity with them and playing in those atmospheres. Of course, Norcross and Peachtree Ridge will be tough. There are a lot of good teams and somebody’s going to get left out of the playoffs, a playoff-worthy team.”
is returning at defensive tackle this season.
“Just having the team look up to me as a leader is important to me and to the team for our success,” Nunn said. “I’m really excited about the linebackers. A bunch of guys get to fly around and do what they love. We’re excited to have the opportunity.”
Langston Jones, Chris Nunn, the younger brother of Justin, and Rouse will also see playing time at linebacker for the Panthers this fall.
“Our linebacking corps is really good,” Sturdivant said. “Those are some bigtime names.”
Joining Mapp on the defensive line is Troy Stiggers, who was injured for much of last season, as well as Smith and Arrington, who will play both ways this fall for the Panthers.
In the secondary, the Panthers will have sever -
what they saw so much that they envision Smith as a center, the position manned so well in recent seasons by his football role model, Sedrick Van PranGranger, now a rookie with the NFL’s Buffalo Bills. He chose the Bulldogs over his other finalists — Georgia Tech, Miami (Fla.) and South Carolina.
“(Center) is kind of like the quarterback on the line,” Smith said. “I like that.”
That is the role he fills at Parkview, where his power and athleticism have shown
al two-play players starting, including Ferguson, Solomon, Holliday and Williams. Chris Nunn will also get some playing time at safety, as will K.J. Caldwell.
“Defense for me, we’re always going to be extremely good,” Sturdivant said. “Our problem last year is that our offense didn’t match our defense in how to take care of each other and how to work together.”
ETC.
Last season didn’t end on a high note for the Panthers and Sturdivant, who took over the program from Eric Godfree.
For a team that had state championship aspirations, the pieces didn’t come together for the Panthers for one reason or another, and that left a bad taste in the mouths of everyone involved, especially Sturdivant, who is looking to start with a fresh slate this fall.
in multiple sports. He won the Class AAAAAAA state championship in the shot put and was state runnerup in the discus this past spring for the Panthers’ track and field program.
“It felt good (to win state),” Smith said. “I’m just glad I won because I worked pretty hard for it.”
The state title came on the heels of a dominant junior football season that saw him earn first-team allcounty honors. As the center, he keys what Parkview wants to do offensively.
“I think the knives were out at the end of last year,” Sturdivant said. “I was probably the one at the center point of that target. Some circumstances when you take over, you don’t really get to put your stamp on it, or get your offense, defense or special teams in there. This year, we get to place all three in there. I really like the fact that everyone thinks that we’re not going to be any good, or that we’re going to run the wing-T. I think we’re going to surprise a lot of people. No one has seen us yet because we didn’t play a spring game. I believe in these kids and I cannot wait to get their name called.” The Panthers are in a newlook Region 7-AAAAAA this year and will now do battle with Norcross, North Gwinnett, Peachtree Ridge, Brookwood, Duluth, Meadowcreek and Berkmar later this season.
“He solidifies the inside of the offense,” Sturdivant said. “It allows us to beat up on the guts of the defense. I believe in football the fastest way to a first down is a straight line, as much as they’re trying to change the game to not be that way, it will always go back to that. If we can solidify the center point of our offensive line, it’s huge. He’s so athletic he can fast reach at a threetechnique, which is really hard to do. A kid that is that athletic on the inside allows you to do a lot of things in the offense.”
Jim Blackburn
North Gwinnett’s Cole Funderburk (5) makes a tackle against Duluth on Sept. 15, 2023, in Duluth.
Jamie spaar
Parkview’s Davin Rouse (21) runs against Brookwood on Oct. 27, 2023.
By Colin Hubbard Staff Correspondent
OFFENSE
The days of Peachtree Ridge
being a bottom feeder have long since ended with the addition of head coach Matt Helmerich, who in each of his first two seasons has taken big strides to improve the state of the program.
In his first season, the Lions ended a five-year drought without a winning record and made the playoffs. Last year, the Lions put together a 9-1 regular season, finished in a three-way tie for the Region 7-AAAAAAA championship and won a playoff game for the first time since 2016.
Heading into Year 3 under Helmerich’s direction, the Lions are poised to take another step forward, and that starts with quarterback Darnell Kelly, who put together a terrific sophomore season last year.
Kelly threw for 2,719 yards and 27 touchdowns, and found the end zone nine more times on the ground to finish with 36 total scores. He’s since garnered a lot of attention from colleges and already has offers from Colorado State, East Carolina and others.
“That’s huge,” Helmerich said about getting Kelly back this season. “He can do a lot of things. Just for him to have another year in the offense and work with our offensive coordinator, as well as the rest of our team, I think our offense is ready to take an even bigger step. We were
By Will Hammock
will.hammock@ gwinnettdailypost.com
PEACHTREE RIDGE LIONS
top five or top six in scoring in Class AAAAAAA last year and I think we have a chance to be even better this year.”
Kelly will have his work cut out for him this fall when it comes to finding targets at receiver.
The Lions lost both Myles Abernathy and Lamar White to graduation, a duo that combined for 1,351 yards and 17 touchdowns.
Replacing that production this fall will come from several players, including Kobe Adeleke-Hokes, Dacula High School’s leading receiver last season, and King Thomas, who returns with the most experience after catching
58 passes for 578 yards and three touchdowns last season.
Rising junior Lamarri Robertson and rising sophomore Langston Abernathy, the younger brother of Myles, will also receive a lot of playing time at wide receiver for the Lions.
“We lost Lamar and Myles, who are two big playmakers,” Helmerich said. “A.J. Perry, as well, who was 6-foot-3. We definitely lost some long guys that could go up and catch a ball. I think it’s kind of a receiver by committee this year. We’ve got 5-7 guys.”
Kelly said that he’s been hard at work to build as much chemistry as he can with his
new crop of receivers this summer.
“I think the main thing has been chemistry,” Kelly said. “A lot of new receivers. A lot of new teammates. Footwork and mechanics, I’ve been working on that during the offseason with my coaches.”
Experience won’t be hard to find at the running back position with each of their top two leading rushers returning. Sedric Addision rushed for 606 yards and 11 touchdowns as a sophomore last season, while Nathaniel Crownie rushed for 359 yards and four touchdowns as a junior.
“Nate was our starter as a sophomore a couple of years
ago and Sedric was our starter last year,” Helmerich said.
“Bryce Green is a track guy that works his tail off in the weight room, so we’ve got a good stable of running backs.”
Up front, the Lions are returning three starters from last year — Jacob Kim, Adrian Guerrero and Le Stat Williams. They also received a movein from Discovery, Dennis Uzochukwu, who is currently committed to Georgia State.
Helmerich said that this is without a doubt the most talented offensive line that he has had to work with so far during his tenure at Peachtree Ridge.
“I think with the experience of our offensive line coming back and our passing game already what it is, I think that just adds a whole new element to what we can do offensively,” Helmerich said.
DEFENSE
On defense, the Lions have had to replace quite a few spots that were freed up thanks to graduation.
Their top four leading tacklers all graduated, which should make for a younger front seven, but with a super talented secondary returning, and the addition of Osiris Gilbert, a UConn commit, who transferred over from Buford, Helmerich says he’s liked what he’s seen thus far.
“I think the depth of our defense is better than it was last year,” Helmerich said.
“We’ve got some young guys with some beef and we’ve got some offensive line guys that
PROVIDENCE CHRISTIAN STORM
OFFENSE Providence Christian football enjoyed a dramatic rise last season under new head coach John Russ, who took
the program to unprecedented heights, including an 8-3 record (doubling the school record for wins) and its first trip to the state playoffs.
At the forefront of the success last year was one of the state’s most prolific offenses. The unit averaged 46.6 points during the regular season and scored more than 50 points in six games, including 55 in each of the final two games of the regular season.
Unfortunately for Russ, a former quarterback at Mill Creek and Mercer, and his coaches, they will have to replace most of the production from the high-powered 2023 offense, which tallied 236.1 passing yards and 265.5 rushing yards per game. The notable losses include recordbreaking running back Quinton Slaughter (2,202 rushing yards, 22 touchdowns) and quarterback Ben Klassen (2,585 passing yards, 33 TDs and 317 rushing yards, five TDs), as well as Klassen’s top targets, Caleb Lee (54 catches, 1,264 yards, 16 TDs) and Matthew Miller (39-842-10). The bulk of the offensive line also graduated.
“It’s rough losing the majority of our offensive line and coming off a 2,000-yard rushing season, but I feel like the way we’re going to form the offensive line, we’ll be really really strong,” said Rain Banick, a 6-foot-5, 290-pound senior.
Banick has picked up a large number of college offers, as well as a preferred walk-on offer from the Georgia Bulldogs. He will anchor the offensive front along with 6-2, 250-pound Segun Alexander, a highly recruited sophomore.
T.J. Anthony (343 rushing yards, three TDs last season) is slated as the replacement for Slaughter at running back.
“We should be able to run the football well,” Russ said. “We just have to be effective at quarterback. With losing Ben Klassen from last year, we have to find somebody to do that job well.”
Blaine Colliver and Michael Miller are vying for the starting quarterback role.
The Storm’s receivers are talented, but young and inexperienced.
DEFENSE
The Storm’s large graduating senior class from last season left plenty of vacancies on defense, too. Despite
play both ways. I think that is a big concern in the trenches and I think we really improved that in the offseason.”
In the secondary, Gilbert will start at corner and will be joined by Ryan Gaudin, Tyson Sanford and Tristen Hill. At linebacker, Alex Faruq returns for his senior season and has the most experience at the position amongst his teammates. He recorded 60 tackles and two sacks last season as a junior. Up front, Zach Deville returns as a three-year starter.
ETC.
Expectations are high at Peachtree Ridge heading into the season.
The Lions find themselves in an even tougher region this year with the addition of Parkview and Brookwood, which now makes Region 7-AAAAAA an eight-team region. But winning a region championship is still the No. 1 goal in the minds of Helmerich and the Lions, who will face off against region opponents in seven of their 10 games this season.
“We ended up tying Norcross and North Gwinnett for the region championship last year,” Helmerich said. “So the short term, immediate goal is to win the region and set ourselves up for the playoffs to be able to take that next step. Everyone knows that home games are important once you get into November and December, so that’s what we’ve been talking about.”
those losses, the coaches feel good about where the defense stands heading into the season.
“Our defense should be really good,” Russ said. “We have a lot of guys in good places.”
The defensive front will feature several two-way players like Alexander, who made 53 tackles (15 for losses) and six sacks last season as a high school freshman.
Linebacker Diego Rosas (49 tackles, five for losses last year) is a key player in the middle of the Providence defense, while Tyson Mostatabi also is a top returning player. Mostatabi will play in a strong safety/nickel role to lead a young, athletic secondary.
“We’ve got a lot of excitement,” Mostatabi said. “We lost a lot of guys and there’s a building back, teaching the new guys. We don’t have a lot of returners, but we’ve got a lot of guys willing to step up, a lot of young guys. But they’re learning and they’re building off of us and we’re trying to build into them to make them better and get them excited for the season.”
“I’m really comfortable with our front seven,” Rosas said. “Our backfield is a little younger, but they’re fast and aggressive. I think they’ll do a good job.”
ETC.
Providence’s breakthrough 2023 season saw it win eight games after winning just 12 total in the program’s first 10 seasons. The success leaves the goals high for this year.
“My expectations are always to go win a state championship, win the region,”
Russ said. “What’s the point of playing if your goals are not to do that? Our expectation is to win a bunch of games and have fun doing it. My first year was hard to develop the guys in a certain sense. I didn’t know them well enough. I got there in April, we just had the football season and they’re basically gone. This year I’ve tried to develop and have better relationships since I was there all year. I’m really trying to make sure I do a good job with that and not feel rushed like I did last year. Hopefully, these guys are behind me and my staff and we can have fun and win a lot of games.”
In addition to the wins on the field, Russ and his staff did a good job of getting last year’s senior class to college football programs. Of the 17-player senior class, 10 signed with colleges.
“It was awesome for the school (to sign 10 players),” Russ said. “To get eight wins, the most in school history, and they broke every single offensive record at the school. Just a great class of guys and the school culture seems to be behind football now. It’s hard when you’ve never won a bunch of games for them to be behind you. Hopefully, this year we get the same crowds as last year and they’ll support us as we build the program like it’s supposed to be built.” The large senior class took its toll on the Storm’s roster, which sits at 33 players compared to 44 last season.
… Providence’s first home region game will be against Elbert County and its head coach, Shannon Jarvis, who was Russ’ high school coach at Mill Creek.
eric graham
Peachtree Ridge’s Darnell Kelly passes in a win over Duluth on Nov. 3, 2023.
eRic gRaHam
Providence Christian’s Segun Alexander (99), from Canada, pursues a Riverside Military ball carrier on Sept. 8, 2023.
By Will Hammock will.hammock@ gwinnettdailypost.com
OFFENSE
Now in its third season of football, Seckinger has seen growth in a number of areas, including one key spot on offense — the line.
The Jaguars are counting on the development of that group up front as it heads into tough Region 7-AAAAA, which features Milton, Gainesville, Lanier, Chattahoochee, Johns Creek and Roswell. Seniors Avery Little and Matthew Grow lead the offensive linemen.
“We’re looking to be balanced, but I don’t think it’s any secret we’re going to establish the run,” second-year Seckinger head coach Tony Lotti said. “Matt and Avery anchor it up front. We’ll go as they go.”
“I think the offensive line is maturing really well,” Grow said. “The first couple of years (of the school) it was a little bit of a weakness because we weren’t as big. We weren’t as strong. Now that we’ve had a few years under the scheme, to work out and get our footwork better, I think we’ll be
By Jack Batten Staff Correspondent OFFENSE
In search of its first winning season since 2019, Shiloh will turn to its veterans on the offensive side to push the Generals over the hump.
Head coach Tino Ierulli’s team lost just three starters on offense, and will return a trio of skill position players that spearheaded things in 2023. Starting quarterback Ricky Simmons, leading rusher Marlin Mathis and top wide receiver Landon Dean each enter their senior season confident and ready to build on successful individual junior campaigns.
Simmons threw for 1,257 yards and 10 touchdowns, adding 129 rushing yards and a score on the ground. Mathis carried the ball 82 times for 448 yards in just
By Jack Batten Staff Correspondent
OFFENSE
SECKINGER JAGUARS
a lot better.” The offense as a whole is experienced with 10 returning starters — only running back Jayden Vernot graduated from the young program. The skill position players back on offense include Harrison Robinson, Jaimen Williams and Jayden Clarke. Battling for the quarterback spot are freshman Jackson Locke, junior Julian Lapene and sophomore Chase Montgomery.
DEFENSE
The entire Seckinger defense returns from Year 2, though it will be headed up by a new coordinator, Scott
Rider. Rider has more than 30 years of coaching experience in Georgia and Tennessee, and previously worked at Colquitt County.
“Pretty much everybody returns,” Lotti said. “That’s the positive of a new program. We’re returning everybody.”
Jamel Baggett looks to be one of the Jaguars’ defensive playmakers along with cornerback Grant Williams.
“We’ve gotten bigger, faster and strong,” Williams said of the defense.
ETC.
Things have progressed well for Lotti, who gave the
program a reset when he was hired ahead of last season, the program’s second.
“I think the biggest difference (between the 2023 and 2024 seasons) is we all know each other now,” Lotti said. “The guys have embraced the culture we’re building now and have really bought into it. They’re becoming a big part of that foundation to building a program. Now they get to play for something this season. It’s not non-region. We’re going to be the new kids on the block and it will be a new experience for these guys being in an extremely good region. The guys have been working hard and we’re coming together as a family and as a group. They’re setting the legacy for future Jaguars and what’s going to be expected fo them.”
The Seckinger roster has grown to 95 players and includes a junior varsity team. Those players will be decked out in a new set of uniforms, shown to the team during a recent gathering.
“It’s the third year of the program, and we only had one set of uniforms bought that original year,” Lotti
SHILOH GENERALS
seven games, while Dean, an all-region first-team member, caught 34 balls for 600 yards and seven touchdowns, all team highs.
“Our returning experience will definitely be big for us this year,” Ierulli said.
“Ricky, Marlin, Landon, Pherleski Martin, our starting left tackle, they’re all back this year, plus three other returners on the offensive line, so that’s a big positive.”
Martin, a 247 Sports threestar recruit, recently announced his commitment to Georgia State.
“As a team, our brotherhood has improved and we’ve gotten much tighter this year,” Martin said.
“Individually, I’m working on staying engaged in my blocks, being meaner, being more aggressive, dominant. I just really want to better our team as much as I can.”
DEFENSE
Ierulli will be the first to tell you that last year’s defense didn’t have a wealth of experience, but now with a full season under its belt, the unit is poised to show much improvement.
The General D allowed 39.9 points per game last season, including five games in which it gave up 40 or more. However, the 2024 squad has a whole new mentality with several key players returning.
“We had five sophomores start on defense last year, and they’re all back,” Ierulli said. “Jabari Morrison returns as one of our team captains, starting at middle linebacker. Tim Anthony started as a sophomore last year at corner, he’s back. Marlin will be playing some defense for us, as well. We’re really excited. Our biggest area of growth is our maturity. With
all the young guys starting last year, they committed to putting in work in the winter and spring, so we’re really ready to get out there and start playing.”
ETC.
2024 marks Ierulli’s sixth season as head coach at Shiloh, owning a 22-32 overall record. The Generals finished 1-5 in Region 8-AAAAAA play last year, but will see a completely new group of teams this season, heavily reducing the Friday night bus travel. From having to play at the likes of Habersham Central, Gainesville, Jackson County and Apalachee, to now competing with Chamblee, Dunwoody, Lakeside and Decatur, Ierulli’s team will be relieved to play closer to home. But for the veteran head coach, the only game he
said. “We’ve grown and now with a JV team and looking to eventually do a freshman team as well, I wanted the guys to have something new, something that really put out there our trademarks. Our helmet — we redesigned our helmet — and our trademarks are seen and visible in the helmet, the chrome on the helmet, the jerseys, the primary color. We were able to work a deal with the vendor that we were able to get a home set, an away set and an alternate home set. So now all our trademark colors are represented in the uniform.”
More and more of those colors are seen around Seckinger by the year as the school adds to its footprint in Buford, where it sits between more established high schools like Buford, Mill Creek and Mountain View.
“I believe people are starting to learn about us,” Lotti said. “It’s so funny because most people don’t know who Seckinger is and that’s still going on. I was eating in a restaurant last weekend and someone said, ‘Where is Seckinger?’ They didn’t realize it was that
close. What a nice, beautiful school, beautiful facilities, wonderful administration. Being able to highlight that on a bigger stage with the (Atlanta) Falcons being here, it was really nice to see that.”
The Falcons held one of their two open scrimmages during training camp at Seckinger, which attracted numerous first-time visitors to the high school, as well as those within the cluster. What those visitors found was a community growing around a young high school.
“The community’s more supportive now, a lot more people than at first.” Baggett said. “They were more questionable about supporting us at first and whether to stay a Mill Creek Hawk or be a Mountain View Bear. Now they see the chemistry and how everyone is coming together in the Seckinger program. Now that’s something you want to be a part of, just because of the bond that was created, especially with Coach Lotti creating all these new events and activities for parents and players to participate in. It’s something special.”
Ricky Simmons (9) tries to break a tackle during a 2024 game at Seckinger.
will give any thought to is the next one.
“Obviously, the travel aspect will help us a lot this year,” Ierulli said. “But we’re really just taking this one game at a time. Our first scrimmage is against
SOUTH GWINNETT COMETS
For head coach Bryan Lamar and the South Gwinnett football program, the Golden State Warriors slogan, “Strength in Numbers” might as well be adopted by the Comets.
Since his hiring in 2021, Lamar has seen the program grow exponentially, both in bodies and in talent. The offensive side of the ball is no different, as South Gwinnett looks to have an improved unit in search of the program’s first winning season since 2016.
“In my first year as head coach, we had 19 seniors and maybe five juniors,” Lamar said. “Now we’ve got 30 kids in every class. The increase in numbers will play a big part in our success, especially playing in the highest classification. Offensively, we’ve got a lot of good things going on. We’ve changed some of our philosophy, we’re playing with a lot more spacing and picking up our pace.”
Keying the running game for the Comets will be Xavier Butler, a junior running back and return specialist who was named an allregion first-teamer in 2023. Butler was second on the team with 366 rushing yards, while emerging as one of the best kick returners in the county, tallying 339 return yards, including an 146-yard night against Archer, in which he housed an 82-yard touchdown. A question mark for an oth -
erwise confident Comet offense may lie at the quarterback position. After graduating dual threat QB Jared Echols and the transfer of backup Mehki Moore, a newcomer will have to avoid getting wide eyes in the backfield. Competing for the starting role will be sophomores Nuriel Junious and Shamar Banner, as well as freshman A.J. Sneed Jr.
“That offensive skill group has improved so much since my first year,” Lamar said. “Our receivers were struggling to catch the ball and we would maybe throw for 500 yards for the whole year. That’s probably the biggest area of growth since I’ve been here. But this season, we do have a good skill group, we trust our running backs and receivers. The offensive line is the area that’s got to grow the most, but we’re going to get there.”
DEFENSE
As for the opposite side of the ball, the defense has experienced returners, including two highly coveted Comets.
Senior linebacker Jaiden Braker, a three-star recruit by 247 Sports, was committed to the University of South Carolina before flipping to LSU on July 31 following a late offer.
Braker was fourth in tackles on a stout 2023 South Gwinnett defense, which allowed less than 10 points per game during the team’s 4-0 start to the year. The Comets boast another three-star prospect up front in Jalen Shivers.
Finishing 2023 with 13 tackles for loss and six sacks, Shivers committed to SMU in April, choosing the Mustangs over a dozen Division I offers.
“This summer has been about speed for me,” Braker said. “Getting faster and just staying in the weight room is big.”
“My biggest area of growth has been focusing on the little things as a defensive lineman,” Shivers said. “Playing with extension, getting a quick first step, getting off the ball, all of those things are important.”
Lamar will rely on the Power Five duo to both lead the defense on the field, while setting the stage
for the future of the program.”
“Our defense definitely has some really talented players,” Lamar said. “Jalen Shivers will be a big key for us this year, obviously Jaiden Braker, as well. Defensive linemen Mycal Mitchell and Quentin Lewis are really starting to pick stuff up, so we’ve got a ton of depth. It’s a good group.”
ETC.
Entering his fourth year at the helm, Lamar is 14-17 at South Gwinnett. Previously, he compiled an 83-29 record in nine seasons as Tucker’s head coach. Having grown accustomed to the always tough competition in Region 4-AAAAAAA
Mill Creek on August 9th, and that’s what our main focus is going to be. From there, it’ll be a next man up mentality. So as far as who we’re most excited to play, it’ll be the next opponent on the board.” craig cappy
play, this season’s GHSA realignment could allow the Comets to contend for a playoff spot.
“I think this year’s region has much more balance to it in terms of not being so top heavy,” Lamar said. “Our region has always had depth, with us and Brookwood finishing at the bottom last season, but also both beating playoff teams in the regular season. We still have Grayson, Newton and Archer, but adding Rockdale County, Heritage and Grovetown, it leaves us with some more balance. Now we still have to go out there and compete every week. Playing in Gwinnett County is like SEC ball. Every week is tough, but it’s easier now that we have the numbers.”
Lamar credits the growth of the program to off the field initiatives, which are paying dividends between the lines.
“Two years ago, we went into the final game of the season against Brookwood with nine starters out, while it was already a thin class to begin with,” Lamar added. “So obviously having depth when your guys get banged up is important. The key for us in adding so many players has been meeting with parents, and doing it early. I entered a program that was OK, but not super strong, and South Gwinnett wasn’t everyone’s first destination when you’re surrounded by such strong programs. But meeting with kids, meeting with parents in the offseason, telling them what this program is about now, that’s a really big thing.”
craig cappy
Seckinger’s Harrison Robinson (4) turns the corner during a game against Peachtree Ridge.
Shiloh’s
oscar guevara saenz
South Gwinnett football players enjoy Touchdown Club of Gwinnett Media Day at TopGolf.
By Jack Batten Staff Correspondent
OFFENSE
On the heels of a 9-4 sea-
son and a Class AAA Elite Eight run, the Wesleyan Wolves return several of their most important offensive playmakers, starting with senior quarterback Ben Brown.
In an impressive junior year, Brown threw for 3,324 yards and 42 touchdowns, while also leading Wesleyan with 615 rushing yards and six scores on the ground. Having already cemented himself as one the Wolves’ premier players in recent history, Brown added to his legacy with a memorable second round win over Stephens County in last year’s state playoffs.
Topping the Indians 33-26, Brown threw for 356 yards and four touchdowns, adding 107 yards rushing yards and a fifth touchdown with his legs. For head coach Franklin Pridgen, the most important thing for 2024 will be
PERLOTTE
won seven state titles in an eight-year span.
The memories from Jordan’s career are etched in the younger Perlotte’s mind.
“I remember him kissing the (state championship) trophy,” Jadon Perlotte said. “It seems so long ago, but I remember it like it was yesterday. Just the standard is different up here at Buford. Seeing him win and how they did it, it’s just special to me. We’re trying to bring that back to Buford. I know we didn’t win (state) the last two years, but it’s coming back.”
Perlotte experienced his own state title as a Buford
WESLEYAN WOLVES
eliminating any sense of complacency.
“What I’ve liked the most from the summer is that none of our leaders, including Ben, have shown that they were just satisfied with how last year went,” Pridgen said. “I’ve seen a real will from these guys to compete and train at a higher level. We want to surpass what we did in 2023.”
In order to do that, a repeat of last year’s offensive efficiency is key. Returning alongside Brown is secondleading rusher Maddox Gartland (322 rushing yards), and key two-way players Connor Roush and Matthew Wright.
“The balance in our offense is what excites me the most,” Pridgen said. “I think we’re going to be able to do some things with two tight ends, both Connor and Matthew, which we haven’t really done in the past. As for Ben, he’s always been a great passer, but we started to use him as an intentional runner towards the end of last year, and that really
freshman in 2021, but the state playoff runs have ended short of expectations in both 2022 (a second-round loss to Walton) and in 2023 (a quarterfinal loss to Grayson), the program’s first two seasons in Georgia’s largest classification. A return to the state’s pinnacle is the goal again this season, and the 6-foot-4, 210-pound defensive playmaker figures to play a major role in the mission. His versatility will see him play in multiple spots.
“I get a chance to do a whole lot of different things,” Perlotte said. “I get to show people I can cover, rush, play in, fill gaps, all that. I’m versatile. I’m not a linebacker. I’m a defensive player. That’s what people are calling me.”
The rangy Perlotte has
2023’s stout unit.
Wright, who holds several Division I offers, led the team with 26 tackles for loss and ranked in second with 87 total tackles last season. Roush, who committed to Georgia Tech in June, tallied 16 tackles for losses and led the team with six sacks in 2023.
The Wolves’ defense will have to account for the loss of leading tackler Charlie Hillegass and safety Townes Hardy, who paced the team with five interceptions last year.
ETC.
opened up the rest of our running game.”
DEFENSE
As prolific as the Wesleyan offense was at times, the Wolves’ defense was as consistent as they come.
Having allowed 22.5 points per game and 21 points or fewer in six games last year, Pridgen expects more of the same in 2024.
“Defensively, I think we’re going to have one of the best secondaries we’ve ever had.
played all over the field since his youth days, when he was quarterback regularly and often at safety. He had a good freshman season at running back, but his defensive skills have made him one of the nation’s top recruits since his sophomore season. He had a memorable interception in Buford’s regular-season win over eventual state champion Mill Creek in 2022 — the only interception Hawks quarterback Hayden Clark through in the season’s first 14 games — and had 55 tackles (eight for losses), two sacks and an interception for a touchdown last season.
Longtime Buford coach Bryant Appling knows the Perlotte family well, and remembers Jadon “when he was this big,” gesturing to
Same goes with the defensive line,” Pridgen said. “We have both of our starting linebackers returning. We’re optimistic, but somewhat cautiously, because we do have a super tough schedule, especially out of the gate.”
Maybe two of the most relentless defensive players in the county return to the Wolves in the aforementioned Wright and Roush. Doubling as offensive players this year, Wright and Roush will look to carry the momentum of
the height of his waist.
“His dad still coaches our eighth grade and his brother was a really, really good D-end and fullback for us,” Appling said. “Jadon just got taller early on and has been stand up his whole career. It’s a great family. They’ve done a great job and they’ve been around Buford, Georgia, for a long time.”
Perlotte’s athletic talent was evident early on, and he earned his first college scholarship offers before he enrolled in high school. Arkansas offered when he was still in eighth grade, and the opportunities piled on from there.
The in-state Georgia Bulldogs offered Perlotte the first week of May at the end of his freshman year, and he
Pridgen, who was hired prior to the 2006 season, enters the year with an overall record of 144-74, all at Wesleyan. He led the Wolves to their only football state title, coming in 2008.
The newly created GHSA region realignment has Pridgen remembering a less complex era of high school football, but the goal for the program will always remain the same.
“I’ve been around long enough to remember when
committed to Kirby Smart’s program that December. He remained that way until July 30 when he announced his commitment to Southern California. He also considered Tennessee, Alabama ad Florida State before picking USC. Perlotte is four-star recruit who ranks as high as No. 84 nationally by ESPN and No. 119 nationally by 247Sports.
“I liked the relationships and how I see myself fitting into their defense,” Perlotte said of USC.
He expects to play in multiple roles at the college level, too, much like he has done at Buford, which gets him for one final high school season.
“He’ll play both outside backer positions (this season),” Appling said. “We use
we took the best four teams in every region and we just played,” Pridgen added. “There weren’t multipliers, combined playoff brackets and power rankings. In my personal opinion, those days were simpler. There was less for us to think about. But I’m just going to let that stuff roll off my back. I’m only going to worry about these kids. I’m going to worry about Wesleyan. Whoever the GHSA says that we’re supposed to play, we’ll play them.
“When it comes to our region, we have a lot of respect for Fellowship Christian. They do a great job and they have some incredible players over there. We’ll have to battle with Mount Vernon again, who beat us last year. Mt. Pisgah as our neighbor in Alpharetta, then we’ll play St. Francis and King’s Ridge, so it’s an interesting subregion. But here’s your sound bite, you have to beat Wesleyan to be the region champion. We feel really good about where we are right now and we’re working to get even better.”
one of those positions like our third safety, so he does a lot of coverage and a lot of high responsibility on the defense. He’s got a special skill set and we’re going to try to use it in a bunch of different ways. If we need a faster body to go inside the box or on the other side of the defense, he can do that. He’s a smart kid, too. His physicality is not an issue and he knows the system.”
As he looks back, Perlotte has enjoyed his time in the high school program he looked up to as a youngster.
“It’s a college program,” Perlotte said of Buford. “We’re straight to work, straight about business. We make sure everything is right. This is probably the best school to get ready for college.”
Jackson EMC’s Business Development Team: Kevin Dodson, Cameron Barnhill, Tate O’Rouke, Brandon Ashley, Tino Johnson, John Skinner and Wade Johnson
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Wesleyan’s Maddox Gartland (27) and Ben Brown (19) await a nap during a game against Whitfield Academy on September 8, 2023 in Peachtree Corners.
