Pigskin Preview 2017

PIGSKIN PREVIEW A PUBLICATION OF THE FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS

IT’S IN THE GAME For high school athletes, technology and social media are no longer distractions — they’re an integral part of the sport

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YOUR GUIDE TO EVERY COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL TEAM

FORSYTH CENTRAL BULLDOGS

FOOTBALL www.fchsbulldogs.org

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Table of contents Contributors

Team Previews

SPORTS EDITOR Brian Paglia bpaglia@forsythnews.com 770-205-8976 Twitter: @BrianPaglia

Forsyth Central......................................................6 Lambert..................................................................8 North Forsyth.......................................................10 Pinecrest Academy..............................................12 South Forsyth......................................................14 West Forsyth........................................................18

SPORTS WRITER Ian Frazer ifrazer@forsythnews.com 770-205-8973 Twitter: @ianmcfrazer CREATIVE DIRECTOR Micah Green mgreen@forsythnews.com 770-205-8980 Twitter: @micahgreen15 ADVERTISING Ryan Garmon Advertising Director rgarmon@forsythnews.com 770-205-8960

GHSA TEAMS

GICAA TEAMS

Horizon Christian Academy...............................20

Extras FCN Preseason All-County Team.......................26 Big games, big names.......................................26 Cover story..........................................................28

On the cover

Connor Kelly Allison Althauser Account Executives GRAPHIC DESIGN Angie Decker PRODUCTION MANAGER Tracie Pike MANAGEMENT Vince Johnson Publisher vjohnson@forsythnews.com 770-205-8945 Kayla Robins Editor krobins@forysthnews.com 770-205-8971

Connect Follow us twitter.com/forsythsports instagram.com/fcnsports Like us facebook.com/forsythsports Email us sports@forsythnews.com

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Micah Green Forsyth County News

West Forsyth senior tight end Ben Bresnahan was busy over the summer managing his college recruitment, as were many Forsyth County high school football players, and one of the main ways recruits and college coaches stay in touch is through social media. Staff photographer Micah Green heaped gadget after gadget on Bresnahan for a fun way to illustrate just how hectic the recruiting process can be with so much technology involved. You’ll see that theme throughout this magazine. Each high school team has been designed like a social media platform, even Vine, though it no longer exists, because some of us still miss it.

CAMP CHRONICLES PRESEASON WITH THE LAMBERT LONGHORNS

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Forsyth Central Bulldogs with Brad Thiltgen and 2 others.

August 12, 2017 at 11:59am

Jackson Leak (from left), Brad Thiltgen and Mark Heard are eager to redeem themselves from last year’s struggles moving in to Class 7A. (photo by Micah Green/Forsyth County News)

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By Ian Frazer Whenever Frank Hepler has been around high school football in Forsyth County, he’s been starting something.

Hepler was the first head football coach in the history of West Forsyth High School, and he never had a losing season with the Wolverines, going 42-16 in his five seasons with the program. After a short stint back in his home state of Florida and then at Discovery 6 | 2017 PIGSKIN PREVIEW

High School in Gwinnett County, where he presided over that program’s first season, he was back in Cumming for the 2016 season, preparing Forsyth Central for its first season in Class 7A. This time, Hepler started with a thud, rather than a bang. The Bulldogs went 3-9, with all three of those wins coming in non-region play, and they didn’t score a point in their last three games of the season, against Milton, South Forsyth and Lambert.

Hepler knows he can’t hide from that, even deflecting some posi-

2017 roster No. Name 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 17 18 19 20 21 21 22 23 24 24 25 26 27 28 28 29 30

Matt Creszenzo Jacob Walters Brandon Bick Issai Hernandez Mitchell Weber Jacob Bump Matt Falink Spencer Pagley Evan Gray Warren Walker Kyle Marzullo Tristen Rose Dalton Edmunds Nathan Nicholson Hunter Cagle Brad Thiltgen Max Karlan Cody McCarthy Garrison Carver Luke Muffley Mark Heard Chris Thiltgen Parker Jeppson Brandon Dover Brandon Redecker Caden Sherman Christian Neubert Luis Algarin Patrick Leathers Ben Kronz Paulo Ayala Riley Davison Dallas Partridge

The coach Frank Hepler

At Central: 3-6, second season.

Overall: 192-65, 24th season.

2017 schedule

All games 7:30 p.m. unless noted Aug. 25 vs. Dawson County Sept. 1 at River Ridge Sept. 8 at Meadowcreek Sept. 15 vs. Duluth Sept. 22 at Kennesaw Mountain Oct. 6 vs. North Forsyth* Oct. 13 at West Forsyth* Oct. 20 vs. Milton* Oct. 27 at South Forsyth* Nov. 3 vs. Lambert* * Region 5-7A game

Year 11 12 10 10 10 12 12 12 10 11 12 11 11 10 12 12 10 10 10 10 12 11 12 10 10 12 12 10 11 12 11 10 12

No. Name 31 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61

Drake Church Carter Rodriguez James Davies Michael Miller Devron Orsan Michael Corona Nolan Eash Brody Palmer Kyle Hawthorne Jacob Ingram Matt Johnson Jackson Leak Kyle Litton Rett Winter Will Miller Davis Coats Keaton Platzke Isaax Brown Colton Hines Austin McKinzie Kyle Owenby Bryce Malone Caden Jacobs Michael Page Adam Stewart Matt Dees Anthony Perschetti Paulo Souza Matt Olson Tyler Williams Sean Bielicki Blake McDaniel Zach Jean Baptiste

Year

12 10 11 12 11 12 10 11 11 10 10 11 10 12 10 11 11 10 12 11 11 11 10 11 10 11 11 10 12 12 12 12 10

No. Name

62 63 64 65 66 67 67 68 70 71 72 73 74 74 75 76 77 78 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 95 98 99

tive banter during this year’s Forsyth County Media Day. “You guys think we were in the mix last year?” Hepler asked.

“If you look at our scores, we were not in the mix. We got to play games, and we got to learn a lot about the region, but we weren’t in the mix.”

He then shared a story about meeting Atlanta Falcons head coach Dan Quinn over the summer. Quinn told Hepler about how the Falcons’ brutal loss in the Super Bowl had motivated the team during the summer. Hepler felt the sentiment, just at a far smaller scale.

“I was thinking, ‘Wow, the Super Bowl.’ I just would have liked to have won a region game,” Hepler said. “So you can imagine how motivated we’ve been working this offseason.”

Central is far from a football power, recording just one winning season in the past 10 years, so part of Hepler’s focus during the offseason was building the program as its most basic foundations. He mentioned team-wide improvements in strength in speed tests and a significant increase in participants across all four grades, from 105 when Hepler arrived in 2016 to 165 now.

The Bulldogs can also expect to see the expected improvements of a program that no longer has to learn a new coach’s system. Hepler called what the Bulldogs ran last year a “new program offense” and said that the coaching staff has introduced “little nuances” into this year’s system.

“I think I know the offense a lot better than I did last year,” senior quarterback Brad Thiltgen said, “being able to learn it, understand it.”

Thiltgen will have the advantage of having an extra year to learn the plays, and he also hopes to avoid the injury problems that cost him three games last season. The Bulldogs have the tricky task of replacing productive running back Sabrian Howard, now playing at Cornell, but they’ve brought in Michael

Blake Brown Haygen Rabensdorf Darrius Green Jorge Torres Alex Cruzado Patrick Rudisill Evan Ekotto Brandon Coon Wyatt Riney Andreas Willi Ben Ranke Luke Morton Austin Payne Brandon McDaniel Davis Mulvain Matthew Quinn Cameron Mattis Justin Thorne Chandler Wood Jake Bretz Brian McInturff Angel Garcia Garrett Nash Croix Cordry Juan Villa Gomez Richard Pellini Chris Clapper Tyrese Raftin JT Tinjaca Alez Szakas Marco Ramirez Todd Jorgensen Jacob Gardner

Year

11 11 10 12 10 11 10 11 11 10 11 10 12 10 11 11 12 12 10 10 10 11 11 10 10 11 11 11 10 10 10 10 11

Trophy case

First varsity season: 1955 Playoff appearances: 5 (1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001) Region titles: 3 (1996, 1997, 2000) State titles: none

2016 results 3-6 overall, 0-5 Region 5-7A Central 31, River Ridge 21 Central 62, Meadowcreek 28 Central 31, Duluth 20 Kennesaw Mtn 32, Central 17 North 28, Central 15* West 24, Central 7* Milton 45, Central 0* South 38, Central 0* Lambert 59, Central 0* * Region 5-7A game

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2017 PIGSKIN PREVIEW | 7

hookem2017 1h ago

hookem2017 1h ago

Chatelain, Dicks III and Bruno are so ready

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CHAT

CHAT Photos by Micah Green Forsyth County News

Longhorns “snap” into defense mode after milestone season

By Cameron Adamczyk

For the Forsyth County News

Lambert football hookem2017 | 2,895

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Lambert football has had high expectations since its inaugural season in 2009. Year after year, the team would set out to win a region championship and end up falling short. Year after year, they would play in state playoff games but could never eclipse defeat.

In 2016, the Longhorns finally broke out. They beat their two biggest rivals, West and South Forsyth, on their way to a region title, and they beat up Central Gwinnett, 44-14, in their first state playoff win.

But the only thing harder than winning your first is defending the throne.

“When I came in, those were two goals,” head coach Louis Daniel said. “Meeting that goal is a big deal, but I think it’s probably going to be a lot harder defending that region championship.”

Across Lambert’s schedule sits teams poised as ever to give the

2017 roster No. Name 1 Kenneth Dicks III 2 J’Quan Boundurant 3 Justin Bruno 4 Zack Ansari 5 Marcus Chatelain 6 Jakob Unhoch 7 Steven Majors 8 Brett Laurin 9 Michael Wilkins 10 Drew Dockter 11 Bobby Gabriel 12 Kyle Jones 13 Peyton Rich 14 Blake Nichols 15 Nathan Smith 16 Sydney Stokes 17 Jack Fleming 18 Brentan Newberry 19 Bryce Christensen 20 Galill Guillaume 21 Hunter Gore 22 Tyler Wright 23 Jake Rising 24 Anthony Newton 25 Jeff Benjamin 26 Jacob Givens 27 Will Kohlins 28 Jorren Vanderzanden

Pos. WR/DB WR/DB RB WR/DB RB/DB WR/DB WR/DB WR/DB WR/LB RB/DB QB RB/LB QB WR/DB TE/LB WR/DB FB/LB QB/DB K TE/DL WR/DB WR/DB RB/DB WR/DB FB/DL FB/LB RB/LB TE/DE

The coach Louis Daniel

At Lambert: 22-12, fourth season.

Overall: 22-12, fourth season.

2017 schedule

All games 7:30 p.m. unless noted Aug. 25 vs. Mountain View Sept. 1 at Collins Hill Sept. 8 at Cherokee Sept. 15 vs. Lanier Sept. 22 at Wheeler Oct. 6 at South* Oct. 13 vs. North* Oct. 20 vs. West* Oct. 27 vs. Milton* Nov. 3 at Central* * Region 5-7A game

Year 12 12 12 11 12 12 12 12 12 11 11 12 10 11 11 12 12 10 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 12 12 10

No. Name Pos. Year 29 Jack Bennett WR/DB 11 30 Brandt SchimmelpfennigFB/LB 12 32 Chris Taylor TE/LB 11 33 Derek Rameriez RB/DB 10 34 Bryan Nichols WR/DB 11 35 T.J. Mathis RB/DB 10 36 Nick Milcarek WR/DB 10 37 Drew Surio WR/DB 10 38 Bennett Shoemaker RB/DB 10 39 Harrison Macintosh WR/DB 10 40 Kaalum Jones RB/LB 10 41 Anthony Nasah TE/DL 11 42 Max Proels LB/TE 10 43 Daniel Kim WR/DB 11 44 Lee Troutman RB/LB 10 46 Patrick Deans TE/DB 10 47 Jackson Bartow TE/LB 12 48 Max Benedict RB/DB 12 49 Jacob Keenan WR/DB 10 50 Michael Hart OL/DL/LS 10 51 Grant Ward OL/DL 10 52 Brian Pickering OL/DL 10 53 Daniel Park OL/DL 10 54 Patrick Bouhan OL/DL 12 55 David Standeven OL/DL 12 56 Mark Rupert OL/LB 12 57 Max Wilson OL/DL 12 58 Jacob Pulliam OL/DL 11

No. Name Pos. 59 Harrison Stang OL/DL 61 Justin Schneider OL/DL 62 Dylan McKinney OL/DL 65 Camden Sagues OL/DL 66 Eugene Kim OL/DL 67 Christopher DesRoches OL/DL 68 Ryan Mills OL/DL 69 Paul Kim OL/DL 70 Brendan Bibb OL/DL 71 Ross Mitchamore OL/DL 73 Ethan Anderson OL/DL 74 Slaton Horton OL/DL 76 Ethan Bacile OL/DL 77 Sean Warren OL 78 Bryce Chason OL/DL/LS 79 Josh Hawkins OL/DL 82 Anthony Shumake TE/DL 83 Ben Matray WR/DB 84 Andrew Gold WR/DB 85 Jacob Guy WR/DB 86 Armin Ghasemshahi WR/DB 87 Alex Snyder TE/DL 88 Evan Gackler WR/DB 89 Nalan Andaurai WR/DB 90 Nik Shelley DL 96 Julian Yee OL/DL

reigning champs a run for their money. North Forsyth’s highflying offense has their quarterback returning. South Forsyth has experienced talent on both sides of the ball. West Forsyth has one of the biggest weapons the county has ever seen in tight end Ben Bresnahan To construct a region championship contender, Lambert elected to breed competition within the team. With uncertainty in who is starting for positions across the field, the coaching staff has allowed players to fight hard during practice for snaps later on in the season.

“We don’t have a lot of situations coming into the new season where you say, ‘This guy is buckled in, he’s going to be the starter,’” Daniel said. “The rest of the guys are going to have to compete.”

The spring grit sets up for Lambert to be led, once again, by a top-level defense. Last season, Lambert’s defense was led by a plethora of seniors who combined to allow an average of just 17.4 points per game in region games. The holes need to be filled, but Lambert’s defense is highlighted by a standout talent.

Kenneth Dicks III’s recruiting went from quiet to one of the loudest in the region. Dicks attended Nike’s The Opening Finals, one of the biggest football showcase events in the nation, and took home the top score for the entire Southeast.

Big schools all over the country took notice, and Dicks accrued dozens of Division-I offers before committing to Wake Forest.

Dicks might be a highlight, but it is going to take talent across the board for Lambert to realize their hopes of repeating as region champions.

Richie Kenney, a three-year starter at quarterback, will be replaced by Bobby Gabriel. Gabriel received snaps at quarterback the last couple seasons but mostly in a red-zone or short yardage role. This season, Gabriel has to replace a big-armed,

Year 10 10 11 10 11 10 11 10 10 10 11 11 12 12 12 12 12 11 11 10 10 11 10 10 11 10

Trophy case

First varsity season: 2010 Playoff appearances: 6 (2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016) Region titles: 1 (2016) State titles: none

2016 results 7-5 overall, 4-1 Region 5-7A Mountain View 28, Lambert 24 Lambert 26, Collins Hill 16 Cherokee 50, Lambert 36 Lanier 35, Lambert 28 Lambert 38, Wheeler 35 Lambert 28, South 20* Lambert 48, North 40* Lambert 17, West 0* Milton 20, Lambert 17* Lambert 59, Central 0* Lambert 44, Central Gwinnett 14** North Cobb 35, Lambert 7** * Region 5-7A game ** GHSA playoff game

See LAMBERT | 30

2017 PIGSKIN PREVIEW | 9

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North Forsyth 2017 Season Preview | Cade Jansen, Cedric Touchstone and Robert Faulkner feel good about Year 2 with Coach Craft North Forsyth football 140

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Photo by Micah Green Forsyth County News

By Ian Frazer The North Forsyth football team can look back and see almost the exact moment when their season turned from promising to disappointing in 2016.

The Raiders had rolled through their non-region schedule with a 3-2 record, topped Forsyth Central to open the region slate and had blasted Lambert for 26 points in the second quarter to open up a 10 | 2017 PIGSKIN PREVIEW

33-20 halftime lead.

But North stalled out in the second half, managing just a touchdown in the third quarter while the Longhorns stuffed four in after the break. The Raiders dropped their next three games, with none of their scoring totals reaching that of the second quarter against the Longhorns, and head coach Robert Craft’s first season ended without a playoff appearance.

For 2017, the team’s goal is obvious: the postseason. If this year’s

2017 roster No. Name Pos. Year 1 Sam Atha RB 12 3 Jonathan Fleming DB 11 4 Honus Wagner DB 11 5 Charlie Aiken WR 11 6 Evan Johnson LB 12 7 Carter Mullikin DB 11 8 Yaw Perry DB 12 9 Nicky Dalmolin WR 10 10 Noah Gilbert QB 10 11 Tyler Hogan LB 10 12 Chuck Nordholz WR 12 13 Cedric Touchstone WR 12 14 Miles Hartsfield DB 10 15 Ben Bales QB 12 16 Tristan Howard WR 12 18 Mason Mulnix QB 11 19 Arthur Boyzo K/P 12 20 Garrett Sagro DB 10 21 Preston Peretti TE 12 22 Jean-Pierre Descous LB 12 23 Daniel Marie DB 10 24 Brice Davis DB 12 25 Malcolm Revis DB 12 26 Kolten Dickerson LB 11 27 Heath Slaton RB 9 28 Bryson Trigg RB 11 29 Giovanni Gomez DB 10

The coach Robert Craft

At North: 4-6, second season.

Overall: 53-27, eighth season.

2017 schedule

All games 7:30 p.m. unless noted Aug. 18 at Sequoyah Aug. 25 vs. Johns Creek Sept. 1 vs. Loganville Sept. 15 at Pickens County Sept. 22 at Woodstock Oct. 6 at Forsyth Central* Oct. 13 at Lambert* Oct. 20 vs. South Forsyth* Oct. 27 vs. West Forsyth* Nov. 3 at Milton* * Region 5-7A game

No. Name 30 David Pennebaker 31 Bryce Touchstone 32 Jacob Avery 33 Chase Johnson 34 Anthony Herock 35 John Allen Whitacre 37 Jaiden Davis 38 Rodney Parry 39 August Watkins 40 Clayton Bardall 41 Lance Holt 42 Dian Kriel 43 Robert Faulkner 44 Jacob Musulman 45 James Connard 46 Jonathan Perez 47 Thor Billstrom 48 Jack Tucker 49 Grant Scalia 50 Brent Grab 51 Cade Jensen 53 Josh Grindle 54 Kohnor Martin 55 Lukas Swygman 56 Guillermo Chavarria 58 Will Barton 59 Slade Gravitt

Pos. WR/K DB LB LB TE LB DB RB RB TE DE LB LB LB DL RB K LB LB OL DL OL DL OL DL OL OL

Year 10 10 10 12 10 12 10 10 10 12 10 10 12 10 11 12 11 10 11 11 12 10 11 10 12 10 10

No. Name 60 Jackson Romero 61 Josh Monroe 62 Blake Gibson 63 Bryce Golden 64 Samuel Thompkins 65 Zachary Allison 66 Ryan Foust 67 Connor Ramey 68 Elijah Byrd 70 Austin Gadison 71 Jason Kingsley 73 Jacob Sheets 74 Mason Butcher 75 Daniel Espinoza 76 Harrison Allen 77 Logan Mathis 78 Jeremy James 79 Seth Ferguson 80 Walid Abdullahi 81 Joshua Sexton 82 Jackson Rosebush 85 Hampton Wingruber 88 Nick Janik 89 Grant Sarbon 90 Shaker Awad 95 Nicholas Tomassetti

squad does so, it will be the first time North has made the playoffs since 2013, when the Raiders fell to Archer in the first round.

“We want to be the first team to get back,” senior tight end Clayton Bardall said.

If nothing else, this year’s team should score a lot of points.

Senior quarterback Ben Bales is set to play his second season at the Raiders’ starting signal-caller in an offense built around his strengths. After spending his early days at North in a wing-T system, Bales took the helm of Craft’s spread attack and averaged 200.5 passing yards per game last year with 15 touchdown passes.

It was a steep ask for Bales to absorb a new system in a single offseason, and he was prone to missed reads and questionable decisions as a result. An extra year to study and improve has left him much more comfortable in the system.

“It feels awesome,” Bales said back in May. “I feel like you know everything front and back.”

Not everyone on offense is back – most notably, the Raiders will have to replace receiver Simon Holcomb, who caught 63 passes for 1,105 yards and was named Forsyth County News Offensive Player of the Year.

Bales admitted that North probably doesn’t have a player that it can just slide into the spot Holcomb occupied. Instead, they’ll depend on a group of younger skill players, like junior Charlie Aiken, junior Bryson Trigg and sophomore Nicky Dalmolin coming together to replicate that production.

Craft also pointed to the emergence of Bardall as an important factor, and he said a goal for this season is to be more diverse in who the Raiders go to for offensive production.

“Simon had an incredible year (and) allowed us to do a lot of

Pos. OL OL OL OL DL OL OL OL OL DL OL DL OL OL OL DL OL DL DB WR WR DE WR TE LB K

Year 10 10 11 11 10 10 11 11 11 10 10 11 10 12 11 11 11 11 12 10 10 12 11 11 11 11

Trophy case First varsity season: 2010 Playoff appearances: 6 (2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016) Region titles: 1 (2016) State titles: none

2016 results 4-6 overall, 1-4 Region 5-7A North 34, Sequoyah 14 Johns Creek 28, North 21 North 31, Loganville 24 North 35, Pickens County 31 Woodstock 35, North 3 North 28, Central 15* Lambert 48, North 40* South 42, North 7* West 55, North 7* Milton 38, North 15* * Region 5-7A game

See NORTH | 22

2017 PIGSKIN PREVIEW | 11

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paladinsfootball Between the Pines

307 likes paladinsfootball Seniors Mickey Mangan, left, and Michael Birozes will be key pieces for Pinecrest Academy as it begins a new era under first-year head coach Terance Mathis. #nomoretripleoption #PaladinNation #WeAre

Photo by Micah Green Forsyth County News

By Brian Paglia By several measures, Pinecrest Academy became an enviable Class 1A football program in the Georgia High School Association in five seasons under former head coach Todd Winter. It has made the state playoffs three straight seasons, won state playoff games, earned a region championship, sent players on to play at the college level and even notched the first victory by a 1A program against a 12 | 2017 PIGSKIN PREVIEW

team in 7A, the state’s highest classification.

That status comes to an interesting juncture for the Paladins.

Winter resigned to the take the same position at Holy Innocents during the offseason, and Pinecrest swiftly hired Terance Mathis, the former Atlanta Falcons wide receiver, to continue the team’s success.

Though the first-time head coach is less concerned about Pinecrest’s past.

2017 roster No. Name Pos. 1 Patrick Sullivan TE/LB 2 Bryan Bradford 3 Bryce Balthaser 4 Ryan DiFazio QB/DB 5 Michael Bizores RB 10 Hogan Palmer RB/DB 11 Ethan Massey DB 12 Colby Mangan WR 12 Mickey Mangan QB 15 Sawyer Hufstetler WR/LB 17 Mickey Mangan QB/LB 20 Peter Hoover 21 Tripp Hochman 22 Bosco Sanchez Mejorada

The coach Terance Mathis

At Pinecrest: 0-0, first season.

Overall: 0-0, first season.

2017 schedule

All games 7:30 p.m. unless noted Aug. 25 at South Forsyth Sept. 1 at Discovery Sept. 15 vs. Walker* Sept. 22 vs. Mount Pisgah* Sept. 29 at Mount Paran* Oct. 6 at King’s Ridge* Oct. 13 vs. Fellowship Christian* Oct. 20 at Whitefield Academy* Oct. 27 vs. St. Francis* Nov. 3 Region 6-1A crossover * Region 6-1A, Div. B game

Year 11 11 12 11 10 11 12 10 11 11 10 11

No. Name Pos. 25 Brooks Binkley RB/LB 40 Matthew Stone 41 Jesus Villarreal 42 Antonio Nova 50 John Peter Haynes OL/LB 51 Mark Wutschel 52 Nolan Stafford OL/DL 55 Stone Brown OL/DL/LS 56 Joseph Kiernan 58 Zachary Schectman OL/DL 63 Matthew Del Balzo DL 64 Tyler Schmidt 67 Zachary Haynes OL/DL 70 Jackson Mueller OL/DL

Year 12 10 10 12 11

No. Name 72 Nathan Roche 73 Tommy Soukup 74 William Bradford 75 Billy Bear 81 David Stubbs 82 Anthony Thomason

Pos.

Year

OL/DL

10

11 10 10 11

“Don’t ask me about last year, because I don’t know,” Mathis said at the 2017 Forsyth County Media Day. Mathis certainly hopes to maintain the Paladins’ recent success, but the method to achieve that end is set for drastic changes.

The most obvious change will be on offense. Gone is the triple option that became Pinecrest’s signature under Winter. In its place is something more fitting of Mathis’ NFL pedigree and today’s style of scoring – though Mathis and company were coy about what exactly it will look like at Media Day. “It’s what you see on Sundays,” senior Brooks Binkley said.

What is certain is senior and first-year starter Micky Mangan has the biggest shoes to fill in replacing four-year starting quarterback Ryan McCarthy, who is now at The Citadel. But Mangan won’t have the same pressure McCarthy had orchestrating the triple option.

Instead, he’ll have as many as four targets to throw to, among them juniors Patrick Sullivan and Mangan’s younger brother, Colby. He’ll have an experienced backfield of seniors Michael Birozes (491 yards, 6 TDs) and Binkley (625 yards, 2 TDs). And he’ll have three returning starters on the offensive line in juniors Stone Brown and Jackson Mueller and senior Nolan Stafford to go along with sophomore Peter Haynes.

Pinecrest is confident Mangan is ready for the role.

“He’s got a great arm, plays baseball,” Binkley said. “He knows what he’s doing. He knows the offense really well. I’m excited to see what he can do.”

The defense has undergone its own systematic transformation, moving away from last season’ 3-5 formation to something with more movement and deception.

Binkley (45 tackles) and Stafford (15 tackles) will be key cogs

Trophy case First varsity season: 2004 Playoff appearances: 6 (2004*, 2005*, 2007*, 2008*, 2009*, 2014**, 2015**, 2016**) Region titles: 3 (2007*, 2009*, 2015**) State titles: none * GISA ** GHSA

2016 results 8-4 overall, 5-2 Region 6-1A South 52, Pinecrest 0 Pinecrest 28, Discovery 7 Pinecrest 35, Walker 0* Pinecrest 17, Mount Pisgah 14* Mount Paran 28, Pinecrest 3* Pinecrest 34, King’s Ridge 6* Fellowship 42, Pinecrest 28* Pinecrest 41, Whitefield 0* Pinecrest 42, St. Francis 0* Pinecrest 20, Bowdon 14 Pinecrest 14, Brookstone 7** Wesleyan 45, Pinecrest 8** * Region 6-1A, Div. B game ** GHSA playoff game

See PINECREST | 30

2017 PIGSKIN PREVIEW | 13

SoFo Football @sofofootball . 5h After a whirlwind 2016 season, Richard Jordan, Ryan Pontrelli and Jordan Nelson hope to recapture the magic of 2015.

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Photo by Micah Green Forsyth County News

By Brian Paglia What other word could describe South Forsyth’s 2016 season other than whirlwind?

It started in the Metro PCS Corky Kell Classic, the first Forsyth County team to ever participate in the prestigious event that unofficially kicks off the high school football season.

It included wins and losses against top 10-ranked teams.

14 | 2017 PIGSKIN PREVIEW

It included myriad injuries, most notably quarterback and Western Kentucky signee Davis Shanley, but also Shanley’s back-up, Cal Morris.

But then it also included third-string sophomore quarterback Drew Morris guiding South down the stretch to wins against Forsyth Central and West Forsyth to earn a first-round Class 7A state playoff game at home and then nearly another one against traditional Gwinnett County power Parkview.

2017 roster No. Name 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32

Caleb Outlaw Jake Wilson Myles Ellis Foster Burch Richard Jordan Jaylen Pearson Tyler Bowman Jordan Brunson Ryan Pontrelli Cameron Schurr Cal Morris Cole Aycock Carsen Hepworth Drew Morris Jess Lucas Zach Calloway Benjamin Whitlock Joe Slott Cameron Fox Colby Cruz Jackson Parker Landon Sims Ze’Vian Capers Chase Calloway Jack Pehrson Brett Morlanne C.J. Ford Jared Honey Jordan Rhodes Francis Agyeman Ehren Achtermann Daryn Rogers

Pos.

WR/DB WR/DB WR/DB WR/DB RB/LB WR/DB RB/DB RB/DL WR/DB WR/DB QB/DB WR/DB WR/DB QB/DB RB/LB WR/DB QB/LB QB/DB QB/DB WR/DB WR/DB WR/DB WR/DB WR/DB RB/LB RB/LB RB/LB RB/LB WR/DB RB/LB WR/DB RB/LB

The coach Jeff Arnette

At South: 43-33, eighth season.

Overall: 88-57-1, 15th season.

2017 schedule

All games 7:30 p.m. unless noted Aug. 18 vs. Roswell, 5:30 p.m.+ Aug. 25 vs. Pinecrest Academy Sept. 1 vs. Centennial Sept. 8 at South Gwinnett Sept. 22 vs. Lassiter Oct. 6 vs. Lambert* Oct. 13 at Milton* Oct. 20 at North Forsyth* Oct. 27 vs. Forsyth Central* Nov. 3 at West Forsyth* + Corky Kell Classic (Georgia State Stadium) * Region 5-7A game

Year 12 12 12 11 12 12 12 10 12 10 12 12 12 11 12 12 10 10 11 10 12 11 10 10 11 10 10 12 10 12 11 11

No. Name 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 62 63 64 65 67

George Najdek James Porter Zach Burchfield Max Pehrson Nick Sewing Samson Abney Ryan LaFlamme Bobby Joseph Prem Amin Jaylen Leak Steven Brauckman Andrew Crews Andrew Hill Nick Carozza Martin Armenta Keegan Toner Jordan Nelson Christian Welch Louis Gonzalez Patrick Vaughn Bryce Hutcheson Jamal Camp Gabe Cleveland Arthur Marsden Briggs Hutcheson Harvey Coleman Ryan Anderson Noah Mallard Vincent Donati Keith Fehr Rowan Aragon Ben Nitwoski

Pos.

TE/LB RB/LB TE/LB TE/LB RB/DE WR/DB RB/DL RB/DB WR/DB RB/DB WR/DB TE/LB WR/LB TE/LB RB/LB RB/DB OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL

Year 12 12 10 12 12 11 12 10 10 11 11 12 11 10 11 10 12 11 11 11 11 11 12 10 12 11 12 10 12 10 10 10

No. Name

68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 93 94 95 96 97 98

By the end of that whirlwind season, South was 7-4, not quite the follow-up to 2015’s milestone year, but still notable as the fourth straight winning season and third straight state playoff appearance for the War Eagles.

The injuries of 2016 will be particularly useful for this season, especially at quarterback.

Drew Morris, a junior, is now the most experienced of South’s quarterbacks after completing 64.9 percent of his passes for 365 yards and four touchdowns in his three starts late last season after Shanley went down with injury. But Drew would not have been thrust into action if his older brother, Cal, a senior, had not also been injured with a broken collarbone at the time.

Cal is the expected starter, and head coach Jeff Arnette thinks “people are going to be shocked” at his ability despite a lack of varsity experience.

Regardless, Arnette is confident in what the team will get out of the quarterback position.

“There’s not many high schools that have two quarterbacks as good as we have,” Arnette said.

Either Cal or Drew will have plenty of help. Senior Ryan Pontrelli is one of the county’s top pass catchers after hauling in 60 passes for 775 yards and five touchdowns last season. Jaylen Pearson (25 rec., 379 yards, 5 TDs) was also a reliable wide out.

The wild card is sophomore Ze’Vian Capers, a 6-foot-4, 180-pounder who is already generating interest from major Division I college programs.

“He’s definitely one of the hardest working (players),” senior Jared Honey said. “He did a lot of camps in the offseason, and it showed out there this summer in 7-on-7s.”

Cal should also benefit from three offensive linemen with starting experience returning in seniors Jordan Nelson, Briggs Hutchseon and Jake Nitkowski, and from a more stable running

Cameron Michini Derek Newsome Ian Hunt Nicholas Hartman Ryan Hughes Jake Nitowski Chris Biba Trevor Patrick Matthew Barry Bryce Cockfield Nick Patrick Juan Garcia Peyton Kelley Quinn O’Grady Carter Middleton Aiden Dooley John Brannigan Blake Handschumacher Tyler Meersman Pierce Meier Jake Nazarowski Preston Cimino Isaiah Linnington Jacob Zorinich Josh Green Jayden Ervin Jacob Hartsfield Case Incorvia Dante Johnson Alex Hardy

Pos.

OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL K/DL TE/DL FB/LB WR/DB WR/DB WR/DB WR/DB WR/DB WR/DB WR/DB WR/DB WR/DB RB/DL WR/DB WR/DB WR/DB WR/DB OL/DL K

Year

11 10 12 11 11 12 11 11 12 10 12 11 11 11 10 11 11 11 11 11 11 12 11 11 10 11 11 11 12 12

Trophy case First varsity season: 1991 Playoff appearances: 10 (1993, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2010, 2014, 2015, 2016) Region titles: 2 (1997, 2015) State titles: none

2016 results 7-4 overall, 4-1 Region 5-7A Hillgrove 27, South 14 South 52, Pinecrest0 South 56, Centennial 21 South 39, South Gwinnett 20 Lassiter 35, South 21 Lambert 28, South 20* South 35, Milton 14* South 42, North 7* South 38, Central 0* South 21, West 17* Parkview 30, South 27** * Region 5-7A game ** GHSA playoff game

See SOUTH | 24

2017 PIGSKIN PREVIEW | 15

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Photo by Micah Green Forsyth County News

West Forsyth High School - Boys Varsity Football Cumming, GA

2,529 views

By Cameron Adamczyk

For the Forsyth County News

What does it mean to hit the refresh button in high school football? You can acquire a new head coach. You can put in a new offense. You can replace almost all of your starters on offense and defense. But when most of those things don’t happen by choice, it 18 | 2017 PIGSKIN PREVIEW

138 followers creates a whole lot of questions.

West Forsyth’s offseason has placed the program in a position filled with ambiguity. Former head coach Adam Clack left for the same position at a new high school, and they brought in Lanier High School offensive coordinator Shawn Cahill to replace him. They lost big talent all over the field, including Kansas State signee Eli Huggins and Joey Congrove on the defensive end and quarterback Kiernen

2017 roster No. Name 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 30 31 32

Cade Vela Abraham Camara Ryan Wnek Zach Burns Joshua Nash Casey Cowart Blake Snee Matthew Wright Kyle Ruiz Stephon Bland Blake Whittfield Blake Laczynski Bryce Jones Garrett Woodall Ty Sherman Russell Kenny McCay Kirley Alex Parris Mark Claiborne Saxby Waxer Ricky Zacholski Parker Hannon Kai Rios Mikhari Sibblis John Mark Harter J.R. Brockman Curtis Okokobe Easton Baggett Alex Alvarado Miller Jones

Pos.

DB/RB DB/WR LB QB/WR WR/CB QB LB/RB QB LB WR/LB QB/DB TE/WR WR/K TE/DL LB/K DB WR DB/WR DB RB/DB WR/DB K/P LB/RB DL/TE DB/WR DB DB DB/WR RB WR/LB

The coach Shawn Cahill

At West: 0-0, first season.

Overall: 0-0, first season.

2017 schedule

All games 7:30 p.m. unless noted Aug. 18 vs. Woodstock Aug. 25 at Pace Academy Sept. 8 at Hillgrove Sept. 15 vs. Dacula Sept. 22 at Newnan Oct. 6 vs. Milton* Oct. 13 vs. Forsyth Central* Oct. 20 at Lambert* Oct. 27 at North Forsyth* Nov. 3 vs. South Forsyth* * Region 5-7A game

Year 12 11 12 12 12 10 12 10 12 11 10 12 12 11 10 11 10 11 12 11 11 10 11 11 10 12 11 11 10 10

No. Name 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 60 61 62 63

Jacob Weldy Micah Bealer Jacob Coffman Carter Cady Jake Cummings Zach Clairborne Creston Lorenzo Corey Culberson Wesley Clark Mitch Hollyfield Kaleb Bailey Reiley Gravitt Luke Nordin Luke Scussel Jack Hughes Thomas Greschner Jermaine Harris David Carrillo Joseph Davenport Aiden Phillips Will Knieper Will Jones Carter Cherry Zach Tryon Jake Huggins Eli Orr Cade Pruitt Garrett Hari Robert Bain Sam Kenareh

Pos.

LB/FB FB/DL LB LB/RB LB LB LB/FB DB/TE DB RB/LB LB LB/FB DB/RB LB RB/LB DB DL DL OL/DL OL/DL DL/OL LB/DL LB/OL OL OL/DL LB/DL OL OL/DL DL OL

Year 11 10 12 10 11 11 10 11 10 11 10 11 10 11 10 10 11 11 11 11 11 12 11 11 11 10 12 10 11 11

No. Name

64 65 66 67 68 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 92 95 98 99

Hamilton on the offensive end.

In 2016, the Wolverines had high expectations. They entered the year as favorites to win the region, but losses to rivals Lambert and South Forsyth set them back to a road playoff game that they eventually lost.

West had some bright moments. They smacked around the rest of the region, went 3-1 outside of region play and were three points shy of winning that road playoff game. Entering the 2017 season, some of those bright spots are returning, including Ben Bresnahan.

It was no secret that Bresnahan was going to have all types of colleges knocking at his door. After the season ended, his Twitter seemed to be a nonstop display of scholarship offers from big Division-I schools around the country. He accrued offers from the likes of Ole Miss, Tennessee and Minnesota. Bresnahan ultimately decided on Vanderbilt.

“It was a hard choice, but Vandy is such a great place with great academics, a great city and great people,” Bresnahan said.

“I wanted to be committed before the season started so I could just focus on the team.”

With only two returning defensive starters and three offensive starters, it is imperative for experienced talent like Bresnahan and defensive back Cade Vela to lead the young team.

With Hamilton gone at quarterback, West’s offense turns to Zach Burns. Burns, a receiver in the past, looks to implement Coach Cahill’s new style of offense.

“We’re going to use the quarterback a little bit more to run,” Cahill said, “and I think that helps Burns to be able to step in and not have to replace Kiernen because it is a different system and we’re going to use him differently.”

Cahill’s system looks to utilize the run more heavily than in

See WEST | 24

Derek Hughes Victor Montalvo Avery Blackman Gabriel Failor Stpehen Wortman Matt Anthony Austin Christian David Bowman J.R. Reis Walker Mull Chris McDaniels Blake Anderson Carson Davis Arad Yavarian Payton Dunagan Anthony Merriman Lance Corcimiglia Mack Park Czar Cunat Matthew Ratliff Myles Blythe Jacob Phipps Antonio Hernandez Ben Bresnahan Sean O’Neill Jamison Odell Joshua Godfrey Mason Williams Nathanel Gedion Jonathan Sanchez

Pos.

OL/DL DL LB/OL OL OL DL/OL DL/OL OL OL OL/DL OL OL OL OL/DL OL WR/DB WR/DB TE/DL WR WR DB DB/TE WR WR/TE TE DL DL DL DL DL

Year

11 12 10 10 11 10 10 11 11 10 10 12 12 10 12 10 10 10 10 12 10 10 10 12 10 10 10 10 11 10

Trophy case First varsity season: 2008 Playoff appearances: 6 (2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016) Region titles: 1 (2012) State titles: none

2016 results 7-4 overall, 3-2 Region 5-7A West 24, Woodstock 21 Pace Academy 20, West 10 West 56, Hillgrove 35 West 31, Dacula 14 West 26, Newnan 21 West 31, Milton 6* West 24, Central 7* Lambert 17, West 7* West 55, North 7* South 21, West 17* Brookwood 45, West 42** * Region 5-7A game ** GHSA playoff game

Photo by Micah Green Forsyth County News

Horizon Christian

Brody Huntt, Alex Dahlberg and Michael Gul lead the Warriors on the conquest for another state playoff berth

1d

17 people like this 5 revines

By Cameron Adamczyk

For the Forsyth County News

In Forsyth County, the football teams are filled to the brim. Freshman, junior varsity and varsity squads all have 60 or more players awaiting their number to be called. For one high school in the county, 60 players on 20 | 2017 PIGSKIN PREVIEW

the roster would be a dream.

Horizon Christian Academy is sometimes the forgotten Forsyth school. They play in the GICAA classification. They don’t have well-known rivals. They don’t have the crowds. They don’t have the big rosters.

The Warriors find relevance in success. A young football program that can sometimes

be overshadowed by the big schools needs state playoff wins to keep their name in people’s minds. In 2016, Horizon looked at the goal of a state championship as a realistic possibility.

They were led by two seniors, quarter-

See HORIZON | 24

The biggest impacts don’t happen on the field.

Character.

Teamwork.

Community.

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FROM 7

Central Miller, a transfer from Alpharetta, to work at that position.

The Bulldogs are set to bring back Dalton Edmunds and Mark Heard, their two top receivers from last year. Senior tackle Matt Olson is set to be a leader on the offensive line, and transfer Blake Brown could slot in at center.

Central doesn’t lose a Division I talent like

FROM 11

North good things last year,” Craft said. “But we funneled about everything through him.”

West’s lackluster offensive showings after the Lambert loss were an issue, and a bigger one might have been the Raiders’ defense getting rolled over, letting up 42 points against South and 55 against West.

North graduated a productive group of seniors, like Bradley Thomas, Shaun Herock

Howard on defense, but the Bulldogs’ top four tacklers from 2016, most notably linebacker Sebastian Legarra, have all graduated. Younger players like sophomore safety Mitch Weber and junior linebacker Jackson Leak will be trusted to replace much of that production, and senior Greg Wozniak, who played on the offensive line last season, has switched to linebacker and impressed at that spot.

And last but certainly not least – especially in the eyes of today’s Instagram-savvy teens – the Bulldogs made some small waves over the summer with a set of new

uniforms that return to the simplicity of the school’s red, white and black color scheme, with glossy, cherry-red helmets.

Senior defensive lineman Blake McDaniel was asked about his impressions of the new threads at media day. Before answering, he cleared his throat.

“We love them,” he said.

“You choked him up a little bit right there,” Hepler said, with the laughter in the room lightening the mood around him and his team.

Jr. and Robert Bishop, but the Raiders bring back junior Honus Wagner, who led the team in tackles at safety and linebacker.

Craft also mentioned the importance of Robert Faulkner, calling the senior linebacker the Raiders’ “bell cow,” and said that while North lost plenty of seniors, many of their replacements should at least be advanced in age.

“We feel like we graduated a good bit on defense, but when you go through (the depth chart), it still looks like a lot of seniors, and that’s really what a 7A program should look like,” Craft said.

This coming year looks like it could be a big one for North as a whole, with groups of returning talent in softball, volleyball, girls basketball and on the gridiron. At the same time, Craft doesn’t want the team to forget about the last season and the opportunity they saw disappear.

“My hope is that in hindsight, you look back at how close they were to achieving some of those goals in 2016,” Craft said. “You hope that burns a little fire within them to achieve those things (and) allows us to take one step more.”

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FROM 20

Horizon back Jacob Grinstead and defensive back Daniel Durnwald. The season started off well, winning the first two games, but the back-to-back losses that followed foreshadowed their .500 record at the end of the regular season.

Their record was good enough to lift them into the playoffs, where they faced off against The King’s Academy, a rematch of a regular season overtime victory for the Warriors. It was just as close as the first game, one score separating the two teams, but this time Horizon found themselves on the losing end.

“I think we underachieved as a team,” head coach Charles Wiggins said. “It wasn’t what I expected, but we came with a .500 record going into the playoffs, and you can’t ask for more than that.”

This season promises an entirely new

FROM 15

South game behind Honey, who is moving from fullback to tailback after rushing for 413 yards and seven touchdowns on 98 carries last season. Arnette wants to get Honey the ball more this season, if only for the mental edge his physical style provides the team.

“I think the way he runs brings an attitude to our offense, and we just want more of that,” Arnette said.

The defense was less affected by injury last season, though it did miss defensive end Ryan LaFlamme for a month with an ankle injury. The 6-foot-1, 225-pound defensive

FROM 19

West year’s past. West became notorious for a fast-paced, spread offense that threw the ball on a majority of plays. Cahill plans to keep the offense high-tempo but getting the ground game involved as well.

“At Lanier last year, we averaged snapping the ball in 11 seconds throughout the entire season,” Cahill said. “I have wanted to get back into not worrying about running 70 or 80 plays, but instead having the ball 24 | 2017 PIGSKIN PREVIEW

challenge for Wiggins and Horizon. They are bringing back only about four starters on each side of the ball, but with their eyes still set on a state championship, it is vitally important for the limited roster to maximize every guy on the field.

“Most of them [the players] play two ways, but I expect everybody that’s out there on the field to be excellent in everything they do,” Wiggins said. “The expectation for these kids is excellence and nothing but excellence, because that’s what we have to be.”

Last season was a roller coaster on offense, though at its best moments Horizon was led by Grinstead and running back John Michael Booth.

In at quarterback is junior Jake McIntyre.

McIntyre has played the backup role behind Grinstead for his first two seasons, but he feels confident he can step in and lead the offense.

“I have to step in and be a great leader for our team,” McIntyre said. “I absolutely believe I can take leadership of the team and

keep us in big games.”

Helping him will be wide receiver Alex Dahlberg. Dahlberg will be used at multiple positions on the offense where they hope to get his playmaking abilities into the open field.

Defensively, the Warriors were unimpressive last season. They let up an average of 22.6 points per game, including allowing at least 30 points eight times. The biggest loss on the defensive side is Durnwald, who was a dynamic defender who could play almost anywhere they lined him up. He was featured in the secondary and on the defensive line where he led the team in tackles.

Stepping up to replace him looks to be Dahlberg who will roam in the secondary, but replacing a guy like Durnwald isn’t easy.

“A guy like D-Bo is hard to replace,” Dahlberg said. “We’re all going to have to step up, including me.”

At linebacker, Jake Walker looks to increase his productivity in order to make Horizon’s defense ready for a state playoff run.

end will play a little more outside linebacker this season with Jess Lucas (35 tackles, two sacks) and Jack Pehrson (22 tackles, 4 sacks). When LaFlamme is on the defensive line, he’ll help senior Ian Hunt (39 tackles, 8 TFL) and newcomers Jamal Camp and Luis Gonzalez.

South must replace Max Slott, who had over 200 tackles the last two seasons, but his replacement, Richard Jordan, was named a team captain, and the War Eagles’ secondary returns productive starters in senior Myles Ellis, who led the team in pass deflections, and junior Landon Sims, who made 60 tackles at safety.

The War Eagles return nine players in all who made starts last season.

“We have so many players who can do

what we need that we can rotate guys, gives guys a break,” LaFlamme said. “It’s just great depth.”

South starts this season the same way it did last year, in the Corky Kell, only this time the stage is even brighter: the War Eagles will face two-time state runner-up Roswell and play the first-ever game in Georgia State University’s brand-new stadium.

“We didn’t feel like we played as well as we could’ve. So hopefully this year we do perform better,” Arnette said. “It’s a great opportunity for us to play a program like Roswell. I mean, what do you say? They’ve played for the state championship two years in a row. We’re excited about that challenge.”

longer than the opposing team can.”

There will be multiple guys receiving carries, but getting the starting duties is Saxby Waxer. Blake Snee, a returning running back, will be a part of the backfield as well as Cade Vela.

The biggest weapon for West will be tight end Bresnahan. He looks to have a big season in the new offensive scheme that features more tight end sets.

West’s defense was brimming with talent last season, including Huggins and Congrove, but they only have two returning starters this season. With the defense being so fresh-faced in a region filled with high-

flying offenses, there is some concern.

Returning this season is defensive coordinator David Rooney. Rooney will keep the same 3-4 scheme that has been run in the past but more importantly represents stability to a young defense.

“For me, it is a lot more comforting having him there,” Vela said. “Him just being able to have trust in us and us trust in him is a very comforting feeling.”

Some of the new faces that are poised to make an impact include outside linebacker Ryan Wnek and cornerback Mark Claiborne.

2017

2017 FCN PRESEASON ALL-COUNTY TEAM OFFENSE

DEFENSE

Pos. Player

School

Year

Pos. Player

School

Year

QB Ben Bales

North Forsyth

Sr.

DL Ian Hunt

South Forsyth

Sr.

RB Justin Bruno

Lambert

Sr.

DL Ryan LaFlamme South Forsyth

Sr.

RB Jared Honey

South Forsyth

Sr.

DL David Carrillo

West Forsyth

Jr.

WR Ryan Pontrelli

South Forsyth

Sr.

LB Brooks Binkley

Pinecrest Academy

Sr.

WR Mark Heard

Forsyth Central

Sr.

LB Robert Faulkner

North Forsyth

Sr.

TE Ben Bresnahan

West Forsyth

Sr.

LB Richard Jordan

South Forsyth

Sr.

OL Blake Anderson

West Forsyth

Sr.

LB Jake Weldy

West Forsyth

Jr.

OL Stone Brown

Pinecrest Academy Jr.

DB Kenneth Dicks III Lambert

Sr.

OL Jeremy James

North Forsyth

Jr.

DB Marcus Chatelain Lambert

Sr.

OL Jordan Nelson

South Forsyth

Sr.

DB Cade Vela

West Forsyth

Sr.

OL Matt Olson

Forsyth Central

Sr.

DB Honus Wagner

North Forsyth

Jr.

ATH Alex Dahlberg

Horizon Christian

Sr.

P

Bryce Christensen Lambert

Sr.

K

West Forsyth

Jr.

LS Payton Dunagan West Forsyth

Sr.

Bryce Jones

RECRUITING

County teams again must deal with some of state’s top talent

By Ian Frazer Forsyth County’s football teams know that its region games are the ones that count the most, in gaining the advantage in a rivalry and in securing a state playoff spot. At the Forsyth County Media Day, Lambert head coach Louis Daniel went so far as to call his team’s non-region games “glorified scrimmages.”

Daniel knows they’re more than that, though, with both teams going full-bore at the other, keeping their firststringers on the field as long as it takes to secure the win. And while Forsyth County is still forging an identity as a college football recruiting destination, the county’s teams will see some of the best high school

26 | 2017 PIGSKIN PREVIEW

talent in the country as they dip into Gwinnett, Fulton and Cobb for non-region matchups.

South Forsyth will be the first team to play a regular season game this year, with the War Eagles facing Roswell in the Corky Kell Classic on Aug. 18, and South could have the toughest overall slate of nonregion opponents, at least from an individual talent perspective.

South Gwinnett, whom the War Eagles face in week four, boosted its mark by six wins to finish 8-4 in 2016, and much of the talent from that team is back. The War Eagles’ offensive line will face a brutal test, with Florida State commit Robert Cooper, Clemson comm it Ju s t i n Ma scol l a nd Minnesota commit Abi Okonji

sitting on the Comets’ defensive line. South’s own defense will be pushed in week one, as Roswell has a dual-threat quarterback with scholarship offers from Illinois and Tulane in Cordel Littlejohn and a tight end with 15 offers in Tyneil Hopper.

Lambert faced the most topflight talent against last year, with games against Lanier and Col l i n s H i l l g iv i ng t he Longhorns early acid tests, and their matchups this season against Collins Hill and Mountain View this season should serve the same purpose. Collins Hill safety Peyton Woulard already had doubledigit offers as a junior last season, and like Lambert cornerback Kennet h Dick s III, Woulard heads into this cam-

paign committed to Wake Forest. The Eagles also have a stout pair of linebackers in T.C. Har r ison, commit ted to Virginia, and Jomier Augustine, who holds an offer from Army.

Against Mount ain View, Lambert will see linebacker Blake Carroll, who holds 16 scholarship offers, and wide receiver Malachi Carter, who has seven offers.

And Milton, now coached by former West head coach Adam Clack, certainly won’t roll over for any of its Forsyth counterparts in Region 5-7A. The Eagles have one of the top underclass recruits in the state in 6-foot-6, 320-pound offensive lineman Paul Tchio, who as a sophomore already holds offers from Georgia and Maryland.

COVER STORY

It’s in the game For high school athletes, technology and social media are no longer distractions — they’re an intergral part of the sport

By Ian Frazer Clayton Bardall wants to make sure he got everything right, so he’ll type out a paragraph, delete it, type it out again and check it intently before sending it. For an athlete in Bardall’s position, Twitter can be a bit like a cover letter.

Social media and technology are often regarded as distractions when it comes to their relationships with high schoolers, distracting students from their schoolwork and creating unnecessary drama. Athletes are certainly included in that, and some college teams, like Clemson’s football team and UConn’s women’s basketball team, make a point to quit social media altogether during the season.

That isn’t really an option for high schoolers. Social media may be a distraction, and it may cause more grief than it’s worth.

But it’s also part of the game today, as much as film study or getting an ankle taped.

For Bardall, it’s about playing football beyond high school. The North Forsyth senior tight end 28 | 2017 PIGSKIN PREVIEW

is a solid prospect, one drawing i nt er e s t f r om Fo o t b a l l Championship Subdivision schools, but not a blue-chipper, so he has to do a good bit of the recruiting work himself. Part of that is using Twitter to reach out to college coaches via direct message and using that contact to establish a deeper relationship.

“It’s definitely intimidating at first,” said North quarterback Ben Bales, who also has aspirations of playing beyond high school. “But once you start talking to them, it gets a little better.”

Part of Twitter’s appeal, at least in its early days, was its unfiltered nature, how it was built for putting random musings online for a user’s inner circle to see. For high school athletes who want to impress prospective recruiters, though, that isn’t an option.

“The way we want to use social media is (that) it should be a highlight of your life,” North head coach Robert Craft said.

North has a section in its player handbook devoted to social media use, and Craft now

makes sure to address the issue with his players. West head coach Shawn Cahill has a policy that if a player is on Twitter, he has to follow his coach. Lambert safety/running back Marcus Chatelain isn’t enthusiastic about social media use, so Longhorns head coach Louis Daniel has tried to encourage the senior to promote himself.

“I have to tell him to tweet things,” Daniel said with a laugh.

“He just won’t do it.”

Daniel has issues with the large role of social media on today’s high school football landscape. He bemoans the damage that can be done with a single bad post and the pressure athletes feel during the recruiting process to live up to what their peers are going through, with much of that information being available in real time.

“For years and years and years, a talented athlete’s not sitting here worried in January or February or April about his recruiting going into senior year,” Daniel said. “They understand how the process works.

Now, you get some kid one county over tweeting about an offer he got, and I’ve got five or six faces looking at me the next morning asking, ‘Where’s my offer?’”

Daniel is no Luddite, though.

He’s a fan of Twitter’s ability to connect coaches and recruits, and his program has its own

Tw i t t e r a c c o u n t (@ LambertRecruit) that college coaches can use to get in contact with the Longhorns – other programs in the county have accounts for similar purpose.

Daniel, who had to cut hours and hours of VHS tapes in his early days as a coach, is also thankful for the video sharing platform Hudl, where programs can put game film and recruits can make highlights of their best plays. “(With) Hudl, we can show up Saturday morning at 10 o’clock

Photo by Micah Green Forsyth County News

West Forsyth senior tight end Ben Bresnahan is one of the top players in the country at his position, so naturally he had plenty of college coaches contacting him through his social media accounts. He still does even after he verbally committed to Vanderbilt University over the summer.

‘Now, you get some kids one county over tweeting about an offer he got, and I’ve got five or six faces looking at me the next morning asking, ‘Where’s my offer?’

Louis Daniel

Lambert head coach

and have 12 hours of work already done,” Daniel said. “It doesn’t make you a lazier coach – it lets me spend more time with my family.”

Cahill has long given up the resistance to technology and change – though he did call Snapchat “Snapface” for a year – and now is focused on making sure it’s a positive aspect of his players’ image and that they aren’t getting into any harmful shenanigans.

For Wolverines cornerback Cade Vela, that means Cahill is like a second dad – his real one already keeps a close eye on what Vela does online.

He can’t be as outspoken as some of his non-college football prospect friends, but as Vela sees it, that’s probably a good thing.

“It makes us better people in society,” he said.

2017 PIGSKIN PREVIEW | 29

FROM 9

Lambert spread style quarterback with his dualthreat style. Gabriel is much more of a runner than Kenney, which fits in well with their backfield.

“Bobby is a great passer,” said senior running back and cornerback Marcus Chatelain. “The most important thing about him is that he’s athletic so it opens up a lot more we can do on offense.”

Back at running back is Justin Bruno.

FROM 13

Pinecrest on defense again, and the unit is expecting big things from junior Hogan Palmer.

Overall, in classic 1A style, the defense is relying on production from many of the same names on offense, a challenge they feel well-prepared to meet.

“I think a lot of us know what we’re doing, and we’re all well-conditioned, thanks to

30 | 2017 PIGSKIN PREVIEW

Bruno busted onto the scene last season with highlight reel runs of 60 or more yards.

He has seen some recruiting buzz himself, and with Gabriel alongside him, the running game should be a huge threat for Lambert.

The offensive line featured five new starters last season, making it a huge question mark for Lambert. This year they have three returning linemen in seniors Joshua Hawkins, Mark Rupert and Sean Warren.

Last season, the defense was led by seniors all over the field, notably linebackers Mac Redmond and Dylan Shepard. The two were first and second in tackles on the team, combining for well over 200.

“There’s four or five guys competing to play linebacker that I feel confident that they are going to be adequate enough or even better than the guys that played before,” Daniel said.

The secondary is where the experienced faces play. At the cornerback positions stand Chatelain and Dicks III, both who have started for multiple seasons. With two of the most talented players on the roster honing down the county’s top receivers, it puts Lambert’s defense in a position to be dominant once again with the spread style offenses that are littered throughout the region.

coach,” Stafford said.

Which brings us back to the final and biggest change in the program: the head coach.

Winter had something close to a traditional high school coach’s background. Last season was his 18th as a head coach between high schools and small colleges here in Georgia and the Midwest.

Mathis has coached sparingly, most notably serving as offensive coordinator at Savannah State University in 2011 and 2012, and most recently helping to coach wide receivers at Lambert High School last

season, but never as the one in charge.

Of course, Mathis has his football acumen from his successful playing career, but he also has a keen sense of how coaches and players best connect in today’s game.

“We have a lot of fun,” Mathis said. “That first 20-30 minutes of practice, music is blasting, and we’re stretching and we’re going through individual and we’re having a good time. They’re laughing at me because I’m trying to sing and I’m trying to dance. ...

“But when the music turns off it’s time to go to work. It’s real business.”

BEST IS THE STANDARD

GO RAIDERS

August 2015

www.northforsythfootball.com

2015 pigskin preview •

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