THRILL SEEKER
Shane Wells, Glynn Academy
ALL THE RIGHT MOVES
IN THE
GAME SOUTHEAST GEORGIA
October 2018
Jackson Clough, Pierce Co.
Southeast Georgia’s ONLY Three-Time President’s Award Winner
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e u s s I s i In tTh 8
Guardians of the Gate
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Finally Home
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Thrill Seeker
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Rick Tomberlin, Appling Co. High School
Shane Wells, Glynn Academy
Okefenokee Fellowship of Christian Athletes Presents Coach of the Month Awards
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All the Right Moves
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It Takes A Village: Support Surrounds Waycross Middle School Player
Jackson Clough, Pierce Co. High School
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Final Hill Approaches for Gators Cross Country Ware Co. High School
Lady Bears Enter Playoffs Seeded #1 in Region Pierce Co. High School
Fierce on the Field
Brantley Co. High School
Trey Hargrove, Waycross Middle School
In The Game | 5
Home of the Lifetime Warranty
Guardians of the Gate Written by: Rob Asbell Photography by: Michael Brinson
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Offense sells tickets, but defense wins championships. It may be an old football cliché, but any coach will tell you that a strong defense is worth its weight in gold. Last month, In the Game focused on the offensive firepower in the area. This month we will look at five of the defensive stars from Southeast Georgia. Defensive backs, d-linemen, and linebackers: three levels designed to thwart the offense and keep them from scoring. They are the stop’em crew that keeps the opposition out of the end zone. They are modern day warriors, the keepers of the castle, and the guardians of the gate. Conditioning is a big part of a defender’s regimen. Each spends a great deal of time in the weight room even in the offseason preparing to battle blockers and ball carriers in the fall. It is not just a coincidence that four out of the five of our defensive stars also take part in their school’s track teams. Some sprint or run relays while others, like Glynn Academy’s Marlon “B.J.” Taylor, put their strength into the shot put and discus. All of our defensive stars started playing in the recreation leagues as early as 5 years old and worked their way up from there. Ware County’s Ken Standley played travel football in elementary school and then played all three years in middle school. He became part of the Gators his freshman year but did not get his first varsity start until the second round of the playoffs his sophomore year against Loganville. A lot goes through his mind when he takes the field on Friday nights. “What is it going to take for me to reach the opponents' breaking point and make a solid impact in the game?” Standley said. He credited God for letting him play a game that could lead to educational opportunities down the road. Liberty County defensive back Karrington Warner also became a starter last season. A focused player who has been around football his entire life, Warner concentrates on what he needs to do once he takes the field. “How am I going to execute the game plan that my coach gives me to win a game, and what I can do to perfect that game plan?” Warner said. Taylor, Warner, and Standley are joined by David Spaulding of Bradwell Institute and Camden County safety Roninn Wright in this month’s Players Spotlight: Guardians of the Gate.
Karrington Warner
“Rolla”
Senior Defensive Back Liberty County Panthers From Townsend, Georgia 6’1”, 180 lbs. 40 time: 4.59 5 Things to Know About Karrington: 1. Can bench press 255 lbs. 2. Loves to fish and be outside whenever he can 3. Favorite food is ribs 4. Loves to watch college football on television. 5. Is a self-proclaimed “die-hard" Georgia Bulldogs fan GPA: 3.5 Intended Major: Mechanical engineering or possibly Biology so he can become a zoologist Colleges Interested: North Carolina, Georgia Southern, Elon College Offers: Union College, Greensboro College Biggest Hit of His Career: Oct. 6, 2017 vs. the Tattnall County Battle Creek Warriors in Hinesville, Georgia.
Lined up at his defensive back position, Warner read the formation and knew what was coming. The Tattnall quarterback reared back and launched a shot to the receiver coming across on a slant pattern. “I hit him, and the crowd went crazy,” Warner said.
Favorite Part of Playing Football: “Knowing that you worked hard with your teammates and picking up the ‘W’ with your teammates on Friday night,” he said. How It Started: Warner started playing football in second grade and graduated to playing tackle football two years later. He became a varsity starter for the Panthers last year and was named Second Team All-Region and the team’s most improved player. What Number He Wears and Why: Warner wears No. 1 for the Panthers for the simplest of reasons. “I just like being No. 1 on the field,” he said. Most Memorable Game: Warner’s most memorable game came in the 2017 season opener against the Statesboro Blue Devils. The Panthers had taken the lead on a pick-6 just a few moments earlier, but the Devils were set for a 43-yard field goal attempt. “We had a hard fought game all night, and won on a blocked field goal, and I held the game ball,” he said. In The Game | 9
Shaun O’Quinn
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Thrill Seeker Written by: Rob Asbell Photography by: Michael Brinson
Shane Wells may be one of the most intelligent players to take the field, but he did jump out of a perfectly good airplane once, falling 12,000 feet above Amelia Island. “I went skydiving,” the Glynn Academy senior said. But flying high in the Florida skies still doesn’t compare to the thrill of scoring a touchdown in a live game, a feat rarely experienced by offensive linemen. In Glynn Academy’s third game of this season against Groves, Wells lined up at his usual left tackle position. Quarterback T.J. Lewis tossed the ball to Sam Wagner on a short button hook route. Wells came tearing out from the line, and Wagner lateraled the ball to Wells as he was running past him. “I was so nervous that I would drop the ball,” Wells said, recalling his thoughts just prior to the play. “But if I do catch it, I am going to do all these crazy juke moves.” Wells caught the pitch with no problem and raced untouched for an 18-yard touchdown. Other than a few chest bumps and high fives with teammates in the end zone, there were no fancy juke moves. It wasn’t his first touchdown; that came last season against Ware County when he dove on a ball in the end zone. This was just a perfectly executed play that ended with a touchdown for
Wells and the Red Terrors. “It’s a play that we’ve had in the playbook for the last three years,” said Glynn Academy coach Rocky Hidalgo on inthegameradio.com during the In the Game Coach’s show. “We just haven’t had the right time to run it. It’s not something we put specifically in for Shane, but it’s always good to throw a guy like that a bone and get him in the end zone. I’m just excited that it worked.” The 6’4,” 260-pound offensive left tackle and defensive end from St. Simons Island can bench press 305 pounds, squat 485, and clean 300. Last year he was honored as All-Coastal, All-Region honorable mention and was the Red Terrors’ offensive player of the game in a 48-27 victory over Effingham County. Wells put on a clinic for
“I have been working my whole life to always be improving.” — Shane Wells