CMYK The Times, Gainesville, Ga. | 2012 High school football preview | Sunday, August 19, 2012
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RIVERSIDE MILITARY ACADEMY EAGLES
Seeking return to form
MOST WANTED
Collin Pettell Jr. QB 6-4, 220 Strong leader for the Eagles at quarterback with valuable experience gained as a sophomore last season.
Montana Ogbu John-Mark MacFarlane OLB 6-0, 190 Sr. Covers good range at linebacker and should make plenty of tackles for the Eagles.
OL/MLB 5-11, 190 Jr. Scrappy player who can hold his own in the trenches.
Gage Bolden
Adrian Humphrey
RB/DB 5-10 160 Sr. Not afraid to throw his body around and make plays for the Eagles.
Eagles hoping to bring back glory days
ATH 5-10, 170 Sr. Versatile player who can help the Eagles in a variety of ways.
BY BILL MURPHY
bmurphy@gainesvilletimes.com
NEW SHERIFF IN TOWN
Gary Downs Record: 0-0 at school, 0-0 overall Offensive strategy: Multiple I-formation: If you’re not large across the line of scrimmage, if creates advantageous blocking angles, and is a system that can be learned quicker by the players.” Defensive strategy: Multiple: It allows us to put pressure on the other offense, even with smaller players.”
HIGH NOON Sept. 7 vs. Whitefield Academy After a bad 2011, a win in the season opener would go a long way to forgetting the past and opening the Gary Downs era as Eagles coach on a positive note. Even though Riverside cadets didn’t report to campus until Aug. 10, meaning a late start to practice, they have an extra week before opening the season at Maginnis Field. The Eagles have two nonregion games to start the season before playing seven of the final eight games in Region 8-AA.
2012 SCHEDULE Date Sept. 7 Sept. 14 Sept. 21 Sept. 28 Oct. 5 Oct. 12 Oct. 19 Oct. 26 Nov. 2 Nov. 9
Opponent WHITEFIELD ACADEMY at Georgia Military at Washington-Wilkes* at Oglethorpe County* RABUN COUNTY* at Union County* at Social Circle* GLASCOCK COUNTY at Jefferson* GREENE COUNTY*
* region game; Home games in CAPS
One of the biggest blessings for first-year Riverside Military coach Gary Downs may be a bye week right away on Aug. 31. While most programs would despise having to use their coveted week off without having played a single game, Downs looks at it as another week to get his players at the private military school on the same page. Since Riverside Military (1-9 in 2011) doesn’t open the season until a game against Whitefield Academy on Sept. 7 at Maginnis Field, that gives Downs almost exactly a month to work with players from the time they reported to campus. “I’m excited,” said Downs, who expects to have between 40-50 players this season. “We’ve had a good summer of preparation. “My biggest goal right away is to restore the pride in the program and lay the groundwork for expectations.” Right away, Downs, an assistant coach at Riverside Military from 2003-06, sees some bright spots. He’ll have some size on the offensive line, good numbers in the backfield for his run-first offense and some good athletes on the perimeter to throw to. However, he knows not to ride the roller coaster of emotions too hard when he sees some good athletes that may enroll. Just as soon as he has two players that enroll at Riverside Military, just as many may leave the next day who he was previously counting on playing in the fall. Final football numbers will not be intact until school at Riverside Military starts at the end of the month.
Offense
Riverside defenders take down an opposing ball carrier during a game last season
RMA ROUNDUP Location: Gainesville Coach: Gary Downs Region: 8-AA North Last region title: 2006 Last playoff appearance: 2009 Returning starters: 4 on offense, 5 on defense
the table. Again, he’ll let them battle it out during practice to see which is ready to take the starting job. Riverside Military’s new coach expects to run an offense that starts out of the I-formation, but will gladly change it if it doesn’t suit his personnel. Wide receiver is a position that Downs believes will be a particular strength. His three top candidates to catch the ball are Spencer Jackson and Ike Onwuanaibe at wide receiver and 220-pound junior Matt Jones at tight end. On the offensive line, Downs plans to start Ben White (6-foot4, 285 pounds) at left tackle, Harrison Summerhour at left guard, John-Mark MacFarlane at center, Taylor Hardin (6-2, 245) at right guard and Tucker Browning (6-4, 315) at right tackle.
Defense The defensive line for the Eagles has Gabe Frazier at nose tackle, and White and Browning at defensive end. Downs will have three of his most athletic players at linebacker with Montana Ogbu and Summerhour on the outside, and MacFarlane at middle linebacker (53 tackles in 2011). James Lovett and Bolden will also see playing time at middle linebacker. Michael Hilton will play at outside linebacker.
In the secondary, Austin Smith and Jackson are the Eagles’ two starters at cornerback. Anthony Reyes and Weschler will start at safety.
Special teams Handling kick- and puntreturn duties for Riverside Military will be Humphrey and Onwuanaibe. Olanrewja Shitta-Bey will be the Eagles’ kicker and Jonanthan Davis will punt.
Outlook Downs knows that restoring Riverside Military’s football program will be a work in progress. However, he knows that the school has potential to be as successful, once again, as when it was contending yearly for state titles in the Georgia Independent Schools Association, during his first stint at the school. Riverside Military’s new coach says that winning just one game again this season would be an unequivocal failure. He says that winning five games in 2012 would be a feasible goal. To do so, they’ll have to pick up a few region victories in the Eagles’ new setup in Region 8-AA. “Maybe I’m overly optimistic,” Downs said. “So much depends on the players.”
THE GOOD, THE BAD & THE UGLY L L L L L W L L L L
1-9, 1-5 Region 8-A Pinecrest Academy Lumpkin County Banks County Landmark Christian George Walton Academy Social Circle Commerce Athens Christian Athens Academy Prince Avenue Christian
21-14 50-0 21-0 65-0 42-6 21-0 42-0 35-7 44-6 48-25
Passing *Collin Pettell
THE HOMESTEAD Riverside Military Academy
L Wa ake rne rR d.
N
2011 leaders
2011 record
1. Christopher Howard Jr. 2. Stephen Weschler Jr. 3. Adrian Humphrey Jr. 4. Gage Bolden Sr. 5. Spencer Jackson Sr. 6. JeJuan McCalston Fr. 7. Collin Pettell Jr. 8. Montana Ogbu Sr. 9. James Lovett Sr. 10. Hamza Krisne Sr. 11. Akshar Patel Sr. 12. Austin Smith Sr. 14. Austin Prease Sr. 15. Ike Onwuanaibe Sr. 18. Vladimir Timokhin Sr. 21. Olanrewaju Shitta-Bey Sr. 22. Joseph Garuba Fr. 23. Phillip Sheffield Sr. 24. Anthony Sweatt So. 25. Michael Hilton Sr. 26. Mosope Shonekan Jr. 27. Merritt Wilburn So. 30. Richard Hendricks So. 31. Christopher Rosato Fr. 32. Avial Davidi Sr. 33. David Cannon Jr. 35. Drew Parker So. 37. Adam Turner So. 41. Rigney Hoffman Fr. 44. Brandon Grant Fr. 45. Jonathan Burris So. 48. Matthew Jones So. 50. Steven Hamilton Jr. 53. Theodore Ricker Fr. 55. John-Mark MacFarlane Jr. 56. Gabe Frazier Sr. 59. Jeremy Brown So. 62. Alyn Bass So. 68. Peniel Okonkwo So. 69. Conner Johnson Sr. 72. Harrison Summerhour Jr. 73. Nicolas Gasparro Sr. 74. Taylor Hardin So. 75. Shaquille Wallace Sr. 77. Tyler White Jr. 80. Anthony Reyes Sr. 81. Michael Schouest Fr. 82. Taylor Guidry Fr. 83. Aaron Wilson Fr. 84. Jacob Whitten So. 87. Justin Genes Sr. 88. Taron Robinson So. 90. Stephen Johnson So. 95. Tucker Browning Sr. 97. Christopher McAteer So. 99. Michael Tucker Sr.
Rive r s ide Dr.
Riverside Military will have options at the quarterback position. Downs plans to try returning starter Collin Pettell, Stephen Weschler and Christopher Howard to see what they can do under center. Last year, Pettell threw for 883 yards and seven touchdowns, but completed only 41 percent of his throws. “Pettell is bigger and stronger,” Downs said. “But the other two (Weschler and Howard) are more athletic.” At running back, Downs feels pleased with the skills that Gage Bolden, Joseph Garuba and Adrian Humphrey bring to
Times file photo
2012 ROSTER
Receiving Yds 883
TDs Comp % 7 41
Rushing Yds Marlan Edwards 115 Bre’Yon Thomas 62
TDs 2 0
Avg. 4.3 2.1
Rec. *Adrian Humphrey 11 Victor Salcido 17
Yds 252 215
TDs 1 13
Defense *John-Mark McFarlane Marlan Edwards Ian Parvin-Asher David Bookrum
Tkl TFL 53 3 44 3 28 0 23 2
INT 0 0 0 0
*returning player
MAGINNIS FIELD Directions: Travel north on US129 and turn left onto Riverside Drive. Stadium is 1 mile on the right. Parking: Available in front of the stadium and in the real lot adjacent to the stadium.