There are just 21 days remaining until the kickoff of the 2018 high school football season. But make no mistake, preparations for the upcoming campaign got underway months ago in weight rooms, sand pits and practice fields throughout the state. And teams throughout northeast Georgia are in full countdown mode.
With that in mind we spent the last couple of weeks catching up with programs around our area to get a feel for how spring practice went, how the summer is going and what coaches believe the fall will look like. We call the series "Two-a-Days" in honor of those old-school grinding sessions that lead us out of summer and into fall, asking each area coach two key questions about the state of their respective programs.
Over the next two weeks, AccessWDUN's Friday Game Night will get you prepped for the start of gridiron action with responses from coaches throughout northeast Georgia. (Teams run in alphabetical order)...
UNION COUNTY
The Panthers spent the last two seasons punching above their weight class, but Union County will drop back down from Class AAA to Class AA this campaign, re-joining the landscape of Region 8-AA. The Panthers impressed during their time in Region 7-AAA, continuing the best stint in program history by making it six seasons in a row with a winning record -- Union County reached the state playoffs in four of those years. As coach Brian Allison preps for his 11th straight season (and 17th overall after a stint in charge 1996-2001) he knows his Panthers have some questions to answer, but he's been encouraged by what he's seen from his squad this spring and summer and is interested to see how things will play out in 8-AA.
QUESTION: Union County is dropping back down to Class AA this season after two years of Class AAA play -- years in which your teams posted a cumulative record of 14-6 and reached the state playoffs -- how was the experience "playing up?" And how do you foresee the challenges of re-entering Region 8-AA?
ANSWER: Playing up was a good thing for us in football. I thought travel-wise we were getting ready to make some long journeys and make some long trips [when Union County opted to play up]. That first year we won eight ballgames; we finished third in the region (7-AAA) two years ago. It was a really good experience. We were playing people close to us. And then last year it kind of got a little bit more crazy -- it was more than just football for us for the reason of moving back to Class AA. For football-wise I thought it (playing-up) was good; I thought we competed pretty good. We lost four in a row last year that kept us out of the playoff hunt, and it was a physical thing. I don't know how much better or worse being in Class AA is going to be till I go through it. So it's kind of a loaded question, and I guess we'll find out as the season comes along.
Q: You graduated one of the more dynamic and explosive players in northeast Georgia in quarterback Cole Wright, but you have back-ups that have shown ability in limited appearances. How has the summer gone for them and the quarterback position as a whole?
A: I think we've got a good situation in that we've got a couple of guys that can step in there and play that position. And right now, the way we've got it shaped up, (junior) Pierson Allison going in will be the starting quarterback, and the back-up quarterback will be (senior) Kanon Hemphill, and I feel comfortable with both of them. I think Pierson had a good spring, and I think he had a good summer but, obviously, the experience-level -- he's played some snaps at quarterback on the varsity level. He's backed up Cole the last year-and-a-half or so. And he played at safety last year, so he's had some varsity experience. Through the course of the summer some of the reads are a little bit slower. His arm strength isn't as good as Cole and Joe [Mancuso, the starter prior to Wright]. He probably doesn't run quite as good as Cole. But he make some really good decisions. He reads it pretty well, and I think he'll continue to get better with the reps. And we're going to be better at receiver, and that's going to help everyone on the offense.
- Previously in Two-a-Days: TOWNS COUNTY
- Up Next in Two-a-Days: WEST HALL
