The 2022 prep football season was a mixed bag for Northeast Georgia area teams.
On the one hand, five teams -- Buford, Gainesville, Jefferson, Dawson County, and Rabun County -- all won region titles. Gainesville advanced to its first championship game since winning the 2012 Class 5A state title. In all, a dozen teams in the Georgia High School Association (GHSA), the Georgia Independent Athletic Association (GIAA), and GAPPS leagues qualified for the playoffs.
On the other hand, no Hall County team made the playoffs for the first time since 1999. Only six teams got out of the first round, and just three managed to get out of the second round.
Which brings us to the beginning of the 2023 campaign. For most programs, the seeds of success are typically planted during the spring and summer as new team configurations begin to take shape. Several intriguing storylines were brought into 2023 summer practices for area programs.
Can Gainesville make it back-to-back trips to the finals under now second-year head coach Josh Niblett? Can Jefferson shake off a tough ending to the 2022 campaign? What about Lumpkin County, which had its best season in more than 40 years and returns the bulk of what was a young team?
For the first time in five years, Rabun County will break in a somewhat inexperienced quarterback to run its high-octane offense. After back-to-back region titles, Cherokee Bluff slipped out of the playoffs in 2022. Can the Bears, and the rest of Hall County for that matter, get back their playoff swagger?
We won’t know the answers to any of those questions until early November and beyond. But with the first half of summer practice in the books, we caught up with several area coaches to see where things stand as the final Dead Week period begins on Monday before teams resume summer workouts leading up to fall camps.
Niblett’s Red Elephants, who also won their first region title (8-6A) since 2013, looked in midseason form already with several key returners like seniors Baxter Wright at quarterback and Sky Niblett at tight end. But it was the intangibles that Niblett said were the main focus for his group so far.
“Growth as players, coaches, people -- not just on the field but in all aspects of life,” Niblett said. “Also, we talked about choosing tough. We don’t want them to choose easy; we want them to choose tough. Challenge yourselves, and get out of your comfort zones. We want to be a tougher football team, so you can’t choose easy to get there.
“I thought we had a great first half of the summer. We’re in our second year, and everyone is a little more comfortable and understands the standards that we want as a program. I try not to compare teams because this is a different group. But I do feel we’re already way ahead of where we were last year at this time.”
For fellow Region 8-6A participant Habersham Central, ninth-year head coach Benjie Harrison also felt his group had made early strides in the summer, which concluded with a padded camp last week in Mt. Airy. The Raiders have missed out on the previous two playoffs.
“I feel like we’ve made progress on the things we needed to address coming into the season,” Harrison said. “I want to see us be a little more physical, and I think we’re starting to show that. We still have a ways to go in some areas, but I feel good about where we are right now.”
Rabun County, meanwhile, is coming off its ninth straight region title -- the longest current streak for any Northeast Georgia-area team -- but will be breaking in its second new quarterback in as many seasons. Sophomore Ty Truelove takes over under center, but coach Michael Davis said there wouldn’t be much of a transition period. Truelove was 15-of-21 for 166 yards and 3 TDs in limited action in four games last season. They have other holes to fill as well.
“Ty is as talented as any kid I’ve ever coached,” Davis said. “He’s smart and understands the offense. He has looked really good so far.”
The Wildcats do have receiver Willie Goodwyn, who is poised for a breakout season, but the strength of the offense, at least early on, maybe upfront with a big offensive line.
Davis said their goals have been to develop the current roster to the best of their strengths.
“Our job has been to get the younger kids ready to step up and to play to our strengths, which may be a little different than what we have been over the years,” Davis said. “We will definitely throw the ball, but we may not need to throw it as much as we have because I feel we’re going to be really good in the run game.”
However, another region title winner Jefferson saw its 2022 season end abruptly in the first round after dealing with the death of Elijah DeWitt in the middle of the season. Second-year head coach Travis Noland said the spring and summer have helped them put that behind them.
But the Dragons also graduated a slew of starters and come into the 2023 campaign with more questions than answers. Noland said creating a team atmosphere has been a big priority.
“Just trying to build that team comradery,” Noland said. “The continuity of just being together as a team and building that level of trust has been a big focus for us.”
The Dragons are replacing several key spots, including quarterback and receiver, but do have senior running back/linebacker Sammy Brown, the nation’s top linebacking recruit, returning.
Noland said the goal when practice resumes on July 10th will be ramping up for the full fall practices.
“I think the spring and the first part of the summer went well,” he said. “We’re just working on getting bigger and stronger in the weight room and getting reps for guys at key places like quarterback. When we come back, our focus will be on getting more into our practice routines by the time we can go full out in August.”
Heath Webb at Lumpkin County has had to almost reign in the excitement of an entire community after the Indians, who finished 8-3 in 2022, tied the school record in wins and made their first playoff appearance since 2014.
But they enter 2023 with nearly 85 percent of their roster returning, including 16 starters, and plenty of momentum. What they didn’t have in 2022 was that quality depth. Webb said that has been a massive priority so far.
“It’s good and bad, so to speak. We have 16 starters back and a lot of experience on the roster as far as getting playing time last year for a lot of younger players,” Webb said. “But to truly be competitive, you have to have quality depth. We’ve had a good spring and summer and had a good padded camp experience, so I feel like we’re making progress on the depth issue.”
The Indians did graduate quarterback Cooper Scott and Webb said getting projected starter Cal Faulkner ready has been another area of focus, as well as getting “game-ready” by August.
“That’s a key spot for our offense, but I feel like Cal is really picking things up. I like what I have seen from him so far,” Webb said. “When we get back, we’re going to get game-ready. Work on conditioning, weight room, and game-planning even. We’re excited to get going.”
For Tommy Jones at Cherokee Bluff, the June portion of the summer is the toughest.
“You’re eager to get going, but all the other sports are also holding camps and practices, so if you have a lot of kids playing multiple sports, it’s tough on football,” Jones said. “But we want the kids to play as many sports as possible, so it’s just something you have to work around. But attendance has been through the roof this month, which has been great to see.”
The Bears are expected to be much-improved, but Jones said team priorities and summer work set the stage for successful seasons.
“Our goals coming into the summer were work in the weight room, working on our passing game, and just a lot of fundamental work overall,” he said. “We’ve had a great month so far. Our goal when we get back (on the 10th) is to go to afternoon practices to start getting used to playing at night and just hit the ground running.
“We’re super excited about getting back out there. It’s been a really good summer so far, and we’re hoping to continue that into the fall.”
