There are just 32 days remaining until the kickoff of the 2023 high school football season. But make no mistake, preparations for the upcoming campaign began months ago. And teams throughout northeast Georgia are already 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. Our "Two-a-Days" series honors 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)...
CHESTATEE
The War Eagles are under new management in head coach Stuart Cunningham. They also are undergoing big offensive changes as Cunningham looks to meld the War Eagles' spread offense with the wing-T.
But improving the defense may be the bigger priority for Cunningham, the defensive coordinator for Habersham Central last season.
We caught up with Cuningham to see how the changes were coming along off Sardis Road as they try to get ready for a tough Region 8-4A slate.
QUESTION: How has the "switch" to a more wing-T attack but still incorporating elements of the spread passing attack going so far this summer?
A: The change on offense has gone well. Our players have been terrific in the whole process. We are trying to maximize the skills they already have and build in some others and hopefully create a very complex offense that is flexible to the situations we will face throughout the season. We want to be hard-nosed, physical but also precise and graceful in our execution. We hope to run the ball very well and raise our passing efficiency because of it.
Q: Defense has been an Achilles Heel over the years for Chestatee. You have been a defensive coach over the years. How is rebuilding/reshaping that group coming along as well?
A: Defensively, I believe you have to be willing to prepare in ways and at times when others are not, as a player, as a coach, and as a total mentality throughout your program. The goal is to run something simple that looks complex. The complexity comes from the planning and drills that you do to support its scheme. Defense is hard, and the kids that play it better be unselfish, or it will never work, but when they do, they can overcome a lot of things that can help them win. Essentially we have to block on offense and tackle on defense. We have some dang good kids on both sides of the ball.
- Up Next in Two-a-Days: COMMERCE
- Previous Two-a-Days: CHEROKEE BLUFF
