Lambert

Aug. 19 — Lambert at Sequoyah Aug. 26 — Dawson County at Lambert Sept. 2 — Mountain View at Lambert Sept. 9 — BYE Sept. 16 — Lambert at Flowery Branch Sept. 23 — Lambert at East Coweta Sept. 30 — BYE *Oct. 7 — Lambert at Forsyth Central *Oct. 14 — Lambert at West Forsyth *Oct. 21 — Denmark at Lambert *Oct. 28 — South Forsyth at Lambert *Nov. 4 — Milton at Lambert

*Region 6-7A game THE COACH Marc Beach

At Lambert: 0-0, first season Overall: 0-0, first season

Former OC Beach ready to guide Longhorns

By Nicholas Sullivan

nsullivan@forsythnews.com

After earning its first postseason berth since 2016, Lambert wound up searching for a new head coach.

The Longhorns didn’t have to look far to find the right person for the job, promoting offensive coordinator Marc Beach to the position. Beach spent the previous two seasons as the OC for previous head coach Tommy Watson, who departed for Harris County.

A former OC at Tift County and head coach at Seabreeze (Florida), Beach received a strong vote of confidence from players within the program during the coaching search.

“We all wanted Beach as the head coach,” senior quarterback James Tyre said. “Right when Watson made the call he was leaving, we all went to the AD and said, ‘We want Beach as our head coach.’ We fought for it, and that’s what we got. We’re all excited.”

Tyre should be thrilled with the decision. Under Beach’s direction, Tyre has compiled 2,000 yards passing, 25 passing touchdowns and just two interceptions, while splitting time as a sophomore before earning the starting nod as a junior.

With graduated wide receiver Kojo Antwi plying his trade for Ohio State, Tyre becomes the unquestioned lynchpin for Lambert’s offensive success. His ability to make plays with his arm and legs, which carried him to a team-high 500 yards and four scores on the ground in 2021, strikes fear in opponents.

Wide receiver Brandon Jones will be tasked with filling in for Antwi as the top receiving option, after finishing with only 28 fewer yards last year. A big jump will be expected from tight end Luke Logan. The senior, who recently committed to the Air Force Academy, recorded 13 catches as a junior but averaged 16.5 yards per reception and hauled in four touchdowns.

“Offensively, we’re a little behind the eight ball,” Beach said. “We didn’t get coaches until the first day of practice, but we are keeping the same concepts.”

While the offense still should be expected to rack up plenty of points, the Longhorns (7-4, 3-3 in 2021) will likely go as far as their defense takes them.

Following a strong start last fall, when they held their first four opponents to 21 or fewer points, the Lambert defense gave up 27-plus points in four of its final seven games. That included a 56-13 defeat to eventual Class 7A state champion Collins Hill in the first round of the playoffs.

Beach, though, has been impressed with what he’s seen from his defense during the summer, leading to optimism that the unit can take a step forward this fall.

“I think we’re ahead defensively,” Beach said in discussing the offseason. “We had two OTAs that we attended. We were top 10 in scoring defense at those OTAs. We had really good quality opponents — played Buford, played Creekside, played Stephens County, played Newton. Defensively, I thought we held our own and did very well.”

If the Longhorns do return to the postseason, they will be among the most battle-tested teams in the state.

Eight of Lambert’s opponents reached the playoffs last season. Four of the team’s five nonregion games and four of the team’s five region contests will come against 2021 postseason qualifiers. Three of the teams — Denmark, Dawson County and Flowery Branch — won their first-round playoff game.

“When we step on the field, our motto is ‘Expect to Win,’” Beach said. “I expect to win every play. I talk about this, when you get up in the morning, expect to win the day, expect to win the test, win the girl, win your job, win your position and win the game.”

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