Contributors SPORTS EDITOR
David Roberts droberts@forsythnews.com, 770-205-8981 Twitter: @FCNDavidRoberts
PHOTOGRAPHER
Jacob Smith jsmith1@morrismultimedia.com
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Leah Nelson Director of Revenue lnelson@gainesvilletimes.com 770-535-6330 Tim Anderson Multimedia Account Executive tanderson@forsythnews.com 770-205-8968
Table of contents Team Previews
Forsyth Central..............................................4 West Forsyth..................................................6 Lambert..........................................................8 Horizon Christian Academy........................10 Pinecrest Academy......................................12 South Forsyth...............................................14 Denmark.......................................................18 East Forsyth..................................................20 North Forsyth................................................22 The tight end position has changed rapidly over the past couple of decades, even in Forsyth County. One of the nation’s top tight ends is West Forsyth senior Oscar Delp, center, whose name spurred the trending hashtag ‘#DelpWanted’ this summer. Joining Delp here are, from left, South Forsyth’s Mason Capers, West Forsyth’s Cooper Johnson, Delp, North Forsyth’s Riley Smith and Lambert’s Luke Logan.
Stacy Clark Multimedia Account Executive sclark@forsythnews.com
MANAGEMENT
Stephanie Woody Publisher, swoody@forsythnews.com 770-205-8945 Tracie Pike Editor, tpike@forysthnews.com, 770-205-8971
Connect with us on social media @ForsythSports
Fall 2021
facebook.com/fcnsports
Instagram: fcnsports
2021 pigskin preview |
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2021 schedule
forsyth central bulldogs
Jacob Smith Forsyth County News
Aug. 20 – Northview at Forsyth Central Aug. 27 – Forsyth Central at Etowah Sept. 3 – Loganville at Forsyth Central Sept. 10 – Forsyth Central at Cambridge *Sept. 17 – Forsyth Central at Gainesville Sept. 23 – BYE *Oct. 1 – Denmark at Forsyth Central *Oct. 8 – Forsyth Central at North Forsyth *Oct. 15 – Forsyth Central at West Forsyth *Oct. 22 – Lambert at Forsyth Central Oct. 29 – BYE *Nov. 5 – South Forsyth at Forsyth Central
Forsyth Central seniors Patrick Haertel, left, and Marcus Brown will give the Bulldogs options in the backfield.
* Region 6-7A game
Senior backs set to carry load this season for Forsyth Central
2020 results
By Noah Rubin
For the Forsyth County News
The David Rooney era is set to begin at Forsyth Central. Rooney, who previously served as the team’s defensive coordinator, is ready to continue to build the culture of the team. “The past three years at Central have been awesome,” Rooney said. “I was excited to have the opportunity to be the head coach once Coach [Hepler] left because of pride in what I believed this program was and can continue to be.” One factor that will help them avoid any drop off from a head coaching change is their lack of turnover with the rest of the staff. The Bulldogs maintained a majority of last year’s coaches, bringing in only three new faces. That familiarity between the players and coaches should pay dividends for the team. That consistency in structure
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will help with more than just the relationships between the players and coaches. The philosophy remains largely the same as well. “I think it all starts up front with the offensive and defensive lines,” Rooney said. “We’re going to be young there at many positions. I think our offensive line because of injury – we have two seniors on the offensive line that are injured at this time, and they’re going to come back at some point during the season. But the first few games is going to be nothing but underclassmen. So, to see where they started in spring, through the progress of summer, and then the padded camps we went to, they’ve really come a long way, and we really feel good about our offensive line.” The offensive line will be anchored by 6-foot-3, 285pound junior Luke Sacchetti, who was a first-team all-county selection last season as a sopho-
more and will continue to be a big piece for the Bulldogs over the next two years. “They’ve really developed a lot,” senior running back Patrick Haertel said of the team’s offensive line. “At the padded camp we went to, the offensive line was great. Running behind them, I had tons of open holes. So, they’ve developed really well, and I’m excited to run behind them.” Fellow senior Marcus Brown, who plays both cornerback and running back, described Haertel as a downhill runner and believes Haertel added another element to his game during the offseason. “Patrick is very good at downhill running, and he’s improving on his cutting and reading the field more,” Brown said. “Last year he just ran straight, but we’ve got a coach helping us with our cuts and reading holes.”
4-4 Overall, 1-4 Region 6-7A Forsyth Central 14, Loganville 7 Forsyth Central 41, Cambridge 14 *Gainesville 33, Forsyth Central 28 *Denmark 21, Forsyth Central 0 *Forsyth Central 28, North Forsyth 27 *West Forsyth 21, Forsyth Central 0 *Lambert 43, Forsyth Central 42 Forsyth Central 21, Etowah 7 * Region 6-7A game
trophy case
First varsity season: 1955 Playoff appearances: 6 (1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2018) Region titles: 3 (1996, 1997, 2000) State titles: 0
the coach David Rooney
At Central: 0-0, first season Overall: 0-0, first season
See CENTRAL | 9 Fall 2021
west forsyth wolVerines
2021 schedule ^Aug. 18 – Carver at West Forsyth Aug. 27 – Cartersville at West Forsyth Sept. 3 – BYE Sept. 10 – West Forsyth at Walton Sept. 17 – Mill Creek at West Forsyth Sept. 23 – BYE *Oct. 1 – West Forsyth at North Forsyth *Oct. 8 – West Forsyth at South Forsyth *Oct. 15 – Forsyth Central at West Forsyth *Oct. 22 – Gainesville at West Forsyth *Oct. 29 – Lambert at West Forsyth *Nov. 5 – West Forsyth at Denmark ^Corky Kell Classic *Region 6-7A game
2020 results Jacob Smith Forsyth County News
West Forsyth seniors Jay Helstone, left, and Max Freeman give the Wolverines experience along the line of scrimmage.
West Forsyth still hungry after region title, Elite 8 appearance By David Roberts droberts@forsythnews.com
The start of the GHSA football season will begin Aug. 18 at West Forsyth High School. It’s the second straight year the Wolverines will kick off the season in the Corky Kell Classic. West will host the Cherokee vs. Mays game, then will face Carver-Atlanta in the nightcap. “I would be surprised if we’re not one of the first games in the country, so I think that’s really exciting for our kids,” West head coach Dave Svehla said. “We’re playing a really good football team. I know Carver got to the third round last year and have something like 18 starters back on offense and defense. They’re going to be really good. It’s a real quality opponent for us, and I think our kids are excited about that. Our community is excited about that. Being on TV
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is a good thing if you play well. It’s a chance to showcase Forsyth football a little bit. As a county, I think we’re starting to elevate the quality of play there.” West certainly played well on TV last season, demolishing Mays 42-6 on their way to a 9-4 campaign, which included a Region 6-7A championship and a trip to the Class 7A Elite Eight. The Wolverines graduated some key pieces, including UGA enrollee Dylan Fairchild, leading tackler Kobe Haynes and leading rusher Daba Fofana. However, tight end Oscar Delp has emerged as one of the nation’s top seniors and starting quarterback Keegan Stover returns after passing for more than 1,400 yards and 19 touchdowns. For Svehla, however, the offense begins up front with the running game. “We really need to improve offensively running the football.
I don’t think we ran the ball well last year compared to what I would like to do,” Svehla said. “I think that our offensive linemen – Max [Freeman] and John Leonard and some of those kids – have done a really good job and had a really good summer. They’re probably in the best shape of their lives.” West’s offensive line is anchored by two big, physical tackles. Freeman [6-foot-4, 275 pounds] is a returning starter at right tackle with multiple Division I offers, while Leonard [6-foot-4, 285 pounds] returns at left tackle. In all, each of West’s expected starters on the offensive line took snaps last season. “I feel like what we do really well is, we’re very agile as a group,” Freeman said. “A lot of us are both laterally and vertically getting to the second level, but also making plays. For example, See WEST | 24
9-4 Overall, 5-1 Region 6-7A West Forsyth 42, Mays 6 Cartersville 28, West Forsyth 17 West Forsyth 24, Walton 21 Mill Creek 20, West Forsyth 17 *North Forsyth 24, West Forsyth 10 *West Forsyth 41, South Forsyth 34 (2OT) *West Forsyth 21, Forsyth Central 0 *West Forsyth 14, Gainesville 7 *West Forsyth 42, Lambert 27 *West Forsyth 20, Denmark 10 **West Forsyth 39, Meadowcreek 14 **West Forsyth 17, North Gwinnett 16 **Grayson 33, West Forsyth 0 *Region 6-7A game **GHSA playoff game
trophy case First varsity season: 2008 Playoff appearances: 10 (2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020) Region titles: 1 (2012) State titles: 0
the coach Dave Svehla
At West: 9-4, second season Overall: 58-45, 10th season Fall 2021
2021 schedule
Lambert longhorns
Aug. 20 – Centennial at Lambert Aug. 27 – Lambert at Lassiter Sept. 3 – Lambert at Meadowcreek Sept. 10 – Duluth at Lambert *Sept. 16 – South Forsyth at Lambert Sept. 23 – BYE *Oct. 1 – Gainesville at Lambert *Oct. 8 – Lambert at Denmark *Oct. 15 – North Forsyth at Lambert *Oct. 22 – Lambert at Forsyth Central *Oct. 29 – Lambert at West Forsyth Nov. 5 – BYE *Region 6-7A game
Jacob Smith Forsyth County News
Lambert running back Harrison Peyton, left, and wide receiver Kojo Antwi hope to lead a balanced offense, while also starting in the Longhorns’ defensive backfield.
Lambert sports tough, experienced offensive line heading into 2021 By David Roberts
droberts@forsythnews.com
Lambert didn’t wait long to start preparing for the 2021 season. The Longhorns finished 5-5 – their best mark since 2016 – but head coach Tommy Watson didn’t spend any time celebrating. “We basically started a week after we played West Forsyth in November and started our offseason program,” Watson said. “I’ll tell you what we did. I’ve got a strength coach at Lambert that I brought with me from Lowndes. I told Coach [Curtis] Mattair, I said, ‘Look here. We’re finna to pick this weight room up and we’re gonna dump it on top of them. The ones that come out are gonna be Longhorns.” Watson is quick to point to the offensive line as the biggest benefactor. “The position I am most
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excited about compared to last year is our offensive line,” Watson said. “We were really underdeveloped and undercoached there in my opinion. Our offensive line coach has been working those guys since January. I think when we take the field this year, people are going to say, ‘Man, what did them guys do to get better?’ I’m really excited to see what those guys do this year.” The Longhorns are anchored at tackle by senior Grayson Mains [6-foot-5, 265 pounds], a three-star prospect who is committed to South Carolina. Joining Mains are players such as Chap Cunningham, Elijah Haughawout and Kyle Cunningham. Haughawout played defensive end last season and also lined up at offensive tackle down the stretch. “He’s another guy that if you look at on film from last year to now, he don’t even look like
the same person,” Watson said. “His weight room numbers have shot through the roof. I think the last time we maxed, he was 285, 290 on cleans. He’s a very athletic big man. I think he’s going to play college football, probably on the offensive line. On the defensive line, he’s going to be hard to block for sure.” That time in the weight room also benefitted wide receiver Kojo Antwi [44 catches, 795 yards, 9 TDs], who committed during the offseason to play football at Ohio State. Antwi is listed at 6-foot, 190 pounds and will also play cornerback for the Longhorns. “To look at Kojo today compared to the first time I ever met him, he don’t look like the same person,” Watson said. “I think when I first met him, he was a 240-pound cleaner in the
2020 results 5-5 Overall, 1-5 Region 6-7A Lambert 34, Campbell 9 Lambert 34, Lassiter 19 Lambert 38, Meadowcreek 20 Lambert 26, Duluth 10 *South Forsyth 44, Lambert 14 *Gainesville 42, Lambert 35 *Denmark 52, Lambert 14 *North Forsyth 34, Lambert 20 *Lambert 43, Forsyth Central 42 *West Forsyth 42, Lambert 27 *Region 6-7A game
trophy case
First varsity season: 2010 Playoff appearances: 6 (2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016) Region titles: 1 (2016) State titles: 0
the coach Tommy Watson
At Lambert: 5-5, second season Overall: 28-43, eighth season
See LAMBERT | 29 Fall 2021
No. Pos./Name
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Year
Hgt./Wgt.
WR/DB Darren Guy 12 6-2 185 QB/DB James Tyre 11 5-9 150 RB/DB Ethan Terry 10 5-8 155 WR/DB Brandon Jones 11 5-11 163 RB/ILB Harrison Peyton 12 6-3 205 QB/OLB Levi Watson 10 6-1 175 WR/DB Bradley Gabriel 11 6-0 170 FB/ILB/LS Carson Knowles 10 5-10 180 TE/OLB Jake Johnson 12 6-2 195 RB/DB Tommy Morris 11 5-10 165 WR/DB Kojo Antwi 12 6-1 195 WR/DB Xavier Couloute 11 6-2 175 WR/DB Jack Ryan 10 5-9 150 WR/DB Nathan Downey 10 5-10 135 TE/DE Luke Logan 11 6-3 215 QB/DB/P Ashton Smith 12 6-1 170 QB/DB James Thorson 10 5-9 150 WR/DB Xan Kelly 10 5-9 145 TE/OLB/LS Ryan Cameron 11 6-3 180 WR/DB Jhase Wint 11 5-9 165 WR/DB Elijah Castillo 11 5-8 160 WR/DB Nate Benson 12 6-2 156 WR/DB Henry Reese 12 5-8 170 WR/OLB Davis Dobbs 12 5-8 140 WR/DB Cole Nelson 10 5-11 160
No. Pos./Name
26 27 28 31 32 33 34 35 36 38 39 40 41 42 44 45 46 47 48 50 51 52 53 54 55
On the defensive side of the ball, the team is led by senior linebacker Carson Leak, who had a team-high 115 tackles last season and forced three fumbles. Leak is excited to work with this group of guys this season and is proud of how they’ve worked this summer. “We’ve been putting in the work as a team collectively, and we’ve all been buying in pretty well together,” Leak said. “We lost some guys from last year, but we’re coming back with a young group that is going to be ready to go. We’ve got me and my brother [Camden Leak] at middle linebacker, some returning guys on the line that are going to be ready to go. We’ve been putting in the work in the weight
FROM 4
Central
No. Name
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 11 12 13 14 15 16 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 Fall 2021
Year
Julian Dewees 10 Camden Yeager 11 Jordan Ratner 10 Daniel Smith 11 Braden Wudi 11 Marcus Brown 12 Drew Mullvain 12 Toby Legarra 12 Cade Haertel 10 Koby Balthazor 11 Dylan Steine 10 Micah Cromartie 10 Tyler Thompson 12 Daniel Perlman 12 Kaden Sexton 10 Tanner Keylon 10 Jayce Todaro 10 Christian Petrowshy 10 Aiden Manalastas 11 Ben Warro 12 Ian Grimes 11 Malachi McElroy 12 Justin Taylor 10 RJ Shaheen 12
Year
Hgt./Wgt.
WR/DB Evan Consoli 10 5-9 150 WR/DB Andreas Betancur 11 5-11 175 WR/DB KJ Garrett 11 5-9 165 WR/ILB Caleb Gu 10 5-5 138 TE/OLB Ashu Siju 10 6-0 180 RB/ILB Joseph Tripp 11 5-9 185 FB/ILB Dawson Miller 12 6-0 175 TE/DE Finn Braeuer 10 6-2 195 RB/DB Sharath Ragila 12 5-10 165 WR/OLB Noah Dobbs 10 5-9 146 WR/DE Dylan Wood 10 5-8 150 TE/OLB/LS Brennan Schneider 12 6-2 205 FB/ILB Sam Killoran 10 5-6 154 FB/ILB Drake Smith 11 5-10 175 TE/DE/K Owen Heybroek 10 6-3 165 TE/DE Branden Eivich 11 6-1 195 WR/OLB Aidan Hope 12 6-0 160 FB/DE Will Taylor 10 5-7 160 FB/OLB Mike Borasak 11 6-0 180 OL/DL Steven Aguilar 11 5-10 266 OL/DL Sam Wilmouth 12 5-9 195 OL/DL Luke Stephens 11 6-1 235 OL/DL Chap Cunningham 12 5-10 240 OL/DL Thomas Hall 10 5-10 175 OL/DL Landon Smith 10 6-2 200
Position
No. Name
RB/DB WR/DB RB/LB WR/DB DB/RB RB/DB QB LB/BB WR/DB QB QB/DB RB/DB DB/WR WR/DB WR/DB RB/DB RB/DB WR/DB WR/DB DB/WR K/RB RB/LB RB/DB RB/ILB
28 29 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 47 48 49 50 52 55 56
No. Pos./Name
56 57 58 59 62 64 65 66 67 68 71 72 73 74 76 77 78 79 80 81 84 85 88 89 99
Year
Hgt./Wgt.
OL/DL Tyler Van Treek 11 OL/DL/LS Grayson Mains 12 OL/DL Matthew Russo 12 OL/DL Krish Bhutiyani 10 OL/DL Riley Mitchamore 11 OL/DL Sean Feely 11 OL/DL Jake Hall 11 OL/ILB Koby Lang 10 OL/DL Ronit Parikh 11 OL/DL Jack Racki 11 OL/DL Jalen Brittingham 10 OL/DL John Dabbs 10 OL/DL Daniel Uwakwe 11 OL/DL Kyle Cunningham 11 OL/DL Noel Lacayo 12 OL/DL Elijah Haughawout 12 OL/DL Teada Friend 11 OL/DL Michael Scullin 10 WR/DB Houston Harris 10 WR/DB Caleb Bennett 10 WR/DB Jake O’Haver 11 TE/OLB Mike Pritzker 11 TE/DL Aidan Fenton 10 K/P Ryan Degyansky 11 K Alex Mitchell 11
5-11 200 6-6 285 5-10 226 5-8 167 5-11 229 6-4 300 5-8 217 6-0 175 6-1 205 6-2 210 6-0 265 6-3 225 5-11 240 6-4 270 6-1 270 6-4 265 6-0 237 6-0 170 5-7 132 5-9 170 5-5 130 6-4 180 6-0 160 5-9 187 5-9 140
room with Coach Christie, and we’re going to ready to go and show people what we can do.” Forsyth Central opens its season Aug. 20 at home against Northview. The players have a few other games marked on their schedule. Rival North Forsyth, who the Bulldogs beat in a thriller 28-27 last season is marked on their schedule, as is Gainesville, a 33-28 winner last season against Central. With two teams – Denmark and West Forsyth – advancing to the second round of the playoffs last season, Rooney knows how difficult winning in their region can be. “We have an extremely competitive region,” Rooney said. “We’re all capable of being region champs and we’re all capable of going 0-6. Every week is going to have a great battle.” Year
Diego Tarquini 11 Patrick Haertel 12 Braden Dover 10 John Martin Bennett 11 Camden Leak 12 Cole Brumbelow 12 Kole McGlumphy 11 Austin McNeil 12 Garrett Northam 12 James Yarborough 12 Angel Cruz 10 Aiden Meehan 11 Evan Morris 12 Zach Artz 11 Dawson Heim 12 Aidan White 10 Trey Richards 12 Preston Kerr 10 Kemran Shakhmanov 12 Noah Hallerman 10 Jonathan Molina 10 Sullivan Eash 12 Nate Wimberly 10 Carson Leak 12
Position
No. Name
DB/RB RB/LB WR/DB WR/DE LB/TE DB/RB LB/FB OLB/RB DB/WR DB/WR RB/DB LB/BB DB/WR WR/DB WR/DB TE/DL K/P TE/LB OLB/RB LB/OL OL/LB OL/DL OL/DL LB/OL
57 58 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 71 74 75 76 77 78 79 81 82 86 87 89 91
Year
Noah Holt 11 Brandon Gayton 12 Jay Wells 11 Nasair White 12 Harrison Gumbert 11 Michael Johnson 10 Jacob Riles 11 Andrew Carrizo 11 Ben Carnes 10 Josh Acevedo 11 Mitchell Dunlap 10 Braden Carter 10 Karson George 10 Luc Gwinner 12 Charlie Shadburn 10 Luke Sacchettie 11 Christian Alexander 10 Toby Pritzlaff 10 Jonathan Pinto 10 Luis Salgado 11 Jonathan Clapper 11 Herbert Iraloze 12 Dominic Willi 12 Tyler Fisk 12
Position
OL/DL OL/LB DL/OL DE/OL OL OL/DL OL/DL DL/OL OL/DL OL/DL DL/OL OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL WR/DB K/DB K/P WR/DB TE/LB DE/TE
2021 pigskin preview |
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horiZon christian academy warriors
Jacob Smith Forsyth County News
Horizon Christian will count on seniors Tanner Story, left, and Aaron Monroe to provide leadership on both sides of the football.
Horizon Christian set for title defense after historic season By David Roberts
droberts@forsythnews.com
Horizon Christian Academy will enter the 2021 season as the reigning champions for the first time in school history. The Warriors captured the GAPPS 8-man football Class 1A state championship last season against the David Emanuel Academy Eagles, bringing the school its first state title in football. This year, Horizon Christian isn’t taking anybody by surprise. “I try to tell them that it’s just a different approach now,” Horizon head coach Damon Taylor said. “We were hunting last year. Now every game for every other team is going to seem like homecoming for them. We just have to be prepared, and it’s a mental thing too, so I’m trying to get them prepared for that as well.”
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A few of the players who helped Horizon make history last year graduated, including Malachi Mathis, who stepped in at quarterback during the Warriors playoff run. However, Horizon’s roster features 19 players who have their sights set on defending their title. “This year’s team looks really good, to say the least,” Taylor said. “We lost a big part of our offense in Malachi Mathis and Camden Moore, and also Isaac Bond. We lost Luke Sell early in the year – I think in the Pinecrest game – but Malachi Mathis and Camden Moore were huge parts of both sides of the ball. These guys have stepped up. We’ve got some new kids coming in that are also stepping up, so I’m looking forward to those guys stepping up to help fill that gap.” Zane Lamonde returns after
tearing his labrum last season and will play quarterback and linebacker. Lamonde totaled 787 yards and 15 touchdown through the air last season, adding 294 yards and a pair of scores on the ground. He also picked off two passes, made 45 tackles and had four sacks. “I had to get full shoulder reconstruction,” Lamonde said. “I tore my labrum, so I ended up moving from quarterback to running back for the playoffs. I’m still kind of rehabbing through it, but I’m pretty much 100 percent now. It’s been about a six- to seven-month process, just starting with light movement and working up to throwing. I feel really good – actually, I feel better now than I probably did halfway through last year.
2021 schedule
Aug. 20 – Horizon Christian at Holy Spirit Prep Aug. 27 – Horizon Christian at Fideles Christian Sept. 3 – Unity Christian School at Horizon Christian *Sept. 10 – Horizon Christian at Holy Ground Baptist Sept. 17 – BYE Sept. 24 – Horizon Christian at Johnson Ferry *Oct. 1 – Hearts Academy at Horizon Christian Oct. 8 – Horizon Christian at Lanier Christian Oct. 15 – BYE Oct. 22 – Our Lady of Mercy at Horizon Christian *Oct. 29 – King’s Way Baptist at Horizon Christian *Nov. 5 – Victory Baptist at Horizon Christian *GAPPS Region 1-1A game
2020 results 5-4 Overall, 0-2 GAPPS Division I Horizon Christian 61, Holy Spirit 6 Cherokee Christian 52, Horizon Christian 21 Horizon Christian 49, Hearts Academy 7 Pinecrest Academy 52, Horizon Christian 48 *Kings Way Christian 54, Horizon Christian 13 *Fideles Christian 44, Horizon Christian 28 **Horizon Christian 26, Vidalia Heritage 6 **Horizon Christian 33, King’s Way Christian 32 **Horizon Christian 42, David Emanuel Academy 38 *GAPPS Region 1-1A game **Playoff game
the coach Damon Taylor
At Horizon: 14-12, fourth season Overall: 14-12, fourth season
See HORIZON | 28 Fall 2021
2021 schedule
pinecrest academy paladins
Aug. 27 – Lake Oconee Academy at Pinecrest Academy Sept. 3 – BYE *Sept. 10 – Pinecrest Academy at Cherokee Christian Sept. 17 – Lafayette Christian at Pinecrest Academy Sept. 23 – BYE Oct. 1 – Rock Springs Academy at Pinecrest Academy Oct. 8 – Pinecrest Academy at Harvester Christian Oct. 16 – Pinecrest Academy at Notre Dame Academy Oct. 22 – North Georgia Falcons at Pinecrest Academy *Oct. 29 – Pinecrest Academy at The King’s Academy *Nov. 5 – Calvary Christian at Pinecrest Academy * GAPPS Region 1-2A game Jacob Smith Forsyth County News
Pinecrest Academy seniors Nick Bohn, left, and Ryan Bartling each played a key part in the Paladins’ GAPPS 8-man state championship in 2020.
With enrollment up, Pinecrest Academy ready to tackle 11-man By David Roberts
droberts@forsythnews.com
Breckin Barbee spent much of last offseason expecting to be a wide receiver. Thrust into the quarterback position in the middle of summer, all Barbee did was account for more than 1,400 total yards, score 26 touchdowns and help Pinecrest Academy to the GAPPS Division II 8-man state championship. This year, with a full season as the Paladins’ signal-caller under his belt and the team jumping back up to 11-man football, Barbee is focused on perfecting all of the characteristics that made Pinecrest’s offense so dynamic last season. “This year coming in, I really focused on being a quarterback because last year I really didn’t know what position I was going into,” Barbee said.
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“I thought I was going to be a w i d e r e c e ive r, bu t t h e n switched to quarterback midway through the summer. This year it’s really been focusing on the plays and connections with the wide receivers and all of that. Really just timing and getting perfect at what we do.” For Pinecrest head coach Shawn Coury, having a returning starter at quarterback makes all the difference in the world. “It’s huge. We’re so far ahead of where we would be if we started over,” Coury said. “Breckin’s really smart and makes good reads down the field. He’s a very electric runner, so he gives us that option and capability in the backfield. He’s so comfortable with what we’re doing, in terms of making the runs reads at the line of scrimmage, the option reads at the line of scrimmage, then also making those pass reads down the field. It puts us way
ahead. He’s a good leader on the team, and he does a good job of rallying the guys and getting them to do that. So, his leadership capabilities are equally important to us as his skill on the field.” Barbee and the Paladins won’t have the electricity of Bryce Balthaser at their disposal, but Coury said he expects Colin Brown to provide a similar brand of versatility. Brown played receiver last year and also impressed at safety, where he had three interceptions. “With his speed and his athletic ability, he’s going to be able to basically pick up right where Bryce left off,” Coury said. “Colin brings a lot of great skill to the game and a lot of great skill to our backfield. He’s very versatile too, in the sense that he can run
2020 results 9-1 Overall, 2-0 GAPPS Division II Harvester Christian 40, Pinecrest 32 *Pinecrest 60, Hearts Academy 6 Pinecrest 46, Johnson Ferry Christian 8 Pinecrest 26, Peachtree Academy 15 Pinecrest 32, Southern Christian 7 *Pinecrest 42, Lanier Christian 0 Pinecrest 60, Dominion Christian 20 Pinecrest 52, Horizon Christian 48 **Pinecrest 66, Hearts Academy 6 **Pinecrest 44, Lanier Christian 18 *GAPPS Region 1-2A game **Playoff game
trophy case First varsity season: 2004 Playoff appearances: 9 (2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2020) Region titles: 1 (1997) State titles: 1 (2020) *GISA from 2004-09; GAPPS from 2020-21
the coach Shawn Coury
At Pinecrest: 9-1, second season Overall: 13-17, fourth season
See PINECREST | 29 Fall 2021
2021 schedule
south forsyth war eagles
Aug. 20 – South Forsyth at Roswell Aug. 27 – Cambridge at South Forsyth Sept. 3 – Dawson County at South Forsyth Sept. 10 – South Forsyth at Central Gwinnett *Sept. 16 – South Forsyth at Lambert Sept. 23 – BYE Oct. 1 – BYE *Oct. 8 – West Forsyth at South Forsyth *Oct. 15 – South Forsyth at Gainesville *Oct. 22 – Denmark at South Forsyth *Oct. 29 – North Forsyth at South Forsyth *Nov. 5 – South Forsyth at Forsyth Central *Region 6-7A game Jacob Smith Forsyth County News
South Forsyth defensive end Ben Harvey, left, hopes to terrorize opposing quarterbacks, while offensive lineman Mason Cooper plans to keep his quarterback upright.
South Forsyth reloads on offense, led by quarterback Ty Watkins By David Roberts
droberts@forsythnews.com
The keys to the South Forsyth offense belong to Ty Watkins. For first-year head coach Troy Morris, there aren’t many more deserving than Watkins, the War Eagles’ 6-foot-2, 215pound junior. “I’ll tell you what, Ty has impressed me ever since he stepped on our campus,” Morris said. “He is the ultimate leader. He really is. I’ve coached for a lot of years now and I’ve never coached a kid that’s hungrier to be successful and to be good. Just how he goes about his business, how intent he is; every single day he’s getting better. He’ll stare a hole through me when I’m coaching him, just because he wants to soak it up so much. I get texts from him after practice, you know, ‘Coach, how did it go today? Give me more
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information.’ He’s just a hungry kid.” Watkins completed 12 of 18 passes for 206 yards and three touchdowns playing behind Kyle Durham, who since transferred to Johns Creek. The War Eagles must also replace their two leading rushers from last season [Durham and Tre Green], as well as their top two receivers [Mitch Thompson, Devin McGlockton]. South does return senior Gavin Morris, who Troy Morris expects to be even more involved in the offense than last season, when he caught 26 passes for 488 yards and six touchdowns and rushed for 129 yards and three touchdowns. “We’ll still use him on both sides of the ball,” he said. “Offensively, he’s probably going to get more reps than he has in the past. Then, defensively, we actually moved him out of the position he was in
last two years and moved him back to safety. We’ll see how he does back there.” However, Morris will need more than one player to step up to replace Thompson and McGlockton, who combined for more than 1,600 yards and 20 touchdowns. Senior Mason Capers is one candidate to help fill the void after moving to tight end during the offseason. Capers, 6-foot-4, 220 pounds, already has offers from Charleston Southern and Davidson. “We’ve asked Mason to move to the tight end spot for a lot of different reasons. He’s excited about it,” Morris said. “He’s actually put on weight to play that spot.” As for production out of the wide receiver position, South has plenty of speed between See SOUTH | 26
2020 results 5-4 Overall, 2-3 Region 6-7A South Forsyth 63, Dawson County 49 South Forsyth 52, Central Gwinnett 27 *South Forsyth 44, Lambert 14 South Forsyth 30, Alcovy 10 *West Forsyth 41, South Forsyth 34 (2OT) *Gainesville 28, South Forsyth 14 *Denmark 36, South Forsyth 22 *South Forsyth 52, North Forsyth 7 **Norcross 47, South Forsyth 20 *Region 6-7A game **GHSA playoff game
trophy case First varsity season: 1991 Playoff appearances: 16 (1993, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2010, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020) Region titles: 1 (1997) State titles: 0
the coach Troy Morris
At South: 0-0, first season Overall: 0-0, first season Fall 2021
No. Name
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
Fall 2021
Year
Position
No. Name
Year
Position
No. Name
Year
Position
Jyi’Qez Green 12 Blaylen Lomax 12 Ian Diaz 12 Austin Uidel 12 Evan Bridges 12 Josh Nelson 11 Clay Walsh 12 Gavin Morris 12 Chris Nelson 11 Mason Capers 12 Ty Watkins 11 Elijah Pritchard 11 Colton Postema 11 Conner Futch 11 Cade Aycock 10 Tighe McGilvery 12 Josh Pehrson 12 Alex Urias 11 James Margiotta 11 Zach Hobson 12 Clark Stephens 11 Cal Jacchia 12 Zach Romeo 12 Brady Lynn 11 Matthew Daise 12 Andrew Meersman 11 Jacob Smith 11 Maverick Schippman 10 Ronald Oquendo 11 Dylan Reid 11
RB/DB RB/DB FB/LB WR/DB WR/DB WR/DB QB/DB RB/LB QB/DB WR/DB QB QB/DB WR/DB FB/LB QB WR/DB WR/DB WR/LB WR/DB WR/DB WR/DB TE/LB WR/DB WR/DB FB/LB TE/LB TE/LB FB/LB WR/DB TE/LB
31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62
11 10 11 12 10 10 11 11 10 11 10 11 10 12 11 10 10 10 12 11 12 12 12 12 10 10 11 10 10 12
WR/LB WR/DB RB/LB WR/LB FB/LB WR/LB TE/LB WR/DB RB/LB RB/LB RB/DB FB/LB RB/DB FB/LB WR/DB RB/DB TE/DL OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL
64 66 67 68 71 73 74 75 77 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 98 99
11 11 10 11 12 10 12 11 11 11 11 11 12 10 11 10 10 10 12 11 10 11 10 10 10 10 10 10 10
OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL LS/OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL WR/DB TE/DL TE/DE WR/DB WR/LB WR/DB WR/DB TE/LB TE/DE WR/DB TE/DL K WR/LB K TE/DL WR/DB K WR/DB WR/DB
Zach Clark Kaiyan Fernandes Jake Stine Jonathan Haas Bayler Duncan Cade Jacchia Hayden Mock Drew McPhail Braden Belue Christian Wehman Cole Yeager Cole Williams Londyn Lomax Cade Yeager Eli Weems Luke Nelson CJ Kemper Chris Brown Ryan McClary Kristian Dawson Mason Cooper Luke Sears Ian O’Dowd Brennan Hudson Cooper Lowe Luke Latham Peter White Sawyer Aragon Sam Leachman James Watson
Bay Robinson Nathan Efobi Aiden Bischoff Turner Healy Jack Sullivan Ben Blanton Nathaniel Tew Josh Felton Brady Fogarty Josh Emerson Brock Ferrell Tyler Lang Justin Tyre Avery Schalon Zane Jenkins Kevin Steiger Ryan Huynh Jack Cahill Ben Harvey Owen Ressman Graham McKee Tyler Simpson Aidan Parkman Davis Little Brandon Lancaster Mikey Meersman Madox Pearson Jackson Netzel Justin McElvey
2021 pigskin preview | 15
2021 schedule
denmarK danes
Aug. 20 – Cedartown at Denmark Aug. 27 – Banneker at Denmark Sept. 3 – Denmark at Shiloh Sept. 10 – Denmark at Lanier *Sept. 16 – North Forsyth at Denmark Sept. 23 – BYE *Oct. 1 – Denmark at Forsyth Central *Oct. 8 – Lambert at Denmark Oct. 15 – BYE *Oct. 22 – Denmark at South Forsyth *Oct. 29 – Denmark at Gainesville *Nov. 5 – West Forsyth at Denmark *Region 6-7A game
2020 results Jacob Smith Forsyth County News
Denmark seniors Treston Jordan, left, and Kenon Dicks will patrol the secondary for an experienced defensive unit.
Denmark enters season with stout defense, some questions on offense By David Roberts
droberts@forsythnews.com
Denmark graduated a couple of the school’s all-time leaders on both sides of the ball this offseason. There’s quarterback Aaron McLaughlin, an early enrollee at North Carolina State who accounted for more than 3,500 passing yards and 53 total touchdowns during his two seasons with the Danes. Then there’s linebacker Harrison Halder, who racked up a school-record 242 tackles over three seasons at Denmark. Second-year coach Mike Palmieri suspects he knows who will make the bulk of those tackles this year. J u n i o r l i n e b a c ke r D e e Crayton’s recruitment exploded this past offseason after a sophomore season that saw him make 62 tackles, including eight tackles for loss, and
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2021 pigskin preview
lead the team with five sacks. Crayton, listed at 6-foot-2 215 pounds, is considered a four-star recruit by 247sports and has offers from Arkansas, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Syracuse and Central Florida. “Really good kid, hard worker, committed to the game, loves football, which is really important,” Palmieri said. “Good in the classroom. He’s coachable and can take criticism. [He] wants to know what he can do better. The sky is the limit with him. We expect big things with him.” A s f o r M c L a u g h l i n ’s replacement, that’s still up in the air. Palmieri said sophomores Michael McClellan and Jacob Nelson are auditioning for the role of QB1, a competition that could spill into the start of the season. “Right now they’re just battling,” Palmieri said. “The
scrimmages, and even up until the first couple games of the season, we’re going to be dealing with young quarterbacks. You can’t press the panic button with them. We have to put them in good positions and make sure that we make a good decision. Eventually, we’ll pick a No. 1 because we don’t want to rotate guys all year long, but that’s still up in the air.” Running back Amon Williams [97 carries, 433 yards, 6 TDs] returns after an impressive sophomore campaign and will run behind a revamped offensive line. Left tackle Shamurad Umarov also saw his recruitment take off, earning offers from Florida, North Carolina, South Florida and Virginia. Returning starter Jake Seubert will join Umarov on the offensive line, as will
6-5 Overall, 5-1 Region 6-7A Greater Atlanta Christian 20, Denmark 0 Shiloh 7, Denmark 0 Lanier 38, Denmark 27 *Denmark 20, North Forsyth 10 *Denmark 21, Forsyth Central 0 *Denmark 52, Lambert 14 *Denmark 36, South Forsyth 22 *Denmark 24, Gainesville 21 *West Forsyth 20, Denmark 10 **Denmark 61, Discovery 0 **Collins Hill 17, Denmark 6 *Region 6-7A game **GHSA playoff game
trophy case First varsity season: 2018 Playoff appearances: 2 (2019, 2020) Region titles: 0 State titles: 0
the coach Mike Palmieri
At Denmark: 6-5, second season Overall: 169-45, 17th season
See DENMARK | 26 Fall 2021
east forsyth broncos
2021 schedule Aug. 20 – Ridgeland at East Forsyth Aug. 27 – Rabun Gap at East Forsyth Sept. 3 – East Forsyth at Cherokee Bluff Sept. 10 – Whitefield Academy at East Forsyth Sept. 17 – East Forsyth at Riverside Academy Sept. 23 – BYE Oct. 1 – Mt. Pisgah at East Forsyth Oct. 8 – Druid Hills at East Forsyth Oct. 15 – Chamblee at East Forsyth Oct. 22 – BYE Oct. 29 – East Forsyth at Southeast Whitfield Nov. 4 – King’s Ridge at East Forsyth
Jacob Smith Forsyth County News
East Forsyth quarterback Will Moffit, left, and wide receiver Brandon People aim to lead the Broncos’ aerial assault this season.
the coach Brian Allison
At East: 0-0, first season Overall: 146-113, 27th season
East Forsyth hopes to make a splash, establish culture during inaugural season By Noah Rubin
For the Forsyth County Nes
Led by head coach Brian Allison, East Forsyth will play under Friday night lights for the first time ever Aug. 20, as the Broncos will host Ridgeland in their first regular-season game. Allison said the team has faced many challenges since he was named head coach in March. Other than the regular challenges a high school football team faces, the setbacks of being a brand-new school piled up. The team didn’t even own footballs to practice with until late April, so after an impressive showing in a scrimmage against St. Francis in May, the Broncos carried plenty of confidence into the offseason. “Every time you think that you’re organized and think you have everything squared away, something pops up,” Allison said. “It’s a continuous, fluid situation and sometimes it doesn’t go as
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2021 pigskin preview
smoothly as you would like it to, but it is what it is, and we accept that fact. These guys are coming to work with a great mindset every day, so it’s exciting. The East [Forsyth] area, the people, and the community is excited to have us … that community has embraced our school, and we want to do the same with them.” One of the highlights of the scrimmage was a long touchdown caught by junior Brandon Peoples on a throw from sophomore Will Moffit. The connection is one that, according to Peoples, was built by a lot of time on the field. “Over the summer, we spent a lot of time going to the field and throwing after practice,” Peoples said. “It was before we had a football, but some kids would bring a football, and we’d just throw for a few minutes after, and it helped build chemistry with everybody there.” Quarterback Will Moffit knows that, despite the early success, the team still has plenty of work to do. “Every day you’ve just got to work on
getting better,” Moffit said. “I think every day we’ve gotten better; we’ve learned our playbook. We’re starting to run through it more seamlessly every week, every day, and every practice.” On the defensive side of the ball, Allison is excited about the progress his team has shown. However, the team as a whole lacks one key trait: experience. According to Allison, nobody on the team has started a varsity game. They don’t even have any seniors on their roster, which adds to the list of challenges. One thing that will remain consistent for Allison is his offense, which will be mostly the same as when he was at Union County. “It’ll be similar to what we did at the previous school, when I was at Union,” Allison said. “We had really good success there. We’ve had some coaches come in that have a little different philosophy on See EAST | 28 Fall 2021
north forsyth raiders
2021 schedule
Aug. 20 – Alcovy at North Forsyth Aug. 27 – North Forsyth at Harrison Sept. 3 – Dalton at North Forsyth Sept. 10 – Etowah at North Forsyth *Sept. 17 – North Forsyth at Denmark Sept. 23 – BYE *Oct. 1 – West Forsyth at North Forsyth *Oct. 8 – Forsyth Central at North Forsyth *Oct. 15 – North Forsyth at Lambert Oct. 22 – BYE *Oct. 29 – North Forsyth at South Forsyth *Nov. 5 – Gainesville at North Forsyth Jacob Smith Forsyth County News
North Forsyth seniors Jonah Sexton, left, and Patrick Corrigan are two of 26 seniors on an experienced Raiders squad this season.
Senior-laden North Forsyth is eager for playoff appearance By David Roberts
droberts@forsythnews.com
T h e m a ke u p o f N o r t h Forsyth’s football team will mirror that of its quarterback. Tough, hard-nosed and eager. Quarterback Drew Aucoin played special teams last year, and head coach Robert Craft says that the Raiders’ coaching staff jokes that Aucoin would start at linebacker if he wasn’t the quarterback. “Drew’s been in our program for four years. He’s played a bunch on Friday nights in some special teams roles,” Craft said. “Our defensive coordinator jokes all the time that if he wasn’t our starting quarterback, he’d be starting at linebacker, probably. That just shows you his physical toughness, but also his mental toughness. I think as a quarterback you’ve got to have that, because you’re going to
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2021 pigskin preview
have some ups and you’re going to have some downs at that position.” Aucoin will have the luxury of lining up behind an experienced offensive line. Left tackle Elisha Samples is committed to East Carolina and right guard Elijah Edwards is committed to Mercer. Eli Tompkins and Greg Toll occupy the other guard and tackle positions, but Craft said much of the offensive line’s experience begins with center JT Francis. “It’s a group that our two offensive line coaches – Coach Cecil Flowe and Coach Blake Palmer – have really been grooming for the last several years,” Craft said. “Really, all of them played significantly last year – some even as sophomores. We took some lumps a little bit at times the last few years being younger, but it’s their time. They’re leaders of our football team, starting with
JT as a center. Naturally, that guy commands a lot of respect, and he lives up to what we ask him to do.” Francis [92 percent] and Tompkins [90 percent] were the Raiders’ top-graded offensive linemen last season. Riley Smith, a Charleston Southern commit, is one of three senior tight ends and caught a team-high three touchdowns last season. Smith’s 13 receptions for 198 yards leads all returning receivers. Junior Garrett Achilles caught 16 passes for 102 yards and a touchdown last season and is a candidate to replace the production of Tucker Hartsfield, whose 38 catches for 549 yards led the team. “Garrett’s going to have a big year,” Craft said. “He’s worked really hard and played a key role for us last year as a See NORTH | 23
*Region 6-7A game
2020 results 6-4 Overall, 2-4 Region 6-7A North Forsyth 28, Alcovy 3 North Forsyth 10, Harrison 9 North Forsyth 28, Hapeville Charter 14 North Forsyth 28, Etowah 0 *Denmark 20, North Forsyth 10 *North Forsyth 24, West Forsyth 10 *Forsyth Central 28, North Forsyth 27 *North Forsyth 34, Lambert 20 *South Forsyth 52, North Forsyth 7 *Gainesville 17, North Forsyth 0 *Region 6-7A game
trophy case
First varsity season: 1994 Playoff appearances: 9 (1999, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2005, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2019) Region titles: 1 (2001) State titles: 0
the coach Robert Craft
At North: 25-30, sixth season Overall: 74-49, 12th season Fall 2021
No. Name
Year
Position
No. Name
Year
Position
No. Name
1 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27
12 12 12 12 12 12 12 11 12 12 10 10 11 10 11 10 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 12 11
WR/DB WR/DB WR/K/DB TE/LB WR/DB RB/LB WR/DB WR/DB QB WR/DB QB WR/DB WR/DB WR/DB/K QB QB WR/DB TE/LB WR/DB RB/DB WR/DB RB/DB WR/DB RB/LB RB/LB WR/DB
28 29 30 32 33 34 36 37 38 39 41 42 43 44 49 50 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61
10 11 11 12 11 10 10 10 11 10 10 10 10 11 10 12 11 12 10 11 10 10 12 12 10 11
TE/DB WR/DB RB/LB DE RB/DB RB/LB WR/DB WR/DB WR/DB LB TE/DB RB/LB TE/LB TE/LB DL OL OL/LB LB OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL DL OL OL/DL OL/DL
62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 79 80 81 82 83 85 86 87 89 99
David Adesina Garrett Achilles Will Peltz Riley Smith Nick Ware Patrick Corrigan Trystan Davis Logan Curry Drew Aucoin Bentley Wheeler Brody Rose Jonathan Lynn Dillon Thomas Chandler DeBlois West Roberts Alex Breeden Zach Shirley Ashton Green Michael Okland William Verdirame JD Galligan Caleb Bowen Reece Davis Lake Heffington Tristan Graham Evin Ilkevich
FROM 22
North sophomore. He’s another guy who showed up a lot in different special teams roles. We have a few guys, like Riley at tight end, who we feel can create mismatches on the perimeter. Garrett is a guy who can play inside receiver, outside receiver. Will Peltz is a senior who we feel like is poised for a big year.” As is the case on offense, North’s strength on defense is long the line of scrimmage. Junior Chris Herock collected seven tackle for loss last season, which was second on the team, and finished with 57 tackles. “Across the line on defense, [we’re] returning a couple guys there with Chris Herock, who’s played significantly since his freshman year,” Craft said. “I think if you wanted to start a football team, you would always start at the interior and then work your Fall 2021
Luke Stalnaker Jack Westbrook Cole Leroy Chris Nelson Mason Lawson Maverick Lane Tre’von Gordon Hayden Watson Ethan Hunter Brody Hancock Jaxson Otteson Jacob Shirley Brayden Crump Cooper Eglian Warren Bowen Greg Toll Collin Miller Matt Tucker Marcus Ioime Chris Herock Seth Daugherty Braden O’Shields Jacob Kenyon Grant Lively Evan Bann Scott James
way out. So, we’re excited about that group and what they can do this year.” The only player Herock trailed was reigning Forsyth County News Defensive Player of the Year Patrick Corrigan, who exploded for 112 tackles, including 14 stops behind the line, six sacks, 20 QB hurries and four fumble recoveries. Corrigan also carried the ball 50 times for 291 yards and four touchdowns. “He’s always trying to get better. He’s not satisfied,” Craft said. “He played a lot as a freshman even, then was a fulltime starter as a sophomore and last year was really a breakout year. We kind of knew that was always there and it was coming.” North must replace defensive linemen Max Bryant and Dylan Lurie, as well as linebacker Aaron Griffin, though the Raiders return a pair of athletic linebackers in Tristan Graham and Dylan Lyerly. Both players are also standouts on the wrestling mat and have reached the state championship match. Lyerly won the
Year
JT Francis 12 Eli Edwards 12 Eli Tompkins 12 Miles Johnson 10 Hayden Densmore 10 Hector Villeda 11 JC Rouse 12 Carter Hicks 10 Dylan Parker 10 Shamar Williams 12 Austin Adams 10 Tyler Partain 12 Abdiel Espinoza 10 Aden Agunbiade 10 Beau Meyers 12 Elisha Samples 12 Colin Rigdon 11 Caleb Richardson 10 Cole Smith 10 Gavin Busse 11 Aiden Ruckh 11 Walker Roberts 10 Parker Goss 10 Aaron Redd 12 Jonah Sexton 12 Dylan Lyerly 12
Position
OL OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL WR/DB WR/DB WR/DB WR/DB TE/DB TE/DL TE/DE TE/DE LB
David Roberts Forsyth County News
North Forsyth senior Drew Aucoin will take the reins this season as the Raiders’ quarterback.
Class 7A 220 state championship in 2019-20, while Graham finished as the Class 7A 182 runner-up. “Another senior who’s coming off some wrestling injuries is Tristan Graham,” Craft said. “We’re excited to get Tristan
back. He played a lot last year. Dylan Lyerly will be an outside linebacker, then a couple of young guys – Cole Leroy, Collin Miller, who again are kind of in that group of juniors who are ready to play on Friday nights.” 2021 pigskin preview | 23
FROM 6
West we run a lot of stretch, so getting outside on the perimeter and making perimeter blocks is something we’re all very successful at.” They’ll open up running lanes for Ryder Stewart [76 carries, 343 yards, 3 TDs] and William Orris [67 carries, 283 yards], as well as Peyton Streko, who played last season at Forsyth Central. Stewart stepped in last year as a freshman after Fofana tore his ACL. He rushed for a career-best 103 yards and scored a touchdown during West’s firstround playoff win against Meadowcreek. “There was just something that we saw in Ryder,” Svehla said. “It sounds strange, but just watching him play freshman football, there was just something different about him. When we pulled him up and put him in, the thing he had was confidence. He wasn’t going to shy away from anything. If you watch that film closely, of all the things that he did, stepping up on blitzes and picking up blitzing linebackers was one of the things he did really well. He was a surprise. Yes, absolutely. I can’t say we saw
24 |
that coming, but it’s nice to have a guy like that back.” Streko rushed for 340 yards and four touchdowns last year with Central. Delp, a four-star prospect with dozens of Division I offers, figures to draw attention from opposing defenses after catching 43 passes for 730 yards and nine touchdown in nine games last season. Svehla said Delp could moonlight in the Wolverines’ defensive backfield. “I think it’s something that we’ve certainly left the door open for him to do,” Svehla said. “We like our back end defensively, but sometimes there’s matchups where he’s just physically a better matchup because of his size and his agility. We’ll use him as needed, but right now obviously he’s primarily an offensive player.” West’s secondary is a group Svehla feels particularly confident in, with returning starters at cornerback in Bryce Allen and Grey Brockman. Allen set the program record with 23 pass breakups last season, while Brockman led the team with four interceptions and added nine pass breakups as a sophomore. “I hope [Allen] sets it again, or I hope he catches the ball better — maybe set
No. Name
Year
Position
No. Name
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
12 10 12 12 12 11 11 10 11 10 11 12 10 11 11
DL RB DB TE/DB QB/WR WR/DB LB WR/DB QB
11 10 12 11 11 11 11 11 12 11 11 12
WR RB/TE DB DB RB RB DB DB DB RB/WR DB TE/LB
11
RB
31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60
Jay Helstone Ryder Stewart Bryce Allen Oscar Delp Ashton van Horn Braylan Bull Brady Gillis Caleb Casas Keegan Stover Hudson Brown Raleigh Herbert Dylan Baggett Henry Delp Will Fulkerson Jaycen Harris JT Vaughn Brian Tawuo Brady Taylor Ethan Adamson Elisha Nash William Orris Peyton Streko Jazz Simpson Brody Sanderson Connor Reidy Peyton Sapp Grey Brockman Cade Woodall Luke Anderson Tyler Wentzel
2021 pigskin preview
LB WR TE WR WR
Year
Alex Poole Riley McKee 11 Carson Taylor Dayshaun Parker Colin Lawrence 12 Orrin Adotevi 12 Wyatt Kallam 10 Griffin Kluba 11 Jerial Trembley-Gonzalez Xavier Brown 12 Aiden Cook 11 Garth Stewart 12 Cole Ruiz Sam Spencer 11 Crawford Smith 10 Lincoln Nelson 10 Jack Stevens 10 Keegan LeBeouf 11 Jackson Mallcott 11 Peyton Wall 12 Alex Hamm 10 Billy McAllister 12 Ben Holman 12 Aodhan Shields 11 Turner Bell 11 John Leonard 12 Carder Paterline 10 Adrian Beckham 10 Ethan Knowles 10 AJ Seaberg 11
Position
LB FB DB LB DB DB/RB LB/DB RB DB DB/LB LB DB OL OL DL DL OL OL/DL OL OL OL
the school record for interceptions,” Svehla joked. “No, Bryce is just a good football player. Bryce is a coachable kid. Bryce had a really good year last year, and he had a really good year as a sophomore the year before I got there. He’s a quiet kid, but we really trust him. As you know, in the league that we play in, the opponents that we play in our non-region schedule, it’s hard to play the back end on defense. There are a lot of athletes that teams are throwing out there against you.” Svehla hopes Raleigh Herbert [106 tackles, 11 TFL] and Riley McKee [69 tackles, 13 ½ TFL] can build on their impressive sophomore campaigns and help replace Haynes and Hudson Posey. “Replacing [Haynes], that’s partly what I’m counting on these guys to do,” Svehla said. “We feel like Brady Gillis has done a nice job stepping in [and] Brody Sanderson has had a really, really good spring and summer for us. I don’t know if one guy is going to replace Kobe’s production, but I think a couple guys together can replace it.” Senior Jay Helstone [83 tackles, 13 ½ TFL] has been a force at defensive line the past couple of seasons and is joined by returning starter Ben Holman [15 tackles, 8 TFL]. No. Name
Year
Position
62 64 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 75 76 79 81 82 83 84 85 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 97 99
10 11 11 12 12 11 11 10
OL OL LS/OL OL DL OL OL OL
11 11 11 11 10 11 10 12
OL/DL DL OL OL WR WR WR/DB TE
12 11 10
TE
Favian Ayala Josh Hollander Dixon Musgrove Max Freeman Alex Valadez TJ Putman Anthony Guaracino Jacob Mann JaMichael Tweedy Jack Duncan Ryder Smith Hayden Meyers Jace Kile Logan Thomas Mac Moore Ethan DeSalvo Cooper Johnson Conner Malcolm Kevin Petraglia Zack Hauck Tyler Hoffman Nico Nunez Riley Poppe Saud Aziz Taylor Robinson Joe Zereini Palmer Nelson Ruth Talbot
10 11 12 10 12 11
OL Fall 2021
WR DL OL/DL K K
Northview transfer Cody Dickey, and a pair of two-way players in Asher West and Hayden Songer. Denmark must also replace its top five receivers from last season, but Palmieri believes a group of juniors in Aiden Brozena, Lake Thoman and Che Ojarikre can help bridge the gap. On defense, linebacker Austin DeCarlo [47 tackles, 11 TFL] also enjoyed a productive sophomore season and will help fill out the Danes’ linebacking corps. West and William Hodges return on the defensive line, while
Georgia Southern commit Treston Jordan [43 tackles, 4 INTs, 4 PBUs] and Kenon Dicks [39 tackles, 5 PBUs, 2 INTs] will patrol the defensive secondary. But while Denmark’s defense returns a wealth of experience, the Danes will start a sophomore at quarterback and must break in a relatively young group of receivers. Still, Palmieri expects the same production as last year’s offensive, which twice hit the 50-point plateau. “Everybody offensively has got to step it up,” Palmieri said. “We’re not making any excuses that we’re young. At Denmark, we don’t make those excuses. We expect those kids to play at the same level the kids played at last year.”
No. Name
Year
Position
Hgt./Wgt.
No. Name
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 27 30 31 32
11 12 11 12 11 11 12 11 12 12 12 12 10 11 10 9 11 11 10 11 10 11 11 11 11 11 11
WR/DB WR/DB WR/DB TE/LB RB/DB WR/DB WR/DB RB/LB WR/DB TE/LB WR/DB WR/DB QB WR/DB QB QB WR/DB WR/DB TE/LB RB/DB RB/DB RB/LB WR/DB RB/DB TE/LB WR/DB RB/LB
5’7 160 5’10 185 5’10 170 6’2 210 5’10 180 6’2 180 5’11 145 6’2 215 5’11 195 6’1 175 5’7 155 6’0 190 6’4 160 5’11 165 6’3 205 5’11 175 6’6 180 6’0 175 6’2 185 5’9 170 5’9 150 5’9 180 5’9 145 5’8 155 6’2 215 6’0 160 5’10 180
33 34 35 36 40 44 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 60 63 65 72 74 77 80 82 84 85 92
FROM 18
Denmark
Aiden Brozena Kenon Dicks Lake Thoman Drew Clare Amon Williams Che Ojarikre Hayden Fox Dee Crayton Treston Jordan Jeremy Burchfield McAndrew Okwei Santino Gaudreau Jacob Nelson Kohl Yearwood Michael McClellan Jack Brenk Ty Woodruff Ryan McDaniel Jacob Smith Aaron Moreno Conner Kelly Jelani Miller Jack Wilkins Anias Blackman Austin DeCarlo Ian Krutchen Christian Martinez
FROM 14
South Chris Nelson and Josh Nelson. Chris Nelson won the Class 7A 200m state championship. “Never. You’re never going to see those [guys]. Don’t prepare for them. Don’t even expect them,” Morris said with a laugh. “No, they’re going to touch it a lot. They’re going to get a lot of opportunities in the offense. Chris [Nelson] and Josh [Nelson] both are great kids. Yeah, they’re really, really fast and they’re great track athletes, but I tell people all the time they’re football players that run track, in my opinion. They’re really good football players. They’re exciting, they’re electric and we’re going to do everything we can to get them involved in as many different ways as we can.”
26 |
2021 pigskin preview
Year
Malachi Hutchins 11 Daniel Ferrer 10 Lane Grayson 12 Landon Armstrong 11 Samuel Lemos 12 Charley Croiner 11 Cameron Kenney 10 Brady Kilgore 11 Elijah Mitchell 12 Hayden Songer 12 Ethan Faust 10 Asher West 12 Billy Green 11 Joe Hibbard 11 Cody Dickey 11 Carson McArthur 12 Evan Floyd- Marthol 11 Ben Wagner 11 Jack Cook 11 Shamurad Umarov 11 Jake Seubert 12 William Hodges 11 Carson Cogland 11 Dylan Brozena 9 Hamilton Diboyan 11 Trey Glymph 12
Alex Urias should also see time at the position after catching eight passes for 112 yards and a touchdown last season. On the offensive line, South must replace one of the county’s top tackles in Ethan Patrick, as well as Braden Beecher, Bradley Hutcheson and Bryce Myers. Still, Mason Cooper returns at left tackle and Ian O’Dowd is a returning starter at guard. O’Down, who also lines up on the defensive line, is one of several players who will see action on both sides of the ball. Ben Harvey led the War Eagles with six sacks and seven QB hurries last year is also listed as a tight end. Perhaps the brightest spot on South’s defensive line is junior Nathan Efobi, a 6-foot-4, 290-pound lineman who picked up offers from UGA and Georgia Tech since the end of last season. “A lot of guys at the next level, they’re asking what he projects as,” Morris said.
Position
Hgt./Wgt.
TE/DB RB/LB TE/LB WR/LB TE/DL TE/DL TE/LB OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL TE/DL WR/DB WR/DB K K
6’2 205 5’7 185 6’0 210 5’11 190 5’8 230 6’1 215 6’0 190 5’10 245 6’0 240 6’1 250 6’2 205 6’2 240 6’0 205 5’9 215 6’1 240 5’10 225 6’4 240 5’9 220 6’4 250 6’6 285 6’1 250 6’2 205 5’11 145 5’9 160 5’10 150 5’8 165
“I’ll be honest with you, I’m not sure yet. I think he’s 15, about to turn 16 here in a little while, which is crazy because he’s 6-foot-4, 290. He can move, and he’s a great kid on top of that. I mean, just works so hard. Whenever I tell them those things, you know, what kind of person he is besides just how big he is and how good he is, that’s one of the things they get excited about.” Leading tackler Julian Bolanos graduated, as did fellow linebacker Alec Stephens, but seniors Cal Jacchia and Ian Diaz look to fill the gaps. Morris said juniors Cole Williams and Conner Futch, and sophomore Maverick Shippman, will also see playing time at linebacker. South’s influx of linebackers is one of the reasons Morris decided to move Gavin Morris to safety, where he will patrol the defensive backfield alongside the likes of returning starters Austin Uidel, Chris Nelson and Josh Nelson. Fall 2021
No. Name
Year
Position
No. Name
Year
Position
No. Name
Year
Position
1 2 3 5 8 12 14
12 12 11 12 12 12 10
WR/CB QB/RB/LB WR/LB WR/DL K/OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL
15 16 18 21 22 24 48
10 10 10 12 12 11 11
WR/DB K/WR/DB WR/DB WR/LB OL/RB/DE WR/RB/CB OL/DL
55 58 77 80 81
9 8 8 10 8
OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL WR/DB
Tanner Story Zane Lamonde Avery Blanton Jack Fayard Jessie Lewis Baylor Thompson Tiemann Kirby
I’m excited about it.” Tanner Story, who will play wide receiver and cornerback, scored three touchdowns in Horizon’s win in the state championship game and finished the season with 834 receiving yards and 15 touchdowns. Despite the gaudy numbers, Taylor believes Story is even better this year. “Like night and day,” Taylor said. “I think last year he was getting his wheels under him, just getting his routes any everything. I think last year his confidence grew. I think it was
FROM 10
Horizon
No. Name
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27
Year
Mason Schreiber 9 Cole Ferguson 10 Jack Brumbelow 10 Jacob Stanley 11 Garrett Wiggins 11 JD Sexton 9 Clarens Decelien 10 Will Moffit 10 Gilley Gage 11 David Navarrete 11 Brandon Peoples 11 Elijah Seaney 9 Shawn Shook 11 Brock Szakacs 9 Andrew Schrimsher 11 Dylan Peoples 10 Troy Hoover 9 Kyle Kornacki 11 Trey Farr 9 Brennan Hoskeer 11 Isaac Castleberry 10 Messiah Arnold 9 Sebastian Amerson 10 Ramon Smith 10 Aaron Schrimsher 10 Derrick McCord 11
Isaac Bealer Riley Anderson Titus Wilson Aaron Monroe Luke Radtke Jackson Harris Andrew Williams
[three] touchdowns in the championship game. He had a huge game in the semifinals. Every game he got better and better and better. Honestly, I’m not just saying this because he’s on my team, but I don’t think anyone can stay in front of the kid. He’s just that fast. His route-running is just superb.” Horizon held its opponent to just one score on three separate occasions last season. Taylor expects the Warriors to be stout on defense again. “Last year that was one of the things that held us in check, was defense,” Taylor said. “Sometimes offensively when we couldn’t get it going, our defense we lead us down. I
Position
No. Name
Year
Position
WR/LB WR/DB TE/LB WR/DB TE/DL WR/DB WR/DB QB/ILB WR/DB WR/DB WR/DB QB/DB WR/DB QB/DB QB/DB WR/DB WR/LB WR/DB WR/DB WR/DB WR/DB WR/DB RB/LB WR/DB WR/DB WR/DB
28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 55
9 10 11 10 9 10 10 10 9 9 9 9 11 9 9 10 9 9 10 11 10 10 9 9 9 11
WR/DB WR/DB RB/LB TE/DL WR/DB RB/DB TE/DL TE/LB RB/LB WR/DB WR/DB WR/DB RB/DB RB/LB WR/DB RB/LB WR/DB TE/DB TE/DB OL/LB DB/RB OL/DL TE/LB OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL
Titus D’arcangelo Braxton Woody Dalton Cummings Chas Calvin Brody Clark Ayden McEntyre Dominick Davis Cameron Frady Ethan Redd Parker Standridge DJ Haskell Caston Schmidt Joey Hudson Adrian Reyes Lucas McIntyre Tripp Morris Nate Carder Davis Downs Austin Sizemore Connor Maguire Justin Leyva Alex Day Michael Acevedo Caleb Harding Cameron Simonds Ian Jackson
some of the ideas. Obviously not in a negative way. We’re going to be a little more tightend oriented, which I’ve never done before. We’re going to run some option, we’re going to run some pre-snap, post-snap RPOs, so it’ll be similar.” Other than the four players Allison brought with him to the Forsyth County News Media Day – Moffit, Peoples, and juniors
FROM 20
East
28 |
2021 pigskin preview
Bryce Kidd Bralen Blanton Curran Watters Eli Shumate Jin Ho
think we had one of the best defenses in the league. This year we’re not going to be that far off. I think we’re going to be pretty good on defense as well.” The Warriors open the season against Fideles Christian, but the stage is set for their home opener the following week against Unity Christian. Unity steamrolled through their schedule last season to finish 10-0 and capture the GAPPS Division I-AA state championship. Horizon hasn’t beaten the Lions since 2015, and the Warriors are hoping to make history one more time. No. Name
56 58 60 62 63 64 65 66 67 69 70 76 77 78 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89
Year
Position
Jayden Burden 10 Kai Maliszewski 9 Ezra Rodriguez 9 Ryan Murphy 11 Ian Touchstone 9 Ethan Mooneyham 9 Mason Johnson 10 Sawyer Schubiger 10 Rome Lamithe 11 Colton Smith 10 Nolan Gibbs 11 Rick Wiggins 9 Sean Davis 10 Kevin Parsons 11 Myles Glass 10 Andrew Frank 9 Miller Allen 10 Jack Groover 9 Daniel Nerey 10 Parsa Sohrabi 9 Lincoln Polk 9 Stephen Garrett 9 Luke Droegemueller 11 Jeremiah Foote 9
OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL RB/DL OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL TE/DL OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL TE/LB WR/DB WR/DB WR/DB K/P WR/DB TE/DL WR/LB WR/K TE/LB
Garrett Wiggins and Kevin Parsons – there are a number of players he is excited about. “I think a guy that will be a factor for us is David Navarrete,” Coach Allison said. “He’ll be a factor for us at receiver. Tripp Morris will be a factor for us at running back as well. Alex Day is an offensive guard that came from [Forsyth] Central. They talked about all being from North [Forsyth], but it never crossed my mind that they were all from North because we’ve put that behind us. We’re one team now.” Fall 2021
sweep, he can catch, we can put him in the backfield as a tailback, just like we did with Bryce.” On defense, Ryan Bartling looks to build on a massive junior campaign that saw him collect 77 tackles, 12 tackles for loss and four sacks from the defensive end position. Bartling will shift to linebacker, where he’ll play alongside Brock Barbee and Nick Bohn. Brock Barbee is the younger brother of Breckin Barbee, while Nick Bohn’s younger brother, Jake Bohn, is on the team as a freshman. “For our guys, our guys have a lot of younger brothers who are on the team, so they already had connections and knew each other,” Coury said. “So, it’s been great to have all of those guys working together. We’re going to keep trying to grow. We want to get more kids out in the hallways to come play and join what we’re doing, but at the same time I’m very excited to be where we
FROM 12
Pinecrest
No. Name
1 2 3 4 8 9 10 11 13
Peter Birozes Colin Brown Jake Bohn Ryan Bartling Sean McCabe Luke Coury Matthew Mitchell Breckin Barbee Andrew Darlak
Year
9 12 9 12 11 10 9 12 10
are and to make that growth year to year.” In fact, Brock Barbee is penciled in as the Paladins’ starting running back. “He offers a lot of the same things that Alex did,” Coury said. “He’s a hard runner, he’s a gritty kid, and he’s gotten really good at seeing cut-back lanes and making cuts. I’m really excited about what he’s going to be able to do this year.” Pinecrest lists 27 players on its roster, which is a jump from 18 last season. More than half of those players are underclassmen, which bodes well for Pinecrest’s longevity among the 11-man ranks. That’s one of the reasons Coury designed last year’s offense to work in 8-man football and 11-man football. “This was our goal, right? We were in a position to play 8-man because of the number of guys that we had, but we built an offense that was easily transferrable,” Coury said. “So, we haven’t changed anything. We’ve been running the same stuff all summer that we ran all last year. We just have two tackles and a fullback now. So, everything is still the same — the route combinations, the numbering system. It was a very smooth transition offensively.”
Position
No. Name
Year
Position
WR/DB WR/DB QB/LB FB/LB QB/DB WR/DB RB/DB QB/DB WR/DB
15 17 20 25 30 34 50 51 54
10 11 11 9 9 9 12 11 10
WR/DE QB/DB RB/LB FB/LB FB/LB RB/LB OL/LB OL/DL OL/DL
Alex White John Olah Brock Barbee Johnny Lynch Micah Talbott Leo Groza Nick Bohn Jackson McCray Bennet Gebelein
FROM 8
Lambert weight room. I think his last batch was 285. You see him without a shirt on and he just looks like a different dude. He’s a great kid, great football player, and we’re expecting great things from him.” Getting Antwi the football will be the responsibility of either Ashton Smith, James Tyre or Levi Watson. Smith [90-for-176 passing, 1,468 yards, 12 TDs, 7 INTs] and Tyre [47-for-71 passing, 687 yards, 10 TDs, 1 INT] split time at quarterback last season, but Watson said the job is still up for grabs. “I feel like we’ve got three quarterbacks we can win with,” he said. “We’re in the middle of a three-way battle for who’s going to be the starter … I’m going to play a quarterback who is tough, who is trustworthy and who takes care of the football. Whichever one, it doesn’t matter to me. I’m going to play the one who has those traits.” Harrison Peyton figures to take the majority of carries at running back after moving to the position halfway through the season last year. “The region has no idea who that cat is right there,” Watson said. “He got hurt Fall 2021
David Roberts Forsyth County News
Lambert junior James Tyre figures to factor into the offense this season, including time at quarterback.
against Gainesville. I moved him to safety when I first got there; he was a linebacker. After the South Forsyth game we felt we needed a change, so we put him at running back. In the Gainesville game, when he broke his leg, it was the first series of the fourth quarter. He had 18 carries for 162 yards and had two 40-yarders called back
No. Name
55 56 62 70 71 80 81 88
Year
Aadi Sharma 9 Lewis Diaz 12 John Stubbs 12 Hunter Ellis 10 Chris Calupca 10 Sebastian SantaMaria 12 Max Groza 9 Tyler Komander 11
Position
OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL WR/DB WR/LB WR/LB
for holding calls. The region’s about to find out who that cat right there is. I promise you.” Peyton, who has offers from Georgia State, Air Force, Army and Lehigh, said he’s fully healthy now and looks forward to turning heads during his senior season. “It’s been good. I’m just glad to be back,” Peyton said. “It was a really long process. It took a long time to heal, but I’m 100 percent now, and as Coach Watson said, ‘Y’all about to find out who I am.’” Harrison will also patrol the defensive backfield along with Darren Guy, who played outside linebacker last season but made the switch during the offseason to safety. Guy led the Longhorns in tackles last year with 92, adding 9 ½ tackles for loss and 2 ½ sacks. Lambert’s linebacking corps figures to be a strength heading into the season, with returning starters such as Jake Johnson [50 tackles], Dawson Miller [74 tackles] and Brennan Schneider. Both Johnson and Schneider figure to see time on offense at tight end, along with 6-foot-4, 210-pound junior Luke Logan, a transfer from Northview. “He’s a big, tall athletic kid who can run. He plays baseball as well,” Watson said. “He’s going to raise some eyebrows in this region for us, too. 2021 pigskin preview | 29
