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
