2010 Rome News-Tribune Pigskin Preview

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2010 PIGSKIN PREVIEW

Old School Football Rome News-Tribune August 24, 2010

2

TUESDAY, August 24, 2010

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Rome News-Tribune

PIGSKIN PREVIEW

This little ‘Piggy’ has a new twist 28-page section includes 5-3-1 format on each of the 16 local teams 3

From staff reports

— Pertinent questions that were answered by the head coaches of each school. Through the years, the Pigskin Preview And … has always given local football fans the 1 — Key factor that could potentially be 4-1-1 on the teams in Greater Rome. the difference between a memorable seaThis season, we’re given you the 5-3-1, son and a forgettable one. too. And what exactly is that, you ask? The elements in the new 5-3-1 system have It’s the Pigskin Preview’s new format, de- been compiled by the Rome News-Tribune’s signed to offer up the most relevant infor- sports staff through observation of the team mation on each of the Greater Rome and conversation with the head coaches. squads. Each team’s page also includes a numeriOn each team’s page, you will find: cal roster, a 2010 schedule and a look at last year’s results. 5 — Players from each roster who are On the feature front, this year’s Preview likely to make an impact this season. takes a tour around the campus of the old-

From prep to pro — its all here

school, with a trio of local coaches serving as orientation directors. (See story, 3B). We also have our annual college previews, with Georgia, Georgia Tech and Shorter University each being spotlights. On the college pages, you will also find schedules, and SEC and ACC capsules. There’s also a splash of the NFL, with a preview of the Atlanta Falcons as they seek their third straight winning season. (See page 28). With its new format — along with the features that have been held over from years gone by — we believe the Pigskin Preview will be not just be a one-time read, but a helpful tool throughout the season.

INSIDE THIS YEAR’S PIGSKIN PREVIEW: HIGH SCHOOLS

Tricia Dillard / Rome News-Tribune

Inside this year’s Pigskin Preview, you’ll find outlooks for teams on three different levels — prep, college and professional. The section begins with 21 pages of prep football (pages 4-24), followed by the college report (pages 25-27) and an overview of the Atlanta Falcons (page 28). You’ll also find a weekby-week prep schedule (page 24) and more.

ROME HIGH ................................4 ARMUCHEE..................................6 MODEL ........................................8 UNITY...........................................9 PEPPERELL ...............................10 COOSA .......................................12 DARLINGTON.............................13 ADAIRSVILLE ............................14 CALHOUN ..................................15 CEDARTOWN..............................16 CHATTOOGA ..............................17 GORDON CENTRAL ...................18 ROCKMART............................... 19 GSD ...........................................20 SONORAVILLE ...........................21 TRION ........................................23

COLLEGE PREVIEWS SHORTER UNIVERSITY .............25 GEORGIA ...................................26 GEORGIA TECH...........................27

NFL ALTANTA FALCONS....................28

FEATURES COVER STORY ............................3 WEEK-BY-WEEK PREP SCHEDULE ................................24

John Bazemore / The Associated Press

PREP CENTRAL

From shoulder pads to mouse pads, from sidelines to online What’s the next-best thing to having an on-field pass for every game in the area? It’s being logged in to prepcentralonline.com, where you will find video highlights and photo galleries, along with feature stories and game stories, from each team in the area. The site is also the home of the award-winning Gridiron Central show, which features clips and analysis. At prepcentralonline.com, fans will find a team page for each of the schools in Greater Rome, along with numerous schools from outside the local area. The team pages are not limited to just football. They include all the sports — all year long. z Prepcentralonline.com z

ON THE COVER The photo illustration on the front (taken by the Rome News-Tribune’s Ken Caruthers) brings back mental images of glory days of the past. This season, several coaches in the area are instilling some of the ‘old school’ values into their players. See story on page 3 for more.

Rome News-Tribune

PIGSKIN PREVIEW

•

TUESDAY, August 24, 2010

3

Going old school Hunnicutt, Mullinax, Perry and other local coaches are bringing toughness of the past to the present By Alex Farrer and David Dawson Sports Writers

Chad Perry, Lynn Hunnicutt and John Mullinax never shared the same classroom or walked the same campus. Still, it can be said they each earned their coaching degree from the same educational facility — the old school. And make no mistake, all three coaches are proud alumni from football’s fictional institute of higher learning. “I grew up in a small town and played for a coach that was definitely old school, and ‌ the respect that I had for him has been ingrained in my value system and belief system,â€? said Perry, the head coach at Coosa. “I may not be old, but I do feel like some of my coaching styles and principles are definitely old school.â€? Perry is indeed among the younger members of the group, but he fits right in with other coaches in the local chapter of the old-school fraternity. “I think an old school coach stems

Chad

Hunnicutt, Mullinax and Perry are certainly not the only coaches in Floyd County who adhere to the principles and policies of the past. Darlington’s Tommy Atha, Pepperell’s Jeff Shiflett, Unity’s Joe Curtiss and Rome first-year coach Franco Perkins are also proud proponents of old-school football. They each believe that toughness can trump talent on Friday nights. As a result, the football players in the local area are being given a direct connection to the past. John Mullinax “Society has changed, and times from the fact that football is still a have changed — but football hasn’t tough sport played by tough people,â€? changed,â€? said Mullinax. “It’s still said Perry. 11-on-11. It’s still about blocking, That same philosophy is shared by still about tackling. ‌ It’s still about Hunnicutt — the long-time Pepperell having a bigger heart than the guy coach who is entering his first sea- across from you (on the line of scrimson at Model — and Armuchee’s mage).â€? Mullinax. Perry said he believes the princi“Old school coaches believe in cer- ples being taught on the field have tain morals of football,â€? said Hun- the potential to stretch well beyond nicutt. “You need to respect the the two end zones. game. You need to work hard. You “Hopefully (the old-school mindneed to commit to do something with set) teaches them to have respect for your heart and soul.â€? putting hard work into something to see success,â€? said Perry. “Being old school also teaches you about failures as well and how to handle that and bounce back.â€? “If I had to define old school, I would say it’s wrapped around coaches who want to see young men succeed through hard work and not the quick fixes that we see in the higher level of athletes these days.â€? Said Hunnicutt: “To me, (being oldschool) means believing in certain variables in football that you’ve got to have like blocking and tackling. You have to get a lot of reps on just the fundamentals.â€? “Today, the game has changed into a fast break on grass as they call it,â€? said Hunnicutt. “But even though the schemes have changed, it still comes down to blocking and tackling. “You still have to execute the basics.â€? That very phrase is printed on the diplomas at the old school. Perry

Lynn Hunnicutt

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Region realignment The GHSA’s bi-annual shuffling of the region alignments took place again over the summer, and created some new looks — and some potential new rivalries — around the state. Numerous local teams will be effected by the changes, either in terms of having new opponents added to the regular-season schedule, or by the potential match-ups that could await in the postseason. Listed below is a look at the new alignments in the regions that include at least one Greater Rome team: 6-A Bremen Darlington Gordon Lee Mt. Paran Mt. Zion, Carroll St. Francis Trion Walker North Cobb Christian Bowdon 7-AA South Adairsville Coosa Model Pepperell Rockmart River Ridge Armuchee 7-AA North Calhoun Chattooga Dade County Gordon Central Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe Sonoraville North Murray

7-AAA South Cartersville Cedartown Gilmer Murray County Pickens Allatoona 7-AAAA Cass Chattahoochee Forsyth Central Northwest Whitfield Rome High Sequoyah South Forsyth Woodland, Bartow Creekview Lambert Johns Creek ############## NOTE: Two additional local teams, Unity Christian and Georgia School for the Deaf are not included in the GHSA regions. Unity Christian competes in the NCSAA, and GSD plays a non-region schedule.

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4

TUESDAY, August 24, 2010

•

Rome News-Tribune

PIGSKIN PREVIEW

ROME HIGH WOLVES

Wolves likely to make an impact this season:

SCHEDULE Aug. 27 Sept. 3 Sept. 10 Sept. 17 Sept. 24 Oct. 1 Oct. 8 Oct. 15 Oct. 29 Nov. 5

Johns Creek Cass Woodland, Bartow Forsyth Central Sequoyah Creekview Northwest Whitfield South Forsyth Lambert Chattoochee

Home Away Away Home Home Away Home Away Home Away

ROSTER

#21 Teddy Lawrence, Sr., SS/RB

#90 Zack Poole, Sr., DE/TE

#12 Chad Barton, Jr., QB

#57 Joe Claytor, Jr., OL

#9 Stephon Moseley, Jr., MLB

Lawrence was an All-State defender two years ago and is one of the leaders of the Wolves athletic defense.

Poole has the ability to block and make catches at tight end. He will also be the conductor of Rome’s defensive line.

Barton split time with Malcolm Watkins at quarterback last season, but will be the main man directing the Wolves offense in 2010.

Claytor will help lead the offensive line and will be responsible for paving the way for the numerous running backs Rome will have.

Moseley is another in the long line of talented linebackers from Rome in the past few years, and should be a tackling machine in 2010.

Pertinent questions for head coach Franco Perkins:

RN-T: How much did missing the playoffs last season motivate your team? PERKINS: We feel like we should always be a playoff contender. One of the things that we’ve talked about and used over the summer was just competing every time out on the field and in every drill we did. We feel like we’re going to use that as motivation. One of our goals always is to be a playoff team and contender. Looking at the region, we definitely feel like we can be one of the top four teams in the region.

RN-T: How does a full region schedule change things and how strong is the newly redesigned region? PERKINS: One of the things we looked at is that we don’t know a lot about a Johns Creek or a Lambert or even a Chattahoochee. Johns Creek and Lambert are both new schools in their second year, but in that area those schools seem to grow and get good in a hurry. Woodland and Cass, we know are very athletic and a lot like us. We know that those two games we’ve got to come out and be firing on all cylinders. In the middle of the season is the toughest part of the schedule with Sequoyah, Creekview and Northwest Whitfield in a row. Those are the three teams that we think will be in the playoff hunt at the end of the season. I think all the teams are excited about being

Coach Perkins in the new region, and all of them feel the line of scrimmage and control the like we do, like they all have a shot to ball. We want to be sound on defense, be in the playoff hunt. but mainly it’s going to depend on how quickly our offensive and defensive RN-T: What area of the game does lines mature. We feel like if we can your team need to do well in order to control the line of scrimmage then we be successful in your first season as can win football games. We are young head coach? up front, but if those guys can mature PERKINS: Our team is definitely go- fast and get some games and experiing to depend on our offensive and ence under their belt, we can be sucdefensive fronts. We want to control cessful.

Key factor to the Wolves’ success: The Wolves are trying to bounce back from missing the playoffs last season for the first time since 1999. If they can run the ball effectively and stay away from turnovers, they should be toward the top of the region come playoff time in Franco Perkins’ first year at the helm.

2009 RESULTS Aug. 28 East Paulding Sep. 4 Hillgrove Sep. 11 Paulding Co. Sep. 18 Cass Sep. 25 Sequoyah Oct. 2 Woodland Oct. 9 Murray County Oct. 16 NW Whitfield Oct. 22 Dalton Nov. 6 S. Paulding

L, 25-22 L, 14-3 W, 29-14 W, 27-20 L, 13-12 L, 27-14 W, 35-0 L, 17-13 L, 35-21 W, 35-14

ALL-TIME STATE PREP PASSING LEADERS Name School Year Yards 1. Jeremy Privett, Charlton County, 2003, 3710 2. Hutson Mason, Lassiter, 2008, 3705 3. Brian Ellis, Peach Co., 2006, 3648 4. Wesley Hill, Crisp Co., 2001, 3351 5. Robert Johnson, Americus, 2000, 3279 6. Chad Bryant, Dooly Co., 2003, 3245 7. Fabian Walker, Americus, 1998, 3187 8. Drew Little, Henry Co., 2007, 3172 9. Mashard McKnight, Ware Co., 1999, 3101 8. Dwight Dasher Charlton County 2005 3,091 9. Al Pinkins Mitchell-Baker 1989 3,090

10. Cedric Johnson Americus 2003 3,077 11. Tony Palgman Wesleyan 2005 3,061 12. Tyler Horne Newnan 2003 3,057 13. Zach Stanford Metter 2003 3,029 14. Bradd Schlosser North Gwinnett 2004 2,946 15. Matt Wyrick Norcross 1991 2,913 16. David Rooks Carrollton 1997 2,863 17. Stan Bounds Valdosta 1971 2,785 18. Zach Stanford Metter 2002 2,757 19. Fabian Walker Americus 1996 2,697 20. Eric Jones SW DeKalb 1983 2,671 *Through 2009

Number 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 89 90

Name Jeremy Wells C.J. Diamond Bobby McCrary Chris Brown Jamie Cooper T.J Houston Cameron Montgomery Bo Tucker Stephon Moseley Kenneth Hood Ansel Beachem Chad Barton Davontea Mallett Aaron Thompson Veshawn Bell Sam Loyd Chris Carter Javier Houston Horace Booker Antarius Finley Teddy Lawrence Brian Moore Jordan McClure Joseph Fincher Richard Sullivan Jaylen Johnson Tay Covington Leif Womack Josh Mostilier Ladrell Cammon D.J. Milner John Allen Chris McDay Mryon Washington Shon Bullock Tre Montgomery Jarod Cole Talley Hodges Jordan Hood JB Williams Titus Daniels Antoine Ellis Jay McKnight Jeremy Smith Tim Johnson Devin Irvin Ben Burge Frank Griffin Taylor Williams Hogan Barris Darius Montgomery Jonathan Hull Jaylen Hull Cristian Jaco Joe Claytor Devonte Jones Nicholas Gulow David Holbrook Darice Parks Camerson Johnson Darius McCord Kyle Collins T.J Williamson Cameron Richardson Alex Crow Josh Smith Nick Julson Nick Gibson Jose Perez Malcolm High Aaron Kirksey Dondre Johnson Antarius Reynolds Dustin Barnes Martin Soto Traven Smith David Sims Tracey Long Tevin Garrett Steven Walker Thaddeus Barrett Darien Parks Jamarie Sloman Spencer Wills Javez Williamson Zack Poole

Year 10 12 11 10 11 12 10 9 11 11 12 12 9 11 11 10 10 10 9 10 10 9 11 10 9 10 10 9 11 11 12 12 12 9 10 9 10 12 12 12 12 9 9 10 11 9 9 9 11 9 10 12 10 11 11 12 9 11 12 10 9 10 9 11 10 11 11 12 10 9 9 10 12 11 11 12 11 10 9 11 9 10 9 11 9 12

Rome News-Tribune

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7:30pm

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7:30pm

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Oct. 15 Bowdon

7:30pm

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Oct. 22 Trion

7:30pm

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Oct. 29 Walker

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Nov. 5 Gordon Lee

7:30pm

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Aug. 27 Starrs Mill

7:30pm Away

Sept. 3 Gordon Cental

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Sept. 11 N.Murray

7:30pm Away

Sept. 17 Heard Cty.

7:30pm (Home)

Sept. 25 Model

7:30pm (Home)

Oct. 1 Adairsville

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Oct. 8 NW Whitfield CY 8:00pm (Home - Barron) Oct. 15 S.Forsyth

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6

TUESDAY, August 24, 2010

•

Rome News-Tribune

PIGSKIN PREVIEW

ARMUCHEE INDIANS

SCHEDULE

Indians likely to make an impact this season:

Aug. 27 Sept. 3 Sept. 10 Sept. 17 Oct. 1 Oct. 8 Oct. 15 Oct. 22 Oct. 29 Nov. 5

Trion Calhoun Chattooga Dade County Pepperell Adairsville Model Rockmart Coosa Region Play-In

Home Away Away Away Home Home Away Away Home Home

ROSTER #23 Jake Nix, Sr., LB/RB A four-year starter and regarded as one of the best linebackers in the region, Nix is drawing interest from numerous college recruiters. He will see action on both sides of the ball this season, and will likely have more impact on offense than he has in his first three seasons.

#77 L.A. Dunaway, Sr., DE/OT

#68 Ben McWhorter, Sr., DE/OT

#19 Blake Poole, Sr., RB/LB

#50 Brock Wilson, Sr., C/DL

Fitting the description of “a player with a great motor,” Dunaway has been a mainstay for Armuchee for the past four seasons. He was among the main components last season in helping Armuchee’s defense develop a reputation as one of the best in the area.

Serving as a leader on and off the field, McWhorter has been a four-year starter and a catalyst in helping Armuchee make the move from the bottom of the region to playoff participant.

A multi-talented player who makes his presence felt on both sides of the ball, Poole is regarded as one of the top athletes on the Armuchee roster. He earned a starting job as a freshman, and has kept it.

The immovable anchor of Armuchee’s line, Wilson was a key element in Armuchee’s transition to the option attack last season. Considered small for his position, Brock has played big for the Indians.

Pertinent questions for head coach John Mullinax:

RN-T: Do you think there will be a spill-over effect for your team this year in regard to attitude and confidence after winning the subregion championship last year and qualifying for the playoffs for the first time since 1999? MULLINAX: In terms of confidence, I think we’ve reached the point where the kids have gone from hoping they will win to believing that they will. There is a positive mindset with our kids now that wasn’t always there. Let’s put it this way: We aren’t beat before we even get to the game anymore, and that didn’t used to be the case. In my mind, everything really began to change for us when we beat Chattooga (in 2008). That 16-15 win was that one significant win that we needed in order for the guys to really believe that all the hard work they were doing was paying off. RN-T: With back-to-back winning seasons, it seems like your team has officially turned the corner. But which is more difficult — rebuilding the program after several down years or maintaining a level of success once the rebuilding process has taken hold? MULLINAX: I’d have to say sustaining success is the toughest part. But our approach to that is developing consistency throughout the whole program — and the way to do that is by getting

Coach Mullinax your JV involved This year, for example, we aren’t just looking at 2010, but also at 2011 and (beyond). And that’s how you have to do it. That’s the only way you can really stay ahead of it.

ness is the key to it all. The kids have to realize that this isn’t middle school anymore, and you don’t get a trophy just for playing. It’s pretty easy to see who is here to work, and who is here just for the Chick-fil-A sandwhich. RN-T: Who, or what, do you think will Someone recently told our football be the difference makers for your team team that ‘fear is unacceptable’ in this this year? game. And that is the bottom line, MULLINAX: I think mental tough- right there.

Key factor to the Indians’ success: The Indians are going to rely heavily this season on their seniors, including a foursome of four-year starters that will anchor both sides of the ball. The performance of that group will likely determine if the Indians can maintain their success this year after the graduation of several key players from last year’s 7-AA South championship team, including T.C. Boyd, Jason Vasser and Jake Schmidt.

Trion N. Paulding Dade County Model Chattooga Pepperell Coosa Temple Rockmart Calhoun

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Name Jordan Reeves Jordan Gossett Dawson Littlejohn Matt Fellers Marcel Hudson Emanuel Fernandez Dequaylon Dennis Hogan Brock Zach Payne Jacob Farmer Hayden Vaughn Ty Slade Jake Goss Dalton Hyde Ben Coleman Mark Broome Blake Poole Dylan Wright Avery Anderson Brandon Osborne Jake Nix Trey Pledger Brandon New Anthony Shippey Tyler Lefevers Zach Beck Austin Ludwig Cedric Boehm Jason Selman Austin Gurley Brock Wilson Boyd Butler Casey Evertt Alex Rogers Michael Velasquez Corey Nickles Hayden Sizemore Cody Hughes Brian Rogers Austin Stanley Ari Van Winkle Caleb Neiber Jacob Barnett Tanner Boyd Cole Autrey Hunter Abney Jordan Abney Dylan Cockerham Dakota Miller Bryant Speed Grant McCarley Jake Lewis Ben McWhorter Hunter Johnson Mason Minshew Trey Hart Jordan Everett Markevus Beard Brennan Crider L.A. Dunaway Tristen Thompson Dalton Hightower Carsten Boehm Grant Abney Dawson Edwards Jordan Dejesus Tyler Proux

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2009 RESULTS Aug. 29 Sep. 4 Sep. 11 Sep. 18 Sep. 25 Oct. 2 Oct. 16 Oct. 23 Oct. 30 Nov. 6

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Rome News-Tribune

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8

TUESDAY, August 24, 2010

•

Rome News-Tribune

PIGSKIN PREVIEW

MODEL BLUE DEVILS

Devils likely to make an impact this season:

SCHEDULE Aug. 27 Sept. 3 Sept. 10 Sept. 17 Sept. 25 Oct. 1 Oct. 22 Oct. 29 Nov. 5

Gordon Central Sonoraville LFO River Ridge Coosa Rockmart Adairsville Pepperell Region Play-In

Away Home Away Home Away Away Away Home Home

ROSTER

#58 Lane Morris, Sr., DL

#52 Zach Pilcher, Sr., LB

#21 Weston Tate, Sr., LB

#72 Edgar Miranda, Sr., DL

#7 Dustin Fincher, Jr., QB

Morris will be an anchor on the defensive line and also a senior leader for the Devils.

Head coach Lynn Hunnicutt said he is depending on his senior class and Pilcher should lead by example at the linebacker position.

Tate was an All-Area selection last season and should pick up right where he left off as a leader for Model.

Miranda, along with Morris, should have a big impact on the overall success of the defensive line.

Fincher’s athletic ability should help him be able to make plays while directing Model’s offense.

Pertinent questions for head coach Lynn Hunnicutt:

RN-T: What is the biggest thing you’ve tried to instill in this team since being named head coach last spring? HUNNICUTT: Attitude and work ethic. Doing something and doing it right. Being accountable for your work ethic and responsibilities not only to your teammates but to the whole football program. Those are the first things — attitude and an energized, intense work ethic. RN-T: What phase of the game would you like your team to hang its hat on? HUNNICUTT: I’ve told our team we’ve got to be able to run some of our base stuff. We’ve got certain plays that we’ve got to make work. Most of them will be runs, and we have hit that home with our players. And then from there, we will be able to get to a little more finesse and gadget plays, or whatever you want to call it. We’ve got a certain series of plays, probably about five, that we have to be able to execute. We have to be able to block and have the backs attacking the line of scrimmage.

Coach Hunnicutt

happen for this season to be considered a success? HUNNICUTT: No. 1, I think we need to hang in through any kind of adversity. Understand that we are trying to build a program. We’ve got to take a competitive personality in everything we do, and that’s what I’ve been hitting home on and off the field to have a competitive personality. That means compete at all times, no matter what the situation, whether RN-T: In your opinion, what has to you’re up or down, or under adversity,

just compete. That’s the type of personality that I expect us to grow into. And if that happens, I think we will be overachievers. That’s the key is I believe in kids overachieving. We might not ever have the biggest, fastest or strongest, but you can go out there and play hard and overachieve and play to win. Then we can assess what happens from there, and then go out the next week and do things a little better and a little harder.

Key factor to the Devils’ success: The Blue Devils will have to learn fast from Hunnicutt, and how quickly they adjust to him will have a big impact on their success. Keep in mind that they are coming off a 1-9 season, so finding success might be a building process in Shannon.

No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 17 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 27 31 32 33 35 42 44 48 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 60 65 66 67 69 72 73 74 76 88 77 80 81

Name Jamal Milligan Cameron O’Neal Chris Hill Austin Price Caleb Woods Arius Ofum Dustin Fincher Devante Watkins Eddie McCluskey Alex Reyes Nate Turner Kyle Godfrey Tyler Everett Josh Haywood Cole Clark Karicka Culberson Micah Turner Tripp Bishop Weston Tate Hector Cornejo Rashaad Russell Zach Baker Kyle Smith Tyrece Dammond J.C. Fisher Josh Hightower Cameron Ingram Tyler Wood Nakia Watkins James Brown Kirstin Gordon Jacob Lambert Zach Pilcher Jeffery Haralson Keegan Green Brett Wright Tyler Shipp Tyler Sutherland Lane Morris Evan Roden Marcus Alford Kory Fowler Malachi House Lee Justice Edgar Miranda Lance Morris Ken Woods Remington Williams Alec Jones Justin Nelson Chris Wright Brett Rush

2009 RESULTS Aug. 28 Sep. 4 Sep. 11 Sep. 18 Sep. 25 Oct. 3 Oct. 16 Oct. 23 Oct. 30 Nov. 6

Gordon Central Southeast Whitfield Trion Armuchee Adairsville Coosa Temple Rockmart Pepperell Sonoraville

L, 22-13 L, 23-21 L, 14-7 L, 27-0 L, 28-0 L, 23-14 W, 42-8 L, 9-0 L, 34-0 L, 30-10

ALL-TIME STATE PREP TOUCHDOWN LIST

File photo / Rome News-Tribune

Model quarterback Dustin Fincher (7) will lead the Blue Devils’ offense this season.

Name School Year TDs 1. Washaun Ealy, ECI, 2007, 58 2. Darius Walker, Buford, 2003, 46 3. Herschel Walker, Johnson Co., 1979, 45 3. Charles Grant, Miller Co., 1997, 45 5. Jessie Miller, Washington Co., 1997, 42 6. Rod Perrymond, Dunwoody, 1993, 40 7. Cedric Jones, Lowndes, 1980, 38 7. Michael Cooper, Screven Co., 2001, 38 7. Michael Hicks Robert E. Lee 1991 38 7. Amel Jackson Mariettaw 1991 38 8. Brett Millican, Parkview, 1995, 37 9. Alfred Rawls, Wilcox Co., 1985, 36 10. Garrison Hearst, Lincoln Co., 1989, 36 11. Debrale Smiley Thomas Co. Cn 2007 36 11. Tyson Browning Oconee Co. 1999 36 13. Robert Toomer Worth Co. 1991 35 13. Brandon Walker Forest Park 1995 35 13. Elijah Clark Hawkinsville 2002 35 16. Michael Terry Americus 2002 34 16. Monte Williams Commerce 1998 34 16. Don Calloway Miller Co. 1999 34 16. Greg Cooper Washington Co. 1996 34 16. Earnest Palmer Brunswick 1999 34 16. Cameron Smith Brookwood 2005 34 16. Jermaine Austin McIntosh Co. Acad. 2000 34

Rome News-Tribune

PIGSKIN PREVIEW

•

TUESDAY, August 24, 2010

UNITY CHRISTIAN LIONS

Lions likely to make an impact this season:

SCHEDULE Aug. 20 Sept. 3 Sept. 10 Sept. 17 Sept. 25 Oct. 1 Oct. 8 Oct. 22

Covenant Christian East Atlanta North Georgia Northside Christian HSD Holy Ground Georgia Force Christian Heritage

Away Home Home Away Home Home Away Away

ROSTER

#56 Lucas Blankenship, Jr., OL/DL

#2 Jamal Hoskins, Sr., RB/LB

#12 Jackson Bishop, Jr., QB

#17 Ethan Trawick, Jr., LB/RB

Pertinent questions for head coach Joe Curtiss:

RN-T: What are you looking for from your team in its second year of varsity football? CURTISS: Just to get better. We have to see improvement. That’s key for us right now. I want to see us improving.

RN-T: How do you hope to improve on last year’s success? CURTISS: Well, last year we made it (to the playoffs) more because of our schedule. Our thing this year is, I want

#5 Reece Bryant, Sr., LB/WR

us to win the close ball games. I’d like to make the playoffs and know that I made it because we’re supposed to be there. Even if we didn’t make the playoffs, but we played better, I’d be happy. RN-T: What obstacles does your team face? CURTISS: For us, the big thing is depth. We’ve got about 30 kids, (and) we’re younger. We had some seniors leave.

No. 2 3 5 7 8 9 10 12 15 17 21 22 23 24 27 29 50 53 55 56 58 60 62 66 68 70 71 72 75 77 80

Name Jamal Hoskins Nick Fingerlie Reece Bryant Zach Chestnut Spencer Lundy Grady Nall Rosser Stevens Jackson Bishop Corbin Turner Ethan Trawick Anderson Krueger Richard Cooper Joshua Trapp Noah Jackson Joel Bowers Adam Gifford Caleb Payne Jacob Stepp Aaron Harper Lucas Blankenship Jordan Monroe Colin Howard J.R. Weeks Tyler Baker Andrew Maddox Noal Hamil Christian Turkett Graham Turkett Joshua Williams Will Littlefield Noah Bielstein

Coach Curtiss

Key factor to the Lions’ success: Coach Curtiss said his team needs to work on becoming fundamentally better. “For us to do that ‌ if we just take steps on our offensive line, defense and tackling, we’ll make huge improvements.â€?

Year 12 11 12 11 9 12 8 11 8 11 8 11 8 8 8 10 10 10 10 11 11 8 8 10 12 9 8 11 11 8 8

2009 RESULTS Aug. 21 Aug. 29 Sept. 4 Sept. 11 Sept. 19 Oct. 8 Oct. 16 Oct. 23

Holy Ground Faith Covenant NCC Northside Christian Crown Knights Pauling Bartow Crown

L, 8-7 W, 14-8 L, 34-7 W, 28-8 L, 44-7 L, 24-13 W, 31-12 L, 35-7

PLAYOFFS NCC

Oct. 30

L, 48-0

)DQ WKH )ODPHV *R 0RGHO %OXH 'HYLOV *RRG /XFN ,Q 7KH 6HDVRQ 2010 BLUE DEVILS Football Schedule Aug. 27 - at Gordon Central Sept. 03 - Sonoraville* Sept. 10 - at Lakeview Ft. Oglethorpe Sept. 17 - River Ridge* Sept. 25 - at Coosa Oct. 1 - at Rockmart Oct. 15 - Armuchee* Oct. 22 - at Adairsville Oct. 29 - Pepperell* Nov. 05 - Region Playoff

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9

10

TUESDAY, August 24, 2010

•

Rome News-Tribune

PIGSKIN PREVIEW

PEPPERELL DRAGONS

Dragons likely to make an impact this season:

#44 Dakota Ball, Jr., DL/TE

#70 Kyle Harris, Sr., OT

#5 Janier Ferguson, So., RB

#11 Kyle Shiflett Sr., FS/QB

#3 Caleb Freeman, Sr., WR

Ball is a load for anyone to block on the D-line, and will basically serve as an extra tackle when he is at tight end. He is considered one of the top recruits in the area — and beyond.

The Georgia Tech commit will lead a big, experience offensive line that will help the Dragons control the clock with a hard-nosed running game.

Ferguson burst onto the scene last season as a freshman and will be the featured back for Pepperell. He has speed to burn and also likes to dish out punishing contact.

Shiflett is an athletic player who helps direct the defense. He could also take some of the reps at quarterback as the Dragons look to replace three-year starter Jonathan Watters.

Freeman is a speedy wide receiver that should help take some of the pressure off the running game. He had off-season shoulder surgery, but should 100 percent for Week 1.

Pertinent questions for head coach Jeff Shiflett:

RN-T: One of your offensive linemen recently said that this should be the best offensive line Pepperell has ever had. Do you agree with that and how key is that group to your team’s success? SHIFLETT: We’ve got a chance to start five seniors, and that’s always a positive thing from a leadership standpoint. They’ve got to come together and work extremely hard. They’re going to be a huge key to our success because we want to control the tempo of the game through our offensive line. We started five seniors this past week in the scrimmage and played six or seven on the line throughout the game so that’s going to be a very important part of our team, and we need for them to come on and be the leaders that I think they can be.

RN-T: After almost three full years of Jonathan Watters starting at quarterback, what’s it going to be like breaking in a new quarterback, especially with the team’s tough early schedule? SHIFLETT: It’s always tough to break in a new quarterback. But I feel this summer both our two quarterbacks that are going to get a lot of the reps have had good summers. They are both all-around good athletes that understand the game. Of course, it helps an awful lot when you do have five seniors in front of you (on the offensive line) so we’re hoping for a smooth transition. RN-T: Does five straight trips to the playoffs put more pressure on your team and how do you keep that going? SHIFLETT: Well, we’re just like everybody else, you’ve just got to try and get better every week. There’s a lot of things that can happen between now and the end of the season — like health and injuries. So you want to make sure that you take it one week at a time and just get better

SCHEDULE Aug. 27 Sept. 3 Sept. 10 Sept. 17 Oct. 1 Oct. 8 Oct. 15 Oct. 22 Oct. 29 Nov. 5

Cartersville Chattooga Calhoun Central-Carroll Armuchee Rockmart Adairsville Coosa Model Region Play-In

Away Home Away Home Away Home Away Home Away Home

Key factor to the Dragons’ success: The Dragons will once again feature a smash-mouth style of offense with running back Janier Ferguson running behind a big, experienced offensive line. The questions will come when teams start to stack eight and nine guys in the box to stop that. If they can develop enough of a passing game for those situations, they could be a dangerous team that could make noise in the playoffs.

ALL-TIME STATE PREP RECEIVING LIST Name School Year Yards 1. Da’Rick Rogers, Calhoun, 2009, 1642 2. Tavarres King, Habersham Central, 2007, 1641 3. John Harris, Americus, 2000, 1581 4. Stan Rome, Valdosta, 1971, 1573 5. Blake Gowder, Union Co., 2008, 1453 6. Justin Williams, Charlton Co., 2005, 1436 7. Chris Jackson, Henry Co., 2007, 1432 8. Jermain Allen, Americus, 2002, 1430 9. Chris Slaughter, Peach Co., 2005, 1401 10. Chris Richards, Cherokee, 1999, 1400

Best Wishes & Good Luck To All Our Area Schools in the 2010 Season!

Coach Shiflett each and every week. You want to work to be playing your best football when you get to the subregion. That’s our goal, and that’s been our goal every year. That’s the way you’ve got to take it. If you try to look at the end first, then all the sudden you’re going to get a little overwhelmed. So we’re taking it one day at a time. We always talk about getting better each day because if you’re not getting better then you’re getting worse. You don’t stay the same.

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Rome News-Tribune

PIGSKIN PREVIEW

•

TUESDAY, August 24, 2010

11

PEPPERELL ROSTER No. 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

Name Jonathon Dennis Alex Rickman Caleb Freeman Mark Green Janier Ferguson Austin Adams Landon Brooks Corbin Arnold Dalton Gowens Drew Hall Kyle Shiflett Evan Ashley Jamarian Harper Kyle Henderson Nick Nelson Bryce Adams Bradley Adams Noah Whorton Chris Cox Darrius Fugh Drake Cook Stryker Floyd Macon Huckaby Ben Davenport Timothy Sharpe Anthony Dillard Dylan Wright Hunter Burkhalter Jared Hensley Ryan Forsyth

Year 10 9 12 10 10 10 10 12 9 11 11 9 11 10 12 10 10 10 12 10 10 9 12 10 10 12 12 10 10 9

No. 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

Name Michael Barwick Richard Ledford Skylar Jones Dameon Hughes Zach Gaylor Zach Tyree Greg Smith Eric Vaughn Mason Clark Dekembe Smith Jarquavious Stamey Kolton Hennon Trey Jackson Dakota Ball Dillon Nails Destin Herron Hunter Parris Jason Haynes Dallas Conway Jarvis Heath Mason Nelson Jesse Gregory Adam Green Cameron Sharpe Robby Scoggins Cristian Martinez Austin Pointer Josh Byars Tripp Kines Brenden Cash

Year 10 10 10 12 11 12 11 10 11 9 10 12 11 11 11 9 11 9 9 12 12 10 12 9 9 11 10 10 10 12

No. 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90

Name Jack Bevis Jesse Maynor Mitchell Scoggins Luke Tolbert David Boaz Andrew Outlaw Corey Shiflett Ben Cheesemen Trippe Hobbs Kyle Harris Andrew Fednander B.J. Garrett Taylor Bates Hayden Owen Erick Carr Chance Bragg Chris Ford Allen Chambers Jacob Walker Luke Scoggins Zach Dillard Dylan Brooks Detrail North Justin Smith Andy Dodd T.J. Choat Joe Wilson Favian Graham Jaime Kelley Michael Legg

Year 9 10 12 9 9 10 11 10 9 12 11 11 10 9 10 10 9 10 10 11 9 9 11 9 10 9 9 11 9 9

2009 RESULTS Aug. 28 Sep. 4 Sep. 11 Sep. 25 Oct. 2 Oct. 9 Oct. 23 Oct. 30 Nov. 6

Paulding County Cedartown Villa Rica Gordon Central Armuchee Temple Coosa Model Adairsville

W, 27-7 W, 45-13 W, 35-14 W, 32-7 L, 15-14 W, 41-0 W, 34-19 W, 34-0 W, 29-26

CLASS AA PLAYOFFS Nov. 13

Buford

L, 24-0

)HHO GUDJRQ KHDW Go Pepperell High School Dragons Good Luck In 2010 Season &

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Cartersville 7:30pm Chattooga 7:30pm Calhoun 7:30pm Central Carroll 7:30pm Armuchee 7:30pm Rockmart 7:30pm Adairsville 7:30pm Coosa 7:30pm Model 7:30pm 7AA Playoff 7:30pm

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3100 Maple Road, Lindale, GA 30147

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DRAGONS

12

TUESDAY, August 24, 2010

•

Rome News-Tribune

PIGSKIN PREVIEW

COOSA EAGLES

SCHEDULE

Eagles likely to make an impact this season:

Aug. 27 Sept. 3 Sept. 10 Sept. 17 Sept. 25 Oct. 1 Oct. 15 Oct. 22 Oct. 29 Nov. 5

Starr’s Mill Gordon Central North Murray Heard County Model Adairsville Rockmart Pepperell Armuchee Region Play-In

Away Home Away Home Home Away Home Away Away Home

ROSTER

#26 Ryan Packer, Jr., LB/RB

#14 Jared Vancuren, Sr., FS/QB

#72 Adam Corbin, Sr., OL/DL

#60 Dustin Putnam, Sr., OL/DL

#52 Todd Rogers, Sr., OL/DL

Packer will be asked to fill the void left by the injury to Coty Dodson. Coach Chad Perry said Packer is the most versatile athlete on the team.

Vancuren will be the defensive leader for the Eagles, and could also be called upon to take some reps as backup quarterback.

Corbin is one of the anchors of the front line on both sides of the ball for Coosa with a good bit of experience.

Putnam will team up with two other seniors to form a cohesive, experienced offensive and defensive line.

Rogers has worked his way up from the scout team two years ago to turn into a solid starter for the Eagles.

Pertinent questions for head coach Chad Perry:

RN-T: How much did that Dade County game at the end of last season leave a bad taste in your team’s mouth and drive them in the offseason? PERRY: We don’t dwell on that. The 2009 season was what it was, and we knew going into it we were going to be young. We played 12 sophomores last year, and now my junior class this year is made up of 21 juniors who most have some experience. We had to do some things in that game as far as playing several guys and looking ahead to the 2010 season. We were trying to play some young kids that we wanted to get a look at to prepare for the offseason and look towards this season. So we haven’t even brought that game up to our kids because as soon as that one was over we felt like the 2010 season had started. This is a new group with a different mentality. They are a good group and it seems like our team chemistry has increased over the last four or five weeks in fall camp.

RN-T: How do you replace guys like Desmond Curtis and David Masters that made such a big impact last year? PERRY: This is actually my first year as head coach at Coosa where I feel like we are the most well-rounded. I feel like our skill positions is where our depth is this year. Our lines don’t have that much depth, but I feel like we’re going to be able to balance out our offensive attack as far as spreading the ball out a little more. It’s the first time that we’ve lined up and had three receivers that are 6-3 or better. We feel like we are going to be able to do some things offensively to keep it spread around. Defensively, you can’t replace a David or a Desmond because those were tough young men that proCoach Perry vided tremendous leadership for us. But we’ve got a little bit better team speed on defense than we’ve had in the past and So we don’t have a break in the schedule. We’re going to be a team that must accomplish two things. No. 1 is show that’s going to be a good asset for our 2010 season. up every Friday night ready to play a game because every RN-T: How does being an underdog in the subregion mo- win is going to count as far as postseason play. No. 2 is tivate your team? going to be staying healthy. If we can maintain health, we PERRY: Flying under the radar is fine with me. There’s feel like we’ll have a chance to be competitive every Friday no doubt it’s going to be a very competitive region. Los- night. We’re not deep enough where we can sustain a ing Temple and gaining Adairsville just made it that much whole lot of injuries though. But I feel good about our more competitive. You’ve got Rockmart, Pepperell, team. Our junior class is strong and our senior class has Adairsville, Armuchee and now Coach (Lynn) Hunnicutt great leadership and we know we’re going to be in for a at Model and you know they’re going to be a better team. battle every week.

No. 2 3 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 42 44 46 47 48 51 52 53 55 56 57 59 60 62 64 65 66 67 71 72 73 74 75 76 78 80 81 83 85 86

Name Brandon Wilkins Drew Osborne Seth Keith Denver Penney Brooke Bingham Nick LeClear Jake Richardson Steven Walters Tyler Smith Dishon Glanton John Mulkey Jared Vancuren Antoine Smith Michael Dowdy Jeremy Awalt Dominique Billups Isaac Bradley Zac Hale Troy Case Logan Agan Jay Ware Austin Cline Ryan Packer Camey Hannah Zack Gresham Dakota Ray Ben Masters Calean Carter Dylan Simmons Barkley Wimpee Coty Dodson Bryan Marshall Kris Easterwood Max Bowie Nick Sprayberry Tyler Chastain Darius Hall Alex Lawrence Logan Watkins Brett Stansell Brandon Lambert Todd Rogers Seth Broome Ben Corbin Ryne Justice Lucas Maynor Trent Heard Dustin Putnam Aiden Watkins Austin Terry Jordan Edmondson Brandon Terry William Santizo Dani Elias Adam Corbin Garrett Collins Justin Abbott B.J. Morgan Justin Warren Daniel Gentry Thomas Castleman Tyler Bradley Jackson White Chamian Perkins Dustin Brown

Year 12 12 10 10 11 12 10 12 9 11 9 12 9 12 9 9 9 12 12 9 10 9 10 9 12 11 10 9 11 10 12 11 10 9 9 10 12 9 11 9 11 12 11 11 9 9 10 12 9 11 11 11 9 10 12 9 10 10 12 11 11 11 11 11 11

2009 RESULTS Aug. 28 Sep. 11 Sep. 18 Sep. 25 Oct. 3 Oct. 9 Oct. 16 Oct. 23 Oct. 30 Nov. 6

LFO Cedartown Central, Carroll Calhoun Model Rockmart Armuchee Pepperell Temple Dade County

L, 28-7 W, 23-6 L, 16-14 L, 47-16 W, 23-14 L, 18-12 L, 24-19 L, 34-19 W, 40-12 L, 47-6

Key factor to the Eagles’ success: Having already lost Coty Dodson to a knee injury, Coosa needs to stay away from any other health issues if the Eagles want to be toward the top of the subregion, competing for a playoff spot.

STATE RECORDS

Ken Caruthers / Rome News-Tribune

Coosa’s Brandon Lambert is taken down by Nick LeClear during one of the Eagles’ practice sessions earlier this month.

Georgia Prep Records Yards Rushing, Single Game 476 — Don Calloway, Miller County vs. Lanier Co., Sept. 3, 1999 (15 carries) Yards Rushing, Single Season 3,172 — Daccus Turman, Washington-Wilkes (2000) Yards Rushing, Career 8,844 — Monte Williams, Commerce (1997-2000) Carries, Single Game 54 — Brian Smith, Pepperell vs. Villa Rica, Nov. 18, 1994

Carries, Single Season 390 — Daccus Turman, Washington-Wilkes (2000) Carries, Career 1,222 — Robert Toomer, Worth County (1988-91) Rushing Touchdowns, Single Game 8 — Don Calloway, Miller County vs. Lanier Co., Sept. 3, 1999 (15 carries) Rushing Touchdowns, Single Season 46 — Darius Walker, Buford (2003) Rushing Touchdowns, Career 111 — Matt Dunham, Pacelli (2001-04)

Rome News-Tribune

PIGSKIN PREVIEW

•

TUESDAY, August 24, 2010

13

DARLINGTON TIGERS

Tigers likely to make an impact this season:

SCHEDULE Aug. 27 Sept. 3 Sept. 10 Sept. 17 Sept. 24 Oct. 8 Oct. 15 Oct. 22 Oct. 29 Nov. 5

Sonoraville Cartersville Sardis (Ala.) Bremen Mt. Paran Mt. Zion Bowdon Trion Walker Gordon Lee

Away Home Home Away Home Away Home Away Home Away

DARLINGTON ROSTER

#10 Brad Butler, So., QB

#81 Arhur Pollard, Sr., DE

#1 Tev’n Hamilton, Sr., FS

#63 Gavin Lawrence, Jr., T/DT

#6 Cedric Spivey, Jr., RB

Butler had a great freshman season and was a big part of Darlington’s run to the Class A Final Four. He will take on a bigger leadership role this year.

Pollard was an allstate selection in his junior season and was a big part of the Tigers’ stingy D. He can create havoc in opposing backfields.

Hamilton roams the middle of the field with bad intentions for any receiver that comes into his area. He was an all-state selection last year and has great ball skills to go with the big hits.

Lawrence is the an anchor at the point of attack and can create some big holes for Darlington’s bevy of running backs.

Spivey is a speedster that can receive a pitch and take it to the house at any time. He is also a solid receiver out of the backfield for screens and check-offs.

Pertinent questions for head coach Tommy Atha:

RN-T: How did the magical playoff run last season raise expectations for this team? ATHA: We always try to be conscious not to take anything for granted. Our goals are the same every year: We want to have a winning season, win the region and go as far in the playoffs as possible. Last year we were able to accomplish those goals. We understand just how hard that was last year and are doing everything in our power to match and surpass the work ethic of last year’s team. The biggest result from last year’s playoff run has been an increase in the number of players we have. This is the largest number of players we have ever had, which I think shows how important football is in the lives of our kids here at Darlington.

RN-T: A lot of kids got experience last year at crucial times because of the youth of the team. How beneficial was that experience for those guys? ATHA: One of the greatest advantages to playing four playoff games has been the added experience many of our players were able to get. We were able to get in almost half a season worth of practice on top of our regular

No. 1 2 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 14 15 16 17 18 20 21 22 23 24 25 27 28 32 36 37 41 42 44 48 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 62 63 64 65 67 70 71 75 77 78 81 82 83 87 88 90

Name Tev’n Hamilton Davis Page Cameron Gibson Spencer Jones Cedric Spivey Tré Langston David Grindstaff Jeremiah McClure Brad Butler Alec Redden Sam Hait Ben Davidson Luke Cook Jordan Beck Nigel Matthews Logan Rice Ivy Duggan Chaz Williams Will Mathis Breck Tillery Jesse Cook Chandler Duggan Ryan Webster Issac Nichols Christopher Griffin Rashard Perry Russ Arnold Collin Sheffield Banks Mattingly Grant Moss Garrett Morgan Chase Tolbert Jake Collier Gus Vaughn Matt Goldin Saliu Ali Tyler Morris Travis Hayworth Grigsby Gordy Andrew Williams Gavin Lawrence Layton McKenzie Blake Huether Wayne Gammon David Stelly Quinn Simon Henderson Stegall Kendall Gaylor Billy York Arthur Pollard Jordan Muschanp Will Goldin Thomas Gilbert William Gilbert Franklin Schrum

Year 12 10 11 11 11 12 10 9 10 10 9 12 12 9 11 9 11 9 9 10 10 9 12 12 12 11 12 10 12 9 9 11 9 10 11 11 11 9 9 9 11 11 12 10 12 12 12 11 9 12 10 10 9 12 10

2009 RESULTS

Coach Atha season last year. While that doesn’t guarantee anything for us this year, it was certainly beneficial to us from the standpoint of practice time and game experience for our underclassmen. RN-T: How is this year’s team different from last year’s as far as what will be done on the field to try and win games?

ATHA: It’s hard to tell what the big differences are between this team and last year’s team. We have a little more experience in spots than we had last year, but at the same time we lost seven very good players, three of which are now playing at the next level and one who was the Class A Defensive Player of the Year in north Georgia. We will have to get some guys to step up

and grow up for us to even have a chance to be as successful as we were last year. We have worked extremely hard this offseason. We take nothing for granted and stress each and every day that the team is what matters and that all we do is for the benefit of the team. We believe that if our guys buy into that concept then we will always have a chance to be successful.

Aug. 28 Sep. 4 Sep.11 Sep. 18 Sep. 25 Oct. 2 Oct. 9 Oct. 23 Oct. 30 Nov.6

Chattooga Wesleyan Ridgeland Murphy, NC Bowdon Walker Bremen Mt Zion, Carroll Gordon Lee Trion

L, 40-7 L, 35-0 L, 28-0 W, 22-20 W, 23-20 W, 41-20 W, 35-28 W, 40-0 W, 23-7 L, 21-14

CLASS A PLAYOFFS Nov. 13 Nov. 20 Nov. 27

Warren County Commerce Twiggs County

W, 16-14 W, 28-14 W, 17-0

CLASS A SEMIFINALS Dec. 4

Savannah Christian

L, 24-10

Key factor to the Tigers’ success: The Tigers captured the heart of the community last November with a run in the playoffs that was led by a never-say-die, underdog attitude. This year’s team will have to take on that same spirit even though they will no longer be looked at as underdogs, but rather as a power in Class A.

RN-T PLAYERS OF THE WEEK Each week the Rome News-Tribune will select an offensive and defensive player of the week. The selections will be published in the Tuesday print edition of the RN-T throughout the season. Coaches can nominate players for the weekly honor by e-mailing game stats to David Dawson at ddawson@rn-t.com, Alex Farrer at afarrer@rn-t.com and/or Jonathan Blaylock at jblaylock@rn-t.com. Nominations need to be received by 4 p.m. on Mondays.

Ryan Smith / Rome News-Tribune

Darlington’s Jesse Cook tries to get by Whitefield Academy’s Alex Manning during their scrimmage.

14

TUESDAY, August 24, 2010

•

Rome News-Tribune

PIGSKIN PREVIEW

ADAIRSVILLE TIGERS SCHEDULE Aug. 27 Sept. 03 Sept. 10 Sept. 17 Oct. 1 Oct. 8 Oct. 15 Oct. 22 Oct. 29 Nov. 5

Ridgeland Dade County Sonoraville East Hall Coosa Armuchee Pepperell Model Rockmart Region Play-In

Away Home Away Away Home Away Home Home Away Home

Tigers likely to make an impact this season:

ROSTER Number 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 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 61 62 63 64 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 98 99

Name D.D. Wilkey Mike Upshaw Ben Hayes Andrew Ward Ross Kennedy Brandon Cochran Jeremiah Smith Desmond Chester Hiram Velez Cody Kremer Trey Green Christian Howell Coltin Gulledge Jake Powell Kyle Adams Ryan Greenfield Tyler Scott Aaron Hooks Kaylon Carter Josh Cline Austin Bradford Michael Gwin Avery Harris Josh Marshall Trey Gulledge Trent Gulledge Austin Moore Jessie James Matt Childers Tristin Smith Jamone Williams Steven Hawk Easton Jones Jordan McClintick Quinton Burch Keylon Woodard Hayden Randolph Cody Keim Austin Harrell Hunter Smith Cray Spencer Austin Harris Michael Hall Brock Arp Ben Black Zach Brown Braxton West Zach Brown Errone Williams Justin Jones Ryan Hightower Cody Driver Ryan Payne Zack Head Blake Rush Bo DePasquale Denton Smith Tyler Cannon Joseph Bowles Ethan Abernathy Stephen Emmons Dalton Johnson Caleb Forsyth Rance Hightower Nathan Skinner Aaron Wooldridge Cody Bass Spencer Hendrix Bailey Jones Randy Burnett Kimani Hudson Chance Johnson Ricky Temples Michael Toledo Cody Baker Austin James Trey Rollins Chance Fuleki Corey Fuleki Chris Payne Blake Perry Dametrices Pitt Michael Cox Darren McDougal Brett Gutkowski Dakotah Hines Sheldon Lavette Jon Upshaw Cole McCreary John Branton Lee Castro Zach Middleton Zach Reed Michael Cole Nathan Martin Bailey Johnson Andrew Seymour

Year 11 11 12 10 11 12 12 12 10 11 12 11 9 11 10 12 11 12 10 12 12 12 10 10 11 12 11 10 12 9 11 12 12 10 10 9 10 11 11 9 10 9 11 9 12 12 11 11 12 12 11 11 12 10 9 10 9 10 10 12 12 11 12 12 10 11 12 11 9 10 11 11 12 9 11 10 9 11 12 12 12 9 9 9 9 9 9 10 10 10 10 10 9 10 10 9 9

2009 RESULTS Aug. 28 Sep. 4 Sep. 11 Sep. 25 Oct. 2 Oct. 9 Oct. 16 Oct. 23 Oct. 30 Nov. 6

Woodland, Bartow West Forsyth Ringgold Model Dade County Gordon Central Chattooga Sonoraville Calhoun Pepperell

W, 28-20 L, 34-21 L, 13-7 W, 28-0 W, 21-7 W, 55-28 L, 27-7 W, 31-8 L, 34-0 L, 29-26

#52 Ryan Hightower, Jr., C

#61 Ethan Abernathy, Sr., RG

#78 Cody Baker, Jr., RT

#66 Rance Hightower, Sr., LG

#82 Corey Fuleki, Sr., LT

Head coach Jim Kremer said that his team would be as good as the offensive line is. Right in the middle will be Hightower at a crucial position.

Abernathy is a big senior that should help lead the O-line group. His ability to get out and pull in space as a lead blocker will be important to the Tigers running game.

Baker is a big presence on the end of the line, and will be called upon to be a good run and pass blocker for the Tigers.

Like Abernathy, Hightower will be expected to pull out in space and let the running back follow behind him. His experience should be a positive.

Fuleki played tight end last season so he should bring some athleticism to the tackle position. He will be expected to protect the quarterback’s blind side.

Pertinent questions for head coach Jim Kremer:

RN-T: How will the move from 7-AA North to 7-AA South affect your team? KREMER: Really, the South is a mirror image of the North. In the North there’s Calhoun, and the South there’s Pepperell. Up there you got Chattooga, and down here there’s Rockmart. Then, there’s Armuchee that is certainly getting better every year. Model is going to be better with coach Hunnicutt. Coach Perry does a great job at Coosa. So if you want to make a comparison, I think they are very similar. When you combine the whole region, I personally think the region is much better than it was just a few years ago and very competitive. So it’s going to be competitive in the South just like the North. You’ve got a ton of good teams, but there’s only going to be six teams in Game 10, fighting for playoff spots out of 14.

RN-T: After losing some key players from last year’s team (Vic Beasley, Tyré Brown, Catlin Alford), how does your team make up for their absence this season? KREMER: It’s going to be a complete team effort. Those guys were great athletes, and they did a good job for us last year and put us in position to be in the playoffs and we came close. But this year, I see us playing more as a team. Our expectations of how to do it Coach are more instilled at this time. I’m blessed with a really good coaching serve as motivation for this year? staff, and we’ve got some really good KREMER: There really isn’t a day that kids on this team. goes by that I don’t think about it. I’m not dwelling on it, but I do think about RN-T: How much did the close loss it. We lost to a good football team, not to Pepperell at the end of last season to take anything away from Pepperell, drive your team in the offseason and but we lost in the little things — missed

Kremer block here, missed tackle there, missed alignment here or there. And just our inability to concentrate and focus and play as a team. We’ve got good high school football players this year so if we’ll play as a team we’ll have success, barring injury.

Key factor to the Tigers’ success: The Tigers have a tough early schedule as they play three of their first four on the road, including a trip to Ridgeland in Week 1. If they can get through that stretch and build some momentum going into the subregion, they could be a team that is near the top of 7-AA South.

STATE RECORDS Passing Yards, Single Game 524 — Ron Hinson, Lamar County vs. Troup, Nov. 11, 1977 Passing Yards, Single Season 3,710 — Jeremy Privett, Charlton County (2003) Passing Yards, Career 9,062 — Zach Standford, Metter (2001-04) Passing Touchdowns, Single Season

47 — Jeremy Privett, Charlton County (2003) Passing Touchdowns, Career 92 — Jeremy Privett, Charlton County (2000-2003) and Cedric Johnson, Americus-Sumter (2001-2004) Receiving Yards, Single Season 1,642 — Da’Rick Rogers, Calhoun (2009) Receiving Yards, Career

4,343 — Jermain Allen, Americus (20002003) Receiving Touchdowns, Single Season 24 — Chris Slaughter, Peach County (2005) Receiving Touchdowns, Career 57 — Jermain Allen, Americus (20002003) Receptions, Single Season 96 — Raymond Thomas, Crisp County (2001)

Rome News-Tribune

PIGSKIN PREVIEW

•

TUESDAY, August 24, 2010

15

CALHOUN YELLOW JACKETS

Jackets likely to make an impact this season:

SCHEDULE Aug. 27 Sept. 3 Sept. 10 Sept. 17 Oct. 1 Oct. 8 Oct. 15 Oct. 22 Oct. 29 Nov. 5

Dalton Armuchee Pepperell Chattooga Sonoraville North Murray Gordon Central Dade County LFO Region Play-In

Away Home Home Away Home Home Away Away Home Away

ROSTER #5 Dustin Christian, Sr., RB

#2 Landon Curtis, Sr., QB

#63 Gus Roberts, Sr., DE

#3 J.T. Palmer, Sr., WR

#93 Caden Parker, Sr., DL

Christian led the ground game last season for the state runner-up Yellow Jackets. He had 207 carries for 1,322 yards, an average of 6.4 yards per carry. He found the end zone 19 times. He also caught 32 passes for 373 yards and scored twice.

Curtis will provide a double threat this season with his arm and his legs. Last year he completed 38-of-60 passes for 339 yards as a backup. He had three TDs and one interception.

Roberts will help lead the defense for Calhoun this season. Roberts runs a 4.6 40 and recorded 91 tackles for the Yellow Jackets in 2009. He had 10 tackles for a loss, five sacks and one fumble recovery.

Palmer was Calhoun’s second threat last year behind Rogers who has now graduated and taken his talents to Tennessee. Last season Palmer had 51 catches for 651 yards. He found the end zone six times.

Parker is another three-year starter for the Yellow Jackets. Last season he recorded 51 tackles, nine coming for loss. He also had one forced fumble.

Pertinent questions for head coach Hal Lamb:

RN-T: You lost a couple of key players last year (Nash Nance and Da’Rick Rogers), how will the team go about filling the void? LAMB: A good thing about this program is that they know what to expect and I think that the expectations of this program and the senior class is to get back to the state championship and win it. It will be a little bit different because we won’t be as explosive on offense. We had Da’Rick who was explosive and we don’t have that kind of athlete but we do have athletes. We will have to spread the ball around a little more and we will have to get Landon involved with running the football a little more. Defense will be our strength in the beginning. We have five of our front six back and we have some of the secondary back so hopefully we will be better on defense.

RN-T: How does this team compare to your last two teams which reached the state championship game? LAMB: Right now I would compare this team more to the 2008 team than last year’s team. We are in the same ball park as we were two years ago. What I like more about this team is their character, their cohesiveness, their togetherness. They hang around together and the chemistry of the team plays an important role in your success. Outside looking in, if what we are looking at is our chemistry being a little better then that is a positive thing. Hopefully we can win enough games to get back to that point. We have 21 seniors and they are special kids. They have to understand that this

Coach Lamb is their last chance and will have to The only thing that concerns me is poskeep working. I feel really good about sibly having to play someone like this team. Pepperell or Armuchee twice down the road. That is hard to do. We have a RN-T: What are your thoughts on play- good relationship with Pepperell and a ing Pepperell in the regular season? good rivalry, and I think it is good to LAMB: I think it is going to help us. play someone like Pepperell.

Key factor to the Jackets’ success: Without last year’s RN-T Player of the Year Da’Rick Rogers, and All-Area first-team quarterback Nash Nance, the Yellow Jackets will need some new names to step up in big spots if they want to continue their run of nine straight region championships.

No 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 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 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99

Name Ben Lamb Landon Curtis J.T. Palmer Trent Frix Dustin Christian Hunter Knight Josh Barnes Alex Kirby Garrison Pasley Donnell Anthony Malcolm Long Garrett Saylors Clay Johnson Zane Rhodes Aston Roach Adam Rutledge Heath Everett Fields Chapman Jonah Gallman Chase Rierson Chance Beaver Dustin Chapman Carter Edwards Derrick Collins Seth Parr Tyler West Darius Washington Jacob Wise Logan Knight Jacob Young Bly Jordan Lee Alarcon Tony Hernandez Alex Urbano Justin Harrison Mason Bennett Austin Warren Jesse House Zach Bennett David Roberts Matthew Haggard Andrew Haynes Reed Allen Tydus Durtis Chase Jackson Tanner McCormick Tyler Ellis Brett Moss Tyler Cooper Gabe Freeman Matt Landry Thomas Haynes Jackson Brumlow Tyler King Ruben Sanchez Cory Knight Will Carpenter Jacob King Luke Green Hunter Padgett Thad Burton Gus Roberts Chaz Horton Chandler Clements T.J. Jones Austin Byrd Ian Carmichael Erwin Romero Marcus Sides Katrova Dew Dylan Reeves Seth Moreland Nathan Walraven Hayden Crabtree Oscar Valladares O’Shea Davis Branston Pierce Jesus Rios Logan Walraven Kyle Harrison Hector Flores Delano Higginbotham Timmy Jones Michael Llop Ross Callahan Ory Holland Swayze Johnson Matt Ciolli Jordan Stone Alex Haynes Kyle Flanagan Caden Parker Conor Chastain Karan Patel Dillon Brock Austin Pike Brandon Blaylock Adam Griffith

2009 RESULTS Aug. 28 Sep. 4 Sep. 11 Sep. 25 Oct. 2 Oct. 9 Oct. 16

Dalton Ridgeland Cartersville Coosa Gordon Central Chattooga Sonoraville

W, 31-28 W, 35-7 W, 38-10 W, 47-16 W, 56-14 W, 27-12 W, 43-14

Oct. 23 Oct. 30 Nov. 6 Nov. 13 Nov. 20

Dade County Adairsville Armuchee

W, 41-7 W, 34-0 W, 49-10

CLASS AA PLAYOFFS Avondale W, 42-14 North Oconee W, 39-14

Nov. 27

CLASS AA QUARTERFINALS Jefferson County W, 49-35

Dec. 4

CLASS AA SEMIFINALS Lovett W, 49-41

Dec. 11

CLASS AA FINALS Buford L, 13-10

Year 11 12 12 11 12 11 10 11 12 10 12 11 11 10 10 11 11 9 10 11 12 10 10 12 10 10 11 10 10 12 11 10 11 9 10 10 11 9 11 11 11 9 11 9 9 9 9 9 12 11 9 11 10 11 11 10 10 12 10 10 10 12 10 9 11 9 12 11 11 9 10 10 9 9 12 11 9 N/A 9 12 12 12 12 11 9 9 12 12 10 12 9 12 9 10 9 9 9 11

16

TUESDAY, August 24, 2010

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Rome News-Tribune

PIGSKIN PREVIEW

CEDARTOWN BULLDOGS

Bulldogs likely to make an impact this season:

SCHEDULE Aug. 27 Sept. 3 Sept. 10 Sept. 17 Oct. 1 Oct. 8 Oct. 15 Oct. 22 Oct. 29 Nov. 5

Rockmart Lithia Springs Ridgeland Southeast Whitfield Gilmer Pickens Allatoona Cartersville Murray County Region Play-In

Away Home Home Away Away Home Home Away Home Away

ROSTER

#12 Marquis Thomas, Jr., WR

#22 Brooklyn Cotton, Sr., RB/LB

#33 Cody Mesta, Soph., RB/LB

#56 Rudy Alford, Sr., OL/DL

#74 Adam Moore, Sr., OL/DL

The speedy wide receiver will be among the key targets for the Bulldogs.

Looking to bounce back after missing time last season with an injury, Cotton will likely be the workhorse.

Although he’s only a sophomore, Mesta could be a big contributor on both sides of the ball.

The senior will anchor the Bulldogs’ front line, and will be asked to open holes for Cotton and company.

Teaming up with Alford, Moore brings experience and leadership in the trenches for the Bulldogs.

Pertinent questions for head coach Scott Hendrix:

RN-T: What are you guys running on offense and defense this year? HENDRIX: Offensively, we are going to be an option team. But we plan on throwing the ball, too. We want to make the defense defend the entire field. Chan Borders is probably going to be our starter and he has a good arm. Defensively, we are going to base out of a 4-3.

RN-T: Do you guys have more size this year? HENDRIX: You know, I never really worry about that. I can’t recruit kids and I can’t give them a magic potion to make them any bigger. So if I can’t control it, why worry about it? In my mind if you’re big and good you will play, but if you are 150 pounds and good you’ll play.

We just want the best people on the field. RN-T: Is there an advantage to having a lot more kids on the roster this season than last year? HENDRIX: We have about 64, 65 kids this year. But we are not a real senior heavy team, so when we go to our depth we are going to young guys.

Key factor to the Bulldogs’ success: As they look to rebound from a 2-8 season, the Bulldogs will need to mesh quickly under first-year head coach Scott Hendrix. Chemistry will be even more important than normal as Cedartown learns new schemes on both sides of the ball.

No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 14 15 16 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 28 29 30 32 33 36 37 39 40 47 50 51 53 54 56 57 58 61 62 63 64 65 68 70 71 72 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89

Name Blake Oxenreider Devin Watkins Katerius Glover Chan Borders Caleb Ely Kory Lindsey Mark Harris Taylor Novinger Jordan Watkins Zach Chubb Mitch Morrow Marquis Thomas Julian Welch Leo Cordero Robert Dennis Tyler Lee Wesley Burchfield Nick Chubb Brooklyn Cotton Michael Wyatt Xavier Holmes Israel Battle Carl Gable Austin Alfred Avery Privett Kimithy Jones Cody Mesta Jordan Brown Rodman Battle Nick Tran T.J. Ector Charles Prior Josh Jefferson Tyler Eason Chris Jenkins Logan Mathis Rudy Alford Demond Bryan Shawn Dutton B.J. Lee Taylor McGriff Josh Allison Brett Cochran Britt Haney Trent Lanham Andrew Rice Dan Sparks Tyler Prewett Adam Moore Austin Bradshaw Shelton Dawson Kyle Roggow Derek Davis DeTadrain Potts T.J. Brown Michael Almonte Andrew Pasley Michael Helmes Raj Patel Kevin Garmon Jeremy Chubb Colton Miller Ubidol Sandova Nick Morgan

Year 10 12 10 11 9 9 11 10 10 11 9 11 9 10 12 9 12 9 12 9 11 9 11 10 12 12 10 9 12 9 9 9 9 10 10 11 12 9 12 10 10 12 11 12 10 10 9 9 12 9 9 11 10 10 9 10 10 9 9 10 10 11 l9 9

2009 RESULTS

Todd Ollis / Rome News-Tribune

Cedartown senior Rodman Battle (right) chases down Pepperell quarterback Kyle Henderson during a scrimmage.

Aug. 28 Sep. 4 Sep. 11 Sep. 18 Sep. 25 Oct. 9 Oct. 16 Oct. 23 Oct. 30 Nov. 6

Rockmart Pepperell Coosa Chattooga Ridgeland Central, Carroll Haralson County Cartersville Carrollton Southeast Whitfield

W, 13-7 L, 45-13 L, 23-6 L, 28-21 L, 33-0 L, 29-6 W, 40-15 L, 28-14 L, 56-12 L, 27-14

STATE RECORDS Receptions, Career 209 — Stan Rome, Valdosta (1970-73) Most Consecutive Extra Points 134 — Kim Braswell, Avondale (1965-68) Longest Field Goal 67 yards — Rusty Curry, Duluth vs. Norcross, Sept. 3, 1999 Most Field Goals, Single Game 5 — Jeremy Hayes, Cedartown vs. Carrollton, Nov. 1, 1991 Most Field Goals, Single Season 19 — Chris Ray, Lovejoy (1997) Most Field Goals, Career 33 — Chris Gardocki, Redan (1985-87)

Most 50-Yard Field Goals, Single Game 2 — Chris Robbins, Union County vs. Dawson County, Nov. 3, 1989 (50 and 52 yards); Vance Taylor, Southeast Bulloch vs. East Laurens, Nov. 7, 2003 (50 and 52 yards) Most 50-Yard Field Goals, Single Season 4 — Scot Simons, LaGrange (1992); Brett Kirouac, Duluth (1998) Most 50-Yard Field Goals, Career 4 — Scot Simons, LaGrange (1990-92); Brett Kirouac, Duluth (1996-98); Chris Gardocki, Redan (1985-87); Dax Langley, Heritage (1991-93) Highest Punting Average, Single Season (Minimum 25 punts)

54.2 yards — Rodney Williams, Southwest DeKalb (1993) Most Touchdowns, Single Season 58 — Washaun Ealy, ECI (2007) Most Touchdowns, Career 138 — Washaun Ealy, ECI (2004-07) Pass Interceptions, Single Game 5 — Mike Cox, Stephens County vs. Seneca, S.C., Sept. 24, 1971; Marty Carter, LaGrange vs. Walton, Dec. 5, 1986; Ricky Poss, Henry County vs. Sandy Creek, Oct. 30, 1992; Jon Mitchell, Trion vs. Adairsville, 1996 Most Consecutive Wins (No Ties) 47 — Buford (2001-2004)

Most Consecutive Losses (No Ties) 82 — Glascock County (1990-99) (Streak broken Oct. 1, 1999 with 12-6 win over Cross Creek) Most Shutouts, Single Season 13 — Americus (1975) (finished season 14-0) Most Consecutive Shutouts, Single Season 11 — Americus (1975) (finished season 14-0); West Rome (1985) (finished season 15-0) Points Scored, Regular Season 549 — Dublin (2006) (finished season 10-0) Points Scored, Full Season 682 — Dublin (2006) (finished season 15-0) Most Consecutive State Championships 4 — West Rome (1982-85)

Rome News-Tribune

PIGSKIN PREVIEW

•

TUESDAY, August 24, 2010

17

CHATTOOGA INDIANS

Indians likely to make an impact this season:

SCHEDULE Aug. 27 Sept. 3 Sept. 10 Sept. 17 Sept. 24 Oct. 1 Oct. 15 Oct. 22 Oct. 29 Nov. 5

LaFayette Pepperell Armuchee Calhoun Sonoraville LFO North Murray Gordon Central Dade County Region Play-In

Home Away Home Home Away Home Away Home Away Away

2009 RESULTS

#32 Aquil Hall, Sr., LB/RB

#7 Nathan Schuster, Jr., QB/DB

#82 Luke Brantley, Jr., TE/DE

#1 Bradley Black, Sr., WR/DB

#81 Destry Sholtz, Jr., DE/TE

Coach Brad Waggoner said that Hall has been overshadowed the past few seasons, but should be a familiar name by the end of this year.

Schuster started on defense last season, but will be called on to play a bigger role on offense this year as he will be replacing graduated quarterback Rashad Ramsey.

Brantley is a big kid at 6-foot-6, 230, and according to Waggoner has really filled out his frame in the last year. He should be one of the anchors on both the offensive and defensive lines.

Black will play a big role on both sides of the ball for the Indians and is another in the long line of speedsters for Chattooga.

Sholtz is a transfer from Miami, Florida who should step in and play right away. He will see most of his time at defensive end, but could also play some tight end.

Darlington Allatoona Cedartown Armuchee Sonoraville Calhoun Adairsville Gordon Central Dade County Rockmart

W, 40-7 W, 41-14 W, 28-21 W, 36-20 W, 13-6 L, 27-12 W, 27-7 W, 47-21 W, 20-14 W, 25-13

CLASS AA PLAYOFFS Nov. 13

Lovett

L, 45-7

PREP CENTRAL

Pertinent questions for head coach Brad Waggoner: ROSTER

No. 1 2 3 4 5 7 8 9 12 13 14 15 16 17 20 22 23 25 26 27 31 32 34 35 37 41 42 46 50 51 52 53 54 56 58 59 63 64 66 68 69 71 73 76 77 79 81 82 85 88

Aug. 28 Sep. 4 Sep. 18 Sep. 25 Oct. 2 Oct. 9 Oct. 16 Oct. 23 Oct. 30 Nov. 6

Name Bradley Black Eddie Farmer Tevin Smith Lance Buice Shaun Lawrence Nathan Schuster Kyle Timmons Bobby Jones Wade Lanier Garrett Salmon Jessie Williams Xavier Martin Dominique Lawrence Caleb Hefner Cliff Dixon Landon Yoder Josh Stewart Jarrod Jett Jesse Williams Brandon Siffles Drake Nichols Aquil Hall Ronnel Sims Trae Hines Jahaddidas Adams Justice Wilson Malik Perry Joe Laughlin Chris Wilson Josh Bailey Ethan Herod Renzell Adams Collin Cooper Harley Elliott Max Tucker Gordon Turner Josh Wilcox Gage Reece Matthew Martin Virgil McVoy Tripp Marks Dillon Hunter B.J. Green Casey Harris Tyler Barr Damian Childress Destry Sholtz Luke Brantley Skylar Esmann Thomas Maddox

Year 12 12 11 11 9 11 11 10 10 9 11 11 11 12 12 11 12 12 11 11 9 12 10 11 9 9 10 10 11 9 12 10 11 11 11 11 11 9 10 9 10 9 9 10 12 9 11 11 9 10

RN-T: You lost three AllArea players off your roster last year in Senorise Perry, Rashad Ramsey and Olajuwon Blair. How do you replace them? WAGGONER: Those three guys were great players for us. It’s hard to replace guys like that. We’ve got four or five running backs with speed on our team, but the big question mark is inexperience. We’ve got a lot of young guys with a lot of potential. It’s just going to be how quick they step up to the plate. Speed-wise, we don’t have anybody with the speed of a Senorise Perry, but we still have guys that can run. It’s just going to be that they are sophomores and juniors. We’re going to move some guys to those spots that people didn’t see a lot last year like Aquil Hall. We’ve got guys that can play those spots, but it’s going to be the element of the unknown because we haven’t seen them perform on Friday night. RN-T: Chattooga has been to the playoffs three of the past four years. What is the key for your team to make it back there this season? WAGGONER: The biggest key is that we need to grow up fast. I think the schedule we have this year is tougher than last year. Out of our first four games, two will likely be in the top 10 in the state with Pepperell and Calhoun. We play LaFayette first, which is a big rival that

we haven’t played in a while, and then Armuchee in Game 3, which was a big win for us last year before they went on to win the their subregion. We’re just going to have to grow up fast so that when we hit that subregion play starting with Calhoun we are getting every week and hit our stride. If we get better every week, I think we’ll have a chance near the end to be one of those teams (looking for a playoff spot.) When you look at our roster, we lost a lot of starters from last year, but we’ve got some guys who can take their place. It’s just going to be a matter of how fast they grow up. RN-T: How tough is it to play in a region like 7-AA? WAGGONER: It’s tough because you have to get up every week. We’ve got a tough draw because our two crossover games ended up being Pepperell and Armuchee. But I think that’s going to help us when we get to our side of region play. We’re just going to have to get better and gain some confidence early. We’re going to have to be a team that gets better every week. Our subregion schedule starts with Calhoun and ends with Dade County. And Dade is a scary team because they have a lot of kids back. And the region still runs through Calhoun until somebody beats them. Our goals have not changed at all from what they were last year.

Key factor to the Indians’ success: Chattooga has been a top team in 7-AA North for the past few years, and if they want to stay there and compete for a playoff spot again, they must stay away from injuries. Also, they must have younger players step up to replace the amount of talent that they lost to graduation.

Kaitlin Kolarik / Rome News-Tribune

Chattooga’s Kyle Timmons chases down Trion’s Hayden Tucker during a scrimmage game.

For video highlights and photo galleries of Friday night action throughout the fall, visit prepcentralonline.com.

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18

TUESDAY, August 24, 2010

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GORDON CENTRAL WARRIORS

Warriors likely to make an impact this season:

ROSTER

#3 Dre Prather, Sr., QB

#4 Jayden Compton, Jr., RB

#5 C.J. Bell, Sr., LB

#24 Mann Daniel, Sr., DE

#2 Tyshaun Clemmons, Soph., WR

Prather is a two-time all region player. Last season Prather completed 50 percent of his passes for 2,028 yards and 18 touchdowns. He had only five interceptions. Last year he struggled with his running game which is something that he will be expected to do more of this season.

Compton was the starting QB on the JV team last year and rotated at running back late in games. Compton made an impact on the varsity team last year as well in a very short time. He picked up 105 yards rushing on 19 carries for an average of 5.5 per carry.

Bell is a returning all-region player and was voted the team’s defensive player of the year last season. Bell will be the leader of a defense that needed some improvement over last season.

Daniel will be looked at to help lead and support the defensive line this season. He has also seen some time on offense as a backup running back where last year he rushed for 80 yards on 15 carries.

As a freshman in 2009, Clemmons made second team all-region. He was the team’s top receiver with 38 receptions for 634 yards, a 16.7 yard average. He also had five touchdowns.

Pertinent questions for head coach Chad Fisher:

RN-T: Last year you were picked as a sleeper team but a tough schedule put the team down early. How do you see the team coming out of the gate this season with the new schedule? FISHER: Last year, we started 10 underclassmen, eight sophomores and two freshmen. This year we spent a lot of time in the offseason on character and team building, and I think all those will tie in together to head us in the right direction. Our goals are to take it one game at a time and focus on the team. We want to put the team in position to play a meaningful game at the end of the season and possibly jump us into the playoffs. We have to start out well and our schedule has us playing some very similar teams to where we are. We have to come out and play well and if we can do that then we will have an opportunity to have a successful season.

RN-T: Last year, the team had a lot of offensive firepower, but struggled on the defensive side. What has the team done to improve the defense? FISHER: The first thing we did was evaluate what we were doing on defense and we ended up changing our scheme. Traditionally we have been a 3-3 team and now we have gone to more of a five man front. We are focusing more on stopping the run. One of the main reasons we struggled was because we were so young. We weren’t real good a tackling at times and we struggled at times. This year we have nine returning starters and anytime you can do that, that is a big bonus. The kids have done a great job of learning the new defense and they are flying around and playing hard.

they are growing up and coming into their prime as high school players. Who are some of these guys and what are your expectations for them? FISHER: I think as an overall group our expectation is to be able to compete game after game and play of a playoff spot. Dre has a great supporting cast. You have Lakai Whatley who has done a great job. D.J. (Prather), Dre’s younger and bigger brother, is going to be asked to play a lot. Cody McCormick and Dillon Blaylock are also returning. Dillon is another kid that is a four-year starter. He is excited and has had a fantastic offseason. The offensive line will return three junior starters, Blake Hilley, Matt Chastain and Caleb Stansell. That is going to play into nicely what we want to do. The biggest thing is that these kids play together, stay RN-T: You have had a lot of under- together and get better as a team. If we classmen such as Dre Prather playing play as a team, then good things will the last couple of seasons and now happen to us.

Key factor to the Warriors’ success: Returning quarterback Dre Prather, one of the top athletes in the area, is the central figure for the Warriors. If he stays healthy (and is well protected by the Warriors’ offensive line), it could be a playoff season for Gordon Central.

No. 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 37 41 42 43 44 45 46 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 58 61 62 65 68 69 70 71 72 74 79 81 84 85 86 87 88 89

Name Tyshaun Clemmons Dre Prather Jayden Compton C.J. Bell Dylan Blalock D.J. Prather Nathan Wright Miguel Martinez Lakai Whatley Trenton Smith Lance Weimer Joseph Cunningham Bryan Brookshire Chandler Curtis Miker Arrivillaga Kagan Fleming Mike Chavez Richie Cook Sean Whorton Anna Pierce Brandon Price Mann Daniel Cohen Garland Dylan Thomas Brandon Pickett Andrew Bailey Zach West Maury Coria Zack Goble Zane Cooper Robert Howie Victor Hernandez Alex Williams Martice McClure Billy Keadle Eric Smith Ryan Doughtery Bobby Keadle Colt Ankney LaRons Winston Bo Dooley Matt Chastain Cody Carroll Kyle Faulkner Trevor Dutton Keaton Thomas Blake Hilley Dustin Talley Heath Hufstelter Caleb Stansell Jacob Mitchell Erik Reyes Nick Parker Brandon Paradise Austin Dean Sam Anderson Colton Carroll Wil Swaim Harley Barnette Cody McCormack Matthew Pickle Taylor Price

Year 10 12 11 11 12 10 11 12 11 9 12 9 10 9 12 10 10 11 12 10 10 12 9 9 11 10 11 9 9 11 10 10 10 9 11 10 10 12 11 10 9 11 12 10 12 12 11 10 10 11 9 12 12 9 10 9 9 11 12 11 11 9

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SCHEDULE Aug. 27 Sept. 3 Sept. 10 Sept. 17 Sept. 24 Oct. 7 Oct. 15 Oct. 22 Oct. 29

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Model Coosa Rockmart LFO Dade County Sonoraville Calhoun Chattooga North Murray

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Home Away Home Away Home Away Home Away Home

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2009 RESULTS Aug. 28 Sep. 4 Sep. 18 Sep. 25 Oct. 2 Oct. 9 Oct. 16 Oct. 23 Oct. 30 Nov. 6

Model Heritage, Catoosa Trion Pepperell Calhoun Adairsville Dade County Chattooga Sonoraville Temple

W, 22-13 W, 48-21 L, 37-19 L, 32-7 L, 56-14 L, 55-28 L, 24-17 L, 47-21 L, 35-6 W, 51-0

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•

TUESDAY, August 24, 2010

19

ROCKMART YELLOW JACKETS SCHEDULE Aug. 27 Sept. 3 Sept. 10 Sept. 17 Oct. 1 Oct. 8 Oct. 15 Oct. 22 Oct. 29 Nov. 5

Cedartown North Murray Gordon Central West Forsyth Model Pepperell Coosa Armuchee Adairsville Region Play-In

Home Home Away Away Home Away Away Home Home Home

Jackets likely to make an impact this season:

ROSTER No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 18 19 21 23 24 25 28 31 33 34 38 39 40 44 45 46 47 48 50 51 53 54 55 56 57 58 60 61 63 64 66 67 69 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 84 85 86

Name Roshmel Young Quitman Berry Denver Myers LaJuan Wiggins R.J. Garrett C.J. Davis Kwame Peek Patrick Williams LaDarion Morris Tritt Fennell Dakota Hitchcock Joseph Earwood Lane Odom Katorius Williams Jamal Newman Onquavious Stocks Daulton Swindall Clayton Simon Darius Holloman Tay Twine Tyjuan Bryant Bryant Middlebrooks Trevor Williams Markise Smith Zach Thompson Demarcus Lenoir Randy Chupp Shannon Thompson Trace Forsyth Zack Lewis Luke Hembree Stephen Farnam Tyler Baulding-Woods Jackson Gamble Dylan Williams Darius Pittman Josh Hatch Ruben Galvan Khalil Wood Josh Cates Kendall Adams Alex Harris Wesley Worley Zack Kirby Mason Barnette Tristan Morrow Josh Hatch Brady Deaton Jackson Bishop Tyler Black Alfred Shepherd Brenton Farthing Chasen Watson Blake Brock Ashton Poellnitz Kyle Jones Kaleb Burfield Tyler Daniell Jonathan Badon Jay Thompson Joey Lewis McKenzie Burge Tristan Adams

Year 12 11 9 10 11 10 10 11 12 10 12 12 11 10 10 9 11 11 11 10 10 9 10 9 9 9 12 10 9 12 10 9 9 9 11 9 12 12 12 12 12 12 9 9 9 9 9 10 11 9 9 10 9 11 11 10 12 9 10 10 12 9 9

Key factor to the Yellow Jackets success: The Jackets will have to do most of their offensive work on the ground with starting quarterback Roshmel Young on the shelf early in the season due to a foot injury. They will need to get their speedy athletes on the edge to be effective in the running game.

2009 RESULTS Aug. 28 Sep. 4 Sep. 11 Sep. 18 Oct. 2 Oct. 9 Oct. 16 Oct. 23 Oct. 30 Nov. 6

Cedartown Cartersville Bremen Dade County Temple Coosa Pepperell Model Armuchee Chattooga

L, 13-7 W, 7-0 L, 10-7 L,7-6 W, 52-6 W, 18-12 L, 22-15 W, 9-0 W, 7-6 L, 25-13

#1 Roshmel Young, Sr., QB/DB

#5 R.J. Garrett, Jr., LB/RB

#9 LaDarion Morris, Sr., TE/DB

#53 Josh Hatch, Sr., OL/DL

#56 Josh Cates, Sr., OL/LB

After taking on a leadership role as the Jackets starting quarterback last season, Young brings character to the Jackets and was the team’s leading rusher in 2009.

Garrett brings hardhitting power to the middle on offense and defense for Rockmart and finished 2009 as the Jackets’ secondleading tackler with 51 combined hits in his sophomore season.

Recording 33 tackles last season has built Morris up for a good senior year at defensive back and he has worked hard in the weight room to prove it while serving as back-up quarterback.

Part of the duo known as “The Two Joshes”, Josh Hatch is the foundation of Rockmart’s front line and is primed to have a good senior season.

The other bookend for the Jackets’ offensive line also dabbles in bringing down ball carriers as he totaled 48 tackles last year as a junior and helped lead a young squad in the off-season.

Pertinent questions for head coach Dan Duff:

RN-T: What makes this year’s team unique? DUFF: A lot of teams may have great players on it. You may have Division I guys or this and that. What I like about this team is I feel like we are a team. Instead of just having one or two or three or four individuals we’ve got a group and that’s the way I feel about this team. It’s a good group, a good team and they love each other. We’ve got a long way to go, don’t get me wrong, but we’re gelling well. It’s just that right now we don’t have a lot of issues and that’s good. So I’m excited about it. These are good kids. They

work hard. They show up for practice. RN-T: How do you look at last season So it’s just fun to coach them. with this team? DUFF: It’s completely different. Last RN-T: What do you feel is your team’s season we had a little bit more experibiggest weakness? ence than we have coming back this DUFF: We have got to get better up year. We’ve had some things happen front. If the kids that are playing up in the off-season where we didn’t have front will work hard and get themselves as many starters back as we thought the best that they can be the better we were going to have. So if we can we’re going to be. We’re young and get the experience, hopefully we can may have to play some freshmen up be ready by the time we play our first there so some people may have to step region game. To reach that experience up early and give us some help. As level, all you can do is play and get it good as we get on the defensive and so the more they learn and the quicker offensive front, that’s going to deter- they step up and get to that level that’s going to help us. mine what kind of season we have.

20

TUESDAY, August 24, 2010

•

Rome News-Tribune

PIGSKIN PREVIEW

GEORGIA SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF TIGERS

Tigers likely to make an impact this season:

SCHEDULE Aug. 27 Sept.11 Sept. 18 Sept. 25 Oct. 2 Oct. 9 Oct. 16 Oct. 23 Oct. 30

Shiloh Hills Christian Wisconsin S.D. Ohio S.D. Tennessee S.D. at North Carolina S.D. at Louisiana S.D. at Mississippi S.D. Mississippi S.D. Tennessee S.D.

Away Away Home Home Away Away Away Home Home

ROSTER

#10 Jay Roberson, Sr., QB/S

#7 Montrez West, Jr., RB

#8 Matthew Powers, Sr., OL

#85 Shaq McClarin, Jr., OL

#4 Devin Moffett, Sr., TE/DE

Roberson missed most of last season after breaking his collarbone. He looks to be a team leader on both sides of the ball.

West lead the Tigers last season with nearly 900 rushing yards, and looks again to be a big part of the offense.

After the loss of GSD’s entire offensive line to graduation, Powers is part of the new players coming in.

The biggest player on the Tigers’ team, McClarin will play center on the new offensive line.

One of the three seniors on this season’s team, Moffett’s strength and speed will be an offensive and defensive asset.

Pertinent questions for head coach Erik Whitworth:

RN-T: What are you and your teams’ goals for this season? WHITWORTH: To win more games than last year. That’s our biggest goal. The guys have said, “We’re better than that team last year.” The big thing is teamwork. At other schools, they’re teammates, but we’re brothers at this school.

freshman that has never played, and Shaq (McClarin) has played before, but he’s never started. Getting our guys to stay with their blocks and their assignments will be a challenge. Special teams is the other one. Our kicker and punter are both gone, so sometime between now and (Friday), we’ve got to find one.

cuses, but when we went to play that second game in Ohio, we won that game, but on the way back, or up there somewhere, we caught the good ol’ flu bug. For the next five weeks, I never had a full team. But, these guys have a confidence that says, “We can do it.” They say, “I saw what I did last year, and I can do better.” That’s where I think the teamRN-T: What obstacles does your RN-T: How do you plan on improv- work and brotherhood comes in. Eving over the 2009 season? team face this season? ery coach has said, “There’s no I in WHITWORTH: Our offensive line is WHITWORTH: Nothing against last team”, but that’s how they’re looking the biggest one. We have the one year’s team, I don’t like to make ex- at it.

Charles B. May Jr., M.D. Sports Medicine Knee and Shoulder

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W. Eric MacLeod, M.D. Sports Medicine Shoulder, Hip and Knee

Name Jay Matthew Devin Moffett Montrez West Matthew Powers Jay Roberson Austin Royston Austen Justice Javon Mason Daquan McKenzie Jonathan Adkins Jaquri Cotton Joshua McTaggart Shaq McClarin

Key factor to the Tigers’ success:

The Tigers went 1-7 last season, but like Whitworth said, their strength this season will come from not looking back at last season, but looking at what they can accomplish in 2010.

2009 RESULTS Aug. 22 Sept. 12 Sept. 25 Oct. 3 Oct. 10 Oct. 17 Oct. 24 Oct. 31

Shiloh Christian Ohio S.D. Grace Baptist Mississippi S.D. E.N. Carolina S.D. Mississippi S.D. South Carolina S.D. Tennessee S.D.

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L, 21-0 W, 40-0 L, 40-14 L, 44-12 L, 16-8 L, 56-28 L, 52-14 L, 58-14

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TUESDAY, August 24, 2010

21

SONORAVILLE PHOENIX Phoenix likely to make an impact this season:

SCHEDULE Aug. 27 Sept. 3 Sept. 10 Sept. 17 Sept. 24 Oct. 1 Oct. 7 Oct. 15 Oct. 22 Nov. 5

Darlington Model Adairsville North Murray Chattooga Calhoun Gordon Central Dade County LFO Region Play-In

Home Away Home Away Home Away Home Home Away Away

2009 RESULTS #55 Logan Masley, Sr., DT

#11 Hosea Barnes, Sr., QB/DB

#22 Zach Washington, Sr., FB

#4 Shaqeal McAfee, Jr., RB

#35 Alex Detlefsen, Sr., LB

Masley had 20 tackles last season with 28 assists. He also had 3.5 sacks. He will also play as an offensive lineman and will serve as long snapper.

Barnes recorded 20 tackles and three assists last year. He also had two interceptions.

Washington had 782 yards last season on 132 carries for an average of 5.92 yards per carry. He found the end zone three times as a fullback.

Last season McAfee became the first Sonoraville running back to go over the 1,000 yard mark and he did so as a sophomore.

Detlefsen led the Phoenix with 45 tackles last season. He also added 12 assists and two sacks.

RN-T: What are you expecting from the new teams in the subregion this year? KING: We are going to pick up North Murray

and LFO, and LFO was a playoff team from last year. I am anxious to get in their and find out what they look like. North Murray did a great job with their JV schedule last year and I know they have a quarterback that is pretty special. I think they are a little bit ahead of where we were at as a first year program. We scheduled Darlington for the first game of the season and a lot of people are excited about that but also a lot of people are saying “what are you thinking. They are a pretty good team.” My thought was that it is somebody local and someone that we could build a good relationship with and perhaps a pretty good rivalry. We drew Model and Adairsville out of the hat from the south side and they will be strong. We will be better but I think in other peoples mind we will still be in the bottom of the division. We need to get out and play a little bit better and move up the chart a little bit. RN-T: What are your expectations this sea-

son and what are you hoping to get out of your team this season? KING: We had a chance for the seniors to sit down and set goals recently. We set offensive goals, and defensive goals and special teams goals, a lot of these were game oriented and based on who we were playing and what we wanted to do. We also set three or four team goals including improving on the end of the year. In other words being in a playoff game again, like 2008, but winning it this time. We had a chance to play Coosa two years ago and if you win you are in but we didn’t get it. Hopefully we can get back to that point and see what happens. We also want to play better at home. We have not been able to dominate and have a home field advantage. We have a great place to play and great support, a great community, activities going around, and it is a pretty neat place to be on a Friday night but we need to learn how to finish it with some wins.

Key factor to the Phoenix success: The Phoenix need to establish their running game early in the season, with McAfee building on to last year’s success, in order to keep their opponents from keying in on quarterback Hosea Barnes.

SONORAVILLE ROSTER No. 1 2 3 4 5 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 16 17 18 19 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 40 41 42

Heritage, Catosa Jackson County SE Whitfield Temple Chattooga Dade Co. Calhoun Adairsville Gordon Central Model

W, 27-8 L, 7-42 W, 26-21 W, 49-21 L, 6-13 L, 15-41 L, 14-43 L, 8-31 W, 35-6 W, 30-10

Pertinent questions for head coach Chuck King:

RN-T: What did you learn from last year that you believe will help you this season? KING: I guess I could actually go back to the year before. In 2008 we had our first four year graduating class and had a good year, finishing 7-3. Last year our senior class probably didn’t get as much playing time because the guys in front of them were older and were there the whole time. We felt like we had a pretty good football team but we just didn’t have the experience we needed. This year we are trying to balance things out and spread the wealth a little bit so that more players gain experience. We will rotate bodies in and out and move them around to different positions. Our defense has nine returning starters and I think that will be s strong suit for us. My goal is to take the starting 11 and then find other kids that are really, really good and filter them in.

Aug. 28 Sep. 4 Sep. 11 Sep. 18 Oct. 2 Oct. 9 Oct. 16 Oct. 23 Oct. 30 Nov. 6

Name Josh Worley Layson West Kel Withrow Shaqeal McAfee Matt Woodring Keegan Mabry Caleb Steed Travis Williard Gage Burger Hosea Barnes Brian Mobley Nathan Thornton Matthew Solicito Dakota French Chris Green Tyler Barnhart Tyler Harris Logan Sutton Zach Washington Jake Harford Jackson Murray Paul Mcknight Austin Sollicito Thomas Worshem Shamarie McAfee Joey Skibo Michael Hart Robert Morgan Chris Bingiel Rocky Long Alex Detlefsen Matt Edgar Jordan Ford Gabe Johnson Tanner Harmon Josh Bowling Andrew Bingiel

Year 12 11 10 11 12 10 10 9 9 12 11 10 10 9 9 9 10 9 12 9 10 11 11 10 12 9 12 11 10 11 12 10 11 9 10 11 12

43 44 45 48 49 53 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 63 64 65 66 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 80 81 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 97

Morgan White Dylan Hill Nathan Godwin Brandon Ross Demarcus Irick Adam Bennett Logan Masley Jarrett Derryberry Noah Henson Alan Lumpkin Ace McCoy Mason Braden Hawk Watson Isaiah Jackson Andrew Coker Tyler Smith Caleb Talley Travis Fitzwater Levi Storm Thomas Gray Brian Rapp Hunter Blaylock Tyler Bramlett Devante Wesley Matt Gilbert Andrew Hayes Chess Hall Dakota Dendy Adam Hartel Josh Blaylock Chance Rush Andre Lamb Jacob Bowen Caleb Chambers Jared Hopper Scott Lumpkin Chris Baker Dillon Logan

12 10 10 10 9 9 12 9 11 12 9 10 11 10 12 12 12 12 12 9 10 10 9 12 12 9 9 10 9 11 9 10 11 9 12 9 10 10

Rick Winters / Rome News-Tribune

Sonoraville’s Shaqeal McAfee runs against the Gilmer County defense during a scrimmage.

22

TUESDAY, August 24, 2010

•

Rome News-Tribune

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Rome News-Tribune

PIGSKIN PREVIEW

Bulldogs likely to make an impact this season:

#25 Austin McGraw, Sr., LB/RB

#9 Cody Simpson, Sr., FS/RB

#66 Nick Coker, Sr., OL/DL

#17 Tanner Heyer, Sr., WR/LB

Tucker will have to step up and take a bigger role in the offense as a passer and runner after the departure of graduated running back Ryan Wilson.

The senior McGraw will be a key cog in the middle of the Bulldogs defense as well as a running back on offense.

Simpson should be the quarterback of the defense and be in charge of getting everybody lined up where they need to be.

Coker should be the senior leader for both the offensive and defensive lines and will do his damage in the trenches.

Heyer is going to be one of Tucker’s favorite targets due to his 6-1 frame and athletic ability. He will also make an impact at outside linebacker.

Pertinent questions for head coach David Humphreys:

RN-T: This is your third year at Trion and your team made a big jump from Year 1 to Year 2 by making the playoffs. What are the expectations for this season? HUMPHREYS: I hope we pick up right where we left off. We feel like a lot of the guys that played for us last November are playing for us again this year so we would like to think that a year of them getting older and more familiar with us will be a big plus for us.

place him. You have to just adjust a little bit. We’re still going to be an option team, but anytime you lose a player like Ryan, that has the impact that he has, it’s going to be tough. I think Hayden Tucker has got to pick up the slack and make up for the gap for what we’ll be missing with Ryan. And I think he can definitely do that, there’s no doubt in my mind. And somebody out there that we’ve been working with will step up and fill those shoes to some extent.

RN-T: How do you replace a player like RN-T: What is it like playing in a region Ryan Wilson, who has been the leader of like 6-A? your offense as a running back for the last HUMPHREYS: Bowdon, Bremen and few years but has now graduated? Darlington are always going to be talented HUMPHREYS: I don’t think you do re- and well-coached. Bowdon is always go-

Key factor to the Bulldogs’ success:

23

TRION BULLDOGS

#4 Hayden Tucker, Sr., QB

TUESDAY, August 24, 2010

Like Humphreys said, the Bulldogs will need to keep the momentum going from last year’s playoff appearance. As a Class A school, Trion has to stay away from injuries because of their smaller roster to do that. If that happens, they should once again be battling it out with Bremen, Bowdon and Darlington for positioning in the top four in Region 6-A.

CHRISTOPHER GRIFFIN

ing to be extremely athletic, Bremen is as fundamentally sound as any team out there, and Darlington made a huge push last year with a fairly young team and nearly played for a state championship. Hats off to Tommy (Atha) and his crew because that wasn’t really expected from too many people early in the season. So there are a lot of teams that have a lot returning. And then there are the unknowns like Walker and Mt. Paran. Plus, Gordon Lee is a huge rivalry for us. You can throw records out the window when you play those guys. We have to line up and play every single week, and of course depth is going to be a huge issue for us. So we’re going to be a week-to-week team for sure.

SCHEDULE Aug. 27 Sept. 3 Sept. 10 Sept. 24 Oct. 1 Oct. 15 Oct. 22 Oct. 29 Nov. 5

Armuchee LaFayette Pinecrest Academy Mt Zion Bowdon Walker Darlington Gordon Lee Bremen

No. 3 4 6 7 8 9 12 14 15 17 18 19 22 23 24 25 26 27 29 32 35 40 42 45 46 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 66 70 72 73 74 78 80 81 82 84 88 89

Name Mason Thompson Hayden Tucker Ryan Roach Rhett Tucker Austin McDonald Cody Simpson Cory Bethune A.J. Eirick Tony Floyd Tanner Heyer Heath Ivester Hunter Ivester Blake Bethune Justin Baker Scotty Lively Austin McGraw Jeremiah Brown Agustin Navarro Jarred Wiggley Dalton Harrellson Dilan Deering Chandler Lathem Jonathan Shealy Drew Westbrook Dustin Thrasher Carter Logan Josh Smith Seth Gillum Kelby Slaten Austyn Todd Drew Blackmon Colt Moore Dewayne Daggett Eman Wooten Cody Brown Tyler Cordle Dalton Hegwood Trevor Flannigan Kingston Lanier Jarrod Broome Lighten Croy Nick Coker Chase Browning C.J. Dover Cody Cameron Darrien McGuire Drew Tucker Alex DeBerry Chandler Keen Cody Richardson Ryan Choate John Rollins Landen Barrett

Year 10 12 10 10 12 12 9 11 12 12 11 11 11 12 10 12 9 10 9 12 12 9 9 11 9 11 11 12 9 11 10 12 12 10 10 10 9 11 10 10 9 12 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 10 9 9

2009 RESULTS Aug. 29 Sept. 4 Sept. 11 Sept. 18 Sept. 25 Oct. 2 Oct. 16 Oct. 23 Oct. 30 Nov. 6

Armuchee LaFayette Model Gordon Central Mt. Zion Gordon Lee Bowdon Walker Bremen Darlington

L, 28-7 L, 20-34 W, 14-7 W, 37-1 W, 42-12 W, 7-6 L, 28-54 W, 37-0 L, 0-16 W, 21-14

CLASS A PLAYOFFS Nov. 13

Lincoln County

L, 0-14

HUDDLE UP! It’s Football Season

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24

TUESDAY, August 24, 2010

•

Rome News-Tribune

PIGSKIN PREVIEW

Week-by-week local schedule Friday, Aug. 27 Adairsville at Ridgeland Calhoun at Dalton Cedartown at Rockmart Coosa at Starr’s Mill Darlington at Sonoraville Johns Creek at Rome Model at Gordon Central Pepperell at Cartersville Trion at Armuchee GSD at Shiloh Hills Christian OPEN DATE: None Friday, Sept. 3 Calhoun at Armuchee Cartersville at Darlington Chattooga at Pepperell Dade County at Adairsville Gordon Central at Coosa Lithia Springs at Cedartown North Murray at Rockmart Rome at Cass Sonoraville at Model Trion at LaFayette OPEN DATE: None Friday, Sept. 10 Adairsville at Sonoraville Armuchee at Chattooga Coosa at North Murray Model at LFO Pepperell at Calhoun Pincrest Academy at Trion Ridgeland at Cedartown Rockmart at Gordon Central Rome at Woodland-Bartow Sardis (Ala.) at Darlington OPEN DATE: None Saturday, Sept. 11 GSD at Wisconsin School for the Deaf

Preseason fireworks set the tone With an eye on the regular season, the teams in the local area conducted scrimmages on Aug. 13 and Aug. 20. Here are a few highlights: Calhoun vs. Rome High (Barron Stadium) With a near-capacity crowd gathered at Barron Stadium to see the first contest on the stadium’s newly-installed artificial turf, Calhoun used a pair of first-quarter touchdowns to down Rome. Landon Curtis hooked up with Clay Johnson for a 65yard touchdown pass to open the scoring, and Tony Hernandez later added a three-yard TD run. Armuchee vs. Gordon Central Jayden Compton rushed for 87 yards on 12 carries, including a 35-yard TD run, to lead the Warriors to a win. Armuchee quarterback Zach Payne completed 3of-9 passes for 74 yards. Darlington vs. Whitefield Academy Quarterback Brad Butler threw two touchdowns to guide the Tigers to a win. Nigel Matthews turned a short pass from Butler into a 65-yard touchdown, and Butler also connected with Cameron Gibson on a 45yard score. Pepperell vs. Cedartown Janier Ferguson had four touchdowns, including runs of 50 and 38 yards to fuel the Dragons’ 40-21 win. Trion vs. Chattooga Bulldogs quarterback Hayden Tucker had 61 yards on the ground, including a touchdown. Adairsville vs. Cass Adairsville linebacker Austin Harrell picked off a pass and returned it 45 yards for a TD. Model vs. Mt. Zion The Model Blue Devils looked impressive in their 35-7 scrimmage win at Mt. Zion. The game was the first live action under new head coach Lynn Hunnicutt. Model running back Devante Watkins was the catalyst for the Devils, scoring three times. Coosa vs. Gaylesville (Ala.) Coosa ran for 260 yards and limited Gaylesville to only 95 total yards. Zack Gresham, Troy Case and Ryan Packer scored rushing touchdowns for Coosa. The final score came on a 20-yard touchdown pass from Denver Penney to Jay Ware.

Friday, Sept. 17 Adairsville at East Hall Armuchee at Dade County Calhoun at Chattooga Cedartown at Southeast Whitfield Heard County at Coosa Gordon Central at LFO Rockmart at West Forsyth Forsyth Central at Rome Sonoraville at North Murray Darlington at Bremen River Ridge at Model Central-Carroll at Pepperell OPEN DATE: Trion Saturday,Sept. 18 Ohio School for the Deaf at GSD Friday, Sept. 24 Dade County at Gordon Central Sequoyah at Rome Chattooga at Sonoraville Mt. Paran at Darlington Mt. Zion at Trion OPEN DATE: Adairsville, Armuchee, Calhoun, Cedartown, Pepperell, Rockmart. Saturday, Sept. 25 Model at Coosa (Shrine Game) Tennessee School for the Deaf at GSD Friday,Oct. 1 Cedartown at Gilmer Coosa at Adairsville Model at Rockmart Pepperell at Armuchee Rome at Creekview Sonoraville at Calhoun Trion at Bowdon OPEN DATE: Darlington, Gordon Central.

Saturday, Oct. 2 GSD at North Carolina School for the Deaf Thursday, Oct. 7 Gordon Central at Sonoraville Friday, Oct. 8 Adairsville at Armuchee North Murray at Calhoun Pickens at Cedartown Rockmart at Pepperell Northwest Whitfield at Rome Darlington at Mt. Zion Rockmart at Pepperell OPEN DATE: Chattooga, Coosa, Model. Saturday, Oct. 9 GSD at Louisiana School for the Deaf Friday, Oct. 15 Allatoona at Cedartown Bowdon at Darlington Calhoun at Gordon Central Dade County at Sonoraville Model at Armuchee Pepperell at Adairsville Rockmart at Coosa Rome at South Forsyth Walker at Trion OPEN DATE: None Saturay, Oct. 16 GSD at Mississippi School for the Deaf Friday, Oct. 22 Armuchee at Rockmart Calhoun at Dade County Cedartown at Cartersville Coosa at Pepperell Darlington at Trion Gordon Central at Chattooga

ONLINE COVERAGE For video highlights, photo galleries and game stories from one week during the fall and winter, visit prepcentralonline.com. The site is also home of the award-winning Gridiron Central show, which features clips and analysis from the local games.

Model at Adairsville Sonoraville at LFO OPEN DATE: Rome Saturday, Oct. 23 Mississippi School for the Deaf at GSD Friday, Oct. 29 Adairsville at Rockmart Coosa at Armuchee LFO at Calhoun Murray County at Cedartown North Murray at Gordon Central Adairsville at Rockmart Lambert at Rome Walker at Darlington Trion at Gordon Lee Pepperell at Model OPEN DATE: Sonoraville. Saturday, Oct. 30 Tennessee School for the Deaf at GSD Friday, Nov. 5 Region Play-in games The GHSA playoffs are scheduled to begin on Nov. 12, with higher seeded teams hosting first-round games.

Rome News-Tribune

PIGSKIN PREVIEW

SHORTER UNIVERSITY From Shorter University

File photo / Rome News-Tribune

Linebacker Daniel Hazard returns this season for his junior year with the Hawks. from Atlanta who did not take a handoff last season but emerged after the Hawks’ spring drills as the leading candidate; and senior David Mwamba of Lilburn and junior Blake Thomas of Dalton, both well-versed with the offense, but recipients of very little playing time. Quarterback The man Shorter can absolutely count on will line up behind center for a third straight year - senior quarterback Ben Williams. Last season, the 6-1, 205-pounder was Shorter’s third-leading rusher with 706 yards on 158 carries and scoring seven touchdowns. Williams also gave the Hawks a passing threat, throwing for 766 yards and a Shorter single-season record eight TDs. Slotback Shorter boasts plenty of speed, durability and experience at the two slot positions. Heading up the deep group of slots is junior Antwon Appleton of Fort Payne, Ala., who earned 2009 All-Mid-South West Division first team honors after rushing for 758 yards six touchdowns. He finished the year with a ridiculous 8.6 yards per carry average and picked up a career-high 129 yards and two touchdowns on eight carries against LaGrange College. Wide receiver Although running the ball is Shorter’s forte, the Hawks know that their aerial game must come into play to give the team the needed balance. Jordan Hazard, the Hawks’ leading receiver from 2009, was lost to graduation, but senior T.C. Jay of Rockmart is back after hauling in four passes for 128 yards and a touchdown last year. He already stands as the team’s second all-time leading receiver with 459 yards. Tight end Collin Wooddy of Fayetteville gives the Hawks a proven player at tight end, where the 6-1, 220pounder returns to his starting role. The Hawks feel they have two more players who can add the depth at the position this year as sophomore Quay Boddie of LaGrange has been moved over to the position from the defensive side of the ball, and freshman Zach Peek, who prepped at Pisgah High in Alabama, has shown some early-season promise.

SCHEDULE Aug. 28 Sep. 2 Sep. 18 Sep. 25 Oct. 2 Oct. 9 Oct. 16 Oct. 23 Oct. 30 Nov. 6 Nov. 13

at West Alabama, 8 p.m. vs. Georgia St. (at Georgia Dome), 7:30 p.m. at Pikeville, 1:30 p.m. Georgetown (Ky.), 1:30 p.m. Faulkner, 3:30 p.m. at Cumberland (Tenn.), 2:30 p.m. at Belhaven, 2:30 p.m. vs. Cumberland (Ky.), 1:30 p.m. Webber International, 1:30 p.m. Union (Ky.), 1:30 p.m. at Bethel (Tenn.), 2:30 p.m.

2009 RESULTS Aug. 29 Sept. 12 Sept. 19 Sept. 26 Oct. 1 Oct. 10 Oct. 17 Oct. 24 Oct. 31 Nov. 7 Nov. 14

Lenoir-Rhyne LaGrange Pikeville Faulkner Campbellsville Lambuth Kentucky Christian Union Cumberland Belhaven Bethel

ans return. Back to plug up the middle is 6-0, 270pound sophomore Shamond Stringer of Gainesville who worked his way into the starting lineup as a freshman in 2009. Joining Stringer is senior Lonergon Honore of New Orleans, who battled injuries last fall but returns to close out his career in a Hawk uniform at full health. Defensive end The defensive end position is deep with three proven veterans returning to the fold in addition to a pair of young studs. Seniors Cameron Panther of Morrow and the 6-5, 230pound Justin Hooper of Ranger are back while sophomore Matt Kelley of Rome will make the transition from nose to end. Inside linebacker As much as Cooley’s loss left a large hole on offense, the departure of Lollis was just as big for the Hawks’ defense. The difference is that Shorter may not miss a beat in the middle slots of its 3-4 defensive set. Back to start at one of the inside positions for the third straight year is senior Garrett Hochstetler of Colbert, who was second only to Lollis in total tackles last year with 88. The 6-0, 220-pounder also added a pair of sacks and had three interceptions in 2009, which helped him earn All-Mid-South honorable mention recognition.

TUESDAY, August 24, 2010

25

2010 ROSTER

Hawks seek return to top of Mid-South Conference For the past five years, the Shorter University football team has steadily built upon a firm foundation poured by the blood, sweat and faith of the players who worked to put the infant program in the national spotlight. The legacy left by that inaugural group, all now departed, is still impacting the program. And when the Hawks enter this season, they will call on what has been the keystone of Shorter Football — relationships. “Our foundation from the beginning has been about relationships,” said Shorter head coach Phil Jones. “For us it starts with the relationship with Christ our Lord and that relationship is eternal,” Jones said. “From that we try to understand all relationships, ones that mean the most and motivate you in life. In football, relationships make you better, and with talent, you can be real good.” This year, the Hawks will be without two players who ended their careers firmly entrenched as the program’s all-time best offensive and defensive stars, running back A.J. Cooley and linebacker Logan Lollis. Shorter ended the 2009 schedule with a 6-5 record, and came within seconds of posting a mark that would have put the team in contention for a second-straight Mid-South Conference championship and berth in the NAIA Football Championship Series. Three of Shorter’s five losses were decided in the final 34 seconds or less by a combined 13 points. “If you win those three games you go 9-2,” said Jones. “That’s how close it was. That’s a big difference between going 9-2 and 6-5, but for us the difference was 34 seconds.” The final seconds that ticked off the clock last fall also signaled the end of the careers of Shorter’s most heralded players — Cooley and Lollis, who were the respective twotime Mid-South West Division Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year. The holder of every rushing record at Shorter and the University’s first NAIA All-American, Cooley graduated as the Hawks’ all-time leading rusher with 4,111 yards and 50 career rushing touchdowns. Last year, he ran for 1,429 yards and 17 touchdowns, averaging 6.3 yards per carry and leading the MidSouth with a 129.9 yards per game average. On the other side of the ball, Lollis led Shorter with 104 tackles last season — his second straight season of triple-digit tackles after he notched a single-season record 113 in 2008. Lollis stands alone as Shorter’s all-time leading tackler with 328 stops and is also the Hawks’ alltime leader in sacks. Jones and the Hawks’ coaching staff know that filling the huge voids left by Cooley and Lollis is a priority. But at the same time, the coaches feel that Shorter’s strength through numbers this season will compensate for the losses, as will the return of a solid core of seniors and a talented group of newcomers. Shorter returns nine starters to an offense that led the nation in rushing for the second straight year at 326 yards per game and also welcomes back six starters from a defense. Here’s a closer look:

•

L, 21-14 W, 42-19 W, 6-33 W, 43-27 L, 42-28 L, 28-23 W, 45-10 W, 56-41 L, 14-13 W, 55-42 L, 21-14

East Providence, R.I. Last year, the 6-0, 180-pound defender was an All-MidSouth honorable mention choice after he finished the season with 82 tackles. Behind Hazard are two promising underclassmen, 6-2, 225-pound sophomore Kerry King of Long Island, N.Y. and freshman Zach Mann of Conyers. Cornerback One of the biggest question marks entering the 2010 season for the defense is the secondary, but Bartik has several talented players that are poised for breakout seasons. Sophomore Brandon Goss of Elberton, who transferred to Shorter over the winter and went through spring workouts with the Hawks, has emerged as a leading candidate to fill one of the two cornerback roles, as has junior transfer Mason Strickland of Calhoun, who comes to Shorter after stops at Tusculum and Georgia Southern.

Safety Learning the system is vital to those who handle the two safety positions in the Hawks’ secondary. At free safety, sophomore Desmond Clark of Rome is set to handle the task after playing with Shorter’s undefeated junior varsity squad last fall and senior Josh Gibson of Watkinsville returns after starting OFFENSE in the slot in 2009 before Fullback having to cope with an inReplacing Cooley is objury. viously the biggest quesShorter also has a vetOutside linebacker tion mark facing the DEFENSE eran back at strong safety The Hawks’ strength at in sophomore Spencer Hawks. Nose guard Three veterans stand One area Shorter fans outside linebacker is just Bragg of Dalton, who beready to answer the team’s need not worry about is as noticeable. Returning came a frontline starter calling at fullback — Oc- the middle of the defen- to his “Jack” outside spot last season and picked off tavious Edge, a sophomore sive line where two veter- is junior Daniel Hazard of four passes.

No. 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 5 6 6 7 7 8 8 9 9 10 10 11 11 12 13 13 14 14 15 15 16 16 17 17 18 18 19 19 20 20 21 21 22 22 23 23 24 24 25 25 26 26 27 27 28 28 29 30 30 31 31 32 32 33 33 34 34 35 35 36 36 37 37 38 38 39 40 40 41 42 42 43 43 44 45 45 46 46 47 47 48 48 49 49 50 50 51 51 52 52 53 53 54 54 55 55 56 56 57 57 58 58 59 59 60 61 63 63 64 66 67 68 69 70 71 71 72 72 73 73 74 74 75 76 76 77 78 78 79 80 80 81 81 82 83 83 84 85 85 86 86 87 88 88 89 89 90 91 92 93 95 96 98 99

Name Bo Bearse David Masters Calvin Gibson Chris Hudson Austin Ingram Ben Williams Spencer Bragg Brandon Morten Octavious Edge Ryan Rigdon Michael Peeples C.J. Scott Blair Kenimer Spencer Smith Allen Huntley Kelvin McDonald Danny Bannach Greg Blansit Michael McWilliams Cory Thacker Darius Finley Brandon Goss Eli Nations David Guilford DeVeion Haselrig Roderick Jones Dontre Washington Quincey Bishop Albert Huntley David Byrd Jai Holland Daniel Hazard Leon Spann Carlos Davis Jonathan Ray Elie Haynes Bryce Sellers Kenny Foster Jake Thompson Josh Gibson Frank Manker Collyn Copeland Bradley Moon Ethan Dean Trey Malone Caleb Collins Dion Giles Antwon Appleton Levi Penley Tyler Fuqua T.C. Jay Desmond Clark Jared Cooley Kareem Hawkins Mason Strickland Anthony Hudgins Kevin Hall Darrien Lane Eric Stallworth T.J. Telfair Garrett Hochstetler David Mwamba Jordan Fee Grayson Jones Tevin Pullen Armod Turner Kendrick Garnett Ines Kananda Thomas Guinn Jonathan Talley Robby Poole Fred Taylor Abdull Haynes Justin Lindsey Zach Mann Seth Bohannon Blake Thomas Nick Reed Derik Cooper Stephen Jackson Lamar Brooks Jamey Rice Grant Myers William Jones Cameron Panther Quay Boddie Dennis Toney Josh Hines Jordan Molina Christian Heard Keandreas Wynn Octavious Johnson Josh White Andrew Kellogg Kerry King Jamal Aquil Hudson Rechsteiner Sam Robison Justin White Jonathan Benton Alec McGhee Justin Jarrett Ben Peterson Drew Putnam Isaac Thomason Dylan Holtman Colby Morris Chaz Bowles Jacob Carmean Brandon Otey Steven Powell Josh Clements Joe Colquitt Nick Newborn Landon Littlejohn Warren Brooks Mack Parnell Cecil Mills Josh Dorminy Chase Bowles Tyler Thomas Ryan Willoughby Alex Burse Henry Higgs George Monroe Kendall Dials Lonergon Honore David Hall Thad Mathis Zack Lewis Nick Phillips Toney Hall, Jr. Richard Hyde Nick Mitchell John Fricks Dion Harris Gabe Miller Trevor Gilbert Pentrez Denham Correy Rowe Dustin Duckett Sidney Southerland Nate Newborn Kris Escho Tyler Tillery Zack Peek Ben Hicks Collin Wooddy Hunter Campbell Matt Stone Curtis Wyatt Kevin Lawrence Gary Tiller Bruce Boydstun Tommy Harris Tabias Walker Daniel Walker Tyler Farmer Shamond Stringer Justin Hooper Patrick Keller Jamal Denson Matt Kelley

Pos. WR QB WR DB DB QB DB SB FB DB DB FB QB DB WR DB LB WR DB QB/P QB DB QB K DB SB DB DB WR QB DB LB QB FB DB WR DB FB DB DB SB LB FB SB DB SB DB SB LB DB WR DB FB WR DB DB SB SB DB FB LB FB FB LB LB RB FB LB FB DB LB SB SB LB LB LB FB DB DB SB SB LB LB FB DL LB SB LB SB DB FB WR LB OL LB DL OL OL LB OL LB LB OL LB OL LB OL OL LB LB OL DL LB OL OL DL OL OL OL OL OL OL OL OL LB OL DL OL OL OL DL DL DL OL OL DL TE OL DB OL WR DB DL WR LB TE DB TE DL TE WR DL WR DL K DL DL DL DL DL DL DL DL

Year Jr. Fr. Sr. Fr. Fr. Sr. So. So. So. Fr. Fr. Fr. Fr. So. So. Fr. Sr. Fr. Jr. So. Fr. So. Fr. So. So. Fr. Fr. So. Jr. Jr. So. Jr. Fr. Fr. Jr. Fr. Fr. Fr. Fr. Sr. Fr. So. Fr. Fr. Jr. So. Jr. Jr. Fr. Fr. Sr. So. Fr. So. Jr. Fr. Sr. Sr. So. Jr. Sr. Sr. Fr. Fr. Fr. Fr. So. So. Fr. Fr. Fr. Fr. Sr. So. Fr. So. Jr. Fr. Sr. Fr. Fr. Jr. Sr. So. Sr. So. Jr. Jr. Fr. Fr. Fr. Fr. Fr. Jr. So. Fr. Fr. Jr. So. Fr. Fr. So. Fr. So. So. So. Fr. Fr. So. Fr. So. Fr. Sr. Jr. So. Fr. Fr. Fr. Sr. Fr. So. Sr. Fr. Fr. Fr. Fr. Sr. Sr. Fr. Fr. Fr. Jr. Fr. So. So. So. Fr. So. So. Fr. Jr. Fr. Fr. Fr. Fr. Fr. So. Jr. Fr. So. So. Fr. Fr. Fr. Fr. Fr. Fr. So. So. Sr. So. Fr. So.

26

TUESDAY, August 24, 2010

•

Rome News-Tribune

PIGSKIN PREVIEW

GEORGIA

SEC CAPSULES

Richt looking for strong running game to lead Bulldogs By Charles Odum AP Sports Writer

ATHENS — Georgia has a new starting quarterback and a new defense. Those may be good reasons to embrace an old offensive philosophy. Redshirt freshman quarterback Aaron Murray has never taken a snap in a game. No other current quarterback had taken a snap in a practice before this summer. On defense, the Bulldogs have scrapped their fourman front for a new 3-4 scheme under new defensive coordinator, Todd Grantham. That combination means Georgia will have to play some old-school football to win in the demanding Southeastern Conference. “We must run the ball well this year,” said coach Mark Richt. A strong running game was the constant for Georgia in Vince Dooley’s quarter-century as coach from 1964-88. Dooley won six SEC championships and the 1980 national title by keeping the ball on the ground with such backs as Herschel Walker, Rodney Hampton, Willie McClendon and Lars Tate. Richt prefers a run-pass balance to a run-dominated attack, and junior receiver A.J. Green is the team’s biggest star. Even so, there is good reason for the Bulldogs to run ball and take pressure off Murray and the defense. Murray will be surrounded by 10 returning starters on offense, including three seniors and two juniors on the offensive line. Washaun Ealey and Caleb King are considered costarters at tailback after sharing the carries the second half of last season. Senior fullback Shaun Chapas is a reliable blocker. “I’d be very disappointed if we don’t run the ball well, and if we do run the ball well it’ll take pressure off Aaron or whoever is at quarterback,” Richt said. Georgia finished its 8-5 2009 season with an upset win at Georgia Tech before beating Texas A&M in the Independence Bowl. The encouraging finish was not enough to make up for a disappointing season filled with too many defensive lapses. Richt fired defensive coordinator Willie Martinez and two other defensive assistants before the bowl game. Grantham was hired from the Dallas Cowboys staff. Grantham has placed a fourth linebacker on the field. He also has added a new attack mentality to the unit.

EAST DIVISION FLORIDA — Key players: QB John Brantley, RB Jeff Demps, CB Janoris Jenkins. Returning starters: 6 offense. 5 defense. NOTES: Overlooked with loss of Tim Tebow, three top receivers are also gone. Brantley has played in 16 games with 10 touchdowns and one interception. Coach Urban Meyer said a “bunch” of newcomers from loaded recruiting class will play. Defensive coordinator Teryl Austin replaces Charlie Strong. GEORGIA — Key players: WR A.J. Green, QB Aaron Murray, LT Clint Boling. Returning starters: 10 offense; 5 defense. NOTES: Switching to three-man front on defense under new coordinator Todd Grantham. DE Justin Houston and RB Richard Samuel moved to LB. Entire starting offensive line returns after allowing league-low 12 sacks. Backfield is strong, led by Washaun Ealey and Caleb King. P Drew Butler is one of the nation’s best. SOUTH CAROLINA — Key players: QB Stephen Garcia, WR Alshon Jeffery, DE Cliff Matthews. Returning starters: 8 offense, 7 defense. NOTES: RB Kenny Miles and top four rushers return, joined by top recruit Marcus Lattimore. Shawn Elliott is third offensive line coach in as many years; Gamecocks allowed 37 sacks last year. Garcia is the league’s leading active passer, but has been erratic for nation’s 102-ranked scoring offense. TENNESSEE — Key players: WR Gerald Jones, TB Tauren Poole, DE Chris Walker. Returning starters: 5 offense, 6 defense. NOTES: New coach Derek Dooley inherits culture and roster issues. Must replace two top rushers and passers, and four leading tacklers. Battling for QB job are freshman Tyler Bray and junior college transfer Matt Simms, son of ex-Giants QB Phil and brother of current Titans’ player Chris. RB Bryce Brown and QB Nick Stephens left team in offseason. KENTUCKY — Key players: WR/RS Randall Cobb, TB Derrick Locke, DE DeQuin Evans. Returning starters: 5 offense, 7 defense. NOTES: Joker Phillips only second black head football coach in SEC. QBs Mike Hartline, Morgan Newton and Ryan Mossakowski battling for starting job. Wildcats have won at least seven games four straight years for the first time since 1909-12. Cobb and Locke were AP’s first- and second-team allpurpose players, respectively. VANDERBILT — Key players: QB Larry Smith, RB/RS Warren Norman, LB Chris Marve. Returning starters: 6 offense, 5 defense. NOTES: Robbie Caldwell has a tough audition as interim head coach after replacing Bobby Johnson in mid-July. Vandy faces 10 teams that made bowl games last season. LB Chris Marve was SEC’s No. 2 tackler. Starting QB Larry Smith returns but had just four TD passes against seven INTs last season for league’s worst scoring offense (16.3 ppg). WEST DIVISION ALABAMA — Key players: RB Mark Ingram, QB Greg McElroy, LB Dont’a Hightower. Returning starters: 8 offense, 2 defense. NOTES — DE Marcell Dareus’ status was unclear entering fall camp with an NCAA investigation into who paid for a trip to Miami’s South Beach. Backfield of Ingram and sophomore Trent Richardson might be nation’s best duo. Only two defensive starters return, but replacements include several highly touted youngsters. ARKANSAS — Key players: QB Ryan Mallett, WR Greg Childs, LB Jerry Franklin. Returning starters: 9 offense, 7 defense. NOTES — Most returning starters among SEC teams. Mallett and all his key targets are back from league’s top scoring and passing offense. One of the deepest, best receiving corps around. Bobby Petrino promoted Garrick McGee to offensive coordinator. Team leaders in 18 categories return, but defense was SEC’s worst.

File photo / The Associated Press

Georgia’s Washaun Ealey will share playing time with fellow tailback Caleb King. “It’s going to allow me to put more pressure,” said Justin Houston, who has moved from defensive end to outside linebacker. Houston led Georgia with 7.5 sacks as a sophomore last season. He expects even bigger numbers in the new scheme. “In that other system I had to read and I couldn’t always attack,” Houston said. “In this system I’m attacking a lot more. “It feels great knowing I basically have just one assignment, to attack. It’s a lot of pressure off me. It’s just one thing I’ve got to do. You can just focus on that one thing. If we do what coach Grantham tells us to do and we practice hard, we can make some great things happen.” Richt said he can understand fans’ interest and excitement to see the new defense. He said that “extra little energy or whatever, that anticipation of something you’re not sure of,” has spread through the team. “We’re all intrigued by it,” Richt said. “Our fans want to see it. I want to see it. Coach Grantham and our defensive staff and players, our offensive players, everybody is interested to see what it looks like.” Georgia lost two juniors

— linebacker Rennie Curran and safety Reshad Jones — and its top three defensive tackles from last season. Junior DeAngelo Tyson is expected to start at nose tackle. Inside linebacker Akeem Dent could return for the Sept. 4 opener against LouisianaLafayette after having toe surgery in late July. The Bulldogs boast perhaps the nation’s top pair of kickers. Drew Butler won the 2009 Ray Guy Award as the nation’s best punter. Blair Walsh was a Lou Groza Award finalist after making 20 of his 22 field-goal attempts. Georgia also has a strong return game. Brandon Boykin set the SEC record last year with three kickoff returns for touchdowns. Murray will follow David Greene, a four-year starter, and Matthew Stafford, the No. 1 pick in the 2009 NFL draft, as the third freshman to start at Georgia. “Those two guys definitely did a tremendous job at quarterback here at Georgia,” Murray said. “My goal is just to go out there and be me. I can’t be David Greene. I can’t be Stafford. I can only be Aaron Murray. I can take

a couple of pointers from David and from Stafford and hopefully implement them into my game. I’ve just got to go out there and be me and have fun and get the ball to my playmakers.” Murray, who sat out as a redshirt last year, is joined by true freshman Hutson Mason and freshman walkons Parker Welch and Greg Bingham at quarterback. Logan Gray, a junior who was the backup to 2009 senior starter Joe Cox, moved to receiver after Murray was named the starter at the end of spring practice. Richt said Gray could move back to quarterback if necessary. Richt has been upbeat in his early reviews of his team. “I like the look of this team, I really do,” he said. “I like how the coaches have been preparing ... I like how we’ve been recruiting. I like a lot of things right now.” He said the first week of practice was “very, very good.” “We’ve been very fortunate on injuries with nothing more than bumps and bruises,” he said. “There’s a really good feeling surrounding this team. It has a good mental edge to it.”

File photo / The Associated Press

Georgia head coach Mark Richt led his team to an 8-5 record, including a win in the Independence Bowl.

AUBURN — Key players: QB Cameron Newton, LT Lee Ziemba, LB Josh Bynes. Returning starters: 7 offense. 8 defense. NOTES — Only SEC coaching staff to return intact. DBs Aairon Savage, Mike McNeil and Zac Etheridge trying to return from serious injuries. Newton won the No. 1 job in the spring after transferring from JUCO. RB Michael Dyer headlines one of the Tigers’ top-rated recruiting classes in years. MISSISSIPPI — Key players: QB Jeremiah Masoli, RB Brandon Bolden, DT Jerrell Powe. Returning starters: 3 offense, 6 defense. NOTES — 9 returning starters is fewest in SEC, but Masoli’s transfer from Oregon is a potentially huge boost. Rebels return players responsible for less than 42 percent of passing, rushing and receiving yards. Defensive line remains formidable with Jerrell Powe manning the middle. LSU — QB Jordan Jefferson, LB Kelvin Sheppard, CB Patrick Peterson. Returning starters: 6 offense, 4 defense. NOTES — Defense lost 4 of its top 5 tacklers. Nonconference games against North Carolina and West Virginia. Redshirt freshman RB Michael Ford could be big factor in backfield. Peterson and Sheppard are two of the league’s top defenders. MISSISSIPPI ST. — Key players: QBs Chris Relf and Tyler Russell, OT Derek Sherrod, DE Pernell McPhee. Returning starters: 6 offense, 8 defense. NOTES: Coach Dan Mullen said bulldozing QB Chris Relf is “completely different” in his approach and demeanor from last season. He’s listed as co-No. 1 with Russell. JUCO transfers RB Vick Ballard and 6-foot-7, 345 JUCO DT James Carmon could play roles after going through spring. New coaches Manny Diaz and Chris Wilson will run the defense. — The Associated Press

SEC SCHEDULE ALABAMA Sep. 4 San Jose St., 7 p.m. Sep. 11 Penn St., 7 p.m. Sep. 18 at Duke, 3:30 p.m. Sep. 25 at Arkansas, TBA Oct. 2 Florida, TBA Oct. 9 at South Carolina, TBA Oct. 16 Mississippi, TBA Oct. 23 at Tennessee, TBA Nov. 6 at LSU, 8 p.m. Nov. 13 Mississippi St., TBA Nov. 18 Georgia St., 7:30 p.m. Nov. 26 Auburn, 2:30 p.m.

LSU Sep. 4 at North Carolina, 8 p.m. Sep. 11 at Vanderbilt, 7 p.m. Sep. 18 Mississippi St., 8 p.m. Sep. 25 West Virginia, 8 p.m. Oct. 2 Tennessee, 8 p.m. Oct. 9 at Florida, TBA Oct. 16 McNeese St., 8 p.m. Oct. 23 at Auburn, TBA Nov. 6 Alabama, 8 p.m. Nov. 13 Louisiana-Monroe, 8 p.m. Nov. 20 Mississippi, 8 p.m. Nov. 27 at Arkansas, TBA

ARKANSAS Sep. 4 Tennessee Tech, 7 p.m. Sep. 11 Louisiana-Monroe, 7 p.m. Sep. 18 at Georgia, Noon Sep. 25 Alabama, TBA Oct. 9 at Texas A&M, TBA Oct. 16 at Auburn, TBA Oct. 23 Mississippi, TBA Oct. 30 Vanderbilt, TBA Nov. 6 at South Carolina, TBA Nov. 13 UTEP, TBA Nov. 20 at Mississippi St., TBA Nov. 27 LSU, TBA

MISSISSIPPI Sep. 4 Jacksonville St., 3:30 p.m. Sep. 11 at Tulane, 9 p.m. Sep. 18 Vanderbilt, 12:20 p.m. Sep. 25 Fresno St., TBA Oct. 2 Kentucky, TBA Oct. 16 at Alabama, TBA Oct. 23 at Arkansas, TBA Oct. 30 Auburn, TBA Nov. 6 Louisiana-Lafayette, TBA Nov. 13 at Tennessee, TBA Nov. 20 at LSU, 8 p.m. Nov. 27 Mississippi St., TBA

AUBURN Sep. 4 Arkansas St., 7 p.m. Sep. 9 at Mississippi St., 8:30 p.m. Sep. 18 Clemson, 7 p.m. Sep. 25 South Carolina, TBA Oct. 2 Louisiana-Monroe, TBA Oct. 9 at Kentucky, TBA Oct. 16 Arkansas, TBA Oct. 23 LSU, TBA Oct. 30 at Mississippi, TBA Nov. 6 Chattanooga, TBA Nov. 13 Georgia, TBA Nov. 26 at Alabama, 2:30 p.m.

MISSISSIPPI ST. Sep. 4 Memphis, 7 p.m. Sep. 9 Auburn, 8:30 p.m. Sep. 18 at LSU, 8 p.m. Sep. 25 Georgia, TBA Oct. 2 Alcorn St., TBA Oct. 9 at Houston, 8 p.m. Oct. 16 at Florida, TBA Oct. 23 UAB, TBA Oct. 30 Kentucky, TBA Nov. 13 at Alabama, TBA Nov. 20 Arkansas, TBA Nov. 27 at Mississippi, TBA

FLORIDA Sep. 4 Miami (Ohio), Noon Sep. 11 South Florida, 12:20 p.m. Sep. 18 at Tennessee, 3:30 p.m. Sep. 25 Kentucky, TBA Oct. 2 at Alabama, TBA Oct. 9 LSU, TBA Oct. 16 Mississippi St., TBA Oct. 30 Georgia, 3:30 p.m. Nov. 6 at Vanderbilt, TBA Nov. 13 South Carolina, TBA Nov. 20 Appalachian St., TBA Nov. 27 at Florida St., TBA

SOUTH CAROLINA Sep. 2 Southern Miss., 7:30 p.m. Sep. 11 Georgia, Noon Sep. 18 Furman, 7 p.m. Sep. 25 at Auburn, TBA Oct. 9 Alabama, TBA Oct. 16 at Kentucky, TBA Oct. 23 at Vanderbilt, TBA Oct. 30 Tennessee, TBA Nov. 6 Arkansas, TBA Nov. 13 at Florida, TBA Nov. 20 Troy, TBA Nov. 27 at Clemson, TBA

GEORGIA Sep. 4 Louisiana-Lafayette, 12:20 p.m. Sep. 11 at South Carolina, Noon Sep. 18 Arkansas, Noon Sep. 25 at Mississippi St., TBA Oct. 2 at Colorado, 4:30 p.m. Oct. 9 Tennessee, TBA Oct. 16 Vanderbilt, TBA Oct. 23 at Kentucky, TBA Oct. 30 at Florida, 3:30 p.m. Nov. 6 Idaho St., TBA Nov. 13 at Auburn, TBA Nov. 27 Georgia Tech, TBA

TENNESSEE Sep. 4 Tenn.-Martin, 6 p.m. Sep. 11 Oregon, 7 p.m. Sep. 18 Florida, 3:30 p.m. Sep. 25 UAB, TBA Oct. 2 at LSU, 8 p.m. Oct. 9 at Georgia, TBA Oct. 23 Alabama, TBA Oct. 30 at South Carolina, TBA Nov. 6 at Memphis, 8 p.m. Nov. 13 Mississippi, TBA Nov. 20 at Vanderbilt, TBA Nov. 27 Kentucky, TBA

KENTUCKY Sep. 4 at Louisville, 3:30 p.m. Sep. 11 W. Kentucky, 7:30 p.m. Sep. 18 Akron, 7 p.m. Sep. 25 at Florida, TBA Oct. 2 at Mississippi, TBA Oct. 9 Auburn, TBA Oct. 16 South Carolina, TBA Oct. 23 Georgia, TBA Oct. 30 at Mississippi St., TBA Nov. 6 Charleston Southern, TBA Nov. 13 Vanderbilt, TBA Nov. 27 at Tennessee, TBA

VANDERBILT Sep. 4 Northwestern, 7:30 p.m. Sep. 11 LSU, 7 p.m. Sep. 18 at Mississippi, 12:20 p.m. Oct. 2 at Connecticut, TBA Oct. 9 E. Michigan, TBA Oct. 16 at Georgia, TBA Oct. 23 South Carolina, TBA Oct. 30 at Arkansas, TBA Nov. 6 Florida, TBA Nov. 13 at Kentucky, TBA Nov. 20 Tennessee, TBA Nov. 27 Wake Forest, TBA

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NORTH CAROLINA — Key players: QB T.J. Yates, DL Marvin Austin, LBs Quan Sturdivant and Bruce Carter, S Deunta Williams. Returning starters: 10 offense, 9 defense. NOTES: Tar Heels have an ACC-best 21 returning starters, including both specialists. ... They return the bulk of the ACC’s top defense in 2009, but season could hinge on how well they handle the distraction of an NCAA probe into whether two players had improper contact with agents. ... North Carolina looking for third straight bowl berth, which hasn’t happened since Tar Heels went bowling every year from 1993-98. MIAMI — Key players: QB Jacory Harris, WR Leonard Hankerson, DE Allen Bailey, CB Brandon Harris. Returning starters: 6 offense, 8 defense. NOTES: Hurricanes hope to regain RB Graig Cooper, coming off a major knee injury from Champs Sports Bowl loss to Wisconsin. ... K Matt Bosher is the nation’s most accurate returning kicker, hitting 32 of 36 field goals and 90 consecutive extra-points. GEORGIA TECH — Key players: QB Josh Nesbitt, RBs Anthony Allen and Roddy Jones, LB Brad Jefferson. Returning starters: 6 offense, 8 defense. NOTES: Defending ACC champs are looking for replacements for their leading rusher (Jonathan Dwyer) and receiver (Demaryius Thomas). ... Nesbitt is 692 yards shy of Woody Dantzler’s league record for yards rushing by a quarterback. ... Yellow Jackets have last three ACC coaches of the year on their staff — head coach Paul Johnson won it in 2008 and ‘09, and new defensive coordinator Al Groh was the 2007 honoree at Virginia. DUKE — Key players: WRs Donovan Varner and Conner Vernon, CB Chris Rwabukamba. Returning starters: 9 offense, 6 defense. NOTES: Three returning Blue Devils had at least 50 receptions last year, giving new QB Sean Renfree several options as he gets comfortable replacing four-year starter Thad Lewis. ... Duke’s five wins last year were its most since 1994. ... Blue Devils haven’t won a game in November since 2004. VIRGINIA — Key players: QB Marc Verica, WR Kris Burd, DB Ras-I Dowling. Returning starters: 6 offense, 6 defense. NOTES: New coach Mike London served two stints as an assistant coach in Charlottesville. ... Cavaliers’ last-place finish in 2009 was their first since the ACC split into divisions in ‘05. ... Verica threw for 2,000 yards as the starter in 2008 but played behind Jameel Sewell last year. ATLANTIC DIVISION FLORIDA STATE — Key players: QB Christian Ponder, OG Rodney Hudson, LB Nigel Bradham. Returning starters: 10 offense, 6 defense. NOTES: New coach Jimbo Fisher looking to lead Seminoles to NCAA-best 29th straight bowl appearance. ... Ponder averaged nearly 322 total yards in his nine starts last season. ... Florida State must replace three starters from a secondary that ranked 11th in ACC in passing yards allowed. BOSTON COLLEGE — Key players: RB Montel Harris, LBs Mark Herzlich and Luke Kuechly. Returning starters: 8 offense, 7 defense. NOTES: Harris is on pace to break Derrick Knight’s school career rushing record this season. He’s 1,368 yards shy of the mark of 3,725 and has averaged nearly 1,200 in his first two seasons at BC. ... Herzlich, the ACC’s defensive player of the year in 2008, returns after missing last season to fight a rare form of cancer. ... Eagles looking for their 12th straight bowl trip. CLEMSON — Key players: QB Kyle Parker, RBs Andre Ellington and Jamie Harper, DT Jarvis Jenkins. Returning starters: 7 offense, 6 defense. NOTES: Ellington and Harper have one of college football’s toughest jobs: replacing do-everything threat C.J. Spiller, the 2009 ACC offensive player of the year. ... It helps that the Tigers return four offensive line starters. ... Parker, the Colorado Rockies’ first-round draft pick, is the only player in Division I history to throw 20 touchdown passes and hit 20 home runs in the same academic year. N.C. STATE — Key players: QB Russell Wilson, WRs Jarvis Williams and Owen Spencer, LB Nate Irving. Returning starters: 7 offense, 5 defense. NOTES: Wolfpack have two of the league’s top receivers, with Spencer averaging a FBS-best 25.5 yards per catch and Williams leading the ACC with 11 touchdown receptions. ... The Rockies also drafted Wilson, who spent the summer playing minor-league ball. ... N.C. State must find some stability in the secondary, which was a revolving door last season in allowing opponents to complete nearly 63 percent of their passes. WAKE FOREST — Key players: RB Josh Adams, WR Marshall Williams, CB Kenny Okoro. Returning starters: 6 offense, 7 defense. NOTES: Demon Deacons hope they’ve found a replacement for four-year starter Riley Skinner in Skylar Jones, who is considered more of a running threat. ... Five of Wake Forest’s seven losses were by a combined 13 points, while two wins came by a touchdown or less. MARYLAND — Key players: WR Torrey Smith, RB Da’Rel Scott, LB Alex Wujciak. Returning starters: 7 offense, 5 defense. NOTES: Scott looking to regain his form after finishing with just 425 yards rushing during an injury-plagued junior season. ... Terps’ one ACC victory in 2009 was their fewest since they were 1-7 in the league in 1998. ... Projected QB Jamarr Robinson made two starts in Chris Turner’s absence last season. — The Associated Press

ACC SCHEDULE BOSTON COLLEGE Sep. 4 Weber St., 1 p.m. Sep. 11 Kent St., 3:30 p.m. Sep. 25 Virginia Tech, TBA Oct. 2 Notre Dame, TBA Oct. 9 at N.C. State, TBA Oct. 16 at Florida St., TBA Oct. 23 Maryland, TBA Oct. 30 Clemson, TBA Nov. 6 at Wake Forest, TBA Nov. 13 at Duke, TBA Nov. 20 Virginia, TBA Nov. 27 at Syracuse, TBA CLEMSON Sep. 4 North Texas, 3:30 p.m. Sep. 11 Presbyterian, 3:30 p.m. Sep. 18 at Auburn, 7 p.m. Oct. 2 Miami, TBA Oct. 9 at North Carolina, TBA Oct. 16 Maryland, TBA Oct. 23 Georgia Tech, TBA Oct. 30 at Boston College, TBA Nov. 6 N.C. State, TBA Nov. 13 at Florida St., TBA Nov. 20 at Wake Forest, TBA Nov. 27 South Carolina, TBA DUKE Sep. 4 Elon, 7 p.m. Sep. 11 at Wake Forest, Noon Sep. 18 Alabama, 3:30 p.m. Sep. 25 Army, TBA Oct. 2 at Maryland, TBA Oct. 16 Miami, TBA Oct. 23 at Virginia Tech, TBA Oct. 30 at Navy, 3:30 p.m. Nov. 6 Virginia, TBA Nov. 13 Boston College, TBA Nov. 20 at Georgia Tech, TBA Nov. 27 North Carolina, TBA FLORIDA ST. Sep. 4 Samford, Noon Sep. 11 at Oklahoma, 3:30 p.m. Sep. 18 BYU, 3:30 p.m. Sep. 25 Wake Forest, TBA Oct. 2 at Virginia, TBA Oct. 9 at Miami, TBA Oct. 16 Boston College, TBA Oct. 28 at N.C. State, 7:30 p.m. Nov. 6 North Carolina, TBA Nov. 13 Clemson, TBA Nov. 20 at Maryland, TBA Nov. 27 Florida, TBA GEORGIA TECH Sep. 4 S. Carolina St., 1 p.m. Sep. 11 at Kansas, Noon Sep. 18 at North Carolina, TBA Sep. 25 N.C. State, TBA Oct. 2 at Wake Forest, TBA Oct. 9 Virginia, TBA Oct. 16 Middle Tennessee, TBA Oct. 23 at Clemson, TBA Nov. 4 at Virginia Tech, 7:30 p.m. Nov. 13 Miami, TBA Nov. 20 Duke, TBA Nov. 27 at Georgia, TBA MARYLAND Sep. 6 Navy, 4 p.m. Sep. 11 Morgan St., 6 p.m. Sep. 18 at West Virginia, Noon Sep. 25 Fla. International, TBA Oct. 2 Duke, TBA

Oct. 16 at Clemson, TBA Oct. 23 at Boston College, TBA Oct. 30 Wake Forest, TBA Nov. 6 at Miami, TBA Nov. 13 at Virginia, TBA Nov. 20 Florida St., TBA Nov. 27 N.C. State, TBA NORTH CAROLINA Sep. 4 LSU, 8 p.m. Sep. 18 Georgia Tech, TBA Sep. 25 at Rutgers, TBA Oct. 2 East Carolina, TBA Oct. 9 Clemson, TBA Oct. 16 at Virginia, TBA Oct. 23 at Miami, TBA Oct. 30 William & Mary, TBA Nov. 6 at Florida St., TBA Nov. 13 Virginia Tech, TBA Nov. 20 N.C. State, TBA Nov. 27 at Duke, TBA

TUESDAY, August 24, 2010

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GEORGIA TECH

ACC CAPSULES COASTAL DIVISION VIRGINIA TECH — Key players: QB Tyrod Taylor, RB Ryan Williams, WRs Danny Coale and Jarrett Boykin, DT John Graves. Returning starters: 8 offense, 5 defense. NOTES: Virginia Tech and Texas the only teams with at least 10 wins in each of last six seasons. ... Traditionally stout Tech defense must find replacements for six starters, including LB Cody Grimm and DE Jason Worilds.

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Quarterback Nesbitt central to Yellow Jackets’ success By Paul Newberry AP Sports Writer

ATLANTA — He prefers to be called Joshua now. He figures it sounds like someone who’s all grown up, like a guy who’s ready to head out into the real world. No matter the name, Joshua — not Josh anymore — Nesbitt still holds the same vital roles for defending Atlantic Coast Conference champion Georgia Tech. He’s the quarterback in an option offense. He’s the guy who makes it all go. And he’s probably one of the most valuable players in all of college football, especially on a team that lost its leading rusher and top receiver to the NFL. “If he’ll play as well as he did last year,” coach Paul Johnson quipped, “I’ll call him whatever he wants.” Nesbitt ranked fifth in the ACC in rushing with 1,037 yards, a total that included 18 touchdowns. He also passed for 1,701 yards, accounting for 10 more TDs. But his value to the team stretched beyond mere numbers, as impressive as those were. In the option, Nesbitt is at the center of every play. He studies the defense at the line, takes the snap and makes a split-second decision on where the weakness lies — and, therefore, who should get the ball. Sometimes, he hands it off. Other times, he pitches it out. Plenty of times, he just keeps it himself. Almost every time, he takes a jarring hit. Even if he doesn’t have the ball. Especially if he doesn’t have the ball. That’s what an option quarterback does, luring defenders into making the tackle on someone who can’t actually hurt them, leaving fewer players to go after the guy who can. The 217-pound Nesbitt is often slammed to the ground by a player much bigger than he is, but he always seems to hop right back up. “A guy three times bigger than you is knocking the crap out of you, and you’re going to just get up and run the next play,” backup quarterback Tevin Washington said. “You’ve got to respect that from someone his size.” Nesbitt’s importance will likely be even more profound this season, with the Yellow Jackets coming off their first outright ACC title since 1990. Georgia Tech (11-3 last season) will have to replace running back Jona-

File photo / The Associated Press

Georgia Tech Joshua Nesbitt returns this year for his senior season. than Dwyer, the ACC’s third-leading rusher with 1,395 yards, and receiver Demaryius Thomas, who turned a mere 46 receptions into 1,154 yards and eight TDs. Both gave up their senior season to enter the NFL draft. “It’s going to be tough,” Nesbitt conceded. “But I think the guys we have will fill their shoes. Not in the same way, but in their own special way.” Dwyer’s replacement is Anthony Allen, a wingback last season but returning to the position he played at Louisville before transferring. The bigger question is who can match Thomas’ big-play ability? While the Jackets rarely throw the ball, they got huge numbers out of their big receiver, often by having Nesbitt throw the ball up and letting Thomas go up and get it. Sophomore Stephen Hill has the physical tools (6foot-5, 200 pounds) but no one is quite sure if he — or anyone else — can be as productive as Thomas. “I don’t know if you can replace those guys with one person,” Johnson

said. “But you can replace them with a couple of guys.” Fortunately for the Yellow Jackets, they don’t have to worry about coming up with a new quarterback. Nesbitt decided to return for his final season, mindful that any chance he has of playing in the NFL will likely involve moving to a new position. He sat out spring practice, giving him time to heal from minor surgery on his right ankle. Considering the beating he has taken on the field, it was a much-needed break. “This is the best I have felt since high school,” Nesbitt said. A few months ago, Nesbitt announced that he wanted to be called by his full first name during his senior season. It was a decision he reached in consultation with his mother. “In the locker room, everybody calls me Nesbitt or 9 (his uniform number). It’s really not much of a change,” he said. “It’s just something me and my mother felt would fit in

with being more businesslike.” He’s been called Josh his whole life, though, so even mom has struggled a bit to get it right. “I had to get on her a couple of times,” Nesbitt said, breaking into a big smile. Nesbitt’s revised name wasn’t the only change at Georgia Tech during the offseason. More significantly, Johnson brought in former Virginia coach Al Groh as defensive coordinator, hoping the switch to a 3-4 alignment will improve a unit that allowed 360 yards a game, ranking in the bottom half of the ACC. Groh won’t have the benefit of two key players: defensive end Derrick Morgan and safety Morgan Burnett also left early for the NFL. Even so, Johnson expects improvement. “Honestly, we didn’t play up to our level on defense a year ago,” the head coach said. “I’m excited to see how we do this year. If we can force a few more punts and get a few more turnovers, it will certainly help us win more games.”

N.C. STATE Sep. 4 W. Carolina, 6 p.m. Sep. 11 at UCF, 7:30 p.m. Sep. 16 Cincinnati, 7:30 p.m. Sep. 25 at Georgia Tech, TBA Oct. 2 Virginia Tech, TBA Oct. 9 Boston College, TBA Oct. 16 at East Carolina, Noon Oct. 28 Florida St., 7:30 p.m. Nov. 6 at Clemson, TBA Nov. 13 Wake Forest, TBA Nov. 20 at North Carolina, TBA Nov. 27 at Maryland, TBA VIRGINIA Sep. 4 Richmond, 6 p.m. Sep. 11 at Southern Cal, 10:30 p.m. Sep. 25 VMI, TBA Oct. 2 Florida St., TBA Oct. 9 at Georgia Tech, TBA Oct. 16 North Carolina, TBA Oct. 23 E. Michigan, TBA Oct. 30 Miami, TBA Nov. 6 at Duke, TBA Nov. 13 Maryland, TBA Nov. 20 at Boston College, TBA Nov. 27 at Virginia Tech, TBA VIRGINIA TECH Sep. 6 Boise St., 8 p.m. Sep. 11 James Madison, 1:30 p.m. Sep. 18 East Carolina, 1:30 p.m. Sep. 25 at Boston College, TBA Oct. 2 at N.C. State, TBA Oct. 9 Cent. Michigan, 1:30 p.m. Oct. 16 Wake Forest, TBA Oct. 23 Duke, TBA Nov. 4 Georgia Tech, 7:30 p.m. Nov. 13 at North Carolina, TBA Nov. 20 at Miami, TBA Nov. 27 Virginia, TBA WAKE FOREST Sep. 2 Presbyterian, 6:30 p.m. Sep. 11 Duke, Noon Sep. 18 at Stanford, 11:15 p.m. Sep. 25 at Florida St., TBA Oct. 2 Georgia Tech, TBA Oct. 9 Navy, TBA Oct. 16 at Virginia Tech, TBA Oct. 30 at Maryland, TBA Nov. 6 Boston College, TBA Nov. 13 at N.C. State, TBA Nov. 20 Clemson, TBA Nov. 27 at Vanderbilt, TBA

File photo / The Associated Press

Georgia Tech head coach Paul Johnson and the Yellow Jackets are hoping to continue last year’s success.

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TUESDAY, August 24, 2010

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PIGSKIN PREVIEW

ATLANTA FALCONS Birds want more than winning record in 2010 By Charles Odum Associated Press Sports Writer

ATLANTA — Mike Smith believes the foundation for the Atlanta Falcons’ 2010 season was set in the closing weeks of the 2009 campaign. The Falcons, coming off an 11-5 playoff season in Smith’s first year as head coach, were 6-7 and already out of the playoff hunt when they put together three straight wins to close the season. The stretch included road wins at the New York Jets and Tampa Bay. The win over the Buccaneers on Jan. 3, 2010, gave the Falcons a 9-7 final record for their first back-to-back winning seasons in franchise history. “I told our guys this was not the last game in 2009 season, it was the first game for the 2010 season,” Smith said, remembering his pep talk to his team before the game in Tampa Bay. “It was, in the calendar year, 2010 and we needed to start 2010 off in the right fashion. “It got us over the hump in terms of back-to-back winning seasons. But with that being said, we were very, very disappointed with the final results of the season last year just because our internal goals were much, much higher than just having a winning season.” The higher goals have carried over into the third season for Smith, general manager Thomas Dimitroff and quarterback Matt Ryan. Clearly, anything short of a return to the playoffs will be a disappointment. Just ask owner Arthur

Blank, who says he was excited about the long-awaited consecutive winning seasons last year but is looking for more in 2010. “Now I’m excited about rings,” Blank said. If their defense improves, the Falcons may have enough talent and balance on offense to challenge the Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints in the NFC South. Running back Michael Turner lost about 15 pounds and says he is back at his listed weight of 244. He missed five of the last seven games last season with an ankle injury but looks healthy and quicker in training camp. Turner was most effective as a straight-ahead runner last year, but he has been able to turn the corner on outside runs in camp. Turner finished second in the NFL in 2008 with 1,699 yards rushing and set a team record with 17 touchdowns. He had 871 yards rushing and 10 touchdowns last year. “I think Michael came into this offseason with the mindset that, hey I’m not going to be a one-year wonder, I’m going to be a very productive running back and a very productive player for a very long time in this league,” Smith said. Pro Bowl receiver Roddy White and tight end Tony Gonzalez each had more than 80 catches last year. Ryan’s season still was a mild disappointment as his 58.3 completion percentage ranked only 23rd in the league. He missed two games with a toe injury and finished the season with 2,916 passing yards, 22 TDs and 14 interceptions. There are other stars on

the offense, but Ryan remains the key. “We’re in year three of the process, so we should advance what we want to do,” Smith said. “Of course the quarterback is the guy who runs the offense. Matt has gotten to a point where we feel very, very comfortable with what we’ve done so far and we plan on adding things this season.” The Falcons hope Ryan, the 2008 NFL offensive rookie of the year, places himself among the league’s top quarterbacks this season. “He is looking great,” said Gonzalez of Ryan. “He is doing really well. He has really improved and I am happy with the way he is going. Just got to keep him healthy and the sky is the limit with him. It is just a matter of when and not if. He will be one of the best. It is just about getting that experience.” The New England Patriots visited the Falcons for combined practices this week after working with Drew Brees and the Saints last week. Coach Bill Belichick didn’t hesitate to group Ryan with Brees. “They’re similar in that they’re real good,” Belichick said, adding “They’re as good as anybody in this league.” Left tackle Sam Baker, who was drafted after Ryan in the first round in 2008, also is a third-year starter. All five starters return on the offensive line. Ryan also is protected by veteran fullback Ovie Mughelli. There are questions at receiver behind White, who had 1,153 yards and a career-high 11 touchdowns last season. Michael Jen-

Dave Martin / The Associated Press

Atlanta running back Michael Turner (33) breaks away from New England linebacker Jerod Mayo (51) in the first quarter of their preseason game at the Georgia Dome. kins, the projected No. 2 receiver, suffered a right shoulder injury early in camp and is expected to miss four to six weeks. Harry Douglas showed big-play potential as a receiver and return specialist in 2008 before missing the 2009 season with a knee injury. Douglas drew compliments in the combined workout with the Patriots and may be the team’s strongest candidate for a breakout season. Eric Weems and Brian Finneran also return at receiver. Rookie Kerry Meier

could emerge as a surprise. The Falcons signed free agent Dunta Robinson to be the shutdown cornerback the team lacked last season. Rookie first-round pick Sean Weatherspoon could win a starting job at outside linebacker. Even if he doesn’t start, he’ll likely be on the field on passing downs. A key is defensive tackle Peria Jerry, the 2008 first-round pick who missed most of his rookie season with a knee injury. Jerry has been watched carefully in training camp. The Falcons tied for 26th

in the NFL with only 28 sacks in 2009. End John Abraham, who set a career high with 16.5 sacks in 2008, had 5.5 sacks last year. He is convinced he hasn’t lost a step. One problem was the lack of pressure from the other end. Jamaal Anderson, who had only one-half sack last year, is still listed as a starting defensive end, but he is spending most of his time at tackle. Anderson will move inside on passing downs, clearing an opportunity for Kroy Biermann and Lawrence Sidbury.

1)/ 6FKHGXOH Arizona Cardinals Sept. 12 at St. Louis, 4:15 p.m. Sept. 19 at Atlanta, 1 p.m. Sept. 26 Oakland, 4:15 p.m. Oct. 3 at San Diego, 4:15 p.m. Oct. 10 New Orleans, 4:05 p.m. Oct. 17 BYE Oct. 24 at Seattle, 4:05 p.m. Oct. 31 Tampa Bay, 4:15 p.m. Nov. 7 at Minnesota, 1 p.m. Nov. 14 Seattle, 4:15 p.m. Nov. 21 at Kansas City, 1 p.m. Nov. 29 San Francisco, 8:30 p.m. Dec. 5 St. Louis, 4:15 p.m. Dec. 12 Denver, 4:15 p.m. Dec. 19 at Carolina, 1 p.m. Dec. 25 Dallas, 7:30 p.m. Jan. 2 at San Francisco, 4:15 p.m. Atlanta Falcons Sept. 12 at Pittsburgh, 1 p.m. Sept. 19 Arizona, 1 p.m. Sept. 26 at New Orleans, 1 p.m. Oct. 3 San Francisco, 1 p.m. Oct. 10 at Cleveland, 1 p.m. Oct. 17 at Philadelphia, 1 p.m. Oct. 24 Cincinnati, 1 p.m. Oct. 31 BYE Nov. 7 Tampa Bay, 1 p.m. Nov. 11 Baltimore, 8:20 p.m. Nov. 21 at St. Louis, 4:05 p.m. Nov. 28 Green Bay, 1 p.m. Dec. 5 at Tampa Bay, 1 p.m. Dec. 12 at Carolina, 1 p.m. Dec. 19 at Seattle, 4:05 p.m. Dec. 27 New Orleans, 8:30 p.m. Jan. 2 Carolina, 1 p.m. Baltimore Ravens Sept. 13 at N.Y. Jets, 7 p.m. Sept. 19 at Cincinnati, 1 p.m. Sept. 26 Cleveland, 1 p.m. Oct. 3 at Pittsburgh, 1 p.m. Oct. 10 Denver, 1 p.m. Oct. 17 at New England, 1 p.m. Oct. 24 Buffalo, 1 p.m. Oct. 31 BYE Nov. 7 Miami, 1 p.m. Nov. 11 at Atlanta, 8:20 p.m. Nov. 21 at Carolina, 1 p.m. Nov. 28 Tampa Bay, 1 p.m. Dec. 5 Pittsburgh-x, 8:20 p.m. Dec. 13 at Houston, 8:30 p.m. Dec. 19 New Orleans, 1 p.m. Dec. 26 at Cleveland, 1 p.m. Jan. 2 Cincinnati, 1 p.m. Buffalo Bills Sept. 12 Miami, 1 p.m. Sept. 19 at Green Bay, 1 p.m. Sept. 26 at New England, 1 p.m. Oct. 3 N.Y. Jets, 1 p.m. Oct. 10 Jacksonville, 1 p.m. Oct. 17 BYE Oct. 24 at Baltimore, 1 p.m. Oct. 31 at Kansas City, 1 p.m. Nov. 7 vs. Chicago at Toronto, 1 p.m. Nov. 14 Detroit, 1 p.m. Nov. 21 at Cincinnati, 1 p.m. Nov. 28 Pittsburgh, 1 p.m. Dec. 5 at Minnesota, 1 p.m. Dec. 12 Cleveland, 1 p.m. Dec. 19 at Miami, 1 p.m. Dec. 26 New England, 1 p.m. Jan. 2 at N.Y. Jets, 1 p.m. Carolina Panthers Sept. 12 at N.Y. Giants, 1 p.m. Sept. 19 Tampa Bay, 1 p.m. Sept. 26 Cincinnati, 1 p.m. Oct. 3 at New Orleans, 1 p.m. Oct. 10 Chicago, 1 p.m. Oct. 17 BYE Oct. 24 San Francisco, 1 p.m. Oct. 31 at St. Louis, 1 p.m. Nov. 7 New Orleans, 1 p.m. Nov. 14 at Tampa Bay, 1 p.m. Nov. 21 Baltimore, 1 p.m. Nov. 28 at Cleveland, 1 p.m. Dec. 5 at Seattle, 4:15 p.m. Dec. 12 Atlanta, 1 p.m. Dec. 19 Arizona, 1 p.m. Dec. 23 at Pittsburgh, 8:20 p.m. Jan. 2 at Atlanta, 1 p.m. Chicago Bears Sept. 12 Detroit, 1 p.m. Sept. 19 at Dallas, 1 p.m. Sept. 27 Green Bay, 8:30 p.m. Oct. 3 at N.Y. Giants, 8:20 p.m. Oct. 10 at Carolina, 1 p.m.

Oct. 17 Seattle, 1 p.m. Oct. 24 Washington, 1 p.m. Oct. 31 BYE Nov. 7 vs. Buffalo at Toronto, 1 p.m. Nov. 14 Minnesota, 1 p.m. Nov. 18 at Miami, 8:20 p.m. Nov. 28 Philadelphia, 1 p.m. Dec. 5 at Detroit, 1 p.m. Dec. 12 New England, 1 p.m. Dec. 20 at Minnesota, 8:30 p.m. Dec. 26 N.Y. Jets, 1 p.m. Jan. 2 at Green Bay, 1 p.m. Cincinnati Be ngals Sept. 12 at New England, 1 p.m. Sept. 19 Baltimore, 1 p.m. Sept. 26 at Carolina, 1 p.m. Oct. 3 at Cleveland, 1 p.m. Oct. 10 Tampa Bay, 1 p.m. Oct. 17 BYE Oct. 24 at Atlanta, 1 p.m. Oct. 31 Miami, 1 p.m. Nov. 8 Pittsburgh, 8:30 p.m. Nov. 14 at Indianapolis, 1 p.m. Nov. 21 Buffalo, 1 p.m. Nov. 25 at N.Y. Jets, 8:20 p.m. Dec. 5 New Orleans, 1 p.m. Dec. 12 at Pittsburgh, 1 p.m. Dec. 19 Cleveland, 1 p.m. Dec. 26 San Diego-x, 8:20 p.m. Jan. 2 at Baltimore, 1 p.m. Cleveland Browns Sept. 12 at Tampa Bay, 1 p.m. Sept. 19 Kansas City, 1 p.m. Sept. 26 at Baltimore, 1 p.m. Oct. 3 Cincinnati, 1 p.m. Oct. 10 Atlanta, 1 p.m. Oct. 17 at Pittsburgh, 1 p.m. Oct. 24 at New Orleans, 1 p.m. Oct. 31 BYE Nov. 7 New England, 1 p.m. Nov. 14 N.Y. Jets, 1 p.m. Nov. 21 at Jacksonville, 1 p.m. Nov. 28 Carolina, 1 p.m. Dec. 5 at Miami, 1 p.m. Dec. 12 at Buffalo, 1 p.m. Dec. 19 at Cincinnati, 1 p.m. Dec. 26 Baltimore, 1 p.m. Jan. 2 Pittsburgh, 1 p.m. Dallas Cowboys Sept. 12 at Washington, 8:20 p.m. Sept. 19 Chicago, 1 p.m. Sept. 26 at Houston, 1 p.m. Oct. 3 BYE Oct. 10 Tennessee, 4:15 p.m. Oct. 17 at Minnesota, 4:15 p.m. Oct. 25 N.Y. Giants, 8:30 p.m. Oct. 31 Jacksonville, 1 p.m. Nov. 7 at Green Bay, 8:20 p.m. Nov. 14 at N.Y. Giants, 4:15 p.m. Nov. 21 Detroit, 1 p.m. Nov. 25 New Orleans, 4:15 p.m. Dec. 5 at Indianapolis, 4:15 p.m. Dec. 12 Philadelphia-x, 8:20 p.m. Dec. 19 Washington, 1 p.m. Dec. 25 at Arizona, 7:30 p.m. Jan. 2 at Philadelphia, 1 p.m. Denver Broncos Sept. 12 at Jacksonville, 1 p.m. Sept. 19 Seattle, 4:05 p.m. Sept. 26 Indianapolis, 4:15 p.m. Oct. 3 at Tennessee, 1 p.m. Oct. 10 at Baltimore, 1 p.m. Oct. 17 N.Y. Jets, 4:05 p.m. Oct. 24 Oakland, 4:15 p.m. Oct. 31 vs. San Francisco at London, 1 p.m. Nov. 7 BYE Nov. 14 Kansas City, 4:05 p.m. Nov. 22 at San Diego, 8:30 p.m. Nov. 28 St. Louis, 4:15 p.m. Dec. 5 at Kansas City, 1 p.m. Dec. 12 at Arizona, 4:15 p.m. Dec. 19 at Oakland, 4:15 p.m. Dec. 26 Houston, 4:05 p.m. Jan. 2 San Diego, 4:15 p.m. Detroit Lions Sept. 12 at Chicago, 1 p.m. Sept. 19 Philadelphia, 1 p.m. Sept. 26 at Minnesota, 1 p.m. Oct. 3 at Green Bay, 1 p.m. Oct. 10 St. Louis, 1 p.m. Oct. 17 at N.Y. Giants, 1 p.m. Oct. 24 BYE Oct. 31 Washington, 1 p.m. Nov. 7 N.Y. Jets, 1 p.m. Nov. 14 at Buffalo, 1 p.m. Nov. 21 at Dallas, 1 p.m.

Nov. 25 New England, 12:30 p.m. Dec. 5 Chicago, 1 p.m. Dec. 12 Green Bay, 1 p.m. Dec. 19 at Tampa Bay, 1 p.m. Dec. 26 at Miami, 1 p.m. Jan. 2 Minnesota, 1 p.m. Green Bay Packers Sept. 12 at Philadelphia, 4:15 p.m. Sept. 19 Buffalo, 1 p.m. Sept. 27 at Chicago, 8:30 p.m. Oct. 3 Detroit, 1 p.m. Oct. 10 at Washington, 1 p.m. Oct. 17 Miami, 1 p.m. Oct. 24 Minnesota, 8:20 p.m. Oct. 31 at N.Y. Jets, 1 p.m. Nov. 7 Dallas, 8:20 p.m. Nov. 14 BYE Nov. 21 at Minnesota, 1 p.m. Nov. 28 at Atlanta, 1 p.m. Dec. 5 San Francisco, 1 p.m. Dec. 12 at Detroit, 1 p.m. Dec. 19 at New England-x, 8:20 p.m. Dec. 26 N.Y. Giants, 4:15 p.m. Jan. 2 Chicago, 1 p.m. Houston Texans Sept. 12 Indianapolis, 1 p.m. Sept. 19 at Washington, 4:15 p.m. Sept. 26 Dallas, 1 p.m. Oct. 3 at Oakland, 4:05 p.m. Oct. 10 N.Y. Giants, 1 p.m. Oct. 17 Kansas City, 1 p.m. Oct. 24 BYE Nov. 1 at Indianapolis, 8:30 p.m. Nov. 7 San Diego, 1 p.m. Nov. 14 at Jacksonville, 1 p.m. Nov. 21 at N.Y. Jets, 1 p.m. Nov. 28 Tennessee, 1 p.m. Dec. 2 at Philadelphia, 8:20 p.m. Dec. 13 Baltimore, 8:30 p.m. Dec. 19 at Tennessee, 1 p.m. Dec. 26 at Denver, 4:05 p.m. Jan. 2 Jacksonville, 1 p.m. Indianapolis Colts Sept. 12 at Houston, 1 p.m. Sept. 19 N.Y. Giants, 8:20 p.m. Sept. 26 at Denver, 4:15 p.m. Oct. 3 at Jacksonville, 4:05 p.m. Oct. 10 Kansas City, 1 p.m. Oct. 17 at Washington, 8:20 p.m. Oct. 24 BYE Nov. 1 Houston, 8:30 p.m. Nov. 7 at Philadelphia, 4:15 p.m. Nov. 14 Cincinnati, 1 p.m. Nov. 21 at New England, 4:15 p.m. Nov. 28 San Diego-x, 8:20 p.m. Dec. 5 Dallas, 4:15 p.m. Dec. 9 at Tennessee, 8:20 p.m. Dec. 19 Jacksonville, 1 p.m. Dec. 26 at Oakland, 4:05 p.m. Jan. 2 Tennessee, 1 p.m. Jacksonville Jaguars Sept. 12 Denver, 1 p.m. Sept. 19 at San Diego, 4:15 p.m. Sept. 26 Philadelphia, 4:05 p.m. Oct. 3 Indianapolis, 4:05 p.m. Oct. 10 at Buffalo, 1 p.m. Oct. 18 Tennessee, 8:30 p.m. Oct. 24 at Kansas City, 1 p.m. Oct. 31 at Dallas, 1 p.m. Nov. 7 BYE Nov. 14 Houston, 1 p.m. Nov. 21 Cleveland, 1 p.m. Nov. 28 at N.Y. Giants, 1 p.m. Dec. 5 at Tennessee, 1 p.m. Dec. 12 Oakland, 1 p.m. Dec. 19 at Indianapolis, 1 p.m. Dec. 26 Washington, 1 p.m. Jan. 2 at Houston, 1 p.m. Kansas City Chiefs Sept. 13 San Diego, 10:15 p.m. Sept. 19 at Cleveland, 1 p.m. Sept. 26 San Francisco, 1 p.m. Oct. 3 BYE Oct. 10 at Indianapolis, 1 p.m. Oct. 17 at Houston, 1 p.m. Oct. 24 Jacksonville, 1 p.m. Oct. 31 Buffalo, 1 p.m. Nov. 7 at Oakland, 4:15 p.m. Nov. 14 at Denver, 4:05 p.m. Nov. 21 Arizona, 1 p.m. Nov. 28 at Seattle, 4:05 p.m. Dec. 5 Denver, 1 p.m. Dec. 12 at San Diego, 4:15 p.m. Dec. 19 at St. Louis, 1 p.m. Dec. 26 Tennessee, 1 p.m. Jan. 2 Oakland, 1 p.m.

Miami Dolphins Sept. 12 at Buffalo, 1 p.m. Sept. 19 at Minnesota, 1 p.m. Sept. 26 N.Y. Jets, 8:20 p.m. Oct. 4 New England, 8:30 p.m. Oct. 10 BYE Oct. 17 at Green Bay, 1 p.m. Oct. 24 Pittsburgh, 1 p.m. Oct. 31 at Cincinnati, 1 p.m. Nov. 7 at Baltimore, 1 p.m. Nov. 14 Tennessee, 1 p.m. Nov. 18 Chicago, 8:20 p.m. Nov. 28 at Oakland, 4:05 p.m. Dec. 5 Cleveland, 1 p.m. Dec. 12 at N.Y. Jets, 4:15 p.m. Dec. 19 Buffalo, 1 p.m. Dec. 26 Detroit, 1 p.m. Jan. 2 at New England, 1 p.m. Minnesota Vikings Sept. 9 at New Orleans, 8:30 p.m. Sept. 19 Miami, 1 p.m. Sept. 26 Detroit, 1 p.m. Oct. 3 BYE Oct. 11 at N.Y. Jets, 8:30 p.m. Oct. 17 Dallas, 4:15 p.m. Oct. 24 at Green Bay, 8:20 p.m. Oct. 31 at New England, 4:15 p.m. Nov. 7 Arizona, 1 p.m. Nov. 14 at Chicago, 1 p.m. Nov. 21 Green Bay, 1 p.m. Nov. 28 at Washington, 1 p.m. Dec. 5 Buffalo, 1 p.m. Dec. 12 N.Y. Giants, 1 p.m. Dec. 20 Chicago, 8:30 p.m. Dec. 26 at Philadelphia, 1 p.m. Jan. 2 at Detroit, 1 p.m. New England Patriots Sept. 12 Cincinnati, 1 p.m. Sept. 19 at N.Y. Jets, 4:15 p.m. Sept. 26 Buffalo, 1 p.m. Oct. 4 at Miami, 8:30 p.m. Oct. 10 BYE Oct. 17 Baltimore, 1 p.m. Oct. 24 at San Diego, 4:15 p.m. Oct. 31 Minnesota, 4:15 p.m. Nov. 7 at Cleveland, 1 p.m. Nov. 14 at Pittsburgh, 8:20 p.m. Nov. 21 Indianapolis, 4:15 p.m. Nov. 25 at Detroit, 12:30 p.m. Dec. 6 N.Y. Jets, 8:30 p.m. Dec. 12 at Chicago, 1 p.m. Dec. 19 Green Bay-x, 8:20 p.m. Dec. 26 at Buffalo, 1 p.m. Jan. 2 Miami, 1 p.m. New Orleans Saints Sept. 9 Minnesota, 8:30 p.m. Sept. 20 at San Francisco, 8:30 p.m. Sept. 26 Atlanta, 1 p.m. Oct. 3 Carolina, 1 p.m. Oct. 10 at Arizona, 4:05 p.m. Oct. 17 at Tampa Bay, 1 p.m. Oct. 24 Cleveland, 1 p.m. Oct. 31 Pittsburgh, 8:20 p.m. Nov. 7 at Carolina, 1 p.m. Nov. 14 BYE Nov. 21 Seattle, 4:05 p.m. Nov. 25 at Dallas, 4:15 p.m. Dec. 5 at Cincinnati, 1 p.m. Dec. 12 St. Louis, 4:05 p.m. Dec. 19 at Baltimore, 1 p.m. Dec. 27 at Atlanta, 8:30 p.m. Jan. 2 Tampa Bay, 1 p.m. New York Giants Sept. 12 Carolina, 1 p.m. Sept. 19 at Indianapolis, 8:20 p.m. Sept. 26 Tennessee, 1 p.m. Oct. 3 Chicago, 8:20 p.m. Oct. 10 at Houston, 1 p.m. Oct. 17 Detroit, 1 p.m. Oct. 25 at Dallas, 8:30 p.m. Oct. 31 BYE Nov. 7 at Seattle, 4:05 p.m. Nov. 14 Dallas, 4:15 p.m. Nov. 21 at Philadelphia-x, 8:20 p.m. Nov. 28 Jacksonville, 1 p.m. Dec. 5 Washington, 1 p.m. Dec. 12 at Minnesota, 1 p.m. Dec. 19 Philadelphia, 1 p.m. Dec. 26 at Green Bay, 4:15 p.m. Jan. 2 at Washington, 1 p.m. New York Jets Sept. 13 Baltimore, 7 p.m. Sept. 19 New England, 4:15 p.m. Sept. 26 at Miami, 8:20 p.m. Oct. 3 at Buffalo, 1 p.m. Oct. 11 Minnesota, 8:30 p.m.

Oct. 17 at Denver, 4:05 p.m. Oct. 24 BYE Oct. 31 Green Bay, 1 p.m. Nov. 7 at Detroit, 1 p.m. Nov. 14 at Cleveland, 1 p.m. Nov. 21 Houston, 1 p.m. Nov. 25 Cincinnati, 8:20 p.m. Dec. 6 at New England, 8:30 p.m. Dec. 12 Miami, 4:15 p.m. Dec. 19 at Pittsburgh, 4:15 p.m. Dec. 26 at Chicago, 1 p.m. Jan. 2 Buffalo, 1 p.m. Oakland Raiders Sept. 12 at Tennessee, 1 p.m. Sept. 19 St. Louis, 4:05 p.m. Sept. 26 at Arizona, 4:15 p.m. Oct. 3 Houston, 4:05 p.m. Oct. 10 San Diego, 4:15 p.m. Oct. 17 at San Francisco, 4:05 p.m. Oct. 24 at Denver, 4:15 p.m. Oct. 31 Seattle, 4:15 p.m. Nov. 7 Kansas City, 4:15 p.m. Nov. 14 BYE Nov. 21 at Pittsburgh, 1 p.m. Nov. 28 Miami, 4:05 p.m. Dec. 5 at San Diego, 4:05 p.m. Dec. 12 at Jacksonville, 1 p.m. Dec. 19 Denver, 4:15 p.m. Dec. 26 Indianapolis, 4:05 p.m. Jan. 2 at Kansas City, 1 p.m. Philadelphia Eagles Sept. 12 Green Bay, 4:15 p.m. Sept. 19 at Detroit, 1 p.m. Sept. 26 at Jacksonville, 4:05 p.m. Oct. 3 Washington, 4:15 p.m. Oct. 10 at San Francisco, 8:20 p.m. Oct. 17 Atlanta, 1 p.m. Oct. 24 at Tennessee, 1 p.m. Oct. 31 BYE Nov. 7 Indianapolis, 4:15 p.m. Nov. 15 at Washington, 8:30 p.m. Nov. 21 N.Y. Giants-x, 8:20 p.m. Nov. 28 at Chicago, 1 p.m. Dec. 2 Houston, 8:20 p.m. Dec. 12 at Dallas-x, 8:20 p.m. Dec. 19 at N.Y. Giants, 1 p.m. Dec. 26 Minnesota, 1 p.m. Jan. 2 Dallas, 1 p.m. Pittsburgh Steelers Sept. 12 Atlanta, 1 p.m. Sept. 19 at Tennessee, 1 p.m. Sept. 26 at Tampa Bay, 1 p.m. Oct. 3 Baltimore, 1 p.m. Oct. 10 BYE Oct. 17 Cleveland, 1 p.m. Oct. 24 at Miami, 1 p.m. Oct. 31 at New Orleans, 8:20 p.m. Nov. 8 at Cincinnati, 8:30 p.m. Nov. 14 New England, 8:20 p.m. Nov. 21 Oakland, 1 p.m. Nov. 28 at Buffalo, 1 p.m. Dec. 5 at Baltimore-x, 8:20 p.m. Dec. 12 Cincinnati, 1 p.m. Dec. 19 N.Y. Jets, 4:15 p.m. Dec. 23 Carolina, 8:20 p.m. Jan. 2 at Cleveland, 1 p.m. St. Louis Rams Sept. 12 Arizona, 4:15 p.m. Sept. 19 at Oakland, 4:05 p.m. Sept. 26 Washington, 4:05 p.m. Oct. 3 Seattle, 1 p.m. Oct. 10 at Detroit, 1 p.m. Oct. 17 San Diego, 1 p.m. Oct. 24 at Tampa Bay, 1 p.m. Oct. 31 Carolina, 1 p.m. Nov. 7 BYE Nov. 14 at San Francisco, 4:15 p.m. Nov. 21 Atlanta, 4:05 p.m. Nov. 28 at Denver, 4:15 p.m. Dec. 5 at Arizona, 4:15 p.m. Dec. 12 at New Orleans, 4:05 p.m. Dec. 19 Kansas City, 1 p.m. Dec. 26 San Francisco, 1 p.m. Jan. 2 at Seattle, 4:15 p.m. San Diego Chargers Sept. 13 at Kansas City, 10:15 p.m. Sept. 19 Jacksonville, 4:15 p.m. Sept. 26 at Seattle, 4:15 p.m. Oct. 3 Arizona, 4:15 p.m. Oct. 10 at Oakland, 4:15 p.m. Oct. 17 at St. Louis, 1 p.m. Oct. 24 New England, 4:15 p.m. Oct. 31 Tennessee, 4:05 p.m. Nov. 7 at Houston, 1 p.m. Nov. 14 BYE Nov. 22 Denver, 8:30 p.m.

Nov. 28 at Indianapolis-x, 8:20 p.m. Dec. 5 Oakland, 4:05 p.m. Dec. 12 Kansas City, 4:15 p.m. Dec. 16 San Francisco, 8:20 p.m. Dec. 26 at Cincinnati-x, 8:20 p.m. Jan. 2 at Denver, 4:15 p.m. San Francisco 49ers Sept. 12 at Seattle, 4:15 p.m. Sept. 20 New Orleans, 8:30 p.m. Sept. 26 at Kansas City, 1 p.m. Oct. 3 at Atlanta, 1 p.m. Oct. 10 Philadelphia, 8:20 p.m. Oct. 17 Oakland, 4:05 p.m. Oct. 24 at Carolina, 1 p.m. Oct. 31 vs. Denver at London, 1 p.m. Nov. 7 BYE Nov. 14 St. Louis, 4:15 p.m. Nov. 21 Tampa Bay, 4:05 p.m. Nov. 29 at Arizona, 8:30 p.m. Dec. 5 at Green Bay, 1 p.m. Dec. 12 Seattle, 4:05 p.m. Dec. 16 at San Diego, 8:20 p.m. Dec. 26 at St. Louis, 1 p.m. Jan. 2 Arizona, 4:15 p.m. Seattle Seahawks Sept. 12 San Francisco, 4:15 p.m. Sept. 19 at Denver, 4:05 p.m. Sept. 26 San Diego, 4:15 p.m. Oct. 3 at St. Louis, 1 p.m. Oct. 10 BYE Oct. 17 at Chicago, 1 p.m. Oct. 24 Arizona, 4:05 p.m. Oct. 31 at Oakland, 4:15 p.m. Nov. 7 N.Y. Giants, 4:05 p.m. Nov. 14 at Arizona, 4:15 p.m. Nov. 21 at New Orleans, 4:05 p.m. Nov. 28 Kansas City, 4:05 p.m. Dec. 5 Carolina, 4:15 p.m. Dec. 12 at San Francisco, 4:05 p.m. Dec. 19 Atlanta, 4:05 p.m. Dec. 26 at Tampa Bay, 1 p.m. Jan. 2 St. Louis, 4:15 p.m. Tampa Bay Buccaneers Sept. 12 Cleveland, 1 p.m. Sept. 19 at Carolina, 1 p.m. Sept. 26 Pittsburgh, 1 p.m. Oct. 3 BYE Oct. 10 at Cincinnati, 1 p.m. Oct. 17 New Orleans, 1 p.m. Oct. 24 St. Louis, 1 p.m. Oct. 31 at Arizona, 4:15 p.m. Nov. 7 at Atlanta, 1 p.m. Nov. 14 Carolina, 1 p.m. Nov. 21 at San Francisco, 4:05 p.m. Nov. 28 at Baltimore, 1 p.m. Dec. 5 Atlanta, 1 p.m. Dec. 12 at Washington, 1 p.m. Dec. 19 Detroit, 1 p.m. Dec. 26 Seattle, 1 p.m. Jan. 2 at New Orleans, 1 p.m. Tennessee Titans Sept. 12 Oakland, 1 p.m. Sept. 19 Pittsburgh, 1 p.m. Sept. 26 at N.Y. Giants, 1 p.m. Oct. 3 Denver, 1 p.m. Oct. 10 at Dallas, 4:15 p.m. Oct. 18 at Jacksonville, 8:30 p.m. Oct. 24 Philadelphia, 1 p.m. Oct. 31 at San Diego, 4:05 p.m. Nov. 7 BYE Nov. 14 at Miami, 1 p.m. Nov. 21 Washington, 1 p.m. Nov. 28 at Houston, 1 p.m. Dec. 5 Jacksonville, 1 p.m. Dec. 9 Indianapolis, 8:20 p.m. Dec. 19 Houston, 1 p.m. Dec. 26 at Kansas City, 1 p.m. Jan. 2 at Indianapolis, 1 p.m. Washington Redskins Sept. 12 Dallas, 8:20 p.m. Sept. 19 Houston, 4:15 p.m. Sept. 26 at St. Louis, 4:05 p.m. Oct. 3 at Philadelphia, 4:15 p.m. Oct. 10 Green Bay, 1 p.m. Oct. 17 Indianapolis, 8:20 p.m. Oct. 24 at Chicago, 1 p.m. Oct. 31 at Detroit, 1 p.m. Nov. 7 BYE Nov. 15 Philadelphia, 8:30 p.m. Nov. 21 at Tennessee, 1 p.m. Nov. 28 Minnesota, 1 p.m. Dec. 5 at N.Y. Giants, 1 p.m. Dec. 12 Tampa Bay, 1 p.m. Dec. 19 at Dallas, 1 p.m. Dec. 26 at Jacksonville, 1 p.m. Jan. 2 N.Y. Giants, 1 p.m.

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