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Lafayette Christian football
CALLAWAY SENIORS
By Kevin Eckleberry
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Photo: Kevin Eckleberry
They’d come close, agonizingly close, to bringing home a state championship.
Heading into the 2020 season, the Callaway football program had established itself as one of the best in the state, but the team was still seeking that elusive state title.
The 2018 and 2019 seasons both ended with heart-breaking losses in the state semifinals, and Callaway made it to the final four in 2013 and 2016 as well.
As the Cavaliers prepared for the 2020 season, they were viewed as a team that could be the last one standing in Class AA.
Could this be the team, after so many close calls, be the one that broke the door down after so many close calls?
The answer was a resounding yes.
With a talented and committed group of seniors leading the way, Callaway made its way through a grueling playoff stretch and brought home that long-awaited state championship.
On a brilliant December afternoon in Atlanta, Callaway beat Fitzgerald 2217 to win the Class AA state championship, setting off a celebration years in the making.
According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution’s rankings, Callaway beat, in order, the top four teams in Class AA to secure the state title. was especially sweet, since so many of them were starters or key contributors the previous two years when Callaway lost in the semifinals.
Now, many of those seniors have taken their winning pedigree to the college level.
Eight seniors from that 2020 team, in fact, are in the early stages of what they’re each hoping will be a successful collegiate career.
Whatever they accomplish in coming years, they can all take satisfaction in knowing they were the group to give Callaway its first state championship.
“Often around these parts we have guys come back, our senior classes come back, and they get into a debate about which senior class was the best class,” said Dusty Hubbard, Callaway’s defensive coordinator since 2005. “Guys, hands down, you’ve got the hardware. When they come back and ask, you guys got it. What a great group of guys.”
Among Callaway’s signees was quarterback Demetrius Coleman, a threeyear starter who was a foundation of the championship team.
Coleman signed with Chattanooga as a defensive back.
Charlie Dixon, a running back who enjoyed a brilliant playoff run, signed with North Carolina AT&T, and wide receiver and defensive back Jalin Shephard signed with the University of West Georgia.
Long snapper Eli Freeman and defensive back Osiris Rivas signed with Blinn College in Texas, and defensive lineman and tight end Keshawn Suggs stayed in Georgia after signing with Reinhardt University.
Also remaining in Georgia was linebacker LaQuize Gilbert, who signed with Georgia Military College, and offensive lineman Lathan Patterson originally signed with the University of the Cumberlands before joining Suggs at Reinhardt.
Recruiting coordinator Andrew Caraway, who helped the seniors find the right college home, was proud of the leadership those players displayed during a championship season.
“Family is such an important thing in life. Everyone can agree that at Callaway High School we’re one big family,” Caraway said. “(During the 2020 season), there’s no question we faced adversity like we’ve never seen before with this pandemic. It made you wonder if we’d even have a football season. This group of seniors faced those challenges head on, and they overcame them each and every day, ultimately leading to the first state championship in school history.” A senior who perhaps put those leadership skills on display more than anyone else was Demetrius Coleman, who calmly and capably directed the offense from the quarterback position.
Coleman finished his prep career with a 10-2 playoff record, and he was at his best when the pressure was the greatest.
Coleman will play his college football at Chattanooga, a place he said “felt like home.”
“They kept it real from day one,” Coleman said. “They’re giving me an opportunity to play. I just feel like I’ll be successful there.”
Coleman, whose younger brother DeShun Coleman is the current quarterback at Callaway, was glad to be able to share his signing day with his friends and teammates.
“We came into high school together, and we were in middle school together, and we grinded all those years, and we finally reached the ultimate goal, and now we’re living our team,” Coleman said. “I know they’ll do great things.”
Coleman spent a lot of time in 2020 handing the ball to Charlie Dixon, who was magnificent in the playoffs, capped by a memorable performance in the championship game when he ran for more than 200 yards.
Dixon, who had plenty of college options, felt North Carolina AT&T was the right fit. “I wanted to attend an HBCU (historically black colleges and universities),” Dixon said. “I went and I just felt at home. It felt like family.”
As for his signing day, Dixon said “this is a day we’ll never forget. It’s a good memory to have in our hearts.”
LaQuize Gilbert, a linebacker who led Callaway in tackles in 2020, chose to go the two-year route after signing with Georgia Military College.
“I really just tried to stay closer to home,” Gilbert said. “I chose my best interest, to see where I could play.”
Gilbert was thrilled to see so many of his teammates get a chance to play in college.
“I’m glad that we’ll all get a chance to go off and play somewhere that wants us,” Gilbert said. “I’m just so happy for me and my teammates and my brothers. Without them, I wouldn’t be here. I wouldn’t be able to do this.”
Jalin Shephard was one of the state’s best and most versatile players, and he made an impact as a wide receiver, defensive back, and punter.
Shephard was Callaway’s leading receiver with 24 catches for 505 yards and nine touchdowns, he had four interceptions on defense, and he did an outstanding job as a punter.
Coach Dusty Hubbard feels Shephard deserves to be mentioned alongside the other great players who came through the program.
“Jalin, he didn’t get the five-star accolades like Terry (Godwin) and Tank (Bigsby) and those guys, and they deserve that and they were great players and great athletes, but Jalin is just a football player,” Hubbard said.
“He is a football player. He can do it all. He was our biggest threat at wide receiver all year, and he had an ability to get take-aways at corner. And I thought his punting was huge.”
Shephard, who was the Class AA defensive player of the year according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, is playing for West Georgia, an NCAA Division II program in Carrollton.
“I want to thank God, because without him none of this would be possible,” Shephard said. “Second, I want to thank my friends and family for pushing me.”
Keshawn Suggs, who was an impact performer as a defensive lineman and tight end, joined Reinhardt, an NAIA program.
“I want to thank my coaches, my teachers, my family,” Suggs said. “They pushed me to get to this moment. Without them, I wouldn’t be in the position I am now.”
While Suggs was mostly known for his ability to create havoc on defense, his most memorable moment came on offense.
In a 41-17 semifinal win over Rabun County, Suggs made a shoestring catch that was impressive enough to be the No. 3 play on ESPN’s Top 10 plays from that day.
Defensive back Osiris Rivas and long snapper Eli Freeman signed with Blinn College in Texas. Rivas was a ball-hawking defensive back, and he made multiple interceptions during the state playoffs.
“It’s so much work and heart put into this, not only for myself, but for all my teammates,” Rivas said. “For it to pay off and for us to get to go to college, and continue to keep playing for free, it’s the greatest feeling in the world, not just for me, but for everyone involved.”
JAMARI THRASH
By Kevin Eckleberry
The 2021 season has been a coming-out party for Jamari Thrash.
Thrash, a wide receiver from Troup High, played sparingly during his freshman season at Georgia State in 2019, and he was used a bit more as a sophomore and had nine catches.
This season, Thrash has stepped to the forefront as one of Georgia State’s top receivers, and he had 14 catches and two touchdowns in the first four games of the season.
Thrash, who helped Troup reach the state semifinals in 2018, is grateful to the coaches for giving him an opportunity to show what he can do this year.
“I appreciate my coaches putting that faith in me and believing in me to go out there and make plays for them,” Thrash said during an interview earlier in the season.
Thrash was one of the state’s most prolific wide receivers in high school, and he predictably drew the interest of numerous college programs.
No school showed more interest in Thrash than Georgia State.
“From the get-go, they kept in contact with me since day one,” Thrash said. “They always called me, they were at my school every Friday, they came to almost every game. I feel like they really wanted me here. I felt this is where I needed to be.”
That effort on Georgia State’s part paid off, and Thrash signed his letter of intent and joined the team for the 2019 season.
Thrash had 12 catches his first two seasons, and he surpassed that total in the first four games this year.
“Really, my big thing was just having confidence, and believing in myself, telling myself you can go out and win this one-on-one, you can make plays for Georgia State,” Trash said.
Thrash’s first game this season was his most productive one.
In the season opener against Army, Thrash was Georgia State’s leading receiver with seven receptions for 87 yards, and that included a remarkable one-handed catch when he had to reach behind him to snare the ball.
“It was sort of behind me, and I just wanted to make a play on it,” Thrash said, reflecting on that catch. “I try to finish a game with zero drops. I try to make a play when the ball comes my way.”
Thrash followed that up by catching at least two passes the next three weeks, and he had a season-long 35yard catch against Charlotte on Sept. 18.
On a team with some gifted receivers, Thrash knows he needs to take advantage of his chances.
“It keeps you on your toes,” Thrash said. “We try to make an opportunity count when the ball is headed our way.”
