There are just 29 days left until the kickoff of the 2016 high school football season, but make no mistake, preparations for the 2016 season got underway months ago in weight rooms, sand pits and practice fields throughout the state. And teams from throughout northeast Georgia are in full countdown mode.
With that in mind we spent the last few days catching up with programs around our area to get a feel for how spring practice went, how the summer is going and what coaches believe the fall will look like. We call the series "Two-a-Days" in honor of the grinding sessions that lead us out of summer and into fall. And for the next few days, AccessWDUN will get you prepped for the start of gridiron action with responses from coaches throughout northeast Georgia. (Teams run in alphabetical order)...
NORTH HALL
The Trojans made a huge leap forward in coach David Bishop's second season in charge. The longtime North Hall assistant led his team back into the state playoffs in 2015 -- a feat he hopes to consolidate in 2016.
That won't come easy, however, in Region 7-AAA. And despite moving down a classification, the Trojans know they're in for a fight. And as Bishop told AccessWDUN sports editor Morgan Lee it is a scrap his team is eager to accept -- though they must first overcome an injury bug that took its toll over the offseason.
QUESTION: Your program made huge strides in your second season in charge. What must your players and coaches do to consolidate those gains and be even better in your third season in charge?
ANSWER: The biggest thing we need to continue to do is build depth, and we're still doing that -- though a lot of that is because of injuries. We've already had several injuries take a toll this offseason. A lot of it came at the end of last season, and we've had a couple of kids banged up this spring and even during track season. So at some spots we're running threes and fours instead of ones and twos. That said this summer has gone well -- we don't do a whole lot of 7-on-7s because of how we play; we're going to run the ball and pass out of play action. But what we've seen from the kids has been encouraging.
Q: You have moved down a classification, but that doesn't necessarily mean things will be any easier in the new Region 7-AAA. How tough will this region be, and how have you built the schedule to prepare your team for it?
A: 7-AAA is not what it used to be; there's a lot more strength when you look at teams like Dawson County, East Hall, Greater Atlanta Christian, Union County, Fannin County and Lumpkin County, and each one of them have experienced big-time success recently or been consistent playoff teams -- and that's not even including us. The key for us is just focus on us. The good thing is that we've been able to schedule some good non-region rivalries that should test us. We're going to take on Chestatee, Pickens, White County and Flowery Branch, so we're going to see a mix of spread and power run, and that should help us get ready for 7-AAA.
Previously in Two-a-Days: NORTH GWINNETT
Up Next in Two-a-Days: RABUN COUNTY
