OAKWOOD — West Hall soccer coach Tim Gale knows without a doubt that it's there, squarely affixed to his team this season: a bright red target.
It's what happens when you're a defending state champion, and Gale is excited to see how his Spartans carry it.
"Everyone wants to beat the state champs; this season will be even harder than last year," Gale said. "We know every team we play will bring it's 'A' game against us."
And playing in northeast Georgia means that West Hall better be ready for a dogfight every week.
"This is a great spot for soccer; just look at last season," Gale said. "We met some incredible challenges and showed we could play with the best teams in the state -- but once we got into the state tournament I really felt like we were the better team in each round.
"I couldn't say that for several games in our area last season."
Luckily for the top-ranked Spartans, they will enter a gauntlet that includes Region 7-AAA rivals East Hall (No. 4 in Class AAA) and Dawson County (No. 6) and non-region showdowns with Johnson (No. 2 in Class AAAA) and Greater Atlanta Christian (No. 1 in Class AA) amongst others with a core of players in place that played key roles in last season's historic state title run.
"We've got five starters back and 10-11 guys that played significant minutes during the season," said Gale, who guided the first Hall County Schools team to win a state title in 2015 (though Gainesville's boys did win state crowns in 1998 and 2010).
"We feel pretty confident about this group; we'll be competitive. But we've also got some questions to answer and some area that need some work."
Players like Richie and Isaac Castruita are on hand to help provide a solid base for the Spartans' attack. Both helped spark a West Hall attack that averaged just under four goals per game through five state playoff wins last season.
Meanwhile, standout goalkeeper Cesar Villa -- also an extraordinarily talented field player -- returns to bolster the defense, and Gale says the senior will also get the chance to show off his skills on the field some this season.
"Cesar will split time in goal and on the field," Gale said.
The backline also returns starting defenders Juan Regina and Manny Mata, who will look to lead a unit that must make up for the graduation of team captain Eduardo Magana.
"Eduardo was such a huge player for us, both as a player and as a leader," Gale said. "The defense is definitely a question for us right now."
Other players, including Oscar Bravo, Enrique Ramirez and Alex Mejia, who supplied supporting roles last season will look to step into leadership positions, as they take over from other graduated standouts -- players like Ronald Portillo, Simon Cobian, Ramsis Martinez and Sammy Coto, each of whom provided key moments in 2015.
Yet last season's success has also bred added excitement for a squad determined not to let its success slip.
"I haven't seen any complacency during the preseason," Gale said. "We had a great turnout during preseason training, and the guys seemed focus.
"We're definitely going to see how we stack up to the challenges, starting pretty early."
After opening the campaign last week with a 2-1 defeat of White County -- Isaac Castruita bagging both goals -- the Spartans will entertain perhaps their biggest rivals in non-region, cross-town foe Johnson on Tuesday at Spartan Stadium.
The Knights (1-0) are coming off a state quarterfinal run in Class AAAA -- a performance they hope to outpace in 2016 -- and were one of only two teams to defeat West Hall last season (1-0).
Relying on a core of standouts, including four-year starters Fabian Abarca (senior, forward) and Bryant Anaya (senior, midfield), three-year starter Edgar Torres (senior, midfield) and two-year starters Rigo Campa (sophomore, midfield) and Josh Elizalde (sophomore, defender), Johnson will provide a stout test.
"We don't lack for competition in this area, and that's huge really," Gale said. "Anyone we play around here gets us better prepared for who we could play if we make the playoffs. Just look at our region this year with East Hall and Dawson County. And then you have teams like Lumpkin County, which are always strong and will be improved. I see some tough challenges ahead. It's hard to say who's on top."
Certainly programs throughout northeast Georgia know the Spartans made the top last year -- and West Hall hopes to show it has what it takes to get back there again in 2016.
