There are just 35 days left until the kickoff of the 2016 high school football season -- 17 days until the first practice in pads -- 10 until the first fall conditioning practices may commence.
But make no mistake, the 2016 season got underway months ago -- not in the record books, but in weight rooms, sand pits, and practice fields throughout the state. And teams from throughout northeast Georgia are now in the final stages of preparations that began almost as soon as the 2015 season ended.
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 it the series "Two-a-Days" in honor of the grinding sessions that lead us out of summer and into fall. And for the next two weeks, AccessWDUN will get you prepped -- twice a day -- for the start of gridiron action with responses from coaches throughout northeast Georgia. We present them in alphabetical order, starting with Apalachee and touring all over the place before ending back up near the start in Winder-Barrow.
We're already hunkering down in anticipation of kickoff; we hope this helps to get you in the mood too...
FLOWERY BRANCH
It was another frustrating season to say the least for Flowery Branch. The Falcons were just 13 points from a one-loss season but instead a pair of 3-point losses to top teams Lanier and Gainesville helped keep them from making the playoffs for a second consecutive season in a rugged Region 8-AAAAA to finish 6-4.
Coach Chris Griffin said it was the little things in the end that undid the Falcons in 2015 and he is hoping an emphasis on discipline and building depth will be the difference in 2016.
QUESTION: Y’all were just one or two plays away from making the playoffs and even getting a home playoff game last year. How are y’all addressing finding ways to close out games?
ANSWER: Confidence and discipline I think play big factors in that. You have to believe you can win before can actually do it and I think that is something we’ve been working on, building that confidence. We feel we have the talent to compete. I think we proved that last year losing to the top two teams by a combined six points. But, we made little mistakes that cost us. For instance, a couple of penalties late in one game hurt us. We also dropped an interception in another game that would have given us a chance to run out the clock. Instead, we lost that one on a late touchdown. Things like that. But I do feel we’re close to getting back to where we used to be.
Q: Y’all also graduated 22 seniors, including four starters on the offensive line. Depth will be an issue in a region that boasts stalwarts Buford and Clarke Central and a talented Loganville squad. How is finding that depth coming along?
A: Depth at key positions, like the offensive and defensive lines, may decide how far we can go. But, it’s that way for most everybody so building quality depth is also a key factor. The offensive line is always the key area and we only have one guy, (senior) Dylan Connell, that is returning with any playing time up front. He did play multiple spots so that should help if we need to move him around. Brantley Waters (senior) and Cody Inman (sophomore) have shown a lot early on. We have several other guys that have begun to step up as well. We’ve been pleased with that group as a whole so far. The potential is there for them to be pretty good.
Previously in Two-a-Days: FANNIN COUNTY
Up Next in Two-a-Days: GAINESVILLE
