There are just 21 days remaining until the kickoff of the 2018 high school football season. But make no mistake, preparations for the upcoming campaign got underway months ago in weight rooms, sand pits and practice fields throughout the state. And teams throughout northeast Georgia are in full countdown mode.
With that in mind we spent the last couple of weeks 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 those old-school grinding sessions that lead us out of summer and into fall, asking each area coach two key questions about the state of their respective programs.
Over the next two weeks, AccessWDUN's Friday Game Night will get you prepped for the start of gridiron action with responses from coaches throughout northeast Georgia. (Teams run in alphabetical order)...
WEST HALL
The Spartans put together yet another strong campaign in 2017, overcoming an overall experience deficit to get back into the state playoffs for a fifth straight season. In 2018 West Hall must yet again replace a handful of standout veterans, but there is talent and experience on hand to do just that. Perhaps the most visible change comes at the top, however, where Krofton Montgomery takes the reins from Tony Lotti -- who, in six seasons, led the Spartans to a level consistent strength almost unprecedented in program history. After serving as an assistant within the program, Montgomery is well-placed to know just how this West Hall team is built and is looking forward to the challenges of what is certain to be a rigorous schedule.
QUESTION: You take over from Tony Lotti (now at Apalachee), who steered the West Hall program to a point of success and stability not experienced in over a decade. What did you learn from him and how will you put those lessons to use in leading the Spartans? Certainly you will make tweaks to the program and shape it in your own style, what are some of the differences that you are bringing to West Hall football -- both Xs and Os and leadership style?
ANSWER: I learned a great deal from coach Lotti on program building and managing a program. His philosophies of making relationships with players is the single biggest thing we’ve been able to accomplish at West Hall. When players know you care about them they play harder, focus more intently, and realize football is more than just a game. Some of the differences with my philosophy is how I structure summer 7-on-7s and uppers camps we went to (FCA at Riverside). Practice organization will be similar. I’ve always been a big proponent in running the ball and playing a physical brand of football. That being said we are going to open the offense up this year and base out of a 2x1 and 2x2 sets more than in the past. Will Gross is our offensive coordinator, and I have a deep trust with him from coaching together the past five seasons. A lot of times we are thinking the same things during games and how we want to approach attacking a defense. With some of the players that have joined the team that haven’t played it fits our style being two deep at receivers positons and being able to spread the ball around more. Defensively, we have a new coordinator in Travis Raley, who came from Collins Hill, that brings a play-fast mentality -- similar to the defense we’ve been playing the past years. Coach Raley has been a tireless worker that I’m very pleased with to this point. We want to incorporate being three units strong offensively, defensively, and special teams. Players need to be focused on their assignment within the scheme.
Q: Last year's Spartans returned just three starters on each side of the ball, and the team showed tremendous improvement throughout the campaign, reaching the state playoffs and pushing St. Pius hard in the first round. Will this year's squad present a more veteran group, including quarterback Michael Thompson, who took big steps during the 2017 season?
A: We lost a great group of offensive lineman and leadership in Cory Davis and Josh Taylor. Those are players that are hard to replace, and defensively losing Cameron Shirley and Austin Sinclair takes a lot of our defensive stats from last year out. We also have skill retuning that has ability to be a collective group that can make plays. Michael Thompson is a big kid that runs with authority and is a big piece of what we want to do offensively. Quentin Smith will be relied upon for his arm and legs, and Devon Williams gives us a tall deep threat with good ball skills. We have more depth at skill spots than we felt we had last year. Offensive line-wise we are anchored by two-year starter Ricky Castillo, three-year starter Jackson Bartlett, a versatile two-way guy, and Matt Sincalir, a 6-foot-3, 290-pound tackle. We also expect big seasons defensively out of Corey Dupree, a retuning first team All-Region performer at the end spot, and Hunter Rainey at the other end spot (Shorter University offer). They bring long arms, motors, and a nose to make plays. John Stoecker brings one of our most solid defensive players back. He’s the type of kid that does exactly what is asked of him and is tough as nails at the outside linebacker spot. In the secondary we have Jeremiah Prather coming back that is an excellent cover corner and makes plays when the ball is in the air, as well as Solomon Riley a safety who was on JV last year after coming from Gainesville that has big play potential at safety. On paper we have an extremely tough schedule with Commerce, a big, physical, greatly-coached team right out of the gate that will really test us. Throw in the rivalry game Johnson, Jefferson, a state power, and Dawson, who has been exceptional as of late, and we will know what we have before we start play in what I feel is the toughest Region in Class AAAA in the state with Blessed Trinity, Marist, Flowery Branch, Denmark, White County and Chestatee. You have to play smart, mistake-free football to beat these well-coached, athletic teams.
- Previously in Two-a-Days: UNION COUNTY
- Up Next in Two-a-Days: WHITE COUNTY
