There are just 30 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, sandpits 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)...
NORTH HALL
The Trojans are coming off their best season since 2012 in terms of wins (9) and also collecting their first playoff victory since advancing to the Class 3A semifinals that year.
But gone are several key cogs from the 2018 team, including two-year starter at quarterback David Seavey and leading rusher Daniel Jackson. They do return 16 overall starters but coach David Bishop said finding quality depth behind the No. 1 units is a high priority heading into fall practice.
QUESTION: Coach, how is the quarterback battle shaping up? Has any of the three that were battling for it stepped forward as you approach the fall?
ANSWER: It has been a little of a see-saw battle but as of recently. Trey Sanders has really created a good bit of separation and will be the man going forward unless something unforeseen happens. There is still time for the others to take it away from Trey but I believe at this point it will be a bit difficult to do.
Q: You also have a lot of experienced starters coming back, 16 in all, but also are short on experienced depth in the second and third units. What is your biggest concern with building some depth, especially with y'all playing in a rugged Region 7-3A?
A: One of the best things that has happened this summer is that in several situations we were forced to play our 2s and 3s and get them lots of quality reps as 1s. Not only was that good for them, but also for us as a team. It has us to a point where there are fewer question marks going into the season. I believe it also helped us formulate some plans on how to utilize some of these players into our game plans.
- Previously in Two-a-Days: LUMPKIN COUNTY
- Up Next in Two-a-Days: RABUN COUNTY
