Young, more experienced Spartans hope to make noise in brutal 7-4A

OAKWOOD — Every coach expects growing pains and a learning curve when they land their first-ever head coaching job.

For West Hall's Krofton Montgomery, a long-time Spartans assistant who took over for the ultra-successful Tony Lotti, the 2018 campaign turned out to be even more than he had anticipated.

Montgomery was part of a staff that had helped guide the Spartans to a program-best five consecutive playoff appearances He also admitted there may have been a little more pressure than expected.

“There’s always pressure, whether it’s from yourself, the players, parents, outside people, whatever,” he said. “But you never really understand what the head coach goes through until you become one and I think there were some things that I didn’t anticipate off the field. It was definitely a learning process.”

But Montgomery also said that may have been exactly what he needed as he prepares for his second campaign leading the Spartans.

“I’m 100-times more comfortable in my role now,” he said. “I think everyone -- coaches, players, whoever it is -- is more comfortable in what their roles are. Again, there were just some things you never really know about when you’re an assistant that you have to now take care of as the head coach so just getting used to the more administrative side of things was a big adjustment.

“I was excited (last year) about getting the opportunity to be the head coach but this year I think I am more ready for what needs to be done. I am fired up about getting going this year.”

On the field, you can point to a ridiculously hard schedule for a big part of the Spartans’ 3-7 finish in 2018. They played in perhaps the toughest region in the state with two-time defending state champion Blessed Trinity, state semifinalist Marist, Flowery Branch and, numbers behemoth, Denmark, as well as White County, which also was a playoff team. 

They once again will have a brutal schedule in 2019 with perennial powers Commerce and Jefferson in the opening three weeks of the season, along with Dawson County and a Johnson squad that sports a new coach in the familiar Stan Luttrell, who built Chestatee into a playoff contender, all in non-region play. The middle of October will tell if they are in the playoff hunt or not with three consecutive home games against Blessed Trinity, Denmark, which is getting a lot of attention as a possible region title contender in just its second season, and Marist to open Region 7-4A play. They will finish the season with consecutive road games at White County, Flowery Branch, and Chestatee.

“The schedule is tough again, no doubt,” Montgomery said. “There may not be a single week we can point too and say we are the favorite. We may be the underdog in every game we play this season.”

But stability is something the Spartans will have as Travis Raley returns for his second straight season running the defense while long-time West Hall assistant and quarterbacks coach Will Gross, who has been with the program for seven seasons, takes over the offensive coordinator duties.

The offense is where the Spartans will have to learn early on. Only three starters return but 11 guys saw significant action in 2018 on a unit that showed flashes of brilliance at times. They scored 34 points or more four times, including posting a school-record 62 on Chestatee in their season-finale. That broke the old mark of 61 in a 61-0 rout of Dawson County way back in 1991.

Junior Clayton Jenkins returns at quarterback as does junior wide receiver Rodrigo Lopez and senior running back Solomon Riley, who was a first-team All-Region 7-4A selection in 2018, to give them a solid and experienced nucleus to work with. But Jenkins also will have the additions of receivers in seniors Hunter Samples and Zach Lingle. The offensive line will be the key with seniors Jacob Gault, Devin Meeks, and Hadden Schnell leading the way.

Expect the Spartans to throw more than recent years, especially with the progression of Jenkins in his first full season as a starter. The receiver group is very deep and Riley can run and catch out of the backfield.

“I really feel like the offense will be even better,” Montgomery said. “Clayton is much more comfortable. Solomon has gotten bigger and faster and Rodrigo may be ready to have one of those breakout seasons. We have a great nucleus and they all have more experience. It should be a fun group to watch.

“The key will be on the line. We have some very capable guys but we’re a little thin on depth. Finding enough quality guys to play in this region is our goal. We have to keep Clayton upright to have a chance.”

While the offense should provide the foundation, the defense could be a big X-factor, not just for the Spartans but in the region as a whole. They allowed 353 points in 2018 (35.3 points per game) but were young and inexperienced. They are still young but they return four of their top five linebackers and three of their top five in the secondary.

At linebacker, senior Caden Collins will anchor a talented group of sophomores in Tilil Blackwell, Nick Sturm, and Caleb Baker. In the secondary, senior safety Gavin Hanville, junior safety Sam Holcomb, junior cornerback Josiah Henriques, and sophomore cornerback Jaden White give the Spartans plenty of athleticism. The defensive line, much like the offensive line, will need to find some depth but will be led by senior Logan Ormerod, junior Binh Hoang, and sophomore Regan Byrd.

“We have tried to bring in a whole cultural change on our approach,” Montgomery said. “We want to play more fast and free out there. ‘Cloudy feet, cloudy minds’ as they say. We want to take more chances and not let the offenses dictate things to us.

“We’re young. We have eight sophomores and juniors that will see a lot of time but I believe we’re talented enough to be able to implement the changes we want to do. I think we’ll be much better than we were last year but that is our top priority during the fall: improving the defense.”

Now in his second year, Montgomery said he understands better the old cliches that most coaches throw out there on a daily basis and is learning to embrace them.

“You can’t be what you’re not and for us just controlling the things we can control is a key factor,” he said. “We don’t have the numbers of a Denmark, or Blessed Trinity, or Marist, or really any of the schools in this region. What we can control is the effort we give and the attention to the little things that make the biggest difference.

“We’re also adapting a little more to our personnel and not so much just running a style no matter who we have. Clayton is developing into a very good passer, for instance, so we’re going to play to that strength a little more. We’ll offer a few different looks on defense to try and give our linebackers some space to work with.

“Again, we feel good about this season and think we’ll be more competitive. It’s still a brutal schedule top to bottom. But if we improve ourselves each day, each week, then we’re making progress no matter how many wins we get.”