Pettus wants to establish consistency at East Jackson

JEFFERSON - New head coach Cameron Pettus believes East Jackson is a diamond in the rough. 

It's the main reason he moved back to Georgia to take over a program that has won 15 games with four different head coaches over the last eight seasons. 

"The community support here is phenomenal," he said. "The kids have bought in. The numbers are up and we have a great staff. This is a diamond in the rough. We're doing some exciting things."

Pettus grew up in Paulding County and graduated from the school in 1992. Pettus had coached Bellville West in Illinois for last eight seasons, taking the Maroons to the state playoffs seven times. 

In January, he decided to move closer to home and take the controls of the East Jackson program. 

"My mom and dad and brother and sister still live in Paulding County," he said. "When we were down on vacation in Blue Ridge on vacation, my daughter said, 'man, I wish we never had to leave. She's going to be in sixth grade this year, and we said if we were going to move, this is the time to do it."

Since opening in 2007, East Jackson has struggled to keep a head coach for more than four seasons. As a matter of fact, the program has been led by, now, six different coaches and has only posted one winning season under the school's first coach Frank Caputo. Caputo guided the Eagles to a 10-2 record and a second-round Class 2A playoff berth in 2009.

Pettus has the intentions of changing the lack of coaching consistency at East Jackson. 

"When I interviewed, I said we need consistency," he said. "I'm not a guy that jumps around and I know that the grass isn't always greener. But I just love everything there is about this community and this school. I envision seeing my daughter graduate from East Jackson High school and me being the head football coach here."

The Eagles return 16 seniors, including running back Caleb Adair. Last season, Adair was a big part of the Eagles' offense. Pettus says he's a weapon. 

"We literally have put him at every skill position on the field and he's looked phenomenal," he said. "He's going to have a fantastic season."

Upfront, Pettus said seniors offensive linemen Jared Pursely, Bradley Akin and Cole Dowdy are back to clear the way.

"Those guys are doing a really good job leading upfront," he said. 

The quarterback position is a battle right now between senior Hunter Hardwick and junior Greg Huggs.

"It's a competition at quarterback and both Hunter and Greg have been doing a really good job all summer," Pettus said.  

On defense, the Eagles will shift to multiple fronts. 

"We'll base out of a 3-4 but will get in a four-man front," Pettus said. "We're kind of a multiple. We kind of started tweaking when we saw the kind of players we had to utilize our strengths."

The Eagles will have five non-region games as a tune-up before they face region runner-up Jefferson at home, followed by a road trip to region champ Monroe Area. Region 8-3A is truly a boxing match each week. After a week off, the Eagles will battle Franklin, Hart, Morgan and Jackson counties for a playoff berth in November.

Pettus already knows Region 8-3A will not be a cakewalk. 

"It's tough as nails.  Our motto is building something special," he said. "We know this region is tough as nails and we wouldn't have it any other way. We want to play the best. You've got to learn how to compete with the best and the best are in our region."