CLEVELAND — After Tim Cokely’s first season at White County, the Warriors were trending upward. Then 2018 happened.
The Warriors took a nosedive, specifically on defense, giving up 36 points per game and a 3-8 record.
Heading into the 2019 season, Cokely knows his defense has to be better. The good news: the Warriors return six starters on that side of the ball, including the entire linebacking corps and a solid group of lineman to lead the charge in Cokely's 3-3-5 defense.
“It’s a good defense for what we are,” he said. “All three of our linebackers are returning starters. That’s really good because we weren’t really good last year on defense. If we’re not very good this year, it’s really going to be a long year. We’ve made a lot of progress and we’ve put a lot of time and effort to get our guys ready. We’re just way ahead this year than we were this time last year.”
Seniors Cory Ezzard, Greg Wimer and Jared Julian are back at linebacker and Riley Norton, Dylan Archer and Jaquez Williams return upfront.
“We certainly have depth on our defensive line,” Cokely said. “Those guys are experienced and have really good leverage. Our lead is really a line so scrimmage league. When you play Marist, Blessed Trinity and Flowery Branch, those teams will run the ball and you have to be really good up front.”
Junior quarterback J. Ben Haynes rose above the rest as a freshman and had a good 2018 season, passing 1,351 yards and nine TDs.
He’ll have a solid group of wide receivers returning to target this season. Junior Cooper Turner and senior Will Sampson headline a group of 12 receivers that will see action.
It’s a group Cokely recognizes as the “best position group on our team.”
“We will roll three groups at four positions at wideout,” he said. “That’s 12 guys. They’ve all played well all summer. To me, that helps, because when you get to October in our league, attrition starts to kick in. You just have to have some depth. I know in our league, having an offense that’s diverse and multiple guys that can perform, really helps.”
The Warriors finished 3-8 last season and earned the No. 4 seed out of Region 7-4A. The region houses back-to-back state champion Blessed Trinity, Marist, Flowery Branch, and a Division-I talent loaded Denmark.
“We’re building our team for region play,” he said. “We expect to win the championship in our region. I’m not a good coach to say, ‘hey fellas, we’re going to have a really nice team and go on to basketball season. Our guys have prepared to win. We are ready. Who’s going to be in it besides us, we’re not sure.”
WHITE COUNTY: NEED TO KNOW
- MASCOT: Warriors
- TEAM COLORS: Navy and White
- CURRENT REGION: 7-4A
- HEAD COACH/RECORD AT SCHOOL: Tim Cokely, 3rd season, 10-12
- 2018 RECORD/ACCOMPLISHMENTS: 3-8, First round of the playoffs
- KEY LOSSES: RB/DL Cody Versluis, DT Noah Hoersten, RB/DL Jay Lepkoske
- OFFENSIVE STYLE: Spread -- QB J Ben Haynes was the centerpiece of the Warriors' spread attack last year, passing for 1,351 yards and rushing for 301 yards. They will rely on the junior for even better numbers in 2019. He'll have Cooper Turner and Will Sampson back as leading targets -- both led the team in receiving yards. The run game could struggle early, with the loss of leading rushers Kurtis Havlen and Lepkoske. The Warriors will count on the legs of Haynes and So. Zion McMullen, but the receiving game should make up for it.
- KEY OFFENSIVE PLAYERS: 8 returning starters -- Jr. QB J. Ben Haynes, Jr. WR Cooper Turner, Sr. WR Will Sampson, Jr. OL Devin Sullens
- DEFENSIVE STYLE: 3-3; White County will move around and be multiple on defense in order to combat the wide array of offenses it will face. But it will always have someone lined up on the opposing center.
- KEY DEFENSIVE PLAYERS: 6 returning starters -- Sr. DB Nix Burkett, Sr. LB Cory Ezzard, Jr. DL Jaquez Williams, Sr. LB Greg Wimer Sr. LB Jared Julian
- SPECIAL TEAMS: White County will look to replace Grayson Clark who handled kicking duties for the majority of the season.
- STRENGTH: QB/WR -- Haynes will have a lot of familiar faces to throw to this season as the Warriors return all of their starting receivers from last year.
- QUESTION: DL/DE -- The Warriors will be focused on replacing two major frontline disruptors in Jay Lepkoske and Deejay Flemming. Right now, Jaquez Williams is the only returning starter on the defensive line.
- KEY GAMES: White County's non-region slate contains three key rivalry games, Habersham Central, Lumpkin, and North Hall. The region schedule opens with a bang, as the Warriors travel to Marist then travel to Flowery Branch the very next Friday. The next three weeks will also do much to determine the Warriors' fate, as they host West Hall and second-year program Denmark before traveling to Gainesville for a showdown with Chestatee. After reaching the state playoffs the last two seasons, White County will not want to leave its playoff fate on the line for the regular-season finale against reigning Class 4A champ Blessed Trinity.
- TRENDING: Cokely has six starters returning to a defense that gave up 36 ppg last season. He also has experience and strength returning up front and at linebacker. They are way ahead of last year's defense and should show improvement. The Warriors also have a steady group of wide receivers back and a junior quarterback in Haynes on the brink of a possible All-State season. If all comes together for the Warriors, they could be the talk of Region 7-4A
2019 SCHEDULE
8-30 Lumpkin County
9-6 at Habersham
9-13 Pickens County
9-20 at North Hall
9-27 at Marist*
10-4 at Flowery Branch*
10-18 West Hall*
10-25 Denmark*
11-1 at Chestatee*
11-8 Blessed Trinity*
*- Indicates region contest
(All kickoffs scheduled for 7:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted)
