Eagles experience, attitude change could translate to success

COMMERCE — Cameron Pettus says his program has grown in the offseason.

As he enters Year 2 at East Jackson, the Eagles are closer as a team and have more continuity. It’s exactly what Pettus set out to do in his first season and, now, it’s translating in 2020. 

“You can just tell the difference in attitude from this year versus last year,” he said. “Last year, we had a little more complaining, just an unsure kind of feeling, not exactly knowing what to do and how to work at it. You can just tell the kids are now working harder and holding each other accountable.”

But that growth didn’t come without a lot of growing pains. After opening 2019 on a three-game win streak -- more combined wins than in the two prior seasons -- the Eagles hit a brutal Region 8-3A schedule.

“I was very proud of how the seniors kind of bought in and laid that foundation,” Pettus said about last year. “We’ve got a long way to go to compete in our region because it is such a tough one. But  I thought we did a good job of getting our system in, raising our expectations and letting our guys know exactly where we are and what we need to do.”

The Eagles return five starters on offense and seven on defense, but perhaps the biggest spot to fill is that of 1,300-yard rusher Nino Brown. 

Marquis Green and Gary Maddox are expected to fill the running back spot. 

Senior Greg Huggs (50-126, 500 yards, 4 touchdowns) will be back at quarterback but will have competition from sophomore Randy Smith (21-51, 291 yards, 2 touchdowns). 

“Both of them are competing for that job,” Pettus said. “And whoever wins the job, the other will definitely be on the field helping us out somewhere.”

Juniors RJ White and Kahlil Watkins return at wide receiver, and sophomore Jamal Neal and senior Xander Engle bring experience to the O-line.

“I’m really excited about this year coming up and the experience our guys have had,” Pettus said. “From learning the systems and being able to run it faster and more efficiently this year.” 

The Eagles strength on defense will come from a talented secondary with Watkins and Green at cornerback and White, junior Luke Lindsey and sophomore Gary Maddox in the safety positions. Freshman Amaron Tuggle is expected to challenge for a spot in the secondary as well. 

Junior linebacker Jeremiah Stancel -- last season’s leading tackler (62 tkls) -- returns as well as junior Ethan Ardis. Senior Braxton Standrige will start again at defensive end. 

“We’ve got a bunch of kids that can flat go get the ball and cover some guys, which will allow us to load up the box and help stop the run,” Pettus said. “We’ll be able to play a lot more zero, which I’m excited about.” 

The Eagles will open the season on the road against West Hall, back at home against Jackson County, then to Banks County before finishing up the non-region slate with back-to-back home games versus Gilmer and East Hall. 

They’ll open the region with two straight home games against two tough opponents.  Region newcomer and Class 4A runner-up Oconee County on Oct. 16 followed by Monroe Area. The Eagles finish up the region at Franklin County, region favorite Hart County at home, and a road trip to Stephens County on Nov. 20.

“It’s no joke,” he said about the region. “That’s why it’s so important for us to hit the ground running in our non-region to get some confidence and get these guys understanding what we’re doing before we hit that tough region schedule.”