Hollars ready to keep the tradition going at Commerce

COMMERCE — Commerce, tradition, and triple option. You almost never hear one without the others.

Being a coach that not only understands how to run the old-school offense, Mark Hollars swears by it. So there was no doubt of his interest to take over one of the state’s most storied programs when Michael Brown stepped down in March as the Tigers coach after seven very successful seasons.

“I knew I had to jump at this chance,” said Hollars, who left North Cobb Christian in April after running the same offense for five seasons and turning a moribund program into a perennial playoff team.

“This is one of those programs in the state that everybody knows. They also know what they do at Commerce: they run the triple-option. I love this offense and love how the community embraces it. I’m here to keep the tradition going.”

For Hollars and the Tigers, it has been a fairly smooth transition as they get ready for fall practice.

“Some of the terminology may be a little different but so far everyone -- players and coaches -- are learning quickly,” he said. “We have a group of kids that are ready to prove themselves. They know it’s their time to shine.”

The Tigers, who finished 11-2 in 2020, were perhaps one play from advancing to their first semifinal since 2015 in a gut-wrenching 25-21 loss to eventual state champion Irwin County. They will have some obvious holes to fill.

Quarterback Trey Huff moved out, as did leading rusher Sammy Brown. They also graduated several key offensive players like Tyelon Brock, Jake Frates, and center Payton Freeman. On defense, they have to replace three linebackers in Brown, Grey Holbrook, and Elijah Burns.

But the cupboard was not bare when Hollars arrived in April.

The Tigers return three along the offensive line -- seniors Lambdin Hardy, who moves over to center, and Mason Gaddis, and junior Hampton Hutto -- as well as dynamic senior Dreylan Martin, who will primarily line up at  A-back and offer matchup problems for any defense. Juniors Malachi Shockey and Jack Fagan will handle the B-back duties.

The real key will be the battle at quarterback between seniors Trey Garnto, Landon Worley, and Landon Bunn.

“Dreylan I think has put himself in a position to be a big impact player for us on offense,” Hollars said. “His talent is off the chart. We can do a lot of things with him and getting him the ball in different ways will be a key. Malachi and Jack I think also are ready to show what they can do. We feel pretty good in the backfield.

“The quarterback spot I think will be a battle probably down to the opening week. All three are very good athletes. Garnto and Bunn can really throw it and Worley is showing good decision-making in the run game.

“The guy that wins that job will need three things: they have to be a great leader in the huddle and lead us downfield, the decision-making is critical, and they have to show they can take care of the ball. In the triple, if you can do all of those things it’s really fun to watch.”

The defense lost the bulk of their playmakers. But Hollars, who is switching the Tigers an old-school style slant-50 defense, feels they have the talent to move guys around and blitz more.

He seemed more than enthusiastic about a group that is ready to try and build off a unit that allowed just 15.7 points/game and no more than 28 in any one contest in 2020.

The line will be anchored by a pair of experienced guys in senior Ethan Epps and junior Colton Hill. But it’s at linebacker where Hollars said they have the potential to make some noise. Seniors Wesley Stilley, Collin Hall, Khamoni Horne, and Lambdin Hardy, along with junior Cole Hill give them more than enough depth to keep the defense with quality fresh legs. Martin and Worley will lead the secondary.

“We have changed a few things but the kids are picking things up, including a slightly different terminology, very quickly,” Hollars said. “The potential for the linebacking group as a whole is there. When they put it all together, that should be an outstanding group.”

The schedule did not change for the Tigers from 2020. After opening at home against Banks County on Aug. 20, two interesting road games with Union County and Elbert County sandwiched around a home game against old Region 8-A foe Athens Academy, highlights the non-region schedule.

They open Region 8-A play on Oct. 1 on the road against Greene County. But any region title hopes will likely again come down to the final two weeks with a home tilt against Washington-Wilkes and closing things out with an always-hostile road game at Lincoln County.

“I love this schedule,” he said. “We have some challenging non-region games. Union on the road will be interesting and I’ve never been to the Granite Bowl so I’m excited about that one as well. We never got to play Athens Academy in the Private group but I know their reputation. That should be a great game.

“Right now we’re just focused on Banks County but the goal is to continue to get better and improve each week and be playing our best when region play starts. I’ve heard most everyone say it may come to those last two games but if we don’t take care of business before that, those won’t matter.

"I haven't had a lot of time to really study all the teams in the region yet. But what I do know is that I think every team is expecting to be better than they were last year. Our goal is just to put ourselves into a position at the end where the final games matter. We have a long way to go, for all the teams, to know how things will shake it. Just too early to tell right now."

Hollars did not seem to shy away from trying to keep things rolling at one of the state’s most consistent winners.

“I came here because of the expectations,” he said. “They hold things to a high standard and football matters here. That excites me. I can’t wait for the season to start.”