Young and improving North Hall set to 'unleash'

GAINESVILLE — The motto for the 2020 Trojans -- “No Retreat” -- may have seemed somewhat of a stretch initially.

After all, they had lost 20-plus seniors from a 2019 group that had won 17 games over a two-year span. Youth and inexperience dominated the roster.

“No one thought we’d be any good (coming into the 2020 season) but we didn’t want to lose the ground we had made as a program just because of graduations,” North Hall coach David Bishop said. “It seemed like a great way to motivate our inexperienced group while also having them understand that we always have expectations.”

That motto helped the Trojans pull off a 7-5 campaign, a second-place finish in Region 7-3A, and a trip to the second round of the playoffs. 

With 18 projected starters back as the 2021 season approaches, Bishop and his staff have come up with a new and improved motto.

“Unleashed. I think that taps into several things,” he said. “This group really didn’t start getting into its groove until about midway last year. There is a ton of potential with these guys, as they say, and we want them to unleash that potential and show what they can do.”

Chemistry can be an overused term, but Bishop believes it could be one of this team’s biggest assets.

“I saw it coming together last year. These guys have been playing together for several years and once they got accustomed to the speed of the varsity game you could see it,” Bishop said. “They started to get better each week.”

The offense returns senior quarterback Bradford Puryear and senior running back Kevin Rochester but will have to find a way to replace 1,700-yard rusher Clark Howell. The Trojans have a talented group up front with four guys returning -- seniors Jarrett Latty, Austin Copper, and Baker Dyer, and junior tight end Jeremiah Telander -- but second-unit depth could be an issue.

“Typically, we’re an offense that uses several guys (in the backfield) so Clark getting that many were more out of necessity because we had a lot of injuries,” Bishop said. “Clark had a phenomenal year but I don’t think we have any one person that is capable of putting up those kinds of numbers this year.

“But we’ve always been an offense of balance and I do think we have several guys that can give us that, which I think makes us more dangerous. We’ll have to see who emerges in the fall but again, I feel like we have some guys that can step up for us.”

Defensively is where the Trojans have seen the most improvement since an 0-3 start last year and they return nine starters, including All AccessWDUN first-team selection Telander at linebacker. After allowing 113 points to open the 2020 campaign (37.67 points a game) they gave up just 24.2 ppg over their last nine, including the playoffs.

Latty, Copper, Dyer, and Rochester on the line along with Telander and senior Austin Atha at linebacker give them a solid front-seven. Puryear (safety) and fellow senior  Clay Stover (corner) will lead the secondary in a pass-oriented region.

Despite employing their standard wing-T offense, several key 7-on-7 camps during the summer will help them get ready for the likes of Dawson County and White County, who both figure to be in the chase for a region title along with Cherokee Bluff and possibly West Hall. The Trojans will need that due to not holding spring practice.

“We use (the 7-on-7s) more for the defense to try and get them tuned up for the kinds of passing attacks they’ll see during the season,” Bishop said. “Getting those coverage rotations down is crucial. But this group is a year older and a lot more experienced than this time last year.”

North Hall opens with the same three teams from 2020, starting with Class 6A Paulding County on the road and also heading to Hart County after a home date with Stephens County.

“Those first three games, all three of those teams are big and athletic,” Bishop said. “All three of them will be better than last year. But I feel we are way better at this point than we were last year.

“We would like to have a better start than last year for sure. But as long as we’re improving each week, I’ll be okay with however it works out.”

While the 2020 season did not get off to a roaring start, the Trojans’ 7-3A schedule did with three straight wins over West Hall, White County, and Lumpkin County. But two of those were at home last season and this year they will open on the road against what is expected to be a much-improved West Hall squad. They follow that by playing host to White County in a series where the road team has won eight of the last 10 meetings.

North Hall went 3-3 on the road in 2020. 

“Every region game is big because you want that good start and momentum in the games that really matter,” Bishop said. “West Hall is going to be good and anything can happen when we play White County. But I do feel that this team will be better able to handle tough road environments.”

AccessWDUN Sports and Friday Game Night have picked the Trojans as the early-season favorites to win their first region title since 2012. Bishop said outside expectations don’t mean as much as the internal ones, even if they may intersect.

“It’s always good to be recognized and be considered to have a chance to win a title,” he said. “But I’m sure Cherokee Bluff, White County, West Hall, Dawson County, and the rest will have a say in it. Every game is going to be a dogfight in our region.

“We have very high expectations for this group. They have high expectations for themselves. Going back to what we talked about earlier, this team has the potential to be really, really good by season’s end.

“They are much more experienced now. Once we find those few added pieces and get everyone in the right spots, I’m very interested to see what they can do.”

And as for road environments, Bishop said he will be glad to see The Brickyard resemble its pre-COVID atmosphere as being rather inhospitable and one of the toughest road venues for visitors.

After allowing just 25 percent capacity in 2020, Hall County announced recently that it plans to open up its outdoor venues to 100 percent for the 2021 season.

“I tell you what, it’s got me fired up, and it’s got the kids fired up, to know we’ll be back to having full stadiums again,” Bishop said. “It’s making preparations easier and less stressful. I can’t wait till (August 27) we play Stephens County for our first home game. It’s going to be a little bit emotional probably.”