After 2020 COVID shutdown, Riverside returns to action

When the delayed 2020 football season finally kicked off, Riverside Military Academy had already thrown in the towel. 

The school decided in June of 2020 to cancel the season due to concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic.  

When the news hit, Head Coach Nick Garrett suddenly found himself as a full-time counselor instead of worrying about the Xs and Os. 

“It was pretty rough,” he said. “I protect my players like they’re my kids and when you have to make those calls and see the players and their parents crying on a zoom call, it was hard to take in because you can’t do anything to make them feel better and make it right.”

Garrett had unwanted time on his hands now that the COVID-19 pandemic had shuttered the season. He sought ways to support his players and pushed many of them to seek opportunities at other high school programs in and around the state.

Several of the seniors transferred. Shad Dabney, who is playing at Kansas now, played at Cherokee Bluff. Adriel Clark spent his senior season at Rabun County. Nick Hester started at Walton. Orlando Mayweather played for East Hall, and Wylie McDonald won a state title at McCallie School in Chattanooga, Tenn. 

It didn’t stop Garrett, however, from visiting his players, to check on them and to just be there for advice.

“I drove out to see as many of my seniors play in state and out of state – wherever it was,” he said. “I wanted to check in with the parents and surprise my players at games. I would talk to them at halftime, if I could, to make sure my players were mentally OK. I was in a situation there where I was very much part of football and their lives from a distance.” 

Garrett still had to deal with the reality of his whistle hanging on the wall instead of around his neck – the first in his career. He had opportunities to go elsewhere and be a part of other football programs around the area, but he decided to stick around Riverside. 

“It was tough to take on,” he said. “It took me a couple of months to get over that because I felt, man, I could have done more. I felt guilty, like something I could have done. That’s what bothered me the most. But I chose to stay and had a lot of local schools reach out. In my heart, though, I felt like my work, my job was not done here. I want to see it through.”  

With the pandemic somewhat behind him, Garrett will be back on the sidelines at Riverside this season and although the pandemic canceled last season, it didn’t change how the program operates. 

Riverside gets a new crop of players every season, most of which enroll in early August – the nature of a military boarding school. That’s when Garrett will get first glance at the potential in each class 9th – 12th grade. So, yes, they kind of rebuild every year. 

But there are no excuses when it comes to preseason preparation. Some might think it’s like falling into quicksand every year, but for Garrett, he takes it in stride.

“I always feel good about any opportunity we get,” he said. “We don’t look for any excuses. Whatever time we get, we’re going to make it work. We don’t coach football in the excuse business by any means. We just find a way to make it work.” 

Garrett did get the opportunity to have spring practice in May and said he has some solid players that should be back in August. He also recognizes the fact some of his players haven’t played in at least a year. 

“We had 40-47 players out at spring,” he said. “A lot of these kids haven’t played in a year or two. So, I was really surprised how well they played when their backs were against the wall in our scrimmage against Chestatee.” 

The Eagles will employ a spread, no-huddle offense. Rodney Robinson is the only returner starter from the 2019 team. Garrett said he’ll play running back. Max Vogelbacher also will mix in a running back. 

Across the front, Booker Fraser (tackle) and Zach Miller (center) are the leaders. 

At receiver, Vogelbacher and Marek Verma will get some reps. Garrett also will mix in Joshua Netherton, Dominic Williams and Kennedy Goodgames. 

On defense, they’ll base out of a four-man front and shift to a 3-4 at times. Tami Odatula is expected to lead the defense at tackle. 

“He’s unblockable,” Garrett said. “You’re going to hear his name a lot. He’s a disrupter”

Miller will join Odatula on the D-line, Williams will play linebacker, Robinson and Vogelbacker at the corners, and a 6-foot-4, 175-pound freshman, Keith Porter III, has shown some promise at safety. 

Garrett was pleased with the defense after spring practice and their scrimmage against Chestatee. 

“We have some really good athletes that can run and create some havoc in space and some pressure,” he said. “Looking forward to seeing these guys on the field.” 

Then there’s the schedule. After COVID-19 disrupted the season, Garrett lost his original two-year schedule, which meant he had to go on the hunt to fill the 2021 slate – two scrimmages and six regular-season games.

“I started working on it when I found out our season got canceled,” he said. “I didn’t finalize it until the end of January. It was a challenge to get the number of games I had to get.” 

Since the Eagles last played, 2019, they were in the former Region 8-A Private. Now, they’ll be in Region 8-2A with public schools Rabun County, Union County, Elbert County and Banks County. 

Before they get to the part of the schedule that counts, they’ll open with Notre Dame Academy, followed by St. Anne Pacelli, Druid Hills, Georgia Military Academy, East Forsyth and Toombs County. 

“Our first few games will be figuring out where to put pieces,” he said. “The time most coaches use in the summer to figure it out, we have to use live games to sort through that.”

Garrett points to the season opener home game against Notre Dame Academy as the most important. 

“It is the most important for us because we haven’t played in a year,” he said. “But, overall, we don’t emphasize one game over the other. We’ll take it one day and one game at a time. I’m trying not to get too far ahead of them and focus on getting better, so we’re ready to play in the ones that count.”