Lightning relishing move back to 11-man

CHESTNUT MOUNTAIN, Ga. — It didn't take long for legendary coach Bruce Miller to figure out the GAPPS 8-man league in his first season at Lanier Christian Academy.

Miller, who led Gainesville to a state title in 2012, quickly adapted to different strategies in his first season for the small private  Hall County school, leading the Lightning to a 9-3 record and the semifinals of the GAPPS 2A division in 2021, their best-ever season.

Miller also vowed back at the time that a successful season would generate an interest in the program. Mission accomplished as the numbers are slowly increasing, prompting the Lightning to move back to the GAPPS 11-man league in 2022.

"Football is football once you figure some things out and I felt like we could run the kind of offense I like to run," Miller said. "We had some really good players for a small roster  We're seeing more interest, and that's how you build a program. But we have some spots that we have to get settled before the first game."

The chief concern is breaking in a new quarterback. Miller said they will hand their spread offense, which put some video game-like numbers at times in 2021, to freshman C.J. Britt. But Britt won't be alone as the Lightning still has sophomore GAPPS 8-man All-State running back Zeke Clanton, who piled up over 1,600 yards and scored 31 TDs in 2021.

Britt will have plenty of other weapons to work with as well in senior wide receivers Carter Raulerson, Isaac Dinn, and Camden Hohman, along with juniors Shepherd Acton and McKinney Crozier and newcomers Ben Hargis, Jr. and  Drew Kalnaukas.

“CJ is ready for this, I believe, and we’re going to live and die with him while he learns and gains experience,” Miller said. “CJ led our middle school (9-0) to that mythical state title last year and understands what we’re trying to do. If he has a breakout year, it’ll mean he’s finding the right guys out there.

“But the biggest key is Zeke. He had a tremendous year last year, and I feel like he could match that. He’s gotten a little bigger and quicker this year.”

The main challenge for the offense will be up front. The Lightning’s biggest strength in 2021 becomes an instant question mark due to moving back up and the depth needed on the offensive line.

Juniors Qwinn Winfrey and Cade Reed and sophomore Josh Waymack return, but Miller said finding the rest of the group may well decide their fates.

“Our numbers are up already and we’re hoping to get a few more as the summer goes along,” Miller said. “But going back to 11-man after 8-man, the line will be a huge priority. We will have to find some guys to give CJ and Zeke some time to make plays. That will probably be the key to everything.”

The defense, however, may be ready on opening night. Winfrey, Waymack, Reed, and junior Luke Hopkins offer a stout group up front, and linebackers Clanton, Dinn, and Acton, along with Hargis Jr., give them a tough front-7 in front of a solid secondary, led by GAPPS All-State selection Raulerson (9 INT in 2021). Hohman, Crozier, and Kalnaukas will join Raulerson in the defensive backfield.

“The old saying is that defense wins championships,” Miller said. “We played great defense all year and I expect we'll be just as good this year. We have some talented guys that know how to find the ball.”

The special teams, a question mark for most coming into most seasons, already appears set for LCA. Sophomore Bowen Shirley should handle most of the place-kicking with Acton handling the punting duties. Clanton and Raulerson give them a pair of speedy, steady hands in the return game.

For Miller and his staff, the biggest unknown is their schedule. Last year was a challenge because almost no one in GAPPS exchanged game film. He is hoping for a little more cooperation in the 11-man league.

A GAPPS meeting in June was set to discuss the issue.

“Not trading film was a tough thing to get used to when you’ve been able to do that your entire career. I am definitely bringing that up to discuss at the meeting,” Miller said.

“Our scouting is already limited with so few people in the program. Without having any film, game preparation was interesting to say the least. The No. 1 issue was, ‘was there any film?’ and the No. 2 issue was, ‘could I get it?’ 

“That made every week tough since you had very limited information. I thought we as a team -- the staff and the players -- did a very good job of making adjustments almost on every possession. Hopefully it will be better this year.”

Miller and his staff once again will have an entire schedule of mostly-unknown opponents, after moving up in class. They open on the road against Harvester Christian in Douglasville and then begin a stretch of four consecutive home games, starting with the North Georgia Falcons and ending with their Region 2 opener against former GHSA member Pinecrest Academy.

The Lightning will close out the season with back-to-back region home games against King's Ridge and Walker.

But with just four teams in the region, one win over either Pinecrest Academy, King's Academy, or Walker could get them into the playoffs.

“No matter where I have been, our goal has always been to get into the playoffs. You can’t win a title if you don’t get in. That will be our goal this year,” Miller said.

And while making another playoff is important, Miller knows that keeping momentum of the program moving forward will be the ultimate goal.

“The school and the community are very excited about the move up. Our numbers are up to about 23 or 24, and we’re anticipating a few more showing up during the summer,” he said. “Last year I had to cut guys for the first time in my career because of how the 8-man league works, and I won’t be cutting anyone this year.

“We gained a lot of experience last year and have a lot of those guys back. We will need as many guys as we can get. There are some things in 8-man that you can get away with, like not so many offensive line guys. You can’t get away with low numbers along the line in 11-man.

“Again, our expectations are to compete every week. We’re trying to continue to build the program so another good year and having the young guys make progress will be big for us to be able to continue to grow as a program.”