Young Vikings ready for 'culture-change'

RABBITTOWN — Second-year East Hall coach Matt Turner isn't concerned about the stats. Instead, changing the culture of a program that has seen a steady drop in wins and participation was more on his mind entering the 2022 campaign.

“The main issue we’ve been working on since January has been character-building," said Turner, a former East Hall grad. "It starts in the classroom and the weight room and in the hallways and at home. We want guys with character and we’re saying that if you’re not a guy of character, this may not be the place for you.

“But I love this group of kids. They’ve been responding well to that message so far.”

Turner said his second offseason has been more to his liking.

"We had a really good summer," he said. "We've had a big turnout as far as participation and I felt like we were more competitive against the teams we saw during the summer. That's what we were looking for going into this year."

As for the stats from 2021, they are hard to ignore. And finding suitable replacements may well decide the Vikings' fate in 2022.

East Hall lost 1,960 yards passing, over 1,100 yards rushing, and over 1,600 yards receiving to graduation from the 2021 team. However, several injuries to key players also played a huge part in a disappointing 1-9 finish last year, their worst since 2010.

With a small senior class and a large number of underclassmen, the Vikings are expected to be in a rebuilding mode in 2022.

“We’re going to be a young team for sure,” Turner said. “But we have some talent. We’re excited to see what some of these guys can do on Friday night."

The loss in production from last year would be hard for any team to replace. But Turner said they may have a few diamonds-in-the-rough by season’s end.

The biggest noticeable loss is at quarterback, where three-year starter Clete Cooper left nearly 7,000 yards and 36 TDs to replace. But Turner said a pair of youngsters -- sophomore Peyton Llewallyn and freshman Jamarcus Harrison -- both could be ready to grab the reins, and both should see significant action.

Llewallyn was 5-of-7 for 47 yards and 1 TD in limited action in 2021.

“Both of those guys have made a lot of progress during the summer," Turner said. "I expect it to be an ongoing battle all the way to the (season) opener. But I also feel like one of them could be ready to take the reigns.

"The biggest issue is just their overall lack of varsity experience. Peyton got in a few games last year but I really see both guys getting plenty of looks. As of now, both guys will play early on.”

Who will catch the ball, however, may not be as hard to replace. The Vikings may be as talented at receiver at the top of the depth chart as anyone in the area.

Senior Temeris Morrison and sophomores Caden Daniels and Caden Crocker will be a tough trio to defend. Morrison and Daniels combined for just 11 catches for 103 yards and 2 TDs in 2021 but played behind a pair of seniors (Darius Holcomb and Justin Gilbert) that combined for over 1,200 yards last season.

“Those three guys, we’re expecting some big things from them,” Turner said. “But we have a lot of young guys that we feel will get better and better. Our system should allow us to use all of our talent at receiver and move them around to take advantage of matchups. Like the quarterbacks, just getting these guys experience on Friday night will go a long way to their development.”

It’s almost the exact same story at running back, where they will have to fill the shoes of Marcus Holmberg, who rushed for 763 yards and 11 TDs. But again, Turner and his staff will have options.

Junior Demariun Tatum, sophomore Jacob Christian, who moved from receiver, and freshman Lukas Pruitt, all should be in the mix. However, Tatum is the only one at the top of the depth chart that saw action in the backfield in 2021 -- just 1 carry for 5 yards.

“It’s going to be running-back-by-committee early on,” Turner said. “All three of those guys are pretty equal, can run the ball, catch it out of the backfield. There’s not much drop off. Just getting them that experience on the field will be the key.”

The offensive line has three returnees in seniors Caleb Pruitt and Jake Evans, and junior Jake Jones. Finding suitable depth is always a key and look for freshman tight end Chasen Jones to make an impact.

“The biggest thing for us is just the need to be more physical up front, on both sides of the ball really,” Turner said. “Developing that quality depth along the line is always a point of focus.”

Over the years, offense, even with changes, has not been the issue for the Vikings. The defense has.

They gave up 516 points in 2021, the second-most in program history, and the second time since 2017 (517 points) they have allowed over 500 points. Turner, who was a part of several East Hall squads as the offensive coordinator that piled up huge offensive numbers, understood the need to improve the Vikings defense.

“The defense has been a big focus for us since the end of last season,” he said. “We’ve broken things down to the simple nuts-and-bolts of things at every position and working on things like tackling, knowing your assignment, pursuit, and just understanding the fundamentals and doing the things that great defenses do.”

The Vikings strength may be up front where Caleb Pruitt, Evans, and juniors Cason Cash and Jacob Hernandez give them some depth and room to improve at the same time. 

A pair of youngsters in sophomore Sergio Soto and freshman Lukas Pruitt should help junior Jayden Hernandez anchor what could be a formidable linebacking group as the season progresses.

“Like I said earlier, just being more physical in general, but especially up front and with our front-7, are huge areas of emphasis right now,” Turner said. “We have to get off the field on defense. That was our biggest weakness last year so that’s something we’ve focused on with the defense. The good thing is that we saw improvement in our spring game and into the summer. But it’s not where it needs to be yet.”

The Vikings will be in one of the biggest regions (8-4A) in the state. With just two non-region games -- at West Hall in their opener and against Johnson in Week 3 after an off week -- they will need to develop their young players quickly with eight region games on tap.

They will open region play on the road against Chestatee and the following week against North Hall at home, two teams that may also be rebuilding modes. A quick start could go a long way.

“Our region is going to be tough again and every game for us will be a challenge,” Turner said. “But we’re hoping with the two non-region games we can get our kids some early Friday night experience and work on the mistakes before we get to the region games.

“The Chestatee game has always been a wild game between the two teams and I don’t expect anything less. North Hall has a big winning tradition and even though they have a new coach, I don’t expect anything but a battle the entire game.

“Our focus right now is not so much about wins but just getting back to being competitive week-in and week-out. I like where we are right now coming into this season. I see the attitude of the program already changing and the kids are working their tails off to get better. That’s all we can ask for right now.”