Noland looks to continue Dragons’ winning tradition

JEFFERSON, Ga. — Travis Noland may be new to Jefferson, but he’s not completely unfamiliar with the place either.

Noland has watched the Dragons’ success from not too far away as he coached at nearby programs like Stephens County and, most recently, Oconee County, even tangling with them a few times over his coaching tenure. 

So when former Jefferson head coach Gene Cathcart left after last season to return to his home state of South Carolina, Noland knew it was a place he wanted to be.

“Having played them several times when we were at Oconee and just knowing the kind of tradition that they have here. It’s a small town. I grew up in a mill town very similar to it in North Carolina,” Noland said. “It’s just an intriguing place, and I’m very fortunate and honored to be here.” 

Noland appears to be a more-than qualified candidate to take over Jefferson. He took Oconee County to the state championship game in back-to-back seasons in 2019 and 2020 and has only missed the playoffs once in his 17 years of head coaching in Georgia.

Then again, who is at the helm of this Dragons’ program hasn't seemed to matter over the last 15 years. Since 2008, they’ve won at least 10 games in a season 10 times under four different head coaches: Bill Navas, T. McFerrin, Ben Hall and Gene Cathcart.

So the question is: what does Noland bring to Jefferson?

“They’ve won a lot of games before Travis Noland got here, so it’s not like we’re trying to re-invent the wheel,” Noland said. “Ben Hall did a great job, and Gene Cathcart did a great job, so we’re not going to change a whole lot of things. We’re just going to try to put our spin on it from an offensive standpoint.”

The biggest change will be offensively, where Nolan is looking to transition the Dragons from the triple-option attack they ran for four years under Cathcart into a pro-style system that will look much closer to what was done under Hall.

Noland said the players have been receptive to the change, but it is a work in progress.

“It’s been going good. The hardest part is just the terminology and how things are called,” Noland said. “Of course, getting a shotgun snap has been a unique challenge for them, but all-in-all the players have been great, so we’re excited about where we are.”

On top of that, Jefferson is trying to replace several star players from last year’s team. Most notably is quarterback and defensive back Malaki Starks, who is now playing at Georgia.

Starks was listed as an athlete but played quarterback in Jefferson’s option offense. The quarterback role now is up for grabs, although senior Max Aldridge seems to be the leader in the clubhouse through the offseason.

“Max had a good spring, and he’s the one senior in the group. The rest are pretty young guys. That’s a work in progress for sure because that’s probably the biggest change. Playing offensive line is offensive line, playing receiver is receiver, but at quarterback, there’s a pretty big difference in option versus pro-style,” Noland said.

One player who figures to factor into the new-look Dragons’ offense is Sammy Brown. The junior is mainly being recruited for his prowess on defense but has been a standout running back in each of his first two seasons, first at Commerce and then Jefferson last year. Despite his size, he has proven he can be an explosive runner.

Noland said while Brown will be featured, Isaiah Copeland and others will factor into the running back position as the Dragons look to be running back by committee.

At receiver, senior Elijah Dewitt looks to be a key part of the offense after transferring to Jefferson from Prince Avenue Christian. Noland said receiver will be the most inexperienced position for the team this season because of the transition away from the triple option.

Three of Jefferson’s starting offensive linemen graduated last year. One returning starter is senior Hayden Dial, who was a Region 8-4A honorable mention in 2021.

The defensive line will have a lot of new faces as well. No starters return, but Noland said he’s confident in the players that will rotate.

Brown will anchor a linebacking corps that is looking to replace three key starters from last year in Kadin Bailey, Jordan Perry and Austin Redmon. One of those slots will be filled by Isaiah Copeland, who is moving to linebacker from his previous spot on the defensive line, where he earned first-team all-region honors in 8-4A last season. Skyler Zimmerman will also start at outside linebacker.

Starks also left a big hole in the secondary, and there is only one returning starter in that unit for Jefferson as well. Senior Bowman Horn and junior Justin Beatty will look to be the leaders of the unit.

One area Jefferson does have returning talent is special teams. Both place kickers from last year, Owen Botts and Chase Johnson, are back for their senior years and will give the Dragons options depending on the kicking situation.

There are still a lot of questions to be answered if Jefferson is to be successful this year, but Noland has confidence in his team to answer those.

“It’s been a really smooth transition, and it’s been good because we’re still undefeated,” Noland said. “I know the expectation, and that’s part of the reason I’m here because that’s, as a coach, what you long for. Hopefully, we can do things right and be here for a long time. I’d like for this to be my last coaching stop.”

Another change for Jefferson this year will be moving up into Class 5A. It’s the highest classification the Dragons have ever been in, and it will place them into Region 8-5A, which has some familiar foes like Flowery Branch and Winder-Barrow, but also some new, interesting matchups like Clarke Central and Eastside.

“It’s a very, very tough region. We played Clarke Central and Eastside several times while we were at Oconee and Stephens County. We’re very familiar with Winder-Barrow. I think it’s going to be a very competitive, very athletic region, and it’s going to be a challenge each and every week,” Noland said.

Noland is not easing into this first season either, with a non-region slate that is perhaps even more brutal than the region schedule. The team will open with a preseason scrimmage against Marist before opening the season with a road trip to Alpharetta. Their home opener is against South Carolina power Wren.

The most interesting game in the non-region slate may come in Week 4 when Noland takes the Dragons into his old stomping ground at Oconee County. The new head coach for the Warriors is also one with Jefferson ties, former Dragons’ head coach Ben Hall.

“It’s going to be a fun season and a tough season, but we really don’t look past Week 1. Alpharetta is going to be a very good, very athletic football team,” Noland said.

Through all the change, Noland says the community has welcomed him and his staff with welcome arms.

“It’s a great place with great people, and I haven’t been disappointed by any of that,” Noland said. “We’re going to play tough, hard-nosed football. We’re going to always be physical, hopefully, play with a lot of discipline and class, and if we do that, I think we’ll win a lot more than we lose.”