Hopes high in Nicholson as Pettus' build continues

COMMERCE, Ga. — One thing Cameron Pettus has never lacked is excitement.

As the East Jackson head coach enters his fourth season in Nicholson, he’s hoping that enthusiasm combined with continuity and some promising talent will turn the corner to success.

“I feel great; I really do,” Pettus said. “We’ve had the same staff for four years, and we’ve been developing in the weight room and doing our speed training, and our kids have been learning my attitude and work ethic. I’ve got a senior class coming through this year that has been with me for four years, so that’s very special too. I’m looking forward to having a fun year.”

That continuity has been historically rare for the Eagles. With his fourth season, Pettus will be tied for the longest-tenured head coach in the program's history with Frank Caputo, who opened it from 2007 to 2010.

There were signs of progress for East Jackson in 2021. After a 1-8 campaign in 2020, they went 3-7. A modest improvement at first glance, but a closer look reveals a far more competitive team than the year before.

A pair of seven-point losses in non-region play is all that kept them below .500 on the season for what would have been the first time since 2009. They also had their best average scoring margin of Pettus’ tenure to date. Pettus said he liked what he saw last year.

“Before you can win a game, you’ve got to be in them,” Pettus said. “Our kids did a great job competing week in and week out, and it’s a testament to those seniors that led that team last year and got our kids more competitive.”

Now it’s time to try to continue that improvement and turn it into some long-term momentum. Despite the graduation of some key players, Pettus believes he has a roster that can do just that.

Offensively, the Eagles were a run-first team in 2021 behind a strong runner in quarterback Tyler Crow. With Crow graduated, Pettus said the offense will continue to operate in a spread but will have a more diverse identity in 2022.

Senior Randy Smith saw plenty of snaps at quarterback last year in rotation with Crow and will return this fall. Freshman Drew Richardson was competing for the job this offseason, and while Pettus said Smith will be the primary quarterback entering the season, he said Richardson will factor into the offense.

It will be on the other end of the passing game though.

“Drew will play situationally at quarterback in different packages we have, but the funny thing is, I think Drew has now become Randy’s favorite target at receiver. They’ve got a real good camaraderie and chemistry,” Pettus said. “(Richardson’s) got great speed, and he’s a quarterback, so he’s a smart kid.”

At running back, Gary Maddox and Quay Hill will both return at running back with Dekan Williams factoring into the backfield as well, giving the Eagles a strong ground game to lean on. The offensive line they will run behind will be veteran one with three returning starters in Jamal Neal, Tyquese Gresham and Josh Stansell.

Receiver is the position that loses the most production for the team from last year after the graduation of Marquese Greene, Luke Lindsay and tight end Ethan Ardis. Omarion Tuggle, T.J. Jackson and Brayden King are expected to be the leaders in that group along with whichever quarterback, Smith or Richardson, isn’t taking snaps at the time.

Many of the receivers will also start in the defensive secondary with junior corner Nathan Heiss anchoring that unit.

Defensively, speed appears to be East Jackson’s strength, especially at linebacker. Williams, Gary Maddox and J.Z. Lester will start on the inside with Jackson Eager and Corvin Gillespie outside, giving Pettus what may be his strongest position group on the field in 2022. Quarterback Randy Smith will also contribute as a promising edge rusher.

Josh Stansell and Zach Henry will be the leading returners on the defensive line with some promising young talent behind them, headlined by freshman D’Marion Massey, who is listed at 6-foot-5, 310 pounds.

Senior Johnny Benetiz will return as kicker for the Eagles after earning first-team all-region honors in 8-3A last year. Randy Smith will handle punting duties.

The latest round of reclassification from the GHSA moved East Jackson down from 3A to 2A and into a new region, 8-2A. While the new region includes private school powerhouses Athens Academy and Fellowship Christian, it should make for a more manageable road to the playoffs for a school in East Jackson that hasn’t been to the postseason since 2009.

Banks County, Union County and Providence Christian round out the rest of the region slate, and with East Jackson included, two of those four teams will likely be headed to the postseason, making those three matchups of critical importance for the Eagles.

“There’s very good football there, but it’s not Oconee, it’s not Hart, it’s not Monroe Area, the bigger schools that we were playing being in 3A,” Pettus said.

In non-region play, the Eagles will open with three straight road games at Oglethorpe County, Social Circle and West Hall before hosting Franklin County and Johnson. The three straight road games are due to artificial turf installation happening at Eagle Stadium during the summer that will finish close to the start of the season.

It looks to be a season of opportunity for a program with only one state playoff appearance in its history. Pettus said work ethic will be the key to this team capitalizing on that opportunity.

“I’m just excited for them. I think that we’ve got everything we need to do exactly what we want to do,” Pettus said. “It’s a real simple equation: we’ve got to work hard every day, and I feel like all these kids now know that coming in.”