There are just 25 days remaining until the kickoff of the 2023 high school football season. But make no mistake, preparations for the upcoming campaign got underway months ago. And teams throughout northeast Georgia already are in full countdown mode.
With that in mind, we spent the last couple of weeks catching up with programs around our area to get a feel for how spring practice went, how the summer is going, and what coaches believe the fall will look like. Our "Two-a-Days" series honors those old-school grinding sessions that lead us out of summer and into fall, asking each area coach two key questions about the state of their respective programs.
Over the next two weeks, AccessWDUN's Friday Game Night will get you prepped for the start of gridiron action with responses from coaches throughout northeast Georgia.
(Teams run in alphabetical order)...
JOHNSON
The Knights are still trying to snap the programs worst-ever losing streak, now at 32 straight, but have been close. They were four points from three wins in 2022, losing two games by a point and another by two points.
But progress was made last year on both sides of the ball. Coach William Harrell, who is still looking for his first win since arriving in 2020, discussed the development his program is making despite not being able to end the losing streak.
QUESTION: Y’all doubled your offensive output in 2022 and return several key starters this year. How has the development gone in improving on last year’s numbers?
A: It has been a steady process. We have some players returning that we will be relying on early, while hoping that our new starters can get used to the speed of the game. We are not able to simulate game-speed due to our lack of depth, so we hope that our padded camp and scrimmages will help with that.
Q: Defensively it was the same story as y’all improved by three touchdowns in points allowed but you lost several key starters from last year's unit. How has their progress continued during the summer?
A: It will take some time. We lost both of our starting cornerbacks, which were huge for us in defending the deep ball; there was always a drop-off when they were injured or out. Our biggest priority is developing two starters there. We also lost one of our strong safeties to graduation, so finding a starter there will be key. Our defensive line lost its best player, but we have depth so experience will be the biggest focus there. LB was a weakness last year, but now it is our strongest unit; they will be counted on to lead our defense early-on.
- Up Next in Two-a-Days: LAKEVIEW ACADEMY
- Previous Two-a-Days: JEFFERSON
