There are just 23 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)...
NORTH FORSYTH
The Raiders are coming off their most wins (8-4) since 2005 and a program-best four straight winning seasons. There were just one quarter from capturing their first region championship since 2001.
But they come into the 2023 campaign with some key questions, most notably at quarterback. We checked in with Craft to see how a crowded QB room was shaping up and who may be ready to step up to fill a pair of big holes at linebacker.
QUESTION: Y’all will be introducing a new starting quarterback this season. It was an open competition coming into the spring. Has anyone emerged in the summer to take hold of that spot?
A: In the spring, we had an open competition with juniors Elijah Seaney and Parker Smaltz and sophomore Matthew Bray all competing for the job. All three worked very hard throughout the offseason to allow for a great competition. However, Elijah Seaney earned the job after his performance throughout all of spring practice. Elijah showed great command of our offense, and proved to be very efficient in our two spring scrimmages.
Q: You also will be replacing two big holes in your linebacking group. How is that unit shaping up as we approach fall practice?
A: On defense, we return two senior linebackers, Dylan Parker and Jacob Shirley, and both have a lot of experience and we will lean on them heavily. Both Dylan and Jacob played many snaps on defense last year and then played pivotal roles in each of our special teams units.
- Up Next in Two-a-Days: NORTH HALL
- Previous Two-a-Days: LUMPKIN COUNTY
