There are just 30 days remaining until the kickoff of the 2024 high school football season. But make no mistake, preparations for the upcoming campaign began 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)
EAST HALL (2-8 in 2023; did not qualify for playoffs)
The Vikings in 2024 could be one of the more intriguing teams to keep an eye on. They return a slew of young talent. However, that same group managed just two wins and were inconsistent throughout in 2023.
This will be Year 4 under coach Matt Turner, who feels it is time for the program to get back to its high-flying offensive ways. But continuing to improve a defense that allowed 38.9 points/game in 2023 (down from 42.8 ppg in 2022) may hold the real key.
We caught up with Turner to see how the spring and summer have come along as they try to get back to the playoffs for the first time since 2017.
QUESTION: Despite an improvement in each of your first two seasons, the defense has been a major focus in the offseason. Are you pleased with what you have seen so far in the summer with that group?
A: We’ve liked what we have seen thus far through spring and summer. But, we know we have miles to go to get to where we want to be. The main focus for us has been being more sound with our run fits and with being better tacklers. If we improve those two things, we will be much improved. We also want to be more aggressive on the defense side and be more proactive than reactive.
Q: The offense has a slew of talent, and plenty of playmakers, but struggled last season. What has been the focus as you try to get that unit back to its former high-flying days?
A: Last year, we showed signs of moving in the right direction on offense and with getting to where we want to be. But the problem was our lack of consistency. Many times, we couldn’t get out of our own way with penalties, poor execution, mistakes, and turnovers. The main focus is on being more consistent, building off what we do well, getting our playmakers the ball, and keeping it simple. And it all starts upfront. We have focused on being more physical up front in order to be able to establish the run. We struggled to do that at times last season. We feel good about the guys that we have up front and we feel that we have some gifted skill players. We have some playmakers who can create explosive plays. But, we need our “dudes” to be “dudes” more consistently in games. If we can improve those things and limit the mistakes, we believe our offense can make big strides this season.
BONUS QUESTION: Junior QB Jamarcus Harrison is considered one of the area’s most dynamic young players. Is he ready to have the kind of season many have been expecting from him?
A: Jamarcus had some games last season that showed what type of dynamic player he can be. But the issue again was just consistency. He has worked extremely hard on his body this offseason in the weight room. He has also put in a lot of time this spring and summer to be more developed as a quarterback. The No. 1 thing that we have challenged Jamarcus to improve this season is his completion percentage. If he does that, our offensive production will go up significantly. But the thing that Jamarcus has improved the most from last season is his leadership. He has embraced a role as a captain and is an outspoken leader of our team. We feel very good about him as our field general and believe he will have a great season.
- Up Next in Two-a-Days: EAST JACKSON
- Previous Two-a-Days: EAST FORSYTH
