There are just 18 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)
TOWNS COUNTY (0-10 in 2023; did not qualify for playoffs)
Towns County was decimated by injuries in 2023, derailing what they thought was a team that could challenge for just the program’s second-ever playoff appearance.
However, a slew of underclassmen gained valuable playing time as a result. And, they are building depth at key positions as the participation numbers have never been higher at one of the smallest public schools in the state.
Coach Jason Roquemore said despite coming off a winless season, the program has never been on more solid footing. We asked him how the summer has gone to this point.
QUESTION: Coach, y’all got a ton of playing time for a lot of younger players last season. How has their progression come along during the summer?
A: Last year we had to play several young kids that were not ready due to things outside of our control. Hopefully, we will see some benefit of that this fall. We have had a great summer and numbers are good (40 on the roster.) In Class A football, depth in all three phases is crucial.
Q: Y'all will be breaking in a new quarterback in 2024. How has the battle between junior Hayesville (N.C.) move-in Payton McGaha and freshman Tucker Engert developed? Will both see time this fall?
A: Both have really worked hard this summer. I feel like both can be dynamic players and leaders for us. Peyton is getting more and more comfortable within our offensive structure, while Tucker's athleticism makes him really hard to defend at the quarterback position.
BONUS QUESTION: Y’all also have some big boys up front on the defensive line in junior Hensel Martinez-Lobo (6-3, 280), senior Seth Hurley (6-2, 255), and junior Jacob Nicholson (5-10, 275). How good can that group get?
A: This is the first time in my six years here that we have been able to completely platoon the offensive and defensive lines. That in itself is going to reduce the number of snaps those guys are going to have to play and should make both units better. We want to play a physical brand of football and that's got to start up front.
- Up Next in Two-a-Days: UNION COUNTY
- Previous Two-a-Days: RIVERSIDE PREP
