There are just 32 days remaining until the kickoff of the 2025 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)...
CHESTATEE (5-6 in 2024; lost 1st round of Class 3A playoffs)
The War Eagles were perhaps the biggest surprise in all of northeast Georgia, making the playoffs for the first time since 2016 and piling up their most wins since 2013. They return several key players on both sides of the ball in 2025 and could be in line to make a run at their first-ever region title, or at least a home playoff game.
Coach Stuart Cunningham said they are not resting on their laurels as they look to keep the momentum going. We asked Coach Cunnigham how the offseason has been going off Sardis Road.
QUESTION: Coach, y’all return a wealth of experience from last year’s surprise playoff team. What has been the focus during the summer as y’all try to get back to the playoffs?
ANSWER: We lost some very good players on both sides of the ball -- five starters on offense and five on defense -- but we do have some good players coming back. Our focus has been what it always has been to win each day in the weightroom and to continually grow as a team. We are here to develop young men and to win games and everything is structured around that.
QUESTION: The defense made massive improvements in 2024. What will be the key in that unit continuing its progress in 2o25?
ANSWER: The defense was better because of experience and the ability to be more flexible in scheme. But the biggest reason was our special teams were better, which helped our defense immensely. Our coaches did a great job of putting our players in positions to make plays as well.
- Up Next in Two-a-Days: COMMERCE
- Previous Two-a-Days: CHEROKEE BLUFF
