There are just 23 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)...
LANIER CHRISTIAN (9-3 in 2024; GAPPS 2A state champions)
The Lightning set records in wins in a season and captured their first-ever title in 2024. Now, the question will be how will they approach the 2025 campaign as being the hunted rather than the hunter.
Coach Joel Lulinski brings back most of last year's group on both sides of the ball. We caught up with the second-year head coach to discuss what has been the focus coming into the season as they try to defend their title.
QUESTION: Coach, as the defending GAPPS state champions y’all will be the hunted this season. What has been the approach during the spring and summer knowing y’all will have targets on your backs?
ANSWER: This spring and summer, we’ve focused on staying grounded in who we are and who we want to be. We’ve reminded our guys that last year’s trophy doesn’t win games this year. So, our mindset has been to work hard, and lead like champions. We’ve put a big emphasis on leadership, especially from our seniors. We’re not just trying to defend our title, we’re chasing excellence again, and aiming to win back-to-back championships the right way, with character and purpose.
QUESTION: Y’all return a wealth of experience on both sides of the ball. What has been the focus on the field this summer as y’all try to continue pushing the program forward?
ANSWER: We are blessed to return a lot of experience on both sides of the ball, and that gives us a great foundation. This summer our focus has really been on leadership, and raising our standard in every phase of the game. Offensively, we’re emphasizing what works for us as well as getting sharper in our reads, routes, and communication. Defensively, it’s about swarming to the ball, and being fundamentally sound in every stunt, blitz and step we take. We’ve also challenged our leaders, especially our seniors, to own the culture not only of our football team, but of the school as a whole. More than anything, we’re not letting experience get comfortable. We’re treating every rep like we’ve got something to prove. Our goal isn’t just to repeat past success, it’s to build something stronger, and that starts with the little things: showing up, working hard, and holding each other accountable. We’re not where we want to be yet, but we’re taking steps every day to get there.
- Up Next in Two-a-Days: LUMPKIN COUNTY
- Previous Two-a-Days: LAKEVIEW ACADEMY