There are just 24 days remaining until the kickoff of the 2025 high school football season. However, 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 gauge how spring practice went, how the summer is progressing, and what coaches anticipate 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)...
LAKEVIEW ACADEMY (9-2 in 2024; GIAA Class 3A quarterfinals)
The Lions are coming off their best season in program history, setting a record in wins. But they are still looking for their first-ever playoff win after falling to eventual GIAA Class 3A state champion Deerfield-Windsor in the playoffs.
Coach Lee Coleman and the Lions still have dynamic quarterback Kyari Burch but will need to find some playmakers among a small, young, but talented roster. We caught up Coach Coleman to see where the program is heading into the summer and fall and if they have found some suitable wide receivers for Burch to throw to.
QUESTION: Coach, coming off a record-setting 9-win season, what has been the mindset of the group this summer as y’all get ready for the fall? Do y’all feel this is the year a possible run to the GIAA title game is within reach?
ANSWER: The mindset for this group this summer has been to get bigger, faster, and stronger and learn to finish. Last season we fell short twice to two teams, one who competed and lost in the final four and the other who won the state title, and they have motivated this group in a significant way. The offseason goal is to win the region championship and to win the state c championship. The unique part about the goals our guys put in place is the fact that we witnessed opponents accomplish those goals. We recognized how close we are to those teams and feel that we should be a real contender this year. However, this will be a challenge due to us having an extremely young team this year. We have 25 total guys, which is two more than last year, but 19 of them are freshmen and sophomores. But we still have a lot of experience returning which makes our goal attainable.
QUESTION: The offense is expected to be dynamic again under QB Kyari Burch. But with the graduation of leading receiver Jr. Thompson, finding a solid No. 1 at receiver seems to be a big priority. Who are some guys that have emerged in the offseason?
ANSWER: That is a great question. We have a couple of young guys in Mahki Burch, Nolan Idol, and Brooks Farmer, who we are looking to step up and make huge strides as the season progresses. However, the one returning senior is NeSean Dorsey, who had a solid season last year and has emerged as the No. 1 guy this year. We are looking for him to be the leader of that group this year. The running back position has two guys in Ryker Kohler and Christian Dykes, who are slated to have big years. Their offseason work has been tremendous. Excited to see how this year plays out for them.
- Up Next in Two-a-Days: LANIER CHRISTIAN
- Previous Two-a-Days: JOHNSON
