Football 2014: West Hall hoping to build on 2013 resurgence

OAKWOOD -- West Hall coach Tony Lotti had to be rooting for the tortoise -- even if his team's rise more resembles the hare.<br /> <br /> The third-year Spartans coach, despite guiding the West Hall to its first playoff appearance in 11 years last season, said he is more concerned about the big picture than an individual snapshot.<br /> <br /> "From day one here we have talked about building a program. Our goal every year is to try and make the playoffs, and it was an incredible atmosphere for us last year," Lotti said. "But we want to do things where we're competing for region titles and hopefully state titles every year, not just one. Every team has a shelf-life of one year but a program doesn't. You to keep moving forward at a steady pace.<br /> <br /> <iframe width="280" height="210" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/ncAA0Pw_I_o" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /> <br /> "We got that taste last year and now we're trying to keep building to where we can taste that excitement every year. The kids, coaches, and community are all buying into it and that's what you want. You could see a difference in the kids attitudes in the weight room and certainly during the summer. That's very important when building a program for the long-haul."<br /> <br /> The Spartans are coming off a 6-5 2013 campaign and a trip to the Class AAA playoffs where they were just a six-inch miss of a last-second field goal from taking down the No. 2 team in the state, Cartersville, in the first round.<br /> <br /> West Hall returns two-thirds of its starting unit from last year, including dynamic juniors Tyquan Statham and Kwon Williams, who will both play both ways at running back and safety. Two noticeable losses, however, are Zach English at quarterback and tight end Hunter Atkinson to graduation.<br /> <br /> Sophomores Jacob Satterfield and A.J. Favorite are battling for the starting QB spot and Lotti said they may lean a little more to the run in the early going to give the young signal-callers some help and time to grow into the position. Seniors Ty Statham and Cole Davis will anchor a good offensive line.<br /> <br /> "Tyquon and Kwon are two gifted athletes and made a lot big plays for us last year and I think it's safe to say we will need big years from them again," Lotti said. "We have a lot of guys coming back that have experience and we have a lot of good battles going on for virtually every position on the team and that's what we wanted to see coming into the season.<br /> <br /> "Jacob and A.J. Favorite are both showing that they can take over for Zach (English) and hopefully they'll continue to improve. We always want to run the ball, but we want balance as well, and that's what we're working on."<br /> <br /> The Spartans also find themselves in a very unusual spot as the only team in the revamped Region 7-AAA coming off a playoff appearance from last year. But Lotti isn't buying that that instantly makes them the front-runner coming into the season.<br /> <br /> "I don't think you can just focus on what happened the year before and assume someone is a favorite the next year; every year and every team is different," he said. "East Hall has a tremendous quarterback and a lot of talent; Dawson County is solid; Lumpkin County has a lot of numbers and is dropping down (to Class AAA), so I don't see why we should be the instant front-runner by any means.<br /> <br /> "But the region really is wide-open so our goal will be to just take things one game at a time and try to compete every week. You're going to have to show up every week. But we feel we definitely have a shot if we play up to what we think our abilities are."<br /> <br /> However, the path to a region title may be well-paved after the first two weeks of the region schedule. West Hall, Dawson County, and East Hall will all play each other in that span.<br /> <br /> "That will be a big stretch, no doubt," Lotti said. "But there will five other games left so even if you go 2-0 you have to show up every week or it won't mean much. I suspect things will come down to the final week."<br /> <br /> That may bode well for the Spartans, who knocked off Dawson County on the final game of the regular season last year in a one-game battle for the playoffs.<br /> <br /> "We have that experience of having to win under pressure so hopefully we can draw on that throughout the season. I'm excited to get going and find out," Lotti said.

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