There were more than a few questions surrounding West Hall as the 2017 season approached. Most importantly would be how the Spartans would replace 16 overall starters and almost all of their offensive production from a team that advanced to the second round of a tough Class AAAA playoffs.
They have answered a lot of questions with a current four-game win streak, including a pair of wins the last two weeks over previously unbeaten teams Jackson County (31-21) and Dawson County (13-10).
But, they will face their toughest test of the season so far when they travel to Tiger to take on undefeated and Class AA fifth-ranked Rabun County (3-0) on Friday night in their final non-region battle before heading into what is expected to be a brutal Region 7-AAAA schedule.
AccessWDUN’s Jeff Hart caught up with West Hall coach Tony Lotti to ask him what has been the early secret to their success and what to expect the rest of the way.
QUESTION: How is the maturation of sophomore quarterback Michael Thompson coming along?
ANSWER: Well, he’s been maturing each game. We came into the season looking to play Michael and (junior) Quentin Smith but Michael’s had the hot-hand running the offense so he’s been getting the snaps in games. He’s been making good decisions. He’s playing beyond his years and is very competitive. We’ve been pleased with his progress so far.
Q: That said, you knew the offensive line, led by seniors Josh Taylor, Cory Davis, and Damien Fouts, along with junior Jackson Bartlett, was perhaps your most experienced group coming into the season. Have they lived up to that so far and how has that helped Thompson and the other playmakers in the offense?
A: That was a strength for us and they have definitely lived up to that and really helped Michael and several other guys. They are keeping things stable and calm in the huddle and allowing the other guys to concentrate on doing just their jobs. They have met all expectations so far.
Q: The defense returned just three starters from last season but has really come on of late allowing just 38 points (9.5 ppg) over the last four games. Is that unit further along at this point than you might have thought coming into the season?
A: I feel like the defensive staff has really done a great job of putting the kids in situations where they can be successful. Still, they are far from having arrived as a group yet but they are probably ahead of where we thought they would be. (Senior linebacker) Austin Sinclair has really stepped up. He runs well and makes play and he’s got 60 tackles in five games. But the area I think that has really given us a chance is the defensive line, which is mostly by committee right now, but they are taking on blockers and freeing up the linebackers to be able to make plays. Again, there is still a lot of work left to do but we’ve been very pleased so far.
Q: Senior K/P Israel Lopez is turning into quite a weapon so far. How important wih an offense that is still developing is that in manufacturing points when drives stall?
A: His development has been four years in the making. Israel’s really just this year starting to show the potential he has. He has made some big kicks already. He has had a ton of touchbacks (on kickoffs). Last week (in a 13-10 win over Dawson County) he hit a 42-yarder and then got the game-winner. It’s huge to have a guy like that you can count on. He could easily hit from 50 so that does take some pressure off the offense.
Q: The schedule looked tough before the season began yet y’all have opened the season 4-1 and have won four straight. But, the real strength of the schedule starts Friday against Class AA No. 5 Rabun County? With every team in Region 7-AAAA above .500 and posting a 19-5 record in non-region play, what will y’all have to do to get into the playoffs again this season? And just how good is 7-AAAA?
A: We want to play a tough non-region schedule every year to help us prepare for region and hopefully beyond. Last year a tough schedule really helped us. It’s the same teams this year and so far I think it’s proving to be tough again. As far as 7-AAAA, we knew it would be good with teams like Marist (4-0) and Blessed Trinity (4-1) both ranked in the top 10, and Chestatee (3-2) is better and White County (4-1) is playing really well. There won’t be an easy game. Right now the key game to the season will be next week when we play Chestatee because it’s the first region game. You cannot have an off night in this region. If you do you won’t be playing past Game 10.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2017/9/584362/qa-west-halls-lotti-pleased-with-quick-growth-of-young-team