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Two-a-Days: Spartans working on systemic changes as fall approaches

By Jeff Hart Sports Reporter
Posted 10:54AM on Monday 1st August 2022 ( 1 year ago )

There are just 18 days remaining until the kickoff of the 2022 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)...

WEST HALL

The good news for the Spartans is that they had their second straight four-win season in 2021. The bad news is they graduated the bulk of the starters from that group, leaving them in a rebuilding mode.

Coach Krofton Montgomery has also made wholesale staffing changes that come with scheme changes as well. Montgomery discussed how the changes on both sides of the ball are coming along.

QUESTION: Coach, y’all will be switching offenses to a more wing-T look. How have the changes been coming along as you implement that offense?

A: We haven’t had to change as much up front with the line, which is a good thing. We’ve been a mixture of gap scheme and zone for six years running, so that isn’t groundbreaking stuff. Most of the changes have been in the formation and slotting people into spots we think are best for our personnel usage. There are a lot of spots that are going to be competed for all the way to August 19, when the season officially starts.

Q: Y’all also graduated or lost seven starters on defense from a year ago. You’re also changing to a four-man look up front. How are the changes going on that side of the ball, and who are some guys that look ready to step into starting roles?

A: We are going to be different in some phases, but overall we aren’t changing a ton of things on fundamentals or how we approach run fits, coverages, or tackling. We have some rising sophomores that look to be key players on defense with Tyson Slipper, Solomomd Carter, Daniel Altamarino, and freshmen Zack Wagner. Our returning players are in some different spots, and we are looking forward to them leading us on the field. Andrew Malin, Riley Packard, Brady Clark, Maliek Richardson and a host of others. 

http://accesswdun.com/article/2022/8/1116228/two-a-days-west-hall

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