Lions, Indians on track for success
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the ninth in a series of prep football region previews involving area teams. The series will resume Monday with Georgia’s Region 6-AAA.
While Christian Heritage and Chattooga each has less than 50 players on its roster, two of the GHSA’s smallest high school football programs will try to pack a major punch again this season.
Region 6-A’s Christian Heritage finished 7-4 last year for its most victories since going 8-3 in 2013, and the Lions’ victories in 2018 included an epic comeback at Class AAAA’s LaFayette and an upset of eventual 6-A champion Mount Zion-Carroll. Christian Heritage outscored those opponents a combined 51-0 after halftime and built confidence with signature wins for a program that didn’t begin GHSA play until 2012.
The Lions must travel this season for their league games against Darlington, Mount Zion and North Cobb Christian — which posted a combined 29 wins last year — but
“Last year was certainly a magical year for us. At one point we were the smallest team in the state playing football and were ranked No.
1 for two weeks in the power rankings. Our success really fueled our school and changed the culture.”
— CHRISTIAN HERITAGE COACH JAY POAG
with nine starters returning on each side of the ball, their belief in potential success is considerable.
“Last year was certainly a magical year for us,” said Jay Poag, who is entering his fourth season as head coach of the Lions after succeeding brother Preston. “At one point we were the smallest team in the state playing football and were ranked No. 1 for two weeks in the power rankings. Our success really fueled our school and changed the culture.”
The Lions wound up being seeded 12th for the Class A private school playoffs and hosted a GHSA postseason
football game for the first time, and they also had two players sign college scholarships. Now they’ll try to add more accolades.
“We are excited about this season and ready to go,” Poag said. “We know it won’t be easy or just happen because it did last year. But I think people will look at us differently and not ever take us for granted.”
In 7-AA, Chattooga returns seven starters from a defense that held half its competition to single digits in points and helped guide the way to nine wins and a runner-up finish in the region. Senior defensive tackle Luis Medina (6-foot-1, 285 pounds) and senior linebacker Jacoby Cottrell (6-1, 185), who led the Indians in tackles last year, combined for 151 tackles, nine sacks and 14 tackles for loss in 2018.
Charles Hammon is obviously happy to have them back as he enters his sixth season as coach at Chattooga, which has won at least seven games three of the past four years and has made five straight playoff appearances.
“Luis is a special player and has over 20 college football offers,” Hammon said. “He can really run (4.7 seconds in the 40-yard dash), and we are also going to hand him the ball at fullback and expect him to lead the way for our tailback. We are going to try and sustain drives and keep the chains moving so we keep our defense rested. A lot of our guys will be playing both sides.”
The Indians averaged 265 rushing yards per game in 2018 and return Lashaun Lester (5-10, 217), who rumbled for 1,015 yards on 155 carries and led the team with 15 touchdowns as a freshman last season.
“In four of the last five years we have had a chance to win a region title, but playing for it and winning a title are two different things,” Hammon said. “We have to be on the top of our game to have a chance. Our kids have to stay coachable and love playing for one another.”
Christian Heritage believes it has a complete roster with talent on offense, defense and special teams.
Senior tailback Ethan Smith (5-11, 210) had more than 700 total yards of offense last season and will be counted on even more, along with Gage Leonard, who scored seven times as a freshman in 2018. Junior receiver Evan Lester (6-3, 210) looks to be a reliable target for sophomore quarterback Christian Thomas, a first-year starter.
The Lions also return dependable tacklers in Mitchell Herndon and Ben Williamson, who each eclipsed the century mark in that statistic last season.
“There are a lot of good teams in our region, but I think we can compete right up at the top,” Poag said. “A lot of these games will probably come down to the fourth quarter. Our practices are geared to winning those in those critical moments.
“It certainly helps we have a kicker like Joe Dixon, who is ranked in the top 100 in the country. He is not afraid of the spotlight and has a great leg. We are going to count on him a lot as well.”
Also in 6-A with Christian Heritage again in the final season before GHSA Class A private and public programs are completely separated are Gordon Lee and Trion, which won eight games last year and topped Christian Heritage 26-7.
In contrast to the Lions, the Bulldogs will host Darlington, Mount Zion and North Cobb Christian, but they’ll have to learn quickly on offense after the exit of players who accounted for more than 3,500 yards last season. Quarterback Lincoln Maddux is one of two returning starters on that side of the ball.
Gordon Lee returns 15 starters, and a pair of talented newcomers — quarterback Blake Erby (6-1, 175) and Logan Willette (5-9, 175) — could help the Trojans’ improve significantly on their three wins in 2018.
In 7-AA with Chattooga, Dade County’s Dale Pruitt and Gordon Central’s TJ Hamilton have taken over. Pruitt comes to the Wolverines with 289 career wins, while Hamilton is a former Warriors player who is a high school head coach for the first time.
The Wolverines look for big things from senior running back Malaki Webb (5-11, 186), who along with newcomer Austin Holcomb could be used extensively in the passing game.
The Warriors will look to senior offensive lineman Luis Castillo (5-11, 215) and all-region linebacker John Victor Rainwater (5-8, 205) as leaders.
Contact Patrick MacCoon at pmaccoon@timesfreepress.com.