Tigers carry high expectations once again
Atha wants enthusiasm, experience from deep postseason run in 2021 to build confidence in this year’s team
A run to the elite eight will certainly create excitement and a high level of expectation for the following season, and that’s the situation the Darlington Tigers find themselves in going into 2022.
They are coming off an 11-2 season that included a region title and a trip to the third round of the state playoffs as, after losing their season opener, they reeled off 11 straight wins before falling to eventual Class A Private state champion Trinity Christian. Along with the benefit of momentum created by a deep postseason run like that, Darlington head coach Tommy Atha said the experience of playing in multiple playoff games is invaluable also.
“Any time you make it to the postseason and advance even further, it creates enthusiasm for the program,” said Atha, who is heading into his 21st season at the helm. “But it’s also three more games of experience for our guys that are returning. Playing in games like that can only help make you better. We’ve certainly made it an expectation to play into November and have a chance to even play in December. It gives our guys a set goal to work for, and the region title is something to be proud of too. Now, going into this year playing in a new region, we know it’s going to be a dogfight, but we think we can be one of the teams
competing for the top spot at the end.”
The Tigers will in fact have a new region to call home this season after GHSA reclassification as they move from Class A Private last year to being in Class A Division-I along with Pepperell,
Armuchee, Coosa, Trion, Chattooga and Dade County. Atha said he expects the move to play more opponents locally will create some great atmospheres whether his team is home or on the road this season.
“We went from playing in
a totally private school region to being the only private school in the region,” said Atha. “With us playing several of the teams around here, it’s one of those things where our kids know their kids and the people in the community have ties to
other teams through family or friends so there should be a lot of interest and enthusiasm for a lot of those region games. We’re playing a lot of teams that bring a lot of fans even in the nonregion schedule so we are looking forward to playing in those kind of great high school environments.”
Two of the biggest areas where Darlington will be looking for new guys to step up is at quarterback and running back. They lost All-Area MVP quarterback Patrick Shelley and 1,000-plus yard rusher Caleb Thompson to graduation so that opens the door for competition to fill some of the production in those spots. At quarterback, Atha said senior Jack Good, junior Hendrix Jones and sophomore Sammy Kunczewski are all battling to be the starter, and all have shown positive traits in the preseason while the running
back spot will be more of a committee-type effort. Atha said Bowden Owens has had a really good offseason and should see an increase in carries, D’Marion Floyd has shown big-play ability in practice and on the field last season and Joel Lowenberg is a big, strong back that can run between the tackles and pick up tough yards.
A big area of strength (with big being the key word) is along the offensive line as Darlington has one of the most talented and experienced groups in the area. Gatlin Hancock, Gus Gammage, Briant Powell and
Truitt Hayworth all return as starters to lead the way in the trenches, which should help allow the newer backfield to mature at a faster rate.
On the edge, receivers Eli Thompson and Talan Shirey have the speed and ability to be deep threats while Atha said they will use them in the slot and even in the backfield to get them more touches. He also identified Slade Clevenger as a senior that has worked hard and should open some eyes in 2022.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Tigers are replacing some key guys at all three levels, but will have at least some experience on the defensive line, at linebacker and in the secondary. Several of the same players that are counted on to win the battles up front offensively will turn around and play on the defensive line, and with mostly a three-man front, Atha said they should still be able to rotate and give at least one player per series a chance to catch their breath on the sideline.
Lowenberg returns at inside linebacker after a freshman season in which he led the team in tackles in 2021. Hyland Thomas should also make an impact as he is coming off an injury that cost him almost the entire season last fall, and at outside linebacker Good, Jack Cowan and several others are battling for playing time.
Thomson and Shirey are two of the top cornerbacks with Floyd and Owens also expected to play a role. Timmy Smith should be a difference-maker also at safety as Darlington looks to fill the shoes of Shelley at that spot as well where he made a ton of plays on the back end last season. Whichever names are out there in the secondary, Atha said he feels confident that they can be aggressive and mix up coverages to keep offenses off-balance.
Kicker Ryland Scott is back for his senior year after being consistent in recent seasons to give the Tigers confidence in the kicking game.
With the season quickly approaching, Atha said he has quickly identified keys that will determine if Darlington can reach its full potential in 2022.
“I think the biggest thing is getting one of those quarterbacks in there and comfortable,” said Atha. “Everything from the cadence to the footwork to the leadership ability to being able to distribute the ball to a lot of people…all of those will be really big for us. We’re not going to have a 30-plus type carry back this year so we’ll have multiple guys we count on at running back, and we should be able to stretch the field vertical and horizontal with our receivers.
“Defensively, we’ve been very aggressive with Coach (Kevin) Hunt (at defensive coordinator) and we will continue to do that. We want to create as much depth as we can and use those non-region games to get guys on the field to see who will step up and play their role so we are ready to be where we need to be when we open that region schedule up at Dade County.”
The Tigers will make a trip to Orlando, Fla. to open the season on Aug. 19 as they take on Olympia High (Fla.). After three more non-region games, including Christian Heritage in the home opener on Sept. 2, they will play their first Region 7-A DivisionI game at Dade County on Sept. 23.