Devils have talent to get back in playoff mix
Hunnicutt is expecting competitive lessons from last season to pay off with an experienced team in new-look 7-AA.
After back-to-back state playoff berths in 2019 and 2020, the Model Blue Devils fell short of that mark last season as they finished with a 3-7 record.
Looking at that win-loss total from the outside, it would seem like it was a disappointing year, and from the standards head coach Jeff Hunnicutt has set in his short time there, it was. But that record is a little deceiving as the Devils were a few breaks away frome a totally different outcome, including falling to Dade County in an overtime heartbreaker and losing a fourth-quarter lead in a loss to Pepperell. Both of those teams went on to play in the postseason.
And Model did that with several players seeing their first extended varsity playing time. Hunnicutt said they will take the silver lining from 2021 and plan to use it to build into a more consistent team this fall.
“We were very competitive in the games we lost last year,” said Hunnicutt. “Those could have gone either way, but we didn’t do enough to finish and win. This year we have a lot of those same names returning. We’ve got some holes to fill from graduation especially on the lines of scrimmage, but we do have an experienced group from a skill standpoint. We’ve just got to find a couple more to do what we ask them to do and do it consistently enough to stay on the field.”
Model will have a different looking region landscape around them this season as they were the odd man
out from the Floyd County Schools during the recent GHSA reclassification cycle. Although they remained in
Region 7-AA, several from the region last year moved elsewhere, and other tough opponents moved into those spots. Rockmart, Haralson County and North Murray will pose a challenge as teams that have experienced postseason success in recent years, and last year’s 7-AA champion
Fannin County is also back to defend its crown.
“Haralson County is a tough team, and Coach (Scott) Peavey does a great job there,” said Hunnicutt. “Rockmart is a very good team and very athletics. North Murray is a bit of a question mark for us because we haven’t seen them a lot. We don’t know a lot about them, but they have a good quarterback and have been pretty consistent in the last few years. And Fannin County, we are no stranger to them. They won the region last year and will always be very competitive. It’s not going to be an easy task trying to be toward the top of this region, but we are going to do everything we can to be mentioned where they are and maybe beat a couple of them.”
As Hunnicutt eluded to, the Blue Devils are blessed at the skill positions on offense as Dillon Silver returns
at quarterback as a senior after taking a lot of reps last season. Junior transfer Jake Sanders should also provide competition and depth there, and both should benefit from a versatile and deep group of running backs. Jeremiah Gamble and Jermaine Campbell will get their share of carries in the backfield, and speedster Daniel Jolly will also get touches as a back and also shift out to receiver. Joey Samples is a bit of a Swiss Army Knife as well as he can take handoffs out of the backfield, serve as a bruising blocker at fullback and H-back and make catches in space.
DEVILS, H7