Wolves hope changes take them back to the top
Reid expects team to use last season’s early playoff exit as fuel to make another deep postseason run
With lots of winning comes expectations and no coach and no local team knows that more than John Reid and the Rome Wolves. During Reed’s tenure at the helm for the Wolves, the program has grabbed four region titles, two state titles, won a slew of games and made deep runs into the playoffs.
So last year’s first-round loss to Johns Creek in the Class AAAAAA state playoffs served as a bit of a pause for the program and the coach. It marked the first time under Reid that Rome didn’t reach at least the second round of the playoffs, and it brought about a bit of a change in the offseason.
“Last year, we had three times where we told the players that teams were capable of beating us, and we didn’t perform well in a couple of those games. I think there was a little bit of complacency and some entitlement from previous seasons,” Reid said. “Just because we go out there wearing that gold helmet doesn’t mean teams are going to roll over. Because of that we revamped everything in the offseason.”
Roughly nine months later the revamping of routines, workouts and more will soon be put to the test, and Reid said he’s excited to see the results.
“We did change a lot, and it’s yet to be seen how the changes are going to play out. The proof is going to be in the pudding,” he said.
“But we are really happy with the commitment from the players and where we are at physically. We’ve met a lot of our goals, but now we have to see if all this works pays off on the field.”
Those changes will be tested early, as the Wolves play a typically brutal nonregion schedule including the return of the Corky Kell Classic to Barron Stadium. Rome opens the season against Creekside in the Corky Kell Classic on television before facing Class AAAAA Lithonia, former region foe Carrollton and then Class AAAAAAA Pebblebrook before opening
Region 6-AAAAAA play at home against Allatoona.
“We went on a tear a couple of years ago winning region and winning the state titles, so we don’t get any free passes when we’re building a schedule. We’ve got to be able to navigate the highs and the lows of this
schedule,” Reid said. “We’re going to be playing teams that are probably all going to be ranked and could make deep runs in the playoffs. We’re just going to have to realize it’s one game, and it doesn’t count in the region standings.”
Rome shifts regions this
season moving form Region 5 to Region 6 in Class AAAAAA. The change isn’t drastic as many teams on the schedule have faced off against the Wolves in the past. The region includes Allatoona, Woodstock, Sequoyah, River Ridge, Creekview and Etowah.
And while the Wolves move into a new region, they will be bringing a slew of players with lots of experience back to the field this season.
When talking about players that could make impacts for the Wolves this season, Reid could probably spend a good half hour
pontificating. Even as he does begin throwing out names, he mentions there are players he will possibly leave off who could rise up and have a great year.
While there will be lots of focus on Rome’s offense, in particular their passing attack, Reid notes it all starts up front for the offensive line and says Jarvis Adams is one of the best offensive lineman, He also says that if Charles Dupree can continue make the same improvement as he did last year, he will be a force on the line as well.
Junior Reece Fountain enters his third season at quarterback and he has a ton of playing experience,
and Reid notes he’s quicker than most people think. After throwing for 2,000-plus yards in 2021 he could easily up that mark this season with targets like Martel Hight, Martavious Collins and DK Daniel.
Rome plans to have a running back by committee this season with several players looking to get their chance to carry the ball.
The defense also returns several key players including Stephiylan Green and Tyson Brown at defensive line and Alto Moore at mike linebacker. Speaking about a couple of other players flying a bit under the radar, Reid mentioned that Darius Smith will provide some good depth at linebacker, and Justin Terrell could play a bigger role on the defensive line.
“We do have some good players coming back and some good players some people don’t know about,” Reid said. “We have better depth than we’ve had the past couple of years. We also have a couple of positions that cause a little concern, and we’re going to have to see how they develop as the first couple of games unfold.”
One thing that lots of people have seen already is a few of Rome’s players make some headlines before the season based on their college decisions. Green committed to play for Clemson. Collins committed to play for Alabama and Hight committed to play for Vanderbilt. The hard work and effort those and other players have put in helped draw more than 60 Division-I coaches to the school over the offseason to see and recruit players.
“I tell the kids all the time that recruiting isn’t about social media. It’s about the coaches coming in and seeing them and the work that they put in,” Reid said. “We had so many coaches stop by in the spring. It’s neat that Rome has kind of become a big destination for all of these coaches.”
Along with that the exposure and the fun involved playing in the Corky Kell Classic is a big highlight for the team.
“I think the biggest thing about us being in the Corky Kell is that it’s exciting for the kibds to be able to play on live tv on Friday during the first weekend of the season,” Reid said. “There will be a lot of people in the stands and a lot of people watching it live across the state. It’s also a great way to highlight the town of Rome.”
Reid also notes that it’s a big investment for the team and that there are plenty of tickets left but for Rome High to earn money on the tickets, they need to be purchased before game day.
And of course with all the excitement comes those expectations. Reid himself says a first-round playoff exit isn’t what anybody wants. Instead he points to the changes, the hard work and, yes, the excitement bubbling up for Rome’s 2022 season and smiles. The Wolves know what it means to have the spotlight, and this year’s version seems primed to shine.