Region 6-AAA: LFO, Ringgold among those still chasing Calhoun
There were a few interesting storylines coming out of Region 6-AAA last season.
Yes, the Calhoun Yellow Jackets continued to win. Calhoun has now won 19 consecutive region titles and virtually no current player on the roster had even been born the last time the Jackets dropped a game to a region opponent (it happened way back in 2001). However, two of the three other big stories from the 2018 season involved local teams.
Apart from Haralson County running back Treylon Sheppard’s assault on the Georgia state high school record books (the recent alum had 2,934 rushing yards in 11 games, the thirdmost all-time in state history), Catoosa County teams made headlines.
LFO, just three seasons removed from an 0-10 campaign, went 7-4, faced Calhoun for the region title on the final game of the regular season and hosted a state playoff game for the first time in nearly 15 years, while Ringgold grabbed the lone wild card berth in the state playoffs as they made their first postseason appearance since 2015.
And with the 2019 season just hours away, there are new questions surrounding the top contenders.
Can Calhoun maintain its streaks despite a new head coach for the first time in two decades? Can LFO keep it going despite the loss of another large senior class? Can some of Ringgold’s younger players take up the slack left by a number of graduated starters to make another postseason run? Who can possibly fill Sheppard’s shoes in Tallapoosa? How will North Murray fare without its record-setting signalcaller and could a perennial underdog, like Murray County or Coahulla Creek, shock the region and grab a state berth?
With extensive previews of LFO and Ringgold available elsewhere in this issue, let’s take a closer look at the other teams in 6-AAA.
After a 12-2 campaign in 2015, the Green-andGold have won just 13 total games in the past three seasons. Adairsville managed just four wins last fall and missed the postseason for the second time in the last three years. Once again, the Tigers will have some significant holes with the graduation of standouts, such as All-Region athlete Mason Boswell and two top-grade linemen in Josh Brown and Jonah Cline.
However, there are tools to work with. All-Region Savaun Henderson is back to anchor the secondary in his senior season, while returning players with All-Region credentials include senior receivers Malachi Gardner and Wade Condruff, senior linebacker Zach Ogle and junior athlete Courtney Slocum. Adairsville will also bring back senior athlete Derrick Simmons and junior athlete Connor Crunkleton and one of them could be the Tigers’ new quarterback.
For the first time in 20 years, a new head Jacket will patrol the sidelines at Phil Reeve Stadium as Hal Lamb stepped down in the offseason after over 230 wins and three state titles.
Clay Stephenson, a 12year assistant with the Jackets, will get the unenviable task of trying to replace the legendary Lamb and Stephenson will have to do so after losing the region’s Athlete of the Year and the region’s Defensive Player of the Year, along with heavy graduation losses on both sides of the ball.
But it’s been a long time since Calhoun lacked for talent and the 2019 season should be no exception. Senior Jake Morrow appears to be the heir apparent to Gavin Gray at quarterback, and although new skill position players will have to step up, the Jackets have anchors in the trenches with senior offensive linemen Jaeden Curtis, Elijah Baldridge and Zeke Brown, senior defensive lineman Dawson Hamby, junior defensive lineman Carson Griffin and a first team All-Region senior kicker in Eduardo Farjardo.
Although the Colts managed just one victory in 2018, onfield improvements were visible. Coahulla Creek upped its offense by nearly a touchdown per contest and shored up its defense by 20 points a game.
And while the Colts have no returning players that were named All-Region a year ago, they have a number of solid building blocks with a good deal of varsity experience.
Senior quarterback Cade Bates is coming off a 1,000yard passing season last fall and look for senior Austin Hernandez and junior Titus Underwood to share the load out of the backfield with junior receiver Wright Nelson and sophomore athlete Tyler Locklear set to give the Colts speed on the outside. Defensively, junior end Adam Alexander will try and get to the quarterback, while a trio of senior linebackers – Andrew Painter, Boone Creswell and Hunter Lanier – will provide support in the middle.
One has to go back a long time to find a team as dependent on one player on offense as the Rebels were in 2018.
Yet somehow, it worked as running back Treylon Sheppard would find the holes opened up by a massive front five.