HERITAGE GENERALS
Last season was a bit of a roller coaster ride for the Heritage Generals.
A season-opening threegame winning streak was followed by three tough losses in a row. The streak was broken by a fourth-quarter, one-point comeback win over Central-Carroll, only see them fall four points short in a loss to Northwest.
Heritage would get back on track with a solid road win at Pickens, but COVID-19 would rear its ugly head and force a cancellation against Cedartown. The Generals would eventually get into playoffs as the No. 3 seed from the region, but were ousted in heartbreaking fashion with a first-round, 6-0 road loss to Hapeville Charter.
With a new season dawning, eighth-year head coach E.K. Slaughter said it was just nice to go through a summer of workouts with a sense of normalcy after the roadblocks put in place during the run-up to the 2020 campaign.
“It’s been really good,” he said. “You almost kind of forget about what it was like, but it’s good to remember what it was like so you can appreciate what you have. We’re just kind of back to business as usual and rolling through things, so it’s nice to be able to get back into some type of predictable rhythm.”
And the first order of business is finding a way to replace a very good senior class that became only the second in program history to make the state playoffs in all four seasons.
“We graduated a bunch of kids, but we have a bunch of kids who are capable,” he explained. “For the coaches, it’s really been a challenge for us to figure out where the pieces fit, trying to fit a kid here or there and figuring out what their best skillset is to help us. We have to see what they’re good at, offensively and defensively, and just try to see who is actually ready to step into some of those roles (of kids) that graduated.
“We’ve got kids that can do it and I’m excited about the first group that will have out there. We’re just trying to find a little bit of depth.”
One of the biggest pair of shoes to fill are those belonging to Nick Hanson, who signed with Reinhardt University. The three-year starter ended his career with over 5,200 passing yards and just shy of 50 touchdown passes. However, Slaughter has confidence that athletic junior Kaden Swope is ready take over at the position.
“You ask any of our coaches about him and the first thing they’ll all say is that he’s a competitor,” Slaughter explained. “He’s got an ‘it factor’ about him that you just really like and he gives everybody around him confidence. He’s not scared of any challenge and he’s not going to back down from anybody. He’s got a little swagger about him and it’s great to have that attitude at that position.
“As a quarterback, he’s had a really good summer, working on footwork and working on mechanics. He had some really good 7-on7’s. He’s improved, throwing some really good balls and understanding his reads. He’s a really intelligent kid, he wants to win and he’s got
the confidence to do it, so it’s going to be pretty cool to watch him go.”
Swope will be backed up by sophomore J.C. Armour, who is in his first year playing the position. Slaughter said that Armour also had a very good summer, both with his throws and with the mental side of the game.
The quarterbacks will be throwing to a set of receivers that could be primed for breakout years. That group includes seniors Ryan Heet and Collin Swearingin, along with juniors J.D. Black, Bryce Travillian, Tyler Cheatwood and Landon Cansler, and sophomore Max Owens.
Junior Paxton McCrary is set to begin his third year as the Generals’ starting running back. Slaughter said McCrary has added some 20 pounds of muscle in the offseason and has great chance to improve on his 574 yards and three TD’s from a year ago. Slaughter is also looking forward to seeing what Heritage junior transfer Julian Sexton can do in the backfield and the Generals also have an impressive-looking freshman in Jacob Dawson, who could possibly see some carries during the year.
Travillian could line up some at tight end, along with junior Peyton Newman, while Slaughter also said he feels good about his starting five up front.
Despite unfortunately losing junior Mathew Adair to a preseason injury, Heritage will be counting on seniors Layne McDaniel, J.T. Eaton and Trey Weldon, along with juniors Dylan Hodges and Ben Lokey, to provide run and pass blocking, while the team works to build depth on the line.
The biggest question mark for the Generals is along the defensive line where they are lacking in overall size and experience. The plan is to have some offensive linemen play both ways, while players such as sophomores Caden Walling and Braden Ford have had good preseasons and could provide some valuable snaps.
There might be questions up front, but not so much in the remainder of the front seven as Heritage will have one of the fastest linebacking
corps in the region.
McCrary has moved from safety to middle linebacker to try and fill the shoes of All-State performer Zach Brown, the graduated Region 7-AAAA Defensive Player of the Year. He will join forces with Swearingin and Travillian. As of press time, Slaughter said there was still an ongoing competition to figure out who would take the fourth linebacker spot.
There is also speed, athleticism and competition for spots in the secondary, mostly among players who will also line up at receiver. Swope had a team-high four picks last year, while Heet picked off two passes.
The Generals have a special teams weapon in All-Region kicker Anderson Britton, who is making a name for himself nationally at camps and combines. Britton has committed to playing football at West Point, making the pledge to Army back in June. Junior Chipper Grayson is set to punt for the Generals.
“We’re counting on our abilities to run the ball and stop the run as our strengths,” Slaughter stated. “We’ve always done a really good job of stopping the run. We’ve been up and down with our
ability to run the ball, but I think this will be one of the best running offenses that we’ve had. We have a dualthreat quarterback, two stout running backs and a stout offensive line, but we’re also going to have some really comprehensive play-action and spread packages that I think will be tough (for other teams) to prepare for. It will be a little bit of a different feel for us, but I’m excited about that.”
The veteran coach said staying healthy, especially in the early-season heat, will be a big key to making a run at the postseason, along with winning the turnover battle every Friday.
He added that some of the strengths of this team are the same strengths as past Heritage teams — playing hard, playing smart and playing physical.
“We’ve tried to build that identity into our guys, but we also have some kids that that’s just who they are,” he added. “They work hard, they play hard and they’re just tough, gritty kids. With this younger bunch, just getting the details is going to be a bit of a learning curve, but with just how hard we work and how smart we are, those are going to be big pieces.”