The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Yellow Jackets alum bets on team’s ACC finish in bold tweet
ing the Jackets won’t finish 15th. He said there will be a “night and day” difference Former Georgia Tech between 2019 and 2020. defensive lineman Kyle “Honestly, knowing at least Cerge-Henderson was on a gist of how those guys are his way home from a wedworking and the talent that ding Friday morning when they have, honestly, I see he noticed on his Twitter them top five,” he said. “I feed (his wife was driving) don’t want to go over the that his beloved Yellow Jack- top and say top three, but ets were picked to finish last top five. Maybe six if one or in the ACC in a preseason two games don’t go our way.” media poll. Two years out of Tech,
“I saw the prediction from Cerge-Henderson has his the ACC page, and I was own team to coach. He is a just like, What the hell?” defensive line coach at his Cerge-Henderson said. “Are alma mater, Plant High in you serious?” Tampa, Florida. He took the
Cerge-Henderson isn’t job this summer and plans to merely a zealous alumnus. be a substitute teacher, too. Having completed his play“I love it,” he said. “I ing career in 2018, he knows really do. Thus far, I feel plenty of players still on the like it’s really what I was team. He watched the Jack- meant to do.” ets last season. And, havLast year, Cerge-Hendering been around the Tech son was an intern with a facility in the winter and paving and construction spring of 2019 as he precompany in Atlanta. He pared for the draft, he has was offered a full-time job a better idea than most of with the same company in what coach Geoff Collins Tampa. He took it, moving has instilled. back home with his wife,
Cerge-Henderson thus Julissa, and young daughter became inspired to pen a Ava, but then was laid off tweet that put his money after the quarantine slowed where his mouth was. down work. At that point,
“If Georgia Tech finishes he reevaluated, considering last in the ACC I’ll cash app where his passions and taleverybody who retweets this ents might intersect. Coach- $100,” Cerge-Henderson ing was one of the first prowrote at 10:30 a.m. Friday. fessions that popped into
As of 8:30 p.m. that night, his head, he said, and he Cerge-Henderson’s offer had was able to secure a posibeen retweeted 750 times. tion at Plant, a state pow
“I thought I was going erhouse that has produced, to get like, 50, maybe 65 among others, Tech freshRT’s, but it’s going to be a man quarterback Tucker lot more than I thought,” Gleason. Cerge-Henderson said. “I’m Cerge-Henderson is in like, ‘Damn, people think like charge of about 10 defenthat?’ Or, anybody can take sive linemen on the vara free $100. It is what it is. It sity. He said he sometimes is a little funny. I think it’s uses drills he once practiced probably the most retweets under the eye of his posiI’ve ever gotten.” tion coaches, Mike Pelton
Cerge-Henderson said and Jerome Riase. he was inspired by other “They were two great tweets with similar boasts. coaches,” Cerge-Henderson He said he’d heard from said. “I really combine both former teammates Fred- their personalities on and die Burden and J.J. Green, off the field and the drills who wondered about the and techniques I learned wisdom of his tweet. from them both.”
“I guess you could call Cerge-Henderson’s ultime an optimist and they’re mate goal is to coach in the kind of like realists, but they NFL. His plan is to learn at were like, ‘Damn, $100?’” the high school level and said Cerge-Henderson, who then try to get a college job, started 21 games for the Jack- perhaps a quality control ets 2015-18. “I was just like, or graduate assistant job. Bro, for one, I’m banking on He’ll be keeping his eye on the fact that it won’t hap- the Jackets in the meantime. pen. And for two, if it does, “I think if we come out which, obviously, I don’t strong at Florida State and foresee at all, not even close, whoop up on Florida State I’d pay anybody who wanted and carry the momentum to come fight me for it.” into the UCF game at home,
Cerge-Henderson is more it’ll be pretty hard to stop a optimistic than just predict- rolling Tech team,” he said.
GHSFD
Rush Propst’s return was a winning one Friday night as the coach’s new team, Valdosta, defeated Warner Robins 28-25 in a game between No. 1-ranked teams on the first football Friday night of the Georgia high school season. Angel Martinez kicked a 41-yard field goal with 25 seconds left.
Valdosta of Class 6A opened a season No. 1 for the first time since 1999 in the first season under Propst, the former Colquitt County coach who was forced out in Moultrie last year despite two state titles there. Warner Robins, the runner-up the past three seasons in Class 5A, started No. 1 in its classification.
Opening Friday night was ward Academy is the largest the result wasn’t shocking. a rough evening for ranked top-10 Georgia opponent Others that lost to larger teams — 19 of them lost — that ELCA has ever beaten. or higher-ranked opponents but many, like Warner RobMetter, an unranked Class were No. 8 Jones County of ins, were playing other top1A-Public team, defeated 5A (to No. 1 Grayson of 7A), 10 opponents. Class 2A No. 8 Swainsboro No. 9 Dutchtown of 5A (to
Four still stood out as 28-0. Metter had lost 10 con- Lanier of 6A), No. 5 Flowery upsets. secutive to Swainsboro, last Branch of 4A (to St. Pius of
Richmond Hill, the No. 8 beating the Tigers in 1955. 5A), No. 6 Troup of 4A (to team in 6A, beat Camden Macon County upset Harris County of 5A), No. 7 County, the No. 6 team in 7A, 1A-Public’s No. 3 team Clinch Hart County of 3A (to Wayne 28-11. Richmond Hill made County, 21-19. Macon County County of 5A), No. 9 Burke waves last season when it last beat a ranked opponent County of 3A (to Benedic- upset Valdosta in the 6A in 2017, and Clinch last lost to tine of 4A), No. 10 Jefferson quarterfinals and reached an unranked Class 1A oppo- County of 2A (to Thomson of a semifinal for the first time in nent in 2015. 4A), No. 5 Holy Innocents’ the coastal school’s history. Several top-10 teams lost of 1A-Private (to No. 5 Pace
Eagle’s Landing Chris- to larger schools or high- Academy of 2A), No. 8 Christian, the five-time defend- er-ranked opponents. One tian Heritage of 1A-Private ing Class 1A-Private cham- was No. 10 Dawson County (to No. 6 Fellowship Chris- pion, beat No. 3 Woodward of 3A. Cass beat the Tigers tian of 1A-Private) and No. 9 Academy of 5A 14-0. Wood- 23-7. Cass is a 5A school, so Lincoln County of 1A-Private (to Jeff Davis of 2A).
In three others, smaller but ranked schools beat larger ranked opponents. No. 2 Brooks County of 1A beat No. 3 Thomasville of 2A 20-14; No. 9 Bleckley County of 2A beat No. 4 West Laurens of 4A; and No. 5 Oconee County of 3A beat No. 10 North Oconee of 4A 27-7.
The most disappointing night was had by six teams that sat out when their openers were canceled late Thursday or later. COVID-19 positive tests shut down games between Blessed Trinity and Forsyth Central, South Cobb and Washington, and Washington-Wilkes and Marion County.