Prep Football: From A to Z

High school football season cranks up Friday night as Dalton heads to Ringgold, with other area teams’ season openers set for the following week. On Thursday, The Daily Citizen will publish its annual high school football preview guide, but as a little tease, here is your primer for the area’s 2012 season ... from A to Z.

A is for All-Area Football Player of the Year: This might be one of the most wide-open races for the honor in recent memory, but then again, a lot of sure bets haven’t made the cut in recent years. The past two seasons, Tre beck was our consensus favorite going in, but injuries allowed someone else to step into those shoes. This year, there are several candidates and no real front-runner. Southeast Whitfield’s Rhett Harper and Blake Foster have the offensive credentials, as does North Murray’s Jacob Mays. On the defensive front, Dalton end Robert Hardaway had 12.5 sacks last year to lead the area. The one thing missing? A proven standout running back.

B is for Boom!: Teams have different ways of celebrating touchdowns, from ringing a bell to making the cheerleaders do pushups for every point scored. But perhaps no celebration is more fun to watch (and hear) than the cannon firing at Southeast Whitfield. Seeing the school’s administration jump out of its shoes at last week’s scrimmage game against Murray County was entertainment.

C is for Computer projections: So what are the science guys saying about this season by plugging past data into their crystal balls? Well, here are the projected season records according to the Maxwell Ratings, which rely on previous seasons and are compiled by Loren Maxwell, who has been involved with sports ratings since 1986. Maxwell is an avid sports historian and the founder of the Georgia High School Football Historians Association. Here’s how local teams stack up (note that the projections do not factor in the crossover games to end the regular season in subdivided regions): Dalton (7-2 overall, 4-1 league); Northwest (7-2, 4-1); Southeast (3-6, 1-4); Coahulla Creek (2-8, 1-6); North Murray (1-9, 1-6); Murray County (2-8, 1-6); Christian Heritage (1-8, 1-4).

D is for Defense first: More so than in years past, this will definitely be a defense-heavy start to the season. With many of the offenses going through transitions with coaching changes or from heavy graduation losses, the defenses should be a step ahead of the offenses in 2012.

E is for Energy: Coaches around the state have been quietly grumbling how the new GHSA practice rules have hurt their ability to get their teams prepared for the start of the year. While everyone is playing under the same rules, many coaches fear that fatigue will become a much bigger factor in the early part of the season than it has in the past.

F is for Freshmen: Freshmen can make an impact on high school football teams, but usually it comes at running back or wide receiver — positions where size usually isn’t the biggest factor. It is rare that the impact comes at the linebacker position. Last year, Eder Mora was Dalton’s first freshman starter at linebacker in more than a decade and finished as the team’s second-leading tackler with 134 stops. Who will be the standout freshmen this year?

G is for Georgia High School Football Daily: The daily email newsletter is produced by former Atlanta Journal-Constitution sports writers Todd Holcomb and Chip Saye and provides a daily look at stories from around the state. It is free and a must-have for any serious high school football fan. Visit ghsfdaily.com to sign up.

H is for Head coach: Two programs will welcome new head coaches this fall as former Valley Point Middle coach Sean Gray takes over at Southeast and David Gann moves to North Murray after serving as a Ringgold High assistant for a number of years. (Gray was the head coach at Ringgold from 2003 to 2006.) Both have their work cut out for them. In their two years of varsity competition, North Murray’s Mountaineers have a 1-19 record and have been outscored 818-288. Southeast Whitfield hasn’t had a winning season since 1986, which was also the last time the Raiders made the postseason.

I is for Ingenuity: One of the things that makes high school football so enjoyable is its unpredictability. Whether it is when the offensive guard finds the ball hopping into his arms after a fumble and turns into a rumbling tower of running back or the double flea-flicker reverse pass that catches the defense totally off guard, there are always surprises.

J is for Jumbo: While Coahulla Creek may be young, the Colts are like a lot of the area’s teams and have plenty of buffet busters on the offensive line. The five starters up front each weigh more than 230 pounds, with tackle Ben Carr sending the Ryan’s staff into overdrive with his 6-foot-2-inch, 275-pound frame.

K is for Strikeouts: In baseball, the K is the scoring symbol for a strikeout, and several of the area’s standout football players are familiar with the ins and outs of baseball as well. Northwest safety Seth Pierce was The Daily Citizen’s All-Area Baseball Player of the Year for 2011, while Christian Heritage defensive end and tight end Michael McKinney, Southeast’s Harper and Foster and Dalton offensive tackle Jake Roberts were all-area team selections.

L is for Longevity: In a state known for legendary coaches staying at programs for lengthy times (think Larry Campbell at Lincoln County, Dan Pitts at Mary Persons, Bill Chappell at Dalton), the career one-school life span of high school coaches is getting shorter and shorter. Turnover seems to be the norm now in coaching ranks. Dalton’s Matt Land is entering his third season as a head coach, and despite that low number of years, he is the dean of local coaches. All of the other area coaches have been on the job two seasons or less.

M is for Moon Pies: Twice last season, Dalton players got a sweet treat on Mondays. Traditionally, the Catamounts coaching staff gives out the Scenic City dessert to players on the Monday following a shutout. Dalton put goose eggs on the board against Murray County and Southeast last season.

N is for Nirvana: If you are reading this, that word probably describes what you are anticipating as the season approaches. Is there anything better for a local sports fan than a cool October evening sitting in a high school stadium with the thump of the bass drums as the band marches in, the beauty of the homecoming court lined up on the track, the “ooh” of the crowd when a linebacker delivers the rib-rocker of the night, and the thrill of an 80-yard drive in 35 seconds to win a game?

O is for Overtime: Local teams didn’t fare so well in overtime last year. Dalton lost 28-21 at Allatoona down, while Southeast lost 49-42 to Ringgold. North Murray was twice as unlucky, falling in double overtime to both Sonoraville and Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe.

P is for Preseason All-State: Southeast Whitfield junior wide receiver Rhett Harper was named to the GHSF Daily Class 4A team, along with three other Region 7-4A players — Ridgeland defensive back Vonn Bell, Gilmer kicker Manny Lopez and River Ridge punter Austin Bennett.

Q is for Quickness: While there isn’t a proven running back with some pedigree this year, there have been several top runners over the past few years, and this year should prove no different. Dalton sophomore Kelvis Rhodes had one carry last year. Of course, that one carry went for 67 yards and a touchdown. Not a bad varsity debut.

R is for Radio: Outside of metro Atlanta, high school football is as much ingrained into the entire fabric of a community as anything else. As such, local radio broadcasts (and the people who do them) are wonderful snapshots of the community. Again this season, Dalton Catamounts football will be on WYYU-104.5 FM, Christian Heritage is on WBLJ-1230 AM and Northwest Whitfield is online at wblj1230.com.

S is for State champion: Both Dalton and Murray County take on Calhoun, which broke through last season and wrestled the Class 2A state title away from the death-like grip of Buford, which had won four straight titles and seven overall since 2001. Calhoun had lost in the finals three straight times before topping the Wolves 27-24 in overtime. There will be no finals rematch this year — Buford has moved to Class 3A.

T is for TOUCHDOWN!: The Daily Citizen’s weekly in-depth look at each week of the high school football season — with stats, in-depth player interviews, behind-the-scenes looks and hard-hitting features — returns next week.

U is for Under center: Dalton’s Cole Calfee and North Murray’s Brady Swilling are the only returning varsity starting quarterbacks this season, but they will have plenty of experience at their position. Murray County’s Brady Todd and Northwest Whitfield’s Silas Ledford were both expected to see tons of time dropping back and handing off in 2011 before injuries ended their seasons before they even began.

V is for Viva Villa!: The area has been blessed with talented kickers throughout the years, and this year will be no different. Returning All-Area kicker Miguel Villa is at the head of a list and promises to be a threat for Northwest whenever the Bruins get inside of their opponents’ 35-yard line.

W is for Wingbacks: Murray County will have a pair on the offensive side of the ball as the Indians are switching over to Georgia Tech’s flex-bone option attack. Any change on the offense would be good after Murray County was shut out five times last year and managed just 49 points all season long.

X is for X-factor: Dalton’ Brandon Dale can have an impact no matter which side of the ball he is on. On a team with a more fine-tuned passing game, Dale would be a go-to receiver with speed and great possession when the ball is thrown anywhere close. For Dalton he is a go-to receiver in a system not known for its fondness for passing the ball. Still, he is a dual threat on offense since it is almost guaranteed he will get some carries from his slot position. Also, be sure to put “X” in the running for “A” on this list.

Y is for Yards: Expect most of them to come on the ground this year. While Calfee will likely have more passing yardage than he did last year because the Cats have yet to unveil a true “feature” running back, it isn’t likely that the area’s quarterbacks will have anything close to the season Levi Sams enjoyed last year at Southeast. Sams finished with 2,237 yards passing and 23 touchdowns in 10 games.

Z is for Zero: North Murray was the only team in the area to go winless last season, but that is only in a strictly technical sense. Murray County ended the season with a 2-8 mark in the state’s record books, but the Indians didn’t win a game on the field. The Indians were awarded wins after both Dalton and Southeast Whitfield were forced to forfeit victories for using an ineligible player against Murray County.

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