Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023
Dear Readers,
Welcome to the first issue of the 15th season of Georgia High School Football Daily!
 
Starting today, we recap the offseason and report the annual Maxwell Ratings team predictions. We also begin documenting the 100 offseason head-coaching changes. Beginning Wednesday, we’ll roll out the Georgia Power 100, which is Georgia’s best players at each position.
 
You also may find us on Twitter at @GHSFDaily and on our website, where we will have updated scores, schedules and rankings, an archive of most of our stories from the season and a link to past issues.
 
GHSF Daily remains free to more than 24,000 subscribers, thanks to our sponsors. We hope you will get to know them by clicking on their ads.
The GHSA championship games will be held at Mercedes-Benz Stadium this season for the first time since beginning a four-year run at Georgia State's Center Parc Stadium in 2019.
Top stories of the offseason
Mill Creek beat Carrollton 70-35 in the final Georgia high school football game of the 2022 season. In the 234 days since, nearly a quarter of the GHSA’s 413 teams have hired new head coaches. The next championship games will be played on a Monday in Mercedes-Benz Stadium under the scrutiny of video replay for the first time. Here are the 10 most significant stories of the offseason.
 
*Let’s go inside: On Dec. 15, the GHSA announced it was moving the football championship games back to Mercedes-Benz Stadium, where they were played in 2017 and 2018. The 2023 finals are scheduled for Dec. 11-13. That’s a Monday-Wednesday schedule because Mercedes-Benz didn’t have practical weekend dates available. In 2018, the finals were played midweek at the Benz because of a soccer conflict, but they still drew 40,462. The outdoor Georgia State stadium averaged 27,443 over its four-year run. The GHSA moved out of Mercedes-Benz in 2019 largely to save money. Mercedes-Benz rent at the time reportedly was around $500,000, or as much as four times the cost Georgia State offered. The GHSA got a better deal this time, though details have not been reported.
*Change is inevitable: On Dec. 20, Lowndes hired Grayson’s Adam Carter (left) in what might’ve stood as the most newsworthy of 100 offseason GHSA coaching changes. Or perhaps it was Peach County’s hiring of Warner Robins’ Marquis Westbrook on Jan. 9. The 100 hires sound like a lot, but it’s not especially unusual. The number was 97 last year. The record was 109 for the 2017 season. GHSA Daily will chronicle all 100 hires with the new coaches’ backgrounds and the 2023 whereabouts of the former head coaches over the next several days starting today with Class 7A.
 
*Back to college: In January, Georgia Tech coach Brent Key hired Tim McFarlin of Blessed Trinity and Bill Stewart of North Gwinnett, two of the state’s most successful coaches. McFarlin is Tech’s director of high school relations, and Stewart is a defensive analyst for linebackers. They are among more than a dozen high school coaches who have taken college jobs after winning GHSA titles in the past 15 years. They also include Clemson’s Mickey Conn (Grayson), Georgia’s Dell McGee (Carver of Columbus), Arkansas’ Jimmy Smith (Cedar Grove) and Miami’s Jess Simpson (Buford).
 
*Going out on top: On Feb. 13, Brett Garvin joined a short list that includes Wright Bazemore and T. McFerrin, that is, GHSA coaches who retired after winning state championships. Garvin led Sandy Creek to the Class 3A title. Other retiring head coaches this offseason included Eric Parker, a 208-game winner who led Burke County to a 2013 state title; Gary Varner, who started Allatoona’s program in 2008 and won state in 2015; Tommy Atha, who won 179 games at Darlington; J.B. Arnold, who won 168 games at Jefferson County; Tim Barron, a 176-game winner who won a 2018 state title at Heard County; and Sid Fritts, a 263-game winner whose 2021 region title at Washington-Wilkes made him the 11th GHSA coach to win region championships at four schools.
*Upon further review: The GHSA on April 17 approved video review for the 2023 football championships, making Georgia one of fewer than 20 states to employ it. The catalyst for change was a play in the 2022 Class 3A final in which a Sandy Creek player was credited with the winning touchdown with 55 seconds left despite TV replays showing him stopped a yard short on third down. The GHSA rules allow the head replay official to call for reviews at any time. Head coaches are limited to one challenge per half. The rules will be tested during the Saturday games of the Corky Kell Dave Hunter Classic on Aug. 19 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Replay won’t be used for other playoff rounds or other sports for now. “One step at a time,” GHSA executive director Robin Hines said.
 
*Georgians in the NFL Draft: Five former Georgia high school players were first-round NFL Draft picks April 28, and 25 went overall, both exceeding state averages, but the most remarkable story came out of Gwinnett County, which claimed nine picks by itself. The Gwinnett nine exceeded the totals of 42 states, including Ohio (eight), Pennsylvania (six), Alabama (four), Oklahoma (four) and Tennessee (two). The Gwinnett nine were D.J. Turner and Josh Downs of North Gwinnett, Wanya Morris and Owen Pappoe of Grayson, Colby Wooden of Archer, Terrell Smith of South Gwinnett, Payne Durham of Peachtree Ridge, Kendall Williamson of Brookwood and Robert Beal of Norcross. Georgia’s five first-round picks were tied for second-most all-time for the state. There were six in 2021 and five in 2005. This year’s five were Dutchtown’s Will Anderson, Dalton’s Jahmyr Gibbs, Lithonia’s Broderick Jones, Hillgrove’s Myles Murphy and Calvary Day’s Nolan Smith. The 25 Georgia draft picks overall are the fourth-most all-time. Georgia had 30 in 2022 and 2015 and 29 in 2017. The 25 ranked third nationally behind Florida’s 36 and Texas’s 30.
 
*Hall of Fame worthy: The Georgia High School Football Hall of Fame announced its second class in May. Among the 40 to be inducted Oct. 21 are 22 former Georgia players and eight from Georgia Tech. The leading vote-getters were Dan Reeves, the former Atlanta Falcons coach who starred as a quarterback for Americus High, and Jon Stinchcomb, a former Parkview, Georgia and NFL offensive lineman. Each got 81.6% of the vote among the 38 board members that include GHSF Daily’s Todd Holcomb, Chip Saye and Ted Langford. Stinchcomb leads a Georgia contingent that features current offensive coordinator Mike Bobo, a standout quarterback at Thomasville in the 1990s, and former Georgia head coach Ray Goff, once a Moultrie quarterback and the 1976 SEC offensive player of the year. The Hall of Fame’s new Bulldogs cover nearly 100 years from the 1920s with Vernon “Catfish” Smith of Macon’s Lanier High to 2012 SEC defensive player of the year Jarvis Jones of Carver of Columbus. Georgia Tech’s eight new inductees will be headlined by Brown High alumnus Pepper Rodgers, a 1950s quarterback and 1970s head coach who will be joined in the Hall of Fame by three of his former Tech players – Lucius Sanford of West Fulton, Eddie Lee Ivery of Thomson and Mackel Harris of Americus. For a list of the 40 selected for induction, click here.
*New football czar: Jay Russell became the GHSA’s football coordinator officially in June, replacing Kevin Giddens, who stepped down after four years. Russell formerly worked with the GHSA and was second in command behind executive director Gary Phillips in 2017, when the Georgia legislature forced Phillips out. Russell helped new executive director Hines through the transition, then left the next year. Russell was a longtime former football coach and school administrator and is a son of former Georgia and Georgia Southern football coach Erk Russell. One of the GHSA’s longest-serving employees, Ernie Yarbrough, is retiring. He began with the association in 1992 and will stay on part-time and assist with lacrosse, officials and event management. He was replaced by Darrell Lane, a 30-year basketball official.
 
*The Prep Super League: In June, former USFL president Brian Woods announced plans to include Atlanta in a 12-team national high school football league to be played over a six-week season April 19-May 24. It’s called the Prep Super League, and Woods is seeking major Division I prospects hoping to raise their recruiting stock and maximize their name, image and likeness potential. Georgia coaches have largely panned the idea. “Kills spring sports, higher injury risks, burnout risks, struggling to find some positives for the kids,” Milton coach Ben Reaves told GHSF Daily. Said Norcross coach Keith Maloof, “Why would I want my best athletes playing in another league and risking injury when they’re already working hard on their own?” The GHSA’s Hines said, “I don’t feel it’s in the best interest of the athletes.” Woods countered the criticisms. “It’s not meant to be antagonistic to traditional high school football. We should be viewed quite the contrary, as a supplemental platform or a complementary entity. And I’m going to take the position that our league is going to be safer than traditional high school football. That I can guarantee.” Woods has not announced coaches, venues or tryout information but said many Georgia parents had contacted him.
 
*Raiola to Buford: On June 22, the consensus No. 1 recruit in the nation enrolled at Buford. Dylan Raiola is a quarterback from Arizona, where he had attended three high schools. He was uncertain if Arizona rules would allow him to be eligible for the full season in that state, so he decided to get closer to the University of Georgia, where he is committed. Buford’s 2022 quarterback, Dylan Wittke, graduated after signing with Virginia Tech. Raiola is the son of Dominic Raiola, a former NFL player. Dylan gives Buford a third senior five-star recruit. That’s the most for a school in state history. The others are defensive back K.J. Bolden and defensive lineman Eddrick Houston. Buford opens the season at home Aug. 18 against St. Frances Academy (Md.) in a game between teams with top-10 national rankings.
Countdown of greatest GHSA finals
GHSF Daily is counting down the 100 Greatest Football Finals in GHSA history, adding a new game each weekday through Dec. 8, when the No. 1 championship game of all-time will be revealed.
 
The 100 Greatest series began on our website July 24. Games 94-100 can be found there. The latest game, No. 94, is below.
 
The 100 Greatest is the culmination of more than two years of researching the 369 GHSA finals played from 1947 to 2022. GHSF Daily has compiled every scoring play, lead change and comeback in finals history.
 
The 100 games are ranked on entertainment value and historical significance. Upsets, comebacks and lead changes are naturally favored, but memorable players, teams or incidents might also make a game special.
 
To help quantify some of those criteria, GHSF Daily has recruited Loren Maxwell and his computer Maxwell Ratings to calculate the pregame point spread, or line, by analyzing the scores of every regular-season and playoff game played since 1947.
 
Using GHSF Daily’s quarter-by-quarter and scoring-summary data, Maxwell also has computed the chance of each team winning before and after every quarter of each game. Those projections are team- and era-specific, meaning they consider each team’s overall strength and ability to score and prevent points. Teams from the 1950s had a much more difficult time scoring and making comebacks than do modern teams.
 
The 100 Greatest series will appear on GHSF Daily’s website only, but the notification of each new game will be published in GHSF Daily’s newsletter. All 100 games will have a summary similar to this one.
 
No. 94: Colquitt Co. 28, Archer 24 (2014 Class 6A)
Line: Colquitt County -13 (81.7% chance of winning). No. 1-ranked Colquitt County won its first state title in 20 years and completed a 15-0 season, but Archer, a 5-year-old Gwinnett County school, made it a struggle at the Georgia Dome. Coach Andy Dyer’s underdog Tigers, ranked No. 3 in preseason but written off after an 0-3 start, took a 17-14 lead early in the second quarter on Cole Fisher’s 47-yard field goal. Colquitt County went ahead for good on Sahiem King’s 1-yard run with 45 seconds left in the half. That marked the third lead change of the game, but it would be the last, though the game would remain close. Archer got within 28-24 with 4:48 left on future Duke Blue Devil Dylan Singleton’s third touchdown, a 22-yard run. Colquitt got the ball back at its 19, and King, a 2,000-yard rusher, ran nine straight times to run out the clock. King would play at Kentucky. In 2017, GHSF Daily named King the best player in Colquitt County football history. He rushed for 125 yards and scored two touchdowns in his final high school game. It was the sixth state title as a coach for Alabama native Rush Propst, the first in Georgia. His Packers would go 15-0 again the following year.
Class 7A
The Maxwell Ratings, compiled by mathematician and Georgia High School Football Historians Association founder Loren Maxwell, have projected the region finishes of all 413 football-playing schools in the GHSA. The projections are based on historical scores, with the most recent season weighing most heavily. Teams that did unusually well, or poorly, in 2022 are projected to regress toward the mean. The ratings do not consider changes in player personnel or coaching staff. Below are Maxwell’s projections and a brief look at how Class 7A shapes up in 2023.
Coming Wednesday: Class 6A
Longest-tenured: 7A
When Norcross hired Keith Maloof as head coach in 1999, there was no Grayson High School. There was no Mill Creek. No Peachtree Ridge, Archer, Mountain View, Lanier or Discovery. In 2022, Seckinger became the eighth Gwinnett County high school to open in the Maloof quarter century. Here are the longest-tenured coaches in Class 7A.
 
25 - Keith Maloof, Norcross
18 - Shane Queen, North Cobb
12 - Josh Shaw, Cherokee
9 - Philip Jones, Brookwood
9 - Matt LeZotte, Richmond Hill
8 - Richard Morgan, Marietta
7 - John Small, East Coweta
7 - Daniel Brunner, Walton
6 - Caleb Carmean, Kennesaw Mountain
5 - Bryant Appling, Buford
5 - Cam Jones, Duluth
5 - Josh Lovelady, Mill Creek
5 - Bryan Love, Wheeler
Marist coach Alan Chadwick is entering his 39th season as a Georgia head coach. Who holds the record for most Georgia seasons as a head coach? (Answer Wednesday)
The preseason scrimmage schedule is compiled by GHSF Daily and not maintained by the GHSA or any other organization. Please click here to make additions or report errors:
 
Friday’s games
Apalachee at Discovery
Appling Co. at Bacon Co.
Armuchee at Christian Heritage
Atkinson Co. at Wheeler Co.
Bowdon at Heard Co.
Brooks Co. at Hardaway (K)
Cambridge at Woodstock
Cedar Shoals at Loganville
Clarke Central at North Oconee
Coffee at Fitzgerald
Coosa at Ringgold
Copper Basin, Tenn. at Towns Co.
Crawford at Macon Co.
Crisp Co. at Bainbridge
Drew at Forest Park (SC)
ELCA at Eagle’s Landing
Early Co. at Pelham
East Hall at Habersham Central 
Emanuel Co. Institute at Vidalia
Evans at Thomson
Gilmer at Commerce
GMC Prep at Montgomery Co.
Hancock Central at Greenbrier
Hawkinsville at Bleckley Co.
Jenkins at Bryan Co.
Johnson Co. at Wilcox Co.
Jonesboro at Trinity Christian
Josey at Cross Creek
Kell at Walton
Laney at Burke Co.
Lovejoy at Stockbridge
Marion Co. at Deerfield-Windsor
Metter at Wayne Co.
Miller Grove vs. Chamblee (ND)
Model at Sonoraville
Monroe at Turner Co.
Mount Paran Christ. at Whitefield Acad.
Mount Vernon at Lovett
Mount Zion, Carroll at Temple
Mount Zion, Jonesboro at Callaway
Newnan at Griffin
Norcross at Parkview
North Clayton at Berkmar
North Forsyth at Dawson Co.
North Hall at Flowery Branch 
Northwest Whitfield at Calhoun
Pace Academy at Wesleyan
Peach Co. at Colquitt Co.
Pebblebrook at McEachern
Pepperell and Cartersville at North Murray (jamboree)
Rockmart at Bremen
Schley Co. at Irwin Co.
Sequoyah at Denmark 
Spencer vs. Columbus (OS)
Stephens Co. at Elbert Co.
Stephenson vs. Cedar Grove (GO)
Thomas Co. Central at Cook
Tri-Cities at Northview
Tucker at St. Pius
Veterans at Warner Robins
West Forsyth at Lanier
Westover at Mitchell Co.
Winder-Barrow at Washington-Wilkes
 
Saturday’s game
Jordan School at Walker
 
Aug. 9
Southwest DeKalb at Dacula
 
Aug. 10
Archer at Peachtree Ridge
Bryan Co. at Tattnall Co.
Cherokee Bluff at Morgan Co.
Coahulla Creek at Gordon Central
Creekside at Westlake
Eastside at Monroe Area
Gainesville at Milton
Groves at Glenn Hills (GHM)
Heritage, Ringgold at Dalton
Jackson Co. at East Jackson
Meadowcreek at Alpharetta
Northeast at Swainsboro
Redan at Salem
Rockmart at Rome
Wesleyan at Walnut Grove
Westfield at Wilcox Co.
 
Aug. 11
Ashley Ridge, S.C. at Camden Co.
Adairsville at Trion
Allatoona at Kennesaw Mountain
Arabia Mountain at Alcovy
Athens Academy at Westminster
Baconton at Terrell Academy
Banks Co. at Lumpkin Co.
Blessed Trinity at Oconee Co.
Butler at Hephzibah
Carver, Atlanta at Decatur
Carver, Columbus at Lee Co.
Central Gwinnett at Seckinger
Chattahoochee Co. at Brookstone
Chattooga at Ridgeland
Claxton at Portal
Clinch Co. at Pierce Co.
Columbus at Marion Co.
Commerce at Holy Innocents’
Community Christian at Walker
Creekview at Cherokee
Cross Creek at Lincoln Co.
Dade Co. at Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe
Daniel, S.C. and Wren, S.C. vs. Washington-Wilkes (at Hart Co. jamboree)
Darlington at Sumter Co.
Dooly Co. at Dougherty
Duluth at Osborne
ECI at Fitzgerald
Etowah at Sprayberry
Flint River Academy at Jordan (OS)
North Cobb at Collins Hill
Forsyth Central at Pope
George Walton at Mount Paran Christian
Glascock Co. at Jenkins Co.
Gordon Lee at Coosa
Greene Co. at Putnam Co.
Hapeville Charter at Chattahoochee
Hardaway at Manchester
Hughes at North Gwinnett
Jeff Davis at Atkinson Co.
Jenkins at Liberty Co.
Johnson, Savannah at Lakeside, Evans
Jones Co. at Buford
KIPP Atlanta at New Manchester
Lafayette at Model
Lakeview Acad. at Lake Oconee Acad.
Landmark Christ. at Mt. Pisgah Christian
Macon Co. at Lanier
Marietta at Campbell
McIntosh Co. Academy and Savannah Christian at Brunswick (jamboree)
McNair vs. Clarkston (HS)
Miller Co. at Deerfield-Windsor
Mount Bethel at Cherokee Christian
Mount Vernon at Prince Avenue Christian
Mountain View at South Gwinnett
Murray Co. at Southeast Whitfield
Newton at North Springs
Northgate at Fayette Co.
Pelham at Worth Co.
Perry at Northside, W.R.
Pickens at Pepperell
Pike at Hampton
Powdersville, S.C. and T.L. Hanna, S.C. at Hart Co. (jamboree)
River Ridge at Wheeler
Rockdale Co. at Banneker
Roswell at Lambert
Seminole Co. at Shaw (K)
Shiloh at South Forsyth  
Southwest at Laney
St. Anne-Pacelli at Southland Academy
St. Francis at King’s Ridge Christian
Statesboro at Long Co.
Stone Mountain at Johnson, Gainesville
Tift Co. at Lowndes
Tiftarea Acad. at SW Georgia Academy
Union Co. at Chestatee 
Valdosta at Lowndes
Valwood at Hawkinsville
Villa Rica at Haralson Co.
Ware Co. at Cairo
Warren Co. at Telfair Co.
Washington Co. at Jefferson Co.
West Hall at Oglethorpe Co.
Westside, Augusta at Greenbrier
Westside, Macon at Bleckley Co.
White Co. at East Forsyth 
Windsor Forest at Bradwell Institute
Woodland, Cartersville at Lassiter
Woodland, Stockbridge at Chapel Hill
Woodward Academy at GAC

Stadium abbreviations: (GHM) Glenn Hills Middle School; (GO) Godfrey; (HS) Hallford; (K) Kinnett; (ND) North DeKalb; (OS) Odis Spencer; (SC) Southern Crescent.

Join both the GACA and GFCA for $55.00 per coach! JOIN TODAY!
TD Club lunches
begin on Aug. 24
Football season is right around the corner, which means it’s time to renew your membership in the Touchdown Club of Atlanta. The lineup of speakers this fall will include Matt Stinchcomb (Aug. 24), Takeo Spikes (Sept. 26), Laura Rutledge (Oct. 10), Brian Jordan (Oct. 31) and Tom Rinaldi (Nov. 14). The Aug. 24 event will be held at the Piedmont Driving Club while the others will take place at Maggiano’s Buckhead. All begin at 11:45 a.m. For more information about the club, click here. Additional information on membership can be found by clicking here.
Class 7A
Number of hires: 13
Best hire: Kareem Reid, McEachern
Hardest to replace: Adam Carter, Grayson
Best job: Lowndes
Toughest job: Berkmar
Most interesting: The coaches of three of the past six Class 7A champions left their schools this offseason, each in unusual ways. Bill Stewart, who won at North Gwinnett in 2017, became an analyst at Georgia Tech. Grayson’s Adam Carter, the 2020 winner, jumped to Lowndes, another Class 7A school. Collins Hill’s Lenny Gregory, citing philosophical differences with his new administration after winning in 2021, resigned and landed at Gordon Central. It’s a trend with no apparent meaning, but it runs deeper than just this season. Recall that Adam Clack, who won at Milton in 2018, made big news last year when he stepped down with no job in sight. He’s now the offensive coordinator for the Paris Musketeers of the European League of Football. The trend-setter was Jeff Herron, who resigned at Grayson after winning the 2016 title to take a job at T.L. Hanna in South Carolina. He returned to Georgia and Camden County in 2021. The most newsworthy change occurred in 2019, when Colquitt County fired Rush Propst despite his 2014 and 2015 titles. Propst, 65, is back in the game this season, hired at Pell City in his native Alabama. The only state-winning coaches in the highest classification since 2014 who are still at their jobs are Josh Lovelady (2022 Mill Creek) and Richard Morgan (2019 Marietta).
 
Region 1
*Lowndes hired Grayson coach Adam Carter to replace Zach Grage, who is now Valdosta's offensive coordinator. Carter’s Grayson teams were 45-9 in four seasons and won Class 7A in 2020. Carter, a Paulding County native, was 12-1 in one season at Creekview. He was an assistant coach at Marietta and Camden County. Lowndes is coming off a 5-6 finish, its first losing campaign since 1994, which led to the surprise ousting of Grage after one season.
 
Region 2
*Campbell hired North Springs coach Jeff Phillips to replace Howie Decristofaro, who is now Lassiter’s offensive line coach and weight room coordinator. Phillips inherited winless North Springs and went 1-9 and 4-6 in two seasons. He was Wheeler’s offensive coordinator in 2020 and head coach at Austin East in Knoxville, Tenn., from 2013 to 2019, compiling a 55-28 record with two region titles. Campbell was 1-9 in 2022 and 6-33 in four seasons under DeCristofaro.
 
*Pebblebrook hired South Atlanta coach Michael Woolridge to replace Leroy Hood, who became head coach at Salem. Woolridge led South Atlanta to two region titles (the first ones in school history) and a 22-3 record in two seasons. He had come from Hardaway, where he took that Columbus program to three consecutive playoff appearances after a 10-year drought. Pebblebrook has made the playoffs six of the past seven seasons but advanced only once.
 
Region 3
*McEachern hired University of Florida quality control assistant Kareem Reid to replace Franklin Stephens, who became head coach at alma mater Burke County. Reid was head coach at Griffin (2019-20) and Westlake (2016-18) before taking college jobs at Central Florida in 2021 and Florida last season. He was director of player development at Central Florida, his alma mater, under Gus Malzahn. Florida’s Billy Napier hired him last year. Reid led Westlake to three region titles in three seasons and Griffin to the Class 5A quarterfinals in 2019. He coached his high school alma mater, Coconut Creek in Florida, from 2013 to 2015. McEachern was 27-19 in four seasons under Stephens, 4-6 in 2022.
 
Region 4
*Grayson hired Gainesville assistant Santavious Bryant to replace Adam Carter, who became head coach at Lowndes. Bryant was on Grayson’s staff from 2019 to 2021 as defensive backs coach and held the same role, plus that of defensive pass game coordinator, for Gainesville, which reached the Class 6A championship game last season. Bryant is a Wheeler graduate who played at Shorter. He coached at Wheeler in 2017 and 2018. Grayson was 45-9 in four seasons under Carter and won the Class 7A title in 2020.
 
*Newton promoted offensive coordinator Josh Skelton to replace Camiel Grant, who remained at Newton as a teacher and assistant athletic director. Skelton is a former defensive back at Stephenson and Jacksonville State who came to Newton in 2012 out of college. Newton was 6-5 in 2022 and 21-20 in four full seasons under Grant.
 
*Parkview hired Providence Christian coach Joe Sturdivant, an alumnus, to replace Eric Godfree, who became head coach at North Gwinnett. Sturdivant was at Providence Christian for one season and two years prior at Rabun Gap, a northeast Georgia boarding school that was runner-up twice in a North Carolina independent school league. Sturdivant previously coached for four years in Germany and Belgium. He was IMG Academy’s defensive coordinator in 2013 and 2014. He began his coaching career as a student assistant at SMU, where he played. Sturdivant was an outstanding player on Parkview’s 2000-02 state championship teams. Parkview was 8-4 last season.
 
Region 5
None
 
Region 6
*Forsyth Central hired Denmark offensive coordinator Chad Pickett to replace David Rooney, who retired from coaching and remains a teacher at the school. Pickett helped start the Denmark program in 2018 and previously was offensive coordinator and strength coach at Archer and alma mater Brookwood. Rooney’s teams were 2-8 both seasons.
 
Region 7
*Berkmar hired Hughes offensive coordinator Andrico Hines to replace interim coach Michael Madden, who remains on staff. Hines is a former Riverdale, Middle Tennessee and Arena League quarterback who ran Class 6A champion Hughes’ offense that scored a state-record 792 points and finished 15-0 last season. Hines also was co-offensive coordinator on Creekside’s 2013 state championship team. He has coached at Greene County, Riverwood, Alexander and Ware County. He was at Hughes one season. Berkmar was 3-7 in 2022 under Madden, who took over for Cole Meyer after two games. Meyer is now offensive coordinator at Heritage in Conyers.
 
*Discovery hired Central Gwinnett offensive line coach Roy Groshek to replace program starter Efrem Hill, who is now Dacula’s assistant head coach and receivers coach. Groshek came to Georgia from Wisconsin in 2008 and coached at Collins Hill (2008-16) and Meadowcreek (2017-21) before coming to Central last season. Discovery is 15-58 in its seven seasons. It was 3-7 in 2022.
 
*North Gwinnett hired Parkview coach Eric Godfree to replace Bill Stewart, who joined Georgia Tech's staff as an analyst. Godfree’s Parkview teams were 70-37 in nine seasons and 8-4 in 2022. Parkview beat North Gwinnett 48-21 in the regular season. Prior to Parkview, his alma mater, Godfree was 53-50 in 10 seasons at Loganville. North Gwinnett was 60-19 with a 2017 state title in Stewart’s six seasons.
 
Region 8
*Collins Hill promoted defensive coordinator and alumnus Drew Swick to replace Lenny Gregory, who became head coach at Gordon Central. Swick is a former Collins Hill linebacker and captain. He joined the Eagles’ staff in 2015 and was part of the 2021 Class 7A championship team. Gregory’s record was 46-28 in six seasons and 4-6 in 2022.
 
*Dacula hired McEachern assistant and former Peachtree Ridge head coach Reggie Stancil to replace Casey Vogt, who is on the staff at Randle High in Texas. Stancil was Peachtree Ridge’s head coach for five seasons, compiling a 13-36 record before going to McEachern for a season. He was on Norcross’ staff the previous 11 seasons. Stancil is a former Colquitt County and Jacksonville State quarterback who has coached at Morrow, Lithonia and Northside of Warner Robins. Dacula was 9-5 and 3-8 under Vogt.

Coming Wednesday: Class 6A
Today’s interviewee is Mill Creek coach Josh Lovelady, whose team won Class 7A last season for the Hawks’ first state title since the Gwinnett County school opened in 2004. Lovelady was on the staff that started the Mill Creek program and became head coach in 2019. He grew up in the county, playing and coaching at South Gwinnett before joining Mill Creek’s staff.
 
Josh Lovelady, Mill Creek head coach
1. Looking back on the 2022 season one more time, what was the legacy of that team? “It was just a special group. They trusted the process. What I mean by that is we were able to practice at a high level with some high-level players but also have fun. You can see that with the Kansas City Chiefs. We did a lot of things with our position groups, adding shifts and motions and defensive alignments as the season went on. It was fun having kids coming in on Mondays and expanding on it. That’s a neat thing for old ball coaches. On the field, we were balanced offensively and defensively, but the unsung hero was our special teams. In the championship game, we had 11 of 11 touchbacks. We ran a kickoff for a touchdown. We blocked a field goal and had a scoop-and-score. We blocked five field goals on the year. We had four field goals over 50 yards. And we had star power with college prospects on the team, but we had great high school football players that played bigger than themselves and led from the inside out. If you continually have to direct from the outside, you can hold on for only so long. That team had great leadership.”
 
2. What's the scouting report on this year's team? “We’ve got some people we’re going to miss. Hopefully if we do our job right we won’t be rebuilding but reloading. In the secondary, we have three out of four starters back [Trajen Greco, Jaiden Patterson, Justin Content]. All are committed to play college ball, so that should be a strength even though we’re missing the player of the year [Caleb Downs, now at Alabama]. At linebacker, we probably have the strongest group we’ve had in 20 years here. The two in the middle are returning starters [Cole Mullins, Josh Anglin]. We’ve got to figure out our defensive line. We have just one returning starter there. On offense, we return three of our offensive linemen. The bell cow is Aidan Banfield [committed to North Carolina]. Cam Robinson, a running back who gained 200 yards in the championship game [252 to be exact], is the strength of the backfield. We have a new quarterback, Shane Throgmartin [backup to Hayden Clark in 2022]. He would’ve started on a lot of teams last year. He’s got a big arm and a lot of talent. At all levels, whether it’s high school college or the pros, you’ll go where your quarterback goes. We graduated all three receivers. All those guys on defense [in the secondary] play wide receiver too. They’ll have to step up.”
 
3. You’ve got four top-100 Georgia seniors in the 247Sports Composite, all who play defense. Can you briefly comment on their talents - Greco, Mullins, Patterson and KingJoseph Edwards? “Greco [consensus No. 46 in Georgia, committed to Georgia Tech] is probably our most athletic kid. He played quarterback as a freshman, wide receiver as a sophomore and then switched to defensive back as a junior. He has tremendous ball skills, similar to Downs, and can play both sides of the ball. Patterson [No. 81, committed to North Carolina], he’s a big, tall, rangy safety, probably close to 6-2, who can run. He was fourth in the 400 at the state track meet as a sophomore. Mullins [No. 79 Georgia, committed to Notre Dame] is a very unique player, kind of like a Brian Urlacher. You don’t see many 6-4½, 245-pound middle linebackers in high school. He’s a tall kid for a linebacker, but we will put him down at end too. He’s one of those hit-you-in-the-mouth kind of kids. Edwards [No. 26, uncommitted], he’s come over from Buford and moved into our district. He’s doing a good job learning the new technology and working hard every day. We hope he can be an impact player for us on Friday as well.”
 
4. You’ve worked under several successful coaches, in particular Danny Cronic at East Coweta, T. McFerrin at South Gwinnett and Shannon Jarvis at Mill Creek. What did those coaches teach you? “Thanks for asking that. Great question because coaching is all about mentorship. I was four years under Coach Cronic at East Coweta. He was exceptionally talented at personnel and getting players in the right positions, regardless of size, to be successful and part of a group. I remember he moved a strong safety to nose guard. He was 185 pounds, but nobody could block him. Then I moved on to Coach McFerrin for four years. His organizational skills were elite. He has a wide coaching tree. He won [state] at Jefferson. He won it at Elbert County. His practice schedules and communication with staff were huge. He knew how to get his players fresh on Friday night by practicing smart and not just beating the heck out of each other. He practiced with the playoffs in mind. Then for the last 14-15 years, I was with Shannon Jarvis. His piece was culture. He built something from the bottom up. We were a new program, and he was going to make it a long-term commitment, not only with the staff, but the community and players. He built a strong foundation. And it was about doing things the right way. We weren’t going to come on and do something that could be controversial or sketchy. We were going to win ball games by doing it the right way. And he had a great ability to build relationships with players. When I was in high school, I just did what the coach told me. There were not a lot of questions. That wasn’t Shannon’s way. He was about having that depth of relationship where the players wanted to play just as hard for you and each other and the community.”
 
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Georgia High School Football Daily is a free e-mail newsletter produced and owned by Todd Holcomb and Chip Saye. Holcomb is a former lead high school football writer for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and co-founder of the Georgia High School Football Historians Association. Saye is a 38-year veteran of the newspaper industry who has covered high school sports for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Athens Banner-Herald, Anderson (S.C.) Independent-Mail and Gwinnett Daily News.