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The Prep Sports Report previews the 2022 high school football season for Savannah area teams by taking a look at some of the top quarterbacks coming to a field near you this fall. All stats are courtesy of MaxPreps unless otherwise noted and there is no specific ranking in order of posting of quarterbacks.

Pauly Seeley enters his senior season at New Hampstead High School as one of Savannah’s top quarterbacks. The Alma, Michigan native was an All-Region 3-4A performer last year for head coach Kyle Hockman’s team, and expectations for Seeley and New Hampstead are understandably high for the 2022 campaign.

“I think we had a good year (in 2021) and I had a good year, but there’s always stuff you can get better at,” Seeley said during a June 22 phone call with PSR. “So all offseason we’ve been watching film, staying in the weightroom and just working on getting better.

Thanks in large part to Seeley and the receiving duo of Toriano Bias and Kaden Sonnabend, NHHS (6-4 in 2021) was one of the highest scoring offenses in all of Class 4A last year. The unit averaged 37.9 points per game, scoring more than 40 points in five of its 10 games. Replacing the duo now playing in college will be tough, but the quarterback says there are guys ready to fill the void.

“It always sucks losing a couple seniors who produced a lot for us while they were here,” he said. “I think we’ve got some guys who have played before for injuries or stuff like that, but now they’re ready to play a bigger role for us this season.”

The quarterback mentioned a trio of receivers to look out for this year: Zion Griffin (senior), Jalen Hampton (junior) and Malachi Lonnon (junior, transfer from Calvary Day).

Seeley tallied 1,925 yards and 22 touchdowns (12 interceptions) on 128-of-229 (56 percent) passing as a junior. He also rushed for two more touchdowns. As a sophomore, he threw for 1,100 yards and 10 touchdowns (zero interceptions) and the Phoenix finished with a 6-2 record in the COVID-19 abbreviated season.

As of June 22, Seeley had college scholarship offers Western Kentucky, Bowling Green, Middle Tennessee State, Elon and Wofford. In a March 2022 interview with WSAV, Seeley said that he “had some conversations with” Appalachian State, before mentioning App’s bitter Sun Belt rival in Statesboro. “Georgia Southern is right down the road. I’d love to go check out that place,” he said. Georgia Southern’s new staff under head coach Clay Helton is headlined by former Western Kentucky offensive coordinator Bryan Ellis. Ellis was the OC for the Hilltoppers when WKU offered Seeley a scholarship last year.

The new offense and new staff in Statesboro certainly have Seeley intrigued.

“Yeah, Georgia Southern with them getting a new offense and a new coaching staff, they’re definitely in the picture now,” Seeley told PSR. “So I’m keeping my options open with recruiting.”

As it has for the last several seasons, New Hampstead  will play in GHSA’s Region 3-4A again this year. The Phoenix open the 2022 season on August 19 with a non-region game against May River (SC) at Pooler Stadium.

For Seeley, he has the same goals for the season as most do. Championships and the like. But he’s also not taking his last high school season for granted as he tries to soak it all in for one last go-round.

“Everyone wants to win a region championship and a state championship of course, but me personally, I just want everything to go slowly. As slow as possible so I can savor every week and every practice and every game. It’s important to not let this (season) move too fast.”

You can follow Seeley on Twitter @PaulySeeley.

FOLLOW Travis Jaudon on Twitter/Instagram @JaudonSports. Email him at travisLjaudon@gmail.com.

Optim Orthopedics supports Benedictine Military School, Calvary Day School, Richmond Hill High School, Savannah Country Day, South Effingham High School, and St. Vincent's athletics. Benedictine Military School's team doctor is Dr. David Sedory. Dr. David Palmer is the team doctor for Calvary Day School, South Effingham, and Richmond Hill. Savannah Country Day and St. Vincent's team doctor is Dr. Thomas Alexander. Remember, Optim Orthopedics gets you back into the game!