Optimism was in great supply when coaches and players from eight programs previewed the season starting this week at the Savannah-Chatham Public School System’s annual High School Football Media Day.
Also in attendance Wednesday at the Islands High School auditorium were two rarities in football.
One was Groves junior Trenton Tukes, who played defensive line last season. He has developed over the summer into the Rebels’ starting quarterback.
“We were just playing around at practice one day,” recalled head coach Calvin Wells. “It’s who could throw the ball the farthest. Out of the guys I had, he kept throwing it and putting it on the mark.”
Wells explained that the Groves offense expects to run the ball a lot more than throw it, but Tukes has worked hard and is up to the task. Tukes agrees, acknowledging an entirely different mindset than in past seasons.
“I feel like there’s pressure on me,” said Tukes, listed at 5-foot-11, 215 pounds. “I feel like I can handle it.”
As a high school defensive lineman switching to QB is uncommon, so is Anthony “Bud” Tolliver, who applied for the head coaching vacancy at Savannah High and got the job.
“First of all, they listed it as a math teacher/head football coach, and I was like you're looking for a unicorn,” Tolliver said at media day. “I could be that unicorn.”
A math teacher with football playing and coaching experience, most recently as an assistant at May River High in Bluffton, S.C., Tolliver was looking for a head coaching position and liked what he saw with the Blue Jackets after watching some video clips.
Though Savannah High went 0-10 last season and is on a 16-game losing streak, it does have a new stadium that opened last year. It also has Tim Jordan, the longtime boys basketball coach and athletic director.
“I noticed that they were really young and that's something that attracted me to that job with the youth, coach (Tim) Jordan and we've got all these new facilities coming in,” Tolliver said.
Here are some highlights of what each team had to say:
Windsor Forest
Photo (l-r): Marquis London, Trocan Johnson, Victor Walker, Coach Stewart
The Knights start earlier than most teams with a game against Savannah Country Day on Thursday night, played at Savannah High.
Jeb Stewart, in his fourth season at Windsor Forest and 29th overall in coaching, sees the team in better position than a year ago, when it finished 1-9, 0-6 in Region 3-2A.
“I think going into this year, we have a better understanding of what is expected, the caliber of teams we’re playing,” Stewart said. “They’ve been more focused at practice the last couple of weeks.
“I think each kid is understanding more of their role, where they fit in with the team.”
The roster has about 70 players, including 25-30 freshmen, the coach reported.
Among the seniors is running back Victor Walker, who played with a metal rod in his right leg after breaking the fibula into three pieces in February 2022, Walker said.
“(I) really didn’t know how much it hindered him until he got it removed and what he’s able to do until preseason practice,” Stewart said. “He’s getting back to 100 percent. He probably played last year at 80, 85 percent.”
Walker said he had the rod and about eight screws removed in December, then went through physical rehabilitation. He came back for track season and was on the state-qualifying 4x100-meter relay team.
“It showed a lot of improvement once the rod was out,” Walker said. “I’m looking forward to the season. I think this will show a lot of things to a lot of people.”
Walker noted that he’s not 100 percent healthy, as he broke an ankle during the spring football game. His personal medical history could be useful later on.
“Victor is looking at after high school going into pre-med with an emphasis on bone injuries,” Stewart said. “I feel like he’s got a lot of experience with it. He can really tell his patients, ‘I know what you’re feeling.’ ”
Islands
Photo (l-r): Nick Tootle, Hayden Palmer, Coach Printup, Carson Kurdys, Jayden Sutton
Sharks head coach DeShawn Printup spoke for a lot of public school teams in Chatham County when he said of the 2022 season: “It didn’t go as planned.”
Islands went 0-10, 0-5 in Region 3-4A and has carried over a 14-game losing streak into the 2023 campaign.
“All of our games on our schedule, we’re looked at as the underdog,” said junior defensive back Carson Kurdys, showing some of the optimism that carried the day Wednesday. “So if you can come in with the attitude of winning, you may surprise some people.”
Printup said the roster has 10 seniors, nine of whom have been with the program since they were freshmen. Senior Nick Tootle acknowledged the Sharks aren’t loaded with big bodies.
“Obviously, we’re a little bit of a smaller team, so physicality is always something you can improve on,” Tootle said. “We’re pretty physical, but any advantage we can get on the physical side of the ball, we need to take that.”
Printup said after last season, the coaching staff “went back to the drawing board to really focus on what we could do to change things.” They decided to work from the inside out, developing the players’ character before on-field improvements.
“We went to a lot of different coaching clinics and listened to some great people talk,” said Printup, noting Georgia, Texas and Clemson coaches. “They all talked about the first thing they do when they get their people on campus is they build the person first, then the player will follow them. So that's what we worked on and focused on this offseason was building the person.”
Savannah High
Photo (l-r): Jerome Ledbetter, MeKeen Mervin, Coach Toliver, Stephen Fox, Jerome Davis
When Tolliver said he has a young team, he was not exaggerating. He counts a total of 45-50 players, with two or three seniors, some juniors and a lot of sophomores and freshmen.
“We are very inexperienced,” Tolliver said. “These guys are coming fresh off the JV (junior varsity) season and filling spots as needed.”
He said the defensive secondary and wide receiving groups are thin, with some team depth lost when a few players exited for academic reasons, the coach said.
“There's going to be some kids that are going to have to step up that weren’t expecting to this year,” said Tolliver, explaining that they probably thought they would be on the JV roster.
Trevon Harmon had a big year at quarterback last season, but he’s projected to spend more time at wide receiver as one of the team’s best playmakers.
Instead, transfer Andrew Lewis Jr., the son of defensive coordinator Andrew Lewis, could be the new starter. He is more of a passer, with Harmon more of a running QB.
“If a kid gets into a rhythm, we’re going to keep him in,” Tolliver said of both QBs.
Beach
Photo (l-r): Asst.Coach, Ricardo Bright, Jaden Hamilton, Coach Thompson, Corey Smith, Demetrius Holloway,
Bulldogs coach Michael Thompson took one for the team in lauding the talented sophomore quarterback Demetrius Holloway.
“This young man has a bright future and he’s also a very coachable kid,” Thompson said. “I know he’s had a rough summer because he had to deal with me taking over the offense.
“He sat down with me and he asks questions,” the coach continued. “He asks the right questions. As an OC, that’s what you look for in the leader of the offense.”
Beach needs all the leaders it can get after finishing 1-9, 1-6 in Region 3-3A with the lone victory by 28-0 over Groves.
“I feel like this year is going to be my breakout year and a lot of people are going to see what I can do,” Holloway said. “I feel like last year I made some noise in the city, but I think I can make some more.”
It’s a mindset not unlike when Thompson was a standout player at Memorial Day School and Georgia Southern University.
“When I was in high school, I was going to go out there and compete and be the best at whatever I do, and that’s what I’m trying to instill in my players,” Thompson said.
It wasn’t making noise but singing that Thompson directed his charges to do in building up their pride in representing Beach High.
“Recently at a pep rally, I made my football team get out there and sing the alma mater in front of the whole school,” Thompson said. “Doing things like that, the little things, develops pride. I thought that was one of our flaws last year. We didn’t have pride putting on that uniform. So my goal is to make sure, whether it’s win, lose or draw, we have pride and we’re going to have to take pride in whatever we do.”
Groves
Photo (l-r): AD Kevin Evans, Jamarie Mozone, Caoch Wells, Trenton Tukes, Anthony Hopkins
Rebels coach Wells also brought up building pride in the program, as well as expectations, when discussing his squad.
“The expectations are we’re coming to every fight ready to play,” Wells said.
Every game was a battle in Wells’ first season in 2022, with the Rebels coming out on the winning side just once in a 28-0 win over non-region foe Savannah High. Groves went 1-9 overall, 0-7 in the loaded Region 3-3A.
“We’re in a tough region, got a lot of great coaches who put a lot of time and effort into their kids,” Wells said. “We welcome the challenge and we look forward to everything that’s going to come our way.”
He said the squad has six seniors, four of whom have been with the program for four years. He counted 21 juniors, with 17 seeing significant playing time last season.
As noted earlier, Tukes will be leading the offense, but he also will spend some time on his more familiar side of the line.
“On the defensive side of the ball, he will get some reps at linebacker because, I try to be honest with kids, if you are looking to go to college, you have to know where people will recruit you so you can make those choices,” Wells said.
Johnson
Photo (l-r): Isaiah Scott, Mason Mitchell, Coach Smith, Thomas Hill, Jadon Pough
Former assistant Steven Smith has been promoted to the head coach, and he’s looking to build on the progress made by his predecessor Kenderrick Bonner.
“I've been here for the past five years and one of the things that our previous head coach really preached about was working hard …” Smith said. “… right now that is our foundational piece.
“So what I want to bring to the table is taking that step forward and doing whatever is necessary to be successful and that's in the classroom, in the community as well as on the field,” Smith continued. “So what I've been preaching from day one is doing whatever is necessary for your program to build your program to be a better program, not just a football club but somebody in the community and (one that) everybody knows and respects.”
The Atom Smashers went from also-rans to a playoff team under Bonner (2020, 2021) and nearly made it three consecutive seasons in 2022, when they were 5-5 and 3-4 in Region 3-3A.
“We’ve got a real tough region this season just like last season, so we’re looking forward to just being a better football club and playing better football than we played last season,” Smith said. “And that’s the goal to make sure that we don’t underestimate any opponent, take everybody seriously and prepare every week – Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday – so we can put the best product on the field on Friday.”
He said the team lost 18 of 22 starters on offense and defense, and the roster of about 54 players has 15 newly minted seniors after graduating about 22 in the spring.
After graduating Amarion Scott and Samari Dowdy at running back, Johnson looks to Isaiah Scott and a committee to “fill the void nicely,” as Smith put it.
Quarterback could be a battle between Malachi Bacon, a junior who is back after suffering a hand injury near the end of last season, and Malik Brown, a sophomore who played on the JV last season.
New Hampstead
Photo (l-r): Alex Collis, Jordon Sonnabend, Coach Honaker, Malachi London, Kyron Anderson
There’s a lot to like about the Phoenix, and one thing that stuck with them from last season that they see as a critical area for improvement.
Guided by highly successful head coach Kyle Hockman, the Phoenix have a bigger roster (110, up from 86) with more seniors (22, up from 12) who all played as juniors.
“As far as inexperience, that was more last year’s team,” said assistant head coach Rick Honaker.
Quarterback Pauly Seely, the winner last season of the Michael Finocchiaro Memorial Outstanding Football Player Award for the top high school player in Savannah, has graduated and moved on to Wofford College.
Ready to step up as the new starter is junior Rashawn Truell, more of a pocket passer than Seely with “a cannon on his shoulder,” Honaker said. Truell learned under Seely, and there’s no interruption in the leadership coming from the QB position.
Truell will have talented pass catchers such as receivers Malachi Lonnon, Jaylen Hampton and Kamari Maxwell, as well as tight end Nate Pearson. Among the fine blockers is senior tackle Zach Pearson, who is in the running for class valedictorian, the coach said.
While New Hampstead went 6-5 overall and 2-3 in Region 3-4A, it knows how close it came to a better campaign. Two overtime losses in the regular season at Richmond Hill and at region foe Wayne County were the Phoenix’s lone defeats in the first eight games. They made the GHSA Class 4A playoffs, nearly upsetting host and fifth-ranked Troup County 36-29.
“… we were right there,” Honaker recalled. “It was about our entire team learning how to finish, finish in the weight room, finishing the classroom, finish sprints. So that's kind of been what we've hung our hat on since January, making sure we finish everything we do at the end of every practice. We call them EPPs, end practice perfect, whether it's sprints, whether it's push-ups, whether it's getting together in a meeting and making sure we're finishing, watching every detail. So that's been our consistent message.”
Jenkins
Photo (l-r): Lorenzo Cowen, Sylvester Harris, Coach Welch, Trent Rose, Jeremiah James,
There are good problems to have, and Warriors coach Tony Welch describes a 133-player roster as one.
“It is a management nightmare because you have to understand that we are understaffed,” Welch said. “We have four coaches in the (high school) building, and the rest of our coaches, we have five other coaches who are community coaches.”
But he also calls it “good management because we have the numbers to do our own thing within our own program.”
The Warriors will dress 65 players for varsity games. Expect key contributors to include senior RB/OLB Sylvester Harris, senior TE/DE Lorenzo Cowan, senior QB Jeremiah James, junior WR/DB Trenton Rhodes, junior OT/DT Isaac Smith and sophomore OL Camron Thompson.
The team was battle tested in 2022, going 4-7 overall, 3-2 in Region 1-5A. Welch counted seven teams “on the toughest schedule in the state of Georgia” that made the Elite Eight. Four opponents played in state championship games.
“When you want to be the best, you have to play the best,” said Welch, in his third season at Jenkins and a head coach for the past 17 years. “We feel like we're one of the better teams here in Savannah and in the state, and we have a good program because of our kids buying in, because you don't have 133 kids out (on the team) if you don't have them buying into what you're doing.”
James, who listed at 6-2, 185, feels like his fourth year “will be a breakout year for me. … I’m really excited.”
Welch agrees, noting that the versatile James has options at the next level.
“This is a kid that is probably one of the few athletes that will be able to choose what sport he plays in college, whether it’s basketball, football or baseball,” Welch said. “He has that type of skill set along with his size. He’s very athletic. There are not many people that got to play on their team that say they’re going to be offered in three sports."
PHOTO CREDIT: @sxds_action (SCCPSS District Athletic Photographer)
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