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HOUSTON COUNTY FOOTBALL 2007
HORNETS
From page 8
have the attitude to want to do
something about that. There were
just so many things last year that
happened to us early with a bunch
of injuries. But we’re not looking
for excuses.”
With injuries, the issue of a
team’s depth comes into play.
Jones said Westfield usually isn’t
as deep as other schools in GISA’s
Class AAA. For the 2007 season,
he expects to dress out 51 players
for varsity games, but he said a
great number of these Hornets are
freshmen and sophomores.
“A lot of these kids were pushed
into action last year when we had
so many injuries and had to switch
some things around,” said Jones. “I
feel good about the first people I
can put out there on the field on
offense and defense. We just need
for some of these other guys to
come through, and maybe so many
won’t have to go both ways and give
some of these kids some rest.”
With the bad luck Westfield en
countered last year, it had a deflat
ing effect on the season as a whole.
The concern then can be that it
could carry over to the following
year. But Westfield is a school that
usually puts seven or eight wins
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up while taking on other schools
with strong winning traditions like
Tattnall Square, Stratford and First
Presbyterian.
Jones said the 2006 schedule was
perhaps the toughest the Hornets
ever faced, and that same schedule
replays itself this year. It is also the
second year that the GISA AAA
teams are divided into two regions
and teams are not guaranteed at
least one playoff game.
“We’re not going to change
anything,” said Jones about West
field’s basic game plan. “I know de
fensively we’ve changed some from
a 50 front to a fourman front and
even front over the years. We have
to look at what we have personnel
wise defensively. This year we feel
like we have a larger group of outr
side linebacker people. They are
not big kids, but at the same time
they are aggressive and quick. The
more of those type people we have
in the ball game the better off we
are.
“Offensively, we’ve been doing
this wing-T for so long that I think
our kids believe in it. I know I do.
That’s what we’ll be doing on of
fense.”
To run the wing-T in 2007,
Westfield’s quarterback situation
looks more clear with junior Casey
Young back after his considerable
playing experience. Jones said he
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Windsor Academy (2-IAA)
Piedmont Academy (4-IAA)
Trinity Christian (2-LAA)
Memorial Day School (2-IAA)
Heritage School (4-IAA)
George Walton Academy (3N-IAAA)*
Tattnall Square (3N-IAAA)
Riverside Military (3N-IAAA)
Mount de Sales (3N-IAAA)
John Milledge Academy (3N-IAAA)
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made a lot of “sophomore mis
takes’ last year. The competition is
still there as Joel Revis, another ju
nior, is taking snaps now while also
practicing at a halfback slot.
“The one thing we might do dif
ferent from last year is we want
to have a running back person at
quarterback so we can do more op
tion and stuff like that,” said Jones.
“Casey’s doing a good job with it
right now and so is Joel. Sometimes
it’s good to have that competition.
Sometimes if you know it’s you,
you get lackadaisical, or sometimes
you don’t. Right now I think Casey
knows it’s his (job) to lose.
“He’s a smart kid and he sees
things and reads well.-Are we going
to drop back and throw the thing
deep 15 times a game? No. We are
a play-action team, and Casey’s
getting better at that. We’ve al
ways had a bunch of yards rushing,
and a lot of people accuse us of be
ing just a run team. That’s what we
want to do first, but for 13 previ
ous years I’ve been here we’ve had
about 1,000 yards passing a year.
Last year we had about 300 yards
passing, and we can’t be that way.
We have to throw it well enough
so that people don’t step up on the
box and sit there.”
Revis will still be a major part
of the Hornet offense in the backr
field. Also, Trent Usher returns
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at fullback, the spot he had to fill
when Austin Madruga was lost
for the season on opening night.
Jones said Usher is up to about 210
pounds and is a stronger runner.
The coach also said the running
back depth is looking good with
Taylor Crook, a junior, back. An
other junior, Zach Crowe, should
see considerable halfback play.
In order to get the passing num
bers back up, somebody has to
catch the ball. The two main tar
gets Jones is relying on are Jarrod
Taylor at tight end and John Peake
at a wideout.
“(John Peake) has the most
speed on our team and is probably
our best athlete,” said Jones about
the junior. “We have to get the
ball to him, and we’re continuously
working on that. Jarrod Taylor (ju
nior) was a starting guard for us last
year, but he’s a good athlete so we
moved him to tight end. He’s not
very tall like (Nash) Murph was,
but he has good hands.
“Our biggest thing at tight end
is block first and maybe he can
catch some, too. It’s a new posi
tion for him, but Jarrod is certainly
capable.” '
The Hornet offensive line had
its injury problems as well, which
meant playing time for younger
kids who can bring that experience
into the 2007 season. Senior Steven
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Peake is a returning starter, mostly
at center. Senior Zach Horton is
back at tackle as is senior Matt
Mcßride. There are more seniors
up front with Jordan Payne at
guard. Junior Curt Lane also played
a lot last year, while sophomores
Halston Kirkpatrick Drew Payne
have impressed the coaches.
“Mcßride and Steven Peake, be
cause they are both big boys, can’t
go both ways all the time,” said
Jones. “We are looking for people
like Dylan Carson and Jared How
ard to step up and play offense so
those guys can play defense only.”
The Westfield offense works
in the wing-T from Day 1 at the
school up through junior high and
B-team games, so Jones said they
have a good grasp of what they
are supposed to do. He said it’s
key that some players can estab
lish themselves on one side of the
ball when they play someone like
defending state champion Tattnall
Square on Sept. 14. The Westfield
defense, Jones said, should have a
split look in the four-man front.
Taylor and Lane are established at
inside linebacker with Drew Payne
coming on strong as well. The out
side linebacker group Jones allud
ed to earlier has four players vying
hard for playing time.
See HORNETS 1, page 18
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