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BARROW NEWS-JOURNAL
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 18, 2021
FOOTBALL SEASON PREVIEW
The Bethlehem Christian Academy football team will open up its 2021 season Friday, Aug. 20, at Strong Rock Christian in Locust Grove.
Photo by Scott Thompson/
Knights return several starters in year two under Lane
By Scott Thompson
sthompson@barrownewsjoumal.com
Most high school head
football coaches will say
year two with a program
is easier than year one in
many aspects, and that’s
the case for Bruce Lane as
he enters his second sea
son at Bethlehem Chris
tian Academy.
For one, there’s much
more continuity for BCA
after Lane was the team’s
third head coach in as
many seasons last year.
And with him and most of
last year’s coaching staff
back, the Knights also
return much more game
experience on both sides
of the ball than a year ago
and have more players
with 38 on the roster en
tering their season opener
Friday, Aug. 20, at Strong
Rock Christian.
“We graduated some re
ally good football players
but have a strong nucleus
returning,” said Lane, the
veteran coach with more
than 200 wins and a pair of
state titles under his belt,
whose team will look to
improve upon a 2-8 mark
in a transitional 2020 sea
son when the Knights had
to rebuild at a few po
sitions. “There’s been a
tweak here and there, but
for the most part, the kids
feel a little more comfort
able. They have a little
better grasp of what we’re
doing, and the expecta
tions and the culture of
the program were really
established last year.
“We feel really good
about our football team,
and from the standpoint
of their attitude, it’s prob
ably one of the best teams
Fve coached in terms of
getting along with each
other. That’s something
that can’t be undersold as
a quality in a team.”
The Knights do, in fact,
stack up stronger on paper
entering this season with
at least seven starters back
on offense and defense,
along with all-region
kicker Brady Logan. Lane
believes the offensive line
play will be “a real solid
part of our game” with
senior Logan Garmon re
turning at left tackle and
senior Jesse Flutchison at
center. Sophomore Cody
Craft, who started at cen
ter as a freshman, has
shifted over to left guard
to shore up that side of
the line, while Lane was
hoping to use the Knights’
Friday, Aug. 13 preseason
scrimmage against Prov
idence Christian to gain
more clarity on who will
man the right side of the
line.
The experience up front,
particularly on the left
side, should help ease in
the team’s new starting
quarterback, junior Ben
Reed, who takes over for a
graduated two-year starter
in Ethan Guthas.
“He’s a little differ
ent, more mobile kind of
guy," Lane said of Reed.
“Ethan had a strong arm
and was a great leader for
us. (With Reed) we’re go
ing to move the pocket a
little and spread it around
a little more. But we’re
confident in Ben and his
leadership ability. He defi
nitely had the opportuni
ty to learn from a leader
playing behind Ethan.”
Reed should also get a
significant lift from senior
wide receiver Ty Whiting,
an all-state performer last
fall who led the team with
31 catches for 456 yards
and four touchdowns in 10
games.
“I think he is a good
route runner. He does a
great job high-pointing
the ball and is able to out-
jump defenders,” Lane
said of Whiting. “His
hands are really good.
All those things that are
important in being a re
ceiver, he possesses those
qualities. One thing we’re
always stressing to our
receivers is being a good
blocker, being unselfish
and running your route
all the way through, even
when you know you won’t
get it thrown to you on
that particular pattern. He
does a great job of all of
that.”
The Knights also return
sophomore Lawson Woo
ten at tight end to give
Reed another target, while
Lane said several other
players are developing
and vying for playing time
at receiver. Despite the
graduation of star running
back Chad Norwood (now
at Berry College), the
Knights bring back sopho
more Joshua Adams, who
came on strong at the end
of last season when Nor
wood was limited by inju
ries, and senior Chandler
Cavoretto at fullback.
Senior David Walter-
house, who missed last
year with an ACL injury,
could spell Reed some at
quarterback if needed and
is slated to start in BCA’s
secondary along with se
nior returners Whiting and
Jay Fulford.
Rod Robinson, who
was BCA’s offensive co
ordinator two years ago
and assisted with the of
fense again last season,
has moved across the way
to take over as defensive
coordinator. The unit will
again be anchored this
year by Cavoretto, who
was an all-region middle
linebacker and led the
team in tackles with 77
stops and a pair of sacks.
“Chandler has done a
good job and is a real stu
dent of the game,” Lane
said. “He’s a guy we can
count on to watch film
and spend time with the
coaches trying to make
sure we’re all on the same
page with the players.”
Senior Jojo Adams will
join Cavoretto in the line
backer corps after playing
up front last season, while
Garmon and Wooten will
hold down the defensive
end spots.
“We feel like we’ll have
a lot of depth in the defen
sive interior; the big thing
for us is to be able to de
velop kids who can play
in a steady rotation with a
smaller roster,” Lane said.
“We’re going to play a lot
of kids early on and play
a lot of folks all over the
place. We’ve got some real
athletic kids like (sopho
more) Elijah Goddard who
had an outstanding track
season this spring and will
be figuring into the sec
ondary equation as well as
getting some touches on
offense. Overall, there are
just a lot of guys who were
new last year and gained
some experience and are
now moving into spots
where they’re aiming for
more playoff time.”
Ultimately, Lane be
lieves the pieces will be
in place for the Knights to
fare well in their four-team
region, which includes de
fending state champion
John Milledge Academy,
and make a run at the 10-
team state playoff field for
GISA Class AAA. And
they’ll lean on their expe
rience and the things they
learned from the mistakes
they made last year to pro
duce better results on the
scoreboard.
“Football is sometimes
made very complicated,
but it really comes down
to blocking and tackling,"
Lane said. “We’ve got to
do a better job of that and
taking care of the football.
You can be successful
through different win
dow-dressings, but those
teams that have the best
chance each Friday night
to be successful are those
who take care of the little
things.
“We’re going to be a bet
ter football team, I think,
just through this being
year two and us (coach
es) knowing the kids and
their strengths. Last year’s
senior class did a good
job of leading, and we’re
hopeful we can build on
that foundation.
“Our goal is to be an
elite program in our area
and within our associ
ation. That is a process
that isn’t just about add
ing water. It takes a little
elbow grease. There was a
huge investment made by
our kids in the offseason,
and I’m looking forward
to seeing it play out this
year.”
BCA 2021 SCHEDULE
Aug. 20 — at Strong
Rock Christian, 7:30 p.m.
Aug. 27 — at Logan-
ville Christian Academy,
7:30 p.m.
Sept. 3 — at Cross Keys,
7:30 p.m.
Sept. 10 — at Augusta
Prep, 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 17 — at South
west Georgia Academy,
7:30 p.m.
Sept. 24 — vs. Towns
County, 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 1 — vs. Chero
kee Christian School,
7:30 p.m.
Oct. 8 — Open
Oct. 15 — vs. Thom
as Jefferson Academy,
7:30 p.m.
•Oct. 22 — at John
Milledge Academy,
7:30 p.m.
•Oct. 29 — at Westfield
School, 7:30 p.m.
•Nov. 5 — vs. Creekside
Christian Academy,
7:30 p.m.
•-denotes region game
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