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SPORTS ®he Sftttcs gainesvilletimes.com Midweek Edition - September 9-10, 2020 Bill Murphy Sports Editor | 770-718-3415 | sports@gainesvilletimes.com FOOTBALL 2020: CHESTATEE WAR EAGLES Sponsored by Northeast Georgia Health System War Eagles hoping to fly high Chestatee High football players practice Wednesday, Aug. 19 at War Eagle Stadium in preparation for the upcoming season. SCOTT ROGERS I The Times Chestatee looks to improve on 2019 season, despite losing 17 players to graduation BY NATHAN BERG nberg@gainesvilletimes.com The Chestatee football team will feature plenty of new faces this season after losing 17 seniors to graduation, many of those vacating starter spots they’ve held for the last three or four years. The War Eagles took a small step forward last season, going 2-8 following a 1-9 season in 2018, but will have to break in several new starters on both sides of the ball if they want to continue to make progress. Chestatee’s offense will still run through senior quarter back Christian Charles, who has fielded offers from a number of Division I schools including Ten nessee, Oklahoma and Virginia Tech. But Charles will have to adapt to playing without some of his most productive offensive run ning mates from a season ago, including leading receiver Seth Pressley, who topped 1,000 yards receiving in the last two years for the War Eagles before graduat ing this May. Still, despite the changes in roster construction the team has had to go through, fifth-year head coach Shaun Conley said he’s confident in the guys currently on the roster, just as soon as he finds the best way to use their talents on Friday nights. “We’re trying to bump guys around and find that right fit right now,” he said. “That may take a minute, but once we do that, I think there’s going to be some kids that have a big year.” Roster 1. Christian Vargas Fr. 2. Luke Bornhorst Jr. 3. Christian Charles Sr. 5. Hunter Fouche So 6. Sazo Dollyhigh Fr. 7. Christian Jarrard So 9. Adriel Vargas Fr. 10. Hayden Gowin Jr. 11. Wyatt Goode Jr. 12. Drew Knickel Jr. 13. Ethan Corley Sr. 14. Elijah Pruitt So 15. Austin Bater Jr. 16. Jasper Graham Sr. 17. Beau Edwards Fr. 18. Brice Dickson Jr. 22. Payton Warren Sr. 23. Daniel Guardiola Sr. 24. Jason Granados Fr. 27. Dakota George So 29. Braedon Bennett So 33. Wil O’Neal So 34. Sebastian AmersonFr. 38. Anakin Rowland Jr. 40. Reid Britton Fr. CHARLES STAYING STRONG Charles, listed as a 6-foot-l ath lete on 247sports.com, has helped to carry the War Eagles to new heights in the last three seasons as starting quarterback, and he will look to continue that streak this year. The senior signal caller has damaged opposing defenses with both his arm and his legs over the past couple of seasons. He has eclipsed 3,000 total yards in each of the last two years, but Conley said individual accolades have never really interested Charles that much. “He wants for the team to be successful,” Conley said. “That’s what makes him unique a little bit, different than some of the 42. Ethan Clark So. 50. Cooper Barrett Jr. 51. Ivan Mendoza Jr. 52. Nathan Brazier Fr. 55. Jeronimo Marin Jr. 56. Grant Siegfried Sr. 57. Harrison Mithcell Jr. 58. Walker Whitmire Jr. 59. Hayden Britton Jr. 60. Bryant Barnes Fr. 61. Alex Zamora Jr. 64. Jeremiah Rowe So. 65. Bryan Cantrell Jr. 67. Luis Jordan So. 68. Griffin Hammond So. 71. Daniel Zaleta So. 72. Alex Contreras Fr. 73. Victor Rosas Sr. 74. Triston Minor So. 75. Gael Rodriguez Jr. 76. Levi Stowers Jr. 79. Erick Penado Sr. 85. Rafael Cruz Sr. others that I’ve coached in my career. He’s very humble. It’s not about him, and I can honestly say that.” Conley added that while Charles will certainly be the centerpiece of the War Eagles offense, he does not want the senior quarterback to feel pres sured to carry the team by him self. Despite losing several skill position players and offensive linemen to graduation, Conley said those units will have to step up to help Charles continue his successful career at Chestatee. “He’s a great athlete, who’s going to continue to make plays,” Conley said. “I just don’t want him to feel like the weight of the world is on his shoulders, because it’s not. He’s just got to go do what he’s been doing for three years now, and he’ll be fine and we’ll be fine.” REPLACING GRADUATED TALENT The Chestatee starting lineup is going to look drastically dif ferent this Friday than it did on opening night a year ago. The team lost 17 seniors to gradua tion, and Conley said around 12 of those have started for the War Eagles for the last three or four years. On offense, the team loses leading receiver Seth Pressley, as well as four out of five starting offensive linemen. Defensively, the team is losing some of its size and will have to turn to a smaller and less expe rienced lineup. Still, Conley said he was confident in the younger players who are eager to prove themselves on Friday nights. “When you graduated 17 seniors, for us, that’s a big num ber, and it’s hard to replace some of those guys,” Conley said. “But we’ve got young guys that are stepping up.” CONTINUING TO IMPROVE DEFENSIVELY The War Eagles have struggled on the defensive side of the ball for the last two years, giving up 30 or more points in 18 of their last 20 games. But Conley said there’s reason to believe things may get better in 2020. For one, the team gave up about two fewer touch downs per game in 2019 than 2018, and Conley said he sees that trend continuing as players grow familiar with the defensive sys tem in place. High school football 2020 A season unlike any other begins this fall. Amid the uncertainty of COVID-19, The Times is previewing all 10 high schools playing this season in Hall County. Included in that coverage — which is sponsored by Northeast Georgia Health System and independently reported — are practice photos, team preview stories, rosters and season schedules. Coverage will span five print editions and will all be available at gainesvilletimes.com/sports. Sports fans can also sign up for a new weekly email newsletter, Extra Points, by going to gainesvilletimes. com/newsletters. Schedule Sept. 11 CHEROKEE BLUFF Sept. 18 at Union County Sept. 25 at West Hall Oct. 2 NORTH HALL Oct. 16 at North Oconee Oct. 23 at East Hall Oct. 30 MADISON COUNTY Nov. 6 at Jefferson Nov. 13 FLOWERY BRANCH Nov. 20 CEDAR SHOALS Additionally, while the War Eagle defense will be younger and smaller this year than last, Conley said it will also be faster. “These kids are understanding kind of what we’re trying to do a lot better, which will make us bet ter, I believe,” he said. “We made drastic improvements last year from the year before, so if we can do that again, I think we’re going to be fine.” complete orthopedic <Se sports medicine (just yards away) nghs.com/complete-ortho I 770-609-1580 Northeast Georgia Medical Center
