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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
