VALDOSTA — High School football coaches from throughout South Georgia unofficially kicked off the upcoming season when they participated in the 2012 South Georgia Media Day presented by South Georgia Medical Center and In the Game Magazine at the James H. Rainwater Conference Center on Saturday morning.

Head coaches from Lanier County, Valwood, Clinch County, Thomasville, Brooks County, Valdosta, Colquitt County, Cook and Thomas County Central were all represented at the event.

Lowndes sent veteran defensive line coach Hiram Johnson. Head coach Randy McPherson was with the varsity team at a passing camp in Tampa, Fla.

Berrien head coach Rob Armstrong was unable to attend the event.

Each coach was a given the opportunity to talk about their team and the upcoming season.

The following are talking points from coaches of schools within The Valdosta Daily Times’ coverage area, along with that of Colquitt County’s Rush Propst.

The points are organized in the order in which the coaches spoke at the event.



David Ward,Lanier County

Ward becomes the fourth different head coach for the Bulldogs since 2008. He replaces Brent Miller, who led Lanier County to a 6-4 record in 2011 and then retired from coaching at the end of the academic year.

Hired in May, Ward has taken over the reigns of the Lanier County program and has plenty of experience. He most recently served as the varsity head basketball coach at Seminole County. He once served as the principal of a high school in Florida, which was the same school in which Coffee head coach Robby Pruitt won three state championships.

The Bulldogs return six seniors and three juniors along with “tons of freshman”, said Ward.

Prior to speaking about his team, Ward received a round of applause after he told the crowd he would be leaving early to spend time with his son, who recently returned from Afghanistan.



Ashley Henderson, Valwood

First year head coach Ashley Henderson replaces Brannon Tidwell at Valwood. Last season, the Valiants were 10-2 and lost in the GISA Class AA semifinals for the second straight season under Tidwell.

Henderson comes to Valwood from Valdosta.

The Valiants return a strong core of seniors, which includes offensive lineman Aulden Bynum, Griffin Clyatt, Jackson Pegg and Alan Taylor.

Valwood also returns three-year starter at wide receiver Rashad Mathis. Quarterback Jake Lastinger and running back Khary Paige also return.

Henderson said he had to get used to the small numbers of Valwood. When he arrived on campus, the Valiants had 20 players on the roster. Now, Henderson says there are more than 30 players coming out for the team. Henderson also said he took time to learn about the Valiants’ schedule and their opponents.

“We have a difficult schedule,” Henderson said. “I have been at Valdosta so long that you knew a lot about your opponents and what style of football they were going to play...When you look at a schedule and you realize you know only two of your opponents, you know that is a totally new ball game and you start googling those teams and seeing where they are.”



Jim Dickerson,Clinch County

Dickerson enters his ninth season as the Panthers head coach. He currently holds an 85-23-1 record, which includes two state championships (2004 and 2010).

Since Dickerson’s arrival, Clinch County has averaged 11 wins a season, with the exception of last season’s 8-4 record, which ended with a loss in the playoffs. Dickerson said the Panthers are once again in the middle of a rebuilding process, which he says often takes three years.

“The thing about a rebuilding process, it isn’t a one-year deal,” Dickerson said. “I think we are right in the middle of it.”

The Panthers open the season Aug. 24 at Brooks County and will face one of the best private schools in the state — Eagles Landing Christian — on the third week of the season (Sept. 7).

“We didn’t have to play the private schools this year, but we still went out and found the toughest Georgia private high school we could find,” Dickerson said.

Eagles Landing Christian’s running back has already committed to Southern California and one if its defensive lineman is preparing to commit to Alabama.

This year will mark the first year Class A will crown a public and private school champion.

Dickerson closed his statement by saying Clinch County considers itself part of Winnersville and he is glad the Panthers can be part of the winning tradition. He then thanked everyone for the support of the program.



Maurice Freeman, Brooks County

The Trojans finished the 2011 season with a 9-3 record. They lost to eventual state champion Calhoun in the second round of the state playoffs. Freeman said he hopes his team gets another chance at the Yellow Jackets this season because that means his team will have made the playoffs, a difficult task when competing in Region 1-AA.

Freeman also acknowledged the tough region schedule and how difficult the region will be this season.

“The problem with our region is that you may beat somebody,” Freeman said, “but it is the next week you have to worry about because you are so beat up. You have to have the numbers, and you have to consistently play good football.”

Brooks County returns six starters on offense and six on defense, many of whom play both ways. Quarterback Malcolm Parrish returns this season and will also play cornerback.

Parrish will have the ability to throw to several returning recievers, including Deric Herring, Brandon Golden and Sam Bradley.

Freeman said the Trojans will go from a run-first offense to a pass-first team, largely because of the depth at wide reciever and the playmaking ability of Parrish.

The Trojans did lose some players this spring, said Freeman. The team lost two potential starting offensive lineman this spring because both failed to show up to practice.



Hiram Johnson, Lowndes

Johnson was one of the longest speakers at Saturday’s event and he was the first coach to give a position-by-position breakdown of the team.

Immediately, Johnson pointed to the Vikings’ strength this season — the offense. Lowndes will return several starters on that side of the football.

Lowndes has two potential starting quarterbacks, senior Alex Stephenson and junior Seth Carlo.

Stephenson is a transfer from Valdosta and Carlo is a product of the Lowndes School System. There is no indication on whom will be the starter heading into camp.

At the running back position, Lowndes will feature Nick Burgman, Tiquan Lang, Telvin Orr and sophomore Ahmad Brown. Offensive lineman Anfernee Chandler will move from center to tackle this season.

Defensively, the Vikings have holes to fill, but the strength of the unit will be the secondary, said Johnson.

Johnson also said it has been a tough offseason for the Lowndes program, citing all the deaths associated with the program as hurdles the team has had to overcome.



Rance Gillespie, Valdosta

Gillespie guided Valdosta to its first region championship since 2003 last season.

In his two seasons with the team, Gillespie has led the Wildcats to a 19-5 record and the 2011 region title.

Gillespie said he was “honored” to represent Valdosta High School at Saturday’s event. To start, Gillespie addressed the new changes going on at Valdosta High, from coaching changes to region realignment to quarterbacks transferring.

Gillespie went through all the coaching changes, which includes the addition of several former head coaches (from Mitchell County, Madison County (Ga.) and former Coffee head coach Ken Elrdidge.)

He also broke down the team, position-by-position, and said offensively the Wildcats have a lot of returning players (8 starters), which includes quarterback Shelby Wilkes and running backs Malcolm Joseph and Nelson Herring.

Defensively, Valdosta has several holes but Gillespie said he is confident that defensive coordinator Alan Rodemaker will have the unit ready to go for the season opener Sept. 1 against North Augusta (S.C.).



Rush Propst, Colquitt County

For three straight seasons, the Colquitt County Packers have played in the state semifinals. In 2010, the Packers played for the Class 5A state championship.

Head coach Rush Propst hopes this is the season he teams gets over the hill and wins the championship; and based on Saturday’s Media Day, Propst believes he has the team to do it.

Breaking down his team position-by-position, Propst turned heads when discussing how deep his team will be this season.

Propst said the Packers will start quarterback Cole Seagraves, but backup Daniel Mobley is just as good and could start in the program.

The Packers’ quarterbacks will have a wide-variety of wide receivers to throw the ball to, including Bobby Hill, who has committed to Ole Miss as a cornerback.

On the defensive side of the ball, Propst said the team will rotate anywhere from 25-28 players in during the opening quarterbacks, because of the major depth the Packers have on that side of the ball.

After Propst was done speaking, the event’s emcee, radio host Chris Beckham, joked and called the Packers “Colquitt County University.”



Ken Cofer, Cook

Ken Cofer enters his third season as the head coach of the Hornets and said the participation numbers for the Hornets is at an all-time high (93 players are participating in summer workouts).

Offensively, the Hornets will turn to Ross Pickle, a two-year starter at outside linebacker, to call the team’s signals at quarterback this year.

Pickle will have a talented core of wide receivers. Zak Williams leads that group of receivers following a 50-catch year in 2011.

The running back position will be the strength of the Hornets’ offense. Former Lowndes product Grant Wilson will get the start at halfback.

Wilson is just 5’10 and Cofer said he fits perfectly into Cook’s system. Cofer then joked and called his team smurfs, because none of them are really tall. He then went on to say that he is pleased with the way things are going at Cook and that he is proud to be there.

On the offensive line, the Hornets will feature four seniors and one junior. Cofer said “You have to be ready, because they will come off the ball and hit you.”

Cofer said the Hornets’ strength will be the defense this season, even though the unit will be young.

Mathew Foster will anchor the line and three sophomores will start at linebacker. Chris Lissimore will get the start at free safety, but could play at corner depending on the opponent.

Cofer also said this year’s defense could be the best since 2010, when the Hornets won the region.