EATONTON —

The PutnamCounty HighSchool War

Eagles are preparingto make an impact inKyle Gourley’s second

year as head coach.After a subpar 2012

season, the WarEagles are confidentthey will be able to putin hard work and be athreat in their region

in 2013.This young team is

mainly made up offreshmen and sopho-mores who arepreparing to make thebest of their next few

seasons with the team.Gourley noted that

they are still trying torebuild from a largeloss of seniors afterthe 2011 season.

“The backfieldcould possibly beentirely sophomoresand freshmen,”Gourley said.

Gourley is not usingthis as an excuse, however.

He said he believesthis group can be justas good as any team inthe region.

Though seven sen-iors graduated lastyear, Gourley will lookto take advantage ofthe fact that the teamwill return aroundseven starters on eachside of the ball, whichgives them an advan-tage with experience.

Gourley will alsolook for leadershipfrom a few ofhis olderp l a y e r s ,includingf u l l b a c k

QuintaviousWaller, widereceiver ChrisWilliams and line-backer ChrisBurkhead.

“We lost a few close

games last season thatcould have been

the differ-e n c e

betweenm a k i n gthe play-offs or

n o t , ”Gourley said,

and the team willkeep this in mind asthey prepare toimprove on theirrecord this fall.

Putnam County High School War EaglesHead Coach: Kyle Gourley

Classification: GHSA Region 4-AALast Season’s Record: 3-7 (2-5)

Shawn Humphrey/Lake Oconee BreezeAfter a subpar 2012 season, the War Eagles are confident they put in the hard work over the summer and will be a threat in their region in 2013.

War Eagles look to make impact in 2013

By SHAWN HUMPHREYLake Oconee Breeze

Shawn Humphrey/Lake Oconee BreezeThe War Eagles will host Greene County High this week in the season’s firsthome game of the year.

DATE OPPONENT LOCATION

Aug. 23 Hancock Central Away

Aug. 30 Greene County Home

Sept. 6 Crawford County Home

Sept. 13 Morgan County Away

Sept. 20 Jones County Home

Sept. 27 Bleckley County Away

Oct. 4 Macon County Away

Oct. 18 Lamar County Away

Oct. 25 Taylor County Home

Nov. 1 Northeast Away

Nov. 8 Monticello Home

PCHS WAR EAGLES2013 SCHEDULE

2 Tyrone Davis QB 103 Gavin Hill4 Mike Hill QB,DB 105 Chris Williams WR,DB 126 Damarius Evans WR, DB 97 Rey Drumgoole 98 Terry Dorsey WR, LB 129 Jaquarius Moore12 Torrance Calhoun RB, DB 1015 Jamell Brown WR, LB 916 Jashawn Youmans TE, LB 1018 Darius McMullen RB, DB 1219 Quintraius Lane TE, DE 1020 Relyoius Calhoun WR, DB 921 D'Marcus Crawford RB, DB 1024 Quintavious Waller TE, DE 12

25 Darryl Smith WR, DB 1229 Michael Dunn RB, LB 932 Stephan Waller RB, LB 933 Trevon Ellison RB, LB 1034 Robert Johnson RB, LB 936 Micheas Brown RB, DL 1240 Devontrez Williams RB, LB 1042 Chris Burke TE, LB 1244 Zavious Davis TE, LB 948 Aaron Lewis RB, LB 950 Ethan Connors OL,DL 951 Devin Powell OL, LB 952 Darnell Pennamon OL, DL 1054 Evan Connors OL, DL 955 Seth Wicker OL, DL 956 Charlie Farmer OL, DL 9

58 Izarous Duncan OL, DL 1260 Demario Bullard OL, DL 1268 Cezar Munoz OL, LB 1170 Tonquavious Horton OL, DL 1171 Cameron Griffin OL, DL 972 Keshawn Ellison OL, DL 974 Tyree Miller OL, DL 975 Steven Ridley OL, DL 1076 Tom Reid OL, DL 1177 Johnathon Waller OL, DL 978 Mark Hurt OL, DL 1180 M. Denham TE, DE 1081 Zyon Monday TE, DL 982 Keon Culp WR, DB 988 TJ Silva K 999 Jared Cornado K 9

PCHS WAR EAGLES 2013 ROSTERNO. NAME POSITION CLASS NO. NAME POSITION CLASS NO. NAME POSITION CLASS

Gatewood GatorsHead Coach: Jeff Ratliff

Classification: GISA 1-AALast Season’s Record: 6-6 (4-1)

149759

Go Gators!Jackson Crowe

“Class of 2022”

1010 Lake Oconee Parkway, Eatonton(706) 485-9600

EATONTON —

Under direction ofnew headcoach Jeff

Ratliff, the GatewoodGators are hoping todo big things thisseason.

Ratliff has been assis-tant coaching for 19 years,with 17 years at Tattnall SquareAcademy and two years at

Gatewood. He said he is excited forthe opportunity to finally be

a head coach and hopesthat he can take advan-tage of it.

“I really do believeI’ve been put into a

great situation,” Ratliffsaid.

He commended his team

Contributed photoThe Gatewood Gators are under direction this season of new head coach, Jeff Ratliff, who has spent the past two seasons with the team.

Gators aiming for big things this season

See GATORS, page 5

on its excellent workthrough spring andsummer workouts, andsees great potential inhis players.

Ratliff was also notshy about his mission.

“I could give you athousand goals thatwe have as a team, butour main goal is to wina state champi-onship,” said Ratliff,who has always triedto be confident andaim high as a coach.

The Gators won aplayoff game last yearfor the first time in anumber of years, andthe team plans to usethat as a motivationalboost moving into thisseason.

Ratliff said he feelsthat he has a greatconnection with hisseniors, some of whomhe has worked withfor his first two yearsat Gatewood.

Three-year startingquarterback CalTaylor and All-Statekicker Trevor Bowdenare two players whowill greatly help theteam’s chances at

reaching its goals.Ratliff also

explained that whilehis offensive line anddefensive speed aretwo major strengthsfor the team, he hopesto develop his runningback throughout theseason.

Ratliff said he hopesthat the chemistry hehas developed withthe guys on the field,

as well as in the class-room, will be a big

part of the team’s suc-cess, and he sees big

things coming for histeam this fall.

By SHAWN HUMPHREYLake Oconee Breeze

Continued from page 4

Gators

Contributed photoCoach Ratliff said he hopes that the chemistry he has developed with theguys on the field, as well as in the classroom, will be a big part of the team’ssuccess this season. See this year’s roster and schedule on Page 7.

Greene County TigersHead Coach: Robert Edwards

Classification: 8-AALast Season’s Record: 4-7 (4-3)

GR E E N S -BORO — AsR o b e r t

Edwards prepares forhis second seasonas headcoach, theG r e e n eC o u n t yH i g hS c h o o lT i g e r sare readyto shocktheir regionand make a playoffrun.

“We are ready toturn this programaround,” Edwardssaid after a less-than-stellar 2012 season.

Though they fin-ished under .500, theTigers went 4-3 intheir region andmade the playoffs,where they lost in thefirst round.

Edwards feels moresettled in this yearand hopes that he canuse that to his advan-tage.

After being hired ashead coach late lastsummer, he did nothave much of an off-season to get settledin and work with hisnew team.

Greene County hasa fairly young team,the bulk of which con-sists of rising juniors,and talent on bothsides of the ball.

“I feel set for the

next few years withthis young talent,”Edwards said.

The group only lostthree starters last

season, sothe Tigers

b e l i e v ethey willbe ableto pickup right

w h e r ethey left off.

While theteam is focused onwinning and makinga deep run in theplayoffs, Edwards isalso making the com-munity a major focusthis year.

“We don’t want tojust play for winsand losses, we wantto play for our fans

and community,”Edwards said.

The team is look-ing forward to get-

ting back on thefield and having thesupport of the com-munity behind the

Tigers, and theyhopes to put on ashow for them thisseason.

Tigers look to make a playoff run this season

Contributed photoThe Greene County High School Tigers are ready to shock their region and make a playoff run.

By SHAWN HUMPHREYLake Oconee Breeze

DATE OPPONENT LOCATIONAug. 30 Putnam County AwaySept. 6 Morgan County AwaySept. 20 Hapeville Charter AwaySept. 27 Jefferson AwayOct. 4 Social Circle AwayOct. 11 Washington-Wilkes HomeOct. 18 Union County AwayOct. 25 Oglethorpe County HomeNov. 1 Rabun County AwayNov. 8 Riverside Military Academy Home

GCHS TIGERS 2013 SCHEDULE

149750

2 Johnny Ellison WR/DB Sr.4 Nick Olinger TE/DE Jr.5 Palmer Clark RB/DB So.7 Cal Taylor QB/DB Sr.8 Griffin Luttrell WR/DB Jr.9 Cameron Hall QB/DB Fr.10 Connor Richter RB/DB Sr.11 Will Cullens WR/DB So.12 Hampton Clark WR/DB Sr.13 Michael Fordham RB/DB Sr.17 Chris Hooks WR/DB So.20 Taylor Hyatt WR/DB Fr.21 Tristan Fuller WR/DB Sr. 22 Trevor Bowden WR/DB Sr.23 Cameron Ross WR/DB Jr.24 Matthew Dent RB/LB Fr.27 Luke Boswell RB/LB Jr.30 Joe Welch TE/DE Sr.

GATEWOOD GATORS 2013 ROSTERNO. NAME POSITION CLASS NO. NAME POSITION CLASS

32 Ellis Mercer RB/LB Sr.33 Will Sasser RB/DB So.34 Scott Schneider RB/LB Sr.44 Luke Leverett RB/LB Jr.50 Isaac Weeks OL/LB Jr.55 Austin Matysiak OL/DL So.56 Kaleb Fedelem OL/LB Sr.60 Nash Cullens OL/DL Sr.65 Cody Little OL/DL Fr.66 Cooper Welch OL/DL Jr.71 Jarred Camp OL/DE Sr.72 Rob Wright OL/DL So.75 Noah Turner OL/DL So.77 Mitch Fuller OL/DL Fr.84 Christian Kelly WR/DB Fr.86 Ian Dutton WR/DB Jr.88 Austin Hathaway WR/DB So.

DATE OPPONENT LOCATION

Aug. 23 Flint River Away

Aug. 30 Community Christian Home

Sept. 6 Trinity Christian Away

Sept. 13 Piedmont Academy Home

Sept. 20 Brentwood Home

Sept. 27 Windsor Academy Away

Oct. 11 Briarwood Academy Home

Oct. 18 Covenant Academy Away

Oct. 25 Central Fellowship Home

Nov. 1 John Milledge Away

GATEWOODGATORS

2013 SCHEDULE

Nathaneal Greene PatriotsHead Coach: J.D. Webb

Classification: GISA Region 1-ALast Season’s Record: 1-10 (1-5)

GREENSBORO —

The Nathanael GreeneAcademy Patriots aree x p e c t i n g

major improve-ments from lastyear as they pre-pare for the upcom-ing season.

Recently namedhead coach J.B.Webb said he isexcited to be a partof the program and work withthese guys.

Webb was the head coach forthe junior varsity football teamlast year, so he is not new to theschool and is having no problemsettling into his new position.

His JV team went undefeated

last season for the first time inschool history, and he hopes tocarry this streak over to the var-

sity team.“I’m definitely

pumped up aboutour big line,” Webbsaid, noting that hisoffensive linemenaverage nearly 225pounds.

He said he is alsoexcited to see how

his freshman quarterback, LukeHigdon, will perform on thefield.

“He’s smart, good with audi-bles and has the ability to puteveryone in good position to

Shawn Humphrey/Lake Oconee BreezeThe Nathanael Greene Academy Patriots have been hard at work this summer and are expecting major improvements from last year.

Nathaneal Greene Patriots beginnew chapter under new head coach

See PATRIOTS, page 7

Shawn Humphrey/Lake Oconee BreezeRecently named head coach J.B. Webb said he is excited to be a part of theprogram and work with these guys.

make plays,” Webb said.Webb is also expecting leader-

ship on the field from his lonesenior, Mason Adams and BaileyVandiver.

The team plans to use the restof summer workouts to focus onfundamentals and conditioning.

“If you can’t do it without padson, you’re going to have a toughtime when you’re out there in agame getting knocked around,”Webb said.

With a small squad of onlyabout 18 guys, Webb is still inthe process of recruiting, andhopes to build this team up

before padded practices begin.Though Webb described it as a

rebuilding year, he is stillfocused on making the playoffsthis year and training theseyoung guys for seasons to come.

By SHAWN HUMPHREYLake Oconee Breeze

Continued from page 6

Patriots

DATE OPPONENT LOCATIONAug. 23 Randolph Sou. AwayAug. 30 Crisp Academy HomeSept. 6 Fullington AwaySept. 13 Central FellowshipHomeSept. 20 Briarwood AwaySept. 27 J. Hancock HomeOct. 4 Curtis Baptist AwayOct. 11 DEA HomeOct. 20 Jefferson AwayOct. 25 Dawson St. HomeNov. 1 Bethlehem Away

NGA PATRIOTS2013 SCHEDULE

1 Peyton Goss

5 Dalton Shelnutt

7 Mason Adams

9 John Parks

10 Tal Underwood

20 Jeb Boswell

22 Hunter Lord

25 Tanner Underwood

27 Luke Higdon

33 Erik Cano

34 Dylan Ellis

46 John Hinton Branyan

50 Bailey Vandiver

58 Easton Smith

60 Mason Cronic

62 Hunter Futch

67 Logan Crawford

70 Eli Boswell

77 Jacob Ward

NGA PATRIOTS 2013 ROSTERNO. NAME

LAKE OCONEE BREEZEVisit us online

www.lakeoconeebreeze.net

Show your support for areaschools this season!

PCHS • GATEWOOD • NAT GREENE • GCHS