Morgan County High School football 2013

A PUBLICATION OF THE Morgan County Citizen

The team’strue colorsThere are many, varyingfactors that affect theplayers. Head CoachMalone discusses thisyear vs. last year’s teamsand what makes them“tick,” 12.

Reaping whatyou sowThis year’s team Bibleverse is Galatians 6:7,about reaping what’ssown. This idea is manifesting itself in thelocker room, in practiceand on the field, 24.

Countdown tokickoffMorgan County HeadFootball Coach Bill Malone’s outlook on thisyear’s Dogs and the last-minute preparationsgoing on before the season begins, 10.

PreviewsWant to know what the offense,defense and special teamshave been up to? 6, 7 & 8

Morgan CountyHigh School

Bulldog Football2013

Rush.

MORGAN COUNTY CITIZENAug. 29, 2013 Page 2 Bulldog Football 2013

Aug. 29, 2013 Page 3MORGAN COUNTY CITIZEN Bulldog Football 2013


�e team exits the safety of thelocker room, walks down the tiers ofblue stairs and lines up behind theMorgan County banner.

“What them dogs do?”Woof!“What them dogs do?”Woof!“What them dogs do?”Woof!�e cannon booms, startling the once-

again unaccustomed fans in the stands, andthe Bulldogs tear through the thin barrier torush the sideline, standing there only mo-mentarily before they return to the field andtake their positions.

�at’s Legion Field, Bill Corry Stadium,Morgan County High School on a Fridaynight in the fall.

It seems like it was just yesterday that wewere freezing our buns off in North Hall lastNovember for the last game of the 2012 sea-son, hoping to take hold of just a little more ofthat playoff magic.

But it is late summer again. �ere has beenchance enough to thaw our hearts and bodiesfor another season of Morgan County foot-ball.

�ere have been changes since last year, butchanges are far from uncommon in this arena.

2013 will be the second year back at AAA,and teams that we saw only for the first timelast year – North Hall and East Jackson,namely – have left impressions on the teamand the fans, who eagerly await anotherchance to measure up against the best and theworst of 8-AAA.

�e team is ready. So are the cheerleaders,the band, the color guard, concession vendors,announcers and everyone else who makes themagic of a Morgan County Friday night.

�ere is only one element that isn’t thereyet; an element that can change the wholemood on the field and make or break mo-mentum in a game.

You.You are as essential a link to a successful

season as just about any other in the chain,and there doesn’t have to be a lot of prepara-tion on your part.

All you have to do is leave the comfort ofyour home after a long week’s worth of work,get to the stadium (whether here or there),shell out the mere $7 – and I challenge you tofind three hours’ worth of entertainment on aFriday night elsewhere for only $7 – and takea seat in the stands.

Yeah, it’ll be hot some Fridays. Yeah, it’ll be cold some Fridays. But I’d be willing to bet that each and every

one of you has at least one T-shirt and onewinter coat in the closet. Maybe even two.

Win or lose, the possibility is there duringeach game to get completely swept up in therivalries and heritage of Morgan County foot-ball, which most of you are likely to have astake in.

As a graduate of Morgan County HighSchool, who has a father and several uncles –not to mention a great uncle, Frank Nunn,who was on the 1962 State Championshipteam – who were Bulldogs, I’ve got a stake inthe tradition.

Do you?And, if you decide that your stake is enough

to warrant season tickets, that can bearranged as well. Just call up Susan Beasley atMorgan County High School, 706-342-2336,and she’ll be able to get you what you need.

Come on out and show your support. �eboys deserve it, the team deserves it and youdeserve it.

Show yourself the best Friday nights Mor-gan County has to offer.

Startbarkin’It’s the beginning offootball season... time to call the Dogs!

Nick NunnSPORTS WRITER

2013 VARSITY SCHEDULEKickoff at 7:30 p.m. Allhome games at Bill CorryStadium. Admission is $7per person.

Aug. 30 at Monticello Sept. 6 vs. Greene CountyPre-game: Miss FootballSept. 13 vs. PutnamCountySept. 27 at Oconee CountyRegion gameOct. 4 vs. North OconeeRegion gamePre-game: Kids’ Cheer(Elementary School Night)Oct. 11 at Elbert CountyRegion gameOct. 18 vs. East JacksonRegion gameHalftime: HomecomingOct. 25 at Franklin CountyRegion gameNov. 1 vs. Hart CountyRegion gamePre-game: Senior NightNov. 8 at Jackson CountyRegion game

Morgan County High School’s senior football players, water girls and cheerleaders stop to pose for thecamera during this season’s Picture Day, their last before they become Morgan County High Schoolalumni. PHOTO BY LIFETOUCH

Bulldog Football 2013Patrick Yost

EDITOR AND PUBLISHER

Nick NunnFOOTBALL WRITER

Jesse WalkerPHOTOGRAPHER

AD DESIGN

Ryan RobertsADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVE

AD DESIGN

Dianne Lively YostADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVE

Bob HoganADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVE

Kathryn SchiliroEDITORIAL DESIGN



Offense

During the Bulldogs’ 2012 football season, the offensewas able to rack up almost 32 points per game, rush forwell over 3,000 yards and pass for almost 750 yards.

But last year’s stats are a matter forthe history books, and Offensive Co-ordinator John Robbins is looking towhat it will take to keep the ball mov-ing forward this year.

Number one on his list: timing.“Our speed sweeps and tosses are

things that must be done daily inorder to ensure the timing betweenthe center, quarterback and ball car-rier all mesh perfectly together,” saidCoach Robbins. “We feel like ourmost successful games are when weplay fast out of the huddle. Our goalis to snap the ball between three andfour seconds after breaking the hud-dle, and, if we can do that consistently, it puts us in position to win.”

Trent Hawk is beginning his third year as starting quarterbackfor the Bulldogs, and Coach Robbins stated that Hawk is rightwhere he should be.

“Trent has done a tremendous job of being our leader in the of-fensive huddle so far this year,” said Robbins. “His output and effortsince we have put on pads has been that of a senior three-yearstarter.”

Getting newer additions to the team ready for Friday nights hasbeen a focus during the summer as well.

“�at's one of the toughest parts of coaching,” said Robbins. “�isyear has been no different. We have been planning and workingwith out current squad since the end of the season last year, so bythis point the ripples are no longer present.”

PROJECTED STARTERSVS. MONTICELLOLT: Zack JenkinsLG: Tevin WallerC: Jacob Bobo RG: Markell Ingram RT: Garrett BoneTE: MJ WebbQB: Trent HawkFL: Melvin DavisHB: Sam CouchHB: Trey ChapmanFB: Marquis BentonSE: Justice Chapman

Dogs’ offensive focusis on timing

Top left: The Quarterbacks and their coach, John Robbins (left to right), Dalton Cole, Trent Hawk, Brantley Frost andGarrett Frost. Top right: The Runningbacks include (back row, left to right) Trey Hurt, Trey Chapman, Melvin Davis,Marquis Benton, Wyatt Martin, Coach Todd Peaster, Bradley Eberhart, Dalton Fulcher, Dee Hubbard, Glenn Tolbert, Jr.,Malik Chapman, (middle row) Maclane Zant, Jody McAlister, Antonio Robinson, Gurminder Singh, Griffin Sorohan,Collin Eberhart, Sam Couch, Tyler Benford, (front row) Andre Peterson, Jesse Taylor, Jerimiah Butler, Cornelius Peter-son, Robert Shook, Michael Mitchell and Trea Johnson. Above: The Receivers include (back row, left to right) Jack-son Ogletree, Jonathon Nelson, Will Donaldson, Justice Chapman, Robert Shook, Justis Ogletree, Levi Ewing, AlexDickson, Coach John Dustin Hawkins, (front row) Rogers Burke, Paul Laverty, Cody Harper, Blake Nelson, CedricRobertson, Quincey Jones, (no longer on team), Hunter Misuraca and Dalton Greenwalt.


�e 2013 Bulldog defense isunder new management thisyear with Coach Dusty Sidwelltaking over as the defensive co-ordinator after Doug Huff’s de-parture from the school systemlast year.

Coach Sidwell,who traces hisMorgan CountyHigh School foot-ball roots back to2000, when hewas a member onthe team, servedas JV head coachand special teamscoordinator last season.

However, Sidwell didn’t miss a beatstepping into his new role, developinga method of preparing the defense thatwas specifically suited to the types ofathletes on the team.

“We have a very young core comingback to us for defense and some olderguys that didn't get very much playingtime last season,” said Sidwell. “So, wespent a good portion of our time tryingto teach them the basic lining up andbeing able to check off to different cov-erages given the situations the oppo-nent may present.”

With the first game against Monti-cello knocking on the door, Sidwell isgetting a better read on the individualathletes now that they are able to prac-tice in full pads, which gives Coach Sid-well a better view of what they will belike in actual game situations.

“Pads have allowed us to see who willhit and who will be able to get the jobdone,” stated Sidwell. “Pads allow us toget a better picture of how they willperform under the lights and help usmake out the roster as the season getscloser.”

Even with only a couple of weeks ofpreseason left, positions on the firststring roster are still up in the air.

“�e list of starters is still inprogress,” said Sidwell. “�at is whyscrimmages are so great: they help ussee who will be able to make the cut.”

Above: The Offensive and Defensive Line in-cludes (back row, left to right) Coach Jeff Snipes,Tez Mathis, MJ Webb, Dakoda Ruby, Zack Jenk-ins, Daltin Guderian, Justin Bryan, Austin Scan-land, Jacob Bobo, Billy Holtzclaw, MarkellIngram, Chris Benford, Tevin Waller, Coach BillMalone, Coach Jeff South, (middle row) RobertGibbs, Seth Stapleton, Matthew Calloway,Joseph Konicki, Brandon Crowley, Garrett Bone,Collin Efird, Steven Ervin, Zach Howe, IsaiahNewell, Juwan Edwards, Nathan Behrendsen,Michael Rhodes, Will Spates, (front row) CaseyCooper, Caleb Fossom, Cedric Porter, GriffinJaynes, TJ Abernathy, Case Segrest, Sam Jones,Guy Nelson, John Cox, Lewis McDaniel, DawsonHawkins and Keandre Williams. Middle: TheLinebackers include (back row, left to right)Collin Efird, Marquis Benton, Zach Howe, CoachDusty Sidwell, (middle row) Trey Hurt, Andre Pe-terson, Case Segrest, Jerimiah Butler, Gurmin-der Singh, Collin Eberhart, Will Parker, (frontrow) Jesse Taylor, Griffin Jaynes, Caleb Fossom,Jody McAlister, Adam Brown and MichaelMitchell. Bottom: The Defensive Secondariesinclude (back row, left to right) Coach AllenCrowley, Will Donaldson, Melvin Davis, JusticeChapman, Robert Shook, Justis Ogletree, TreyChapman, (third row) Dalton Cole, AntonioRobinson, Dalton Greenwalt, MJ Webb, TrentHawk, Wyatt Martin, Rogers Burke, Levi Ewing,Alex Dickson, Glenn Tolbert, Jr., (second row)Cody Harper, Maclane Zant, Sam Couch, GriffinSorohan, Tyler Benford, Quincey Jones, (nolonger on team), Hunter Misuraca, Trea Johnson,(front row) Garrett Frost, Cedric Robertson,Nathan Lundy, Blake Nelson, Cornelius Peter-son, Dalton Fulcher, Dee Hubbard and BradleyEberhart. PHOTO BY LIFETOUCH

Defense“We have avery young

core comingback to us for

defense...”

–Dusty Sidwell,Defensive

Coordinator

Spending time developing the line


Special TeamsSquad continues their work on returns

PROJECTEDSTARTERS VS. MONTICELLOKickoffs, fieldgoals, PATs: AndrewBishopHolding: Trent HawkSnapper: JacobBoboPunting: TristanYontzLong snapping:Jacob BoboReturns: SamCouch and GriffinSorohan

�e success of a team largelydepends on whether or not thespecial teams squad is able tomake extra points and fieldgoals, kick the ball far into theiropponents' territory and beable to return kicks successfullyin order to attain the best fieldadvantage possible.

Last year, the special teams pro-duced more than 50 points for theMorgan County Bulldogs, taking into

consideration field goals and extrapoints.

�is year the legwork for the spe-cial teams will be handled by twoBulldogs: Andrew Bishop and TristanYontz.

Bishop, junior, will handle kickoffs,field goals and point after touchdown(PAT) attempts, while Yontz, a junioras well, will take care of the puntingduties.

“We are excited about the poten-tial that both of those guys have got,”said Head Coach Bill Malone about

his kickers.Nevertheless, Coach Malone

noted after the scrimmage gameagainst Jefferson that the specialteams still need a little work on re-turns.

“We’ve got a way to go,”began Mal-one. “We’ve talked about it. We knowhow glaring an issue it is right now.”

Malone explained that, with thework going into the offense and de-fense, the special teams squad hasn’treceived all of the attention that itshould during the summer, but the

coaching staff intends to rectify thatshortcoming before the first gameagainst Monticello.

�e one thing missing from thespecial teams’ ability to return kickswell right now, according to Malone,is practice.

“A skill not practiced is a skill eithernot polished or one that has not beenlearned,” said Malone.

“It’s not the kids’ fault; we haven’tprepared for our special teams theway we spent time on offense and de-fense.”

The Special Teams roster includes (left to right) Andrew Bishop, Tristan Yontz, Jacob Bobo, Trent Hawk, Jeffery Vernon, Brantley Frost and Nathan Lundy.



CountdownCoach Malone’s last-minute preparationsfor 2013 season

Head Coach Bill Malone hasa newfound sense of excite-ment regarding the 2013-2014school year, and it isn’t whatyou think it might be.

“I’ve got a classroom!” proclaimedCoach Malone, who was left to ped-dle his lessons in whatever roomswere available last year, keeping hisbooks and teaching materials in ametal pushcart that resembles a gro-cery buggy.

“I’m excited, and [the classroom]backs up right to the field,” said Mal-one. “I’m very fortunate to have that.”

Even with the Malone’s permanentclassroom this year, the long table inthe office of the Morgan County fieldhouse is just as cluttered with stuff asit was last year.

On an average day, the table mighthold anything: fast-food wrappers, re-vised rosters, outdated copies of mag-azines, Morgan County laptops, astrange stick with electrical tapewrapped around it or even last week’scopy of the Morgan County Citizen.

But all of the little distractions be-come nothing when there is businessat hand, and, with few precious daysremaining before Aug. 30: business isbooming.

In the past couple of weeks, thecoaching staff has been working onsqueezing a starting lineup out of theteam for Monticello.

Malone explained that the MorganCounty athletes have been playing indifferent positions throughout thesummer in an effort to see who willfit where, while filling in some of the

essential starting positions that wereleft by graduating seniors last year.

“We’ve done our best this offseasonto get, at standup positions, two orthree guys a bunch of reps,” said Mal-one.

�e practice of splitting reps be-tween athletes served its purpose,which was to allow the coaches to tryout multiple athletes in the same po-sition, but now it has become appar-ent to Coach Malone that the athleteswho will ultimately take the startingroles will need more repetitions intheir position in order to be fully pre-pared for the regular season.

“What we’ve got to work on now issaying, ‘�is is your spot. You’regoing to get 75 to 90 percent of thereps at that spot, and you’re going toget good enough to make it throughthe game.’”

Still, with all of the preparation for

the season, the starting roster is goingto remain somewhat liquid duringthe first few games, as the coaches getto see the boys in full-on competitionand evaluate their performances.

“�e work ahead of us is to deter-mine who we can count on to eitherimprove so much that they are able toplay at the varsity level, or who wecan count on to maintain what theyhave established and still be able toplay well at the varsity level.”

“What we’ve got to workon now is saying, ‘�is isyour spot. You’re going toget 75 to 90 percent of the

reps at that spot, and you’regoing to get good enough

to make it through thegame.’”

Top: At summer practice this year, Morgan County HighSchool Head Coach Bill Malone has a few congratulatorywords for the team and their hard work. Above: Malone(center) looks to the sideline during a huddle at the presea-son scrimmage game against Jefferson Aug. 15.


Group effortCommunity Coaches:Holding the team togetherAs important as they are, coaches

simply cannot be everywhere at once.With only four coaches on staff at Mor-gan County High School, there is thepotential to miss something either dur-ing practice or an actual game, andsomething, which could make all thedifference in a score later on, might –by no fault or negligence on the part ofthe coaches – slip through the cracks.

Luckily, the pow-ers that be allow agroup of men outthere to pick up onmore things thanwould have beenpossible before:community coaches.

As an extra set ofeyes, a counselingvoice, a helpinghand, or so muchmore, a communitycoach acts as an ex-tension of the “offi-cial” coaching staff.

But, with the rolesthey play and the time they devote to the team,the distinction of “official” really doesn’t seemto mean a thing.

Todd Peaster is beginning his sixth season asa Bulldog and will be one of five communitycoaches serving the Morgan County Bulldogsthis year: Jeff South, Tom Duff, Jeff Snipes,John Dustin Hawkins and Peaster.

As a Realtor at Madison Realty and a land-scape architect at Georgia Civil, Inc., Peasterhas to schedule his life around team, a practicewhich he states is only possible because of his

wife and family’s support. “I am up early every day getting work done

that I would otherwise miss in the afternoon,said Peaster. “Mornings are quiet and I can getmuch more done than during normal businesshours. My wife and the rest of my family alsoprovide tremendous support. We try to thinkahead and stay on a schedule. It is not a perfectsystem by any means, but each year we learnhow to navigate the challenge a little better.”

Peaster is thankful for the opportunity toserve as a community coach, a role that has be-come increasingly essential at Morgan County.

“We have very few full-time teaching/coach-ing positions at Morgan County,” said Peaster.“Fortunately for everyone involved, Georgiaand Morgan County Schools have opened thedoor for those of us outside the teaching pro-fession to coach at the high school level. Itbridges a temporary gap for the school system,while allowing us the opportunity to work witha group of tremendous teachers/coaches andstudent-athletes.”

And fortunately for everyone involved, Mor-gan County has citizens such as Peaster and theother community coaches who are willing todevote hours upon hours for the Bulldogs.

“...MorganCounty Schoolshave opened the

door for thoseof us outside the

teaching profession tocoach at thehigh school

level.”

–Todd Peaster,Community Coach COACHING STAFF

On-staff coachesinclude John Rob-bins, Dusty Sid-well, AllenCrowley, DennisSitzmann and BillMalone.Communitycoaches are TomDuff, Jeff Snipes,Todd Peaster, JeffSouth and JohnDustin Hawkins.

Top: It takes a village to raise a football team.The Morgan County High School Bulldogs foot-ball coaching staff includes (left to right) JohnRobbins, Tom Duff, Dusty Sidwell, Allen Crowley,Jeff Snipes, Todd Peaster, Dennis Sitzmann, JeffSouth, Head Coach Bill Malone and John DustinHawkins. Above: Coaches get excited andstorm the field following a touchdown in theAug. 15 preseason scrimmage game against Jef-ferson.


TruecolorsPotential: Coach Malonediscusses what makesteams “tick”

A little tweak. A barely noticeableposition shift. A talk in the lockerroom before the game.

Hundreds of fac-tors both on and offthe field affect howa young student-athlete is going toperform on eachand every play ofthe game.

Multiply thosefactors by the num-ber of plays pergame and by eachand every kid thatsteps out onto thefield, and, in the wrong hands, you’ve gotan unwieldy sideline full of football play-ers, whose hormones – how could thosebe forgotten? – might shove them off inany direction at any moment.

Luckily, Morgan County has very capa-ble hands at the reigns, which don’t neg-lect the all-too-important psychologicalaspects of high school football.

“With these guys, what I’m looking for-ward to is going into what is going to makethis team tick,” said Head Coach Bill Mal-one.

“You knew it last year,” continued Mal-one. “�e kids on last year’s team wereoverachievers. Very little motivation wasneeded to get those guys going.”

“�is year it is an experiment, and I lookforward to the challenge of finding a wayto make our guys gel into a team like theydid last year.”

Getting the best out of the team meansgetting the best out of each individualplayer, and, for Coach Malone during thelast stages of preseason, that means deter-mining how the potential that each athletehas developed during the off-season isgoing to translate into actual performanceon the field.

“We’ve got to get rid of playing poten-tial,” said Malone. “We have to now focuson who is going to go out there and do theabsolute best they possibly can but, at thesame time, still be able to compete.”

Potential isn’t the only factor going intoperformance on Friday nights, however.

An athlete’s performance depends notonly on what they might have been capa-ble of accomplishing on their own – be-cause, let’s face it, some athletes are morenaturally gifted than others – but also onhow hard each athlete is willing to work inorder to better himself and the team.

With relatively little time in real-gamesituations, many of the Bulldogs haven’tyet had the opportunity to show their true

colors on the field of battle, leaving CoachMalone in a tough spot.

“It’s a tricky place to be. We’re anxiousto see, once we raise that bar, who is goingto drop their head and poke their lip outor who is going to say, ‘I’m glad I’ve got ashot.’”

“...I look forward to

the challengeof finding away to makeour guys gel

into a team...”

–Bill Malone,Head Coach

The team gathered for a group photoin the stands of Bill Corry Stadium onPicture Day (top). Football team cap-tains head out onto the field prior tothe preseason scrimmage game withJefferson Aug. 15 and QuarterbackTrent Hawk gives a wave (above).


Aug. 29, 2013 Pages 14 & 15 Bulldog Football 2013

Justin BryanNo. 86

Freshman

Robert GibbsNo. 77

Freshman

John CoxNo. 78

Freshman

Lewis McDanielNo. 79

Freshman

Paul LavertyNo. 80

Sophomore

Michael RhoadesNo. 81

Freshman

Jody McAlisterNo. 83

Freshman

Jeffery VernonNo. 84Senior

Jackson OgletreeNo. 85

Freshman

Will ParkerNo. 84Junior

Andre PetersonNo. 1

Sophomore

Malik ChapmanNo. 2

Freshman

Justice ChapmanNo. 3Senior

Trea JohnsonNo. 3

Sophomore

Alex DicksonNo. 14Junior

Cedric RobertsonNo. 15

Freshman

Daltin GuderianNo. 15Senior

Brantley FrostNo. 17Junior

Maclane ZantNo. 18

Sophomore

Dawson HawkinsNo. 19

Sophomore

Dalton FulcherNo. 20Senior

Wyatt MartinNo. 21Senior

Michael MitchellNo. 21

Freshman

Sam CouchNo. 22

Sophomore

Collin EberhartNo. 33

Sophomore

Garrett FrostNo. 34

Freshman

Cody HarperNo. 35Junior

Collin EfirdNo. 36Junior

TJ AbernathyNo. 37

Sophomore

Andrew BishopNo. 38Junior

Griffin SorohanNo. 39Junior

Caleb FossomNo. 40

Freshman

Antonio Robinson

No. 41Freshman

Marquis BentonNo. 42Senior

Jacob BoboNo. 54Senior

Markell IngramNo. 55Senior

Juwan EdwardsNo. 55

Sophomore

Zack JenkinsNo. 57Senior

Dakoda RubyNo. 58

Sophomore

Bradley EberhartNo. 59Senior

Austin ScanlandNo. 60

Freshman

Case SegrestNo. 61

Sophomore

Sam JonesNo. 62

Freshman

Matthew Calloway

No. 63Sophomore

�e DogsMorgan County High School

MORGAN COUNTY CITIZENA ball 2013

Adam BrownNo. 87

Freshman

Hunter MisuracaNo. 88

Freshman

Nathan LundyNo. 89Junior

Chris BenfordNo. 90Senior

Trey ChapmanNo. 4

Sophomore

Jerimiah ButlerNo. 5Junior

Blake NelsonNo. 6

Freshman

Melvin DavisNo. 7Senior

Justis OgletreeNo. 8Senior

Levi EwingNo. 9

Sophomore

Tyler BenfordNo. 10

Sophomore

Trent HawkNo. 11Senior

Quincey JonesNo. 12

Sophomore

Tristan YontzNo. 13Junior

Dalton GreenwaltNo. 23

Sophomore

Cornelius Peterson

No. 24Freshman

Trey HurtNo. 25Junior

Rogers BurkeNo. 26Junior

Gurminder SinghNo. 27

Sophomore

Will DonaldsonNo. 28

Sophomore

Robert ShookNo. 29Senior

Jesse TaylorNo. 30

Sophomore

Dee HubbardNo. 31Senior

Tez MathisNo. 32Senior

MJ WebbNo. 43

Freshman

Billy HoltzclawNo. 44

Sophomore

Zach HoweNo. 45

Sophomore

Griffin JaynesNo. 46

Sophomore

Glenn Tolbert, Jr.No. 47

Freshman

Jonathon NelsonNo. 48Junior

Dalton ColeNo. 49

Freshman

Garrett BoneNo. 50Junior

Keandre WilliamsNo. 51

Freshman

Tevin WallerNo. 52Senior

Paul GuderianNo. 64

Freshman

Cedric PorterNo. 66

Sophomore

Joseph KonickiNo. 67

Sophomore

Steven ErvinNo. 68Junior

Guy NelsonNo. 70

Freshman

Seth StapletonNo. 71

Sophomore

Nathan Behrendsen

No. 73Freshman

Isaiah NewellNo. 74

Freshman

Will SpatesNo. 75

Sophomore

Casey CooperNo. 76

Freshman

�

Editor’s Note: We know some numbers are duplicated. �ese numbers could change at game time, so besure to pay attention to who’s on the field.

NOT PICTUREDDaniel Hall, No. 53, FreshmanBrandon Crowley, No. 65, FreshmanKeyshawn Brown, No. 72, FreshmanLadarrius Andrews, No. 82, FreshmanParker Stone, Freshman

Let’s go!


Seniors’finale�is is the last year of highschool football for the athletes of the Class of ‘14

Clockwise from right: This year’s footballseniors are Justice Chapman, Melvin Davis,Justis Ogletree, Trent Hawk, Daltin Guderian,Dalton Fulcher, Wyatt Martin, Robert Shook,Dee Hubbard, Tez Mathis, Marquis Benton,Tevin Waller, Jacob Bobo, Markell Ingram, ZackJenkins, Bradley Eberhart, Jeffery Vernon andChris Benford. The senior cheerleaders areEmily Owen, Caroline Jones, Katherine Martin,Jessie Adams, Morgan Nash, Lily Arienzo, Ash-lyn Slaughter, Olivia Lindsey, Kylie Prevatt, Bri-ana Smart and Ashlyn Spivey. Senior JusticeChapman makes a catch in the preseasonscrimmage game against Jefferson Aug. 15.



BulldogsbreaklooseMCHS will play 10 regular-seasongames over the course of this year

Seniors Zack Jenkins(left) and Tevin Wallerare ready... are you?

Morgan County 2012 Record: 9-3 overall, 5-2 region

Game 1: Monticello Purple Hurricanes(Non-region game)Date: Aug. 30Site: Purple Hurricanes Stadium, MonticelloCoach: Eddie Roberts2012 Record: 2-8 overall, 1-6 regionLast winning season: 2003 (6-4)Last season in State Playoffs: 1999Last season vs. Morgan County: Morgan 34 – Mon-ticello 6All-Time vs. Morgan County: Morgan leads 26-3-1(Monticello last won in 1984)Series dates back to: 1948

Game 2: Greene County Tigers(Non-region game)Date: Sept. 6Site: Bill Corry Stadium – Legion FieldCoach: Robert Edwards2012 Record: 4-7 overall, 4-3 regionLast winning season: 2010 (6-4)Last season in State playoffs: 2012Last season vs. Morgan County: Morgan 26 –Greene County 7All-Time vs. Morgan County: Morgan leads 28-25-1(Greene County last won in 2006)Series dates back to: 1948

Game 3: Putnam County War Eagles(Non-region game)Date: Sept. 13Site: Bill Corry Stadium – Legion FieldCoach: Kyle Gourley2012 Record: 3-7 overall, 2-5 regionLast winning season: 2011 (8-3)Last season in State Playoffs: 2011Last season vs. Morgan County: Morgan 39 – Put-nam County 16All-Time vs. Morgan County: Morgan leads 30-16-1(Putnam County last won in 2001)Series dates back to: 1948

Game 4: Oconee County Warriors(Region 8-AAA Opener)Date: Sept 27Site: Warrior Stadium, WatkinsvilleCoach: Mitch Olson2012 Record: 3-7 overall, 2-5 regionLast winning season: 2004 (8-4)Last season in State Playoffs: 2008Last season vs. Morgan County: Morgan 56 –Oconee County 14All-Time vs. Morgan County: Morgan leads 11-9-1(Oconee County last won in 2009)Series dates back to: 1968

Game 5: North Oconee Titans(Region 8-AAA Game)Date: Oct. 4Site: Bill Corry Stadium – Legion FieldCoach: Terry Tuley2012 Record: 10-2 overall, 7-0 regionLast winning season: 2012 (10-2)Last season in State Playoffs: 2012Last season vs. Morgan County: Morgan 7 – NorthOconee 35All-Time vs. Morgan County: North Oconee leads 1-0-0Series dates back to: 2012

Game 6: Elbert County Blue Devils(Region 8-AAA Game)Date: Oct. 11Site: Blue Devil Stadium, ElbertonCoach: Sid Fritts2012 Record: 5-5 overall, 4-3 regionLast winning season: 2011 (11-1)Last season in State Playoffs: 2011Last season vs. Morgan County: Morgan 22 – ElbertCounty 29All-Time vs. Morgan County: Elbert County leads 7-3-1 (Elbert County last won in 2009)Series dates back to: 1974


Game 9: Hart County Bulldogs(Region 8-AAA Game)Date: Nov. 1Site: Billy Corry Stadium – Legion FieldCoach: William DeVane 2012 Record: 6-6 overall, 5-2 regionLast winning season: 2011 (6-4)Last season in State Playoffs: 2012Last season vs. Morgan County: Morgan 35 – HartCounty 8 All-Time vs. Morgan County: Morgan leads 8-6 (HartCounty last won in 2009)Series dates back to: 1959

Game 10: Jackson County Panthers(Region 8-AAA Game)Date: Nov. 8Site: Panther Stadium, JeffersonCoach: Benji Harrison 2012 Record: 6-5 overall, 4-3 regionLast winning season: 2012 (6-5)Last season in State Playoffs: 2012Last season vs. Morgan County: Morgan County 44– Jackson County 28All-Time vs. Morgan County: Morgan leads 4-1 (Jack-son County last won in 1992)Series dates back to: 1992

Game 7: East Jackson Eagles(Region 8-AAA Game)Date: Oct. 18Site: Bill Corry Stadium – Legion FieldCoach: Gary Hughes2012 Record: 0-10 overall, 0-7 regionLast winning season: 2009 (10-2)Last season in State Playoffs: 2009Last season vs. Morgan County: Morgan 36 – EastJackson 10All-Time vs. Morgan County: Morgan County leads 1-0-0Series dates back to: 2012

Game 8: Franklin County Lions(Region 8-AAA Game)Date: Oct. 25Site: Lion Stadium, CarnesvilleCoach: Jerry Underwood2012 Record: 2-8 overall, 1-6 regionLast winning season: 2011 (6-5)Last season in State Playoffs: 2011Last season vs. Morgan County: Morgan 50 –Franklin County 21All-Time vs. Morgan County: Franklin County leads7-3-1 (Franklin County last won in 2009)Series dates back to: 1970

RECAP OF MORGAN COUNTY’S2012 SEASONMonticello (4-AA): Win 34-6Greene County (8-AA): Win 26-7Putnam County (4-AA): Win 39-16Oconee County (8-AAA): Win 56-14North Oconee (8-AAA): Loss 7-35Elbert County (8-AAA): Loss 22-29East Jackson (8-AAA): Win 36-10Franklin County (8-AAA): Win 50-21Hart County (8-AAA): Win 35-8Jackson County (8-AAA): Win 44-28Gordon Central (5-AAA): Win 24-21North Hall (7-AAA): Loss 9-13

SCHEDULE>> From Page 18

Senior Melvin Davis jumps for a ball (below). Seniors (left to right)Tez Mathis, Melvin Davis, Trent Hawk, Tevin Waller (sitting), JusticeChapman, Dee Hubbard and Marquis Benton represent (right).


Carry the weight

“Win the Day! Be a good spotterand count every rep.”

So read the inspirational message of theday, which was written on a dry-erase boardstanding in front of the Morgan Countyweight room just a few weeks before schoolstarted this summer.

Within the succinct, 11-word messagewere a number of themes important to de-veloping both as an individual and a team:make today count toward your goal, worktogether with your teammate and monitoryour progress accurately.

Monitoring the progress of all of the ath-letes is a big part of Coach John Robbins’ rolein the weight room.

Taking over in the weight room for DougHuff, who left the position of MorganCounty defensive coordinator after last sea-son, Coach Robbins did little to change theweightlifting program at Morgan County.

Weightlifting sessions took place throughthe summer Monday through �ursday,with the athletes doing upper-body work-outs and lower-body workouts on alternate

days.According to

Robbins, theprocess of alter-nating upper-body andlower-body work-outs allows “theirbodies a chance

to rest and recuperate.”�e lifting sessions focus on heavy

weights and few repetitions in order to “in-crease their power and size,” noted Robbins.

“It is a microcosm of a football play. Wedon’t work a whole lot with endurance; it’snot a seven-minute wrestling match. We gohard for five or six seconds, tops, and thenrest. �at’s what we’re trying to train themfor.”

�e 85 percent program is still in place,where the athletes are expected to regularlylift 85 percent of their max during workouts.

And Robbins expects the athletes’ maxes– and thus the 85 percent – to keep increas-ing in order to show improvement.

“Every four of five weeks, that 85 percentneeds to change, or we’re going to plateauand start losing ground,” said Robbins.

�e athletes never need to wonder wherethey stand in terms of their fellow teammembers: in addition to having the personalnumbers for each athlete posted in theweight room, there is always the big boardon the wall, proudly proclaiming the top 10in each lift.

Although the big board can be a distrac-tion, Robbins stated that having definitenumbers on each athlete assures that “everykid has a tailor-made workout.”

Right now, most of the names up on thewall are those of the upperclassmen, but, justlike with any developmental process, theyounger athletes will soon be nipping at theirheels.

“�ere’s a bunch of them, and they’re big,”said Coach Robbins about the rising ninthgraders, who will be on top of the programin a couple of years. “�ey’ve got great atti-tudes. �ey really make coming to workevery day much more enjoyable.”

Dogs hit the weightroom over the summer

“It is a microcosmof a football

play.”

–John Robbins,Coach

Michael Mitchell spots for Jody McAlister (top)and Ladarrius Andrews assists a teammate(above).

Players stand by and ob-serve teeammates breakingpersonal records.



Soundspirit

Band rocks Friday nights

Clockwise from top left: Thisyear, Drum Major Dylan Jayneswill lead the band. The entireband fills stadium seats on Pic-ture Day. The Band Managers,or “Band Aides,” are (first row,left to right) Rebecca Simpson,Mandolin Moody, Courtland Na-tion, Lillie Chupp, (back row)Maya Simpson, Morgan God-bey, Director Jeffrey Rowser,Sabrina Shan and Olivia Simp-son. The Morgan County HighSchool Band staff includes (leftto right) Percussion InstructorBerry McWhorter, Director Jef-frey Rowser, Morgan CountyMiddle School Director KarisaSeymour and Georgia College& State University Student-Teacher Kayla Sullivan.

I JUST CAN’T WAIT... This year’s halftimeshow features musicfrom Disney’s “TheLion King.”

This year’s band leadership includes (back row, left to right) Kris Lawrence, Dylan Jaynes, CainBentley, Rebekah Everett, Aaron White, Jake Williams, Jasmine Hyman, (middle row) Mary Win Ligon,Fulton Pritchett, Zach Stone, Ben Shytle, Henry Smith, Carson Womack, Jack LeClair, Sarah BethCollins, (front row) Director Jeffrey Rowser, Leslie Wasendorf, Sabrina Shan, Emily Watson, CheyenneStevens, Beth Denham, Kiara Thomas, Toby Denham and Courtland Nation.


Say it loud“Give me an ‘M’...” Out goes the cry from the sideline. And, hon-

estly, what would a Friday night be without acheerleader in sight?

Cheerleaders are asintegral a part of var-sity football as rival-ries, the marchingband and... well, foot-ball itself.

But a cheerleadingteam doesn’t just hap-pen. Hours and hoursare poured into learn-ing routines, chantsand cheers, as well asmaking sure that eachcheerleader on the team is able to recall everyone at a moment’s notice.

Denise Frost, coach for both the varsity andJV spirit cheerleaders this year, cited what makesa cheer work on game night.

“We use primarily chants that are short andrepetitive so our crowd can get involved,” saidFrost. “We have approximately 40 or 50 chantsand cheers that we do several times during allgames.”

Preparation for the football season begins wellbefore the end of August. Camps held through-out the summer keep the cheerleaders in touchwith the tradition that they take on and also cre-ate during their years at MCHS.

“Both squads attended a spirit camp in Junewhere we learned several new chants and cheersas well as a dance that we will use at a pep rally,”stated Frost. “We will be incorporating our newmaterial this season to add to our old favorites.”

Since there is only one coach for the varsityand JV spirit squads this year, Frost thinks thatthe two groups are getting a chance to come to-gether more than they would otherwise.

“I do believe that they are closer this year be-cause we have been working together this sum-mer,” said Frost. “We have been practicingtogether so far this season, but, beginning thisweek, we are breaking into separate squads be-cause each one has a slightly different focus atpractice. JV is still learning the high school ma-terial and varsity needs to be practicing on peprally, making tags, making signs and otherthings.”

Together or apart, don’t forget that MCHScheerleaders work hard every week to make surethat they add something to your Friday nightfootball experience.

“Give me a ‘C’...”

“We use primarily

chants that areshort and

repetitive soour crowd canget involved.”

–Denise Frost,Cheerleading Coach

Cheerleaders fire up the crowd

Clockwise from top: The varsity squad includes (front row, left to right) Captain BrianaSmart, Captain Lily Arienzo, Captain Kylie Prevatt, (second row) Morgan Nash, JessieAdams, Olivia Lindsey, Katherine Martin, Ashlyn Spivey, Emily Owen, Caroline Jones, Ash-lyn Slaughter, (third row) Katherine Rittenhouse, Callie Beal, Kaylee Darsey, Rebecca Tall-man, Kaylee Breedlove, Emily Smith, Jordan Adcock, Anna Lindsey and Shelby Singleton.The JV squad includes (front row, left to right) Kaylie Armistead, Taylor Pickrell, NatalieSwanson, Jimayou Sanford, Lorrie Elle Lindsey, Reagan Fulcher, (second row) RamseyAutry, Taylor Adams, Olivia Martin, Grace Cruce, Zikiea Blake, Nicole Clark and CoachDenise Frost.

Caroline Jones, Briana Smart and Lily Arienzo cheeseit up for the camera (top). Senior Caroline Jonesgives her little brother, football player Sam Jones, akiss for luck (above).


As they have in past years, the MorganCounty Bulldogs football team has taken a newpiece of scripture yearly as their motto: Gala-tians 6:7, which, in its entirety, reads, “Be notdeceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever aman soweth, that shall he also reap.”

�is passage, which re-sounded like a fresh beginningin the open air of early spring,has now become a trap doorupon which the team muststand and be tested.

As stated in Ecclesiastes, “toevery thing there is a season,”and the season for sowing issoon over.

For the second year in a row,there has been a blue moon inAugust: two full moons in a single month, sent by na-ture itself to show without a doubt that harvest time isnigh.

Coach Bill Malone has prepared the team for thistime, and, now that it is upon us all, his eyes are cast to-ward the field.

“I’m looking forward to having the opportunity toshow more kids that the ability to work hard will paysome benefits,” said Malone. “You don’t know whatthose are going to be. I know that everybody just wantsus to win, but I see it as so much more than that. I’m afirm believer in [Galatians 6:7] in every aspect of life. Iwant these boys to understand that.”

�e desire to fully impress the lesson of Galatians 6:7on the athletes, however, puts Coach Malone in an oddplace, where the lines of what is best for the team andwhat might be best for an individual athlete don’t inter-sect!

On one hand, Coach Malone never wants anythingexcept success for the team, but, if an athlete fails to pre-pare properly for the season and earns success nonethe-less, what lesson has that athlete learned?

None. And since the athlete didn’t learn the lessonduring an early and formative stage when life’s pitfallsaren’t so deep, they will have to learn them later – if theyever do – when the stakes for success are much higher.

“On one hand, I want them to understand this Gala-tians 6:7, and, on the other hand, I want us to be able toovercome that,” said Malone. “If we are able to overcomeit and one of these kids [who hasn’t prepared well] is ableto rush for 1,400 yards and 20 touchdowns... does thathold any truth to them for the rest of their life?”

“�ere is my issue. It began as, ‘Alright guys, let’s workreal hard, because it will pay off later on.’ Now that we’vegone through the work real hard, some have and somehaven’t.”

“What is it we will reap?”

“I’m a firm believer in

[Galatians 6:7]in every

aspect of life.”

–Bill Malone,Head Coach

Sow and reap“To every thing there is a season”

GALATIANS 6:7“Be not deceived;God is notmocked: for what-soever a mansoweth, that shallhe also reap.”

The Dogs return to the field from halftime (above) and line up to begin a play(below) in the preseason scrimmage match against the Jefferson Dragons Aug. 15.



Read all about it.The Morgan County Citizen is a proud supporter

of the Morgan County High School Bulldogs. Don’t miss our weekly coverage, and check out ourwebsite for photo galleries of each Friday’s game.

MORGAN COUNTY CITIZEN @MORGANCITIZENWWW.MORGANCOUNTYCITIZEN.COM

Morgan County Citizen


Kickoff�e Dogs start the season with a scrimmage against Jefferson

Clockwise from top left: Tristan Yontz kicks off.Both teams look each other in the eye, ready to play.Melvin Davis outruns the competition. The crowdcheers as the Dogs take the field. Trent Hawk warmsup his throwing arm.


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Morgan County High School football 2013