were too much of a big-play
offense at times. Our scoring
drives were either a huge
pass or a huge run. We didn’t
have those 10- to 12-play
drives that took six to seven
minutes off the clock and
ended with a touchdown.
“Having said that, you’re
never going to complain any
time you score or have big
chunk plays. But we need to
be more consistent in having
long, sustained drives,
especially if we’re coming off
a long defensive series. We
want to be able to move the
ball with consistency.”
DEFENSE
Kendrick Johnson and
Moore are the cornerstones
of Hanceville’s defensive line,
while Schultz, Gonzalez,
McDonald and L.J. Smith
will rotate in at the other
spot along the three-man
front.
Wilbanks — the Bulldogs’
top defender in 2019 —
returns at linebacker, where
he’ll be joined by Preston
McClerren, Brosnan Ward,
Hardin and Guthery.
Campbell and Shadden
will handle cornerback
duties in the secondary,
while Joles and Brady Cleek
are slated to start at safety.
After giving up 38.2
points per game in 2018, the
Bulldogs cut that down to
23.3 in 2019.
McCain is hoping that
trend continues this fall.
“We felt like outside of
the Fairview and Locust
Fork games last year that
we played pretty well on
defense,” he said. “Especially
considering our roster size
and the size of our kids. We
were giving up so much size
to everybody we played.
But that unit made big
improvements from our first
year to last year. That group
did enough for us to win a
few more games than we
did.”
McCain added he’ll be
making all defensive calls
this season.
“I’m excited about it,” he
said. “It’s the first time I’ve
done it since 2012. We just
want to use our team speed
to our advantage and try to
be aggressive on that side of
the ball.”
SPECIAL TEAMS
Brandon Huckaby is likely
to handle kicking duties,
while Joles will be called
upon to punt.
Campbell and Guthery
are set to return kicks and
punts.
The Bulldogs haven’t made the
playoffs since 2013.
They did, however, take positive
steps in Year 2 under McCain and
are looking to reverse their fortunes
this fall with several experienced
playmakers returning on both sides of
the ball.
The move to 4A and a competitive
Region 6 that includes Etowah, Good
Hope and Oneonta — among others
— will make the road a bit tougher for
the Purple and Gold, but that hasn’t
prevented McCain from placing his
own expectations on this year’s squad
and the ones that follow.
“Based on our numbers and how
things are calculated now, this isn’t a
one-and-done move for us,” he said
of the climb from 3A to 4A. “It looks
like we’re going to be in 4A for years
to come. Nobody’s going to feel sorry
for us, though. They aren’t going to
take it easy on us. We’ve got to elevate
ourselves to where we’re competing
with the best teams in our region and
beating the middle- to lower-level
teams to get our program where we
want it to be.”
38 2020 FOOTBALL PREVIEW