Football Preview Union Recorder 2020 | Page 34

“If we can take things week-to-week,
stay healthy and get better,
we’ve got a chance.”
All-State guys to graduation. Back, though, is leading tackler and also
All-State honoree Je’Mazin Roberts (113 total tackles) who is taking
on that leadership role left by Justin Aldridge. Roberts has gotten
the attention of a lot of college coaches as he most definitely looks
the part of a next-level linebacker.” He’s ready,” said Wall. “He’s
our Mike linebacker and he’s the quarterback of the defense. He
was getting close to that role last year.” Like the D-line, the Trojan
secondary welcomes back all starters including McDonel who has
proven to be very valuable as a free safety. Taylor Dixon and Marcus
Prestwood have both shown they can be lockdown corners and ballhawks
in the past. All three guys mentioned tied for the team lead
in interceptions last year with four. Improving upon the numbers
put up by last season’s JMA defense could prove to be pretty difficult as
the Trojans pitched seven shutouts (five in a row) and surrendered only
five points per contest. If there is a question mark for the 2020 Trojans
it lies with the kicking game. Tommy Collier, who also plays defensive
back, is stepping into the role held by Hunter Noles the last three seasons.
Like Noles, Collier spends his springs out on the soccer field, so
Wall is confident he has the right guy for the job.
“He’s done a good job so far this summer,” Wall said of Collier. “It’s
new to him, but there are some benefits to having the soccer coach on
your football staff.”
Looking at the JMA schedule, one unfamiliar opponent has made
its way onto the slate as the Trojans are set to square off against GHSA
Class A-Private school Savannah Christian Sept. 25 in Savannah. This
will be the Trojans’ first regular season GHSA matchup since their
contests against GMC Prep in 2016 and 2017.
“We tried to spice the schedule up a little bit this year,” Wall said.
“Back-to-back road games at Pinewood and Savannah Christian aren’t
great, but they’re early enough to where we can get them out of the way.
We wanted to put our kids in an environment to challenge them early
on in the year. There are definitely some benefits to that.”
The GISA has added a new wrinkle to its football postseason. Power
rankings are being employed to seed the playoffs rather than the
region record traditional method. In doing so, the private school
association is looking to right the wrong that sometimes puts the top
two teams against one another in the state semifinals rather than
the finals. The playoffs have also been reduced to only eight teams
after the season was pushed back a couple of weeks due to the ongoing
COVID-19 pandemic. No matter the seeding method and the
number of teams permitted entry, it would be hard to pick against
the Trojans this season. Between now and the state championship
game scheduled for Dec. 11 though, you can bet Coach Wall and his
staff will be reminding their players that championships are earned,
not given.
“The toughest thing is going to be not thinking that far down the
road. With these new power rankings, you can’t take a week off.
You’ve got to take care of business because every game can affect
you. We know that everybody’s got their game against us circled on
their schedules and we tend to get everybody’s best game throughout
the year. If we can take things week-to-week, stay healthy and
get better, we’ve got a chance. That’s all you want. Right now we’ve
got to worry about Brentwood who hit us in the mouth last year. It
was easy to get our guys ready to go last year coming off a disappointing
state championship loss. It’s harder to get pumped up coming
off a state championship win that everyone’s been patting them
on the back about since December. We’ve got to bring them back
down to reality every day and ‘be the bad guy’ a lot. If that’s what we
gotta do in order to get the end product, it’s OK with us.”
Dawn or dusk.
It’s ready no
matter what.
Sidekick
40 MPH top speed
Stop in today and test drive the fast, durable Sidekick.
• Best-in-class acceleration
and handling with cargo*
• Hauls a half ton and tows
a full ton**
Together we do more.
KubotaUSA.com
*Class is based on these models: Polaris Ranger XP 900, John Deere XUV835M & Kawasaki Mule PRO-FXR. The handling comparison was
performed on the FSAE SKIDPAD course in gravel conditions. **Excludes California models. © Kubota Tractor Corporation, 2020. This
material is for descriptive purposes only. Kubota disclaims all representations and warranties, express or implied, or any liability from
the use of this material. For complete warranty, disclaimer, safety, incentive offer and product information, consult your local Dealer or
go to KubotaUSA.com.
415892-1
34 Football Preview 2020
• Gas powered with a top
speed of 40 mph
• Two-year, 1,000-hour
warranty
SOUTHSIDE EQUIPMENT
140 EAST ANDREWS STREET
WWW.SOUTHSIDEEQUIP.COM
MILLEDGEVILLE, GEORGIA 31061
478-452-5523
Best of Luck this season to
Carson Dyer
and the JMA Trojans!!
Attaway
Hauling
200 Tremon St. | Gordon, GA
478.628.1235
417148-1