“With all the injuries last year, we
switched up our offensive scheme a lot
to find out what fit our personnel,” the
head coach said. “We did some spread
and some trips, but we really don’t have
the speed for some of those formations.
We finally settled on the I and the veer.
We played a lot better doing that towards
the end of the year.”
Junior quarterback Hayden Brake is
coming into his third year as the starter
there, giving JHA great continuity under
center. Lining up behind him will be
fullback Cade Wells and senior tailback
Jaxon McGee.
“We’re expecting him to do really
well,” Worsham said of McGee. “He’s
just a hard-nosed football player who
does a good job of seeing the field.”
The offensive line is expected to be
a strength for the Rebels this season as
they return a lot of experience up front.
Hunter Johnson is back at center, as is
Britton Reagin at guard. Senior Buster
Munsey and junior Jackson Stewart will
hold down the tackle spots. Worsham is
looking for big things from all of those
guys, but especially Stewart as he was
one of those players who missed a lot of
time in 2019 due to injury.
“He might have played half of a game
all last year,” Worsham said of Stewart.
“We had to do a lot of shuffling to
compensate for him not being there,
but I’m thinking he’s ready to go. He’s
been looking good so far at practice.”
Senior wideouts Gavin Brown and
Kolby LaGana will hold things down
on the outside for the Rebels.
John Hancock plays as a member
of the Georgia Association of Private
and Parochial Schools, or GAPPS
(formerly known as the GICAA),
which is a league even smaller than
the Georgia Independent School
Association (GISA). The Rebels
have three games in the early part of
their season scheduled against GISA
schools Thomas Jefferson Academy,
Briarwood Academy and Augusta
Prep. Following the suit of the GISA,
GAPPS pushed the football season
back two weeks to accommodate these
league crossover games so everyone
could keep their schedules intact.
After an Oct. 9 off week, JHA will
enter region play against Rock Springs
Christian Academy, a newcomer to
11-man football this season. The Rebels
will then step back out of region play to
take on nearby GHSA school Glascock
County before finishing the season
with four straight in-region contests.
Based on his knowledge of the region
opponents, Worsham believes his
Rebels stack up pretty well against
Rock Springs, Georgia Christian,
Central Christian, Fullington Academy
and even last year’s champ Griffin
Christian.
“I think we fit pretty good in the
region,” said Worsham. “I don’t think
there’s going to be any dominant
team. All of us should be pretty equal.
If we can stay away from injuries and
do the best we can, I think we’ll be in
good shape.”
John Hancock football is scheduled
to kick off the 2020 regular season
Sept. 4 against Thomas Jefferson
Academy.
HERE’S TO A
GREAT SEASON
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