By Michael A. Lough

The Sports Report

centralgasports@gmail.com

 

          Mark Farriba and Chance Jones had worked together before, and did pretty well at Prince Avenue Christian, the veteran head coach and the young offensive coordinator.

          Then they became opponents for a few years, Farriba returning to Stratford and then Jones taking over at Tattnall.

          Jones and Tattnall separated in mid-March, leaving Jones without a team. That changed during the summer when Jones joined the staff at Stratford.

          Some shuffling took place, shuffling that Farriba didn’t have to do. Longtime coach David Bailey was planning to retire, with 2020-21 being his final year. Bailey has been at Stratford since the 1988-89 school year,and has had two children graduate from the school. He has also been the school’s track coach.

          “He had told me earlier that this was going to be his last year,” said Farriba, who goes for career win No. 200 Friday. “But he told me, ‘if you can find somebody you really like and want, I’ll be step back and take a real part-time role if that frees up salary money for you.’

          “As it turns out …”

          And, of course, Jones was somebody Farriba really wanted and liked. The two talked regularly, every now and then  the topic of coaching together creeping into a chat, just in passing. Farriba said Jones didn’t have a job at Stratford immediately upon parting with Tattnall, but started as soon as his contract was up with Tattnall.

          Bailey came to Stratford with former head football coach Rodney Collins, and has been part of both of Farriba’s staffs, 2003-06 and 2013-present, so his offer was no surprise.

          “That’s just who he is,” Farriba said. “One of the best team guys I have ever been around.”

          Jones will take on his alma mater on Friday night. Jones dad Ronnie was the longtime head coach at Westfield, and joined Chance at Tattnall for a few years.

          Jones is one of several former head coaches on assorted staffs in Central Georgia, making for some pretty experienced groups, and a few surprising matches.

          Kevin Kinsler resigned as head coach at Northside shortly after last season, but was back as a topic of conversation in the spring when it was announced that he had joined the staff at Westfield.

          The Hornets were in transition after Bruce Lane's departure after one year, and the appointment of longtime baseball head coach Rob Fitzpatrick as then-interim football coach.

          The pandemic hit and shut things down before Kinsler could officially join the staff and begin teaching. But over the summer, that officially changed.

          And over the summer, the Hornets picked up another quality former head coach in ex-Dodge County head coach Rex Hodges.

          Hodges retired as the Indians' football boss in March of 2019, and then took over two months later as the county's superintendent. He left administration in the middle of the summer, and is now in charge of offensive and defensive lines with the Hornets, who are 1-0 for the first time since 2015.

          Kinsler went 100-28 at Northside and Hodges 60-31 at Dodge County.

          Northside went through some turnover when Chad Alligood moved up to head coach from offensive coordinator early in the year.

          Much of the staff stayed, but the Eagles picked up two major additions at the coordinator spots.

          First was Casey Vogt on defense. Vogt has been in Macon since Mercer re-started football, as part of Bobby Lamb's staff.

          Eagle eyes have been focused on offense, and there was great debate about what Northside would look like with Alligood in charge. He planned from the start to give up offensive coordinator duties, and raised eyebrows by plucking former Warner Robins OC Shane Sams from the head coaching spot at Centennial.

          Rod Harris joined the staff in the secondary, coming from Houston County.

          Bryan Way resigned as head coach at Warner Robins, his alma mater, in 2016 and spent two seasons as an assistant at Tattnall before giving up football duties for two seasons.

          He's back on the Trojans' sideline under new head coach John Garrett Abernathy, who was a student assistant at Tattnall when Way was on the staff. The two stayed in touch after Abernathy started his full-time coaching career at Jones County.

          New to the Trojan staff is Stacey Harden, former head coach at Perry and assistant at Veterans, Warner Robins and Westside. 

          Returning to the staff is former Hawkinsville and Westside assistant Mickey Daniell, brother of former Hawkinsville head coach David Daniell.

          There has been an FPD-Eagles Landing Christian connection for year with former FPD assistant Jonathan Gess having turned ECLA into a Class A power.

          But the Vikings finally returned the favor a bit with the addition of ELCA assistant Brett Collier as assistant head coach with linebacker and tight end duties. Collier was at FPD from 2015-17.

          Upson-Lee added three coaches from Spalding, including Knights alum and former N.C. State player Logan Winkles.

          Nick Brooks, a Northside grad who played at Florida, had been at Veterans and then Macon County, and is now at Howard, along with Bubba Gallaher, formerly of Hawkinsville and CFCA.

          There another Campbell on a Central Georgia sideline. This one is Witt, at Lamar County.

          He graduated from Crisp County in 2015, his fourth year at the school that employed his dad Lee as head coach. But that came after the younger Campbell was growing up in Central Georgia while dad was at Hawkinsville and Dodge County.

          Witt Campbell's playing career ended on the baseball field at Middle Georgia State last year.

          And a familiar name is among the new assistants at Central. Former Charger quarterback standout Derrick Evans is back at his alma mater, as quarterbacks coach.

          The Chargers also added Quinnen Peavy, who was Dooly County’s interim head coach last year, and also coached at Howard in the early days.