By Michael A. Lough

The Sports Report

centralgasports@gmail.com

          Sometimes, coaches are surprised, and admit it.

          Adam Lord is a little surprised, ecstatically so, that he was still putting together a practice schedule and travel plans all week, considering last year’s team.

          “To be honest with you, we were very young,” Brentwood’s second-year head coach said. “We basically had a JV team. We graduated seven seniors. We started a freshman quarterback, and I had a ton of sophomores in our last game last year.”

          Boy, they sure hit a figurative growth spurt from last November to August.

          “We knew this year would be better,” Lord said of improving on a 5-6 record. “I didn’t know it’d be this good.”

          “This good” is taking on Southwest Georgia in the GIAA Class AA state championship Saturday at Georgia Southern’s Paulson Stadium.

          The War Eagles are 10-1, with their seventh 10-win season this century, while the Warriors are 9-1, with their highest win total since 2009.

Brentwood War Eagles
Trinity Christian         44-21
Pinewood Christian    67-48
GMC Prep                    41-0
Lake Oconee               34-35
Thomas Jefferson        42-6
John Milledge             33-6
Edmund Burke            28-23
Augusta Prep               49-0
Gatewood                    45-27
P-Rock Springs           49-14
P-Southland                 40-20
GIAA championships: 2002, 2003, 2021
GIAA runner-up: 2009, 2020

Southwest Georgia Warriors
Terrell                          22-8
SW Ga. STEM              71-18
Deerfield-Windsor     30-0
Brookstone                  0-38
Calhoun County          50-0
Robert Toombs           33-7
Trinity Christian         40-5
Southland                     32-12
P-Central Fellowship 44-7
P-Gatewood                 46-13
GIAA championships: 1972, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1993, 1998
GIAA runner-up: 1992, 2003

Predictions
Maxwell Ratings/Georgia High School Football Daily: Southwest Georgia by 7
The Central Georgia Sports Report: This batch of Warriors hasn’t been on this stage, and the young War Eagles only have a few stragglers – like Zach Denton and Gray Waller – left from the runner-up team in 2002.
          That’s an edge.
          Southwest Georgia running the single win is an advantage, too. The Warriors are physical and aggressive, and against a young team that may be ahead of schedule, that can be of impact.
          Pick: Southwest Georgia by 11

          Southwest Georgia went 8-3 last year, going 1-1 in the postseason and losing 35-6 in the semifinals to eventual champ Edmund Burke. So the Warriors being at this point was a bit more probable than the War Eagles’ run.

          The War Eagles took some thumpings last year, by 40 to John Milledge, 29 to Edmund Burke and 28 to Gatewood. But there were competitive losses, by 16 to George Walton and twice to Briarwood, by eight in the regular season and 15 in the playoffs.

          “We were in a lot of games,” Lord said. “We just didn’t have the stamina and the strength to really finish.”

          Last year was a learning experience from the top down.

          “I did some self evaluating on myself, too, and I don't know that I did a great job last year building, really digging in trying to build relationships with my seniors.

“So this year I've made a commitment to making sure we meet once a week. I've made a commitment to make sure that things that I think need to happen I relay to these guys, let them do the leg work and they’ve just done a phenomenal job of echoing my message.”

          The evaluations didn’t stop there.

          “We had a freshman quarterback who's extremely athletic … I think I asked him to do too much,” Lord said. “I kind of wanted him to be the point guard and just put the ball in his hands and let him make plays. No fault of his, I just don't know if he was ready for that quite yet.”

          Lord saw that it lessened the team’s physicality using more of a spread offense, so the War Eagles sort of muddle through.

          “It just wasn't us,” he said. “We've been running the Wing-T for 23 years.”

          So Lord sat with his staff and decided to take some things from the spread and go back to the Wing-T as the primary scheme, but a little more diverse.

          “It creates a little physicality up front,” he said. “So we went back to a little more traditional Wing-T and mixed in some spread, and it’s been a game-changer.”

          With less pressure on him, sophomore quarterback Baylor Cobb has completed 60 percent of his passes for 1,100 yards, with 16 touchdowns and one interception, adding four rushing touchdowns.

          Zach Denton leads the deep rush attack with 1,063 yards, carrying on the family name at Brentwood, following Luke and Thomas.

          “This will be my last one,” Lord said. “He's that guy doesn't ever miss practice, ‘yes’ or ‘no, sir’, ‘hand me the football and and I'll give you … you need two yards, I'm going to give you three.’ Yeah, he’s that kind of kid.”

Denton leads the run game with 1,063 yards on 109 carries with 14 touchdowns, one ahead of freshman Tristan Robinson, who has 856 yards on 65 carries. Jones Sheppard has eight touchdowns and Quez Collins four, as does Cobb. Southwest Georgia doesn’t post stats to MaxPreps.

          Waller, Z.J. Scott, Cordy Frnacis, Will Hodges, and Cooper Smith comprise the first five on the offensive line.

Jaelen Johnson, yet another sophomore, leads the deep defense with  4.5 tackles a game, just ahead of Thomas Moye, a junior. Cobb moves over to defense and leads the Gators with three interceptions.

          Lord wasn’t sure what kind of chemistry and leadership 2024 would bring.

          “The biggest worry in August was trying to figure out, with all these guys returning, the biggest thing when they’re returning, they’re complacent, they’re not competitive within their positions. ‘I played this last year, and it’s going to be mine.’”

          Complacency wasn’t an issue.

          “This group was not,” he said. “And I’ll be dead honest, our senior leadership has been tremendous. Those guys have not let us get complacent, and we’ve had a lot of competitive practices.”

          The youth that got all the experience grew into something not many teams have: depth. More than usual, on any level.

          “It's amazing where we've gotten to with this team as far as depth is concerned,” said Lord, a Brentwood grad. “I play four inside linebacker, and I really can’t tell the difference in any of the four. We just kind of run them in and out and keep them fresh.”

          Brentwood has three outside linebackers that rotate on a cycle, and a half-dozen defensive lineman in different shapes and sizes.

          “They’re different skills, different types, depending on what we’re trying to accomplish,” he said.”I’ve got some smaller guys that are kind of like wrestlers that are just relentless.

          “We’ve been able to make a good mix of it.”

          Brentwood will have to bow up on Saturday.

          “They got two running backs that are both (a) different style, but both of them are very physical,” Lord said, noting Southwest Georgia is anti-punt. “They run kind of mad. They're just going to take the ball jam it right down your throat.

          “They’re just that way. ‘We’re gonna hit you in the mouth and bust your facemask’ kind of guys. We’ve got our hands full.”

          Experience is a notable advantage at this point of the season, especially veteran experience. Brentwood has a portion of that, many young players who have a lot of snaps under their belts.

          And this season has added to the specific experiences, like a huge shootout – 67-48 win over Pinewood Christian – and two GHSA opponents, getting one back on John Milledge after 10 straight losses, an overtime game, and a win over last year’s champion, Edmund Burke.

          The War Eagles went from turnover prone to forcing turnovers, and just putting forth a level of consistency Lord didn’t quite expect. The inspired offseason in the weight room that started showing that maturity and work ethic has been huge.

          “The way they treated things and their commitment, even like (on) the bus, these are small things,” :Lord said. “Just the bus rides to pregame meal. It went from like a bunch of eighth-graders cutting jokes to to now it's kids with headphones on, that they're focused on what they're supposed to do.

          “It’s going to be a heavyweight fight,” Lord said. “Can the kids withstand the test? And even if they can, can we do it for four quarters? Can we give some punches and can we keep responding?

          “They’re going to come out of the gates and hit us in the mouth. We’ve just got to hang in there.”