‘Canes Revved Up for Season
The ‘Canes will play GMC in a scrimmage game tomorrow, Aug. 14 at 7:30 p.m. in Milledgeville. The scrimmage will be played under game conditions rather than a controlled scrimmage. The regular season will kick off at home versus Social Circle on Friday, Aug. 28 at 7:30 p.m. at Rose Bowl Field.
In comparing last year’s team to this year’s, Head Football Coach and Athletic Director Jimmy Hughes said, “They’ll still be young, but with more experience. Some of them played in 11 games last year and some played in JV games so we have plenty of experience and can’t use the lack of it as any kind of excuse.”
At the quarterback position, Coach Hughes said, “We’ll have Senior Keldrick Davis back for his third year at quarterback. He’ll also play free safety and punt for us. He’s a good football player as well as a good kid.
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“Running back wise we have a little depth. Senior RaMardo Stewart has transferred back from Newton County. We also have Senior Joe Standifer and Sophomores A.J. Thomas and Juvenal Burmudez. We lost Junior SaDarius Rooks to an ankle injury, but we expect him to be back in four or five weeks.
“Our offensive line had to be retooled a little. We lost four two-year starters there. We have some ability there and are just hoping they’ll come together and play as a unit. That’s a very important part of a football team.
“Our tackles, Senior Lee Hegwood is six-five and weighed in at 311 pounds, and Junior Ellis Ammons is six-four and weighed in at 297. From there we drop off in size a little. Senior David Ozburn will play either center or guard, Sophomore Brandon Barger will also play center some. Senior Tyler Bailey will play at offensive guard. We also have some other young kids we would like to bring along and give us a mix on the line.
“Defensively, we are going to try to do what we’ve been trying to do for a couple of years, and that is to get more people around the football. We got caught last year because we were young and undersized. We’re a little stronger and bigger now, and we think they understand what we’re trying to get done more than they did last year. We had some tough times on that side of the line, but we feel better about it this year.
“We’ve got about 34 kids who have been with us all summer and we’re looking to pick up 10 or 12 more. We’ll still be young on defense because we’ll be starting seven sophomores and four seniors. Offensively we’ll start five seniors, two juniors and four sophomores.
“Even though we’re still fairly young, the nucleus of our team will be back for season after next, but at some point we have to change the kid’s mind set from not just competing, but to win. That’s the main thing we’re trying to get done right now.
“We’re looking forward to the season as a coaching staff and as a team. We’ve had a good working summer and look forward to getting a chance to finally get out on the field.”