When schedules were released, the casual observer would see last Friday’s matchup between Wheeler and Osborne as a meeting of a basketball school against school that had never played in a football state playoff game. To have dismissed the game as nothing special would have been a colossal mistake. What transpired had all the trappings of an old-school title fight. You know, the ones that used to last 15 rounds. Wheeler head coach Bryan Love would second that emotion.

“It was a great atmosphere,” says Love. “It was a great game, and we were fortunate to come out on top. If you had tried to tell me that years ago, I would have thought “nah,” to be honest with you. I spoke with (Osborne) Coach (Luqman) Salam before that game and again afterward. I told him ‘Man what you are doing is great.’ Everybody likes to look at that left column, but don’t know the trials and tribulations you go through trying to build it up.’”

Love knows of what he speaks very well. While Salam has had to introduce his team to just win games, Wheeler has been fighting to break through and become a consistent winner and contender.

Wheeler

Junior quarterback Marcus Romain has thrown for 758 yards and 10 touchdowns and run for four touchdowns.

Credit: Sam Crenshaw

“You’re looking at the blue bloods that you have close by, “says Love. “You see how they are doing it, with college prospects. You have to breathe into your kids so that we can be that as well. That has helped contribute to it, plus 85 percent of my team came through our middle school. Just getting in with the middle school coaches and saying to them I want you there on Friday nights. I want you at the same time to make sure that the kids are there, too.”

Love made head coaching stops at Westlake, Lamar County and Woodland (Stockbridge) before landing at Wheeler in 2019. His Wildcats were one of many teams around the state that struggled with COVID during the 2020 season. Love, his staff, and the players hung on to their goal of changing the program.

“I had Cobb County ties,” boasts Love. “I was an assistant at McEachern under Jimmy Dorsey, then with Coach Jeff Herron at Camden County. I got a chance to see it done the right way and I learned a lot about how to build a program and develop kids. I knew that there had always been talent here, but it had become like a feeder program for other high schools. I was just crazy enough to think that I was going to change it.”

Wheeler

Josiah Allen has rushed for 902 yards and 12 touchdowns and caught 23 passes, two of them for touchdowns.

Credit: Sam Crenshaw

There were 65 players in the program when Love arrived. Today there are 102 players in the Wheeler football program and 29 are juniors, many of whom came from the middle school program. Among them are a trio that Love refers to as the “Big Three.”

 Quarterback Marcus Romain has been offered by Navy. Running back Josiah Allen rushed for 1,700 yards last season and talented receiver Javon Broussard, who caught a touchdown against Osborne. They are part of the foundation of change for Wheeler football. Last season’s team went (5-6) and made it to the first round of the state playoffs. It set the stage for a productive spring and summer.

 

The off-season was great for us,” recalls Love. “All of our skill position players and backups ran track and our linemen participated in wrestling this year. During the summer we did some OTAs. There were two sessions at Hillgrove, and we got to go against Westlake, and Newton.”

The 2023 season got off to a great start and the Wildcats took a record of 5-1 into their region showdown with North Cobb. Things did not go well as the Warriors won the game. The 63-27 final score signaled the kind of defeat that might allow doubt to creep in, but Love was not having it. After all, Osborne was next.

“It started right after the North Cobb game, to tell you the truth,” recalls Love. “There is nothing that we can do about this one. North Cobb is a great team and was ranked in the state. We can only control what we can control, and we did not play our best game. You don’t want to let one loss become two. That was the message when we went in for meetings on Sunday. Let’s wipe that one away.”

So, the stage was set for the team that is striving to change culture and raise expectations to square off against the team that has made history week after week and has been the feel-good story of the season.

“Osborne was 7-0 for a reason,” says Love. “They are very aggressive on defense. We were able to move the ball up and down the field, but when we got to the 20, they clamped down and made some good stops on us. They scored and then we came right back down and scored, to tie it up. We traded field position a little bit and they kicked a field goal. We came back with just seconds left and kicked a field goal to tie it up and we went to overtime.”

Love says confidence has been a key ingredient in the change at Wheeler. This season Love has encouraged his coaching staff to preach confidence to the team. It brought them to a pivotal moment for the season and possibly the program.

“Before we started the overtime, I called everyone up,” recalls Love. “I told them that this is what we had trained for, starting back in January and February. That is when games like this are won. They want to win, and we want to win, but the one who has the best will, right now, will be the one that will endure.”

The Wildcats showed the will and the heart against the Cardinals. The struggle would be long, and one overtime period was not enough.

Wheeler

Coach Bryan Love has Wheeler looking for its third trip to the playoffs in five years.

Credit: Sam Crenshaw

“In the first overtime session we got an interception,” says Love. “Then we missed a field goal attempt. Second overtime, on our first drive, we threw a slant to our receiver Tre’ Calhoun. He got the ball down to the 1-yard line, then Marcus Romain scored. Our defense held them four downs and we won it. It was a great game, our closest football game this year. We were very fortunate to come out on top.”

The 17-10 final score gave Wheeler six wins for the first time in Love’s tenure. This week the Wildcats will go for their seventh win against Kennesaw Mountain. The last time Wheeler won seven games was back in 2006. It would help confirm that a change is happening for the football program at a school renowned for basketball. The coach feels all that attention and respect is one the way and reminds the team of its motto and creed.

“We break it down on ‘Do Right,’” says Love. “It encompasses everything. Do right in the classroom, the weight room, the practice field. and in the game. Make sure your actions write your story. You keep putting them in the left column and people will recognize it. You don’t have to say or do anything else, just ‘Do Right.’ The fruits of you labor will speak for itself.”