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Sumter, Morgan programs energize communities with fast starts
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Sumter County was conditioning past the dinner hour Tuesday...
Head coach Will Rogers and I were playing phone tag and, when I finally caught up to him, he was wrapping up practice. He’s on a bit of a quick turn with their huge region matchup against Carver-Columbus on Thursday night this week.
He has a roster full of juniors that don’t experience losing a great deal and Rogers has been telling his young-team-that-isn't young-anymore ever since he walked in the door that they can be a special group.
“It’s coming to fruition with this group,” he tells me, still thinking at 100-miles-per-hour after practice. “They’ve gotten bigger, faster and stronger over time and it has built their confidence.”
After going 5-5 last year, they’re 7-0 and ranked in the top ten in Class AA by the AJC. The last time the team won seven or more in a season was in 2017 when they finished 9-3 with a region title. Before then? 2010.
“We only have seven seniors on the team this year,” Rogers says. “And in the Crisp win, in game one, I could see that there might be something special with this group (a come-from-behind 20-19 win). And while you can say we’ve come a long way, there’s still a long way to go.” The Panthers have given up only 41 points in the next six games- alternating shutouts with not ever since.
Rogers came with Clifford Fedd from Dutchtown and was defensive coordinator for the 2022 season before taking over in 2023. Rogers has been a head coach before -- two years at Creekside in 2015-16. So, I asked him who is on his speed dial when he has a coaching question. He gave me his old coach at Creekside -- Amos McCreary -- two coaches from his time at Valdosta -- Alan Rodemaker and Rance Gillespie -- and Marvell McKelphin who went from a coach in Georgia to administrator in South Carolina.
“Coach McCreary was a chameleon. He always knew how to adjust to any situation and could always read the room. Coach Rodemaker is one of those old school, gritty guys and coach Gillespie was always prepared. Coach McKelphin taught me about organization so that’s what I took from them that I have now.”
Rogers tells me he is a coach of routine and even goes to the point of “self-scouting.”
“I’ll break down an opponent and then look at how the other side of the ball could line up against me. I was an OC before where I’m a DC now. So, I look at how an offense would go against me and look at what I would do if I was an offensive coach against my defense. Does that make any sense?”
It absolutely does. I think it prepares you for anything and is almost like a “defensive driving” course as a coach.
Rogers tells me Carver will be a challenge even as Sumter is coming off a bye week. If it was a short week, Rogers admits, he would be “scrambling like crazy.”
“Carver has athletes everywhere,” he admits. “And they know how to win. Here? We’re teaching kids to win and we remind them that when you have a little success the process starts over again. Like Coach Rodemaker does: if it doesn’t look a certain way, we’re going to do it until we get it right.”
Safe to say, the title in Region 1-AA gets a frontrunner by Friday morning as 7-0 takes on 6-1 in the western frontier.
As Morgan County head coach Clint Jenkins and I did the math, the last time we talked was when he was head coach at Dacula and they were on “Football Fridays” playing Lanier for a region title. He left there to take over the job in Madison for the 2021 season. The Bulldogs have gathered a lot of “Mo” since that first year of 4-7. They’ve gone 7-4 and 10-2 last year- making it out of the first round of the playoffs since 2012 and reaching double digit wins for the first time in 20 years.
“If you had told me before the season started that we would be 7-0 right now, I would have been really excited about that idea,” Jenkins tells me. His tone is a purposeful, thoughtful bass voice that knows his place. “But I don’t necessarily think I would have believed you. We knew we had a good group and a small senior class coming into the year. But we also have a good group of juniors and a chance to be pretty good.
“We actually talked about the No. 2 ranking and all that stuff after practice. You can be proud of what you’ve done. You can be excited about it. But there’s a long way to go. We’re handling it here the same way we did at Dacula. You know you’re in a playoff-deal but take the outside looking at you that way as a compliment.”
Jenkins also knows that when you’re ranked one through five you have an ‘x’ on your back. Everyone is going to give you their best shot and the Region 2-AA title is, probably, going to come down to the last week of the regular season when they travel to Callaway Stadium.
“Really, the only way to handle it is to take it a play at a time and a moment at a time. It’s the only way I know how to do it.”
Coach Jenkins also tells me that the town of Madison has been really excited about what has happened the last few seasons.
“It’s a small town, but the support has been unbelievable. We had the homecoming parade recently before the Rutland game and attendance across the board has been great. They’ll give you pats on the back for your work and they’re really excited. The kids are working really hard for them.
“I get to see them when I go speak to the Rotary or local Kiwanis clubs. And when you see just how they’re behind everyone, it’s what it’s all about. The kids really play for the community.”
I asked him how he went from head coach in a 6A program to a 3A (now 2A) program and it was one of those full-circle opportunities for him and his family where he had been an assistant before.
“I had a run at Dacula with the two semifinals in 2018 and 2019. I was DC before that for Tommy Jones. I really didn’t think I would leave but I got a phone call. In the school’s history they’ve lost more than they’ve won but it intrigued me and they called me about the vacancy again. We came down and my wife and I went through thinking and praying about it. But we did have an affection for the place.”
Clint’s mom’s family is from Athens. And if you combine that with his wife Heather’s coaching and teaching tenure at Buford High, the twins they have who are both athletes (a Mike Linebacker/long snapper and a diver), and the chance to be all in one place it added up to a great opportunity to all be together instead of spreading to separate schools.
“I’ve coached other people’s kids and now, I get to coach my son,” he says and you can sense the smile through the phone. “My daughter helps on Friday nights and my wife writes down all our defensive calls. We have everyone in the family together and Morgan got to be that place.”
He admits that in the 4-7 year in 2021 there were a few of those “what have I done” moments. But he was fortunate to bring four Dacula coaches onto the staff and add some other key hires. By his own observation, they’ve gotten better and the 10-2 2023 season preceded the 7-0 start this season.
Jackson is next on the schedule and Coach Jenkins knows he can’t look past them in Madison. “They’re athletic and want to control the ball. They want to play keep-away when they’re on offense. I’m excited and it’ll be a good test for us coming off a bye week. We got the extra week of prep and I think that’ll help us.”
And we’ll check on the business end of the schedule with everyone else...
Play it safe, everyone ... I’ll talk to you soon!
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