Okay, one more time ... three more teams getting ready for the semifinals... 

Two in lower classifications that we’re used to seeing there and one that hasn’t been there in a long time: Brooks County, Irwin County and LaGrange... 

Brooks County

Physical defense again rules the day at Brooks County.

Credit: Quitman Free Press

Brooks County

When I started talking to Josh McFather, the first-year head coach at Brooks County, AD Zach Grage gave a yell as well. Josh has been a long-time coach and coordinator in Quitman and he takes over for Maurice Freeman who left to coach in Alabama in the off-season. 

“If you had told me back in August that we would be here right now, I would have told you ‘I hope you’re right,’” McFather says. “It means that all the things we worked on from then are in place and it went the way we hoped it would.” 

The Trojans are 9-4 in Class A-Division II and have to hit the road for Manchester in the right-hand side of the bracket after wins over Washington-Wilkes, Miller County and Jenkins County to get to this week of the season for the fifth time in six seasons. 

The non-region schedule was as tough as it normally is- Thomasville, Cook, Worth County, Fitzgerald and Pierce. They would go 2-3 before hitting region play.  

“Over time, it’s about putting the right players in the right positions. You ensure that those right people are put in positions to be successful. At Brooks, it is a tradition to break the season into three separate seasons. We play teams that other teams may not want to play. But we play those teams to see where we measure up.” 

Irwin County

Josh McFather is in his first season as head coach at Brooks County.

It’s been that way for a decade or so when you ask Josh about it. He tells me the schedule helps out that way. “When you play Jenkins,” McFather admits, “it’s like ‘Oh, they play like Pierce.’ It gives us a chance to figure out who we are. We try to hit our peak around week 12 or 13 and we stick with what works for us and do that every year.” 

I asked Josh, since this is year one for him as a head coach – period -- why now? He tells me it was for the kids at the program. When he was promoted to offensive coordinator, it was an easy transition for him at the time. At one point, he had already made up his mind that he wasn’t going to pursue a head coaching position. He had entertained the idea and decided he didn’t want to go there. 

But, with the mentorship of AD Grage, McFather is learning as he goes. 

“I can’t brag on him enough,” he says, “and he’s not even in the room anymore. The support from above -- coaches and administration -- plus the athletes and the community, it’s been great.  

“The biggest thing I’ve learned so far has to do with making sure you have a procedure for everything. What do players do getting dressed? How do I organize what’s going on for the sideline? It’s the little details you don’t think about I’m learning here. Pregame meals, water supply, all the things I didn’t know about that he’s helped.  

“Another thing is the depth of your coaching staff. In talking to Zach, he reminds you that with any staff, ten percent is always really good. But it’s the other 90-percent that determines how good your team will be. We’ve got a talented staff from the top down and it gives me a chance to mentor the younger guys on staff. And you don’t, initially, think about that. It’s my chance to mentor the young guys on a very talented staff.” 

As Brooks get ready for the Manchester game, it’s a three-and-a-half-hour drive from Quitman. They’ll stop every hour or so to break things up in Cordele, Centerville and finally in Meriwether County. It’s been a while since Brooks has actually traveled. And that was the game against the team we’ll talk about next. 

But it’ll be another learning opportunity for a first-year head coach in a semifinal... 

Irwin

Coach Casey Soliday has Irwin County in the semifinals for the fourth time in his five-year run as head coach.

Credit: GPB Sports

Irwin County

Casey Soliday and Irwin County make this a habit -- practicing this time of year. 

“We’ll be pulling for those guys,” McFather says of their region mates at Irwin County. 

“Practice went well Tuesday,” Irwin head coach Casey Soliday tells me. “But, man, it was cold. The season has been really good and the kids have been great this year. We haven’t had injuries this year like we did last year. They’ve all stepped up and bought in.” 

This year, Irwin is 12-1 and that one loss was in region play. Last year was an uncharacteristic 7-6 finish. Coach Soliday had a lesson come with him from 2023. 

“We needed to get the back-ups better prepared,” Soliday says. “We graduated 22 seniors from the class before and we felt like we had to get the new starters ready. After losing all those key players, we had to spend time with them. I don’t think we had the back-ups really ready with the injuries we faced until late in the year.” Irwin would win five of six before losing in the 2023 semifinals. 

Their 2024 non-region schedule -- Fitzgerald (sorry .. as Coach Soliday refers to them “The Team Up North”), Worth, Schley, Dooly and Cook made the schedule tough by his own admission.  

“Those teams all do a mix of things offensively and that helps you going forward. Clinch runs a lot. Brooks has a wide receiver tough to defend. And, if you look at the D1 playoff bracket, low left, it looked like our schedule. I told everyone, ‘Man, looks like we’re playing a class up this year.’ In the loss to Clinch, I think we may have looked at their loss to Brooks and we learned we need to be keyed in better afterwards.”  

Irwin has to travel to Bowdon the week after a three-plus hour drive to Trion last week. Coach Soliday says the kids aren’t fazed by the long bus rides. He’s proud of how they handle it and admits it may wear on the coaches and adults more. Bowdon will be hard to prep for, he admits, and he knows they’ll have to beat them on blocks on both sides of the ball for the win. 

LaGrange

LaGrange has won its three playoff games by an average of 27.8 points.

Credit: LaGrange Football Facebook

LaGrange

I pulled LaGrange head coach Matt Napier out of his birthday pizza party. 

“We just placed our order. It’ll be a few minutes, so I just walked out to the car,” he admits. There’s a pizza place in LaGrange where he has pizza and wings. The pizza is intriguing. It’s called a “green wave”- bacon and chicken ranch. He adds a hot, lemon pepper wings order and/or a hot parm wings order to go with it. 

“Any time you’re practicing on a birthday on Dec. 3, it’s the best gift you can get,” he says from the parking lot. “Other than a win this Friday, of course.” 

He tells me this year’s Grangers team is really focused and enjoyable to coach as a group. The seniors, as a group, have been easy to coach as well. Before Napier and his staff came to campus five years ago there had been a seven-year run of losing seasons. Since coming to LaGrange, the playoffs have yielded first and second-round appearances. This year is the deepest run since 2008. 

“The kids have bought in since we got here,” he says. “You just have to keep chopping away at the tree, you know? We have found a way to be successful, but the credit goes to those that came here before us. When you show a lot of positivity every day you have a chance to grow and build on what you bring. All of that work leads you to win through those trials you face. Our staff has been together, for the most part, this entire time and the more you win the more belief is there that you can continue to win.”  

This season, in Class AAA, the Grangers started out 1-2 including a region loss to Sandy Creek that would be avenged in round two of the playoffs. But they’ve only lost once since Sept. 1 and we’ll get to the loss to Upson-Lee in a bit. 

The 2023 season ended 9-3 and the toughest part coming into this year was integrating the nine new starters on both sides of the ball. But the offense has been consistent and prolific averaging mostly in the 40-plus point range week in and week out. Coach Napier admits, though, that you can learn and grow from both the wins and the losses. 

“They can humble you quick,” he says. 

That last loss was in the region finale to Upson-Lee on Bracketology Friday. The Grangers were held in check in an 18-15 loss in Thomaston. Safe to say, he learned a lot.  

“I think we learned about how to handle a hostile environment and a high stress situation.” That has helped them in the postseason where they’ve gone to Dahlonega, Sandy Creek and North Hall to prep for this week’s trip at Jefferson. And it was a game where LaGrange got to rest key players in the second half with the big lead they had on the board. 

“Jefferson is a talented team and they’re well-coached by coach Noland and his staff,” as Coach Napier tips his hat. “They’ve got dynamic players and we’re looking forward to getting on the bus and playing them. They're a lot bigger than we are and it’ll be a great challenge. We’ll have to bring our A-game and have the ball bounce our way.” 

And, with that, I let Matt enjoy a pizza I’m intrigued by... 

I wrap up this week with a request ... If you have nothing going on (other than watching our game on your favorite device), go catch a semifinal near you and take in that environment. Go to a place you’ve never been and watch an important game in a new place. 

Let me know what you think! 

Play it safe, everyone... I’ll talk to you soon!