Long before this season started, those of us who follow high school football had been warned that this could be a very special season in Douglas County. Sure, the Douglas County Tigers are in the hunt for a state title, with enough talent and star power to attract major college coaches from across the country every Friday night. But this blog is not about the Douglas County Tigers.

This blog is about the New Manchester Jaguars. They are chasing a region championship, giving the folks at that school south of I-20 something to shout about. The team seems to be flying below the radar, but head coach Olten Downs doesn’t mind. This season Douglas County is casting a long shadow.

 “They have been super successful,” says Downs. “They've had it rolling. I’m really good friends with Coach (Johnny) White and that's what everybody's talking about. We are just worrying about ourselves and just trying to build it, believing that if we build it they'll come. We just work on getting the ones that want to be with us and being the best that we can be.”

Downs, who has a state championship to his credit, worked in the University of Georgia football program before returning to high school football and landing in Douglas County at Alexander in 2021. After two seasons Downs made a move within the county to New Manchester.

New Manchester

Senior George Sabb leads the team with 29 receptions and seven touchdowns.

“The area is rich with talent,” says Downs. “It's on the backside of Westlake, Langston Hughes and in between Douglas County High School. It's fertile ground for players. Honestly a lot of other schools have been winning for years with the players that were supposed to be at New Manchester. So, I thought that if I could put some fences around the young men who are supposed to be here and make it an attractive place, the kids wouldn't want to go anywhere else.”

Perhaps we buried the lead. The Jaguars are 7-1 so far this season. Seven wins are the most ever for a football team in the history of New Manchester High School. Yes, it has been a topic of conversation.

“In the summer we talked about some goals with the team,” recalls Downs. “We can write our own history. We can create a legacy, do different things and think outside the box. We can achieve whatever we want to achieve as long as its player driven. I know they're talking about it. They're super excited because our juniors and seniors didn't win any games two years ago.”

The team went 0-10 in 2022, then improved to 4-7 last year in Downs’ first season.

“I know our kids and our parents truly believe in what we're doing right now and that's a great thing,” Downs said.

The seventh win of the season came last Friday night in a suspense-filled 21-20 win over Region 5-5A rival Villa Rica.

“It was a big win because we were down 13-0 going into the third quarter,” remembers Downs. “We were shooting ourselves in the foot. It was an ugly win, but I'm super proud of them because they continued to fight. Before Friday night, I don't know if we would have pushed through and won. To be able to see them fight and never blink was amazing for me.”

The team is led by junior Delancy Alexander, a dual-threat quarterback who scored the game-winning two-point conversion against Villa Rica.

His favorite targets are junior Jakobe Dejesus and senior George Sabb. The defense is led by linebacker Triston Graham, safety Keymond Maze and defensive lineman Jaylon Turner.”

New Manchester

Senior Greison McKelvey has recovered two fumbles this season.

 New Manchester opened in 2011, the same year that Olten Downs coached Creekside to a perfect 15-0 record and a state championship. A 20-minute drive separates the two schools. I asked if he could contrast his current team and the one that won it all.

“At that time, I was young,” recalls Downs. “You always think you know something until you don't. I've learned a lot, being at the collegiate level then back and forth at the high school level. For me it’s being able to pick and choose what I can use from my past. I think developing great patience with our young men and knowing that this will take more than just one day. Our guys were 0-10 and they really didn't know how to work. They had not had any success. I've tried to mention certain things to them about that season. Sometimes it's hard to connect with our young men because they will say, ‘Coach that was so long ago, I was barely born.’ So, it's difficult for them to think about it.”

Coming off a thrilling victory, most coaches look forward to a great week of practice. That won’t be the case for the Jaguars who are on Fall break and have a bye week. I asked the coach if he would rather be playing this week.

“We need to get healed,” laughs Downs. “So, I’m going to take the bye week. Fall break is a good thing and it's a bad thing. Everybody needs to break. It can be hard to coordinate practices when some parents want to take a vacation and what not. We’re going to get together for a couple days this week and work on us a little bit. Then try to get as healthy as we can to finish the season.”

When New Manchester returns to the gridiron next Friday night they will get to face the Rome Wolves in a battle for the top spot in the region. After starting 0-2 the Wolves have reeled off four in a row to regain their usual form.

“They’re the same every year,” says Downs. “They are going to play fast, physical and they can play championship caliber football. It will be a challenge for us, but I’m excited to watch our guys, especially on the road as well in hostile territory. We’re getting their minds ready for it.”

This week Football Fridays in Georgia will feature North Cobb and Cherokee. Kickoff is 7:30 on the great GPB!