Having covered high school sports in the metro Atlanta area for many years, I take pride in the fact that there are few high schools that I haven't visited or reported on a team that represents that school. The schools are named for special people or the communities that they are located in. I have been to Dutchtown for football games in the past, but never knew the origin of the name of the Henry County school. 

From what I could gather the school is located in a section of Henry County once known as the Sixth Militia District. Families of German descent settled there in the 19th century and dubbed the community Dutchtown. While I had no idea about the area's history, at least I had been to the school. 

Fast forward to 2017 and Clifford Fedd receives the call. He is the new head coach of the Dutchtown Bulldogs. Yikes! Where in the Rand McNally is Dutchtown? "Never heard of Dutchtown in my life," says Fedd. "My first 15 years of coaching were all in South Georgia, so I had never heard of Dutchtown." 

The former Offensive Coordinator at Brooks County, Fedd was a part of back-to-back state semifinals team in 2013 and 20014. The Trojans are a 2A program that has a well-earned reputation for knocking off teams from larger classifications, with a battle cry "Bring the Hammer."

“They will always hit you hard and play hard,” says Fedd. "When I got the job here I asked if I could bring that motto along with me and they approved. I explained to the kids at Dutchtown what it means. We bring the hammer on the field, bring the hammer in the classroom, bring the hammer in the hallways and bring the hammer in the weight room."

While "Bring the Hammer" is a motto, Fedd made sure he drove the point home by bringing an actual sledgehammer to Dutchtown. To him "Bring the Hammer " is something that should be seen and not just heard. You can call it " Hammer Time at Dutchtown!"

“They remind us what we come to do," says Fedd. "We have our hammers on the field during pregame warm-ups. We got three sledgehammers and we take them with us everywhere we go." 

It's a different mindset that Fedd brought from South Georgia to a program that had posted three straight 5-5 seasons. The coach says he found talent at Dutchtown and that the players were willing to do what he and the coaching staff asked them to do. The Bulldogs posted a 7-4 mark in 2017 that ended with a heartbreaking first round playoff loss to Starr's Mill. The loss provided motivation for 2018.

"Off-season intensity was through the roof," remembers Fedd. "Lots of people had a sour taste in their mouths about how the season ended, and it made us hungry. The whole off season was about getting the job done, and bringing the hammer. The world is against us and we just have to handle business."

The players bought into what Fedd and his coaching staff were presenting. From freshmen to the Division I recruits, they were all in. Nobody missed summer team workouts to go on college visits and take part in the camp and combine circuit. Fedd appealed to them to make Dutchtown top priority.

(L-R) Reginald Ponder, William Anderson, Tyree Clayton, Kevin Glenn, Arendez Fedd and coach Clifford Fedd

"I haven't done a 7-on-7 tournament in the two summers that I have been here," says Fedd. "We do 7-on-7 every day against each other." Coach thinks that 7-on-7 is a good place for a future opponent to get video that could be used later, so he doesn't go. 

In a way it's a breath of fresh air, and while some will call it old-school, it's hard to argue with the 5-0 start the Bulldogs have gotten off to this season. A challenging schedule started with three straight road games and after shutout wins over Langston Hughes and Creekside, it was on to Crisp County for a game that turned into a marathon.

"The game started an hour late due to lighting delays," says Fedd. "Then during the game we had to come off the field and come back again. I was told that if we had to stay until 1 o'clock in the morning, we had to get that game in. " The Bulldogs survived the storm and brought home a 28-3 victory. 

Through the first three games Dutchtown had shown that defense is the calling card for their team. There are six players with Division I offers on the Bulldogs defensive unit. It all starts with Kevon Glenn, a playmaking senior linebacker who had 95 tackles last season and has 45 college offers. His tag team partner is defensive end William Anderson, a 6-4 junior with a wingspan like an NBA player. Quarterbacks have a hard time getting away from Anderson, who had 14.5 sacks last season and has offers from Auburn and Kentucky.

When you get off to a 5-0 start who wants to stop playing? That was what the schedule dictated to the the Dutchtown Bulldogs, who were on fall break last week. The bye week gave a grateful coach a chance to reflect on what has happen in a short period of time in Henry County.

William Anderson

"We have a solid foundation for what we are doing at Dutchtown,” says Fedd. “They know about Stockbridge in South Georgia. I just want to make sure everybody knows about Dutchtown and our kids know that we can play with anybody that we choose. When I came here last year we didn't have a booster club, we had nothing. This year we started a Mom’s and Dad’s club, and they have done a tremendous job for us. This year we have a trailer, travel bags, water-mister fans, and a sideline huddle TV. We had none of that last year and I really appreciate what they have done."

Now it's back to work in Region 4-5A, where Dutchtown (10th in the GPB Sports 5A Poll) looks forward to showdowns with Jones County, (2nd in the GPB Sports 5A Poll), and Stockbridge (5th in the GPB Sports 5A Poll) in the coming weeks. On this Football Friday in Georgia, it will be "Hammer Time" as the Dutchtown Bulldogs host Woodland-Stockbridge.

We hope that you will join us this week for a 6A showdown as No. 5 Sequoyah visits No. 4 Creekview as Football Fridays in Georgia rolls into Cherokee County. It starts with the All Access Pass at 7 p.m. on the great GPB!