Monday was Labor Day, the final holiday of the summer season. It’s a day off work and a day out of school. The calendar has reached September and for some it’s a good time for one last dip into something cool .

I ventured to McDonough to look in on a Warhawks football team that is off to a 2-0 start. What I found was a team taking a dip in cool ice tubs. From the facial expressions, some Warhawks liked it better than others. For head coach Rodney Cofield it’s one final reminder of last week’s game before totally focusing on what’s next. He even has a name for it.

“It’s call Monday Recoup Day,” exclaims Cofield. “We had a hard-fought battle against Union Grove, which is a tough ball club. It was tough down in the trenches. A lot of our kids got beat up and they are sore, so we put them in an ice bath to help get them ready for this Friday.”

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The McDonough football team is pursuing the playoffs for the first time.

Credit: Sam Crenshaw

This is Cofield's third season as head coach at the Henry County school. Neither of his previous teams started 2-0 and that is a reason to be excited, but it was who the Warhawks beat. Union Grove is just 10 minutes down the road from McDonough. The players, students, parents and support staff all know each other. Friday's 28-23 win over the Wolverines was big because it was the Warhawks first-ever win over the neighboring school in eight tries. The coach had no idea.

“I didn’t know until we I got an email Saturday morning,” recalls Cofield.”The email said, ‘You know coach, this is the first time that McDonough High has ever beaten Union Grove.’ I had not even thought about that.”

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Third-year coach Rodney Cofield has raised expectations at McDonough High School.

Credit: Sam Crenshaw

Cofield has been focused on bringing change to McDonough, on the field and off. After long and successful tenures at Washington and Douglass in the City of Atlanta, Cofield took a chance on a new location. He landed at new school that had its own stadium, something he could not have in Atlanta.

The McDonough (formerly Henry County High School) program last had a winning season in 2011. A school and community had grown accustomed to its football program coming up short. Cofield had to get players and parents to buy into a different mindset, believing in what's possible rather than what's impossible. Friday night's win over Union Grove is an example of an attitude change.

"Last year we would have lost that game, but right now these kids believe that we can win," says Cofield. "That is the difference that I saw last Friday night. They didn’t quit. When Union Grove scored, we got the ball and we scored. It was a tough, grinding game, but our kids were not going down without a fight.”

Quarterback Terrell Riley has been a key to the Warhawks great start this season. Riley has been the starting quarterback every season since Cofield arrived here. The coach has noticed his field general reflecting the team’s embrace of a new mentality.

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The scoreboard reflected a historic win for McDonough over Union Grove.

“Terrell is a three-year starter,” says Cofield. “Where he goes, we go. Our quarterback is the key to our offense. He had two touchdowns (against Union Grove) and last week (against Locust Grove) had a total of six touchdowns, five rushing, one passing. He has been that leader that we have been expecting for the last two years. He has accepted the responsibility and he is doing a great job with it.”

This week the Warhawks have a chance to make history when they visit Mt Zion Jonesboro. A victory would allow the Warhawks to open the season 3-0 for the first time ever in the program's 73-year history. Riley is excited about what this season can bring.

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The Warhawks have successfully emphasized the notion of being a family.

Credit: Sam Crenshaw

“I’m really proud of our team because I have been here for three years,” says Riley. ”I was here when we went 5-5 and 4-6 I’ve never been 3-0 in high school. I have never been to the playoffs.“

Ah, that magical word, playoffs. The last time the Warhawks went to the postseason was in 2018. There is a lot of football to be played between now and early November and Cofield won't look that far ahead. He would just settle for a hot performance to end a week that opened with a frigid start.

“Everybody showed up today,” says Cofield. “I was going to give them off today, but they said, ‘No coach, we want to practice Monday morning.’ I said, ‘See you at 9 o'clock and every varsity player was here …. On time!”