GREENE COUNTY
Lake Oconee Academy will play its first varsity game on Friday night against George Walton Academy.
It will be a special night for the program and head coach Patrick Stewart, who is making his debut for the Titans while facing his former school and alma mater.
GWA struggled last season in GHSA’s Region 8A-Private. The Bulldogs went 2-9 in head coach Logan Beer’s inaugural season. Now, they are competing in the GISA, although they will try and improve as Beer tries to rebuild the program.
LOA went 2-6 last season under former head coach Drew Anthony. Stewart took over in the offseason and has been leading the Titans since May. He hopes to lead Lake Oconee Academy to a winning record in its first full season at the varsity level.
“I’m stoked,” Stewart told the Lake Oconee News. “I couldn’t have asked for a better program to face in my first game. I graduated from George Walton and coached there. I’m familiar with the program. I also think we have a great shot on Friday night. We really built some confidence up after our scrimmage. I think we’re physically and mentally in a better place now since playing Lakeview last Friday night.”
George Walton returns two stellar running backs in Carter Paine and Laythan Folgman. The pair were the workhorses for its offense the last few seasons. Mason Mathis will also anchor the Bulldogs’ offensive and defensive lines this year.
LOA’s defensive goal for this week is to stop the tandem rushing attack of Paine and Folgman. The Titans hope that players such as Jaquan Hall, Kaleb Mathis and Ben Turiano can get enough pressure up front to combat GWA’s rushing attack.
“They (GWA) are probably about 90 percent run and 10 percent pass,” Stewart said. “So, if we stop the run, we should be fine. Our saying for the week is ‘if we stop the run, let’s have fun.’ That’s our main goal. We also need to eliminate explosive plays.” The Titans will rely on quarterback Garrett Payne and running back Rhett Sandhagen on the offensive side of the ball. The two seniors are the leaders on that side of the ball, and they will be the difference against George Walton on Friday.
LOA has been cleaning up the “little things” this past week in preparation for the Bulldogs. The Titans hope to move the ball at a consistent rate against a varsity defense in GWA. It’s really all about taking what the defense gives them, per Stewart.
“We’re going to keep it true to what we do,” Stewart said. “We’re not going to do anything crazy, and harp on the fundamentals. We’re going to beat that drum all the way until Friday night.”
LOA and GWA will kickoff at 7:30 p.m. at Tucker Field in Greensboro.