GREENE COUNTY
The Lake Oconee Academy football team just had its most intensive offseason to date, and second-year head coach Patrick Stewart is excited to see what his team can accomplish this season.
The Titans are set to face Lakeview Academy, coached by former Georgia Military College head coach Lee Coleman, in the team’s fall scrimmage Friday before the season-opener in a week.
“Here are a few storylines heading into LOA’s scrimmage against the Lions:
New quarterback in the pocket
Former Morgan County quarterback Ike O’Neal recently transferred to Lake Oconee Academy over the summer and has made strides with his new team.
He played two games for the Bulldogs last season before an injury cut his time on the field short. Now, he hopes to lead a Titans’ offense that has multiple returning starters in the backfield and upfront.
The rising junior has seen Class 3A competition and acknowledged a few weeks ago in an interview with the Lake Oconee News that his team works just as hard as any he has ever been a part of.
O’Neal has looked good in practices so far with Evan Satterfield and Canon Mullen in the wings, so he will have plenty of motivation to lead the Titans on offense this season.
Offensive veterans upfront
Stewart has praised the work of his offensive line all offseason, and he has good reason to.
For starters, all five guys returning upfront played valuable minutes for the Titans last season. The offensive line was able to run the ball because of the holes they created upfront and helped the team rack up over 1,000 yards on the ground.
Seniors Jack Walker and Jaquon Hall are accompanied by juniors, Kaleb Mathis and Matthew Lewis, in the trenches. Along with some underclassmen, this group is where the ball movement starts.
Since they’ve practiced with more physicality than usual this summer, Stewart believes this group can have depth and be the difference-makers down the stretch.
Finding the balance
Even though Lake Oconee Academy’s football program has seen an increase in its number of players, they still have multiple athletes playing both sides of the ball.
Defensive linemen also play offense, and players in the secondary also get used as skill guys in the backfield and out wide on offense. Since the Titans are heading into their second 10-game season ever, most of the current players may not be accustomed to playing that many snaps.
That is why Stewart’s off-season schedule has incorporated more strength and conditioning work than in the past. More than 50 percent of the Titans’ roster plays both ways, so the freshness of the players is important to the success later on in the season just as much as it will be later tonight.