The Lake Oconee Academy football program is heading into its second season under head coach Patrick Stewart and third overall.
The Titans have made steady progress since their start in 2021. They won only a pair of games in the team’s first year two years ago and doubled that amount of wins last season.
Now, Stewart believes his players are starting to buy into the culture he wants surrounding the program, and that their progression this past summer has shown that.
“Compared to this time last year, we are way ahead of schedule from the standpoint of offense, defense, and special teams installments and recognitions,” Stewart said. “From the summer perspective, you can tell the guys are a lot more confident, and that’s the most important part of the foundation of our program.
"That has come from what we’re able to do in the weight room and during our strength and conditioning sessions. They just feel more confident on the field because of the work they’ve put in [the past several months].”
Stewart and his staff spent the offseason figuring out what aspects of the Titans’ game needs to be focused on more and also on what needs to be changed before the start of the season.
Over the past couple of months, the Titans have gotten more players out on the field consistently than in the past.
Stewart acknowledged that the team’s attendance and attention to detail will have them more prepared for Week 1 against George Walton Academy.
“This summer, we were able to do a lot more installs on the field for offense and defense. We had a lot more time, and with this team going into its third year, we’ve had a lot more buy-in and consistency from the guys,” Stewart said. “The main battle during the offseason is getting everybody here, and now that our expectations are set for the program, everyone knows that summer is the time to work.”
As more kids join the program, Stewart continues to emphasize the importance of leadership in the locker room. He believes it is more beneficial for the players to lead each other rather than just being led by the coaching staff.
Leadership is one of the most important attributes he looks for in a kid.
“From a coaching perspective, as long as we are developing leadership qualities in these young men, I’d think of this season as a success,” Stewart said. “I want some of these older guys to gain a sense of pride in having a player-led team. We can give them all the tools they need to know what to do on the field, but player-led teams usually seem to have more success since they’re motivating each other and not having to have the coaches sit there and beg for stuff to get done.”
For this upcoming season, Lake Oconee Academy hopes to make improvements on both sides of the ball.
On offense, the Titans struggled to find the end zone at times but still had three contests in which they scored over 30 points last season.
Defensively, Lake Oconee Academy ended last season with two shutouts but gave up more than 30 points in a handful of contests.
Heading into the season-opener, Stewart believes that both the offensive and defensive lines will be vital to the Titans’ success. He added that it all starts “upfront” inside the trenches.
“We have a defensive line that you could call ‘veterans.’ Ja’Quon Hall, Caleb Mathis, and Mason Salemi are all upperclassmen now and have been the anchors of our defense,” Stewart said. “If they play like they have, that group will contribute to winning games on Friday nights.
Offensively, [running back] Reid Davis and our entire offensive line are the anchors on that side of the ball. The most important position on the field for us is our offensive line, so as long as they can get movement upfront, we’ll be able to score some points.”
After spending the past couple of months conditioning and participating in padded camps, Stewart just wants his team to believe they can compete with teams they have lost to in the past.
“The main thing going into that [George Walton] game is having the mindset that they can hang with these guys. Last year’s score was pretty lopsided, and with it only being [my] second year, we still had guys on the fence about if we could play up to the level of competition in 1A ball,” Stewart said. “The team we have this year is more than ready, so I just want them to have that competitive edge and nature about themselves, whether we win or lose.”
The Titans will travel to face the Bulldogs on August 18th before hosting the Indians of Towns County the following week.
Lake Oconee Academy will have to wait until the GHSA realignment next summer to have a full varsity schedule, so this season will be the final season of only non-region contests.
Until that happens, the Titans are ineligible to make the state playoffs until 2024.