By MICHAEL BOYLAN
mboylan@thecitizennews.com

The Sandy Creek Patriots football team enjoyed a successful season under Coach Rodney Walker last year.

The team finished 7-3-0 and made it to the state playoffs. Now, 17 starters from last year’s team are back and the team, which has 20 seniors, is bigger and stronger thanks to a solid offseason program.

The team graduated offensive weapons Eric Frazier and Jermaine Harris, but quarterback Andre Green has had a good fall and looks to lead the team back to the playoffs.

“This is a veteran football team,” explains Walker. “They have a lot of experience and they are good football players.”

The going will be tough for the Patriots, though. Their first game of the season is against Shaw, the team that knocked them out of the state playoffs last year, and their second game of the season is against last year’s AAA state champs, Oconee County. In fact, seven of their 10 opponents made the state playoffs last year. The jump from 4-AAA to 4-AAAA does not make much of a difference, though, as many of the teams jumped up as well.

Overall, the Patriots and their coach are optimistic about the 2000 football season. “We’re probably just like everybody else right now,” Walker said. “We look pretty good and we’re just a little tired.”

Sandy Creek opens its season at home Sept. 1 against the Shaw Raiders.
The Starr’s Mill Panthers also are looking forward to the 2000 season. The team went to the state playoffs last year and returns 11 starters, three on offense and eight on defense.

The returning starters on offense are tailback Reuben Houston, center Mike Phillips and quarterback brad McClaren. McClaren has missed a lot of preseason practice due to an illness, but should be back on the field and ready to play by the first week of the season. Matt Fuhrmann, a key defensive player, also has missed practice due to injury but is expected to return by the first game.
Other returning starters on defense are senior defensive end Tony Tofanelli, linebacker Andrew Bashakus, Drew Cofty, Orlando Hinton, Jason Laney and David Clark. Some players who are having a great preseason are sophomore Andy Smith, a 6’3, 270 lb. offensive tackle, and Jason Earwood, a 6’2, 200 lb. outside linebacker. Earwood has also been filling in on quarterback duties while McClaren is on the mend.

“We still have a lot of work to do before the jamboree,” said Head Coach Mike Earwood. “The kids are getting a lot of reps, and we are improving day by day.”
The improvement is necessary for the Panthers as they will face some stiff competition this year. Starr’s Mill made the leap from 4-AAA to 4-AAAAA and will have to face new opponents Newnan and Lovejoy, as well as some familiar faces such as Morrow, Mt. Zion, Jonesboro and Riverdale.

“We’ll have to grow into it,” Earwood said. “Every year has had something new for us. Our first year we were junior varsity, the next year we went full varsity, last year we were getting there and now we are in a new classification.”

The jump does make the season more exciting for the team and for fans. Several of the games can be considered local rivalries. Starr’s Mill will travel down the road to face McIntosh and Fayette County this season.

The Panthers’ season begins Aug. 25 when they travel to Parkview High School for a jamboree. They will play against Parkview and Lithia Springs.
Their first game of the season will be Sept. 1 at Henry County.

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