Woodward Academy has always been consistently in the mix for a state title. Despite not having won one since 1980 and not winning a region title since 1997, the War Eagles have been to the playoffs for five consecutive seasons, including the last two years under head coach John Hunt.
This season, the War Eagles are trying to break the trend of early exits in the playoffs. In 2011, the War Eagles lost to eventual state champion Burke County in the second round, and in 2012, the War Eagles fell to North Hall in the first round.
Will this be the year Woodward takes the next step and makes a deep playoff run? It will not be easy for them as the War Eagles return just eight starters this season.
Some of the key losses for the War Eagles include DE Ozzie Bunbury, LB Jameel Spencer and LB Austin Roark. Spencer will play for Georgia State in the fall while Roark will play for Stetson.
So with a key number of players gone, Hunt knows that he will have to play a lot of guys that don’t have a lot of varsity experience.
“We lost so many guys that were multiple starters,” said Hunt, who is in third year at Woodward. “We will end up playing a bunch of new people. We are going to be young.”
The War Eagles will be young, but just like any other year at the College Park private school, the talent is there for them to reach the playoffs for the sixth consecutive year.
One of the players that will help lead the War Eagles as well as anchor the offense is quarterback Terry Googer. Hunt said that Googer is the one of the strengths for the War Eagles and he will be the key to the offense, especially with them losing their top running back, wide receiver and top three offensive linemen from last season. Googer is a four-star recruit according to 247 Sports and has gotten offers from South Carolina, Clemson, North Carolina, Louisville, Notre Dame and Boston College.
Another player to watch for on offense is linemen Jack Bryant and Nate Guyton. Both players will have to be leaders on the young offensive line. Quincy Wolf will play some fullback and safety and he will be one of the few playmakers coming back for the War Eagles. One of the War Eagles’ biggest plays of the 2012 season was when Wolf intercepted as pass in the game against Westminster and returned it 88 yards for a touchdown.
Defensive lineman Andre Newton will only be a junior this season, but he will be one of the leaders of a very young defense. In order for the team to be successful, the defense will have to come together fast because the unit doesn’t have some of the attributes that most AAA schools in Georgia have.
“We are not blessed with size,” Hunt said. “We have to play with speed and tenacity.”
And that does not include only the defense, Hunt said that they have to be that way on offense as well as special teams.
“We have to create a new mindset at Woodward,” Hunt said. “The players are starting to buy into the physicality because we play some good teams that are physical.”
Some of the top teams that Woodward will face will be Lovett (Aug. 23), Westminster (Sept. 20), Blessed Trinity (Sept. 27) and St. Pius X (Oct. 25). Hunt knows that this season will be more of a challenge for the War Eagles to reach the playoffs this season. But if Googer has a strong season under center, the defense learns to play physical football and the War Eagles can take away from what they learned from the playoffs losses the last two years, there is no reason Woodward can be back on top of the AAA mountain.
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