After losing to Ridgeland in the state semifinals, the Marist War Eagles are ready to take the 2013 season head on. With a 5-0 record in Region 6 and a 12-2 overall record, the War Eagles were just one game shy of a trip to the state championship. Having advanced to the playoffs every year since 1982, Marist head coach Alan Chadwick, sees this year as a challenge, but is confident his team will excel again.
Chadwick is about to enter his 28th season as Marist’s head coach and has won more than 300 games. He is known to have one of the best winning percentages of any coach in the history of Georgia high school football, has been named regional coach of the year numerous times, was Class AAA Coach of the Year, Georgia’s NFL high school Coach of The Year, and has received many other accolades during his years at Marist.
The preseason No. 5 War Eagles head into the 2013 season with many holes in their roster. Marist’s top two leading rushers, QB Myles Willis, who had over 1,000 yards rushing, and HB Gray King, who has decided to walk-on at Auburn, along with the top three tacklers, Greg Taboada, who now plays for Stanford, Jason Morris and Nick Carrier have walked across the stage to receive their diplomas and enter the next chapter of their lives.
“We lost a lot of important players,” said Chadwick. “But I like the balance we are going to have in the fall.”
With the loss of such important players, including Boston College-bound Willis, the War Eagles will look to adjust and succeed with new key players.
Among those is senior QB Chase Martenson, who became comfortable with the newly adopted helmet rule over the 2012 season. Willis had his helmet knocked off numerous times thoughout the season, taking him to the sideline and forcing Martenson to step in. This resulted in an important third-down conversion pass against Clarke Central, which led Marist to a 30-13 win over the Gladiators, along with another third-down conversion pass later in the season against Lovett.
Joining Martenson are teammates and seniors DT Kendall Baker, OT Sean McVay, and juniors DE Kenneth Brinson and FB Griffin King.
“King’s a big play kind of guy,” said Chadwick “and Brinson is an extremely athletic player. He won state in both wrestling and the discuss.”
Baker weighs in at 297 pounds, stands 6-foot-6, and already has more than 15 SEC and ACC schools looking in his direction.
One of biggest games for the War Eagles this fall is renewed rival, Thomas County Central, ranked preseason No. 3 in Class AAAAA.
“They are great competition to play against,” said Chadwick. “We are playing them on their home turf, so it will be an interesting game.”
The War Eagles and the Yellow Jackets played each other last season for the first time in nine years, with the Yellow Jackets taking home the win. Within the rivalry, the War Eagles are 1-6 and looking to add to their single win when they play each other at Thomas County Central on Sept. 6.
“In order to get ready, we are working on getting bigger, stronger, faster, and thicker,” said Chadwick. “We are focusing on weight training and speed development this preseason.”
The War Eagles will kick off their 2013 season against Clarke Central on Aug. 30 on their home turf, looking to start their season off with a win and continue to add to the Marist legacy.
Loading ...
