Ridgeland Panthers
Coach: Mark Mariakis (65-38 in nine seasons here; 82-71 in 14 years overall)
Last year: 13-2, 5-0 in 7B-AAAA; lost 45-10 to Sandy Creek in the state final
'13 dreams: Seven consecutive playoff seasons, including last year's magical surge to the Georgia Dome, have lifted the Panthers to the status of programs expected to make good postseason run. Expectations aside, Ridgeland is a team with more unknowns than knowns, starting with the fact that only one returning offensive player, running back Noah Cooper, played significant minutes a year ago. There is some experience on defense, led by end Jermane Conyers, linebacker DeAngelo Smith and backs Zach Weathers and Dillon Peterman. That unit may have to win games this season.
13-for-13 contenders: Cooper takes over for 2,400-yard rusher Darrell Bridges at fullback in the wing-T attack after rushing for 800 yards a year ago in spot duty, while George Johnson returns from a knee injury to man one of the wingback positions. Ridgeland lost a lot of beef in the line, so Conyers will be counted on to be the team's physical leader up front.
Number of interest: 13 - Games won by Ridgeland during last season's memorable run, four more games than any previous team in school history.
13 years ago: The Panthers were 4-6 in 2000 in what would be the second of seven consecutive losing seasons. Coach Mariakis was the defensive coordinator at Chattooga, where he formed a lasting relationship with head coach John Starr. "Coach Starr taught me how to handle, deal and love those kids that most nobody else wanted to love - that tough kid that didn't look, act or respond like most kids," Mariakis recalled. "That prepared me for this, and those years meant a lot to me. I'm not sure if I could have survived here if not for those years at Chattooga."
Program superstition: The Panthers have a set Friday routine that ends with a short video session of that week's opponent. It was a routine they had to go to great lengths to follow before the Class AAAA championship game last December. Said Mariakis: "We don't ever want to break our routine. We always watch a little film before we get dressed for a game, even though we've watched film all week long. Last year in the Georgia Dome, it caused some problems because all our film is off the Internet. Our county people set up a hotspot in the Dome so we could pull film and set up a projector and screen in the locker room, just to keep the routine."
1-through-3: Senior linebacker Trey Stubbs
Q. Coming off the state title-game appearance everybody will be looking to make a statement against you guys this year. How do you handle that?
A. I kind of like people coming after us. If we want to go to the [Georgia] Dome again, we've got to handle things like that.
Q. What is the biggest question mark you guys have to answer before the season starts?
A. Are we a family or not? Right now the pieces aren't there like they were last year. We lost a lot of pieces. We've got to come together as a team first before we can win. We're not a family right now, and that's a big concern.
Q. With all the offensive losses, does that put more pressure on the defense this year?
A. We do have to step up, but we also lost our last line of defense in Vonn Bell, our nose tackle in Gannon Hampton and our leader in Daniel Johnson. We've got some good pieces back. We're a lot faster than last year overall and more athletic. We've just got to make the plays.
2013 Schedule
Aug. 30 Calhoun
Sep. 13 at River Ridge
Sep. 20 at Cedartown
Sep. 27 Pickens County
Oct. 4 at Dalton*
Oct. 11 Southeast Whitfield*
Oct. 18 Northwest Whitfield*
Oct. 25 at LaFayette*
Nov. 1 Heritage*
Nov. 8 Region play-in
*Region 7B-AAAA game
2012 Stats
Passing C-A-I Pct. Yards Tds
Trevor Long 29-59-3 49% 718 8
Darrell Bridges 11-17-0 65% 382 5
Rushing Att. Yards TDs
Darrell Bridges 279 2,430 39
Vonn Bell 123 1,187 23
Noah Cooper 105 801 8
Receiving No. Yards TDs
Vonn Bell 14 517 6
Sharone Porter 12 223 3
Roster
1 Uras Agee Senior
2 Josh Smith Junior
3 Chase Crawford Junior
4 George Johnson Senior
5 Shaun Sryock Senior
6 Bradley Stailey Senior
7 Brett Byrd Senior
8 Dillon Peterman Senior
9 Ivan Ojeda Sophomore
10 Ivy Beohm Freshman
11 Hunter Kaufhold Senior
12 Hunter McKenzie Freshman
13 Austin Bowen Junior
14 Jacob Russell Junior
15 Justin Whitecotton Senior
16 Devartay Turner Sophomore
17 Trey Stubbs Senior
18 Tavian Bridges Sophomore
19 Tristin Bethune Sophomore
20 Blaine Phillips Freshman
21 Caderius Word Sophomore
22 Zach Weathers Junior
23 Hunter Chapman Freshman
24 Nate Strickland Sophomore
25 David Peterman Sophomore
26 Calvin Davenport Junior
27 Marquie Davis Freshman
28 Noah Cooper Senior
29 Grayson Moore Freshman
30 Jeremy Masley Sophomore
31 Chris Figgures Freshman
32 Caleb Figgures Freshman
33 Chauncey Figgures Freshman
34 D.J. Chesney Junior
35 Dustin Peterman Sophomore
36 Gavin Losh Freshman
37 Devon Tucker Freshman
38 Ian Hayes Junior
39 Chandler Carver Sophomore
40 Will Hodges Freshman
41 Dalton Shields Freshman
42 Larry Turner Junior
43 Tim Graham Sophomore
44 Hunter Shirley Senior
45 Chris Henderson Freshman
46 Jerome Smith Senior
47 Josh Masley Senior
48 Sam Oliver Freshman
49 Nathan Morgan Sophomore
50 Christian Gentry Freshman
51 Nathan Pickard Freshman
52 Sam Cobb Junior
53 Malik Couch Senior
54 Noah Nelson Senior
55 Quenton Montgomery Senior
56 Austin Soward Freshman
57 Jacob Byrd Junior
58 P.J. Gardner Junior
59 Josh Skates Senior
60 Ross Wimpee Freshman
61 Dakota Pace Junior
62 Adam Davis Sophomore
63 Justin Allen Sophomore
64 Luke Edwards Freshman
65 Tre Daniels Senior
66 Jahmar Bell Freshman
67 Austin Coppinger Freshman
68 Mason Low Senior
69 Cameron Nunley Freshman
70 Michael Baxter Sophomore
71 Tyler White Freshman
72 Jermiah Conyers Freshman
73 Hunter Presnell Senior
74 Zachary Robertson Junior
75 Coby Liaina Freshman
76 Joby Pickett Sophomore
77 Stephen Hurst Sophomore
78 Austin Burns Senior
79 Dusty Melford Senior
80 Samuel Akins Sophomore
81 Patrick Shropshire Freshman
82 Stephen Byrd Sophomore
83 Tyler Collis Junior
84 Ryan Heath Freshman
85 Will Boydsten Sophomore
86 Brandon Hendrick Freshman
87 Hunter Thompson Freshman
88 Patrick Alford Freshman
89 Levi Mann Junior
90 Brandon Poteet Sophomore
91 Hunter Collins Freshman
92 Jimmy Cronnon Freshman
93 Jermane Conyers Senior
94 Justin Bolton Junior
95 Jacob Gadd Freshman
96 Daniel McCulloch Freshman
97 Peyton Blakemore Freshman
98 Samuel McCulloch Freshman
99 McKinley Mosgrove Freshman