LaFayette defenders Matt Lemons (17) and Logan Wattenbarger (88) close in on Gordon Lee's Andrew Towns (35) in this Sept 5, 2014 photo.Sean Gray is the worrying sort, not an altogether odd personality trait for a football coach. But what's on Gray's mind these days is something he doesn't mind dealing with: success.
Or, more precisely, how best to handle success when it's something new. Gray's Southeast Whitfield Raiders are 3-0 for the first time in 30 football seasons, but that hardly tells the story. Since going 5-5 in 1992 the program is a wretched 33-174-1. During that time there have been three winless seasons and 11 with just one win.
The last playoff season was 1986, meaning an entire generation of Raiders has not played in the postseason.
Losing football games at Southeast Whitfield has been expected, a fact Gray -- a former player -- is working every day to change. The 3-0 start to the season is starting to make a difference, he said.
"These are very exciting times here, and you can tell the difference just by walking in the hallways and listening to the students," Gray said. "We've become so accustomed to losing here that I knew the biggest change we needed to make was between our ears. Now our attitude and focus are changing, but the big question is how do we handle this success?"
Chad Fisher is experiencing the same metamorphosis at LaFayette. The Ramblers are off to a 2-0 start in Fisher's second season and are looking to break the northwest Georgia area's second-longest playoff drought (see above for the longest). LaFayette last made the postseason in 1993 under Rayvan Teague, who would go on to win state titles at two programs.
Since that year the Ramblers have gone 66-135, with two winning seasons. Like Southeast, LaFayette has had to watch its rivals thrive during that time while student and community interest waned. Though it;s very early, Fisher -- like Gray -- can sense an attitude adjustment toward his program.
"There is a little bit of a buzz surrounding the team," said Fisher, who transformed Gordon Central from a winless team to making the playoffs in his final season. "There's a lot of excitement, but the big thing our kids have to do now is handle the success. If we're mature enough to handle success like we did defeat last year, we'll be fine."
Both turnarounds began in the weight room and have been aided by increased numbers with roster sizes doubling in two years.
"Last year for the first time we had junior varsity and freshman teams, and they both had winning years," Gray said. "This year we're two-platooning all our teams, so we're starting 66 kids. We even had to order more helmets this year because guys have stuck around."
Of course, no turnaround can happen without improvement from the players. Southeast has seen its run game erupt with talented backs Devon Brown and Tyler Fields, while LaFayette's spread offense took off last week as new quarterback Evan Head passed for three scores and ran for two. It all adds up to two programs showing an expectation of success.
"There's a lot of excitement here," Head said. "The students and community are rallying behind us, and when we take the field we know what we're going to do. We're getting excited about the games, and that's definitely different."
The Region 7-AAAA teams meet Oct. 3 at Southeast, where the winner could well be in a strong position to end its long playoff drought.
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6296.