Calhoun's Kaelen Riley takes a shot in his game against Ringgold in this 2014 photo.CALHOUN, Ga. -- One team's success in a high school sports program often is a hindrance to another. At Calhoun High School, those in charge don't look at it that way, but if anyone did, boys' basketball coach Vince Layson would have the biggest complaint.
The football team's run to the Georgia Class AAA state championship cost Layson over a month of having several members of his team, including starters Kaelen Riley, Jireh Wilson and Landon Rice. And basketball isn't just a sport that Calhoun football players use to stay in shape. Layson's Yellow Jackets were the Class AA runners-up a year ago.
As a result of the football title, the basketball Jackets had to push the start of this season back a couple of weeks. After going through six games in 14 days, they now are beginning a run of five Region 6-AAA games in seven days to end the regular season.
Most practices now are just shoot-arounds, and there is little time for video study. The players, especially the seven football athletes, have had to condition for basketball during games, and there has been little time to build chemistry on a team that lost three starters from last year.
Despite the obstacles, however, Layson's team is flying high with a 14-3 record and a first-place standing in 6-AAA at 11-0. The coach credits his players' resolve and work ethic for turning what might have been a disaster into another magical season.
"Physically, it's tough to play so many games over such a short time, but mentally it's been kind of good for us," Layson said. "We're kind of hitting our stride as a team, and they seem to be having fun with it. They're blue-collar basketball players. They clock into practice, handle their business, and when it comes to game time the hard work pays off.
"They definitely take a lot of pride in what they do."
Calhoun's crammed final stretch includes a home game Saturday against second-place Ringgold (12-1) and a road game at third-place North Murray on Monday. The boys' regular-season winner will be the host school for the region tournament, so even if the Jackets wanted to take it easy for a game or two, there's too much riding on the line.
"It's tough, but at the same time this team loves to compete," said Riley, the 6-foot-4 guard/forward who is also the football team's quarterback. "Everybody wants to play in a game instead of practice, so this is going to be fun in that regard. We also want to get home court for the region tournament, so we can't afford to let up."
Layson and Riley point out the unseen key to the team's success -- and maybe the aspect that could have taken the biggest hit from the hectic schedule -- is on-court chemistry. According to one of the Jackets' newcomers, it was never an issue, though getting the football players to come down from cloud nine took some time.
"These are some of my best friends, so we naturally play well together and for each other," said junior Landon Rice, a 6-6 post who is committed to play football at Auburn. "I'm having a great time out here. Rolling in from football to basketball, we weren't really focused on basketball at first, but Coach Layson reined us in after we got beat twice at the Christmas tournament. We saw we weren't as good as we thought we were, but we've turned it on since."
They've won 13 of their last 14 games and by at least 13 points in their last nine games.
The success shouldn't really be a surprise, considering the school's recent athletic results. This year alone the softball team and cheerleading squad have also won state titles. The girls' basketball team is in first place, the swim team is routing its opponents and the band is annually recognized as one of the top groups in the state.
"Everyone here likes to call it the Calhoun Way, and I believe the success in football has translated to basketball," Layson said. "They're just competitors. Even if they are the underdogs they don't know they are, and that confidence goes a long way. Coach (Hal) Lamb and the football staff has instilled that sense of competitiveness. It carries over to not just sports: It's everything we do here."
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6296.