Region 6-AAA South // Phoenix Stadium, 7340 Fairmount Highway SE, Calhoun, GA 30701
At the helm
Denver Pate
(first year here and overall)
Heroes assemble!
The Phoenix return 8 off. , 5 def. starters.
Super powers
A strong group of skill-position players, including QB Patrick Moore, WRs Casey Brooks, Trenton Daniel and Wes McCormick plus 1,000-yard rusher Tristan Key, return from last year's playoff team. Combine those guys with a line that features Parker McBurnett (6-4, 290), Russell Johnson (6-2, 255) and Mason Moriatakis (5-11, 260), and the Phoenix should be able to hold their own in the offense-driven Region 6-AAA.
Possible kryptonite
The team's two best defenders from a year ago, LB Sharrod Agee and S Tate Moore, graduated. There are still some strong DBs, including two-way starters Daniel and McCormick, but the LB corps will be inexperienced. Several sophomores will be counted on to start right away on defense.
Spidey sense tingling
After four consecutive playoff seasons, including first-round playoff wins the past two postseasons, the Phoenix head into this season expecting nothing less than to play beyond week 10. The strong feeling is if the team can defeat Adairsville and Bremen this year, the ninth game of the season, at Calhoun, could be the biggest in Gordon County history.
Here I come to save the day!
QB Moore is a legitimate threat running the ball in the team's power spread attack, but this year will be counted on to produce through the air more. Considering Sonoraville's solid set of receivers, there's no reason to think defenses should be able to stack the box this year.
Up, up and away!
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. In football terms, that often translates into ultra-successful programs becoming the blueprint for those trying to reach new levels.
Sonoraville, like most programs in Georgia, would love to emulate the success Gordon County neighbor Calhoun has enjoyed over the past 16 seasons. So much so, in fact, that former Calhoun assistant Jim Kremer was hired as head coach of the Phoenix and proceeded to guide the program into back-to-back eight-win seasons before leaving this winter due to family considerations.
The Calhoun connection, despite Kremer's absence, only got stronger this season with the hiring of another former Yellow Jackets defensive coordinator, Ricky Ross, along with former player Alex Kirby, a two-time Times Free Press Best of Preps defensive player of the year.
Pate, the new head coach, said the new assistants - which include former Sonoraville baseball coach Deron Walraven (also another former Calhoun assistant) - have the team energized.
"We've got a good mixture of coaches," said Pate, who is in his third year at the school. "Coach Ross has done a great job with our defense, and he's brought intensity into our weight room. We're getting after it in there. The speed and agility stuff he brought with him is top notch, and the kids are really buying into it.
"Coach Kremer set the foundation for us, and we're hungry, just like the kids, to take that next step and compete for a region championship and make that deep playoff run. There's no reason we can't."
2016 Results
Aug. 26 Model lost, 22-0
Sep. 2 Cass won, 28-25
Sep. 9 Dalton lost, 43-7
Sep. 16 Lakeview-Fort O. won, 46-3
Sep. 23 Ringgold won, 42-21
Sep. 30 Bremen won, 28-21
Oct. 7 Haralson County won, 44-20
Oct. 14 Adairsville won, 35-0
Oct. 21 Calhoun lost, 34-0
Nov. 4 Ringgold won, 38-35 (2OT)
Nov. 11 Franklin County won, 15-9 (first round)
Nov. 18 Liberty County lost, 28-14 (second round)
8-4, 3-1 Region 6-AAA South
2017 Schedule
(All times 7:30 Eastern)
Aug. 25 at Model
Sep. 1 Cass
Sep. 8 at Dalton
Sep. 15 at Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe
Sep. 22 Ringgold
Sep. 29 Bremen
Oct. 6 at Haralson County
Oct. 13 Adairsville
Oct. 20 at Calhoun
Nov. 3 region play-in
Region 6-AAA South games in bold