TRION, Ga. – If a sense of deja vu came over the football team at Trion High School this week, it’s entirely understandable. Coach Justin Brown hopes his players understood its meaning.
For the fourth consecutive season the Bulldogs enter week four undefeated and high in the GHSA’s Class A public school power ratings. Those quick starts, at least the past two seasons, haven’t been a harbinger of things to come. In fact, Trion is a combined 4-10 following week three, missing the playoffs last season.
There are, of course, tangible reasons, like the rise in quality of teams in Region 6-A, which last year included the state champion in Mount Paran Christian and a Mount Zion team that reached the quarterfinals. In a region that includes only two public schools, the competition is strong every week when league play starts.
Last season’s collapse caused the Trion coaching staff to take a long look at what might be missing, and the answer was fairly obvious. As the competition has raised its level of play and coaching, the Bulldogs have been, well, grounded in their tradition.
This is a program known for its sometimes unstoppable ground game, with names such as Clark, Peace, Chapman, Blevins and Calhoun being legendary in these parts. In today’s game, however, few teams can have sustained success being one-dimensional.