Running backs coach Dan Tierney, left, shares a laugh with Maddox Adams during practice at Coahulla Creek High School this month.Region 6-AAA North // Colts Stadium, 3361 Crow Road NE, Dalton, GA 30721
At the helm
Caleb Bagley
(First year here and overall)
Heroes assemble!
The Colts return 7 off., 8 def. starters.
Super powers
Chad Barger’s in-season resignation as coach last year gave Coahulla Creek a head start on its search and allowed Bagley to come on board early last winter. For a young team and a program that hasn’t experienced much success, that bonus time has been beneficial for its new leader.
Possible kryptonite
Tenth-graders make up more than half of the Colts’ 43-player roster, which lists four seniors. The big sophomore class could prove advantageous in two years, but for now it means youth, the mistakes likely to come with it and a lack of experienced depth.
Spidey sense tingling
Entering the program’s sixth season, the Colts are on their third head coach and never have made the playoffs or won more than two games in one year. No one should expect an instant transformation in the win-loss column, and Bagley wisely is putting the focus on fundamental improvement. But after giving up nearly 500 points and scoring less than 100 last year, being more competitive is a reasonable goal.
Here I come to save the day!
Sophomore RB Austin Hernandez (5-8, 170) is expected to get plenty of carries and start at OLB; despite his age, coaches are pointing to his hard-working approach as an example. Athletic WR/FS Maddox Adams (6-0, 175) fits in that vein despite not having played football for a while, and he has shown leadership as the basketball Colts’ point guard.
Up, up and away!
Bagley isn’t ignoring his team’s youth, nor is he looking to it as a built-in excuse for any trouble the Colts might encounter this year. He simply acknowledges it is something to be dealt with – one of the challenges facing the program in its current state.
And there might be another reason Bagley doesn’t want his players to let their experience level limit expectations where effort and preparation is concerned. The 2004 Murray County graduate who played at Faulkner University is a head coach for the first time and appears eager to get the Colts moving in the right direction.
But he’s not trying to do it all himself. He’s looking to a multitude of lessons he took from head coaches during his time as an assistant – from the organizational skills of David Crane at Southeast Whitfield to the motivational tactics of Preston Poag at North Murray – and a veteran-filled staff that includes former head coaches Terry Luck, Dan Tierney and Danny Wilson.
“I can’t change the fact that I’m 31 years old,” Bagley said, “but I can find guys that are good, solid men, number one, and are good, solid football coaches that have experience that I can lean on.”
Between the lines, he’ll lean on players such as versatile junior Michael King (5-11, 165), who’s expected to contribute in all three phases, and OL/DE Alex Hall (5-11, 230), a leader from that small senior class.
Most of all, Bagley wants the Colts to show him they can do things the way they’ve been taught by coaches, from the classroom to the playing field and everywhere in between.
“If we just get that expectation laid and get the kids striving to meet that, then we feel like this year’s been successful,” he said. “Once we get that, it makes our lives a lot easier, I promise you that.”
2016 Results
Aug. 20 Southeast Whitfield lost, 49-0
Aug. 26 Coosa lost, 41-6
Sep. 2 Heritage lost, 47-7
Sep. 16 Calhoun lost, 57-12
Sep. 23 Bremen lost, 48-13
Oct. 7 Lakeview-Fort O lost, 38-12
Oct. 14 Murray County lost, 38-0
Oct. 21 North Murray lost, 60-12
Oct. 28 Ringgold lost, 54-6
Nov. 4 Haralson County lost, 56-27
0-10, 0-4 Region 6-AAA North
2017 Schedule
(All times 7:30 Eastern)
Aug. 19 Southeast Whitfield
Aug. 25 at Coosa
Sep. 1 at Heritage
Sep. 15 Calhoun
Sep. 22 at Bremen
Oct. 6 Lakeview-Fort O
Oct. 13 at Murray County
Oct. 20 North Murray
Oct. 27 at Ringgold
Nov. 3 region play-in
Region 6-AAA North games in bold