First-year LaFayette coach Paul Ellis, second from right, has the Ramblers off to a 2-0 start for the first time since 2014.Every football season has its surprises, and in northwestern Georgia this year four teams have stood out early with upset wins and quick starts.
Most notable is LaFayette, where former Fort Payne (Alabama) coach Paul Ellis has instilled a no-nonsense approach that focuses on fundamentals. The Ramblers, who have not won more than three games since 2011, have close victories over Model and Fannin County for their first 2-0 start since 2014.
“The thing I’ve been most proud of is we’ve gotten behind in both games and the kids and coaches did not panic,” Ellis said. “The Model game we went down in the fourth quarter and answered the next play and went back ahead, and against Fannin, they went straight down and scored on us after we went three-and-out. We were kind of sliding down the hill, but the defense started playing better and we picked it up offensively.”
Quarterback Vyshonn Daniel leads an offense that has shown great balance so far. He has thrown for more than 300 yards while completing 70 percent of his passes and rushed for more than 100 yards. The ground game was key against Model, while passing propelled the Ramblers past Fannin.
“We’re hard to defend because defenses don’t know who to key on,” said Ellis, who has four players with more than 100 rushing yards. “The team has shown a lot of resiliency.”