Even as Southeast Whitfield High School was enjoying its most successful football season in 32 years, the program’s future didn’t look very promising.
Sean Gray took over one of Georgia’s least successful prep programs in 2012, with the Raiders having a total of 29 wins in the 20 years before Gray, a former Southeast player, used a grassroots approach to get kids at lower levels to embrace the game.
The movement culminated in 2017, when the Raiders won seven games, the end of a four-year run that produced 23 wins and three postseason appearances to go with three all-state players. Gray, however, knew a rough patch was coming because numbers at Southeast’s two feeder middle schools, Eastbrook and Valley Point, were drastically down.
After the Raiders went 0-10 last season, Gray resigned to spend time with his family and work on a possible move into school administration. A program in crisis mode decided to begin rebuilding by playing a nonregion schedule in 2020 with longtime assistant coach Todd Murray now leading the way.
Instead of trying to compete with Ridgeland, Heritage and new Region 6-AAAA member Cedartown, the Raiders will play several smaller area teams, including Coahulla Creek, Gordon Lee, Gordon Central, Murray County and Trion. The hope, Coach Murray explained, is that the Raiders can be competitive while major work is done to bring interest up at all levels.