Programs
Athletics
Athletic Calendar
Class A Private runner-up Spartans won't surprise teams this season - ABH Article
By Ryne Dennis
For once, coach-speak cliches were put to good use.
For once, coach-speak cliches were put to good use.
As Athens Academy marched through the regular season and playoffs last year, the oft-quoted "one game at a time" phrase surprisingly couldn't have been more apropos.
The Spartans went undefeated in the regular season, winning the Region 8-A title for the first time in five years.
Nobody expected that.
After receiving a first-round bye as a No. 2 seed in the Class A Private playoffs, the Spartans got past the first and second rounds with ease before slipping by Mount Paran Christian in the state semifinals.
The Spartans had reached the state finals in Josh Alexander's third season at the helm.
Really, nobody expected that.
Yes, even by their own admission, last year's run was unexpected.
The game-by-game mentality worked because it had to.
The Spartans had surprised most everybody in Georgia last season, including themselves.
When asked if he expected to reach the state finals with last year's team, Alexander even admits to being surprised.
"We did not (expect that)," he said Wednesday at the third annual Clarke/Oconee Media Days at UGA's Terry College. "We would be lying if we sat here and said we knew we'd be playing for a state championship. It doesn't work that way."
Now there's expectations. There's a target on their backs (more coach speak), and they can't expect to be overlooked by another team.
Most importantly, they can't be the one to do the overlooking.
"I think you can say that we tried to find what we did well and stuck to it," said Alexander, reflecting back to last season. "So, hopefully we can do that a little earlier because we play some good teams early this year."
The Spartans open their season Aug. 17 at Slaughter Field against Savannah Christian, a team which reached the second round of the A Private playoffs last year.
Following a bye week, Athens Academy bumps up a few classifications when it travels to Stephens County to face a Class 4A opponent before heading to Flowery Branch to face Class 3A foe Cherokee Bluff the following week. Region 8-A play begins Sept. 21 at Towns County.
When laying out the non-region schedule, Alexander said he wanted to test his defending state runners-up. As of Media Days, however, he's unsure how they will handle pressure to be as good as last season. He still believes they have an uphill battle to get back to that point.
"We're excited about the football season," Alexander said. "We don't know how good we're going to be. Right now we're really bad. I know a lot of coaches will say that, but we've got a lot of work to do."
The Spartans' nucleus is intact, returning starters such as Len'Neth Whitehead, Payton Bowles, Barrett McLanahan, William McLanahan and Deion Colzie.
"We already have that chemistry and that bond just from playing together," William McLanahan said. "Having a couple years of experience with that will help us play more together, stronger, faster, more physical. We'll be able to fill in the gaps where people have left and hopefully pick up where we left off."
The Spartans don't plan to stray from coach speak this season, either.
One game at a time got them to the state championship game last year.
One game at a time, along with a team that feels they're an even tighter unit than last year, is the script again this season.
"Playing together, we care about each other," Barrett McLanahan said. "(We're) getting excited for each other. That just goes to show that we're going to be at a whole other level this year. We've done this with some of our best friends before and so we're going to do it again."
Athens Academy
Athens Academy is an independent, co-educational school for students in K3 through 12th grade, located on a beautiful 152-acre campus in Northeast Georgia. For over 50 years, Athens Academy has pursued its mission of Excellence with Honor through academics, athletics, fine arts, and service and leadership.
