Is Whitewater the team to beat?

If you go by what all of the other coaches in the region seem to be saying, Whitewater is going to be the team to beat this year. Whitewater head coach Amos McCreary downplays that idea.

“We have a good team, but nothing is proven yet,” McCreary said. “We’re not very deep and we could use some guys to help back up some players that play on both sides of the ball.”

Last season was the first time since Whitewater started playing a varsity schedule that the Wildcats didn’t make the state playoffs. You can be sure that the players have been reminded of that in their preparations for the 2010 campaign.

The Wildcats closed 2009 with three straight wins, but that came after five straight losses, four of which were by single digit margins. What was a disappointing 5-5 could have been so much more. The Wildcats don’t want to waste any opportunities this year.

Whitewater played at East Coweta in a scrimmage this summer and McCreary was pleased with both the offense and defense in the win.

“The defense gave up a couple of big runs, but they played well overall,” McCreary said. “We were trying some new things and are still a bit of a work in progress.”

Among the players on defense to watch are defensive ends Matt Serpico and McClain Head, nose guard Bradley Partridge, middle linebacker Roshaud Turner, Austin Roland, Joel Van Asch and Josh Clemons.

“Our linebackers go after it,” McCreary said, adding that he thought they might be quicker than last year.

Clemons is part of Whitewater’s backfield, which is one of the main reasons everyone seems to rate the Wildcats highly. Clemons became the school’s first 1,000 yard rusher last year.

“He can make a lot of things happen,” McCreary said. “He’s fast, he has good size and he has the potential to break it open every time. We ask a lot out of him and he’s doing everything we ask.”
Joining Clemons is Brandon Collins, another senior with good speed. He will provide some balance for the offense and has a lot of potential as well.

Sharing the quarterback position will be Renaldo Jenkins and John Mark Rhodes. Both played last year with Rhodes getting several starts when Jenkins was out with an injury. They will be protected by a fairly experienced line that features Tanner Baker, Jordan Watson, Colton Scurry and Colin Glore.

“They can do some different things and give us some versatility,” McCreary said, adding he thinks Trey Wafford will be a good football player too.

At receiver, Brian Covington and Josh Baker help the Wildcats stretch the field and Head and Serpico will both play some at tight end.

Whitewater will be put to the test right away as they host last year’s Class AAAA state champs, Sandy Creek, in the season opener.

“That’s as tough as it gets as far as season openers go,” McCreary admitted. “It’s great for county football and for the fans. I’d be there even if I wasn’t coaching.” The Wildcats follow up the Sandy Creek game with region crossover games against Ola and Union Grove, both of which feature division one talent on both sides of the ball.

Whitewater has a lot of division one talent themselves with Clemons and Jenkins both receiving offers and attention being paid to Head, Serpico, Collins, Covington and Watson among others. Jenkins has an offer from Air Force and McCreary spoke about why it seems lots of players from the area get offers from the service academies.

“First off, these kids have good grades and can handle the schoolwork,” McCreary said. “And in the last 10 years, the athletic ability in the area has gone way up as well.”

Ultimately, it doesn’t matter how many division one players a team has (although it doesn’t hurt), where polls rank you or what other teams think you are capable of in a season. A team is measured every Friday night and judged against how close they came to reaching their goals. Whitewater knows where they want to go and what they need to do to get there.