May 10 — Local high school football teams are in the midst of spring practice, a period of full-contact practices permitted by the Georgia High School Association. Spring practices for some teams culminate with a spring scrimmage against another team.
A lot can change between the spring and fall when each school’s finalized teams take the field, but spring practices give coaches an early look at the potential makeup of their teams.
Here’s a look at the top stories surrounding each team in Whitfield or Murray County:
Christian Heritage School 2023 Record: 5-6 Coach: Frank Barden
Christian Heritage School played through the 2023 season with just one senior on the roster: Kicker Carson Russell.
The Lions play Spring Ball with plenty of continuity as the Lions head into head coach Frank Barden’s second season with the team.
Carter Triplett returns at quarterback after leading the team in passing, rushing and touchdowns last year.
After two years in Class A DII, Christian Heritage moves to Class A DI in 2024. Private schools, like Christian Heritage, will play in a separate state playoff bracket from public schools within the same classification.
Christian Heritage plays North Murray tonight at 7 in the Lions spring game.
Coahulla Creek High School 2023 Record: 5-5 Coach: Drew Carter
Coahulla Creek enters its second season under head coach Drew Carter, needing to fill the shoes of offensive star Chase Ward at quarterback.
Following the 2023 graduation of former Colt QB Kace Kinnamon, Ward stood behind center his senior year and passed and ran for the Region 6-3A Offensive Player of the Year award.
The Colts will start their third quarterback in three years this fall. Waylon Baliles, a rising sophomore, was Ward’s backup as a freshman and saw some playing time last year.
Creek also loses top targets Nate Tilley and Keith Collins, both two-way players.
Coahulla Creek, which played its first 12 seasons of existence in Class 3A, is expected to join Class 2A in 2024 as part of the GHSA realignment.
Creek plays its spring game on Friday, May 17, at Gordon Lee in Chickamauga.
Dalton High School 2023 Record: 8-4 Coach: Kit Carpenter
After a 2023 season in which the Dalton High Catamounts finished with a winning record for the first time since 2019, Dalton will face some significant changes in 2024.
Adding to the loss of senior offensive playmakers such as running back Adriel Hernandez, wide receivers Bubba Tanner and RJ Storey and tight ends Jeffson Locke and Bannon Phelan, the Catamounts also lose standout rising senior quarterback Ethan Long.
Long, who threw for 2,848 yards and 31 touchdowns last year, transferred to Adairsville High School. Eric Long, Ethan’s father, was hired as Adairsville’s new offensive coordinator after serving in the same role at Dalton. Isaac Ferrell will be the Dalton OC in 2024.
Dalton was in Class 6A from 2016 to 2021, then 5A the past two seasons. Dalton will be in Class 4A for the 2024 season following GHSA realignment.
Dalton will play its spring game on Friday, May 17th against Trion at 7 p.m., but there will be some additional intrigue to coincide with the spring game. Former Dalton running back Jahmyr Gibbs, now with the NFL’s Detroit Lions, will have his No. 1 jersey retired at halftime.
2023 Murray County High School Record: 2-8 Coach: Kurt Napier
After a 1-9 freshman season under head coach Kurt Napier in 2022, and then an improvement to 2-8 as a sophomore, Murray County High School will aim to lay the foundation for continued improvement during the spring training.
After making those strides, Murray will have to replace offensive standouts like quarterback Judah Woodall, running back Braylon Myers and tight end Braxton Vineyard.
Murray County remains in Class 2A after this year’s GHSA reclassification, and the Indians will remain in Region 7-2A and will be joined by some returning and some new teams.
North Murray High School 2023 record: 8-4 Coach: Preston Poag
North Murray is using its spring to help develop a plan to replace a large portion of last season’s offense.
Judson Petty, the standout receiver/running back/linebacker and Region 7-2A Athlete of the Year as a senior, signed with Georgia Tech, and quarterback Skyler Williams, who threw for 2,211 yards and rushed for 1,201 yards last year, as junior, transferred to Warner Robins High School.
North Murray remains in Class 2A heading into 2024 after dropping from 3A to the classification during the last GHSA realignment two years ago.
The Mountaineers will showcase their new-look offense to the public for the first time when the Mountaineers host Christian Heritage in their spring game tonight at 7 p.m.
Northwest Whitfield High School 2023 Record: 6-5 Coach: Josh Robinson
After a year away from the state playoffs in 2022, the Bruins were back a season ago.
At spring ball this year, the Bruins will be focused on putting together a team that can keep another playoff run alive.
Standout Bruin quarterback Gavin Nuckolls will be back at Northwest, but will have to find some new weapons to play with. The Bruins lose receivers Isaiah Foster and Hudson Gray to graduation, the latter signing with Tennessee-Chattanooga.
Defensive lineman Myles Mays will be back for his senior year after a spring filled with impressive college coaches. Mays received offers from Elon and Austin Peay earlier this week.
Northwest moves to Class 3A in 2024 after remaining in Class 4A since 2003. The Bruins will join a new-look region that also includes Adairsville, Calhoun and LaFayette.
The Bruins play their spring game Tuesday at home at 7 p.m. against McMinn County of Tennessee.
Southeast Whitfield High School 2023 Record: 1-9 Coach: Todd Murray
The Raiders of Southeast Whitfield are wrapping up their first week of spring practice tonight and then will be back on the field next week before a spring game on Friday, May 17 at 7:30 p.m. against Chattooga .
Southeast was reclassified to a Class 4A region with Dalton, Cedartown, Cass and Cartersville ahead of the 2024 season, but the Raiders will play a non-region team this fall.
Southeast continues its rivalry game with Northwest Whitfield this season, despite the two being separated into different classifications for the first time since 2011.
