Kyle Hockman begins his sixth season leading the New Hampstead football program, having built the Phoenix into one of the best teams in the Coastal Empire.
Last season, New Hampstead won its first playoff game under Hockman (and second in school history), as the Phoenix also hosted its first postseason contest – defeating Westside Macon 42-12 in the first round of the Class 4A playoffs and closing the season with a 6-5 record.
The Phoenix lost some talented players to graduation – including receiver Jaylen Hampton (now at Western Kentucky), receiver Malachi Lonnon (Stetson), along with offensive linemen Kyron Anderson (Georgia Southern) and Aaziah Scott (Springfield College), along with four of the five starters on the offensive line, but he has a lot of return.
Leading the way is senior Ra’Shawn Truell, who emerged as one of the state’s best defenders last season in his first year as a starter. He was named Savannah’s Offensive Player of the Year after throwing 38 touchdowns and 3,308 yards with six interceptions while rushing for four more scores. He set a school record, passing for 533 yards with four touchdowns in a loss to Benedictine, and was named co-winner of the Finocchiaro Award as the best player in Savannah with Calvary Day’s Jake Merklinger, now at Tennessee.
“Ra’Shawn can change plays at the line of scrimmage whenever he wants,” said defensive coordinator/assistant coach Rick Honaker. “It’s great when your best players are the smartest.”
Truell has offers that include Bucknell, Arkansas State and Fort Valley State, and is looking forward to his senior campaign.
“I have a lot of confidence heading into the season,” Truell said. “I had never started a game until last year, but we achieved a lot of our goals – including hosting and winning the playoff game. We want to go further in the playoffs this year.”
Truell will have a dangerous weapon returning in Kamari Maxwell, a senior who had 40 receptions for 734 yards and nine touchdowns while rushing for 294 yards and four more scores last season.
“Kamari can do everything we need in our offense, he’s electric,” Truell said of Maxwell, whose offers include Bucknell, Lehigh, Austin Peay, Kent State and Shorter University. “He runs great routes and makes great plays.”
Phoenix’s passing game will get a boost with the transfer of Ben Hockman, nephew of coach Kyle Hockman who came from Santa Fe High School in Alachua, Florida. Ben Hockman joined Phoenix in time to compete on the track and field team last spring and finished fifth at the Class 4A state meet in the 200 meters with a time of 21.69 seconds (his personal best is 21.59) and in eighth in the 100 meters (10.79). The speedster has great hands and made 46 receptions for 753 yards and four touchdowns last season. He has an offer from the University of Nevada.
Fullback Titus Honaker showed the ability to run between the tackles for tough yards on limited runs last season and is back for his junior year.
Defensively, Phoenix returns two key big men in its starting seven in linebacker Kamren Blake Mazes, who led the team with 75 stops last year as a junior. Shaun Hamilton is also back for his senior season, with the 6-foot-2, 240-pounder leading the defensive line. He has an offer from Charleston Southern.
The defense features juniors Kamari Smart, Jawara Green and Messiah Worriels, who is returning from a knee injury, and Jaden Caldwell, who recently received an offer from Georgia State.
“We have some good players like Kamren (Blake Mazes), who is a wing-to-wing type of guy,” Hamilton said. “We have not backed down from competition in recent years and we trust each other.”
New Hampstead landed in Region 1-4A, considered by many to be the toughest in the state. Phoenix will still play in the same region as Benedictine, along with 2023 Class 4A state champion Perry, Ware County, Warner Robins and Wayne County.
“Six of the teams we played this season have played for a state championship in the last two years,” Honaker said. “We know there are no days off in our schedule.”
Dennis Knight covers sports for the Savannah Morning News. Contact him at Dknight@savannahnow.com. Twitter: @DennisKnightSMN
This article originally appeared in the Savannah Morning News: New Hampstead football team looks to build on recent success in 2024
