Wheeler County head coach Thomas Smith is a little busy at the moment.

School hasn’t started yet -- reminding me of when I went to school and it didn’t kick in until the week before Labor Day. The folks in Alamo won’t get going until after Labor Day, as a matter of fact, because they’re leaving their old school grounds and moving into their new facility.

So, when I called Coach Smith, he was in the middle of moving. I guess I gave him a bit of a break.

But the football team is off and running -- ranked for the first time in almost a quarter-of-a-century with their 42-14 win over Georgia Military. GMC actually had a 14-0 lead, but the Bulldogs came back and answered with six unanswered TDs to secure the win.

With moving from place to place, there’s a time of transition. Wheeler County is no different...

Wheeler logo

“We didn’t have any power this summer for camps and things,” Smith tells me. “Our head of maintenance of operations, Greg Wilcher, has been great about it. He got generators, fans and construction lights for the weight room. It was challenging, but he got it to where we didn’t miss a beat. Frankly, I think not having any power helped us because it was, probably, hotter in the weight room than it was outside.

“I think we’re just used to the heat now.”

Last year, Wheeler finished at .500 with a 5-5 record. Three of their losses in region were by less than four points -- two to both Dooly County and Telfair County and three to Wilcox. Their loss to Dublin was a one-score game and the only Class 2A loss in double digits was in the season finale to Montgomery County.   

“The biggest thing last year was making sure the guys believed in themselves. We had five athletes sign to play at the next level and we’re continuing to build here,” he said.

Smith came over from Robert Toombs Academy a few years ago where his pedigree was playoff runs, deep playoff runs, and a GISA title in 2013 to help build a program that has only had one winning season in the last 20 years. They’re starting four freshmen that were part of winning traditions in the middle school leagues and you can sense the excitement as the team is having results like the one last week.

“GMC was a challenge,” Smith admits. “On offense, they had two good wide receivers, a good quarterback and a good running back. It was one of the most balanced teams we’ve seen. Literally, it was 50-50 run and pass. Our defense gave up the deep ball early and they scored on their first two possessions. But our special teams coach, Sheldon Miller, gets a lot of credit. We blocked a punt, had a kickoff return for a score and, on top of that, picked up three turnovers on defense. It was 42-14 late in the first half.

Wheeler County band

“Our biggest message is ‘get over the hump,’” he continues. “Things broke our way and we found ways to finish.” In the GMC pregame, the coaching staff at Wheeler reminded their team that GMC was a top-10 team coming into the game. They wanted to ask their players who they wanted to be this season and the coaches got their answer -- not to mention a ranking for the first time in almost 25 years.

The AD at Wheeler, Eli Dupree, was measured in his response when I asked him about it...

“It feels good, but it’s way too early,” he said. “The ranking gives the kids a little confidence early if nothing else. But, no doubt, it’s good for the program and the school.”

The schedule gets a little more interesting this Friday night as Wheeler travels to Toombs County. Thomas Smith’s wife, Brooke, works at Toombs and they have a daughter who attends that school. At the same time, there’s a son that joins Coach Smith at Wheeler.

How’s that for the dinner table this week?

“Their defense is one of the best we’ve seen all year,” Smith says. “We had a little bit of an advantage last week since we hadn’t shown much in our scrimmages. But Toombs wants to control the ball and the line of scrimmage. They run both option and spread on offense, so you have to stop both and have personnel that can do both when they’re out there.”

So, Wheeler County knows they’ll have their hands full as their entire school existence is on the move... on the field and off...

Play it safe, everyone... I’ll see you soon...