With the third season this/close to being here, we all know a lot of the teams that are playing this time around, but for some, it’s a chance to find out about ourselves.  

“Where is that team from…?” 

“Who’s playing against us...?”  

It’s those kinds of questions that make the art of discovery part of the treasure hunt. And it’s also part of the education we get every year. These may be teams that have never made it to the postseason before, never made it to the second round (our focus this week), or are from a part of the state we may not know about. 

Here’s a couple of examples ... let the treasure hunt begin... 

It took a few times for Hannah Goodin, my GPB colleague, to find out how to spell the county seat of Long County... 

L-U-D-O-W-I-C-I... Ludowici... 

What Mike Pfiester has done in his tenure there has been talked about as one of the best program turnarounds folks have ever seen.

The program began in 1984, stopped twice and restarted, and proceeded to lose their first 52 games. The Blue Tide had only won five games once until Pfiester showed up. But they’ve won 31 games in five years -- more than all the other years combined. So, I asked about Class 3A Team 28... 

Pfiester says, “We have a very talented senior class that we felt like had a chance to be very good this year.  We have played very well at times and been fortunate to win a few close games along the way, matching the most wins in school history (seven) which was set last year.   

We are very proud of this accomplishment and there is a lot to be said for qualifying for the playoffs for the fifth straight season.  Our focus now is solely on playing our best game this Friday night at Westside Augusta.  I feel like we really need to get over the hump and win our first playoff game in school history to validate what we have done here at Long County.  Winning 5, 6, 7 games is great and being in the playoffs is great but we need to find a way to take the next step and win a playoff game!”

East Forsyth

East Forsyth focused on encouragement this season.

Dustin Canon is in his second year as head coach at East Forsyth, taking over the Brian Allison who started the program five years ago. In Region 8-4A, the Broncos come in as a 4-seed in a very even competition -- their third appearance in a row. They get Benedictine in round one. 

Canon says, “This year has been full of highs and lows. We started the year winning three straight games. All three of them came down to the wire. Then, we lost three straight. Our team was at a crossroads. As a coaching staff, we worked extremely hard to figure out what we could do well and built from there. As the head coach, I knew we had to make some adjustments with scheme, but also with our player’s mindset. We stopped playing music in the weight room and focused on encouraging each other. We literally practiced encouragement.  We focused on lifting each other up and I believe that made the difference in us winning and losing ball games down the stretch.  I am proud of this team and proud of them coming together down the stretch. 
 
“It has been such an honor being at East Forsyth since the doors opened. We have great kids and families in our community. I was thankful that Coach Brian Allison took a chance on me and brought in to be an assistant. I owe a lot to him. He is a great man and mentor. A lot of his footprint is still on the program. While I learned a lot from him, I have also learned quite a bit from on-the-job training. One of the biggest things I have learned is that each team is different. Each team has a mind of its own and as the head coach it is my job to figure out what makes that team tick. That is the joy and challenge in the job. I have affirmed that you win and you build a great program with people. We have a lot of great people here. It starts with the players. We have a bunch of hard-working kids that want to do right. We also have a great coaching staff. We have a group of men that are selfless, love kids, and are great teachers. It doesn’t get better than that. I would put our staff up against anyone.  Lastly, we have a great community of families in our program and our community that love this school. East Forsyth is the center of our community, and our people are proud of it. There is something special building off Jot Em Down Road and I am honored to be a small part of it!”

Glascock

Glascock County is happy to be practicing in cold weather.

I wrote a column earlier this year about what’s going on in Glascock County in east Georgia. Alum Chris Kelley had piloted the school for a quarter-century and the Panthers have gone from a team that had one of the longest losing streaks in state history to another year in the postseason. They travel to Sylvania and Screven County in Round One in Class A. 

Kelley says, “This year has been a tough year with injuries, so it was very gratifying to get back for the third year in a row.  Twenty years ago, people would have called you a nutcase for saying Glascock could even make the playoffs.  I told the kids this week that it was an honor to be still practicing in cold weather.  Getting in the playoffs is big for the younger ones because it gives you more reps to get them ready for the future.  These seniors have enjoyed it the last three years and I’m proud of them for leading through difficult stretches dealing with the injuries to get there in their final season.” 

Seckinger

Seckinger coach Tony Lotti

Then, there’s Seckinger. The Panthers are in the third season for the first time ever in school history and they get Woodward Academy in Round One in the 5A playoffs. Head Coach Tony Lotti has been fighting his own personal health battles as he has tried to grow the young, fourth-year program. They’re 6-4 for the second year in a row.

“For us at Seckinger, a trip to the playoffs is obviously monumental. It’s the first time in school history and in only the school‘s fourth year of existence playing in what was an extremely tough region. I’m just so happy for all of my kids, my staff and community but probably even more so for our original seniors that started the program four years ago, the year before I got here. Those kids have kept believing fought through all of the adversity, and now they’re getting rewarded with their first ever state playoff patch. I think that’s a big deal.”

And that’s just a small sample. There’s Towers, which hasn’t been in the postseason since 2009, heading to Chickamauga and Gordon-Lee. It’s about Alamo, Homerville, Bowdon, Ellaville, Wrightsville, Blakely, Franklin, Barnesville, Sylvester, Chatsworth, Baxley and all points in between... 

Enjoy the treasure hunt. Enjoy the games. And, above all, enjoy the ride... 

We will certainly do that with you... and we can’t wait... 

Play it safe, everyone... We’ll talk to you Friday night...