Ask any high school football coach in SEC Country what they would consider to be some of their biggest goals, and almost all of them will mention having the ability to practice on Thanksgiving Day.
Thanksgiving Day practices mean you’re maybe one or two wins away from a state championship. And even if you don’t get to the game’s biggest stage, Thanksgiving Day practices also mean your program is closer than 85% of the rest of the teams in your state to a state crown.
No Augusta-area, CSRA football teams in our coverage area remain in playoff contention this Thanksgiving. But that doesn’t mean we can’t take a way-too-early look ahead to next year.
Here are the five CSRA/Augusta area teams in our coverage area we think have the best shot at holding Thanksgiving practices in November 2024.
1. Aquinas Fightin’ Irish
2023 Recap: The Fightin’ Irish finished with a 9-3 overall and a 4-1 mark in Region A D-II 8. They’re 14-10 win over a then-undefeated Greene County squad gave coach James Leonard and company their first region championship since 2017. Aquinas won five of its nine games by one score, which means despite the tough 2023 slate and a plethora of injuries to key players, the Irish found a way to get it done more often than not. There was a particular grit about this team that separated it from many others in the area, and that isn’t a one-off thing — it’s part of the culture Leonard and his staff has built over the last 11 seasons. That kind of culture tends to remain, despite the individual players who come and go.
2024 Outlook: Speaking of culture and toughness, Jim Franklin — arguably Aquinas’ poster child for toughness, grit and tenacity — should return for his senior season. That alone puts Aquinas out in front in terms of area teams with the best chance to extend their season beyond Thanksgiving Day. The 6-foot-4 junior bounced back from a devastating injury that sidelined him for much of his sophomore campaign to throw for 2,692 yards and 31 touchdowns while completing 68 percent of his passes. He also rushed for 587 yards and 10 scores.
Barring any transfers, Franklin will have talent galore around him, including a pair of 50-catch receivers in BuddyRow Garrer (50 catches, 773 yards, 5 touchdowns) and Jack Rhodes (51 catches, 1,001 yards, 15 touchdowns. Watch for Christian Kates to see more action at tailback. Defensively, Jaden Wuerth was one of the most devastating freshmen in Georgia from his defensive end slot where he registered 129 total tackles, 33 for losses and 14 quarterback sacks. With those pieces to build upon, it shouldn’t be a shock to see Aquinas practicing and playing beyond Thanksgiving next year.
2. Burke County Bears
2023 Recap: Although an 8-3 overall record and third place finish in Region 3-AAAA isn’t anything to sneeze at when breaking in a new coach and a sophomore quarterback, 2023 felt like a “get-out-all-the-kinks” type of season for first-year coach Franklin Stephens. And by “first-year,” we’re talking about with Burke County. Stephens coached his first Bears squad to big wins against 2022 Class AA state champion Thomson and a more-than-respectable showing in a 38-30 loss to top-ranked Benedictine. Injuries and youth may have caught up with Burke County down the stretch in losses to New Hampstead in the regular season and Perry in the first round of the playoffs.
2024 Outlook: Like Aquinas, barring any major transfers out, Burke County is going to return most of its fire power on both sides of the ball next year. Sophomore quarterback Sean Vandiver will have another offseason to add to his 5-foot-10, 150-pound frame. But the young gunslinger showed much moxie in his first year in control of the offense. He threw for 1,520 yards and 18 touchdowns to just six interceptions, which means he positioned his offense to be successful more times than not. A’merre Williams and his team-leading 898 rushing yards should be back for a senior campaign. They’ll have work to do to replace a senior-laden receiving corps, including Ronderius Gray and his 39 catches and 806 yards. Defensively, Brandon Lively’s departure will hurt, but look for rising seniors Cadyn Bracely (64 tackles, 5.5 quarterback sacks) and Darius Jordan (12.5 tackles for loss and 6.5 quarterback sacks) to step into enlarged roles to fill the Lively void.
3. North Augusta Yellow Jackets
2023 Recap: The Yellow Jackets may have a bad taste in their mouths this offseason, but it won’t be because the 2023 campaign was bad. After a 7-4, 3-1 season, the Jackets came within one point of a SCHSL Region 4-AAAA championship after losing in a 49-48 shootout to one of the best teams Midland Valley’s produced in more than two decades — at least. North Augusta bowed out in the first round of the SCHSL playoffs with a 17-16 home loss to Greenwood.
2024 Outlook: The combination of losing your last two games of the season by one point each and having your three best players on offense coming back (barring transfers) should make for a hungry group of Yellow Jackets during the offseason. And that often means the probability of being better and going farther in the next season is high. Quarterback Corey Tillman, running back Michael Doe and receiver Connor Brown should all return in 2024. They produced the lion’s share of offensive output. Two of the team’s top five tacklers — sophomore Donte’ Bell and junior Deondre Baskett should be back as well. Junior Nick Grant and sophomore Dawson Campbell showed promise in the defensive secondary.
4. Thomson Bulldogs
2023 Recap: For a team that desperately wanted to successfully defend its 2022 Class AA state title, the season probably feels like a bit of a letdown, despite a 10-2 finish and third straight region crown. Despite dominating literally every team on its schedule after a season-opening loss to Burke County, Thomson fell short of title defense after an uncharacteristically sloppy, turnover-filled performance in a 41-30 home loss to Toombs County in the second round of the GHSA playoffs.
2024 Outlook: Granted, we’re playing the percentages here a bit. Thomson’s going to lose a lot to graduation, but given that the Bulldogs haven’t missed the playoffs since the 2013 season, we’re going to feel safe in saying the odds are good for Thomson to be back in the thick of things in 2024. Quarterback will be a question mark as starter Jahkiaus Jones graduates after taking about 90 percent of the snaps this past season. But running back Anthony Jeffery should return for a senior season after rushing for 1,138 yards and 19 scores and a whopping 8.6 yards per carry in 2023. Lots of senior leadership will depart from this team, but programs like Thomson always have a way of replenishing that talent. One star on defense to watch for next year will be 6-foot-1, 200-pound rising senior Roderick Jackson. The defensive back snagged five interceptions to go along with five pass breakups, two forced and recovered fumbles and 46 total tackles.
5. Lincoln County
2023 Recap: For the Red Devils to be as young as they were, a 7-5 finish in the second round of the Class A playoffs is nothing to be ashamed of. Even in the 49-23 loss to undefeated Schley County last Friday in the playoffs, Lincoln County battled for a good quarter-and-a-half before Schley broke a 7-7 tie at the end of the first quarter by exploding for a 28-point second quarter. Most of the losses were close, including a 28-21 nail biter against Aquinas and a 28-16 defeat to Bryan County one-loss Bryan County squad that’s still in the hunt for a Class A state title.
2024 Outlook: Lincoln County’s leading passer was a sophomore. Aside from leading rusher Semaj Jenkins (678 yards and 12 touchdowns), four of the next five leading rushers on the team were freshmen and sophomores. The team’s leading pass catcher, Christian Crite, was a junior with other talented sophomores and freshmen surrounding him. Three of the Red Devils’ starting five offensive linemen are non-seniors. Defensively, half of the team’s 10 total interceptions came from underclassmen, with freshman Andrew Beard leading that group with two. The two top tacklers on the team were junior Crite (125, 17 for loss) and sophomore Christian Elam with 119 total tackles including 76 solo stops. Sophomore kicker Fortson Partridge was a solid 23-of-24 on extra points and nailed 3 of 4 field goals with a long of 48 yards. What does it all mean? Only that if everyone returns to this squad in 2024, don’t be surprised to see Lincoln County getting back to practicing and playing on and after Thanksgiving for the next couple of years.
