Toombs County overcame devastation from Helene on road to 2024 title

“One of the things we’ll always think about is Hurricane Helene coming right through Toombs County, and the devastation was tough. There are people still recovering from stuff. I was without power at my house for about 16 days, and we went three weeks in the middle of our season without playing a football game. The way that our kids came together, the way that our community came together. I remember just thinking we need to go play football because we need that sense of normalcy of everybody coming together.

“But our kids, man, they stuck with it. We knew we had something special going when that happened. So, it was one of those things where we kind of had a sense of urgency to keep our guys together and let’s make sure we’re feeding them, make sure we’re checking on them, make sure that they ain’t skipping town. We’re trying to run them down. It’s how we overcame that and went through that.”

2. What does this season look like? What is the outlook?

“I think we’re in a good place. We’ve got a lot of talent returning. We’ve had a great summer so far, had a great offseason. We’ve got some returning starters out with some injuries, so we’ve got to get them back. But I think the outlook’s good. We’ve got guys at every spot. They can play and do the job. I think defensively, we return a lot in our front seven. Those guys are big and strong and know what they’re doing. They play fast and they’re physical. You know, one of our starting safeties last year (Lagonza Hayward) is at the University of Florida. Starting corner (Mike Polke) is at Mercer. So, we’ve got some reps to replace there, but there are guys on the team that are talented and can do it, and they’ve had a good summer preparing themselves. I’m so excited to see what they can do back there.”

Note: Another first-team all-state player, quarterback T.J. Stanley, is at Georgia State.

3. What are the most underrated things about high school football today that people don’t talk about, that you’ve experienced?

“I think in today’s society, it’s a lot about the individual. It’s a lot about me. And you go get what’s yours and look out for yourself. And I think with high school athletics, what football gives you is that family, that brotherhood on a football team. It’s not about you. It’s about your teammates, so I think that’s something that we all know has been great for years in sports. But I think where our society is right now, that it’s a really big deal about the brotherhood and the relationships and the overcoming adversity. You’re gonna get hit in the mouth at some point in a football season or a football game. And you’re going to have to make a decision. You’re going to fold it up and pack it in, or can you bow your neck and go fight back? And as men, that’s what we want to do. We want to go fight back.”

4. Toombs County had a unique game last season against Savannah Christian. Both were ranked No. 1 — Toombs in Class 2A, Savannah Christian in Class 3A-A Private. Though the teams were in separate playoff divisions, they were in the same region. Savannah Christian won 14-7. Both remained No. 1 entering the state playoffs, but Toombs was seeded No. 6 in the GHSA’s Class 2A bracket because of the Savannah Christian loss. How do you feel about the public-private playoff split and playing for region titles against teams that aren’t in your same playoff classification?

“I don’t mind playing them. It’s going to make us better. We can fuss about it or we can try to be the men that we’re coaching our kids to be, right? This is some adversity for you. Freaking handle it, man, and go get after it, and go figure out how to win and compete.

“Now, what you don’t like about it (being in the same region) is the recruiting aspect of it. I’m not saying that they recruit, but they can get kids in from anywhere (because private schools have no district boundaries) whereas a public school can’t. So, in that aspect, I do like that I don’t have to compete with them for a state championship.

“It’s been good for Toombs County the past year with the private teams being separate. I’m sure they would tell you a completely different thing. They don’t like it. But that’s the way it is. I think we’ve just got to handle it and move forward. Is it the best way? Is there a better way? I don’t know. I’m trying to get a football team to go win games. I’m not in that situation where I’m looking at the landscape of all that. We just look at what’s in front of us and what we’re dealing with.”