It felt a little like 2016 at Victory Field as Will Rooney prowled the practice grounds at his alma mater, whistle dangling from his neck. The first-year head coach is back at Greenwood Christian School where he starred as a quarterback and spent four years as an assistance coach under his predecessor, Jolly Doolittle.
Rooney has his work cut out for him in his first year at the helm, taking over a young team that won just a single game in 2022. But what the Hawks give up to youth they gain right back in the experience those young players gained playing through last season.
The youth movement begins up front on an offensive line anchored by three sophomores who are all also returning starters. Behind them will be junior Kade Heaton, who returns as his second season as the Hawks signal caller, and a couple of other junior backs in Brady Wilson and Hamp Davis. Last season, Davis went for more than a thousand all-purpose yards On the outside, the Hawks will look to the McCall twins, Joshua and Caleb, to find space in opposing defenses and get on the other end of some Heaton passes.
On the other side of the ball, the Hawks will take their cue from senior linebacker Cason Goff, who sits just nine tackles shy of setting the all-time record for tackles at GCS. The back end of the defense will be very young and the Hawks will county on Goff as well as sophomore defensive lineman Cooper Johnson to put pressure on opposing quarterbacks and protect the youth on the defensive backfield.
In spite of the youth and having just 21 players on his squad, Rooney feels his guys have a shot in every game they play.
“We are always going to be out-sized and out-athleted,” Rooney said. “But we have a strong foundation with our culture. Coach Doolittle did a great job building that culture here and our guys have really bought into that.”
2023 Prediction: The Hawks have another tough slate in 2023, but they also have a group of players looking to make their mark on school history. They definitely best their 2022 record, but the gauntlet they have to run eventually catches up with them. They finish 3-7 on the season and on the outside looking in for the playoffs…this year.
