MONTGOMERY COUNTY: Eagles expect shot to reenter playoff hunt if they can eliminate small errors in big games

Kaream Hess took over as Montgomery County head coach right on the heels of a low point for the school, performance-wise. 

During the 2023-2024 football season, the Eagles went 0-10 during a second and final season under Coach Don Vandygriff. However, Hess did not feel any tension or pressure when assuming the position last season. 

“I believe, y’know, Coach did the best with what he had,” he said. 

Hess did not originally plan to become head coach. Instead, the Albany State graduate served primarily in lower level coaching positions, first at his alma mater of Tift County before moving to Missouri.

There, Hess served as a running backs coach before landing another coaching position at Lincoln University in Missouri. After six years, he returned to Georgia to live closer to family.

Hess was working in Turner County when he began sending out applications for offensive coordinator positions in the surrounding counties.

“And I was actually about to take one of them,” he said. “Then I got a call from Dr. (Scott) Barrow, who was the principal at the time, right before I was [about] to call the other people who sent a job to go be the offensive coordinator.”

After a “great interview” with Barrow, Hess was offered the job. 

According to Hess, Vandygriff had three coaches to assist him, not nearly enough support staff to properly train and coach the players to the degree they needed. Meanwhile, Hess has seven assistant coaches, enough that each coach can focus on their tasks without being stretched too thin with things like office management.

“I think, you know, being able to have a lot of guys to coach those individual positions and put guys in different positions, because we’re all on the same page and now we come all together in one group, you know, it looks good,” he said. 

If one were to look solely at the scores from the 2024 season, Hess’ first year was only a slight improvement, ending with a 3-7 record. However, Hess believes the true story of the Eagles’ season is in the material observations rather than the numbers.

Many of Hess’ players last season were first-time starters, which led to many games where the team made several small mistakes that lost them games.

“It’s little stuff here and there, and we gave up plays that we probably shouldn’t have [given] up,” he said. “We had some false starts and some games that kind of beat ourselves.”

The problem, according to Hess, was not the team’s skills; he praised his athletes for having great offense, defense and speed. Instead, the issue was a lack of discipline to avoid those small mistakes.

In addition, as their opponents capitalized on those mistakes, Hess’ team’s morale would falter in the second halves, leading to poorer performances. One of Hess’ goals for the season is to teach his players to stay positive despite the situation.

“Refs are going to make bad calls, teams are going to get big plays,” says Hess. “We’ve just got to get past that.”

However, despite those shortcomings, Hess believes they performed far better than the scores suggest. In his mind, there was never a game in which the Eagles were completely outmatched.

This season, the Eagles will refocus on last season’s strategies, out of a spread offense and a 3-4 defense, as many players from last season will be returning. 

“Everybody’s returning on offense,” Hess said. “Everybody’s returning on defense.”

Defense is a big focus this year, as Hess wants to stop opponents from running the ball as much as they did in the past. According to Hess, the Eagles were very good against the pass, with only three completed against them per game, but opponents were still able to run the ball well. 

The team lost three linebackers with the departure of Eric White, Davonte Wise and Elec Waters, but younger players were already behind them ready to step into those roles.

On the offensive side, the Eagles lost wide receiver Jamun Coglin, who was named region athlete of the year, and quarterback Jayden Harris.

The team’s focus will be getting the ball into the hands of their wide receiver, Jaquez Kelly, a playmaker Hess says can convert a pass into a 90-yard run. 

Running the ball is also a big emphasis, and will be a core of Hess’ offense as MoCo looks to capitalize on its wealth of size, strength and experience along the offensive line. 

Among a number of impressive players, 6-foot-6, 310-pound sophomore Torion Smith will stand out in the rotation of linemen on both sides of the ball. 

Hess also wants to control possession well enough to ensure the defense has time to rest on the sidelines.

Many players will be playing on both offense and defense, such as Elijah McEwen, who will act as a linebacker and a running back.

“He’s a stud on both sides of the ball for us,” says Hess.

One of the Eagles’ biggest challenges will be adjusting to their opponents’ formats, as they are a spread team playing against a region with a heavy Wing-T bias. However, Hess believes that discipline will pull them through, and that their size on the defensive line will help create the space playmakers need to succeed.

“That’s the main thing,” says Hess. “Run the ball, and we’ll take our shots when we take our shots, and we[‘ve] got to make the plays when we make the plays.”

Hess’ endeavor for consistency will likely continue into next season unimpeded, as MoCo’s current lineup is mostly juniors and freshmen who will return for at least one more season. As for now, the Eagles are aiming to get back to the playoffs for the first time since 2022. 

“Everybody wants to make the playoff, try to make a push, because, I mean, at the end of the day, we all play for something,” Hess said. “So everybody’s going to give what they got and everything they got to win these games.”

He doesn’t have any particular focus on a single game this season. To him, the region is filled with tough competitors, and each requires the same level of attention.

“All are our key games,” says Hess. “We[‘ve] got to win all of them.”

Eagles at a glance…

HEAD COACH: Kaream Hess (2nd season)

OFFENSE: Spread

DEFENSE: 3-4

2024: 3-7 (1-5 region 4-Low A)

FINISH: Missed playoffs 

RETURNING STARTERS: 8 offense / 7 defense

KEY LOSSES: QB/DB Jayden Harris; ATH/DB Jamun Coglin; WR/DB Jordyn Patterson; LB Davonte Wise; WR/LB Eric White; OL/LB Elec Waters; OL/DL Charles Rogers; OL/DL Seth Carelock

PLAYERS TO WATCH: WR/DB Jaquez Kelly, Jr.; RB/LB Elijah McEwen, Jr.; QB Rilynn Dees, Fr.; LB Jai Grissom, Jr.; RB/LB Keegan Mills, Fr.; OL/DL Jayden Roberson, Sr.; OL/DL Torion Smith, So.; DB Zaden Waller, Jr.; WR/DB Kameron Henderson, Jr.; TE/DL Haze Thigpen, Sr.; OL/DL Chez Rivera, Sr.

THE UPSIDES: More explosive passing potential, line depth

KEY CONCERN: Cutting down on big plays/turnovers 

Schedule…

8/15 Baconton Charter

8/22 at Johnson Co.

8/29 at Atkinson Co.

9/12 Taylor Co.

9/19 at Telfair Co.* 

9/26 Dooly Co.* ($)

10/03 at Wheeler Co.* ($)

10/10 at Treutlen* ($)

10/17 at Hawkinsville* ($)

10/31 Wilcox Co.*

* –Region 4-Low A

($) –Pivotal games