Twiggs County turns to former head coach Harden in hopes of turnaround

The first time Ashley Harden took over at Twiggs County, the Cobras had gone 8-42 in the five years since their last winning season.

Harden went 12-11 in two seasons, including 8-4 in 2016.

Since then? In the eight seasons since? Twiggs County is 6-73, a record that doesn’t include the school taking 2020 off because of COVID-19.

The well-traveled Harden is back, and hardly flinching.

Twiggs County doesn’t have numbers, with just short of 30 on the roster. Twiggs County clearly has no momentum, nearly a decade passing since that last remotely decent season and seemingly a lifetime having gone by since the Cobras went 11-2 in Dexter Copeland’s first final season in Jeffersonville.

“Numbers never bother me,” said Harden, who has been head coach at Butler, Jenkins County, Northeast, Stewart County and Dooly County en route to a 41-53 record in 10 seasons. “Your job is to prepare for the war. You got 200 kids on your roster, you got 20 football players. If I have 27 kids on my roster, if I can make 15 of those football players, I can compete and play football.

“You can’t put but 11 kids on the field.”

The roster numbers weren’t much different during that 8-4 season in 2016, which was followed by two 0-10s and two 1-9s.

Harden is nonplussed because of experience, recalling at Butler when he had 33 kids and Grovetown had 99, including a Division I quarterback and running back.

“At the end of the game, we win, they lose,” Harden said. “We go play Burke County the same year. We take 27 kids down there, and they’re a Final Four team that year. Midway through the third quarter, they’re up 8-0.”

Depth did end up making a difference in Burke County’s 35-8 win, to which Butler responded a week later with a 30-22 win over Josey.

“Anybody who knows me knows that I don’t care about numbers,” he said. “I’m not a numbers guy.”

‘You’ve gotta find something to hang your hat on’… 

Except Ws and Ls, and the numbers on the roster – as well as no momentum – don’t indicate much will change, at least in 2026. The only two all-region players from 2025, running back Harold Crawford and tight end Courdon Parker, are gone.

The roster for 2025 posted on MaxPreps lists nine seniors out of 29 players. But again …

Jamarcus Stephens (6-2, 180) and Jaden Jones (6-0, 255) are all-region candidates this year, Stephens at tight end or linebacker and Jones on the offensive line.

Junior running back/linebacker Terrell Coley (6-2, 175) had a good offseason, as has senior offensive lineman Jacob Williams (5-8, 165). 

There is serious suspense on offense. Harden is breaking in a new quarterback in more ways than one with senior Malik Brooks, in his first year of football.

“He’s done a good job of doing what we ask him to do,” Harden said. “He’s getting better.”

Brooks has improved in the reads necessary to run Harden’s Wing-T. And he is a hardcore Wing-T guy, especially as somebody taking over programs not loaded every year with an abundance of skill or depth.

“The good thing about it is you can run it year-in and year-out, regardless of your talent,” he said. “It makes it makes average players look good, good players look great.

“You don’t have to change your system. If I’m a spread guy and I don’t have a quarterback, I can’t run to spread. If I’m a spread guy and and a quick-gain guy and I don’t have a guy that can that can take a quick a 5-yard hitch and turn into an 80-yard touchdown, I’m screwed.”

He has been a longtime disciple of Dublin’s legendary Wing-T master Roger Holmes, as well as Camden County icon Jeff Herron. Holmes is 12 wins from 300 for his career, and Herron went 334-69 in 32 seasons at Camden County (twice, Grayson, Prince Avenue, Oconee County, Wheeler, Cedar Shoals, and Walton, as well at T.L. Hanna in South Carolina.

“Every offense is designed to score, every defense is designed to stop people,” Harden said. “You’ve got to find something to hang your hat on, and for us, this is what we do.”

Used to deeper holes… 

The Cobras will go with a 3-5-3 on defense, a scheme that also helps mask potential personnel shortcomings, because most teams have more players suited for linebacker than the defensive line, and the 3-5 allows for attacking from different areas.

Coley, Stephens, Enrique Molina (6-2, 170) and Jadayveon Butler – as well as Derrick Mayes as he returns from injury – are the early leaders of the defense.

One difference in Harden’s first first season at Twiggs County and this first season is some familiarity with the scheme.

“Dexter (Copeland) is a Wing-T guy, so they had gotten exposed to a little bit of the Wing-T before I got here,” Harden said. “So that helped a little bit. But it’s definitely a little bit deeper hole this time.”

Not that Harden prefers that, along the lines of “we got ‘em right where we want ‘em,” but he’s used to deeper holes.

“I feel like we can climb out of it just the same,” Harden said. “For us, having a system that you know inside and out … it makes it easier.

“Attitude has been great. The kids we have, they’re bought in.”