Stifling defense has Spartans in first
By Chase Wallace

Paulding Neighbor / October 5, 2011

Sitting at 3-0 and in first place in 5AAAA-South, subregion play has treated South Paulding well. They can thank their defense, which in three games has yet to yield a point to their competition.

“We definitely felt like we were going to be pretty good on that side of the ball with our whole front seven back,” said South Paulding coach Tim Glanton. “We didn’t anticipate three straight shutouts though; we have been playing really well on that side.”

South Paulding’s (4-2 overall, 3-0 in 5S-AAAA) sub-region dominance continues a trend from 2010 that saw them go a perfect 6-0. The Spartans’ three wins this year have come against Villa Rica (33-0), Alexander (24-0), and Lithia Springs (10-0).

Their defensive success stems from a number of factors, but Glanton said the biggest has been the experience level of his players and their ability to shut teams down in the red zone.

“Right now we have a bunch of guys that have played a lot of football together. They believe in each other and believe in what we teach them to do. We haven’t completely shut teams down, but we are doing a good job of keeping them out of the end zone.”

South Paulding’s defensive front seven was expected to anchor the team with Damaracus Hamilton, Carnell Hopson and Aaron Anderson on the line of scrimmage and talented linebackers Adrian Lindsey and Austin Roberts behind them.

But the most surprising unit and possibly the most important has been the secondary — a group that was rather inexperienced coming into the season.

“We already have seven interceptions back there. Steven Johnson is playing good at corner along with Khalia Hackett, Chandler Burks and Jae Bowen doing a good job too,” said Glanton.

The strong defense has even paid dividends for the offense. With a security net to fall back on South Paulding’s offense has become more aggressive and is taking shots downfield in the passing game — a rarity for Glanton’s teams.

Through six games, quarterback Luke Norman has completed well over 50 percent of his passes and has thrown seven touchdowns, four of them to senior Cedrick Davis.

The Spartans’ shutout streak will continue this week as they are off before taking on a winless Douglas County team next Friday.

Glanton said he will use the extra time not only to prepare for their next game but to get the offensive execution to match the defense.

“On offense we have to be better with our effort. The worst thing we’re doing right now is not giving that second and third effort on our blocks and that is something we have to address this week,” he said.