Photos Andy Calvert
The Pepperell Dragons football team finished 5-6 this past year, leaving them as the 4 seed in the region. They fell to Mount Vernon 35-7 in the first round of the state playoff, marking the end of Rick Hurt’s tenure at Pepperell, who is now a first year coach at 6A Cherokee High School.
Enter Brandon Haywood, who comes to Pepperell after a 2-year stint at Woodland High School. The Rockmart native is excited to be in Lindale and brings a new energy to the Dragons program.
With spring practices being modified for the Floyd County schools, summer has been crucial for Haywood and the Dragons progress.
The Dragons have competed in numerous events throughout NWGA this summer. On the day of his interview, Pepperell had actually just gotten back from a 7on7 camp against Armuchee. The previous few weeks, they also competed at a padded camp at Chattooga.
“I wanted to see what my kids look like and how they move around in space,” said Haywood. “I felt good about our 7on7 against Armuchee and padded camp at Chattooga. We were battle tested, we played against Dalton, Gordon Lee, and Lafayette as well . I think that if we have an understanding of our schemes, we can play with anybody in our region.”
Haywood is coming to Pepperell after competing in one of the states toughest regions at Woodland. He is no stranger to tough competition and he is looking to bring a blue-collar work ethic to a blue-collar community in Lindale. The fit is perfect and he is excited to see the product on the field.
“I just want our kids to play hard and for us as a coaching staff to develop a resilient mindset in our kids,” says Haywood. “I want them to be the best version of themselves they can be, not just on the field, but in the weightroom, classroom, and practice field. Let’s win every game; I do not want to leave anything up to chance. I want to win the region and play old school, physical Pepperell football.”
Talking about fundamentals, Coach Haywood has described what he feels like his squad needs to get better at.
“We need to get better at tackling, and we are going to continue to get better at our drops in pass coverage. We are also working on our timing in the pass game.”
Haywood typically runs a Hybrid Wing T, but feels as if he now has the personnel to run a pro-style offense.
“We have maybe 6 kids that could be home run hitters in the fall.”
On the other side of the ball, he runs a 3-4, 4 man front, and will occasionally stack the box.
Pepperell has a few names that could be put on the map this upcoming year. Coach Haywood has high praise for his junior quarterback, Sam Ross, saying he is one of the best athletes in Floyd County. Junior Madoc Garcia is fluid in just about everything he does, and Tyler Rogers is explosive as an offensive player. Tucker Glenn has really grown, and has become a leader in the secondary, while Stephen Sapp and junior Hayden Wheat are additional pieces to the D-line at Pepperell that could make a splash.
As for newcomers, Darlington transfer Sam Wooten is a name to look out for, playing on both sides of the ball. Jelani Adams is a freshman who has so far been hard to stop as well.
A new era of Dragons football is about to start and championships are the goal.
