L-R: #30 SADIE RAUGHTON SR-GUARD, #14 JAVIA SAMPLES JR-GUARD, #1 KAMRI SANDERS FR-GUARD, #14 NOAH TRAVIS SR-GUARD, #23 CHASE ALLEN SR-FORWARD, #11 STEVARYIS DALLAS SR-GUARD
In a season in which Coach Sally Echols gained her coveted 400-win goal, they finished 23-6, and were region runner-ups. They would eventually fall to Banks County on the road in the Sweet 16. On the boy’s side, they were region champs and would make it to the Elite 8 before having to go on the road and play a buzz saw in 3-Peat State Champions Westside-Augusta.
“It’s hard to win, but it’s even harder to make deep playoff runs,” said Head Coach Jacob Travis. “We will continue to build off of the success that we had, so we as a team are thankful, but business is business, and we will have to go back to the drawing board and get ready for another season.”
His expectations are simple; show up, and play hard. Be the best you can be; there is a reason why the motto of the program is to be a “Poor Hungry Dog.” Fight for every second of every game, and the rest will work itself out.
Losing an All-State 2-way monster in Jeremias Heard will certainly be a major blow for the Blue Devils. On the bright side, there is a certain core group at Model that will be special. This year, a surplus of seniors will lead a deep rotation. Chase Allen, an All-State Selection in 23-24, will return for his senior campaign. Noah Travis and Stevie Dallas will headline a deadly guard duo, with rising sophomore Bryson Denson and junior John Myles Mason, who plays with some reckless abandon, looking to have a major step up. A few rotation players include guys like Thomas Patterson and Owen Mathis, who have seen quality varsity minutes over the past few years.
Now, let’s flip it over to the girls’ side of things. After a few down years, the Lady Devils seem to be back on track, coming off of 2 straight Sweet 16s.
“I would say that we finished a better team than we were the year before,” says Head Coach Sally Echols. “We lost three major contributing seniors, but what we have coming back we are excited about, and we are gonna continue to work hard to get to the postseason and hopefully make some noise.”
In order to achieve success, familiarity is a big staple within the Lady Devils Program.
“Girls have to bond in order to battle, so we spend an extensive amount of time with each other, so our chemistry can translate to what we do on the hardwood.”
While losing three contributing seniors is a huge challenge, there are numerous Lady Devils that will fill in those gaps. Javia Samples, a junior who is a do-it-all guard, will be an X-Factor along with another junior in Eva Poyner. Sadie Raughton, most likely one of if not the best shooters in Northwest Georgia, will come back for her senior campaign. Freshman Kam Sanders, who has already matured within the program, will look to start out her career strong with a loaded upperclassmen bunch.
Basketball in Shannon is special. Whether you are a former 4th-grade teacher crocheting in the bleachers or have nowhere else to be on a Saturday, there’s no doubt the faithful of Shannon will always have something to look forward to.
