SPRAYBERRY YELLOW JACKETS
KICKOFF ‘22 133
Smoked For Hours.
Served in Minutes.
Too Much is
Never Enough!
Great for Tailgating or Feeding the Team! Dine In or Take-Out
Located Across from Sprayberry High School
2550 Sandy Plains Road 30066 • 770-971-8283 • williejewells.com
Go
Sprayberry
Yellow
Jackets!
RUSHING Att. Yds. Avg. TD
Isaiah Abbey 142 997 7.0 11
Jermaine Kenty 67 351 5.2 1
PASSING Com/Att Yds. TD INT
Kemari Nix 52/119 654 7 6
RECEIVING Rec. Yds. Avg. TD
Isaiah Abbey 11 191 17.4 2
TACKLES Tac. Ast. Total
Patrick Jones 45 26 71
Phillip Andoh 41 25 66
SACKS No.
Phillip Andoh 8
Darius Gailliard 5.5
INTERCEPTIONS No.
Mark Moss 1
Mark Manfred 1
Demetrious Brown 1
VARSITY
COACHING STAFF
Brett Vavra ......................HC
Will Szpor ..................OC/QB
Chris Stewart .............DC/DB
Scott Connors ............. ST/LB
Pat Hall ...........................DB
Jamey Stiltz .....................RB
Robert Jenkins ................OL
Kyle Adkins .............OL/AHC
Chester Ransom .............WR
Jack Marinich .................WR
Travis Riddick ..................DL
John Wernquist ............... LB
2021 LEADERS
2021 RESULTS
Collins Hill ................................forfeit ........L
Wheeler .......................................33-0 .......W
Kennesaw Mountain .................... 3-47 ........L
Osborne ....................................43-27 .......W
Lassiter .....................................35-38 ........L
Allatoona ..................................... 7-43 ........L
Pope ............................................7-25 ........L
Kell ............................................ 17-25 ........L
South Cobb ...............................35-25 .......W
FIVE YEAR
RECORD
20-31
2021: 3-6
2020: 6-5
2019: 6-5
2018: 3-7
2017: 2-8
ALL TIME RECORD: 2644018
REGION CHAMPIONSHIPS (3)
2008, 1982, 1978
Historical Info from Georgia High School Football Historians Assocation
Coach: Brett Vavra
6 Seasons at School • Record: 20-31 • Career: 20-31
Stadium: Jim Frazier Stadium
Youthful roster hopes to
lead Jackets to playoffs
By Adam Carrington
MDJ Sports Correspondent
Sprayberry is heading into
the new season as both a young
and experienced team.
Having 75 underclassmen on a
105-player roster says one thing.
The fact that eight sophomores
played regularly as freshmen
a year ago says another. This
year’s j uniors also got ample
playing time a year ago.
The Yellow Jackets went
through growing pains last
year as a young team, winning
j ust three games, but anything
short of postseason in 2022
could be a disappointment.
“There is no substitute for experience,”
coach Brett V avra said.
“From that aspect, we’ll be a little
bit better. We have guys that
played a significant role on the
team last year at times, and that
will help us. But we’re still young.”
Sprayberry still has concerns to
address such as who will step up
at running back. The two-headed
monster of Demarion Thomas
and Isaiah Abbey that helped
steer the Yellow Jackets into the
state playoffs two years ago have
moved on with Abbey graduating
last year and heading to Harvard.
Right now they are leaning on
senior Ben Nordstrom, who got
reps last year as Abbey’s backup,
but not on a regular basis.
Sophomore Trevour G hent is
another who will compete for
playing time after having a successful
track season last year.
Junior Jason Pitts could also
j oin the rotation.
“We didn’t have a running
back that’s been in our program
other than Ben Nordstrom,”
V avra said. “He’ll be a senior
and didn’t get a ton of touches
last year, but he will be a guy
that’s going to play some running
back and we just have to
find some more guys.”
Sprayberry’s defense, which returns
the bulk of its starters from
last year, is expected to step up
if the Yellow Jackets are to play
beyond the regular season. That’s
where the experience comes in.
Senior Darius G ailliard (45
tackles, 5.5 sacks) is expected
to anchor the defensive line after
finishing with an estimated
70 tackles and five sacks last
season. He will play alongside
seniors Troy Beverly and Fernando
Baker, both of whom will
play the offensive line.
Senior Isaiah McG arity (54 tackles),
who was all-region last year,
returns at safety. Senior O akley
Thorpe and junior Deion Dobson
are also back in the secondary.
At linebacker seniors Patrick
Jones and G avin Yeomans are expected
to lead the linebacker unit.
“We have pieces that are coming
back that were thrown into
the fire last year as young guys,”
V avra said, “and this year, we
should see a lot of growth.”
Junior K emari Nix (6 54 yards,
7 TD) is tabbed to resume his role
as the starting quarterback, but
j unior baseball standout Foster
Currie, could challenge him for
the position. Should Currie take
over under center, Nix could
j oin Dobson and sophomore
Mark Manfried at receiver or
running back.
/williejewells.com