164 KICKOFF ‘22
Special - File
North Cobb quarterback Malachi Singleton scored five touchdowns on national TV against Milton last season. After his breakout 2021 season,
he and the Warriors hope to be the last team standing with the Class AAAAAAA state championship in December.
SEE YEAR, 165
YEAR
From 68
anymore because we go from
j ust one phase to the next, but
this year specifically, the kids
are holding each other accountable.
It’s easy to be a head coach
when your players are like 100
assistants, along with your assistant
coaches.”
An all-time offseason seems a
scary proposition for the Warriors’
opponents. After all, North
Cobb finished 10-2 in each of
the past two seasons, outscoring
its opponents by 424 points, en
route to two region championships
— the first back-to-back
region championships in program
history.
MaxPreps ranked North Cobb
No. 6 8 in the country entering
the 2022 season, but Q ueen
said his team is eliminating the
effect of any outside speculation
on the Warriors finish.
In both seasons prior, successful
regular seasons stalled in the
playoffs, with heartbreaking second
round losses.
The shortcomings shared a
common theme
In 2020 against Lowndes, North
Cobb did not allow the V ikings’
offense to cross the 50-yard line
until the fourth quarter, but it
turned the ball over five times,
including four interceptions, in
a 21-13 loss.
O ne year later, the Warriors held
a nine-point lead against Roswell
with less than two minutes left
for a spot in the quarterfinals.
Time didn’t tick fast enough for
the Warriors as a fumble handed
the Hornets a short-field touchdown.
Roswell’s subsequent onside
kick recovery with 48 seconds remaining
led to the game-winning
touchdown and a 46 -43 final.
Aside from its past deficiencies,
this year’s North Cobb team
resembles a previous Warrior
playoff squad in potential and
composition.
Ten years ago, North Cobb,
led by sophomore quarterback
Tyler Q ueen, fell to Lovejoy 6 3-
42 in the state semifinals. Coming
off of a 5-6 record in 2011,
the current wide receivers and
special teams coach said the
team’s preseason playoff outlook
was largely doubted.
Similar to this team’s perceived
inability to overcome
playoff woes, he said the 2022
doubts remind him of 2012 in
several respects.
“We ( in 2012) kind of took
that underdog mentality, and
a lot of people see this team (in
2022) as a team that can’t get
over the hump, so our team this
year is kind of taking that same
mentality,” Tyler Q ueen said.
In 2012, North Cobb averaged
41 points per game and finished
11-3, beating V aldosta, Hughes
and Mill Creek in the first three
rounds of the playoffs. Q ueen
completed 16 5 passes for 2,6 07
yards and 23 touchdowns and
rushed for 9 25 yards and 20
touchdowns.
In 2021, the Warriors averaged
38.42 points per game. Junior
quarterback Malachi Singleton
threw for 2,348 yards and 24
touchdowns, while rushing for
1,037 yards and 25 touchdowns.
Both players posted strikingly
similar statistics.
Tyler Q ueen said that is due
in part to coaching consistency.
Singleton heads an offense
similar to the one he operated
in 2012, focused on forcing all
members of a defense to perform,
while spreading the ball
to all parts of the field.
He also acknowledged the
rushing aspect Singleton brings