YEAR
From 165
166 KICKOFF ‘22
Special - File
Top left: Running back David Eziomume and linebacker Grayson Hodges, bottom left,
are juniors who will be making significant contributions to the 2022 team and who will
become leaders of next year’s squad. Above: Tyler Queen is the Warriors’ current wide
receivers coach, but back in 2012, he was a dual-threat quarterback who nearly led
North Cobb to the state championship game.
of talent, it just has to come together,
bond, build chemistry,”
Singleton said. “The ultimate
goal, the state championship, I
feel like everybody on this team
believes it.”
Additional prospects in j unior
athlete David Eziomume
and j unior linebacker G rayson
Hodges boast promising futures
in navy and orange. With
the slate of returners, North
Cobb enters the season with a
noticeably high level of talent
and experience.
That combination, Q ueen
said, is important to remaining
competitive when playing in
an ever-improving county and
against out-of-region teams
with like-minded state championship
aspirations.
In their first six games of the
year, the Warriors will face
Buford, a 2021 state champion,
Milton and Northside-Warner
Robins, two state championship
finalists and Westlake,
a state semifinalist. Q ueen
said it has become increasingly
difficult to find teams
willing to schedule regular season
non-region matchups with
North Cobb, but that the team
remains focused on how to win
this year.
Q ueen said any distractions
from the past have been addressed
and incorporated into
their program designed to field
a team focused on the “little elements”
of the game.
“They’ve got a chip on their
shoulder, but our kids are confident,”
he said. “I j ust want them
to go out every Friday night and
give their best effort, and not
have any regrets.”
He didn’t guarantee any level
of championship for his 2022
squad, something he said has
been too much of a focus in
the past. Instead, Q ueen said
he wants his team to compete
during the season like they have
all summer: with intent.
“What I don’t want is for
us, to look back and say ‘what
if we had done this or that,’”
Q ueen said. “You want to walk
off the field that last Friday
night, whether it’s the region
championship, state championship
or the first game of the
season, and look at myself in
the mirror and say, ‘I gave it
all for Warrior Nation.’”