Stevenson, Lewis are true-blue Wildcats
By Charles Burney
MDJ Sports Writer
Linebacker Julian Stevenson
and lineman Renardo Lewis
have seen highs and lows
throughout their football careers
KICKOFF ‘22 77
and Lewis, multi-sport athletes
between football, wrestling and
track and field. They have maintained
3.0 G PAs and have earned
other academic accolades.
Stevenson had 89 tackles and
two sacks, while Lewis finished
with 59 tackles and seven sacks.
Staying with the program since
middle school, as well as cultivating
academic achievement,
they earned the “Baby Cat to
Wildcat” award, Love said.
“Julian and Renardo are
two of the players that, when
I came in and I got the j ob
here at Wheeler, they were
coming over during the spring
for workouts,” Love said. “So
they are two players that have
been with me and with the
program since I’ve started.
They stayed true to the program.
They stayed around.
They could have gone to other
schools, but their parents
chose for them to stay here
at Wheeler. So just like life
Exceptional Senior Living!
INDEPENDENT LIVING I PERSONAL CARE
The Wildcats have not made
the playoffs since 2019 , and
have not produced a winning
season since 2018. The pair
have stuck with the program
through it all and have emerged
as leaders for the 2022 team.
Coach Bryan Love said he
and his players do not like to
dwell on seasons past. They
view previous experiences as
growing experiments of building
young men in a positive
environment and developing a
future for them to achieve postsecondary
success. They will
not be just equipped for football,
but they will be equipped
for life because of it.
This is the case for Stevenson
Contact Us TODAY and
explore the possibilities
of the Parc Lifestyle!
at Wheeler.
999 Hood Road, Marietta, GA 30068
Intersection of East Piedmont and Roswell Road (HWY 120)
770.565.8828 | parcatpiedmont.com
happens through the ups and
the downs. They learn from
those learning moments.”
Along with their accolades,
Stevenson said the team tries to
stay active in the community.
“Sometimes this is not all
about football,” he said. “We
find outside activities, such as
we ( went) and (helped) the kids
with field day up at Powers Ferry
Elementary. We ( were) at the
5K -9 for the Northeast Cobb
Business Association, and we
helped out and volunteered over
there. And we’re most definitely
looking for more things to do
in the community.”
Love said the two are enjoying
the benefits of their efforts.
“Now they have ( reaped)
their success,” Love said. “They
have multiple offers to go to
school. Their G PA is up over
a 3.0 and they are leaders for
the team as well. So they’ve
been through it. (They’ve been
through) those turmoil times
and tough times. But now I’m
anxious to see the fruition of
their success happening on
and off the field. So that’s the
reason why they were chosen
to be two of our leaders who
have been with the program
for four years.”
This offseason, the team also
started a positional group leadership
council amongst the
players. Stevenson and Lewis
each lead their groups. Stevenson
said the summer workouts
and what the program is
doing is helping develop their
youthful teammates.
“It’s been a pretty good j ourney,”
Stevenson said. “We have
our ups and downs. But we’re
trying to build the young guys
so that they can play at the varsity
level. We’re feeding off of
what we’ve seen happen our
freshman and sophomore years
with those older guys and them
going to college and reaching
the high stepping stones.”
/parcatpiedmont.com