REGION 4AAAAAA
South Cobb begins journey without county neighbors
By Thomas Ashworth
MDJ Sports Writer
As South Cobb High School looks to build
off of a strong finish to their season, the team
will have to do so against strong competition.
Between the top three teams from last season
( Marist, Riverwood, St. Puis X Catholic) who
are now a part of Region 4AAAAAA, the three
combined to finish 17-1 in region play with all
three finishing atop their respective regions.
“I like the level of competition,” South Cobb
coach Thomas Hanson said. “You’re going to
see a lot of teams that do what everybody else
does, spread teams. But, you’re going to see
teams like Marist who are consistently in the
hunt for a state title and they run triple option.”
Prior to taking the head coaching job at South
Cobb, Hanson served as defensive coordinator
at Harrison, where his defense allowed just
10.6 points per game in 2019 , holding opponents
KICKOFF ‘22 79
to single-digit points in nine of their fifteen
games played.
Now, he is prepared to utilize his defensive
expertise against the strong competition that
awaits them.
“As a defensive guy, that’s really exciting for
me because it forces us to be on our p’s and q’s,”
Hanson said. “I’m really excited about that.”
Despite his confidence in the competition
this season, Hanson and company will have
hours of travel ahead of them as they step into
their new region.
“The travel piece, that’s going to be tough,”
Hanson said. “Trying to get across traffic on
a Friday to I-285 and up around there, which
is Marist and St. Pius, that’s going to be really
challenging. Then you look at Riverwood,
as well. That’s going to be a challenge to get
over there.”
After a schedule featuring nine straight games
against Cobb County teams last season, South
Cobb and their new Region 4AAAAAA opponents
will combine for over 100 miles of travel
across their five games in region play.
Two years removed from a 4A State Championship,
Marist will be without All-Region
6 AAAA quarterback Champ Davis, running
back Andrew Mannelly, who is committed to
Wofford to play baseball, and offensive lineman
Steven Nahmias, who signed to play at Duke.
St. Puis X will return Region 5AAAAA Player
of the Year Jack Tchienchou, and will turn
to Jack Woods to anchor the offensive line after
the departure of Cayne Wright. They also
have punter Jack G alvez back, who is a fourstar
punter and kicker according to K ohl’s Professional
Camps.
Riverwood, who won 7AAAAAA last season,
will be returning key contributors on their offense,
including receiver Levi Linowes, who
has offers from Air Force, Army and Brown,
but will be without Region 7AAAAAA Player
of the Year Avery Smith at quarterback, who
signed with Toledo.
Both Lakeside and Dunwoody both finished
their season 3-7, with hopes of trending upward
with the new region realignment.
PREDICTION
1. Riverwood
2. Marist
3 St. Pius X
4. South Cobb
5. North Atlanta
6. Lakeside-DK
7. Dunwoody
File
South Cobb was placed in a region where it will compete without any of its Cobb County brethren for the next two years.