ALLATOONA BUCCANEERS
RUSHING Att. Yds. Avg. TD
Jayden Ponder 128 945 7.4 6
Marcus Taylor 70 409 5.8 8
PASSING Com/Att Yds. TD INT
Tyler McGuire 58/104 945 8 2
RECEIVING Rec. Yds. Avg. TD
Bryce Herring 18 390 21.7 6
TACKLES Tac. Ast. Total
Ty Thompson 31 19 50
Vinnie Canosa 24 24 48
SACKS No.
Vinnie Canosa 7
Ty Thompson 5
INTERCEPTIONS No.
Caleb Moore 2
Trevon Eaddy 2
KICKOFF ‘22 87
VARSITY
COACHING STAFF
Gary Varner .....................HC
Troy Petersen .............. AHC
Xavia Smith .....................DC
Mike Dennison ............... OC
Zack Edwards .................. LB
Casey Smith .................... LB
Brett Hubbinger .............. DL
Russell Isham ..................DB
Bradley Dodd ..................OL
Jacob Longacre ...............OL
Jarvis West ......................RB
Johnny Tilton ................. QB
Jeremy Anderson ...........WR
2021 LEADERS
2021 RESULTS
Harrison .................................... 17-25 ........L
Hughes ..........................................0-6 ........L
Kennesaw Mountain .................. 21-22 ........L
South Cobb ................................. 51-9 .......W
Wheeler ..................................... 35-13 .......W
Sprayberry .................................. 43-7 .......W
Kell ............................................ 23-13 .......W
Lassiter ..................................... 49-17 .......W
Pope .......................................... 28-13 .......W
State Playos
Shiloh .........................................14-19 ........L
FIVE YEAR
RECORD
45-16-1
2021: 6-4
2020: 11-1
2019: 11-3-1
2018: 8-4
2017: 9-4
ALL TIME RECORD: 123431
REGION CHAMPIONSHIPS (4)
2020, 2015, 2014, 2011
STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS (1)
2015
Historical Info from Georgia High School Football Historians Assocation
Coach: Gary Varner
15 Seasons at School • Record: 123-43-1 • Career: 123-43-1
Stadium: Cobb EMC Buccaneer Stadium
Allatoona ready for big
bounce-back season
By Banji Bamidele
MDJ Sports Writer
Last year’s first round playoff
loss against Shiloh shocked Allatoona
and the community.
The loss was only the third time
in program history the team did
not make it past the first round of
the playoffs. It was the first firstround
playoff loss in eight seasons.
Allatoona coach G ary V arner,
who is entering his 15th year with
the program, said last year’s early
playoff exit was an aberration.
“It wasn’t a great feeling,” he
said. “I give them (Shiloh) a lot
of credit because they had a really
good team last year.”
Heading into the new season
the Buccaneers had four of their
starting offensive lineman graduate
along with a pair of corners.
K ey players returning on the
offensive side include starting
quarterback Tyler Mcguire who
threw for 9 45 yards and eight
touchdowns last season.
“Having a returning starting
quarterback, and a quarterback
who knows the system well enough
who can function quicker on the
offensive side of the ball,” V arner
said. “Saadiq Teel is another quarterback
who gets playing time and
he played a lot last year. And so
being strong at that position helps
get things started.”
The Buccaneers operate in a
shotgun formation and V arner
believes that there is a lot more
mobility at quarterback that can be
utilized in a variety of situations.
With Mcguire in the backfield is
the return of leading rusher Jayden
Ponder who had 128 carries for
9 45 yards and eight touchdowns
last season.
O n the defensive side is where
V arner has the most confidence
and believes the front seven will
have a very productive year.
“O ur defensive ends Mekhi Buchanan
and Ezra O dinjor and linebacker
V inny Canosa are all getting
a lot of college looks. They
need to have a good year for us,”
V arner said. “I feel the linebackers
are more confident, that’s the
returning group with a lot of minutes,
a lot of plays, so that experience
should pay dividends in the
beginning of the year.”
Buchanan is a three-star edge
rusher who has offers including
K entucky and Memphis, and last
season totaled 19 tackles and
two sacks. O dinjor at defensive
end had 43 tackles and has offers
including Coastal Carolina
and Air Force.
Canosa last season totaled 73 tackles
and 8 1/ 2 sacks which earned
him first team All-State honors.
The trio of Buchanan, O dinjor
and Canosa along with the other
seniors are who V arner places his
trust in to lead and steer the team
in the right direction.
“The seniors have got to do it,”
V arner said. “They’re the ones that
the kids are going to follow, whether
good or bad. The seniors as a whole
class will determine what type of
leadership you’re going to get.”
The Buccaneers will rely on the
leadership of their veteran players
and look to use it to achieve their
ultimate goal.
“The goal is always to get to
Thanksgiving,” V arner said. “We
don’t ever talk good or bad about
the region or winning region or
not, not that we take it for granted,
but it’s not the goal. I’d rather
be fourth in the region and play
on Thanksgiving than winning
the region and not getting there.”
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