Four downs with Dougherty football

ALBANY — Damien Gary had a standout college football career.

The former Georgia wideout still holds the Bulldogs’ career punt return yardage record, and his punt return touchdown against Tennessee in 2001 was one of the more memorable plays for the program in the past 20 years.

After spending five years as a college assistant at Charlotte, Gary became a high school head coach for the first time this year, taking over for Corey Joyner at Dougherty after Joyner took the head coaching position at Carver-Columbus.

Gary takes over a program that won a state title 20 years ago but hasn’t had a winning season in a decade. Last year’s team went 2-9, reaching the postseason as the fourth-place team out of GHSA Region 1-3A, a five-team region.

Here are four questions for Gary and the Dougherty football program as the Trojans move into Region 1-4A play this fall following the GHSA’s mid-cycle enrollment adjustment:

1. What will Dougherty bring to the table this season?

Gary, who arrived in February, has stressed the idea of character development from the time he arrived.

“We’ve been hitting energy and discipline hard with our guys this summer, holding them accountable, doing things right all the time,” Gary said. “All those little things that we tend to overlook and cut a corner on, those are the things that get you beat in a tight ballgame, so we want to make sure that we correct those little things and hold guys accountable.

“The Trojan way is a real big thing. We’re going to make sure we’re going to do things the right way, even when no one is watching.”

2. With nearly a full offseason to prepare since arriving in February, how well has the transition progressed?

With the official GHSA acclimatization period beginning this week, Dougherty is experiencing some decent participation numbers.

During a summer workout Friday, the Dougherty practice field had a healthy number of players taking part, working toward the Aug. 17 season opener at Albany State’s Coliseum against Lee County,

“Looking back from day one to now, it seems like light years ago,” Gary said. “We’ve come a long way. We still have a ways to go, but I’m really encouraged and confident that we’re on the right track.”

3. What can fans expect out of a Gary-coached Dougherty team?

Gary said he likes to run a situational game plan, running the offense out of multiple sets and the defense out of variable alignments.

“We’ll have a lot of different (defensive) schemes that we can combat different offenses with,” Gary said. “Offense, as well, we want to make sure we can take advantage of the personnel that we have. If that means we need to go heavy at times, then we’ll do that. If we need to spread it out, then we feel confident that we can do that, as well.”

4. Who are some players who might have breakout seasons this fall?

Ga’marcus Freeman, Sr. DE/LB: “He’s our leader,” Gary said. “He had a really good year last year. We’re looking forward to some big things from him.”

Quaddarion Shedrick, Sr. ATH: “He’s one of those dynamite packs, not very big but very explosive.”

Antonio Knighton, Soph. S: “He’s a young guy for us in the secondary who’s going to have a breakout year.”

Caleb Vance, Sr. DT: “I think he’s unblockable. I’m excited to see him work.”

Josh Hall, Jr. C/DT: “Our starting center is the strongest guy on the team, by far.”