Last season, the Georgia Military College (GMC) Prep Bulldogs went 4-7, with their season capped off by a first-round playoff loss to Schley County.
Still, despite the disappointing record, GMC Prep scored a big win over longtime rival Riverside Military Academy, as well as three region wins against Wilkinson, Glascock, and Twiggs counties.
The Bulldogs were led by head coach Lee Coleman for four seasons, highlighted by a 10-0 regular season in 2021, followed by the region title that year.
So, 2022 was an obvious disappointment, but on a personal level, Coleman advanced to a new job as head coach at Lakeview Academy in Gainesville after the season ended..
That in turn led to the hiring of Bobby Rhoades at GMC Prep as its new head football coach. Rhoades came from Pepperell High School, where he was an assistant coach for six seasons.
“I just really believed in the core values of the school, ‘Character Above All’ and ‘Duty, Honor, Country,’” Rhoades said of being attracted to the GMC Prep position. “We have a great administration, great facilities, with a top-flight education. All the ingredients to build a great program.”
Rhoades has inherited a young O-line and D-line. Joe Taylor is the lone returning senior on the offensive side and the coach expects he will play defense, too, alongside two-time All-Region defensive linemen Hudson Dominy and Jose Caballero.
At quarterback, the Bulldogs will have a battle for who will replace Tyler Saunders and be named the starter by the season opener. Rhoades said Nate Webster and Logan McMillan have been swapping the position all summer and likely will continue to compete for a few more weeks.
Among the top returning playmakers on offense for GMC Prep are Johnathan Roach, who can play at running back or wide receiver, Parker Edens at tight end, Jessie Washington at running back, and Walt Greene at wide receiver.
Rhoades said that Greene has been a standout this summer, with great size at 6-foot-4. He added that Edens has shown flashes of brilliance over the summer at tight end, but neither player has much playing experience and neither has been a starter before.
“We are a very young team, so it’s been exciting to watch this team grow over the summer,” Rhoades said. “We have a few seniors that are college-level players who are growing as leaders, and I enjoy watching that.”
Roach had 62 carries last season for 319 rushing yards and two touchdowns, but this season he will be looking to add some depth and veteran leadership with Edens to the receiver room.
Meanwhile, Washington will be a playmaker to keep an eye on all season long. In 2021, he rushed for 989 yards and eight scores on 137 carries while averaging 123.6 yds a game that season. Last year, he had only 92 carries but still racked up 439 yards and six touchdowns on the year while averaging almost five yards per rush.
Washington will also be playing linebacker where he has enjoyed some success, too, with 52 total tackles and 40 solo tackles over the past two seasons.
“I feel the players have bought into what we are trying to do, but we are incredibly young, so there will be growing pains, especially against a very difficult schedule,” Rhoades pointed out. “But I’m excited to see where this team is when we get to late October and into November.”