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Saints Ready for New Season
Saints

It’s that time of year again! It’s time for the sounds of helmets clashing and crowds cheering in DeKalb County as the DeKalb Middle School Saints open up the season this Thursday.

Head Coach Justin Poteete said that his team has worked hard in the preseason and has great potential.

“We’ve got a possibility of being pretty good this year,” Coach Poteete said. “We have a lot of athletes that are new kids because they either haven’t played before or haven’t played in several years. We will be looking to get them the ball in the open field. That may be a little bit of a challenge, but it is something we will try to do. We’ve got some decent size and a little of physicality this year, but at the end of the day they’ve got to show up and work hard each day, and give it everything they’ve got. I think we will be pretty decent if they show up and work hard each day.”

Leading the team will be Jesse Foutch at the QB position this year. “He’s a two-year eighth grader and one of the captains on this football team,” Poteete explained. “He is a kid who comes in and does everything the right way every day. You never have to beg him for effort. He is always there.  He’s a good leader. He’s got to work on his communication a little bit. He gets a little nervous at times, but he is definitely a kid who is always going to do the right thing. He has a pretty good arm although his throwing motion is a little weird. He throws the ball pretty, but his throwing motion doesn’t look the best.”

On the other end of the throwing game, Coach Poteete said he has a variety of receivers. “Our receivers out there, Carmello Davis is a first-year guy and Kiece Hannah (WR/FS) also a first-year guy, both are very athletic. J.T. Summers is going to play H for us this year. A very physical kid that reminds me a lot of Josh May when he was here. Cooper Odom will play Z-receiver for us this year. He’s a little bit undersized, but man he works hard every day and that’s definitely all we can ask for as coaches.”

“We have a little size this year,” Coach Poteete continued. “We’ve got some new kids. Eighth grader Hunter Ballew is a good-sized kid. He is learning some things. He’s going to play guard for us this year.”

“Chase Young is a three-year eighth grader and another Captain. He has good size and good motor. He really came into his own this spring. We are looking for big things from him.”

“Victor Locklear is a first-year player. He is a good physical player.”

“Eli Jones will give us some reps this year hopefully at tackle. He has decent size. We are looking for big things from all of them,” Poteete said.

Coach Poteete said the Saints look good on both sides of the ball this year. “Defensively we looked pretty good in the spring, but our success isn’t going to be based off of this spring. We are pretty physical. We just have to sustain that and get to the ball quick and make it pop when we get there. We have some athletes out there. We can’t fall asleep and just have to make sure we are disciplined especially inside with our linebackers and that each one of these kids does their job,” Coach Poteete concluded.”

The Saints’ season begins this Thursday, playing Livingston Academy at home starting at 6:30