Southwest keeps things exciting
A lot of coaches who are put in charge of building high school football programs like to talk about “learning how to win.”
There’s a lot to be said about that. A new head coach in a program that has gone through several losing seasons has to convince his players that the future doesn’t have to look like the past.
For Joseph Dupree at Southwest, that phrase is playing out quite literally.
On a pair of Thursday nights in Columbus, Southwest was tested right to the end. The Patriots’ defense stood strong on the final play against Jordan on Sept. 18 and against Spencer on Oct. 2, preserving hard-fought victories against GHSA Region 2-AAA competition.
These wins were by no means earth-shattering. Jordan only has two wins this season, and Spencer has just one. But for a team that needed a place to start a rebuilding effort following a winless campaign in Dupree’s debut season last year, Southwest found two games that have the potential to change the program.
The interesting thing about Southwest’s 3-2 start is that four of the Patriots’ games so far have been played outside of Bibb County. Southwest opened with 20-16 win over Northeast at Henderson Stadium, but trips to Eagle’s Landing, Peach County and those two games in Columbus followed.
Those first two road games were difficult tasks. Eagle’s Landing, which won 41-7, is now 5-1. Peach County, which won 48-0, is 6-0 and ranked fifth in Class AAA after allowing just 25 points so far.
At 1-2 and coming off two blowouts, it would have been easy to throw in the towel. But Dupree kept his team going, and those thrilling wins over Jordan and Spencer have given the Patriots a winning record heading into their return to Henderson Stadium, Friday against Rutland.
Success hasn’t come often for the Southwest football program. After five winning seasons in the 1980s, the only winning season in the past quarter century for Southwest came in 2008, when Carror Wright led the Patriots to an 8-3 season.
This year, however, Southwest has put itself in a position where a winning season is possible. The talk I kept hearing about Southwest during its winless season last year was that the team was young but very receptive to coaching, and that coaching certainly has paid off so far this season.
The Patriots have three competitive games ahead -- Rutland, Central on Oct. 17 at Henderson Stadium and Kendrick on Oct. 25 in Columbus -- and the Oct. 31 game at Henderson Stadium against Jackson might turn interesting, as well, especially if playoff position is at stake. Southwest is currently tied for third with the Red Devils in the region.
There’s no guarantees when it comes to football, especially at the high school level. But Southwest should be a fun team to watch in the weeks ahead.
Contact Ron Seibel at 744-4222 or rseibel@macon.com
This story was originally published October 9, 2014 at 4:37 PM with the headline "Southwest keeps things exciting ."