It’s wise to test the water before you dive right in; the Tift County Blue Devils learned that in 2015. The Blue Devils, led by first-year head coach Ashley Anders, finished 5-5 last season and were winless in region play. Heading into season two under Anders, the Blue Devils believe greater familiarity will be beneficial when the 2016 season kicks off.
“With last year being my first year as head coach and bringing in three of four new coaches—that takes some getting used to,” Anders said of last season. “All of the coaches are returning with a year in the system and terminology. It’s about settling in and knowing what to expect from the coaches and the players’ expectations. I look at that and think that will help us tremendously.”
With the coaching staff settling in, the roster will be anchored by experienced returners offensively and defensively. Anders sees the luxury of veteran players but also hopes to plug holes in key spots.
“One of our greatest strengths is we have quite a few kids coming back that have game experience,” Anders said. “They’ve played on Friday nights in either a starting role or back-up role on both sides of the ball. I think we’re returning seven starters on offense and eight on defense. When you have experience like that, the game doesn’t go quite as fast in their eyes.
“I would say our depth and our experience on our defensive line are where we took our biggest hit. Three of our four starters last year were seniors and went on to sign scholarships. It’s tough to replace three scholarship players at one time. That’s going to be the point where we have to grow the fastest.”
Exponential growth will be key for the Blue Devils, who lost three of their five region games by 10 or more points. According to Anders, his team must buy into a physical brand of football to pull out close games.
“The first thing, no matter whether it is offense, defense, or special teams, is you’ve got to have a tough, physical football team,” Anders said of his philosophy. “You have to be tough physically. You have to be tough mentally. You have to be physical at the point of attack on the offensive and defensive lines. Not everything is going to go the way that you want it. You’ve got to be strong enough mentally to come back from some adversity and be able to push through and do your job.”
The job for the Blue Devils will be a tall task with Lowndes County, Camden County and Colquitt County atop Region 1-AAAAAAA. As the old adage goes, ‘To be the man, you’ve got to beat the man.’ However, as Anders and his staff are preaching, winning the region demands a consistent focus every game, regardless of opposition.
“We’re looking to win a region championship,” Anders said flatly. “With the success that these teams have had in our region, it’s very, very tough. Colquitt obviously is the top team on the totem pole right now with back-to-back state championships. They’ve got the X on their back every week but there’s no one (game) that’s more important than the other. What we try to teach our guys is that we’ve got a goal and in order to reach that goal, you’ve got to take care of things one game at a time.”
Tift County Blue Devils
Blue Devils Hope Continuity And Growth Breed Region Contention
Written by Shane Thomas
Photo by Marque Milla Reese
