Dondrial Pinkins has returned respect to Pelham’s football program.
In just his second year as head coach, Pinkins led a young but talented Hornets team to their first region championship since 2001, finishing the season at 9-2 (8-1). Their unexpected loss in the second round of the playoffs in a shootout with Greene County has left the Hornets hungry.
“Those guys understand now what it means to win a championship, but our goals are bigger than competing with teams in our region,” Pinkins said. “Ultimately, we have to compete with the teams in the state. We have to be all in.”
Leading by example, Pinkins and his staff are continuing to raise the energy and effort levels as they prepare.
“We have a lot of young coaches that can still go out to a practice and be hands on,” Pinkins said. “We hop in drills, we lift in the weight room, we do different things to motivate these kids.”
Treun Pace (junior WR/DB), Kendrick Patterson (sophomore QB), and Malik Mango (junior RB/LB), will lead the Hornets toward their goals this season, drawing upon their valuable and extensive experience as underclassmen. They have the experience, the ability, and now the mindset, to bring home not just one, but two, championships in 2017.
“Our motto is ‘confident not cocky,’” Pinkins said. “Any person we line up against on the field, any coach that we go up against, we feel like we have trained hard, we prepared hard, and we have a shot to win a ball game.”
In the Game Magazine / South Georgia / August – September 2017
Pelham Hornets
State Championship Expectations in Pinkins’ Third Year
Written by Cole Parker
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