Summary of last season:
Wayne started out the season against Glynn Academy in a game that ended up taking two days to play because of weather delays. The craziness of that game could easily be considered just a sampling of what unfolded during the Yellow Jackets offseason. A 38-0 win against Windsor Forest got the Yellow Jackets into AAAA state playoffs as the four seed; Wayne ended up losing in the final seconds against Mary Persons.
During spring football, Yellow Jackets Head Football Coach, Jody Grooms, resigned due to off field issues. Leadership became a long process for the Yellow Jackets in order to find a replacement; the Yellow Jackets settled on Camden County’s Derek Chastain.
What is your outlook for this season? “I anticipate a great year at Wayne County for 2016. The Yellow Jackets return a great core of players from a program that has experienced success in the last 6 years, but I understand that a new coach means change. I do things differently from the previous leadership just as another head coach would have different expectations. There is a learning curve among the coaches and players that will give us the opportunity to “GROW” together,” Wayne County Head Coach Derek Chastain said.
What has realignment changed this year?
Wayne moves into region AAAAA-2 with familiar foes in Ware, Statesboro, and South Effingham. Those three teams have been off of Wayne’s schedule the past few seasons, since they were the in the old AAAAAA-3 before realignment. New Hampstead also joins the new region with the Yellow Jackets.
Big games this year:
Wayne hosts South Georgia super power Valdosta and then travels to Brunswick the next week. In week seven, the Yellow Jackets host their first 2016 region contest against a quick South Effingham team. The bulk of the region schedule follows against rookie New Hampstead, region power Ware, and ends on the road at Statesboro.
