2024 Vidalia Indians Football Team - 100 Years Of Football At VHS
2024 Vidalia Indians Football Team
The Vidalia High School Indians are coming off a bit of a disappointing year last year as they went 5-6, but they did make the playoffs before falling. Also, three of those losses came to top five ranked teams at the end of the season. According to second year Head Coach Rodney Garvin, they have made big strides in the off season and are planning on battling their way back into the playoffs. This will also be the 100th year of football at Vidalia High School, and they are hoping to celebrate that as the season moves forward.
Things will be different for the Indians this season as they have dropped into Class A and will be fighting for those playoff spots through Power Rankings instead of Region wins. VHS will be in Region 3 in Class A Division 1, and they will face off with Toombs County, Swainsboro, Savannah Christian, and Savannah Country Day in their Region.
Coach Garvin will have a solid coaching staff again this season. Travis Blewett will be back as the Defensive Coordinator, with Britt Ingle coming back as the Offensive Coordinator. Bobby Blount will work with defensive ends and the offensive line, Steve Fullam on the defensive line and with tight ends. Jas Sneed is with defensive backs and receivers, Dermin Simmons with linebackers and running backs. Garrett Anderson has joined the team to work with linebackers and running back, and Sam Collins has come home to coach the offensive line. And Trey Carroll, as always, will be on the sidelines as the Head Team Manager.
The Indians had a good spring week, and that led into a good summer. They worked out over the month of June and all the kids that had at least 90% attendance were taken on a trip to the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta for a team bonding trip. Coach Garvin said the kids and the staff all had a great time, and it was good to see them continue to bond. They continued to work hard through July and getting prepared for the season.
They have had to work hard to replace a big senior class from last year that saw 16 players graduate. Some of the rising seniors such as Jackson Berry, Sam Sapp, AJ McLendon, Levi Palmer, Nolan Wade, and Ian Moye have all stepped up and found their voices as leaders for the team.
Senior Jackson Berry will be the starting quarterback for the Indians, and this will be his second year starting at the position. DJ Wallace and freshman Henry Adams are backing up Berry and have also had a good summer.
Senior Jamorion Phillips will be one of the main guys in the backfield taking the handoffs. AJ McLendon, another senior, will join him in the backfield, as will Germannick Durham, Jerryon Roundtree, Alton Boles, Nolan Wade, and Sam Sapp. With that many that can handle the duties at running back, the Indians should be able to keep them fresh and the opposing defenses guessing.
On the outside, DJ Wallace and Ian Moye are going to be two of the main players at receiver. Andre Jackson, who ran a 10.9 in the 100M dash at the State Track Meet as a freshman last year, will be a speedster on the outside. At tight end will be Kashun Coney and Justus Gabbard, who will be blocking and be looked at to make possession catches.
Moving up front, the Indians will have Braden Mulkey back at center to anchor the offensive line. At guard, they will have Rylen Keene and Maxwell Jordan. Levi Palmer will sit at tackle as will Nate Landon. According to Coach Garvin, they are a younger group, but they have come a long way over the summer.
Up front on the defensive side, the Indians will have a four-man front. Palmer will start at one end with Coney at the other side. Josh Farmer and Wade will get the call in the middle of the defensive line, with Mulkey, Phillips, and Gabbard filling in. They are quick on the line, but they won’t have a ton of size.
At linebacker, Sapp will lead the way in the middle, with Durham as the other inside linebacker. On the outside, they will look to Adrian Newkirk and McLendon. They are all good at coverage and against the run and will be a key to the Indians’ defense.
In the secondary, there continued from page
will be three juniors leading the way. Boles will be at one of the cornerback positions, with Roundtree at the other side. DJ Wallace will sit back at free safety. They are all physical players that are good open field tacklers.
Sapp will also be the punter for the Indians. Adam Crutchfield will handle the kickoff and field goals. He had a solid season last year as he went 100% on the year on extra points. The long snapper will be Moye, and he has done a good job at that position.
Coach Garvin stated, “One thing that stands out to me with this group is that they really have a tight brotherhood. They work tremendously hard to prepare for this season and they are hungry to win. Vidalia has not won a playoff game since 2016, and these guys are hungry to make that happen.
“I know we have the Power Rankings this year, and I’m not a huge fan of that. I don’t want it to be left up to a computer formula that I don’t understand. But if we go out and win and take care of business, it won’t matter.”
Garvin added, “We always had great support from Dr. Wilcox, and now with Dr. Reid taking over she has come in and shown us the same great level of support. She wants Vidalia to succeed at all levels, and that is the same as what we want. Our Principal Bruce Mulkey is the same way. Tommy Dalley the Athletic Director continues to be a big part of the success as we keep upgrading our facilities. It isn’t just football that gets those upgrades as well, it is across the board.
“Just the tradition of Vidalia. Everyone wants to succeed. The community is willing to get behind our players and rally behind them, and it is great to see. Our Booster Club is joining in on our 100th year of football, and are going to have things for sale for that with money raised going right back into the program.
“We have parents and businesses coming together to help feed our guys before games, we have a group that is wanting to feed them every Wednesday night – which is another great thing, to not only get them a good meal, but for them to have that time together to keep building that brotherhood.
“This team wants to win for this community, for Vidalia. It isn’t just about going out and doing the best we can. They take a lot of pride in being kids from Vidalia, and they want to build a winning team here for this city. They want to do it the right way, but it is a process, but we have taken a tremendous step in getting that done. These guys come in with great effort and attitude and we have seen improvements across the board.” The Indians will kick off the 2024 season on August 16, on the road at Long County at 7:30 p.m.
VHS Receivers – (L to R, Front): Kashun Coney, Adrian Newkirk, DJ Wallace, Ian Moye; (Back): Coach Jas Snead, Jamarcus Boyuer, Josh Farmer, TJ Scott, Colby Sanford, and Justus Gabbard.Photo by Pix Photography
VHS Quarterbacks – (L to R, Front): Coach Britt Ingle, Sam Sapp, DJ Wallace, Henry Adams, and Jackson Berry.Photo by Pix Photography
VHS Defensive Backs – (L to R): Alton Boles, Jerryon Roundtree, DJ Wallace, Ian Moye, Jamarcus Boyuer, Jackson Berry; (Back): Coach Jas Snead, Damarion Griffin, Colby Sanford, Davaughn Ford, TJ Scott, and Caoch Travis Blewett.Photo by Pix Photography
VHS Defensive Ends – (L to R, Front): Kashun Coney, Demarion Anthony, Jamorion Phillips; (Back): Eddie Martinez, Kaedyn Griner, Tracey Blair, Justus Gabbard, and Coach Bobby Blount.Photo by Pix Photography
VHS Linebackers – (L to R, Front): Sam Sapp, AJ McLendon, Jamarre Wiggs, Adrian Newkirk, Henry Adams, Andre Jackson; (Back): Coach Garrett Anderson, Denarius Atkins, Dajahari Spikes, Jakobe Jackson, Owen Mitchell, Braden Mulkey, Ryker Hyers, and Coach Dermon Simmons.Photo by Pix Photography
