Congrats to the 2010 Captains

Parents,

A couple of things. If some of you have not checked out our website - www.troyathensfootball.com - lately, I highly encourage you to do so. If you click on our "Media" link, you will have access to one of our great web options provided by Mary Beth Farnum. Mary Beth does a tremendous job taking action shots for all of Athens athletics, and has done so for the football team as well. Just click the Mary Beth Farnum link, or you can go to: fromthefieldfotos.smugmug.com. There are some great pictures of all the boys from both the picture day and the Red vs. White scrimmage. Thank you Mary Beth for providing all of these young men and their families with such great memories!!

Secondly, I would like to congratulate all of the young men who were selected by their teammates to be captains for the 2010 season. The captains include:

Freshman:
Jake Nelson
Lucas Bezerra
J.V.
Joe Shields
Aaron Hazen
Varsity:
Jake Duzey
A.J. Morey
Christian Conley
Trevor Mason

Each week we will select a Special Forces, Offensive Scout, and Defensive Scout Player of the Week. These honorary captains will help lead stretches throughout the week with the other captains, and will stand hand-in-hand at the hash marks for the coin toss. The state rules only allow us a maximum of four captains at mid-field for the coin toss, but I would still like them to have a role in the opening ceremonies of the game. I am extremely proud of the all the young men who were selected to be captains, and feel that they represent every essence of what we are trying to teach all members of this program both on and off the field.

I would also like to take this time to acknowledge the great supporting cast that our captains - particularly at the varsity level - have with them on this outstanding football team. As we look to them for the ultimate leadership throughout the season, we can't forget about our other outstanding seniors such as Blake Atwell, Durand Street, Tyler Everlove, Micah Safsten, A.J. King, Joe Kemp, Ray Lim, Donovan Usoro, Bedar Noor, Jake Collison, Brandon Wehbe, Luke Winkel, Dan Buia, Dave Mandziara, Kevin Slimak, and Ray Gatie. Coincidentally, both Blake Atwell and Durand Street will be sharing the honor of being named the "Count on Me" player of the week for Week 1. The “Count on Me” player of the week is considered our “Every Man” for that particular week. Meaning, they are acknowledged for their outstanding work on Offense, Defense, Special Forces, and their overall work ethic as well. You will see both of them carry the football flag across the field; leading their team to the promise land right before the start of the game. Both of these young men put in a tremendous off-season, and have rightfully earned this honor.

This team has a tremendous junior presence as well. Our junior class is lead by the one, the only . . . Benjamin Bartnowak. A.K.A "Benny Biceps." His biceps make Coach Divito jealous. Ben is joined by Andrew Aurand, Corey Thai, Joe Colo, Jake Spinek, Matt Fitzpatrick, Chris "I kill for fun" Churay, Ryan Noorman, Brett Kast, Tim Heard, Lonnie Bolden, "Big Tone on the Microphone" Tony Shayoka, Chris Codreanu, Brandon Neal, Josh Allen, Jon Daniel, Ethan Hoffman, Brandon Terry, Connor Gurzell, Kento Mori, Robert Farrug, Antwan Moore, Anthony Moore, and Antonio Mitchell. Last, but certainly not least, we have our lone sophomore . . . Sammy "The Bull" Haskell. A.K.A Sammy Capone.

All of these young men provide us with many different qualities that exemplify what a championship team should consist of when pursuing the goal of becoming the best football team in the state. Needless to say, I'm excited for what the 2010 season has in store for all of the Red Hawk football fans throughout our Athens community.

See you at the games. Go Red Hawks!!!

Coach Heppner