Timothy L. Hale
CHSR Editor & Publisher

As sweet as the victory over Lithia Springs may have been last Friday night, it will be back to business Monday afternoon for the Chapel Hill Panthers.

The Panthers travel to Newnan this Friday to take on the top-rated Cougars who defeated LaGrange, 26-15 last Thursday to open their season.

In last year’s match-up with Newnan, Chapel Hill played it fairly close in the first half, but couldn’t hold on for a 35-3 loss, a loss which would only be the Panthers first of two in the regular season.

“It’s early in the year and nobody’s going to win or lose the region next Friday night,” said head coach Chris Parker. “It’s exciting to play who we consider to be the best team in the region.”

Regional Dominance

According to the Georgia High School Football Historians Association, Newnan hasn’t lost a regular season game at home or away since Sept. 7, 2007 in a 27-7 non-region loss on the road in Carrollton – that’s 19 straight regular season victories since then. In the Region, they have 17 straight wins. Their last Region loss was 27-17 to Mundy’s Mill on Oct. 27, 2006. Add to it three consecutive region titles and Newnan is one of the more consistently successful programs in the state.

The Cougars return with a relatively young offense but don’t let that fool you. Seniors Alec Ogletree (#39 WR/DB) returns along with his brother Alexander, they call him Zander, (#33 RB/LB) to help anchor both the offense and defense. Alec also handles punting duties as well.

Quarterback Zach Farmer was slated to be the starter this season but according to one Newnan blogger, he missed the LaGrange game with a high ankle sprain. Junior Lendell Arnold (#1 QB/WR/DB) led the Cougars against LaGrange.

Newnan’s defense seems to be the key to their success as it was last year with six returning starters. The Cougars led the state in all five classifications last year holding opponents to just under 3 points per game. Along with the Ogletree brothers, look for Jamal Ramsby (#10 WR/DB) to be a game-changer and a play-maker on both sides of the ball.

“Until somebody beats them, we expect them to be the best team in the region,” Parker said.

“They didn’t build Newnan’s program in a year or two. Overall, that’s the type of program where they’re competitive year in and year out. That’s where we want to be but we still have some room to grow but we’re heading in that direction, I hope,” Parker said.

Kick-off is slated for 7:30 p.m. this Friday, Sept. 5 at Newnan High School’s Drake Stadium. Get there early and bring some friends with you to come out and support the Panthers.