2023 High School Football Preview: With new scheme and new players, Murray hopes to keep building

Published 12:00 am Wednesday, August 16, 2023

CHATSWORTH — Much like the stadium the team plays in, the Murray County High School football program is under construction.

A new entrance, concession stand and bathrooms are being built at Murray Field in an ongoing improvement project that should be ongoing well into the football season.

As that project continues, Murray County head coach Kurt Napier hopes to see his team keep making progress too.

“We’re looking forward to getting those upgrades and moving forward as a program,” Napier said. “There are a lot of things that are in progress across the board, and we’re just excited for the future.”

Napier enters his second season as head coach of his alma mater, the program his dad, the late Bill Napier, coached for several years. The Indians were 1-9 a year ago, but that “1” in the win column came in the season’s last game against Gordon Central, and the Indians spring-boarded off that win into an offseason of looking to keep building.

“I feel like we have had really productive practices this spring and then this summer,” Napier said. “We have seen a lot of growth. I think the biggest thing is more unity and feeling more like a team. Everybody is optimistic before you play a game, but I certainly think we’ll be improved on the field.”

Helping boost that construction ahead of the 2023 season is an influx of some of the school’s best athletes that didn’t previously come out for the football team.

A trio of basketball players, Parker Hawkins, Braxton Vineyard and Braylon Myers, will all play for Murray County this year. Hawkins and Vineyard will line up at wide receiver and defensive back, while Myers will play running back and defensive back.

“For our skill positions, I feel like we’ve upgraded and gotten some playmakers,” Napier said.

Judah Woodall, a senior, helped convince those additions to join the football program, Napier said.

“He plays basketball, and I think he did a little bit of work recruiting those guys,” he said.

The Indians will take all the skill depth they can get for a spread-out offensive style.

Napier, who calls the plays on offense, switched to a spread offense during last season.

“We’ve been trying to build on that since,” Napier said. “We are much more spread open, formation-wise, trying to run and throw the ball.”

Woodall is a candidate to lead that spread offense from the quarterback position. He was named the starter heading into last season, but a slew of injuries to Woodall and others led the Indians to try a handful of different players behind center. Trent Childers, a sophomore, got some experience at QB last year, and he’s also in consideration to be the starter.

“We’re still competing it out,” Napier said, noting that Woodall is “taking the majority of first team snaps” in practice.

The Indians return several starters on the offensive and defensive lines, led by Brayden Thomason and Aiden Duran on the interior.

The Indians haven’t made a similar scheme change on the defensive side, banking on continuity and an increased focus on fundamentals to improve the defensive side of the ball.

Landon Souther and Caleb Jones will play defensive end.

Hard-hitting Aaron Flood was a leader of the defense from his linebacker spot for Murray last year, but his departure to graduation leaves Lucas Gonzalez, a sophomore, added responsibility as a defensive leader from the middle linebacker position.

Aiden Johnson was All-Region 7-2A honorable mention last season in the secondary, and he, along with the new additions from the basketball team, will help fill the void left by the graduated all-region performer Chase Jarvis at defensive back.

After going through his first full offseason as head coach, Napier says he’s seeing progress in the margins at Murray.

“The biggest things that we’ve been focused on is just establishing a sense of urgency and a discipline about everything we do,” he said. “I think what the fans see on a Friday night is a product of what we’ve done through the offseason and in the weight room.”

Murray County is focused on keeping the construction of the program going in the right direction.

“The goal, any season, is just maximizing potential,” Napier said. “I don’t necessarily know what that will look like in wins and losses. and it’s not really a certain win total. The goal every year is to try to get to the playoffs.”

Region 7-2A

Fannin County

Gordon Central

Haralson County

Model

Murray County

North Murray

Rockmart

Key losses

OL/DL Eli Hope

FB/LB Aaron Flood

RB/DB Chase Jarvis

Key players

QB/LB Judah Woodall, senior

MLB/TE Lucas Gonzalez, sophomore

DB/WR Aiden Johnson, senior

Circled on the schedule

@ Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe, Aug. 25

• LFO was Murray’s closest loss in 2022, with the Warriors winning 13-7 in overtime at Murray last year. A win in the second game on the schedule could help provide some early momentum for the Indians in 2023.

@ North Murray, Sept. 29

• The annual face-off between the two programs in the county is a point of pride for each side, no matter what the records are for each team. The Indians are 0-9 against North Murray all time and are hoping for an upset to that status quo in 2023.

Gordon Central, Nov. 3

•The final game of the regular season will be an important one no matter how the season shakes out for the Indians. A region game with Gordon Central would be important for the playoff race if the Indians still have playoff hopes. If not, the game will be another chance to close out the season on a positive note.