All-Area Football 2023: Player of the Year Petty set records, played all over the field

Published 6:00 am Saturday, January 13, 2024

Editor’s Note: This is a companion story to the Dalton Daily Citizen’s 2023 All-Area Football teams. To find the complete teams, click here.

CHATSWORTH — If you watched any given snap of North Murray High School football in 2023, chances were good that you’d see no. 15 on the field.

If you were able to scan the field quickly enough to find him at one of several different positions.

“He is just the kid that never came off the field,” North Murray head coach Preston Poag said.

Poag is talking about senior Judson Petty, who played wide receiver, running back, some spot duty at quarterback, linebacker, defensive back, kick returner, punt returner and long-snapper for the Mountaineers this season.

“He’s a kid that’s hard to replace because he does so much stuff,” Poag said.

He does so much stuff, and he does that stuff pretty well.

This year for the Mountaineers, Petty caught 67 passes for 1,407 yards and 14 touchdowns, good for an average of 21 yards per catch. He also rushed for 518 yards and six scores on 89 carries. On defense, he amassed 110 tackles, snagged two interceptions and had three defensive touchdowns.

He set a new state record for receiving yards in a game with 360. He finished second in the state in receiving yardage in all classifications and was named all-state by several publications.

He scored on receiving touchdowns, rushing touchdowns, interception returns, fumble returns and even tossed a passing touchdown this year.

“I just wanted to play wherever I could to put my team in the best position to be able to win,” Petty said.

For his impact on North Murray football all over the field, Judson Petty has been named the 2023 Dalton Daily Citizen All-Area Football Player of the Year.

For Petty, the roots of his versatility starts with his athleticism, which led to him being tried at several different positions in youth ball.

“When I was younger, for the most part, I was faster than most of the kids I played against,” Petty said. “They put me at quarterback.”

He began to play more running back, then some wide receiver heading into middle school. On defense, he would play some linebacker, some defensive back, depending on team need.

Once he got to high school, he had experience at most skill positions, so Poag took advantage of that.

“Our feeling was just that we had to get the ball to him,” Poag said. “Whether we handed it to him or threw it to him and he played at quarterback some too. You just get it to him, because he can make things happen. We just had to figure out how to put him somewhere where he would be most valuable.”

Turns out, the 5-foot-11, 180 pound speedster is pretty valuable at all the positions he lines up at.

“Every time I go to a different position, I know that I’ve been there at some point in my life, and that just makes you more comfortable with it,” Petty said.

Although he still rushed the ball to great effect when called upon during his senior year, one of the Neers’ biggest positions of need was at receiver.

With Jadyn Rice, 2022’s Class 2A leader in receiving yards (Petty was second) graduated and gone, Petty stepped up to provide a go-to threat at receiver.

“We had some other great receivers on this team too,” Petty said. “I just felt like it was my turn to kind of step up and be the guy that, if we needed to go to someone, I was able. I worked really hard on route running and burst and running after the catch.”

“He was a go-to-guy the year before, but it was a bigger role this year,” Poag said. “We had some younger receivers, but he had to step in that role kind of like Jadyn had. I never had any doubt that he would.”

That was proven in just the second game of the season.

Against Pickens, in a 44-37 shootout, Petty delivered the greatest receiving performance, by yardage, in state history.

16 catches for 360 yards and four touchdowns. Oh, and he had 15 tackles on defense in that game too.

“It was really special to be able to set the state record,” Petty said. “That was a moment I’ll remember forever.”

The previous record had stood since 2011. Decatur’s Terryon Robinson had 322 yards in a game against Riverwood. Petty eclipsed that mark by 38 yards.

“He got the state record and they came to present the award, and he wanted to talk more about his teammates,” Poag said. “That’s just the type of kid he is.”

Petty said, after the Pickens game, opposing teams knew to devote more attention to his side of the field.

“It’s special being able to get that respect from other teams,” Petty said. “Some games, they’re giving me a trap coverage or double coverage, and that way I can get my teammates open.”

That freed some things up for fellow receiver Hudson Hulett, who had 823 receiving yards on the year.

The Judson-Hudson duo accounted for over 2,200 out of quarterback Skyler Williams’ 2,511 passing yards.

Petty also helped the defense make plays in 2023 too.

He filled gaps and made tackles, also using his instincts to create a few turnovers. When he got the ball, it was right back to his offensive mindset, using his speed and shiftiness to convert those turnovers into scores.

Petty credited linebackers coach Chevis Brooks and defensive coordinator Jay Poag, who is the brother of Preston and former head coach at Christian Heritage, in helping lift the North Murray defense in 2023. Jay Poag served as an assistant on his brother’s staff while he prepared for his role as athletics director at Ambassador Christian School, which opens later this year in North Carolina.

“That put us in really good positions to win,” Petty said of defensive improvement. “This year, especially in games like against Model, we were able to say that the defense won those games.”

The Mountaineers held a strong Model offense to 14 points in a 21-14 win in October.

That win secured North Murray a home playoff game for the first time since 2019. They used that home field advantage to power past South Atlanta 35-12 in the first round of the Class 2A playoffs and reach the second round for the first time since 2019, which was before Petty played a snap for North Murray.

“It’s special to get past the first round,” Petty said. “It was my first time there. From that point on, it’s all good teams from the Sweet 16 on.”

North Murray ran up against one of those teams in the second round and fell at Fellowship Christian in Roswell, ending their season.

Petty is far from the only North Murray player that plays both on offense and defense. That’s a reality of high school football for Class 2A schools like North Murray.

Petty said the strength and conditioning program at North Murray gets him and the other Mountaineers prepared for grueling seasons of two-way football, but he also does all he can on his own to stay ready.

“During the summers or when I get time to, I’ll run around the neighborhood at my mom’s house or run around the farm and just try to stay in shape that way, so I can stay on the field and try to help my team the best I can,” Petty said.

Preston Poag said that Petty’s mindset is what helped him find success.

“In his four-year career, he’s never had a doubt, never complained or made excuses, and that’s just a huge help,” Poag said. “He’d get hurt in the game, and he might be out a series, but then he’s right there pulling on my shirt sleeves asking to go back in. That’s a mentality that’s hard to find in today’s game.”

It’s that mindset that Poag believes will help Petty find success in college, if given the chance.

Petty has some offers from some smaller schools, but he’s got his eyes set on a bigger goal.

He doesn’t have any scholarship offers from Football Bowl Subdivision schools, but that’s where Petty wants to end up. He’s had some contact with Georgia Tech, and Georgia reached out to him after he was recognized as an all-state performer at the Georgia High School Association state championship games in December.

“I will probably still have to go with a bigger school,” Petty said. “It’s just always been my dream to play at a big school and see what I can do there.”