Prewett sees Dalton High head coach position as ‘big-time opportunity’

Published 7:00 am Tuesday, December 24, 2024

The long tradition of football excellence at Dalton High School is a big part of why Chris Prewett wanted to be head coach of the Catamounts.

The hiring of Prewett, 32, was approved unanimously Friday morning by the Dalton Board of Education. For the past five years Prewett has been head coach at Roswell High School, where his teams had a 50-13 record and won two region championships.

“Dalton has a storied program with a ton of tradition,” Prewett told the Daily Citizen on Friday. “There has been a long record of success here.”

“I am a high school football nerd,” he added. “This job stood out as a big-time opportunity. I know football is an important part of this community.”

Prewett inherits a team coming off a shocking 0-10 season. While the Catamounts have won a lot of football games in their history, the last five seasons have not been so kind. The Catamounts are 19-34 since the start of the 2020 season.

Prewett welcomes the challenge. He talked about meeting with players, parents, boosters and coaches at the middle school level.

“We want to build a foundation in year one,” Prewett said. “We want to set our standards and put a sound foundation in place. We want to get everyone involved on the same page and pushing in the same direction.”

Before accepting the job he toured the Dalton High athletic facilities and came away impressed.

“I loved the weight room and the practice facilities,” he said. “And Harmon Field is a very cool stadium. It is an awesome facility.”

What kind of football can Catamounts fans expect to see in 2025?

“We have to look at the personnel,” Prewett said, but he prefers an offense that puts a lot of responsibility on the quarterback.

“We have had success with an RPO offense (run-pass option),” Prewett said. “On offense, we try to take what the defense gives us. If they are heavy in the box, we want to throw. If they are light in the box, we want to run. Our quarterback has to be able to make the right decisions.”

Prewett said his 2024 squad ran for 2,300 yards and passed for 2,500.

“Defensively, we want to take away what the other team does best,” he said. “We want to be very aggressive, causing pressure and creating chaos.”

Prewett said he hopes to bring some of his coaches at Roswell to Dalton but no decisions have been made.

“We are super early in that process, it’s definitely a work in progress,” he said. “We are not going to rush any decisions. We want to make sure we get the right people in the right positions. There are a couple of people I’m interested in bringing to Dalton but that has to work for them and their families.”

As for his own family, Prewett said he looks forward to he, his wife Ashley and their two young children becoming a part of the community. He expects to be “up there” at the start of January.