Today’s interviewee is Haralson County coach Scott Peavey, whose team defeated Chattooga 34-7 last week in the Class 2A first round. It was the Rebels’ first playoff victory in history in a season that also netted the program its first region title. Peavey’s record is 35-18 in five seasons. Haralson County had been 11-39 over the previous five seasons.
Scott Peavey, Haralson County head coach
1. You’ve had some big wins the past few years, but this season, you’ve won both your first region title and first playoff game. What does that mean to your team? “It’s a culmination of lot of hard work from this team and from players who’ve bought in over the past few years. Our coaches are trying to do everything they can to give these kids a chance to be successful. We’re super excited about it. A lot of times, you work hard and things don’t pan out on the field. This one happened to pan out the last few years.” [Haralson’s senior class has progressed from 8-3, 8-3, 7-3 to 10-1.]
2. You’ve built your success on a strong running game. Can you describe it, and why you run it? “We actually started doing this offense because we had trouble playing defense. We felt if we could take more time off the clock, maybe we’d play better defense, and that’s exactly what happened. With the guys we have here and the skill level, we felt we needed to build a program around the weight room. Our school allowed us to create a [weight] class we didn’t have before. We also built the offense around being strong and physical. Our offense is a version of the single wing with two tight ends and a power back. We’re not trying to fool anybody. We probably run 95% of our plays to the right. It’s just a downhill power running game.”
3. You were ranked in preseason for the first time in history, but you lost your second game to Manchester, a Class A team, albeit it a good one. What happened in that game and in the early part of the season? “COVID hit us. I’m not taking anything away from Manchester. They lined up and whipped us. But it took us a few weeks to get everybody healthy. We weren’t playing great football early. Once we got out of that cycle, we started playing better. Getting whipped can make you better, too. We refocused and went back to some basic football. We had a really good comeback win at Elbert County [on Oct. 1]. We were behind 21-7 at halftime and came back and won 26-21. Then we played Callaway [in the Region 5-2A opener]. Everybody said beating Callaway [in 2020] was a fluke. It was a Tuesday. It was raining. Callaway wasn’t ready to play. We caused four turnovers and faked a field goal and scored, all that. [Callaway went on to win the Class 2A title while Haralson was upset in the first round.] We sold our kinds on the idea that nobody thought it was real. Then they went out and led [Callaway] 28-0 at halftime [and won 42-14]. It was a validating point because Callaway is always a good team. It showed us that maybe we have a chance to be pretty good. Then we finished the year with some nice wins against Heard County and Bremen, teams we traditionally haven’t done well against.”
4. What attracted you to the job five years ago, and what might’ve held the program back in previous seasons? “A friend of mine, Dr. Jerry Bell, became the superintendent. That was the first thing that drew me to the job. He was raised here, went to school here, played football here. I knew he’d do whatever it took to be better. The principal is also from here. There were people in place that really wanted the school to be successful. I was head coach here before [2002-04], and we were not very good. We used to be a Class 4A school. We were in 3A for a while, usually against LaGrange and Carrollton and Cartersville. When I came back, we weren’t in a region with them anymore. That’s what happened that turned it around. We were in a region where we could compete in 3A, but it was still hard to compete at the state level. Now, we’re in 2A. All of our athletics have been good lately. Our wrestling team was region champions. Our baseball team made the third round of state. Our girls softball team had a really good team a year ago. We’re building a 5,000-square foot weight room right now. They’ve also allowed me to hire an entire staff. I don’t think anybody’s made that investment before.”
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