Today’s interviewee is Norcross coach Keith Maloof, whose team is 12-0 and ranked No. 3 entering its home game tonight against No. 2 Colquitt County. Norcross is in the playoffs for the 11th straight season, though this is the Blue Devils’ first quarterfinal since their 2013 state championship. This is Maloof’s 22nd season at Norcross, where he is 176-76.
Keith Maloof, Norcross head coach
1. When did you see the makings of the season you’re having? “We’ve been a good football team the past three years, just not an elite team. We’ve been in the second round and could’ve gotten into the quarterfinals, but we were playing people like Lowndes and Grayson, who made it to the finals. We were 11-1 in 2016, and then we were 5-6, 7-5 and 6-6 with some young players having to go against so many top-10 teams. It was going to take time to develop. This team has been coming for two or three years. A lot of them have started since their sophomore year on. Last year, after getting our quarterback situation settled, we’re 18-2. We settled on Mason Kaplan and moved Trey Goodman to wide receiver, where he’s flourished. Every offensive lineman is back from last year. That’s probably the first time I’ve ever had all five starters back on the line. So we knew we could be special, but everyone else didn’t know.”
2. What’s the makeup of this team? Where are you good? “The strengths of our team are the defense and offensive line along with the quarterback, who does a really good job of moving the ball around. And we’ve got good skill people at running back and receiver. Our defense is one of the top defenses in the state. We can throw it when we need to, and when we need to run it, we can run it. When we played Archer for the region championship, we didn’t need to throw it much, and last week on a mud field, we threw it about six times, but if we have to, we can pass.” [Norcross rushed for 302 yards against Archer and 403 against Roswell last week but passed for 303 yards in the first round against South Forsyth.]
3. What concerns you about Colquitt County? “They are a very opportunistic team on defense and special teams. They do a good job of flying around the ball on defense and causing havoc. Against Walton, they returned three pick sixes and another interception to the 3-yard line. They take advantage of everybody’s mistakes. Offensively, they’re good with their short passing game and screens and moving the ball down the field. They’re a total team where you have to be aware of every situation because they can take it to the house on offense, defense and special teams. You can’t take a play off, or they’ll make you pay.”
4. Norcross has as many or more current NFL players than any other Georgia school, all who played for you. What does that mean to your school, and how often do you see them? “Those guys come by when they can. Max Garcia and Lorenzo Carter probably come out the most. Alvin Kamara comes around in the offseason, usually around basketball season. I’m proud of the fact that this community is able to look up and see elite athletes that come through the high school and do great stuff, not just in the NFL but in basketball and baseball too. Those guys give hope to our guys, but our guys also understand that we want them to get an education first. If they have the ability to play at that level, it will happen.” [Other former Norcross players in the NFL include Geremy Davis, Chris Herndon and Jason Croom. Norcross alumni Jeremy Lamb, Brandon Goodwin and Al-Farouq Aminu are in the NBA, and Diamond DeShields plays in the WNBA. Delino DeShields, who played football at Norcross, plays major league baseball.]
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