Loganville’s Cathcart headlines 12 new coaches in Class 5A

Number of hires: 12

Best hire: Gene Cathcart, Loganville

Hardest to replace: Marquis Westbrook, Warner Robins

Best job: Warner Robins

Toughest job: Cross Keys

Most interesting: Gene Cathcart and Loganville didn’t expect to be together, but here they are, and both must be pleased. Cathcart was Jefferson’s coach for five seasons, going 49-11 with five-star star players such as Malaki Starks and Sammy Brown, but surprisingly resigned in January, 2022, to take a job at Batesburg-Leesville, a Class 2A school in South Carolina, his home state. But before spring practice, Cathcart had a change of heart, choosing to go back to Georgia to be closer to his step-daughter, who is a Jefferson student. “As coaches, we tend to pull up roots and move a lot, and my step-daughter, who I consider my daughter, is doing great in school and had moved a couple of times,” Cathcart said. “I decided it was more a priority to be a dad than a ball coach for a year.” So Cathcart got a teaching job and stayed off the sidelines, hoping another northeast Georgia opportunity would come along. It did this April, when he got the call at Loganville. Cathcart has won multiple region titles at each of his three previous coaching jobs. Loganville has won two region titles in its 59-year history but went 9-1 in the 2022 regular season. Its only loss was to Jefferson in a game that decided the Region 8-5A championship.

Region 1

*Statesboro hired North Forsyth offensive coordinator Matt Dobson to replace Jeff Kaiser, who retired. Dobson is a former Georgia Southern all-conference safety. He coached a season out of college at Cook and went to North Forsyth in 2018. Statesboro finished 3-7 in 2022 and hasn’t had a winning season since 2013.

Region 2

*Eagle’s Landing hired basketball assistant and former middle school football head coach Johnny Teemer to replace Markus Brown, who is now Newton’s offensive coordinator. Teemer was the JV football coach in 2021. He’s worked with the football and basketball programs for Eagle’s Landing or feeder schools since 2016 and is a former head coach of middle schools in Lithonia and Griffin. Eagle’s Landing went 3-7 and 2-8 in two seasons under Brown after going 0-10 the previous year.

*Warner Robins hired Rome offensive coordinator Shane Sams to replace Marquis Westbrook, who became head coach at Peach County. Sams is a former Warner Robins quarterback who was the Demons’ offensive coordinator during state runner-up appearances in 2017 and 2018. Sams left Warner Robins to become Centennial’s head coach for one winless season, then returned to his hometown to join rival Northside’s staff in 2020. Warner Robins was 50-9 with two state titles in Westbrook’s four seasons.

Region 3

None

Region 4

*Cross Keys promoted offensive coordinator Eric Quarles to replace Jimmy Williams, who became head coach at Clarkston. Quarles joined Cross Keys’ staff in 2020. He previously coached in Florida. Cross Keys was 0-8 last season. It has played a non-region schedule since 2009.

*M.L. King promoted defensive coordinator Joel Kight to replace Deante Lamar, who is now Brookwood’s outside linebackers coach. Kight is a former M.L. King linebacker who played at Ole Miss. He started coaching in 2016 at Morrow and has worked at his alma mater since 2017. M.L. King averaged 10 wins in Kight’s high school days but has achieved only one winning season (2019) since 2014.

Region 5

*Tri-Cities hired Riverdale coach Rodney Hackney to replace Cuevas Dargan, who is now Banneker’s linebackers coach. Hackney had been a head coach at six previous schools and won region titles at Riverdale (2020, 2021) and North Clayton (2008). Tri-Cities was 1-9 in 2022 and last had a winning season in 2015.

*Villa Rica promoted defensive coordinator Austin Barron to replace his father, Tim Barron, who retired but remains with the program part-time. Austin Barron has coached for three years, starting with Cedartown in 2020 and Villa Rica the past two seasons. He’s also a strength coach who has led Villa Rica to two weightlifting state titles. Villa Rica was 4-6 last season and 9-3 with a region title the season before, which was Tim Barron’s first.

Region 6

*Centennial hired Westover coach Adam Miller to replace Sean O'Sullivan, who became head coach at Pope. Miller’s Westover teams were 2-8 and 3-8. He was Shiloh’s offensive coordinator the previous season and was Albany State’s quarterbacks coach and recruiting coordinator from 2017 to 2019. He was head coach of alma mater Coral Springs Charter in Florida from 2012 to 2016. His Coral Springs teams were 31-11. Centennial was 5-6 last season after winning only one game the three previous seasons.

*Chattahoochee hired Grayson defensive coordinator Danny Carlisle to replace Mike Malone, who is now Gainesville's running backs coach. Carlisle was at Grayson for two seasons after serving as head coach at alma mater Cooper City in Florida for three years. He previously had been in Georgia at Discovery, Mountain View and Forsyth Central. Chattahoochee is 8-41 over the past five seasons.

*North Springs hired Jones County defensive coordinator and assistant head coach Robert Braucht to replace Jeff Phillips, who became head coach at Campbell. Braucht was River Ridge’s program starter and head coach from 2009 to 2014. He then worked on Ware County’s staff before joining Jones County in 2019. North Springs went 4-6 in 2022 after winning one game over the previous three seasons.

Region 7

None

Region 8

*Loganville hired former Jefferson head coach Gene Cathcart to replace Brad Smith, who became head coach at Allatoona. Cathcart led Jefferson and Habersham Central to two region titles each and won a state title in South Carolina’s Greenwood in 2012. He stepped down last year at Jefferson to return to South Carolina. But he resigned from that post, at Batesburg-Leesville, before the season started. After sitting out a year, Cathcart is taking over a Loganville program coming off its best season in 14 years. Loganville was 9-2 in one season under Smith.

*Winder-Barrow hired Flagler Palm Coast (Fla.) coach Robert Paxia to replace Ed Dudley, who became head coach at Blessed Trinity. Paxia was 14-7 in two seasons at Flagler, his alma mater, and 23-3 in two seasons prior at Lake Gibson in Florida. He was on Villa Rica’s staff in 2018-19 and at Florida’s Plant City in 2015-16. Winder-Barrow was 19-33 in Dudley’s five seasons, 5-5 in 2022.