Brookwood to honor 2007 football state champions
THOMASVILLE — Brookwood is hosting a celebratory weekend to honor the ten-year reunion of its undefeated 2007 state championship football team. The team will get together today with other Brookwood alumni to play a game of touch football and relive the glory days. The team will be recognized at halftime of Friday’s home game at Warrior Stadium againstDeerfield-Windsor. In 2007, Brookwood was coming off a ninewin season in which it suffered a 19-17 loss in the GISA Class 2A semifinals to eventual state champion Trinity Christian.
The Warriors were able to avenge that loss in the perfect 2007 run, as they were matched up against Trinity again in that year’s semifinals. A 41-20 victory sent them on to the championship against Windsor Academy The Warriors finished the 2007 campaign with a perfect 13-0 record, winning the GISA Class 2A state championship over Windsor, 41-0.
Highlights of the season included Scott Cheney’s play at quarterback, with 33 touchdowns and only four interceptions. The senior threw for 3,283 yards, good for the fourth-most in Georgia high school football history at the time.
Cheney led an offense that averaged 40 points per game, distributing the ball around to receivers such as Blair Austin, Rodger Walker, Drew Balfour and Chase Harvard.
“We were blessed with talent at many positions,” Brookwood coach Shane Boggs said. “I’m reminded of that in two ways. There were five guys that played college football and others that had that opportunity.
Brent Kinsey was our sixth leading receiver statistically. He would have been the best receiver on many of my teams.” In five of the thirteen games, the Warriors did not commit a single turnover. The offensive line rotation of Thad LeGette, Jeb Johnson, Kevin Clark, Clay Childs, Chase Clayton, and Tom Shaw paved the way for an offense that racked up over 5,600 yards and 69 touchdowns.
The defense, which averaged giving up just 15 points per game, was led by LeGette, Johnson, Childs, Ethan Howell, Sean Bell, Keith Bentley and David Hopkins. A memorable game that gave the team confidence took place midseason, when the Warriors took down then-perennial 3A power George Walton.
A Kevin Hudson field goal as time expired in the first half gave the Warriors a 17-14 lead.
After falling behind 21-17 in the third quarter, the Warriors used a 95-yard drive that spanned most of the fourth. The Warriors came up empty when Cheney mishandled a snap on the 2-yard line.
Coach Boggs remembers telling Cheney the defense would force a three-andout to give the offense one more chance. The defense did its part, and when the offense got the ball back, Cheney found Austin on a 30-yard touchdown pass with less than two minutes to go to take a 24-21 lead. The defense sealed it when Chase Harvard intercepted a hail mary pass as time expired. “While it was a talented team, I don’t want to discount how they invested,” Boggs said. “I watched our eight seniors progress for five straight years. They took every aspect of the process seriously. They were extremelycommitted to strength and speed improvement.
They wanted to compete against the best teams we could find.”
The players on the 2007 team have since moved on to careers of their own, but still remember the 130 season well.
“It’s great to see all these guys again,” said Rodger Walker, who went on to play defensive back at Appalachian State and is the Warriors’ current slot receivers coach.
“To get back together is always a good time, and hopefully it provides some motivation for the younger Brookwood football players.”
“It has been a fun week,” said Boggs. “I’ve been reminded of what made this group so special. They complemented each other extremely well.
So many of them had the ability to elevate the performance of those around them. That is still prevailing today and it makes me proud to have been theircoach.” In five of the thirteen games, the Warriors did not commit a single turnover. The offensive line rotation of Thad LeGette, Jeb Johnson, Kevin Clark, Clay Childs, Chase Clayton, and Tom Shaw paved the way for an offense that racked up over 5,600 yards and 69 touchdowns.
The defense, which averaged giving up just 15 points per game, was led by LeGette, Johnson, Childs, Ethan Howell, Sean Bell, Keith Bentley and David Hopkins. A memorable game that gave the team confidence was in midseason when the Warriors took down then-perennial AAA power George Walton. A Kevin Hudson FG as time expired in the first-half gave the Warriors a 17-14 lead. After falling behind 21-17 in the third quarter, the Warriors used a 95-yard drive that spanned most of the fourth quarter. The Warriors came up empty when Cheney mishandled a snap on the 2 yard line. Coach Boggs remembers telling Cheney the defense would force a three-and-out to give the offense one more chance. The defense did their part, and when the offense got the ball back Cheney was able to find Blair Austin on a 30-yard touchdown pass with less than 2 minutes to go to take a 24-21 lead. The defense sealed it when Chase Harvard intercepted a Hail Mary pass as time expired.
Boggs said, “While it was a talented team, I don’t want to discount how they invested. I watched our eight seniors progress for 5 straight years. They took every aspect of the process seriously. They were extremely committed to strength and speed improvement. They wanted to compete against the best teams we could find. We played in the Valdosta State 7-on-7 Tournament against Tim Tebow. That summer we took Tallahassee Lincoln down to the wire win they were a perennial power. They paid attention to the details. The TD from Cheney to Austin was a blitz replace that we had practiced hundreds of times. It relied on three people seeing the blitz. We went 3 for 3 and created one of the most memorable and meaningful plays in my coaching career.”
Boggs said, “While it was a talented team, I don’t want to discount how they invested. I watched our eight seniors progress for 5 straight years. They took every aspect of the process seriously. They were extremely committed to strength and speed improvement. They wanted to compete against the best teams we could find. We played in the Valdosta State 7-on-7 Tournament against Tim Tebow. That summer we took Tallahassee Lincoln down to the wire win they were a perennial power. They paid attention to the details. The TD from Cheney to Austin was a blitz replace that we had practiced hundreds of times. It relied on three people seeing the blitz. We went 3 for 3 and created one of the most memorable and meaningful plays in my coaching career.”
Brookwood School
Located in Thomasville, GA, Brookwood School is a private school for grades JK-12. Students benefit from a challenging academic program, fine and performing arts, competitive athletics, and a wide selection of extracurricular activities.