Hardaway Says It Will Not Be An Easy Road

Columbus, GA - Hardaway has one goal in 2009, make the playoffs. They break their team huddles to the word, but it is more than just that for the Hawks. A team that went 5-5 last year has 9 guys back on offense and 6 on defense. And it will be quarterback Marcus Smith pushing that Hawks offense.

“Marcus is getting better as a leader, and worked hard this summer so he could be the one the guys look to,“ head coach Jeff Battles said.

“I’ve been doing a lot of things in the summer to work on my speed,“ Smith said. “The offensive is moving good so far, we are young on the o-line, but I’m staying on them.“

In Battles second year, he returns that spread offense that is so popular in high schools around the country. “We started by getting guys wide, so we run the ball a lot but do it out of that shotgun formation,“ Battles said.

The Hawks are also in that tough Region 1B-AAAA region, and what makes it difficult is the travel time. “It’s tough to get off a three hour bus ride and get ready to play. But after doing it for this year, hopefully we can handle it better,“ Battles said.

And each game, road or at home is a season by itself for Hardaway. “It’s not about wins and losses, we want to make the playoffs, and once we get there the rest can take care of itself,“ Battles said. “Week to week we have to do our job, there is not one game bigger than the next, each game is important for us to make the playoffs.“