By: Mike Anthony

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

Wayne County is no stranger to great football. The Yellow Jackets rank 26th all-time in the state of Georgia with 561 wins.

Better yet, Wayne County is currently enjoying its most successful run to date.

Three of the school’s 15 region championships have come during a run that has seen the Jackets reach the playoffs in a school-record eight consecutive seasons.

The 2019 campaign saw a small step back with an 8-3 record following back-to-back region titles in 2017-18, but the Jackets notched a first-round win in the state tournament before dropping a close contest to state quarterfinalist Clarke Central.

This year’s team figures to be stacked as the Jackets return eight starters on offense and seven on defense.

Highly touted offensive guard Weston Franklin also returns to Jesup after spending a season at the IMG Academy.

“With everything going on (related to COVID-19 and practice restrictions), I still think we’re ahead of the game,” WCHS coach Ken Cribb said. “We have a lot of veteran guys who are ready to get the season going.”

One of the most impressive aspects of the Jackets’ recent success has been their ability to endure change. All prep teams must deal with graduating seniors, but many perennially successful programs have continuity at head coach. As for Wayne County, it has found its current success under three different head coaches.

“I give a lot of credit to everyone in the program,” said Cribb, who is entering his fourth season with a 28-6 record at Wayne. “We’ve got a great group of coaches and our kids are ready to work hard every day.”

Cribb and his team continue to have high hopes for another solid season, but the road will be much rougher due to region realignment.

Wayne County won its two most recent region titles while regularly dispatching struggling rivals such as Statesboro, South Effingham and New Hampstead.

Now a resident in Region 1-AAAAA, the Jackets will run a non-stop gauntlet of perennial powers Coffee, Veterans, Ware County and Warner Robins.

All five teams made it to at least the second round of last year’s playoffs, with Warner Robins finishing as state runners-up for a third consecutive season.

Opponents such as Pierce County, Benedictine and Richmond Hill dot the Jackets’ non-region schedule, meaning that there will be very few breathers along the way.