Post season interview with Head Coach George W Yates Columbus South

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LICKING COUNTY FAN
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Post season interview with Head Coach George W Yates Columbus South

Post by LICKING COUNTY FAN »

Name
George W. Yates II

School
Columbus South

Position
Head Coach

Going into the 2022 season, What were the biggest obstacles the South Bulldogs faced?

Replacing Tyreese Ford, who was a major part of our team’s identity offensively and defensively, but was also our vocal leader. A leadership vacuum would have been extremely detrimental. Sevon Taylor’s vocal leadership was crucial this season.

On your regular season schedule for 2022, the only out-of-area team you guys faced was Woodward out of Cincinnati; was that by design, or is it hard for South to find teams from other areas to play?

Woodward actually called us. They weren’t on our radar. I wouldn’t say it’s hard to find teams to play, but it can be hard to find the RIGHT team to play.

During the 2022 season, I was able to cover a lot of the Columbus City League games, in large part because there were so many Thursday and Saturday games. What are your thoughts on the city playing on those two days while other area schools are, for the most part, playing on Friday night?

Something obviously has to shake that would allow our kids to play more Fridays, but I think we can make the most of it if we would stop playing on Saturday afternoons. Saturday nights would make us the only show in town, and generate more attention as well as more revenue.

South played only four regular-season home games and six road games. Will that be reversed in 2023?

It appears that the hiccup has been fixed, and we’ll go back to 5 and 5. An issue with the Whetstone track that had us playing 6 home games in 2021 is what caused it.

Can you let our readers know if any of your 2022 seniors are moving on to play college ball? If possible, can you tell us which players and which colleges they will attend?

Though they haven’t made decisions on particular commitments, I believe you could see Jaylan Davis, Katoryan Johnson, Adavian Bankston, Donovan King, Sevon Taylor, and Desean Pollard Jr. continue playing at the next level.

South was 4-0 at home during the regular season (great job); with the winning, did the crowds become larger?

I can tell you that the playoff crowd was massive for Washington, although we did lose the Independence game at home. Our crowds have seemingly continued to grow since the pandemic.

How important was it for the Bulldogs to get that home playoff game?

It was massive. Absolutely another landmark moment in a program that has had many of them over the last few years. Our kids earned it, and the south side has long suffered for moments like these.

Looking back on the 2022 season, what was the brightest and darkest moment?

Damon Griffin’s one-handed 96-yard interception return at the end of the game to beat Marion-Franklin is one of the greatest plays in South football history. Losing to Washington is not only our lowest moment, but it has also been the motivating factor for how we’ve built our offseason leading into 2023.

What was the biggest surprise to you as far as the 2022 season goes?

As good as we knew he was, I don’t think anyone had Damon Griffin scoring 31 touchdowns as a sophomore on their bingo cards. He goes first team All-City, All-District, All-Ohio, All-Metro, and Super 24. Don’t get me wrong, we know how good he is, but I don’t think anyone could have called that.

What are your thoughts on 16 teams per region making the playoffs?

An extra week of playoffs doesn’t really harm anyone, and I think it’s a net positive that teams that didn’t get to have that experience before get to have it now. If you’re a top 8 seed that doesn’t think a bottom 8 seed belongs, then beat them. We ultimately did not do that, and Washington was able to make the statement that they absolutely belonged.


VetteMan
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Re: Post season interview with Head Coach George W Yates Columbus South

Post by VetteMan »

LICKING COUNTY FAN wrote: Sun Jan 08, 2023 7:16 am Name
George W. Yates II

School
Columbus South

Position
Head Coach

Going into the 2022 season, What were the biggest obstacles the South Bulldogs faced?

Replacing Tyreese Ford, who was a major part of our team’s identity offensively and defensively, but was also our vocal leader. A leadership vacuum would have been extremely detrimental. Sevon Taylor’s vocal leadership was crucial this season.

On your regular season schedule for 2022, the only out-of-area team you guys faced was Woodward out of Cincinnati; was that by design, or is it hard for South to find teams from other areas to play?

Woodward actually called us. They weren’t on our radar. I wouldn’t say it’s hard to find teams to play, but it can be hard to find the RIGHT team to play.

During the 2022 season, I was able to cover a lot of the Columbus City League games, in large part because there were so many Thursday and Saturday games. What are your thoughts on the city playing on those two days while other area schools are, for the most part, playing on Friday night?

Something obviously has to shake that would allow our kids to play more Fridays, but I think we can make the most of it if we would stop playing on Saturday afternoons. Saturday nights would make us the only show in town, and generate more attention as well as more revenue.

South played only four regular-season home games and six road games. Will that be reversed in 2023?

It appears that the hiccup has been fixed, and we’ll go back to 5 and 5. An issue with the Whetstone track that had us playing 6 home games in 2021 is what caused it.

Can you let our readers know if any of your 2022 seniors are moving on to play college ball? If possible, can you tell us which players and which colleges they will attend?

Though they haven’t made decisions on particular commitments, I believe you could see Jaylan Davis, Katoryan Johnson, Adavian Bankston, Donovan King, Sevon Taylor, and Desean Pollard Jr. continue playing at the next level.

South was 4-0 at home during the regular season (great job); with the winning, did the crowds become larger?

I can tell you that the playoff crowd was massive for Washington, although we did lose the Independence game at home. Our crowds have seemingly continued to grow since the pandemic.

How important was it for the Bulldogs to get that home playoff game?

It was massive. Absolutely another landmark moment in a program that has had many of them over the last few years. Our kids earned it, and the south side has long suffered for moments like these.

Looking back on the 2022 season, what was the brightest and darkest moment?

Damon Griffin’s one-handed 96-yard interception return at the end of the game to beat Marion-Franklin is one of the greatest plays in South football history. Losing to Washington is not only our lowest moment, but it has also been the motivating factor for how we’ve built our offseason leading into 2023.

What was the biggest surprise to you as far as the 2022 season goes?

As good as we knew he was, I don’t think anyone had Damon Griffin scoring 31 touchdowns as a sophomore on their bingo cards. He goes first team All-City, All-District, All-Ohio, All-Metro, and Super 24. Don’t get me wrong, we know how good he is, but I don’t think anyone could have called that.

What are your thoughts on 16 teams per region making the playoffs?

An extra week of playoffs doesn’t really harm anyone, and I think it’s a net positive that teams that didn’t get to have that experience before get to have it now. If you’re a top 8 seed that doesn’t think a bottom 8 seed belongs, then beat them. We ultimately did not do that, and Washington was able to make the statement that they absolutely belonged.
I'm sure that it happens a lot within the City League Schools, but what advantage do you see in scheduling Thursday night games over Friday night games? Also, to me scheduling games on Saturday and going head to head against College football would be a crowd killer.


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Re: Post season interview with Head Coach George W Yates Columbus South

Post by LICKING COUNTY FAN »

My only thoughts on a Thursday Night and Saturday afternoon schedule is this. It was said at many of the city games I covered that it was because of the lack of officials but for some odd reason, it only affected the Columbus City League and none of the other leagues in the Columbus area.


VetteMan
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Re: Post season interview with Head Coach George W Yates Columbus South

Post by VetteMan »

LICKING COUNTY FAN wrote: Sun Jan 08, 2023 4:11 pm My only thoughts on a Thursday Night and Saturday afternoon schedule is this. It was said at many of the city games I covered that it was because of the lack of officials but for some odd reason, it only affected the Columbus City League and none of the other leagues in the Columbus area.
That very well could be the reason. I hadn't considered that.


First and Goal
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Re: Post season interview with Head Coach George W Yates Columbus South

Post by First and Goal »

Congratulations to Coach Yates and his staff. It takes more than the Head Coach to win this award. Columbus South indeed plays a majority of their games on Thursday due to officiating conflicts. I have spoken to Coach Yates personally about this topic.


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