Sauls leaves, Giddens in the wings

Local Sports

Discussion

January 26, 2007

Wayne Grandy The Moultrie Observer Fri Jan 26, 2007, 11:38 PM EST

MOULTRIE — Friday was the last day at Colquitt County High for Packers co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach Jim Sauls.

And head coach Tim Cokely did not take long to find a familiar name to present to the Colquitt County Board of Education to replace Sauls.

Cokely said that he will recommend former Packers offensive line coach and current assistant principal Kevin Giddens to take over the offensive line.

Cokely and Robert Craft will handle the roles of offensive coordinator. Craft was the co-offensive coordinator with Sauls last season.

Cokely said the board also will be asked to approve former Coosa head football coach Scott Chandler to replace Bill Ragans as defensive coordinator. Chandler was the head coach of the Class AA school in Rome from 2002-2004. He was the coach of the Rome Renegades of the American Indoor Football League the last two years.

The board is expected to vote on the two recommendations at its Feb. 26 meeting, Cokely said.

Sauls helped develop the Colquitt County passing game, which emerged as the best in Region 1-AAAAA in 2006, his only season with the team. He leaves to join Ragans at Leon High in Tallahassee.

Sauls is the fifth Colquitt County assistant, and fourth hired by Cokely, to leave in the last two seasons, joining Barney Myers, Matt Greene, Darius Dawson and Ragans.

Myers, Greene and Ragans were hired by Cokely when he took over the Colquitt County football program in 2005.

Myers was his first offensive coordinator and line coach and was replaced last season by Sauls.

The hiring of Giddens would be a popular one and would give the staff another connection to the 1994 state championship season.

Giddens was in his first season as the Packers offensive line coach that year when the Packers went 15-0 to win the team’s only state football championship.

Current secondary coach Dextra Polite was a defensive back on that team.

Giddens remained the Packers offensive line coach under Jim Hughes through the 1997 season and then left to become the head coach at Coffee High.

After three seasons as the Trojans head coach, he returned to Moultrie and has been an assistant principal since then.

“I’m excited,” Giddens said Friday. “I don’t want to be a head coach again. I don’t want to be a coordinator. They are not as fulfilling as being a position coach. I’ve been away for six years. I’m ready to go back to work.”

The Cochran native played at Georgia Southern and had coached at Long County and Coffee before coming to Moultrie in 1994.

Returning to the sidelines could give Giddens the opportunity to coach his son Bryce, a promising seventh-grade lineman.

Text Only

Local Sports

Lamb signs to run at Columbus State
When Colquitt County High’s Heath Lamb signed in 2010 to run cross country at Darton College, he said that one of his goals was to be able to run faster.
Lamb accomplished that and more in his two years with the Cavaliers.
And his performances with Darton have not gone unnoticed.
Lamb signed this week with Columbus State University.

February 3, 2012 1 Photo
Going to be a Blazer
Colquitt County linebacker/fullback Sharmaine Washington, front, right, was joined by his girl friend Najla Almond and Packers linebackers coach Danny Blaylock when he signed letter of commitment with Valdosta State University on Wednesday.

February 3, 2012 1 Photo
Rifle team defeats Fitzgerald
The Colquitt County High rifle team kept its record unblemished on Thursday, defeating Fitzgerald handily at the high school, 1,098-897.

February 2, 2012
Dykes signs to play baseball at Georgia Perimeter College
Colquitt County head baseball coach Tony Kirkland has a number of reasons to like Austin Dykes.

February 2, 2012 1 Photo
Sherrod, Owens place first in Dublin
Colquitt County Mat Hawg wrestlers Nathan Sherrod and Cage Owens took first- place finishes in their weight classes in the Michael Gay Memorial Tournament last Saturday in Dublin.

February 2, 2012
Checking the velocity
Colquitt County pitching coach Zach Grage checks the velocity of one of his hurlers.

February 2, 2012 1 Photo
Kelshaw signs with West Georgia
Colquitt County’s Lauren Kelshaw, second from right in the front row, signed on Wednesday to play her college soccer at the University of West Georgia. Kelshaw, who is preparing for the Lady Packers’ Feb. 25 season-opener against Brooks County, committed to West Georgia in September. With her when she signed were, front, from left, her grandmother Jolene Burdette, father Tim Kelshaw, mother Tracey Kelshaw and sister Reagan Kelshaw; back, grandfather Frank Burdette, Lady Packers coach Jimbo Jarvis, club coach Mike Wallace, Colquitt assistant coach Andy Chapura and middle school coach Ashley Hill.

February 2, 2012 1 Photo
Vines wins backstroke in region swim meet
Colquitt County High’s Austin Vines took first place in the 100-yard backstroke and was third in the 50-yard freestyle in the Region 1-AAAAA swim meet held last Saturday in Douglas.

February 2, 2012
Packers work out
The Colquitt County High baseball team continues workouts at Packer Park in preparation for the 2012 season that begins on Tuesday, Feb. 21, with a home game against the Lawton Chiles Timberwolves of Tallahassee. The Packers are coming off a season in which they won the Region 1-AAAAA championship, went 22-14 and reached the state semifinals. The team will hold an intrasquad scrimmage at 2 p.m. Saturday at Packer Park that will be open to the public. Here head coach Tony Kirkland oversees Aubrey McCarty’s workout.

February 2, 2012 1 Photo
Seventh-grade basketball teams advance to title games
The Colquitt County boys and girls seventh-grade basketball teams won South Georgia Athletic Conference semifinal games at the Willie J. Williams Middle School gymnasium on Thursday and will play for championships on Saturday in Douglas.

February 2, 2012
More Local Sports Headlines

Should candidates for county positions have to run for a party's nomination?

Local Sports

Search Results

Discussion

Sauls leaves, Giddens in the wings

Should candidates for county positions have to run for a party's nomination?

Site Map

Contact Us