Schools

Friday Night Spring Lights

School Board Member Tim Stultz and Smyrna Mayor Max Bacon set to be honorary team coaches for tonight's Campbell Spring Football Game.

Less than a month after he was hired as ’s new football coach, Harris Rainbow will lead around 85 players out for tonight’s spring game at Campbell Stadium.

The 7 p.m. contest will feature four 10-minute quarters pitting teams Blue and White against each other. Admission is free and the public is invited.

But Rainbow and his staff won’t be the only ones coaching up the Spartans. Smyrna Mayor Max Bacon will serve as honorary coach for the Blue team while Cobb County School Board Member Tim Stultz will serve the same capacity for the White.

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“They both came out to practice this week, met the kids, gave them a little inspirational pep talk,’’ said Rainbow, who hinted that the honorary coaches may have installed a trick play or two.

It didn’t take a lot of deception in recent years to beat the Spartans, who are coming off of seasons of 1-9 and 2-8. Discipline has been a past issue, too, with suspensions and dismissals.

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The 33-year-old new coach, a former standout player in the county, first met his players on April 25. The last two weeks of spring drills has seen lots of hitting on the field and leadership off it. With a large senior class setting an example, the team appears to have “bought-into’’ what Rainbow and the coaches are teaching.

“From day one they’ve been there with us,’’ Rainbow said. “We told them to be on time. The first day we had two or three come in late, but we took care of that and it’s been fine since. We said we’re not going to curse. If they do, they do push-ups. It’s not been an issue.’’

Rainbow coached at Loganville’s Walnut Grove High last year, and is accustomed to stepping in and having success with a program that had previously struggled or was just beginning.

Spring drills have meant learning new schemes and systems. The coach said his offense will of a spread-option variety and that the Spartans will utilize multiple defensive fronts, but try to keep eight or so men up in the box.

“We’re learning as we go and  they’ve been working hard,’’ said Rainbow. “We’ve done a lot of hitting. They’re worn out, but it’s a good worn out, a positive.’’

The coaches attempted to split the squad evenly for tonight’s game. The first-teamers will face each other in the opening quarter, followed by the second-teamers in quarter number two and so on.

“Our numbers really didn’t drop off,’’ Rainbow said. “And the kids really committed themselves. It’s a big senior class, they’re doing the little things and that’s what you like to see.’’


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