HEPHZIBAH, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – Not many high school football teams can say they have never won a game.
Earlier this season, the Georgia School for Innovations and Classics was one of those programs.
At the beginning of the third week of the season, the Patriots are 2-0 for the first time.
The school did not have enough players to field a team last year and did not even have a home stadium until this year.
The GSIC varsity football team has overcome many challenges since the program’s inception in 2020.
But this year the school has brought a new principal to the sidelines.
“We want to play football. We want to play football the way it’s meant to be played, and I’m not sure that’s how it used to be,” said head coach Arthur Marshall III.
Marshall has already led the GSIC Patriots to two victories at the beginning of the season.
They defeated Community Christian and Palmetto Christian Academy, two more wins than GSIC has had in the entire program history.
“The guys needed something to believe in and I’m glad we were able to get that first win. I think the coaching staff so far have done their best,” Marshall said.
Marshall’s roster this year consists of fewer than 30 players, some of whom are seniors, others who have never played football before.
“I have two older players coming in who have never played football before, so it was more of that learning curve to get them up to speed,” Marshall said.
Regardless of the size of the team, they have not lost a game so far this year.
The smaller squad has only helped to create an even closer bond between the players.
“It’s definitely nice to see all the guys happy, keeping morale high and performing at the high level that Coach Marshall sets. It’s like a family. It’s like another family,” said M’Isaiah Thompson, a junior on the team.
GSIC will look to continue making program history on Friday night when they host the defending SC state champions, the Jefferson Davis Academy Raiders.
All rights reserved.
