East Coweta Indian Head Coach John Small and Newnan High School Cougars Head Coach Chip Walker gave the annual fall football preview at the Newnan Rotary Club on Friday.

Walker and Small – both new to their respective football programs this year – previewed their seasons and teams for club members.

Coach Walker was accompanied by Newnan High School Principal Chase Puckett and NHS Athletic Director Jeff Bryant, and Small was accompanied by new East Coweta High School Athletic Director Hap Hines.

The Northgate High School Vikings’ new head coach Kesley Dalrymple will also provide his team’s football preview before the club on August 25, along with new Heritage Hawks’ head coach Micah Alba.

Newnan High School starts its official season on Thursday, August 17, facing off  against Carrollton High School at the University of West Georgia stadium.  The Cougars will remain on the road in the following weeks, with games against Starr’s Mill and Etowah High schools, and will return to Drake Stadium on September 15 as the Cougars face Washington High School.

East Coweta kicks off its season officially on Friday, August 18 at Lovejoy High School, and then returns to the Indians’ Shoemake Stadium to face the Jackson Jaguars.

The East Coweta Indians and Newnan Cougars will play each other in their much-anticipated annual rivalry matchup at Shoemake Stadium this year, on November 3.

Walker comes to Newnan after serving as Head Football Coach at Sandy Creek High School since 2005. During that time he led the Patriots to win three State Championships in 2012, 2010, and 2009, as well as 2nd Round State Playoff appearances in 2016, 2015, and 2009. Walker was recognized in 2013 as the Region 5 AAAA Coach of the Year, 2012 Macon Touchdown Club State Coach of the Year, and 2012 Atlanta Touchdown Club AAAA Coach of the Year.

Small spent 12 years as head coach at South Gwinnett after taking over for head coach T. McFerrin in 2005.  He led the South Gwinnett Comets to six state playoff appearances, including a 2009 season when they went 10-2. It marked just the fourth time since 1957 that the school’s football program reached double figures in wins. Small also has a football heritage – his father, John Sr., was the Atlanta Falcons’ first-round draft pick in 1970. East Coweta’s new coach played college football at West Georgia in the early 1990s.