David Wagner still vividly remembers the 2007 contest between Winder-Barrow and Apalachee.
Then the defensive coordinator for Apalachee, Wagner saw Winder-Barrow take a 12-8 victory on its way to a 4-0 start to the season. Wagner vowed never to lose to the Bulldoggs again. He never did.
Wagner is now on the other side of the rivalry, however, and will go against his former school for the first time this Friday night when the WBHS Bulldoggs and AHS Wildcats tangle in the Battle of Barrow. It is just one of many connections between the local schools.
“It’s going to be different, that’s for sure,” Wagner said.
It won’t be the first time Wagner has coached against Apalachee head coach Shane Davis. When Davis left Elbert County to become head coach of the Wildcats, Wagner stayed with the Blue Devil program for another season before joining Davis at AHS.
This Friday will not mark the first time Davis has gone against a former colleague either. In addition to coaching against Wagner in his first season at AHS, he also went against his former mentor, Jeff Arnette who was the then head coach at Elbert County. Current WBHS offensive coordinator Kenneth Sanders was on that Elbert County staff as well.
“The bad thing about coaching against someone you have a history with is that one of you is going to lose,” Davis said. “One coach’s fortune is going to be one coach’s misfortune. Of course, that’s the nature of the business and we both realize that.”
Despite the fact his former coaching partner has not enjoyed the success — to this point — he did at Apalachee — Davis expects a battle this week.
“They’ve had a bad go of it,” Davis said. “However, if he didn’t do everything in his power to beat us then something would be wrong.”
Wagner said he and Davis have talked frequently during the 2010 season, the first they have coached for a different team in several years. Wagner still keeps track of his former school.
“At the end of the day there are a hand full of teams that I hope that win each week and Apalachee is one of them,” Wagner said. “However, this is one week I hope Apalachee does not come out on top. During the game and in the heat of the moment, you naturally separate yourself from all of this. You just coach football. When I was at Elbert and faced Shane, it was not on my mind until after the game. I just prepared my team like any other week. That’s what I will do this week.”
The coaching bond will always be close for Davis and Wagner, however.
“We’ve been through a great deal together,” Davis said. “The highs and lows are something you always remember. You become like family. That doesn’t end just because he’s at another school. You always want success for him. Of course, I want my team to win this week. However, that doesn’t change how much I respect him and what he is trying to do now with the new program he is directing and coaching.”
