On Air with 912 Sports

 By Kevin Price

Photography by Jennifer Johnson

Swan Song in the Swamp

People flock to the Okefenokee Swamp Park in Waycross in droves to see the many creatures that make their home in the swamp.

Alligators are the main attraction, of course.

Those don’t necessarily impress the locals, though, since gators are a common site for them. It takes something special - like one

of gigantic size - to get their attention.

But, when it comes to the local high school football team, the star of the show has certainly attracted the attention of the home folks in recent year because he does have special qualities.

And now that senior quarterback Thomas Castellanos is set for his final foray with the Ware County Gators, the 2021 season will be the final chance for the team’s fans to fill Memorial Stadium to see his talents on display.

A four-year starter for the Gators, Castellonos is not your typical prep quarterback. He’s not even the typical teenager playing high school football who likes to get as far away from the coaches as he can on a team bus trip. Castellanos likes to be right there with them in the front seats, talking football, which says a lot about his makeup and drive to be the best.

“He sits right behind the coaches,” said Ware head coach Jason Strickland. “We might not even be out of the parking lot yet after a game, and he’s already asking about the next opponent.

“We’ve had to tell him to enjoy this game, enjoy this win. Don’t take these things for granted. Wait a little bit before you worry about the next one.”

That’s just one small piece of advice the Ware coaches have given their star player since joining the program when Castellanos was wrapping up his freshman year.

The first order of business for the new coaching staff was to make sure he continued to wear the Gators’ green and gold colors. When former head coach Franklin Stephens left for McEachern in Cobb County, Castellanos admits to at least

thinking about transferring to another school.

“It was like a whole big family was leaving,” Castellanos said. “Coach Stephens and the other coaches, that’s all I knew.” Once he met the new coaches including offensive coordinator Jerry Breeden, who also coaches quarterbacks, Castellanos

decided to stay put. He says now he couldn’t leave his

teammates. Castellanos, whose older brother Ladedric was a rising senior, was coming off a freshman season in which he accounted for more than 2,000 total yards and 25 total touchdowns while helping the Gators to eight wins and an opening-round playoff

victory as the starting quarterback.

In Strickland’s first season, Castellanos ran and passed for more than 1,900 yards and 25 scores as the Gators finished 8-4 overall, winning Region 2-AAAAA and reaching the second round of the state playoffs before losing to eventual state champion Buford in Waycross.

Last fall, Castellanos excelled in a new spread offense tailored around him to take advantage of his tremendous athleticism along with his passing arm and running abilities.

He led the Gators to a 10-2 record and a berth in the state quarterfinals while racking up impressive statistics that included 2,881 passing yards and 23 touchdowns and 939 rushing yards and another 24 scores. Ware averaged almost 36 points per contest.

“It was a lot of fun, putting up a lot of points and showing an offense like that,” he said.

The Gators fell 34-31 to Cartersville at home in the

quarterfinals, ending their hopes of a state championship as the Purple Hurricanes instead went on to play Warner Robins in the title game.

Ware’s only loss in the regular season was actually to the state champion Demons which clipped the Gators 22-19 in late October in Warner Robins, allowing them to claim the Region 1-AAAAA crown.

Those six points, which were the combined difference in the two games the Gators lost and kept them from possibly playing for last year’s state title, have been in the minds of everyone associated with the Ware program since that sudden ending to the 2020 season.

“We felt like we had the team to win the whole thing, but just didn’t get the job done,” Castellanos said.

As bad as he felt after the loss to Cartersville, Castellanos didn’t brush football aside and forget about it for several weeks. He immediately reviewed the film of the quarterfinal game to

critique his own performance.

Castellanos passed for 259 yards, ran for another 115 and accounted for four touchdowns that night, but threw two interceptions and also lost a fumble.

The next week, he attended the semifinal between rival Coffee and Cartersville and saw the Hurricanes pull out a 24-17 victory

at home to advance to the state final.

“I think he knows he didn’t have his best game against

Cartersville, but we were still that close to playing Warner Robins again and seeing what could happen,” Strickland said.

“I think that left a bitter taste in his mouth. I think he knows we’re good enough to get back there again and knows we have to do everything we can to take advantage of our potential.”

That probably explains why Castellanos has stepped up his personal preparations for the upcoming season. Strickland said Castellanos has “killed himself” in the weight room and appears

to be stronger and faster than he was last year.

He also has become more vocal in summer workouts, taking command of the team in drill work on the practice field.

“He has always been the rah-rah cheerleader type,” Strickland noted. “Now, he’s more like a coach.”

Castellanos already has a year of work in as a player-caller for the Gators. The coaches gave him the green light to change a play prior to taking the snap from the start last season.

Going into this season, Castellanos said he has an even better grasp of the offense and what plays to run after dissecting the defense.

“The game’s gotten way slower for me. I feel like I’ve gotten way better,” he said.

Castellanos enters his senior season already knowing his next destination. He verbally committed to     Central Florida back in March after head coach Guz Malzahn was hired by the Knights following his dismissal at Auburn at the end of last season.

Other schools including Georgia Tech and Florida State were heavily recruiting Castellanos, but Central Florida was the only one assuring the 5-foot-11, 190-pound three-star recruit that he would play quarterback.

“I had bigger offers, some as an athlete, some as a QB,”

Castellanos said. “But, they seemed to be the ones with the most confidence in me and the place I’ll have the best chance to get on the field early and play quarterback.”

Castellanos has already put together a great career with the Gators, leading them to 26 wins in three seasons and three playoff appearances. He has thrown for 5,097 career yards and 41 touchdowns while rushing for 2,713 yards and 56 scores

while garnering numerous individual accolades including 912 Sports Player of the Year last season.

And, he has given Gator Nation plenty of eye-popping moments made possible by what he can do with his God-given talents and a football in his hands.

Castellanos wants 2021 to be a big season for the Gators. A state championship would certainly make it one for the ages in the Okefenokee and be the ideal ending for his Swan Song.

“I’m excited about it. We have a chip on our shoulder from last year. I feel like we can pull it off. It could be real special this year,” he said.

By Kevin Price 

Photography by Charles Smith 

Tommy Bliss has earned the spotlight as the featured Scholar- Athlete for the 912 Sports Magazine preseason high school football issue because of his outstanding work in the academic arena.

The Richmond Hill senior is also a captain for the Wildcats going into the 2021 campaign, and leaders like Bliss are a big reason

the Wildcats have blossomed the last several years under the guidance of head coach Matt Lezotte.

“Tommy is an exemplary student,” Lezotte said. “His picture is next to the definition of student-athlete in the Webster’s dictionary.

“He’s as good a young man as they make, and you see how that good decision-making correlates on the field and in the classroom.”

Bliss, who carries a 4.25 grade-point average, moved to

Richmond Hill with his family when he was in fifth-grade and has been bred to play football for the Wildcats. He played for the middle school team prior to joining the high school program as a freshman.

He played for the junior varsity team as a ninth-grader and dressed with the varsity before the end of the season, played special teams on the varsity as a sophomore when the Wildcats won Region 2-AAAAAA and advanced to the state semifinals.

Last fall, Bliss was a starter for Richmond Hill in the defensive backfield, but his season came to end just two games into the schedule when he broke a leg while running down to cover a

kickoff as part of the Wildcats’ kick coverage team.

He watched the rest of the 2020 season from the sidelines as Richmond Hill earned a share of the region title and won its opening playoff game before falling in the second round at Westlake which went on to reach the semifinals.

Bliss is back in the mix for his senior season and is eager to make his presence felt for the Wildcats this fall. He is projected to start at safety on defense and slot receiver on offense. “He has led this offseason both through his actions and words,”

LeZotte said. “Our players look to Tommy to speak up when needed, and he always creates energy in our workouts and practices. There isn’t a player more respected in our program than Tommy.

“Tommy has benefited from seeing what it looks like to

compete at a championship level. He uses this every day to help grow our younger guys, and I truly believe that will be his legacy. He is a selfless player who’s going to contribute on both sides of the ball and will have a big season. Dude is tough.” And of course, he is smart, too. Bliss has taken honors classes

every semester in high school.

His favorite school subject is science. This past year, he took physics. As senior, he will take an oceanography course. “I like dissections, always thought that was the coolest thing,” he said. “I like working hands-on, getting my hands dirty. You’re looking for something, once you find it, it’s like the best feeling in the world.

“I’ve dissected a baby pig before. I’m going to get the chance to dissect squid and other things in the oceanography class, so I’m excited about that.”

It’s possible he could become more familiar with the ocean, the creatures that live in the deep blue sea and maybe even submarines in the future as well.

He visited the United States Naval Academy in early June and planned to begin the process to apply for the service academy as soon as possible. The Midshipmen have him on their radar as a football prospect, too.

“Everything was beyond expectations,” he said about the visit. “Annapolis is one of the nicest places there is. It’s a lot like downtown Savannah, real coastal. They have shops along the river. So, it feels like home.

“The campus is amazing. They have awesome facilities, all super new. It’s Division I for sure.”

Bliss is getting some interest as a football recruit from other schools including Mercer University in Macon and Shorter University in Rome.

LeZotte said other schools might start recruiting the 5-foot-11, 175-pound Bliss seriously this fall.

“He’s done some very good things at camp, and after he puts together some film his senior season, I can see it really jumping off,” the coach noted.

One thing Bliss knows is that he will be prepared for the academic work that awaits wherever he goes to college. He said attending Richmond Hill has prepared him well to tackle any serious academic work after high school. “We’re taught you better take care of business in class and roll out on the field ready to go,” he said. “Our teachers help us do

that. They’re some of the best in the 912, I think. I’ve never had a bad teacher at Richmond Hill.”

Bliss has been a teacher of sorts for the Wildcats throughout the offseason as well.

The team was hit hard by graduation in the starting ranks after last season, and he was one of only a handful of players with varsity experience going into offseason training. Of course, Bliss

lost most of his junior year due to the broken leg which limited his own experience.

You wouldn’t know it, though, according to Lezotte who has been impressed by Bliss in a number of ways over the offseason.

“One of the things that sets him apart from most players is his attention to detail,” Lezotte said. “It’s probably the main reason he’s so successful in the classroom, too. He not only understands how to do things, but also understands why we

ask them to execute plays in certain ways. He also has an amazing ability to communicate that to his teammates and help them understand.”

The coach noted that Bliss is constantly engaged in what is taking place in practice and oftentimes does serve as another coach.

“He understands the importance of mental reps, and he’s never afraid to put in extra work outside of normal practice time,” LeZotte added. “He’s the first guy we put new players in touch with because he is so dialed into what we do, how we do it and what’s expected as a program.”

Ironically, Bliss himself mentioned that mentoring young players and preparing them for success in the future may be the biggest way he can contribute to the team this season.

“We’re young, but we’re really growing,” Bliss said this

summer. “The team has answered the bell.

“I was blessed to have guys around me who knew what they were doing and helped me come into my own. Now, I feel like I’m trying to do the same thing for the young guys. They’re like sponges and learn everything                                  you tell them. They’re going to improve the whole time.”