Gordon Lee

Head coach: Josh Groce (19-14 here and overall)

Returning starters: 7 offensive; 6 defensive

Last year’s record: 5-6 overall, lost in Class A public first round

Key players: Nate Dunfee (5-9, 150) Sr. RB, Holt Roberts (5-10, 195) Sr. RB/LB, Brodie Genter (6-0, 230) Sr. OL, Kade Cowan (5-8, 155) Sr. DB, Robert Henson (5-7, 155) Sr. DB, Conner Whitman (6-1, 185) Sr. LB

Season outlook: The big story in Chickamauga is a move from Class A to

AAA after GHSA reclassification. Originally placed in AA, Gordon Lee appealed to play up in order to compete against mostly local schools.

Those schools, however, will have double the students and much deeper rosters.

“Sheer numbers and depth are the biggest problems we face,” said Groce, a former Gordon Lee athlete. “Our number ones can compete with these teams. We’re going to have more kids playing both sides of the ball, whereas they will have more going one way.

“I love what we do having single-A numbers. I grew up playing small-class football, and if you love football, you don’t want to come off the field. However, when you are playing teams who don’t have to do that, it gets tough.”

The Trojans may have an unusual advantage in league play due to their offense. A wing-T team, they will be facing defenses unaccustomed to the run-heavy attack. Groce has the skill guys to make it work, too, led by Dunfee, who had 667 yards and nine touchdowns a year ago, and Roberts, who added 500 yards.

Groce believes having guys play both ways will likely show up on defense. The team is small but quick up front and has an active group of linebackers led by Roberts and Whitman, with Cowan and Henson leading the secondary.

“Defensively, the biggest thing is we have to get good up front,” Groce said. “We have to get more physical and not allow them to push us off the football. Doing the math, we’ve got 65 kids and 450 in the school, so for every big kid we have, they are going to have three times that many.