Stanley Pritchett, Douglass head coach
Today’s interviewee is Douglass coach Stanley Pritchett, whose team upset second-ranked Calhoun 12-0 in the second round of the Class 3A playoffs Friday night. The Astros were the first team to shut out Calhoun, the reigning Class 3A champion, since the 2022 state playoffs. It was a high-powered Calhoun offense that boasted the state’s leader in receiving yards, Justin Beasley. Douglass avenged a 38-14 loss in the second round to Calhoun last season. Pritchett was a fullback at the University of South Carolina before a nine-year NFL career ending with the Atlanta Falcons in 2004. His Douglass teams have improved their victory total in each of his five seasons, including this one, with a 9-3 record.
1. How was your defense able to shut out one of the top passing offenses in the state? “I just want to give hats off to my defensive coordinator [John Amofah] and my defensive staff. They did a great job coming up with an outstanding game plan. We challenged our defensive backs to stop number three [Beasley]. We knew he was the leading receiver in the state, and we wanted to be physical with him, knock him around. And we also wanted to hit their quarterback. We saw on film that he hadn’t been hit a lot, so we wanted to get after him a little bit and get him off his spot, put some pressure on him, hit him and make him make bad mistakes. It worked out for us at the end of the game, and also it was a little wet. It was raining, so that helped out a lot, too.” [Beasley had four receptions for 35 yards. Calhoun quarterback Trace Hawkins, who led Calhoun to the 2024 state title as a freshman, had minus-52 rushing yards because of sacks. Douglass safety Jaiveon Jackson returned a midfield interception for a touchdown and a 12-0 lead with 11:01 left.]
2. What was Douglass’ approach going into the Calhoun game, and how did it feel to upset a state champion? “Last year, we played Calhoun in the second round and they beat us pretty good. So it was a humbling experience for them, you know, going on the road. We thought we were a good team, a good up-and-coming team, and they knocked us out. So this year, our young men have been hungry. They’ve been working hard all offseason, and so we got the opportunity to play them again in the second round, and our guys had a different mindset. We weren't going in looking for the fireworks and all the things that a program like Calhoun does, a state champion. Our guys went in with the mindset that we wanted to be 1-0 and we would do whatever it took to come out on top.”
3. How did the pain of being eliminated by Calhoun last year motivate your team this season? “That pain really stuck with us. A lot of my guys that came back from last year, like I said, it was a humbling experience. They were definitely the better team. They were more physical than us, and I think it fueled us in the offseason to get stronger and get better so we could compete against the top teams in the state.”
4. Being a former Falcons player, how does NFL experience help you coach in big GHSA games? “It gave me opportunities to experience different things, playing at the college level, playing in the NFL. Going through meetings, going through games and playing in the games gave me the experience. Coaching is a little bit different than playing, but I’ve been doing it for a while now. Our guys are just really bought into what we’ve been preaching as a coaching staff, and we just want to get better every day.”
