High school football teams from across the state are in the middle of playoff season. But before stepping into this spotlight, many players step onto the field years earlier.
Austin Ragans and Tony Palazzo coach a team of sixth graders with Cambridge Feeder Football. The squad also includes their sons, Caden Ragans and Braxton Palazzo.
Their current team has been together since second grade, but Caden and Braxton have played together since they were 4 years old.
Braxton said that long-term connection helps as they prepare for the championship Saturday against a team from Carrolton.
“I’ve known half these kids for my whole entire life,” he said. “So it feels awesome just playing with people I know, and not just a bunch of random people.”
The state’s dozens of feeder teams are part of the Georgia Middle School Athletic Association. Their goal is to prepare players for high school and beyond.
Tyler Jones coaches Cambridge’s high school program. He says a majority of those players came from the feeder program, and it builds team chemistry both on and off the field.
“I know everybody talks about family and brotherhood and football programs, but you know when you spend so many hours practice playing, time off the field with these guys, it just means a little more,” he said.
When they’re old enough, Caden and Braxton plan to try out for Cambridge High School’s varsity squad. The school is home to Craig Dandridge, a wide receiver and feeder football alum set to play at the University of Georgia.
Craig, who moved to the Atlanta area around third grade, joined Cambridge’s middle school feeder program and said the experience made the rest of his career possible.
“I feel like our team was very connected because we’ve known each other, we went to school with each other,” he said. “So it just made the program that much more special and then seeing each other transition into high school and now we’re all just playing together again, it brings us back to the old days, having some good memories.“
Coach Austin Ragans said it’s about more than competition.
“It’s really going to be cool when Coach Tony and I are sitting at the high school game with full gray tops, watching our kids play varsity football and just think about how much fun it was when we coached them in feeder.”
For coverage of high school football playoffs, visit GPB.org/sports.
