In eight high school football seasons since 2002, new Northview head football coach Chad Davenport has been to the playoffs a perfect eight out of eight times. Four of those eight seasons were spent as an assistant in North Carolina (East Wake High School) while the other four were spent at Peachtree Ridge where Davenport was also an assistant (Davenport was on the Lions 2006 staff when Peachtree Ridge tied Roswell in the state championship).

While Davenport has been to the postseason eight times in his last eight seasons, the team he's taking over – Northview – has zero playoff appearances in the last eight seasons. Not only has Northview never been to the playoffs, but three of their prior eight seasons ended with 0-10 records.

Davenport knows that if he's going to succeed at Northview, he has to change everything. "We changed the entire coaching staff, we changed philosophies," the first year coach says. Former coach Jim Showfety and his triple option offense are now at Dunwoody.

"The biggest thing for us is to try and bring the fun back," says Davenport. "We need to get them excited about the program. If you get a good staff and the kids believe in them, then that's something that can really change the way the kids feel about how they're going to play."

Davenport likes the fact that his young team will be competing in a region with only one truly established power: Roswell. "One of the things I looked at when I took the job was, except for Roswell, there really isn't a team that's a traditional power," says Davenport, who got a first hand look at the Hornets during the 2006 state championship. "There's a lot of good teams in the region, but you're not talking about teams that are playing for state titles. As far as history and tradition, Roswell's the team that's in it every year and that's where we're trying to get too. We want be at the point, where every year, we're the team penciled into the playoffs."

Offense

Kane Whitehurst, Northview's starting quarterback from last year, is now at Chattahoochee. Whitehurst's exit has opened the door for new starter Evan Jacks. The elusive junior showed off his mobility when the Titans scrimmaged Johns Creek two weeks ago. Jacks ran for 154 yards and scored three touchdowns, which is exactly what Davenport wanted him to do, "I want the quarterback to run the ball," says the coach. "An athletic type quarterback like Evan really fits into what I want to do."

Davenport is excited about senior running back Denis Onwualu, "Evan and Denis give us a good combination in the backfield."

If Onwualu and Jacks are going to run wild this season, they'll need some major help from their offensive line. Juniors Patrick Driscoll and Aaron Siegel will line up at the tackle spots while seniors Mark Miller and Taylor Malone will play guard. The line will also have a third senior in the form of center Matt Evanson. "I feel good about what we have on the offensive line," says Davenport.

Davenport, who will also serve as Northview's offensive coordinator, says the team is still working some kinks out of the passing game. But when it finally gets going, junior wide receiver Evan Sather and x-back Austin Rose should get some balls tossed their way. Junior tight end Chris Butcher and fullback David Lee should also be on the receiving end of a few of Jacks' passes.

Defense

Davenport wasn't at Northview in 2009, but he knows his stats: in the Titans eight losses last year, they surrendered 39 points per game. He knows that if his team is going to compete this year, that number has to come down. "During the offseason, I sat down with my defensive coordinator [Bo Lumpkin] and we decided that, for the most part, we were going to put our best players on defense."

Davenport says that his defensive backs are probably the D's strength. Speedsters T.J. Brown and Justin Jackson will man the corners. Senior Logan Seagraves will be the team's catback (linebacker-safety hybrid) and junior A.J. Pearson will lineup at free safety.

Up front, Davenport admits his defensive lineman won't be the biggest guys on the field, but they'll be fast. At nose tackle will be 5'9", 185-pound senior Marc Pomerantz. He'll be joined on the line by defensive tackles Billy Caras and David Choi.

Lumpkin has put together an interesting defense that has the look of a 3-4, but won't be a 3-4 at all. "Guys will be moving around the field a lot," says Davenport. The play of linebackers Marcus Fenderson, Zack Cable, David Lee and Van King will most likely determine how well the Northview defense does this season.

Davenport thinks his defense is good, but he also thinks it will take them a couple of weeks to gel, "I really think that by the time we get to region play, we're going to have a unit out there that we feel good about."