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Old school: Long-time coaches leave imprint on communities
by Robert Naddra
robert@dekalbchmp.com
Together, they have won more than 650 high school football games and have 71 years of coaching experience among them.
Separately, they have done more than win games. They have forged a bond with their schools, players and communities.
Southwest DeKalb High School’s Buck Godfrey is the dean of DeKalb County football coaches, heading into his 27th year. Alan Chadwick is beginning his 25th season at Marist. For both men, those are the only head football coaching jobs they have ever held. Ron Gartrell has coached for the past 13 seasons at Stephenson High School after eight seasons at Shamrock High School. Like Godfrey and Chadwick, Gartrell has found a home at his current job and isn’t likely to leave.
 It didn’t take long for Chadwick to realize Marist was a place he would never want to leave. Chadwick joined the Marist staff as an assistant coach under Dean Hargis in 1976, when the War Eagles went 10-0 in the regular season, then lost to Woodward Academy on penetration–by a single yard–in the region championship.
“That was a special group of kids, and it made an impression on me,” Chadwick said. “Pretty early on I realized this was a great place to be. There were good people to work with, and it was a place of comfort.”
Chadwick became the head coach in 1985 and led Marist to the state championship game in 1987. After winning its first 14 games of the season, Marist lost to Worth County in the finals. But two years later Chadwick and the War Eagles would get revenge, capping off a 14-1 season with a win over Worth County for the Class AAA state championship.
Marist won its second state title under Chadwick in 2003 with a win over Statesboro. In 24 seasons, Chadwick has maintained a level of winning unmatched by any other coach in Georgia. Chadwick, with a career record of 272-45, is the all-time coaching leader in Georgia with an 85.8 winning percentage.
“The older I’ve gotten, I’ve been able to experience more things, and I’m a little less fiery,” Chadwick said. “I can still ramp it up, but I’m more concerned about the well-being of the kids. I make sure I take care of them.”
Teaching character and discipline on and off the field has been something Chadwick and his staff have done from the beginning. Chadwick’s system, and the tried-and-true wishbone offense, remain largely unchanged from the beginning.
Chadwick has had the luxury of having a talented and large coaching staff. He currently has nine assistants, and credits them for helping Marist maintain such a high level of success over the years.
“The competition and a good opportunity to win inspired me to stick with it,” Chadwick said. “I’m not one to chase the greener grass.”
 Aside from being the first Black head football coach at Southwest DeKalb High School, Buck Godfrey was decidedly different. He changed the offense from the wishbone to the Wing-T, quoted Shakespeare and had published two books of poetry by the time he arrived at Southwest from neighboring Gordon High School.
“When I first got to Southwest, I saw that those kids were fairly privileged, and they hadn’t seen the side of life that I had seen,” Godfrey said. “I had the support of the families for the most part and the players bought into what I was trying to do. And we were able to build a solid tradition.”
Godfrey, with a staff of only three coaches, instilled the importance of character, discipline and hard work into his players. But there were some who did not appreciate Godfrey’s approach. In his first year at Southwest, Godfrey said his car keys were stolen, his car disappeared and his classroom was burned.
Still, Godfrey endured and posted a 10-3-1 record in his first season.
“It was tough going. But I ended up staying like a barnacle on the bottom of a ship,” Godfrey said.
Distractions or not, Godfrey went about the business of building more than a football program. He built a legacy of rewarding his players by helping them get to college. More than 200 Southwest players have earned college scholarships under Godfrey and about 160 have graduated college.
He also has become one of the winningest active football coaches in Georgia. Godfrey’s 75.6 winning percentage in 26 seasons is fifth in Georgia among active coaches. His record is 240-77-1. Southwest has had only one losing season under Godfrey, and the icon has led the program to two state championships.
“When I first came here, you had to get ready to play football,” Godfrey said. “In the playoffs, you better be ready because you’d see (legendary Clarke Central coach) Billy Henderson every year. We had to teach the kids how to fight for what they wanted. I’m a relic, but I’m a damn good one.”
 After being the head coach at Shamrock High School for eight seasons, Gartrell was able to do something neither Chadwick nor Godfrey had a chance to do – build a program from scratch.
“I had an idea of what I wanted and things were put in place to have some longevity, but I wasn’t sure if they would work or not,” Gartrell said.
After 13 seasons, the verdict is in. After going 1-9 in its inaugural season, Stephenson has not had a losing season in 12 straight years, and Gartrell has led the Jaguars to the playoffs nine straight seasons. Gartrell received plenty of community support as Wade Walker Park, which was a feeder system to the high school, changed its team colors and nickname to match Stephenson. Also, the area was not very transient, which led to more involvement from the community.
“It’s almost like a small-town atmosphere here,” Gartrell said. “You see the kids grow up and go through the program at Wade Walker Park. A number of great players for Stephenson have come through that park.
“I didn’t come to Stephenson thinking all that has happened would happen,” he continued. “Our goal was to build a solid program and be successful. And we’ve been able to build a reputation of sending kids to college.”
Gartrell has done that. The team has won at least nine games in eight of the past nine seasons. Also, Gartrell has led Stephenson to the state quarterfinals or semifinals five times.
“People sometimes ask me if I’m going to leave Stephenson,” Gartrell said. “My answer is, as long as everyone is dedicated, I’m not gonna leave. Every year at this time I get excited and look forward to the season.”
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