WAYCROSS, Ga. — An abstract canvas hugs the horizon at Ware County High School.
Head football coach, Jason Strickland, looks on, like a painter in front of his easel.
Strickland's playbook acts as his palette, his whistle the brush that gets things going.
Before him stands a creation, on the verge of greatness.
"You gotta be more than good and we were really good I don't think there's any secret," Strickland said.
The beanie and green Gator shirt he wears at practice smother his goosebumps. Not from the snap of fall air, but from what comes with wearing Gator green.
"If you get to a point where you don't feel butterflies at about 7:15 on Friday then I don't know if it's for you really," Strickland said.
Every week, Ware County comes out to their gallery, the swamp.
"They support us with our helmets off you know normally football players don't get supported with their helmets off," senior running back Cartevious Norton said.
"You don't know who guys are without their helmets but they know who we are without our helmets and that's what I love about our community," he added.
With Ware County behind them, this group of Gators is hoping to add the final piece.
"Its playoffs hopefully we can bring home something before we go home," senior quarterback, Thomas Castellanos, said.
"Walking around with a ring on your finger senior year, that would be something," Norton added.