New Hampstead football team aims to build on recent success in 2024

Kyle Hockman enters his sixth season leading the New Hampstead football program after transforming the Phoenix into one of the best teams in the Coastal Empire.

Last season, New Hampstead won its first playoff game under Hockman (and the second in school history), and the Phoenix also hosted its first postseason game, defeating Westside Macon 42-12 in the first round of the Class 4A playoffs to finish the season with a 6-5 record.

The Phoenix lost several talented players to graduation, including receiver Jaylen Hampton (now at Western Kentucky), receiver Malachi Lonnon (Stetson), along with defensive linemen Kyron Anderson (Georgia Southern) and Aaziah Scott (Springfield College), along with four of the five starters on the offensive line, but many more return.

Leading the way is senior Ra’Shawn Truell, who emerged as one of the state’s top quarterbacks in his first year as a starter last season. He was named All-Greater Savannah Offensive Player of the Year after throwing for 38 touchdowns and 3,308 yards with six interceptions, while scoring four more scores. He set a school record by throwing for 533 yards with four touchdowns in a loss to Benedictine, and was named a co-winner of the Finocchiaro Award as Savannah’s best player with Calvary Day’s Jake Merklinger, now at Tennessee.

“Ra’Shawn can change plays at the line of scrimmage when he wants to,” defensive coordinator/assistant head coach Rick Honaker said. “It’s great when your best players are your smartest players.”

Truell has offers from Bucknell, Arkansas State and Fort Valley State, among others, and is looking forward to his final season.

“I’m very confident about the season,” Truell said. “I had never started a game until last year, but we accomplished a lot of our goals — including hosting and winning that playoff game. We want to go further in the playoffs this year.”

Truell gets a dangerous weapon back in Kamari Maxwell, a senior who made 40 catches for 734 yards and nine touchdowns last season, while running for 294 yards and four more touchdowns.

“Kamari can do everything we need in our offense, he’s electric,” Truell said of Maxwell, whose offers include Bucknell, Lehigh, Austin Peay, Kent State and Shorter University. “He runs great routes and makes big plays.”

The Phoenix passing game gets a boost from incoming transfer Ben Hockman, the nephew of coach Kyle Hockman, who came from Santa Fe High School in Alachua, Florida. Ben Hockman joined Phoenix in time to make the track team last spring and finished fifth at the Class 4A state meet in the 200 meters with a time of 21.69 seconds (his personal best is 21.59) and eighth in the 100 meters (10.79). The speed demon has great hands and had 46 catches for 753 yards and four touchdowns last season. He has an offer from the University of Nevada.

Fullback Titus Honaker showed last season that he can run between the tackles for tough yards on limited carries and is back for his junior year.

Defensively, the Phoenix have two key guys back on their front seven in linebacker Kamren Blake Mazes, who led the team with 75 stops last year as a junior. Shaun Hamilton is also back for his senior season as the 6-foot-3, 240-pounder leads the defensive line. He has an offer from Charleston Southern.

The defensive backfield consists of juniors Kamari Smart, Jawara Green and Messiah Worriels, who is returning from a knee injury, and Jaden Caldwell, who recently received an offer from Georgia State.

“We’ve got some good players like Kamren (Blake Mazes), who’s a sideline to sideline type,” Hamilton said. “We haven’t shied away from competition over the last few years and we have confidence in each other.”

New Hampstead landed in Region 1-4A, considered by many to be the toughest in the state. The Phoenix will still play in the same region as Benedictine, along with 2023 Class 4A state champion Perry, Ware County, Warner Robins and Wayne County.

“Six of the teams we’re playing this season have played in a state championship in the last two years,” Honaker said. “We know there are no days off in our schedule.”

Dennis Knight writes about sports for the Savannah Morning News. Contact him at [email protected]. Twitter: @DennisKnightSMN