Duke and Marietta hope to turn the tables in 2025

In December 2019, Marietta did something it had not done in over 50 years; win a state championship. The team had stars galore, by many accounts it was one of the top teams in the history of Georgia high school football. Coach Richard Morgan was one of the hottest names in the state and in just four years had turned the program from a three-win team to on top of the mountain.

Success in high school sports is hard when players only play four seasons. Especially at public schools where for the most part you get what you get. So the fact that Marietta continued to succeed is impressive. The Cobb power would go on to make the playoffs the next four years and made it to the second round twice.

However, last season Marietta missed the playoffs for the first time since Morgan’s first year in charge in 2016. After the year, Morgan took a new coaching gig in Virginia, leaving a void at the helm for Marietta.

After searching through candidates, the higher ups decided to hire coach Cameron Duke to replace Morgan. Duke was a historic coach in Florida, leading Edgewater to multiple state championship runs and many playoff appearances.

Although Marietta went 2-8 last season, the Blue Devils were just a few points away from making the playoffs. If Wheeler (four seed in region) did not pull out a 24-17 win, Marietta could have been playing Colquitt County in the first round of playoffs. Out of region, Morgan’s team provided a scrappy group of underdogs and almost pulled off upsets over McEachern (lost 33-27) and Hillgrove (lost 24-21). With a lot of good returners this season could prove to be different for Duke’s boys.

Jayden Whiteside returns as the school’s starting quarterback. The 2027 signal caller tailed over 1600 yards and double-digit touchdowns as a sophomore. Whiteside possesses good mobility and can throw an accurate deep ball which is rare for a sophomore playing in one of the top classifications in the country. He also has solid size at 6-foot-2.

Whiteside will have a solid running back duo to go along with him in the backfield. Senior Landon Mannery and junior Titus Grant will both add positive additions to the 2025 team.

Easily the best player on the offensive side of the ball who will be critical to the team’s success is receiver Elijah Green. Green was everywhere last season and connected with Whiteside 41 times for 747 yards (led the team), which was almost half of the team’s total receiving yards. Green is likely going to be Whiteside's top target again in 2025 as a senior.

Marietta only returns one All-Region player from last season on the defensive side of the ball. That being defensive back Jamine Soloman. Solomon was a second-team All-Region member last season. He led the team in tackles with 71 total tackles and notched two interceptions.  Another defensive back who will play a big part in Marietta’s 2025 results is Calab Graham. Graham led the team with four interceptions in 2024.

All-Region honorable mention in 2024 Merrick Ham was only a freshman last season and the future of Marietta football. He was second on the team in sacks to only UGA signee AJ Kruah as a freshman. He is now a massive 6-foot-6 and was named to Score Atlanta’s Hayden Gilbert's 100 2028 players to watch list.

The defense will also get a boost from Jack Ison. Ison was named Marietta’s junior varsity player of the season last year and also lettered on Varsity. The 2027 linebacker will be a highly competitive player this season.

Coach Duke is a great hire for this program. A high energy guy who will mix well with these high energy players. Things are certainly not going to be easy with teams like Walton, North Cobb, and North Paulding in its region. However, Marietta is not going to let that stop them. Duke’s squad won day five of the Brent Key/Corky Kell plus Dave Hunter 7-on-7 tournament.

The 2025 season will get going on August 15th against Gainesville.

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