Stephenson football enters new era under Jelks

Stephenson High School football will be under new leadership for the first time since 1996 after Ron Gartrell—one of the founding members of the football program—retired as head coach in March.

Gartrell led Stephenson to the playoffs every year since 2000, won 208 games and boasted a 21-20 playoff record.

Taking over for Gartrell is Marcus Jelks, former head coach of Lithonia High School and someone who considers Gartrell a mentor.

“It’s an unreal feeling. Coach Gartrell is like a mentor to me. I admire the work he did, and I learned a lot from him. Coming behind someone like him is really an honor for me,” said Jelks.

Jelks said the support he’s receiving made starting the new job easy, but he said he has a lot of work to do to catch up to the expectations set by Gartrell.

Not only was Gartrell a winner—ranking second all-time in DCSD wins behind William “Buck” Godfrey—but he also carried a reputation for sending players to the next level. Gartrell had more than 200 players obtain scholarships since 2000.

While at Stephenson, Gartrell also established a reputation as a coach who set players on a path to NFL futures.

As of 2020, Stephenson boasted nine NFL Draft picks who played under Gartrell. Stephenson’s five NFL players on rosters in 2020 was tied for first in DeKalb County with Tucker High School.

According to MaxPreps, Stephenson’s nine NFL Draft picks in the last 20 years ties them for 10th place in the country in that time frame.

Jelks said he’ll continue sending players to college and developing the whole student athlete is the key to preparing them to do well at the next level.

“I had a great track record of sending guys to school at Lithonia, so I’m confident we can continue to do some of the same things,” said Jelks. “We want to develop the entire kid and not have them strictly thinking about playing football at the next level. I want to work on things like academics and character. Hopefully they can use it as a vehicle to further their education.”

Jelks couldn’t predict who will go on to the NFL but said he is glad to be at a school with so many inspirational alumni.

According to Jelks, Stephenson alumni who played in college and the NFL attended each of Stephenson’s spring practices to offer guidance and to check things out. Jelks said the professional guidance is something not every school can offer and is great motivation for his team.

“It’s unique. It’s a great situation,” said Jelks. “Guys get to see first-hand what it takes to reach that goal and play at that level; it does wonders for the program and mentality.”

A few of the current players capable of making the jump to college football after their Stephenson careers are Desmond Buchannan, Rahim Diarrassouba and Cordel Andrews, but Jelks said the team is young overall and has a way to go before they are competing at the level Stephenson fans are accustomed to.

“We have to regroup and that can be a good thing,” explained Jelks. “I think it’s a really good group of guys. In the near future, we’ll have a good bunch. They had a large senior class last year, so coming into this year is almost like a fresh start.”

In the meantime, Jelks said his new offense and emphasis on special teams should keep everyone engaged.

“Most recently, coach Gartrell was running a wing-t system. We’ll spread things out a little more and get our best athletes in space and get mismatches. I think it’ll be exciting for people to watch and a little different than in years past,” said Jelks.

Even with a changing offense and a focus on special teams, Stephenson’s defense will still be a priority under Jelks.

“We pride ourselves on how good the defense is, and I feel like we’re in a great place defensively,” added Jelks. “We have to be a little better on offense and on special teams. We have a little more than month until we’re back on the field, so we have a way to go.”

Stephenson opens its 2021 season Aug. 20 at 7:30 p.m. against Lithonia at Hallford Stadium.