In 2017, senior Ola linebacker Logan Powell set the Mustangs’ team record for tackles in a single season. Baylen Sanders, a sophomore, started each game next to him at another linebacker position.

  When Powell left for Georgia Southern to continue his football career at the collegiate level, Sanders saw Powell’s record as a goal worth shooting for. Two seasons later, his work paid off.

  “I’m always a goal setter. I like competing,” he said. “I felt like I could get that job done. It takes a lot of work, though.”

  Ola finished the 2019 season with a 7-4 record, its best in school history. The year ended with a loss to Ware County in the state playoffs. Two of the three regular-season losses were to county rivals Dutchtown and Stockbridge, both by six points or less after leading in the final two minutes of each game. The other loss came to Jones County, the top team in Region 4-AAAAA, in which all of these schools competed this season.

  Sanders was a key part of the Ola defense, finishing with 143 tackles on the season to set a new single-season record. He got close to the record as a junior but came up just short with 117 while missing one game.

  He has completed four years of varsity football for the Mustangs, three of them as a starting linebacker. He saw some action at that position as a freshman while starting on special teams.

  Sanders also plays baseball for Ola, having started as a left-handed first baseman since his freshman season. The Mustangs reached the state championship round last spring before losing to three-time champion Loganville.

  But he wants to play football in college. “I love the game,” he said.