Former Putnam County football player Caleb Reaves is ready to win a second-straight state title in just three seasons with Milton High School.
Reaves is the passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach for the Eagles, who defeated Walton to win the Class 7A state championship last year. This week, they’re playing Langston Hughes for the Class 5A title.
“In my first year, we went to the semifinals and got beat by a good Mill Creek team with Caleb Downs, who played at Alabama and is now at Ohio State. And then last season, we beat Walton,” Reaves said. “So, hopefully, we will have a chance to do it again this week against Langston Hughes.”
Per MaxPreps, Milton is ranked No. 2 nationally. The Eagles have several Division I players on their roster, including four-star wide receiver CJ Wiley and four-star tight end Ethan Barbour, who are both headed to Georgia.
Reaves coaches Wiley, Barbour, and quarterback Luke Nickel, a Miami signee. Milton has passed for 3,407 yards and 41 touchdowns with only nine interceptions under Reaves’ leadership.
A Putnam County graduate in 2011, Reaves now coaches alongside his brother Ben Reaves Jr., Milton’s head coach. Their father, Ben Reaves Sr., coached at Putnam County from 2007-2012, with a 32-31 overall record.
“I think between me, my brother, and my dad all being coaches, family gatherings have been just sitting around and talking about football and what everybody’s been doing,” Reaves said. “It makes it much cooler [that my brother and I] get to do it together and have those experiences. Now that our dad is retired, he came to every game last year and every game this year. Having him on the sidelines with us two has been really special.”
As a child, Reaves watched the state championship games held at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. His dad would check him and his brother out of school just to watch, and they would hang out on the sidelines with their dad.
“We’d watch all the games and hang out with the other coaches. You sit there as a little kid, and that’s where you want to be,” Reaves recalled. “Unfortunately, I didn’t go there as a player in high school, but getting a chance to do it as a coach is special. And to experience it with your family, especially with my brother, and getting to be on the sideline together, it just makes it even more special.”
Reaves played at Putnam County with Damoio’n Wright, who will coach Grayson High School against Carrollton in the Class 6A state championship this week. He said they have remained close friends over the years.
Reaves also retains close ties with Lake Country. His wife is from Morgan County, and he’s coached in the surrounding area at Social Circle and Walnut Grove.
However, Reaves doesn’t forget where he came from and values his time graduating as a War Eagle.
“I would not trade my high school experience for growing up in that small town,” Reaves said of Eatonton. “When I played at Putnam, the stadium was packed every Friday. People knew what was happening with the football program and anywhere you went in the community. It was a big deal, and you knew it mattered to people.”