Alpharetta High School will bring its football team, cheerleaders and band to the Town Green in downtown Alpharetta on Thursday, Aug. 27, for the program's first public community pep rally under head coach Danny Carlisle.
The free event runs from 6 to 7 p.m., according to an announcement on the school's website published Wednesday, Aug. 12.
The rally comes six days after the Raiders' Aug. 21 season opener and one day before their Aug. 28 home game against Denmark. It marks the first time Carlisle's program will gather with the broader Alpharetta community in a public setting since the season began.
Carlisle, who was hired in February as the program's third head coach in as many years, has made community buy-in a centerpiece of his pitch. At his Feb. 3 introduction at the AHS Auditorium, he told parents he views the job as his last stop before retirement.
"This area is very special to me, and I really think [this program] can be like a Milton," Carlisle said at that February meeting, as reported by Appen Media. "Where these kids are Alpharetta Raiders from kindergarten."
At every previous stop, Carlisle grew roster numbers. Participation jumped from 90 to 135 players at Forsyth Central, from 80 to 125 at Cooper City in Florida and from 62 to 88 at Chattahoochee, where he coached for three seasons before coming to Alpharetta.
The Raiders enter 2026 with reasons for optimism beyond the new coaching staff. Junior running back Nick DePietro, who rushed for over 1,000 yards as a sophomore at Johns Creek, is expected to be the featured back after playing on JV last year to comply with GHSA transfer rules. Junior offensive lineman Calvin Landy Jr. holds Power 4 offers from Georgia, Auburn, Florida State, Georgia Tech and North Carolina, as we noted in our Raiders season preview.
The roster is deep. Alpharetta competes in GHSA Class 6A, Region 7, alongside Gainesville, Roswell and Milton.
The Town Green pep rally is open to the public. The Raiders' next home game after the Denmark matchup is Sept. 11 against Duluth.
