The 2014 season saw the Benedictine Cadets win their first state title in program history with a dominant 45-21win over the GAC Spartans in the championship game.
As a result, the Cadets open the season with a No. 1 ranking in Class AA despite graduating quarterback Stevie Powers and Brad Stewart, a receiver who will continue his football career at the next level with Georgia Tech. Stewart was named the AJC's Class AA Offensive Player of the Year.
The Cadets return a solid team led by linebacker Tru'Self Cooper, offensive tackle Sanders Creech and athlete John Kennedy. All three were named to the AJC's Class AA all-state team.
Perhaps most importantly, Class AA Coach of the Year Danny Britt returns for his fifth season with Benedictine. Britt is largely responsible for turning a program around that hovered over .500 and sub-.500 records for the better part of a decade before he arrived. Since Britt took over, the Cadets are 39-13, making the playoffs every year.
Look for the playoff appearance trend to continue. According to the Maxwell Ratings, Benedictine has a 100-percent chance of making the playoffs. Gotta like those odds. Vidalia and GAC are the only other Class AA schools that have a 100-percent chance of making the playoffs according to the ratings.
Fittingly, the 2015 season will pick up exactly where the previous season left off -- a heavyweight rematch between Benedictine and GAC on Friday at Savannah State University's T.A. Wright Stadium. The Spartans enter the season ranked No. 3 and a win could leapfrog them over No. 2 Fitzgerald in the polls.
However, the Spartans will be the first to tell you the regular season and rankings mean nothing when it comes to the playoffs. After all, GAC edged Benedictine 24-21 at home in last year's season opener only to lose in the season's finale.
As the rankings suggest, Class AA's top teams in 2014 should remain forces this season. Three of the four teams that made the semifinals enter this season as the top three teams in the rankings. The other semifinals team - Brooks County - is ranked No. 5.
Will Benedictine be able to repeat? Maybe. Will the Cadets dominate the playoffs like they did last year, when they outscored their opponents 157-47? Maybe not. Will GAC get its revenge? After a second round exit, is Lamar County ready for another deep playoff run? Who are this year's sleeper teams?
Some of those questions will begin to be answered come Friday, though it will take the rest of the year for those answers to become final.
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