The Cedar Shoals Jaguars have boasted back-to-back 8-4 records over the course of their past two football seasons. However, stiff region competition and a pair of second-round loses in the playoffs has unfortunately cut the Jaguars recent seasons short. During last season, Cedar Shoals managed to place third in Class AAAAA Region 8, dropping only two region loses to Clarke Central and future 2019 Class AAAAA champs Buford. Now, the Jags find themselves in Class AAAA Region 8 for the upcoming season. Even with the absence of their Class AAAAA opponents, Cedar Shoals enters a region that is welcoming in strong competitors that will emulate and possibly match the competitiveness of last season. This reclassification may prove to be a tough landing spot for a team that has plenty of talent and is still in search for its first region title since 2002, and first state title in school history.
“Cedar Shoal’s new region is actually stronger,” says long-time AJC writer Todd Holcomb. “Region 8-AAAA is going to have Jefferson and Flowery Branch, which will start in the top 10.”
The new classification also comes with a new look for the 2020 Jaguars. The loss of senior quarterback Jaylan Rusher means the team will have to look to their pair of young backups to take the next steps forward. Quarterback Renardo Faust will be entering his junior season while Mandrell Glenn will be a sophomore, giving Cedar Shoals some options as to who will be taking snaps under center. To make matters worse, the two leading receivers in Jaiden Williams and Rickil Willingham will have graduated, leaving the receiving corps with no clear go-to option.
On defense, Cedar Shoals will be without their best defensive asset in Jaheim Wilson who will graduate this summer. The 6-foot, 285-pound defensive tackle proved to be a pivotal piece to the Jaguars ability to pressure opposing offenses and was named GACA-North First Team following his stellar 2019 season. However, the team won’t be without some returning talent on offense. Running back Jerdavian Colbert will come in as a junior following his 2019 season where he led the team with 1,342 yards and 13 touchdowns.
With strong football programs such as Buford, Clarke Central and Loganville as past region opponents, Cedar Shoals will now battle for a region title against teams returning to the region such as North Oconee and Madison County, who advanced to the quarterfinals of the Class AAAA state championship last season where the Red Raiders lost 41-7 to Sandy Creek.
Other schools being reclassified into Region 8 are Chestatee and East Hall, both of which have failed to make a playoff appearance in the last two seasons. Perhaps the most notable addition is the Jefferson Dragons, who narrowly lost to Crisp County in the Class AAA quarterfinals last season, with Crisp County then advancing all the way to the finals. Jefferson’s climb to Class AAAA removes them from Class AAA Region 8 where the Dragons claimed their ninth region title in school history during the 2019 season.
“If Cedar Shoals is going to break through and make the quarters, it won’t be gifted to them by a new classification,” said Holcomb. “They’ll have to keep getting better, and they’ll probably need to win a big road game in the playoffs.”
The Jaguars have just one region title to their programs name but have compiled many noteworthy teams throughout the schools 45-year history. In 1978, the Jaguars were led by AJC First Team Quarterback Homer Jordan who later went on to play football at Clemson where he was a part of the 1981 National Championship team. During his electric 1978 season, Cedar Shoals compiled an undefeated regular season under long-time head coach John Waters, the team losing to Lakeside 6-2 in the Region Championship game. The next Cedar Shoals team to boast double digit wins was the 1990 team coached by Jeff Herron during his inaugural year at the school. With AJC First Team defensive lineman Jim Rodgers, AJC honorable mention defensive back Jascon Colbert and AJC honorable mention running back Joe Weems, the Jaguars gave Herron a 10-2 season, his best record as head coach at Cedar Shoals.
Cedar Shoals’ 2002 region title team was coached by Scott Wilkins, who had led the team to the Class AAA finals during his second year as head coach of the Jaguars in 1995. With players like AP First Team offensive lineman Garrett Winfrey and AJC and AP First Team returner Steven Whitehead, Wilkins helped the school achieve its first piece of history in the 2002 Class AAAA Region 8 title. This year’s season may see Cedar Shoals take a shot at another piece of school history.
The reclassification has not only brought in strong programs to Class AAAA, but has also prompted the departure of Cartersville, Sandy Creek and 2019 state finalists Blessed Trinity and Oconee County. While rigorous competition may still thrive in the new reclassified Class AAAAA regions, the removal of its past powerhouses allows room for Cedar Shoals and other programs to take the next steps forward and claim supremacy over their regions, and possibly their class.
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