Cross Keys has won 16 football games in 18 seasons.
So why did Kevin Saunders leave Virginia - where he had won a state title in 2011 and crafted a career record of 144-77 - and take what might be the hardest coaching job in Georgia?
"As a coach, you like being challenged," Saunders said. "It's making me a better coach."
There was a little more to it than that, Saunders admits.
Georgia pays more, and Saunders likes the football here. He has known Virginians who came to Georgia - Jeff Herron and Bob Christmas, to name two. And most of all, Saunders needed to be closer to his father, who had been in poor health. Saunders now lives near him in Marietta.
But that didn't mean he had to work at Cross Keys.
"As a coach, I've done a lot of things, won lot of games, won championships," Saunders said. "I've been fortunate to have great players and teams and people that understood how important it is for academics and athletics to go together. I've had a good run. Now here is something I've never done."
Cross Keys is the most culturally diverse high school in Georgia, with students from 65 countries who speak 75 languages. About three-fourths of Cross Keys' student body is Hispanic.
In football, Cross Keys began playing a non-region schedule in 2010, allowing it to hand-pick opponents, but the results have been about the same. Saunders has 20 players. Only three are seniors.
"I've had these core 20 kids since day one," Saunders said. "That hasn't been an issue. They pay attention. They listen. They just don't know much football. I spend more time teaching how to block and tackle, or how to take a handoff, or how to throw and catch a pass, than how to out-scheme somebody or do plays."
Saunders said the lack of a feeder team makes it nearly impossible to compete against other DeKalb schools. That would be step one in the recovery. Step two would be giving players a reason to play at Cross Keys. As it is, talented players in the district will move or transfer elsewhere.
Saunders said Cross Keys would be pretty good, if it were only a junior varisty team. That doesn't mean a few of them aren't talented. He has a running back named Sam McDade, who placed in the 400 meters at the state meet last spring.
Saunders said McDade rushed for about 300 yards against North Cobb Christian, a 26-12 loss, but Cross Keys lost two fumbles in the red zone and had two touchdowns called back. Saunders blamed himself for not coaching better because of a clipping penalty 50 yards behind a ball carrier.
"There are four or five kids on that football team that can play for a lot of people and contribute," Saunders said. "They're very good football players, and I've coached some good ones."
Saunders said he thinks his team could win half its games, albeit against a schedule that now includes five JV opponents. The other five are varsity teams, including Douglass of Atlanta, Cross Keys' opponent tonight at Adams Stadium.
Douglass is on a 3-48 run and figures Cross Keys is a way to get some confidence. Saunders hopes his kids will get something out of it too, even if it's not a victory.
"It's also about teaching these kids about life," Saunders said. "Football isn't easy to these guys, and it shouldn't be. It's one of the few sports that teaches young boys how to become men. Sometimes you're going to have a family and you aren't going to feel like going to work, but you've got a family that depends on you. Football correlates with that."
Rock bottom
Is Cross Keys the hardest job in Georgia? Here are the 10 programs with the worst won-lost records since 2004 with a minimum of 100 games played:
Meadowcreek: 2-99
Stewart County: 6-94
North Springs: 7-95
Cross Keys: 9-89-3
Forest Park: 10-90-1
Morrow: 12-89
Therrell: 14-87
Jordan: 14-87
Savannah: 14-87
Central (Talbotton): 15-85
Source: GHSFHA.com
Produced by Georgia High School Football Daily, a free e-mail newsletter. To join the mailing list, click here.
About the Author
