Today's interviewee is Sandy Creek coach Brett Garvin, whose team is 6-0 and ranked No. 4 heading into Friday night's Region 5-AAAA game against No. 2 Cartersville. Garvin has coached at Sandy Creek since 2001 through three state championships. He was promoted from defensive coordinator to head coach in 2017.
Brett Garvin, Sandy Creek head coach
1. Sandy Creek is 6-0 for the first time since 2014. Do you feel comfortable saying that Sandy Creek is "back"? "Not real sure I would say we are back. We still have a long ways to go and a lot of football left to be played in this season and a lot of great teams out there."
2. Beating Troup 44-7 earlier this month marked the first win over a ranked opponent since you became head coach. What was the significance of that game for your team? And did the outcome of the 2017 game (a 71-16 loss) affect how you might've felt about winning? "Any time you can beat a ranked opponent, it is special, and our kids have never forgotten the 2017 outcome. It was motivation all week as we practiced in preparation for that game. However, we try to teach our kids that winning is its own reward, and no one win is better than the next. We want our kids to want to win them all."
3. This is your third season. Has it gone as you expected? Were the early struggles something you anticipated? "We played a lot of these [current] seniors when they were young, knowing they would have a chance to do something great as they matured. Yes, I knew some of the potholes along the road would get deep and rough, but these kids have held true to what we believe and have worked very hard to get to this point."
4. Where do you feel the team is entering the Cartersville game? What do you feel your team does well that has put you in position to contend for a region title again? "Cartersville is a great team, and Coach Conor [Foster] and his coaches have done a great job up there. We try to spread the field and require teams to defend the entire field against us on offense. Defensively, we want our kids to play fast and aggressive from start to finish."
Produced by Georgia High School Football Daily, a free e-mail newsletter. To join the mailing list, click here.
About the Author
