After toppling two 7A powers, 4A team says it ‘can play on a national level’
Darius Smiley was tired of feeling disrespected.
He said Sandy Creek didn’t get appropriate recognition for its 15-0 state championship season last year. All that did was fuel the top-ranked Class 4A team to open 2026 with a win over traditional Class 7A powerhouse Grayson on Aug. 21.
Even then, Smiley still heard doubters.
“We win the (2025) state championship and we win last week over Grayson, and all we continued to hear was, ‘It’s not the same Grayson team,’ instead of, ‘Well, Sandy Creek beat them,’” Smiley said on Friday. “I told the kids that.
“I said, ‘We’re still not getting the respect that we deserve,’ and I think our kids came out tonight wanting to prove something.”
Sandy Creek proved last week wasn’t a fluke. The Patriots shut out Douglas County, the No. 7 Class 7A team full of highly touted prospects, 21-0 Friday.
It was the first time an opponent shut out the Tigers in the regular season since 2018.
“I wish we could have probably put a couple more (points) on the board,” Smiley said. “We stalled out a couple of drives on offense, but we came out in the second half and did a better job.”
Sandy Creek held a 7-0 lead and all the momentum when lightning abruptly stopped the game for nearly an hour. It appeared to be an advantage for Douglas County, giving the Tigers a chance to recover and adjust before the final quarter.
When the lightning cleared, though, the Patriots brought the thunder.
Quarterback Caleb Hill and running back Tyrann Williams led Sandy Creek through the heart of Douglas County’s defense with several physical runs. Hill capped the first drive after the delay by running over a defender and one of his teammates on a short touchdown run.
Hill put the game away with another rushing touchdown minutes later.
“We ended this game the way ended our last game (against Grayson) because we had a lightning delay, and it was a tight ball game,” Smiley said. “We came out of the lightning delay and got a score just like we did tonight, man. So I’m just proud of our guys, man, for being resilient.”
Grayson and Douglas County are two of the most talent-rich teams in Georgia. Sandy Creek has several blue-chip players, too, but the Class 4A school doesn’t have the same depth of elite recruits across its roster.
What the Patriots do have is something to prove.
“Sandy Creek can play on a national level if we want to,” Hill said.
Sandy Creek was physical enough to impress Douglas County coach Johnny White, whose team frequently plays nationally ranked opponents.
“I think we’re a physical football team, too, but those two (Sandy Creek defensive ends) were very good,” White said.
Smiley told the AJC in July that he scheduled Grayson and Douglas County after struggling to find similarly-sized schools willing to play Sandy Creek last offseason. Smiley also said he expected wins in both games.
“Back when we scheduled these in April or March, whenever it was, I wasn’t scheduling them just to play them,” Smiley said. “We were scheduling with the intent to go and win them.”