Today’s interviewee is Carver of Atlanta coach Darren Myles, whose team is 3-0 and ranked No. 2 in Class 3A entering its game Friday at No. 1 Buford of Class 7A. Carver is coming off its best season in more than 50 years with a runner-up 3A finish to Cedar Grove in 2021. Myles is in his 18th season as Carver’s head coach.
1. What are the circumstances behind your decision to take on Buford? “We needed to find seven non-region games, and we were having trouble getting people to play us, even with the number of players we lost off last year’s team. We were looking at playing only seven or eight total games. It just so happened that Buford posted that they had an opening for the 16th. I talked it over with the staff. We were looking at playing Buford, or not playing Buford and having only eight games. We need the work. We can’t afford to have all these bye weeks. I know it’s playing the No. 1 team in the state and one of the top teams in the nation, but we’ve got one of the top teams in the nation in our region, Cedar Grove. What better way to get prepared for Cedar Grove, and Sandy Creek as well.”
2. How do you frame expectations with your team? “What do we have to lose besides the game? We have everything to gain. If we play well, our confidence is high. If we don’t play well, people are going to expect that anyway. It’s Buford. Our guys understand it’s a non-region game and that we find very competitive opponents, not just teams that give us a victory. You can become overconfident beating up on people and thinking you’re better than you are and then sitting home after the first round of the playoffs. The environment at Buford is going to be electric. They’ve got highly recruited players with all the stars by their name. That’s as close as we’re going to get to playing a team in the playoffs.”
3. For those who haven’t seen your team, how would you describe it? “Our strength on offense is clearly the passing game because we have an outstanding quarterback, Bryce Bowens, and two outstanding wide receivers, Zyeek Mender and Deandre Buchannon, who had outstanding championship games last year. We’re able to run the ball to keep teams honest. On defense, we are fast, athletic and physical. We still have one of the best defensive guys, Aquantis Clemmons. He’s a valedictorian, as well. Our perimeter guys feel like they can match up with anybody in the state.”
4. Two Atlanta city schools are highly ranked right now, Carver and South Atlanta, both in the top five of their classifications. What’s the secret to building and sustaining good football in Atlanta? “It starts with development. We’re not fortunate to have the feeder system that larger schools and some smaller ones have. We don’t have junior Panthers. So it’s up to the coaches to develop them from the JV up. Then it’s retention. We try to keep the players that come into our program. The next thing is to have a positive culture where they trust each other and the coaches. It’s easy to trust the coaches because I’ve been here 18 years, and it’s the same with the assistants. They know we can go somewhere else, but we’re staying here. We’re going to give them our heart. Then the biggest thing is administrative support. That starts on campus with the principal, and you can’t have two teams in the top 10 and not give Jasper Jewell [district athletic director] credit, too. They provide us with the things we need to have to be successful.”
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