Today’s interviewee is Crisp County coach Brad Harber, whose team defeated Cedar Grove 16-13 in the Class 3A quarterfinals. Crisp avenged its 2019 state finals loss and ended the two-time champion Saints’ reign in the classification. Harber was promoted to head coach in 2017. His Crisp teams are 38-11 with three region titles.
Brad Harber, Crisp County head coach
1. What did the victory over Cedar Grove mean to your team? “The win over Cedar Grove was personally satisfying. Every crucial game we had here at Crisp, Cedar Grove has ended our season - 2016 semifinals, 2019 state championship. The win was kind of like getting that monkey off our back. Our players wanted this game. It was really fun for our players, coaches and our community. We knew this would be the last home game for our seniors, so I was happy to know they will always remember their last home game in the Cougar Den was a victory.”
2. How was the game won? What do you feel your team did to give you the edge? “Defensively we played very well, and coach Will Conner and the defensive staff called a great game. Offensively, we had a nine-minute, 18-play opening drive [of the second half] that ended up with a touchdown. Ultimately we were able to run the ball all night. Special teams coordinator Pat Jordan did a heck of a job this week, and we were able to score a field goal right after a Cedar Grove score, and we also blocked a punt on the plus side of the field. Complementary football is how we were able to win.”
3. How does this year’s team compare to any of the past four that have won region titles? “This team is different in that we have 24 seniors on this football team, all of whom contribute on Friday nights. They have played a ton of football, and some of our guys have been starting since they were freshmen. The leadership on this football team is tremendous, and they still have a bitter taste in their mouth from last year’s state championship game. They are hungry to finish this season the right way.”
4. When you were hired in 2017, you replaced a popular coach who’d just fielded a great team at a program that for several years had been average. You also got the job in the summer, not long before the opener, and some key players left the program. What did you and your staff do to keep a program like that going forward and not regressing into what it used to be? “I will always be in debt to Shelton Felton, as he was the man that hired me in 2016 to coach offensive line here at Crisp County. 2017 was an extremely difficult year for me personally. I did take this program over in the summer, and I had to learn rather quickly how to be a head football coach. I think there were doubts as to how I would do simply because nobody really knew me in Cordele. I joke with my wife often about how difficult my first year as head coach was. In time, I was able to hire a great coaching staff, and they do an awesome job with the day-to-day stuff. It has allowed me the opportunity to figure out how to be a good head football coach. Our success is because of our really good players and a great coaching staff.”
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