The season ends Saturday.
Carver-Atlanta (10-2) and Cedar Grove (11-3) will play for the state championship at noon at Georgia State’s Center Parc Stadium, and according to the Maxwell Playoff Projections – which simulates the title game 1,000,000 times – Cedar Grove will win the state championship nearly 650,000 times, with Carver-Atlanta winning 353,102 times.
But that’s on paper (or in this case, a computer).
So let’s look at what both teams accomplished to get to this point:
Cedar Grove has beaten White County 79-0, Southeast Bulloch 48-10, Crisp County 28-6 and Appling County 27-6 during its playoff run.
Sophomore quarterback Jamar Graham, 6-foot-5 and 220 pounds, is young, big and will be back for more. But for now, he just wants to win Cedar Grove’s fourth title in six seasons.
In the semifinals against Appling, Graham passed for 269 yards and three touchdowns. The Saints’ best player likely is Rashad Dubinion, a 5-10, 185-pound three-star running back committed to Arkansas. He has rushed for 1,626 yards and 24 touchdowns and is the second-leading rusher in Saints history. Cedar Grove has a talented group of seniors, including Trevon Ferrell (32 catches, 672 yards, 10 TDs) and Janiran Bonner (42 catches, 670 yards, seven TDs).
Carver-Atlanta’s steady growth has provided it a championship berth -- and regardless of computer ratings or predictions – a belief that it can win a state championship. Carver’s run through the playoffs includes victories against North Hall (56-17), Liberty County (53-12), Burke County (48-14) and Pierce County (19-17).
Junior Bryce Bowens is 76-of-120 passing for 1,627 yards and 14 touchdowns to lead a Carver offense that averages 305 rushing to 152 passing yards.
Carver backs Jarveous Brown and Quintavious Lockett have been critical to the offensive success. Brown has more yards (1,608) than Lockett (1,393), but Lockett finds the end zone (18 TDs) more than Brown (eight TDs). Six other players have rushed for at least one touchdown.
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