Oconee County and Pierce County will meet at noon Wednesday at Georgia State Stadium, each program with hopes of winning the Class 3A state championship. The Maxwell projections have Oconee County winning 21-17, the likely outcome in 1,000,000 simulations of the title game.
If those predictions hold true, Oconee will capture its first state championship since 1999. If Pierce beats the Maxwell odds, the Bears will win their first state championship in the school’s first appearance in the title game.
The programs have met once, in the second round of the 2014 3A playoffs where Pierce County won 49-6. Each team has been sound on defense – Oconee allows 9.8 points, and Pierce allows 9.9 points.
For more championship info, here is the AJC championship preview, here are the Maxwell Projections and here are the numbers for Pierce and Oconee County.
Pierce County’s Ryan Herring and Oconee County’s Travis Noland answered several questions by telephone Monday about the championship matchup:
Q. We are nearing the end of the season that almost wasn’t, because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Walk me through the experience and all that the program has weathered to make it to this point.
Noland: You talk about a season of trials and tribulations ... we decided early on that we were not going to let COVID be a reason why we couldn’t succeed. We worked really hard once the protocols were in place, and that was just something we had to do. But when we walked out there between those lines, that had nothing to do how we practiced or performed, so we tried to keep that part as normal to our guys as we could as coaches.
Herring: Right when the whole thing took off, I sat down with our booster-club president and told him that this thing could be a blessing in disguise for us. I felt a lot of people would put things in neutral and wait to see what happens and what our state government decides. While that goes on, we can continue the work and make sure these kids are active at home and make sure there are weight rooms set up in garages and on patios. We had make-shift weight rooms all over the county, basically. Our core group of guys kept working out on their own, so we found a way to gain an edge through the craziness.
Q. What does this championship game mean for the program and the communites that support it?
Noland: Well, to do what we have done over the past two years is difficult to do, regardless of classification. It has not been easy. There has been a lot of hard work and a lot of commitment on our players’ parts to put themselves in a position to play for another state championship. We are very, very honored to be where we are, and we feel like we have earned the right to be where we are.
Herring: I am just so happy for these players, and I am happy for the people in the community who supported them. Our touchdown club has really stepped it up in the years before I got here to try to do everything to make this program an elite program. They make sure we have everything we need, and there is a lot that goes into that. A lot of people have to sacrifice and give money and give time, and the people have done a lot of work and put a lot into this to get us to this point.
Q. Both of you survived some close semifinal games and are riding that momentum. With that in mind, what kind of team are you facing on Wednesday?
Noland: Both programs have a lot of toughness and resilience within their players, and we (both) are not going to apologize how we got here. There were a lot of teams that would have found a way to have lost that game (against GAC in double overtime). But I think that Pierce would say the same thing. I think our kids on both programs have been through a lot and won some very close games, and we both deserve to be where we are because we were able to find a way to make those plays and that is what playoff football is all about.
Herring: Everybody expected Oconee to be in it after they came down in class, and they barely, barely missed out on winning it all in 4A last season. They have a lot of these guys back. If you look at last year’s championship game and then this year’s team, you see a lot of the same numbers and faces. They kind of expected to be here. A lot of people talk about our ending (against Crisp with two fumble recoveries for touchdowns), but Oconee faced fourth-and-18 against GAC, got the first down and then scored to win the game. So they had a pretty spectacular, miraculous ending to their semifinal game, too.
Q. I won’t ask you to pick a winner, but can you pick the final score?
Noland: Lord, I don’t know. I mean, we don’t care whether its 2-0 or 99-98. We just want to find a way to have one more point than they do when it is over. And I wouldn’t have a clue because they are very explosive, and it’s going to be a huge challenge for us to slow them down.
Herring: Well, we both average giving up nine points per game. And we both have played good competition throughout the year. You have to think the score might be a relatively low score. Both teams play really hard and play good defense. So it wouldn’t surprise me to see a 10-7 or a 14-10 type of score.
About the Author
