After losing 49-34 to Region 5 opponent Cedar Grove and winning 21-2 against Region 5 opponent Carver-Atlanta, Sandy Creek head coach Brett Garvin uttered words that ended up prophetic.
“I told Cedar Grove’s coach (John Adams) and their players, and I told Darren (Myles) at Carver and their players, ‘don’t be surprised if our region is still in it at the end,’” Garvin recalled this week on the Drive for the GHSA State Title broadcast.
“We may have to face each other again.”
The statement wasn’t a reach. The prophecy of an all-Region 5 state final was almost a given.
And here we are. The state title matchup at noon Saturday features 5-3A No. 2 Sandy Creek vs. 5-3A No. 1 Cedar Grove. It’s a rematch of the 5-3A title game.
Sandy Creek’s path through the bracket included victories against Coahulla Creek (70-14), Stephens County (20-7), Savannah Christian (51-21) and Carver-Atlanta (49-14). Along the way, Garvin saw great playoff potential from the opposition.
“Coahulla Creek, that’s their first time,” Garvin said of the Patriots first-round victory against a playoff first-timer that started playing in 2011. “Hats off to them. They’ve done a fantastic job over there. It’s just playoff football. When you get there, the level of intensity changes and maybe the speed of the game changes a little bit. Until you get there, you can try to teach it, but until you get there, and your kids experience it, that’s difficult to convey to kids.”
Talent, scheduling and proper preparation have combined to create playoff powers like Sandy Creek, Cedar Grove and others. But there’s nothing like playoff experience.
“Against Savannah Christian, that was Thanksgiving week and our kids had to play and deal with a whole different schedule,” Garvin said.
And that’s something newcomer teams might not handle.
“Savannah Christian is another school like Coahulla Creek,” Garvin said. “They’re learning in their program how to do it. It’s a huge advantage for teams like us, Carver-Atlanta, Cedar Grove and Peach. Those schools, when you have been in it a while, the expectations and the understanding of schedule changes, I think that’s huge.”
And regarding playoff football, Sandy Creek knows … well … that Cedar Grove knows … well … how to do it.
“It’s a testament to the teams in our region,” Garvin said of the regular-season game with Cedar Grove. “We went up 12-0, and if memory serves me correct, we dropped a touchdown pass that could have expanded the lead and could have gone up 20-0. But just that quick, we missed a tackle on a little hitch play, and they got a 50-yard touchdown and got momentum and scored 21 points before the end of the half. So momentum can go for any team in this region and with Cedar Grove, too. Especially Cedar Grove.”
And right now, it’s hard to argue against Cedar Grove’s thunderous momentum.
The Saints remain the team to beat in Class 3A. Cedar Grove won state titles in 2016, 2018, 2019 and last season and waltzed to the finals with victories against Bremen (48-7), Hebron Christian (70-33), Calvary Day (30-0) and Oconee County 23-0.
Garvin knows there is a tall task ahead, and perspective is paramount. But …
“Anytime you get to this last game, that is what you work for,” he said.
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