Savannah Christian (12-2) will face a tall task when it tries to upend last season’s state runner-up Cedar Grove (9-5) in the Class 3A championship game at 1 p.m. Wednesday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
On paper, or well, in the Maxwell Projections computer simulation, the Cedar Grove Saints are favored. The computer has Cedar Grove winning the championship 694,231.95 times out of the 1,000,000 simulations; Savannah Christian’s Raiders win 305,768.05 times.
But things might even up a bit once the teams take the field.
At the center of the Raiders’ defensive line is 6-foot-5, 285-pound five-star junior defensive lineman Elijah Griffin.
And he wants a title.
Griffin is listed as the No. 3 recruit in the nation in his class. He has made 67 solo tackles with 30 assists and a team-leading 31 tackles for loss, including 17.5 sacks. He’s being recruited by Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina and Auburn to name a few.
Griffin fronts a Raiders defense that has held opponents to 17.5 points per game while getting the ball back to an offense that outscores opponents 600-245. Led by Blaise Thomas, a sophomore quarterback, the Raiders are formidable. Thomas is 109-of-164 passing for 1,897 yards and 14 touchdowns, but it’s the duo of Zo Smalls and Kenry Wall, both juniors, that creates a three-way threat.
Smalls has 245 carries for 1,808 yards and 30 touchdowns, and Wall has 99 carries for 1,036 yards and 15 touchdowns. Thomas has rushed 38 times for 139 yards and four touchdowns.
Cedar Grove is allowing 27.5 points per game while outscoring opponents 492-385. But against the Raiders, that might not matter, according to the computer.
The Saints, which lost in the title game last season, feature three-star quarterback E.J. Colson (committed to Central Florida) and three-star running back Bo Walker (committed to Georgia) fueling the offense. In the Saints’ semifinals victory against top-ranked Calvary Day, Walker had 18 carries for 123 yards and two touchdowns. Colson passed for 141 yards and a touchdown and ran for 122 yards and two touchdowns.
Savannah Christian will be trying for the program’s ninth title and first since 2011. Cedar Grove has been to the championship game six times since 2016, including this season, with victories in 2016, 2018, 2019 and 2021.
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