Douglas County was coming off one of the best seasons in school history – a semifinals berth and gut-wrenching 24-21 loss to Woodward Academy when Class 6A was the state’s second-highest class.
It was a victory that the team, the fans and head coach Johnny White really, really wanted.
It would have marked the program’s first state championship berth since it won the title in 1964 under head coach Donald Denning – interestingly in his only season coaching the Tigers – and it was already the greatest season in White’s 12-year coaching career.
White coached at Creekside from 2009 to 2011 and took over the Douglas County job in 2016 and prior to last season, the deepest White had been in the playoffs was a second-round appearance in 2017 and 2021.
“During practice,” White said off the offseason workouts, leading up to the meeting with Class 3A champion Cedar Grove in the nightcap game of the Corky Kell + Dave Hunter Classic at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta Saturday.
“We would put that score on our scoreboard,” White explained, with a chuckle. “For motivation.”
And after a three-touchdown performance each from quarterback DJ Bordeaux and Rah’Keith Kelly propelled the Tigers to a 28-0 lead at the half in a romp of Class 3A Cedar Grove, it seems Douglas County was motivated.
“They played well,” White told Hayden Gilbert after the game. “But we still have work to do. Now, (Cedar Grove) is a good team. They lost a lot of pieces so we can’t take that and think we can win a state championship. We have to work, get better and do some clean up and things to get ready for a really good Jonesboro team.”
Bordeaux was 12-of-23 passing for 142 yards and three touchdowns – one each to Zamarcus Lindley, James Johnson and Kelly, who had three carries for 43 yards and two touchdowns. Aaron Gregory had four carries for 54 yards and a touchdown to help the Douglas County backfield.
The new faces of Bordeaux, Gregory and receiver Devin Carter, who played at Cedar Grove last year, have meshed well for the Tigers. But there’s more work to do to build the type of chemistry needed for another deep postseason run.
“They just have to play for each other,” White said. “If they love each other and they realize that they are going to get the opportunities on the field by playing for each other, I think we have a shot.”
Cedar Grove quarterback Josiah Moore was 14-of-23 passing for 136 yards and a touchdown to Cleve Sutherland, who had seven catches for 119 yards and the team’s only touchdown.
Douglas County is one of the favorite teams in Class 6A, the state’s highest class after the latest reclassification cycle. But there is a key for the perennial success of the program and the culture which White cultivates.
“They just have to stay humble,” he said. “We have to play together, and we have to keep working every day.”
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