GRIFFIN
14-0, Region 4 No. 1 seed
Steve Devoursney has posted winning records in all 13 of his seasons as the Bears’ head coach and is 127-35-0 since taking over according to the Georgia High School Football Historians Association. Griffin reached semifinals four times under Devoursney and this marks the first time that the Bears have advanced to the state championship under their current head coach.
Senior Jaquez Parks has been resilient as the Bears’ signal caller this year and after orchestrating two fourth-quarter scoring drives in a thrilling 32-26 come-from-behind victory over top-ranked Sandy Creek in the quarterfinals, Parks and the Bears did it again in the semifinals, rallying from a 14-6 halftime deficit en route to their 25-20 victory over a quality Wayne County team. Anforne Stroud returned a Wayne County interception for a touchdown to spark the comeback and Parks played the role of closer with a two-yard touchdown run and a late touchdown pass to Trey Willis.
The defense did a great job in limiting Wayne County’s explosive wide receiver Krenwick Sanders (a Wisconsin commitment) and has been able to contain some of the state’s best wideouts during this year’s postseason run. In the quarterfinals, Sandy Creek’s Demarre Kitt (a Clemson commitment) was kept out of the endzone and Jordan Colbert returned an interception 78 yards for a touchdown for the game’s first points. Teammate Nic Williams sealed the Bears’ win with an interception on Sandy Creek’s final drive. In the first round, Rutland wide receiver and UGA-commit Shakenneth Williams caught just one pass for four yards despite being targeted seven times by quarterback Timori Northcutt.
Malik Miller and Telly Sloan scored two touchdowns each in Griffin’s 34-0 rout over Rutland and the offense enters the state championship averaging 41.8 points per game.
CARROLLTON
13-1, Region 5 No. 2 seed
Carrollton head coach Rayvan Teague is back in the state championship game for the second time in the past four seasons. In 2010, the Trojans came up short in a 14-7 loss to Sandy Creek. Since Teague was hired in 2002, Carrollton has advanced to the second round of the state playoffs in all 12 seasons and the veteran coach holds a 117-26 record during his tenure.
Carrollton survived its biggest hurdle of the season in the semifinals with a 46-44 four-overtime win at Marist. The win handed the War Eagles just their third home playoff loss since 1987.
The Trojans’ success stems from their ground-and-pound running style that uses a physical offensive line and deep rotation of running backs. This season Carrollton has carried the ball 548 times while attempting only 115 passes, and averages 276.6 rushing yards per game with a stout 7.1 yards-per-carry average. Carrollton can wear out its opponents early with this style of offense and averages 28.9 first-half points per game.
Jarvis Terrell, Malik Sheppard, Trey Chivers and Wil Garrett have all scored double-digit rushing touchdowns this year. Terrell, a sophomore, rushed for three touchdowns in the semifinals, including the final touchdown in the fourth overtime and the game-winning successful two-point conversion after.
Defensively, Carrollton allows 14.3 points per game and besides a 24-7 loss to Sandy Creek on Nov. 1 and last Friday’s narrow semifinals victory over Marist, every game has been won by double-digits. Dontavius Russell leads in the trenches with teammate Brandon Walton. Russell has notched 62 total tackles this season and Walton has a team-high 17.5 tackles for loss to go with his 50 total tackles. In the secondary, Sam Turner and DeAntoine Cammons each have four interceptions this season.
THE MATCHUP…
Griffin’s talented secondary will face a very different offensive scheme with Carrollton’s run-oriented attack than its previous four opponents this postseason. In the quarterfinals, Carrollton defeated Stockbridge 24-14 without completing a single pass. Jumping out to an early lead and forcing Carrollton to challenge their elite secondary through the air could be Griffin’s championship formula.
Griffin quarterback Jaquez Parks, who holds an offer from Harvard, will have to make good decisions against a Carrollton defense that has a combined 67.0 tackles-for-loss this season and 17 interceptions. Meanwhile, Carrollton will have to find success on the ground against a defense that has shut out five opponents.
According to GHSFHA.org, Griffin and Carrollton have played three times, with the last meeting coming in 1922. The teams’ shared two opponents this season, defending-champion Sandy Creek and Stockbridge.
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