Savannah Christian has been down this road before.
The last two years, the Raiders have reached the Class A championship game, but have yet to win the ultimate prize.
But this year was a different story. The Raiders faced Landmark Christian in the Georgia Dome on Saturday afternoon and thanks to a strong running game and a swarming defense, the Raiders took down the War Eagles 20-3 to win their first GHSA state title in school history.
At first it looked like it could have been anyone’s game, because both teams played tight and made sure they did not make any mistakes.
The Raiders did get on the board first, however, as Will Austin scored on a 67-yard touchdown run to go up by six.
The War Eagles would cut the Raiders lead to three midway through the second quarter when Garrison Adams kicked a 36-yard field goal. That score was possible because the Raiders muffed a punt and was recovered by the War Eagles at the Raiders 18 yard line.
After both defenses made sure there was no scoring in the third quarter, the fourth quarter is when the Raiders made their move.
The Raiders defense came up with the two huge plays that would determine the outcome of the game. Landmark was deep in its own territory and quarterback Cantrell Frazier threw a pass down the middle of the field.
Frazier did connect, but the pass landed in the hands of linebacker Hal Davis and the Raiders offense did the rest of the work as Nardo Govan scored off a 25-yard run to give the Raiders the 13-3 lead with 5:04 left in the fourth.
The War Eagles looked to bounce back on the next play, but they fumbled and Raiders linebacker Ahmed Johnson returned it for a 27-yard touchdown to put the game out of reach for the War Eagles.
With the win, the Raiders go 15-0 and earned their first GHSA state title in school history. The last time the Raiders went undefeated was in 1984 when they were competing in the GISA.
The War Eagles end their season with a 12-3 mark. Despite losing the title game, the War Eagles did make history. The War Eagles are only the fourth team in GHSA history to reach the title game as a No. 4 seed. The last team to win the title as a No. 4 seed is Peachtree Ridge in 2006 when the Lions tied with Roswell.
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