The Cedar Grove Saints, defending champions of Class 3A, will enter the playoffs as a No. 1 seed after disposing of the Carver Panthers 21-2 on Friday at Buck Godfrey Stadium.
The game was a rematch of last year’s 3A title game, which Cedar Grove won 56-26.
It’s the second straight Region 5-3A title for the top-ranked Saints, who finish the regular season 7-2, 3-0 in league play. The No. 4 Panthers fell to 6-3, 2-1 and start the playoffs on the road as a No. 3 seed, behind Sandy Creek.
Region 5 matches up with Region 6 in the first round, which begins next week.
“On to the next round,” said Saints senior receiver Ricky Lee, who had three catches for 101 yards and late touchdown to bring the score to its final margin. “We want the state championship. That’s what we need. We want that fifth ring to set a record. Ain’t nobody did that in DeKalb County yet, and we’re going to be the first ones to do it.”
It was a dominating effort from the Saints defense, which hauled two interceptions, recovered a forced fumble and two turnovers on downs. In all, they held the Panthers to just 76 yards of offense, 53 of which came in the air. The Panthers’ leading rusher finished with 12 yards on 13 carries.
The Saints never trailed, taking a 7-0 lead on their first drive of the game, which spanned 20 plays and 72 yards, and chewed eight minutes of clock, ending with sophomore quarterback EJ Colson’s 8-yard run with 11:18 left in the second quarter.
On the scoring play, Colson rolled to his right, ran into a near-sack but reversed field the other way and scored. The Panthers were called for three encroachment penalties on the drive — two that came on third down, one of which resulted in a Cedar Grove first down.
Before the Saints’ scoring drive, the Panthers opened the game recovering an onside kick at the 50. Seven plays later, they were forced to punt, but it was muffed by Cedar Grove and recovered by Carver at the Saints 24. Six plays later, on fourth-and-7 from the 14, Panthers senior quarterback Bryce Bowens was strip-sacked and the Saints recovered.
The Saints had chances to add to their lead in the first half but failed. They missed a 33-yard field goal with 6:23 left then, six plays later, Saints junior defensive back Jakyre Horton intercepted the Panthers to get the ball back with 3:46 left.
In the half’s waning minutes, they crossed the end zone twice on the same option-run play — one a 12-yard run by sophomore running back Bo Walker, the other a 20-yard run by Colson — but both were called back for holding penalties, with the infraction happening on the same spot of the field both times.
The Panthers would get their only points of the game with 5:07 left in the third on a safety when Lee was stuffed on a run in the Saints’ end zone. Cedar Grove’s starting field position was the result of its defense stuffing Carver at the 1 on fourth-and goal from the 2. On the play, Bowens appeared to get the ball across the end zone, but the refs ruled him down.
Each team would punt its next two possessions, and then the Panthers would put up their longest drive of the game, taking over at their own 20 with 0:09 left in the third. Thirteen plays later, they turned the ball over on downs at the Saints 40. Two plays before, they were facing third-and-3 on the Saints 27, but a false start penalty and a sack by Saints junior tackle Chase Kerns resulted in an 8-yard loss, pushing the Panthers into a fourth-and-16.
The Saints all but put the game away on the next drive, going 67 yards in just five plays to score on Walker’s 9-yard run on second-and-goal. On the score, he cut to the corner and then did a front flip over the pylon to make it 14-2 with 6:31 left. The score was set up two plays earlier, when Lee hauled in a 61-yard pass from Colson to put them on the Carver 5-yard line.
The Panthers would go three-and-out their next possession, with penalties again doing them in. On third-and-1 from the Saints 49, they were called for two consecutive false start penalties and, on third-and-11, Bowens was sacked again by Kerns. With around five minutes remaining — the stadium clock went out in the second half and game officials kept time on the field — the Panthers decided to punt.
The Saints took over on their own 30 and chewed all of the game’s remaining clock, save 50 seconds, when the drive ended on a 27-yard touchdown pass from Colson to Lee on fourth-and-16.
In a nod to Carver’s game-opening onside kick, the Saints did the same its ensuing kickoff, though the Panthers recovered at the Cedar Grove 48. Two plays into the drive, the Saints got the game-ending interception.
Colson finished 13-of-26 passing for 187 yards and rushed 15 times for another 69 yards.
The Saints will look to continue a dominant run. They’ve been in the playoffs every year since 2010 and, in that time, they’ve won four 3A titles (2016, 2018, 2019, 2021), with two semifinals and quarterfinals appearances each. They’re also on their fourth coach since the run began, with John Adams currently in his second season.
Carver has been in the playoffs every year since 2012, reaching last year’s title game, the quarterfinals in 2020 and the semis in 2017. All other appearances resulted in a first-round exit.
Carver 0 0 2 0 — 2
Cedar Grove 7 0 14 — 21
CG — EJ Colson 8 run (Christian Orozco kick)
C — Team safety
CG — Bo Walker 9 run (Amari Forte kick)
CG — Ricky Lee 27 pass from Colson (Forte kick)
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