Cedar Grove players and coaches were using the word “dynasty” after their 49-28 victory over Savannah Christian in the Class 3A championship game Wednesday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
It’s hard to argue the point as the second-ranked Saints (10-5) became the seventh team in GHSA history to win five state championships in an eight-year span. It might have been six titles if not for a controversial call at the end of last year’s loss to Sandy Creek in the final that led the GHSA to adopt the use of video review for this year’s championship games.
“We feel like this is a dynasty,” Cedar Grove coach John Adams said. “We are a program to reckon with. In the middle of the season, we had a come-to-Jesus kind of meeting where I opened up to the kids. We talked about a few things and we made adjustments, and then we just went on a run at the end of the season. I’m blessed that it ended up working out like we wanted it to, and I’m really proud of these kids today.”
The Saints also became the fourth GHSA team to win a state title after finishing .500 or worse in the regular season. Cedar Grove was 5-5 going into the playoffs, having played one of the state’s toughest schedules. The Saints’ losses came against two out-of-state schools and three teams that reached at least the second round of Georgia’s Class 7A playoffs.
“It was really important,” Adams said of the schedule. “A lot of the teams that we played were in the top 10 in the state, so we were really battle-tested. We were lucky enough to be healthy at the end of the season, and our kids were resilient because of that schedule.”
It was only fitting that Cedar Grove finished off its season with a game that had 77 points and almost 800 yards of total offense. The Saints came into the game scoring 36 points per game and giving up 28, and they had played six games in which both teams had scored 30 or more points. That includes a 49-42 semifinal victory against Calvary Day, which defeated fourth-ranked Savannah Christian 42-21 in the game that ultimately decided the Region 3-3A championship.
The teams were off and running from the start. Savannah Christian drove 59 yards on six plays to take a 7-0 lead on Zo Smalls’ 2-yard run with 9:53 remaining in the first quarter. Cedar Grove answered on the first play of the ensuing possession when Elliott Colson threw a 64-yard touchdown pass to Malachi Miller.
The teams traded short touchdown runs - by Cedar Grove’s Boden Walker (10 yards) and Savannah Christian’s Smalls (1 yard) - over the next 10 minutes before the Saints began to take control.
Cedar Grove took the lead for good at 21-14 when Colson threw a 31-yard touchdown pass to Andrew Leslie with 10:04 remaining in the first half. Savannah Christian (12-3) responded with a seven-play, 65-yard drive to the Cedar Grove 13, but a Blaise Thomas pass was intercepted in the end zone by D’Marcus Clementes, effectively ending the Raiders’ momentum.
Cedar Grove closed out the half with an 18-yard touchdown pass to Devin Carter for a 28-14 lead, and Savannah Christian never got closer than 14 points in the second half.
Colson was 11-of-16 passing for 259 yards and four touchdowns and rushed for 37 yards on 11 carries. Walker finished with 129 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 18 carries, and Keith Bass had 12 total tackles. The Saints had a 499-294 advantage in total offense.
Smalls led the Raiders with 86 yards and three touchdowns rushing on 23 carries, and Kenry Wall had 74 yards on 12 carries. Thomas was 8-of-15 passing for 79 yards.
“It’s really hard to win a state championship,” Adams said. “A lot of people don’t understand that. There’s a lot of things that go on behind the scenes. These guys did really good, and I’m really proud of them.”
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