This is the first of two championship previews for Class 2A. Here is a profile of Carver-Columbus.
Coincidentally, 2011 is the last year the Burke County Bears, and their coach, Franklin Stephens, last won a state championship. The Bears topped Peach County 28-13 to win 3A, and Stephens guided Tucker to a 4A championship with a 22-7 win over Lovejoy. At 4 p.m. Tue., Dec. 17 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the two will try to again take home the ultimate hardware when the No. 3 Bears (14-1) face the top-ranked Carver-Columbus Tigers (14-1).
“I’ve never thought about it to tell you the truth,” said Stephens of 2011. “I just try to focus on what we’re doing now. What I do know, is that the lord blessed us with this opportunity, and we have to be careful with all the hoopla. So many people are pulling you this way and that, and you have to remember the football part. Our kids have to be careful, because they’re getting pats on the back, being told how good they are, how proud people are of them, and they’re getting really built up. Don’t forget this work we have to do. At the end of the day, we need to go by that same one-day-at-a-time, one-play-at-a-time philosophy.”
In the semifinals, the 4-seeded Bears beat 1-seed Rockmart on the road, 35-22, with all of their scoring coming in an explosive first half. Kel’von Scott had a 99-yard kickoff return on the Bears’ first possession, and later he had a 70-yard run that led to another score. The Bears also blocked a field goal and returned it 75 yards for another score. They led 35-9 at halftime.
Rockmart, which lost to Pierce County in triple-overtime of last year’s 2A title, shut out the Bears in the second half but its rally fell short after the Bears drained five minutes of clock with a late-fourth quarter drive.
“We were playing well on defense so the second half was just about protecting the lead,” Stephens said. “We didn’t want to do anything offensively that could jeopardize the game, because I’d seen Rockmart comeback the week before (in a 49-40 win over Morgan County in the semifinals). I knew (Rockmart) wouldn’t be overly fazed (by the halftime deficit.”
The Bears are in the championship despite Hurricane Helene ravaging the community, destroying homes and property and leaving the school and other areas without power for an extended period. They went four weeks between games as a result, but never lost a game during the hardship and are riding an 11-game win streak into the championship.
It wasn’t just Helene. The Bears lost six key contributors for the season to injury and a seventh missed significant time but recently returned.
Despite the adversity, the Bears’ only loss came in their third game, on Aug. 30 against 4A’s No. 4 Benedictine, 43-14 in Savannah. A win Friday and they’ll have the second championship in program history, and Stephens will have his third after winning two with Tucker, the other coming in 2008.
Stephens isn’t surprised the Bears made it this far.
“They have a lot of resiliency,” Stephens said. “They don’t panic or flinch, and they’ve been in some tough, uncomfortable situations.”
Though the Bears controlled the second half last week, going scoreless in the second half was not the plan, and the defense played well, but not lights out, according to Stepehens, who said, “there’s work to be done,” before they face the Tigers.
Like the Bears, the Tigers are on an 11-game win streak after losing their third game, also on Aug. 30.
“Carver has a huge, fast football team,” Stephens said. “This might be Goliath vs. Moses in the riverbed. It might not even be David. Those guys are well-coached and they have a bunch of guys with Power 5 offers and high profiles, which means they have talent. Sometimes it’s hard to overcome that much talent. Our guys have a huge task ahead.”
The Bears are led by senior Amerre Williams, who has 1,674 yards and 31 touchdowns on 159 carries. Junior Sean Vandiver is 86 of 132 passing for 1,817 yards and 18 touchdowns to four interceptions, and 536 yards and 13 touchdowns on 84 carries. Scott is the team’s leading receiver with 685 yards and eight touchdowns on 30 catches and, on defense, he has a team-high three interceptions. Senior Cadyn Bracely has 85 tackles, and senior Darius Jordan has a team-high 12 tackles for loss and four sacks.
About the Author
