CLASS AAAA (8 p.m., Friday): CLARKE CENTRAL VS. SANDY CREEK
Sandy Creek and Clarke Central, who will meet today for the Class AAAA championship, have never played each other in football. For one Sandy Creek player, though, tonight’s opponent will be more familiar than any region or neighborhood rival could ever be.
Cedric Byrd, a 5-foot-11, 185-pound senior who starts at strong safety for the Patriots, grew up in the Clarke Central program and was a member of the Gladiators as recently as last season. He transferred to Sandy Creek earlier this year when he moved to Fayette County to live with his father.
“Cedric was a fine student-athlete at Clarke Central,” Gladiators athletics director Jon Ward said. “He was an integral part of the success we had prior to this season, and we were sad to see him leave.”
Byrd made the all-region first team on defense in 8-AAAA last year for Clarke Central. This year at Sandy Creek, he is fifth on the team with 75 total tackles and has one interception.
“He’s a wonderful, wonderful young man,” Sandy Creek coach Chip Walker said. “He’s been an asset to the program since he got here.”
And now that he has helped Sandy Creek reach the championship game, he gets to see his old team one more time.
“He’s still got some friends over there and keeps in touch with a couple of them, so it should be fun,” Walker said. “If they had made it to the final and we didn’t, he might’ve always wondered what it would’ve been like if he had stayed there. But it turned out he would’ve made it either way.”
— Chip Saye
Clarke Central (12-2)
The skinny
Loganville coach Eric Godfree, whose team lost to Clarke Central 20-15 on Aug. 28, breaks down the Gladiators’ offense and defense.
● Offense: “Their quarterback is the key to their offense. He’s a dynamic player. He throws the ball well; he runs the ball well, and he makes good decisions. He’s the one who beat us on offense when we played them. And they have a very good receiver. They didn’t have an established running game early in the season when we played them like they do now.”
● Defense: “They’re solid all the way around. They don’t have some of the high-profile guys like Sandy Creek does, but there are no weak points on that defense. Up front they’re physical and their linebackers are physical, and their defensive backs are good enough to cover people. Their corners are not real tall, but they get the job done.”
AJC rating: 40
● Run [8]: (145 yards per game) Quarterback Martay Mattox is the leading rusher with 721 yards and 15 touchdowns, but Quenshaun Watson has established himself late in the season and has 633 yards.
● Pass [8]: (125 yards per game) Mattox has completed 58 percent of his 200 pass attempts for 1,738 yards and 15 touchdowns. Wide receiver Dimitri Holmes is dangerous. He has a school-record 65 receptions for 1,001 yards and nine TDs.
● Vs. run [9]: The Gladiators’ huge defensive front is hard to run against. Clarke Central held Rockdale County’s potent rushing game to 62 yards on 32 carries last week. Linebacker Jordan Pierce leads the team in total tackles with 112.
● Vs. pass [8]: The starting cornerbacks are 5-foot-5 Derrick Smalls and 5-6 Tony Glenn, but they are effective. Defensive end Ryan Faust leads the team with seven sacks, and safety Ty Simmons has three interceptions.
● Special teams [7]: Adam Erickson is 43-for-48 on extra points but just 6-for-17 on field goals, including three misses last week. He does have range, though, as his longest of the year was a 49-yarder. Holmes returned a kickoff 92 yards for a touchdown in the semifinals.
Need to know basis
● The history: Clarke Central High is located in Athens, about 70 miles east of Atlanta. The school was created in 1970 by the merger of Athens High and Burney-Harris High on the Athens High campus. Hall of Fame coach Billy Henderson, for whom the school’s stadium is named, won three state championships (1977, 1979 and 1985) and had only two losing seasons during his tenure there from 1973-1995. Athens won GHSA titles in 1955 and 1969.
● Last year: Lost to Sequoyah 34-13 in the first round of the Class AAAA playoffs.
Starting lineups
OFFENSE
QB: 7 Martay Mattox, 6-1, 180, Jr.
FB: 27 Marquez Williams, 5-10, 210, So.
HB: 24 Quenshaun Watson, 5-9, 165, So.
WR: 6 *Dimitri Holmes, 5-10, 165, Sr.
WR: 35 Jeremy Hughes, 5-10, 182, Jr.
WR: 5 Carlton Heard, 5-8, 150, Jr.
T: 57 Terrence J. Bradshaw, 6-0, 233, Sr.
G: 76 Maurice Chester, 6-1, 305, Jr.
C: 50 Trey Thomas, 6-0, 182, Jr.
G: 52 Alex Harris, 5-10, 183, So.
T: 71 Alan Posey, 6-6, 318, Jr.
PK: 17 Adam Erickson, 5-9, 147, Sr.
DEFENSE
DL: 57 Terrence J. Bradshaw, 6-0, 233, Sr.
DL: 62 JR Blackmon, 6-1, 355, Sr.
DL: 99 Tevin Wilhite, 5-10, 270, Sr.
DL: 28 Devonte Yearby, 6-1, 195, Jr.
LB: 44 Rush Maxwell, 5-11, 181, Jr.
LB: 48 Devante Derricotte, 5-11, 190, Sr.
LB: 95 Jordan Pierce, 6-0, 200, Jr.
CB: 3 Derrick Smalls, 5-5, 135, Sr.
Rov.: 14 Herb Evans, 5-10, 175, Jr.
FS: 2 Ty Simmons, 5-11, 167, Jr.
CB: 9 Tony Glenn, 5-6, 148, Sr.
P: 17 Adam Erickson, 5-9, 147, Sr.
* Division I-A recruit
Results
8/28LoganvilleW 20-15
9/4Monroe AreaW 21-7
9/11Habersham CentralW 23-7
9/18ApalacheeL 21-7
9/25Heritage-ConyersW 14-10
10/2Rockdale CountyL 26-23 (OT)
10/9SalemW 23-20
10/23Cedar ShoalsW 14-7
10/30Winder-BarrowW 56-12
11/6Madison CountyW 31-13
11/13MaysW 31-28
11/20Southwest DeKalbW 19-17
11/27North ClaytonW52-13
12/4Rockdale CountyW 28-0
— Chip Saye
Sandy Creek (13-1)
The skinny
Loganville coach Eric Godfree, whose team lost to Sandy Creek 37-19 in the first round, breaks down the Patriots’ offense and defense.
● Offense: “They’ve got a lot of weapons, and of course their running back runs hard and he’s fast and he’s going to get his yards. I think some teams have done a good job against their running game, but the one that really hurt us was their quarterback and receivers. They’ve got some tall receivers, they run good routes, they’re fast, and their quarterback doesn’t miss. He’s on target, he has good speed, he throws well, and he can scramble.”
● Defense: “I would say their secondary is the best in the state. [Isaiah Johnson] kinda put the final four in his hands and took care of business. He’s special. He’s great on the run, great on the pass and great in space. Their linebackers are really good too. If I’m going in the order of their defense, their secondary is the best, then the linebackers, then the defensive front.”
AJC rating: 41
● Run [8]: (154 yards per game) The Patriots have a balanced offense, but when they run it’s going to be all Rajion Neal. The Mississippi State commitment has 1,641 of the team’s 2,160 rushing yards, with 31 touchdowns on 271 carries.
● Pass [8]: (132 yards per game) Ronnie Bell’s 1,823 passing yards have been spread pretty evenly among receivers Jarrett Davis, Devon Hughes and Alex Chisum.
● Vs. run [9]: (107 yards per game) Linebacker Clinard Stokes is the team’s leading tackler, with 75 solos, 45 assists, nine tackles for loss and six sacks, and the secondary provides good run support.
● Vs. pass [8]: (89 yards per game) Georgia Tech commitment Isaiah Johnson leads an outstanding secondary. He leads the team in interceptions with six and is the second-leading tackler.
● Special teams [8]: Zach Lopez is 10-for-13 on field goals and 53-for-58 on extra points and averages 38.3 yards on punts. Neal is dangerous on kickoff returns, averaging 41.5 yards on 13 returns.
Need to know basis
● The history: Sandy Creek High is located about 25 miles south of Atlanta in Tyrone, which was settled by Irish farmers in the late 1800s and given its name because it reminded the settlers of the area around County Tyrone in Ireland. The Fayette County school, which opened in 1992, had never advanced past the second round in nine previous trips to the playoffs. Former Sandy Creek players in the NFL include Kedric Goldston and Calvin Johnson.
● Last year: Lost to Rome 19-13 in the second round of the Class AAAA playoffs.
Starting lineups
OFFENSE
QB: 18 Ronnie Bell, 5-11, 165, Jr.
FB: 40 Austin Bennett, 5-10, 190, Sr.
TB: 25 *Raijon Neal, 5-11, 205, Sr.
WR: 1 *Devon Hughes, 6-0, 185, Sr.
WR: 88 *Jarrett Davis, 5-10, 165, Sr.
T: 58 Charlie Zemko, 6-3, 245, Sr.
G: 76 Chris Whitlock, 5-8, 200, So.
C: 68 Jake Nolan, 6-2, 200, So.
G: 77 Rene Johnson, 6-1, 220, Sr.
T: 74 Will Adams, 6-6, 240, So.
TE: 26 Lance Pugh, 6-1, 205, Sr.
PK: 27 Zach Lopez, 5-11, 170, Sr.
DEFENSE
DE: 32 Jamal Ware, 6-1, 195, Jr.
DT: 57 Jonathan Caughman, 5-11, 235, Sr.
NT: 95 Gavin Rocker, 6-2, 205, Jr.
RE: 48 *Lacy Coleman, 6-5, 230, Sr.
WLB: 28 Michael Hilton, 5-9, 175, So.
SLB: 5 *Michael Spaulding, 6-0, 210, Sr.
MLB: 42 Clinard Stokes, 5-10, 185, Sr.
CB: 3 Sean Rowe, 5-9, 180, Sr.
SS: 21 *Cedric Byrd, 5-11, 185, Sr.
FS: 37 *Isaiah Johnson, 6-2, 180, Sr.
CB: 12 Bruce Dukes, 5-10, 180, Jr.
P: 27 Zach Lopez, 5-11, 170, Sr.
* Division I-A recruit
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