The most famous athlete to matriculate from Sandy Creek High School is Calvin Johnson, the former Georgia Tech All-America wide receiver approaching NFL stardom. But he is but an introduction to the story about the football program in the little town of Tyrone.
"Yes, Calvin definitely has put us on the football map," Sandy Creek coach Chip Walker said with a laugh. "But we've had some other very good players, too. We've got some now. And our football team is not too bad this year."
That is an understatement. The Fighting Patriots are the first of Fayette County's five high schools to reach the state football finals. No. 3-ranked Sandy Creek (13-1), stocked with a slew of Division I prospects, plays unranked Clarke Central (12-2) for the Class AAAA championship at 8 p.m. Friday at the Georgia Dome.
"We're making history at Sandy Creek and we want to win this week to make some more," said safety Isaiah Johnson, who is not related to Calvin. "If we can do it one more time, I think people around here will remember this team 15 or 20 years from now. Who knows? They might still anyways."
Football is big news these days in the sleepy town, which sits 25 miles southwest of Atlanta. There are three stoplights and nearly 7,000 residents, many of whom commute north for work. The town's name derives from Irish farmers who settled there in the late 1800's and thought the land reminded them County Tyrone back home.
Publix is one of Tyrone's most popular gathering spots. Walker has a tradition of eating breakfast every Friday at The Shamrock Kitchen, where patrons ask the coach about team and politely give suggestions.
The nearest Walmart is six miles away in Peachtree City, while the closest movie theaters are in Fayetteville or Newnan, which are a little further. Tyrone's population base is primarily middle class. Its small-town atmosphere has been purposefully maintained, according to city fathers.
"People like the way things are around here and we take that into consideration when we make decisions," said town councilman Eric Dial.
Lee Haney, the eight-time Mr. Olympia, sent two of his kids to Sandy Creek while TV evangelist Creflo Dollar has a daughter at the school. Former NBA All-Star Chris Webber leads a list celebrities who own or have owned homes in the sprawling subdivisions around town.
The football team's success is the biggest thing to hit Tyrone since the Xtreme, a youth baseball team of 9- and 10-year-olds who won the USSSA World Series last season.
How popular are the Fighting Patriots?
"We had our [town] Christmas Tree Lighting on last Friday night," Dial said. "Everybody was trying to get out of there as soon as their child finished singing. They were either driving to [the semifinal game] or rushing home to watch it on TV."
Walker is the son of one of Georgia's all-time winningest coaches. Rodney Walker has won 285 games, including a 1984 state championship at West Rome. The elder Walker coached at Sandy Creek from 1999-2004 before handing over the reins to his son and taking the top job at Mary Persons.
Chip, as they say, is truly a "chip off the old block."
"He told me if we could get the fans to the games, then he would put a good product on the field for them to see," Sandy Creek booster club president Walter Reddick said. "Everything finally converged this season."
Sandy Creek's fans are notorious for supporting the team. At home games, tents and tables go up three hours before kickoff to begin tailgating. At last week's semifinal victory at Griffin, Reddick estimated the visitors brought around 3,000 fans.
The Fighting Patriots have had a tough road to the championship, knocking off the defending state champions (Tucker) and No. 1-ranked team (Griffin).
"Sandy Creek is for real," Tucker coach Franklin Stephens said. "They have five or six players on offense who can hit home runs on any play. It's hard to account for them all. They are extremely well coached and they deserve everything they've earned."
Calvin Johnson is not the only Sandy Creek alum in the NFL. Miami Dolphins offensive lineman Andrew Gardner (Class of ‘04) went on to be team captain at Georgia Tech. Washington Redskins defensive tackle Kedric Golston was a Parade All-American in 2001 before moving on to become a four-year starter at Georgia.
All three randomly show up at the school. Johnson held a football camp two summers ago. Golston called the coaches after hearing about the semifinals win and was hoping to figure out a way to attend Friday's game, even though the Redskins play at Oakland on Sunday.
This year's Sandy Creek roster is the most talented in school history, with six seniors already committed to major colleges: Johnson (Georgia Tech), tailback Rajian Neal (Mississippi State), defensive end Lacy Coleman (Louisville), wide receiver Devon Hughes (Buffalo), wide receiver Jarrett Davis (Louisville) and offensive lineman Charlie Zemko (Air Force). Another half-dozen seniors are expected to sign with small colleges.
Two juniors, cornerback Bruce Dukes and wide receiver Alex Chisum, already have early scholarship offers from SEC schools.
"We've had a lot of good players in past years, but not all of them got discovered," Davis said. "Our coaches do a real good job of getting the word out to the colleges."
The crown jewel of the class is Neal, who has rushed for 1,641 yards and scored a school-record 33 touchdowns. The 5-foot-11, 205-pounder was relatively unknown at the beginning of the season, but now is considered among the elite in one of the state's best years for tailbacks.
Neal was offered a scholarship by Florida State last week while Georgia and South Carolina are showing heavy interest. He says he remains committed to Mississippi State.
"There's plenty of time left to deal with recruiting," Neal said. "The state championship game is an once-in-a-lifetime experience. It's my only focus right now. We want to make history at Sandy Creek."
About the Author
