For Savannah Christian senior co-captain Jackson Smith and his teammates, it hasn't been about the route to get there, but the end results.
Savannah Christian will begin the Class A-3A Private playoffs Friday as the fifth-seed and host 28th-seed St. Francis (1-11) at 5 p.m. The Raiders have an overall 7-9 record heading into the postseason after a roller-coaster type season, even though they won the Class 3A Area 3 region championship.
"This season has been the farthest thing from our expectations," said Smith. "Every other year I've been in high school, we've beat the teams we were supposed to and lost to the ones we were supposed to lose to."
"But this year, we had a rough start losing some easier games and were able to turn it around for region play which was very exciting. Each of our eight seniors has done a wonderful job stepping up in the latter half of the season, no matter the circumstances.
Head coach Leighton Upton was confident with eight seniors returning to the fold. Along with Smith, Upton has looked to fellow senior co-captain Reid Hampton, who suffered a hamstring injury that sidelined him during the early part of the season, but he returned to the lineup. Senior Brody Williams tore his ACL early in the year and was lost for the season.
Other consistent contributors are sophomore Jake Hendrix, freshman H.B. Loucks, and freshman goalie Dillon Groff, a transfer from Pennsylvania.
"Hendrix has continued to develop as an excellent midfielder and selflessly distributes the ball to create opportunities to score," said Upton. "Loucks has been a surprising addition to our team. He has started every game and has been an excellent addition to our veteran backline."
"Dillon Groff has had an excellent season and is a key member of our team. He had two key shutouts in our last two region games that allowed us to win our Region."
Upton selected an appropriate theme to help set the pace.
"We chose the theme 'sacrifice' to embody as a team this season," stressed Upton. "I challenged the guys with whatever we do we need to be willing to sacrifice for the betterment of the team. The seniors made a list of goals for our team, and our entire team committed to those goals."
Upton stated that and fellow senior co-captain.
In addition, Upton has been proud of his team's growing sense of commitment and grit throughout the season. The Raiders turned their season with a 4-3 overtime victory over Woodville-Tompkins and a 2-1 victory over rival Savannah Country Day.
"I was proud of both Brodie and Reid still staying committed to the team and showing up for all team meetings, practices, and games. The team fought hard at the beginning of the season, and we gained new life when Reid was cleared from his injury, which added stability to the backline.
"I have found that our team has had determination and grit that allows us to be successful in close games. We have been in two overtime games, including a PK shootout, and in each of those games, the guys did not quit. They stayed focused and were determined to get the job done."
Like Smith, Hampton has seen a similar script.
"We were not expecting a season like this, emphasized Hampton. "We've gone through injuries and tough losses, but eventually, we met our goals and got to where we wanted to be. I feel like the seniors and juniors have taken ownership of the team and helped to ensure strong play and intensity from the younger players."
"The team is peaking at the right time as every game we are competitive and every player is committed to doing whatever it takes to help the team win. The game that helped us reach a new level was beating our rival Country Day, as we hadn't beat them in a long time and it helped us to prove that we are capable beat any team that we may face."
Beating Savannah Country Day for the first time in three years was a high-water mark.
"Our game against Country Day was when we played at our highest level," added Smith. "We came out with energy from the start of our warmups and took advantage of their slow start. In the second half, our defense, including seniors Reid Hampton, Jack Allred, and Cobi Lane, made play after play, as well as Jake Hendrix and I in the midfield, as we knew how much we wanted to win this game after losing to them for the previous 3 years.
"I am very proud of the way that our freshmen have played this year even though they were thrown into some tough situations without having much experience before this season."
Upton sees a strong team bond as an integral part of a long postseason run.
"I believe team chemistry and peaking at the right time is key to any season," said Upton. "I believe that we have found our team chemistry at the perfect time that allowed us to go undefeated in region play, and I hope it will continue to propel us deep into the playoffs."
On Friday, April 25, Savannah Christian, ranked as the #5 seed, will host #28 seed St. Francis in a thrilling Class A-3A Private matchup. Kickoff is slated for 5:00 p.m.
PHOTO CREDIT: Courtesy Savannah Christian Social Meda Pages
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