Islands High School trailing Hardaway High School 18-0 with eight minutes to go, had their playoff dream of moving onto the sweet sixteen round of the Georgia High School Association football playoffs looking bleak. Then before you could blink your eye, Islands hosting its first-ever GHSA playoff football game swam past the Hawks with 22 unanswered points.
It all started when Shark senior middle linebacker Bubba Chisholm stepped up 
big time and blocked a Hardaway punt with eight minutes to go in the game. This play gave the Sharks a short field to make something happen, and they did, getting the football at the Hawks 35-yard line. It didn't take long for senior Quarterback Jadon Adams to connect with senior wideout Deion Duncan. Duncan hauled in an Adams pass over the middle in the endzone on a 24-yard score. Senior running back Donavan Davelaar took the handoff for the two-point conversion to get the Sharks fireworks at Memorial Stadium started and cut the Hawk lead to 18-8.
It didn't take long again; Hardaway's quarterback dropped back to throw the ball a couple of plays later, and senior defensive back John Dickerson IV stepped in front of the Hawk receiver and raced to the endzone with a pick-six (touchdown). The two-point conversion went to Dickerson, a two-way player, as he went to his knees to grab the two-point conversion. Sharks are chomping now on the Hawks and trailing only 18-16.
Again, the man, defensive back/wide receiver, John Dickerson IV, intercepts his second pass of the game to set up the winning drive in Hardaway territory for Islands. The Sharks started at the Hawk's 45-yard line, and the magic was in the air. You could feel something special was going to happen.
The chemistry that has been between quarterback Jadon Adams and junior wide receiver Langston Lewis all season started to surface. On a big third downplay, Adams hit Lewis on a slant pass over the middle for a huge first down at the Hardaway 33 yard line. It didn't take long; matter of fact, the next 
play, Adams goes to Lewis in the endzone corner. Lewis out jumps the Hardaway defender for the go ahead touchdown. The two-point conversion failed. The Sharks took their first lead of the game 22-18 with this score, but there was 2 minutes to go in the game. It wasn't over yet to seal the Shark's first-ever playoff victory in program history. It's a playoff game, and Hardaway had one last gasp of air to win before the Sharks pulled them underwater.
All the Shark fans now hoped the stingy Shark defense could do it again as it has done all season. Hardaway had to go 80 yards to win the game. The Hawks kept swimming as they advanced in Sharks territory to the 30-yard line with less than a minute to go in the game. The man of the match stepped up, John Dickerson IV, chomped his third interception of the game to send the Hawks home.
First-year Shark Head Coach Deshawn Printup said, "The players didn't quit. That last eight-minutes was crazy. I knew we had it in us." Also, Printup mentioned the acronym on the Shark players helmet EAT. Coach Printup and offensive coordinator Jaeger Graham wanted a motto for the players to believe in and EAT it was. EAT's motto is Effort, Attitude, and Toughness; down 18 points with 8 minutes to go, Printup believes you got to EAT.
The Sharks gave the Effort and played as if it was a tie game. The Sharks had the right Attitude not to quit, and as the Lion is the Tough in the jungle, the Shark is always Tough to beat in the sea. The Islands High School football players stood rigid and together. Furthermore, the Sharks will EAT next week because they caught their first playoff victim in school history, Islands 22 Hardaway 18.
Islands will face Bainbridge High School in Bainbridge, Georgia, Friday, December 4th, in round two of the GHSA Class 4A playoffs. The kickoff will be 7:30 pm. As Always, Go Sharks!
Photos by Kyunnie Schuman RDP Productions Lead photo - #1 John Dickerson... Second photo - #10 Jadon Adams...Third photo -#20 Langson Lewis
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