SAVANNAH, Ga. - The Myers Middle School Gators defeated the Oglethorpe Charter School (OCS) Titans 6-0 on a chilly Wednesday night at Savannah High Stadium in the Savannah Chatham County Public School System (SCCPSS) Middle School Championship Game.
Myers Middle School quarterback Jah’yea Martin scored the only touchdown of the game as the Gators defeated the Titans. Myers took the opening kickoff and promptly marched 75 yards to paydirt when Martin called his number and scored from 3 yards out.
It has been ten years since Meyers Middle School won its last championship, and Oglethorpe has won the previous three straight seasons, according to the second-year head coach at Myers Francis Cave. When asked how he prepared his team for the game, Myers was preparing for this game all season, one game at a time.
Cave said, “My philosophy has always been to focus on winning one game at a time. If we can do that, then we'll take care of business. We had the same mindset going into this championship game, regardless of what happened in the first game we played them.” Meyers defeated OCS by one point during the regular season.
PHOTO: Coach Cave with SCCPSS Championship Trophy from Myers Middle School Facebook page
Cave also stated, “We lost our first game of the season. We knew we had to win one game at a time, and we ran off seven straight wins, and if we did that, we'd felt we could bring home the championship. So, we just tried our best to get better each week.” Sure enough, the Gators did that.
It was a defensive battle after the Gators took the lead, and neither team could find the end zone. Reginald Curry sealed the win for Myers with an interception in the end zone with less than 30 seconds remaining in the game, according to SCCPSS District assistant athletic director Kevin Brown.
When asked by the Prep Sports Report what this championship meant to Coach Cave, his team, and Myers Middle School, he replied, “Last year, I told the team that I took it personally how people talked about Myers. I challenged them to be better than the persona people have of Myers. They bought in, and we won the championship for the first time in 10 years. It was a great feeling to bring the title back home and helping the players feel like champions.” Myers can walk away with their heads high because the Gators are the 2023 SCCPSS Middle School Champions!
Myers Gators Football 2023
Record: 7 – 1 Record
Championship Roster
1 - Jah’yea Martin – 8th
2 – Jaden Hooper – 8th
3 - Demari Perry – 7th
4 - Reginald Curry – 7th
5 - Joseph Lee III – 8th
6 - Jason Williams – 7th
7 – Myles Brown – 8th
8 - Rayshad Small – 8th
9 - Jameer Washington – 8th
10 - Jeremiah Washington – 8th
11 - Shaiyenne Hendrix – 8th
12 – Andre Allen – 8th
13 – Isabella Lassiter – 8th
15 - Jamari Jenkins – 8th
16 – Amir Powell – 8th
17 - Jakhi Wallace-Williams – 8th
19 – Vatoris Yancey – 8th
20 - Zion Haynes – 8th
21 - Xavian Annis – 8th
22 – Joseph Nyberg – 8th
27 - Devrin Davis – 8th
50 - Rashad Coleman – 8th
52 - Isaiah Lemon – 8th
54 - Caleb Butler – 7th
55 - Dominique Young – 8th
56 - Jayln Stafford – 7th
64 – Carlos Michael 8th
90 - Sekai Cage – 8th
92 - Onja Williams – 7th
93 - Zhymara’e Harris – 7th
95 - Dontae Boston – 8th
97 - Marquis Cooks – 8th
99 – Justin Walls – 8th
Injured - Joshua Hill – 8th
Malakhai North – 8th
2023 Myers Middle School Gator Coaching Staff
Head Coach – Francis Cave
Assistant Coach – Charles Barnwell
Assistant Coach – Tommy Ellison
Assistant Coach – John Dickerson
Assistant Coach – Frank Kilitzian
PHOTO CREDIT: DwaShawn the Photographer @dwashawntp SCCPSS Athletics Department Photographer
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