Savannah Christian coach Baker Woodward, in a halftime interview Wednesday on GPB-TV, said the Raiders needed opponent Cedar Grove to make mistakes in the second half.
The Raiders trailed the Saints by two touchdowns at the time in the GHSA Class 3A state championship game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
Cedar Grove did not make mistakes like turnovers in the second half nor in the entire game. Showing their championship pedigree, the Saints downed the Raiders 49-28 to win their fifth state crown since 2016.
Cedar Grove of Ellenwood was playing in its third consecutive Class 3A state title game, having won in 2021 in coach John Adams’ first season at the helm. Savannah Christian, in its second season in Class 3A, was seeking its first championship since 2011, and that was as a longtime Class A member.
The Raiders finished with a 12-3 record, having won nine consecutive games including three road playoff games before another long drive this week to Atlanta. This season, SCPS broke through to get to the title game after steady progress under Woodward.
Cedar Grove finished a misleading 10-5, having played up in competition in starting this season 2-5 before going 3-0 in Region 5-3A and winning its last eight games including Wednesday.
The Saints, ranked No. 2 in the state, were favored in their first meeting against the No. 4 Raiders after topping top-ranked Calvary Day in the semifinals.
Savannah Christian hung in there for a good while, opening with a six-play, 59-yard scoring drive culminated by the first of junior Zo Smalls’ three short-yardage touchdown runs.
Cedar Grove answered on its first play from scrimmage, a shuttle pass in the backfield to Malachi Miller which he took the rest of the way for a 64-yard, game-tying score.
The game was 14-14 in the second quarter before Cedar Grove scored the last two touchdowns of the first half and the first two TDs of the second half for a 28-point surge.
That would prove too much for the Raiders, whose resilience wasn’t questioned, especially after a four-overtime thriller over visiting Peach County in the first round of the state playoffs.
“This was a really good team we played today,” Adams said on the GPB broadcast.
Cedar Grove was really good, too. Known as more of a running team, it totaled 499 yards of offense with a very balanced 259 net yards through the air and 240 on the ground.
The Saints were physical, big and fast on both sides of the ball.
They had four scoring drives of under 60 seconds, including their one-play opening drive of 13 seconds; a second-quarter, 18-yard drive of 5 seconds; and a two-play, 62-yard drive in the third quarter of 19 seconds. The other was a three-play, 57-yard drive of 50 seconds in the third quarter.
Time of possession didn’t matter. The Saints had the ball for 22 minutes and 4 seconds, compared to 25:56, almost four more minutes, for the Raiders.
A more important statistic was turnovers. The Saints made none and forced two interceptions on the other side, one a standout pick by D’Marcus Clements on a pass to the end zone to end a big scoring threat. Each team did a commendable job holding onto the football.
About the Saints’ only glaring weakness Wednesday was in penalties with nine for 70 yards. The Raiders committed four for 30 yards, including a late 15-yard personal foul that was likely out of frustration when the tacklers played through the whistle, and then some.
Junior quarterback EJ Colson, who has verbally committed to UCF, finished 11-of-16 passing for 259 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions for Cedar Grove. The passing game was a difference maker, as Devin Carter (long of 29 yards), Miller (long of 64 yards), Andrew Leslie (long of 46 yards) and Jordan Christie (long of 45 yards) each scored on explosive plays.
As dangerous as the Saints’ passing game was on Wednesday, they also found consistent success running the ball.
Bo Walker, a junior verbally committed to the University of Georgia, rushed for a game-high 129 yards on 18 carries, including a long of 50 yards which he ran for a score. He averaged 7.2 yards per carry.
Anthony Booker came off the bench to run nine times for 93 yards, a 10.3 average per carry, and one TD.
Savannah Christian totaled 294 yards on offense, 215 rushing and only 79 passing.
Sophomore quarterback Blaise Thomas was 8-of-15 passing for 79 yards and two interceptions. His main target was senior David Bucey, a South Carolina commit who pulled in four passes on six targets for 39 yards. Junior tight end Logan Brooking, a Clemson commit, had three receptions on three targets for 37 yards.
Smalls was again a workhorse for the Raiders with 23 carries for 86 yards and three touchdowns of 2 yards and under. Kenry Wall, a junior, contributed 74 yards on 12 carries, and junior Jaden Miles added to his defensive prowess by carrying the ball seven times for 40 yards, including a 24-yard TD run.
On the defensive side, Bucey made a team-high nine tackles (including five solo) to lead the Raiders in both categories. Sophomore Isaiah Redmond had seven tackles; Miles and freshman Damion Guyton had six apiece; and sophomore Reid Penrose, sophomore Davian Melton and junior Elijah Griffin (four solo) each had five tackles.
When the game ended, Savannah Christian’s Woodward took the stage with five players to accept the second-place trophy. He was joined by seniors Bucey (WR/LB), Austin Myers (OL/DL) and Noah Lewis (OL/DL); and juniors Miles (LB/RB) and Griffin (DL) – a five-star prospect ranked at the top, regardless of position, in the nation in the Class of 2025.
The Raiders will suffer some big losses in graduation but should have a lot coming back – especially the highly recruited Griffin, Brooking and Guyton – to make another run at a state title in a new classification.
And Cedar Grove, with so many underclassmen at key positions and a dynastic run over the last eight years (3A titles in 2016, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2023), could very well see them at the games in Atlanta.
CEDAR GROVE 49, SAVANNAH CHRISTIAN 28
SCPS | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | -- 28
CG | 14 | 14 | 21 | 0 | -- 49
First quarter
SCPS – Zo Smalls 2 run (Ethan Byrd kick)
CG – Malachi Miller 64 pass from EJ Colson (Alex Brock kick)
CG – Bo Walker 10 run (Brock kick)
Second quarter
SCPS – Smalls 1 run (Byrd kick)
CG – Andrew Leslie 31 pass from Colson (Brock kick)
CG – Devin Carter 18 pass from Colson (Brock kick)
Third quarter
CG – Walker 50 run (Brock kick)
CG – Anthony Booker 7 run (Brock kick)
SCPS – Jaden Miles 24 run (Byrd kick)
CG – Jordan Christie 45 pass from Colson (Brock kick)
Fourth quarter
SCPS – Smalls 1 run (Byrd kick)
PHOTO CREDIT - Savannah Christian Ahtletics Information Department
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