Stuart Cunningham is not one to go on long soliloquies. But even he had a few things to say this week as he got ready to lead Chestatee to its first Georgia High School Association playoff game since 2016.
And it won’t be just any playoff game. The War Eagles (5-5) will head to Fort Valley to take on mighty Peach County (9-1) in the opening round of the Class 3A playoffs on Friday.
Chestatee comes into the postseason as the 30th seed in the new Power Rankings System (PRS) that now seeds the 32-team fields from Class 3A down to Class A. The Trojans are the No. 3 overall seed in 3A.
No one expected the War Eagles to be here. Before the season began, every team was given odds on making the postseason in every classification. The War Eagles were given a 1.8% chance of making the playoffs. Of the 224 teams that advanced to the GHSA playoffs in the seven classifications, that is the lowest odds assigned to any team.
East Forsyth, which made the playoffs in Class 4A, had the 9th-lowest odds of the teams that made it at 10.7%.
We asked Coach Cunningham his thoughts on the War Eagles making their improbable run to to the playoffs.
QUESTION: Coach, y’all have had a phenomenal season considering y’all were coming off a winless season last year. What changed as far as attitude or approaches by the coaching staff and the players, if anything, that you noticed early in the season?
ANSWER: Nothing has really changed from the coaching staff end. We just kept pushing our standards and the players accepted the challenges and kept working. Our game maturity sped up after our first region win.
QUESTION: According to the Maxwell Computer Ratings that the AJC and other publications around the state use, y’all were listed as the biggest underdog this season to make the playoffs (1.8%) of any team in the state in any classification. How satisfying is it for y’all to have beaten such long odds to make the playoffs?
ANSWER: We did not know those odds and we would not have cared. BUT that’s really the point isn’t it. The bigger the challenge the bigger the victory.
QUESTION: The offense has really been clicking behind Ben Plemons. Was it just a matter of learning the system and being more comfortable for the entire unit?
ANSWER: Yes. All the players have value and our goal is to win games and to develop young men.
QUESTION: But the defense seems to be the real catalyst. Last year y’all gave up over 43 points/game. Y’all have nearly cut that in half, allowing just 24 ppg this year. What has been the biggest difference on that side of the ball?
ANSWER: The defense has gotten better because they have devoted themselves to do so. After going through very meticulous drills to support real game-like situations, they have finally improved and become more flexible in scheme and their effort has increased at the same time.
QUESTION: Y’all will have your biggest test of the season for sure on Friday against a Peach County team that is making its 34th consecutive postseason appearance. What will the keys be for y’all to pull off the road upset?
ANSWER: First, to have more points than them at the end of the game. But we must win time of possession, win the turnover margin, and play our best game of the year on defense. On paper, Peach probably has the advantage. But that’s why we play the game.
CHESTATEE at PEACH COUNTY
Records: War Eagles (5-5, No. 30); Trojans (9-1, No. 3)
Last week: Chestatee was off;
Where: Anderson Stadium, Fort Valley
Time: 7:30 p.m.
The Statisticals: First-ever meeting. The War Eagles finished 3rd in Region 6-3A while the Trojans won Region 1-3A. It will be a huge challenge for the War Eagles. The Trojans will definitely have the playoff experience in this one. The War Eagles are making their first postseason appearance since 2016 and are just 1-5 all-time in the playoffs. Their only postseason win came in 2013 in a win over Grady under Stan Luttrell. Peach County is making its 34th consecutive trip to the state playoffs. The last time they did not make the playoffs was in 1990. The key will be if the Chestatee wing-T can gain some traction and shorten the game. They are averaging nearly 300 yards/game on the ground behind Ben Plemons (172 car., 1,354 yards, 13 TD, 9 100-yard games). The Trojans are giving up 17.9 ppg on defense.
What to watch for: The Chestatee defense vs. the Trojans offense. Peach has been ranked in the top 5 all year and leads 3A and is 7th in the state, all classes, in scoring at 44.7 ppg. Chestatee has played well on defense all year, yielding 24.0 ppg on the season and just 19.5 ppg over its last 4 games.
