The Spartan football team won its second straight Area 8A title by beating a tough Rabun County team on their home field in a back-and-forth game by a score of 49-46. The Spartans finish their regular season with an overall record of 9-1, with the first loss coming in the first game of the season. Winners of nine straight games, the team also went undefeated in their six games against Area competition.
Leading the way for the Spartans against Rabun County was senior quarterback Chap Chapman, who finished the game completing 11 of 16 of his passes for 338 yards. Zay Prince also had a successful game, along with wide receiver and Georgia Tech commit Keyon Standifer, who added 90 yards rushing and 218 yards receiving. Standifer also returned a kickoff 98 yards for a score and had four catches go for touchdowns. Junior Grayson Stafford also had an outstanding game, finishing with four catches for 112 yards with two of those for scores.
When asked how the team was able to rebound and have such a strong season after losing the first game of the year, senior Cash Cowart said, “After losing the first game against Aquinas, we didn’t lose our fire. I feel like the focus was on gaining momentum, trusting in each other, and fixing the small mistakes, which played a big role in nine consecutive wins.” Chap Chapman agreed, saying the senior class took it on themselves to finish the season on a winning note, and they were able to make that happen by making everyone else on the team believe it, too.
The Spartans will now take their nine-game winning streak into the A-AAA Private School Playoffs with the goal of continuing their amazing run into the postseason.
