This week’s ITG Next Georgia 4 Questions with the Coach guest is the head coach of the GHSA Class 3A state champion Cedar Grove Saints, John Adams. This year’s title marks the fifth in the last eight seasons for the Cedar Grove football program, but it looked as if it may not happen after the Saints started the season with a 2-5 record. But Adams lead his team back from the brink, and the Saints finished 5-5 in the regular season, then went on a 5-0 run in the playoffs to win the 3A crown. Let’s hear from Coach Adams and learn more about this magical season.
Q. Coach Adams, congratulations on a great season, capturing the Class 3A state championship. Take us back to the start of the season and through the first half, when your Cedar Grove football team was uncharacteristically giving up a lot of points, including three losses where you guys surrendered 50 or more. Was it a lot of the new guys getting adjusted to the defensive scheme, or what exactly?
A. Yes, we graduated a lot of seniors last year, and I would also give credit to the teams we were playing. We ran up against some really dynamic offenses. I also believe we shot ourselves in the foot on some occasions, not getting off the field on third downs because of uncharacteristic penalties. I knew we had the players and the potential to be a great defense; we just hadn’t put it together, with a case of some bad breaks also.
Q. I know you said that about midway through the season, you and the team had a meeting where a lot of things were aired out and changes were made – just a real man-to-man type thing. Did you get the sense coming out of that meeting that your team might respond and play differently the rest of the season? It sure looks as if it helped.
A. It definitely helped. Family, chemistry, and discipline are the key ingredients that have always been successful tools for us over the years. At the beginning of the year we were lacking in all departments. I had to look at myself and the program as a whole and make some really tough decisions. I’m just glad we were able to make adjustments, and they proved to be beneficial in order to finish the season on top.
Q. We featured you guys as our ITG Next Georgia Game of the Week in a rematch of last year’s 3A state finals against Sandy Creek in Week 10. The Cedar Grove football team I saw was clicking on all cylinders, like a fine-tuned machine. Would you say it was around that time that your team began to play like you knew they could?
A. I believe it was mainly after the Carver Montgomery game, but we played really well against a good and well-coached Sandy Creek team. With a little motivation and the players holding their teammates and themselves accountable, we began to click around the time of region play.
Q. What will the goal be this offseason, as you guys look to replace some big-time talent that has been responsible for the recent success of your Cedar Grove football team? Will you be looking at position battles in key areas?
A. Nothing changes – just going to incorporate more decision making and character building exercises with my players. This generation of athletes can easily be misguided due to social media and other influences. We’ll go into the off-season with becoming more of a family also. Running track, working hard in the weight room, repping football fundamentals, and studying the playbook are also key. We have key players who will leave, but we also have great coaches, and the next man will be prepared and ready to fill those holes.
