The Creekside football program has always won in waves. The Seminoles’ best teams were characterized by suffocating, physical defense. In fact, Creekside’s first-ever season playing football resulted in an 8-3 record while allowing only 119 points. In the late 1990s, the Seminoles strung together three 10-plus win seasons, but fell to 6-4 just three seasons later.
2004 brought yet another three-year stretch of 10-win seasons, including an undefeated regular season in 2006. Creekside dipped once again for the rest of that decade, but reached the mountaintop in 2013, going undefeated and winning the state championship. 2021 marked the first instance of a Creekside appearance in the quarterfinals since that title team. Is this just another precursor to a successful stretch of seasons?
The Seminoles reached an all-time low in 2017, going 0-10 and averaging under nine points scored per game. It was also the first season coaching for Maurice Dixon, and this inauspicious start led many to wonder if was the beginning of a dark stretch of Creekside football. However, Dixon quickly righted the ship, leading the Seminoles to an 8-4 campaign that featured a top five-ranked win over Douglas County.
Both 2019 and 2020 resulted in seven-win seasons. The key takeaway, though, was Creekside’s improved defense. During Dixon’s first year in Fairburn, Creekside allowed a school-record 380 points. That total decreased to 275 in 2018 and tanked to 196 in 2020. In the meanwhile, the Seminoles were developing talent behind the scenes, gearing themselves for a historic 2021 season.
For Creekside football fans, 2021 couldn’t have started any better. The Seminoles went on the road to defending 7A state champion Grayson and upset the 37-point favorites, squarely placing them on the national stage for that week. They continued their magical start to the season with another upset win, this time over 3rd-ranked Westlake.
The Creekside defense came to play in those games, forcing a key goal-line fumble against Grayson and holding dynamic Westlake QB RJ Johnson to 162 yards and no scores. After a close road loss to Cartersville, the Seminoles rolled through most of their region schedule, allowing only 21 points through the first six region games.
Creekside’s multi-year turnaround ended with a semifinal loss to Warner Robins, but they re-established that physical defense once characteristic of deep playoff teams from past years. Several players made headlines, including Vincent Hill, Roderick McCrary, Daiquan White, and Javeon Miller, whose 22.0 sacks and 25.0 tackles for loss this past season turned the heads of many.
A disastrous start for coach Maurice Dixon turned into a masterclass on how to revive a once-successful program. Expectations for Creekside in 2022 are the highest in a while, and it seems that defense will again take center stage on Friday nights in Fairburn.
