Q&A: Cairo and Carver coaches say teams not what they were

So what lies in wait this Friday for Gainesville and Flowery Branch in the quarterfinal round of the state football playoffs?

To progress, the two remaining Region 7-AAA representatives will have to find a way past the two last two Class AAA champions in Cairo (2008) and Carver, Columbus (2007).

The Red Elephants (12-0) will play host to Cairo (9-3) at City Park, while the Falcons (9-3) travel to Columbus to face Carver (11-1).

With that in mind, Access North Georgia sports editor Morgan Lee talked with the coaches of each program on Monday to get their thoughts on Gainesville and Flowery Branch, their own teams and what they see coming on Friday.


-- Cairo Syrupmakers coach Tom Fallaw:

QUESTION: Did you expect to be here at the start of the season?

ANSWER: No. Not at all. We had 26-27 seniors last year. We lost 19 of our starters. We have a lot of kids playing this year that weren’t even in our two-deep last year. We’re starting anywhere from 6-10 sophomores on a given night, so we definitely didn’t think we’d be at this point.


Q: What makes your team tick?

A: What makes our team tick is our defense right [an eight-man front] now. They’re definitely what’s carried us this year. Offensively, we are doing the same things. We are a multiple I offense that can run and throw the ball and keep teams off balance.


Q: Who are your leaders right now?

A: On defense, Ronnie Black, a nose tackle, who is one of the starters we had back from last year, and Jermyrin Bodiford, a free safety, another starter, are our two leaders. On offense, it's our quarterback Brian Walker [a senior], Bodiford, who also plays receiver, and our tailback Laquinton Williams [a junior].


Q: Those upperclassmen are used to a lot of success, did they expect to be here? How have they carried themselves this season?

A: I don’t think anybody did. We played for a state championship two years ago and lost it, but we basically returned everybody from that team and won it last season. These kids were just happy to be part of all that success. Really, we walked around with our heads in the clouds probably for the last year. We started off 0-2 and really had no identity, then all of a sudden, nine out of 10 games later they’ve re-etablished what our philosophy is and playing hard together and being a team.


Q: What do ya'll have to do to be successful against Gainesville?

A: We’ve got to get a couple of guys from last year’s team to come play with us! I don’t know if we’re quite ready for what Gainesville has right now. They definitely have some guys back from last year’s quarterfinal team, and they look like they’re loaded. Their quarterback [Blake Sims] is one of the most impressive athletes we’ve seen on film in recent years, and the receiver [Tai-ler Jones] is the same way. You know they’re going to make a lot of plays during a game, and I don’t know if you can gameplan to stop them. And then the rest of the team is very good. Not only do they have two outstanding players that look like two of the best in the state, they have nine others that are all above average. Looking at them on film we’re definitely underdogs coming into this game.


Q: Have you seen anything on film that you feel you might be to take advantage of?

A: No. This time of year, when there’s only eight teams left, you’re not going to take advantage of anybody. You’re not going to be able to do anything that anybody else hadn’t been able to do all year. Gainesville’s done very well against the run, and they’re going to keep doing that.


Q: How are you planning on dealing with the long trip to Gainesville?

A: It’s going to be a long bus ride for us, and that’s definitely going to add some fatigue to us. But we had to do that last week too, so we’ll see. It’s going to be tough.


-- Carver, Columbus Tigers coach Dell McGee:

QUESTION: How is this team compared with last year's team?

ANSWER: We have very few guys back from that team. We graduated 24 seniors from last year’s team. We’re real young at the skill positions and on the offensive line. The strength of our team is the defensive line; that’s where we brought back the most experience and people. We’re young pretty much everywhere else.


Q: Who are some of your standouts on offense, defense?

A: We’re led by our quarterback, Devin Burns. He’s committed to Maryland. He’s a dual-threat quarterback. He’s been passing the ball well; he’s passed for about 1,700 yards this year, and he has about 5-600 yards rushing right now. We also have a great tailback in Isaiah Crowell, who carries the load for us in our running game. He also has about 1,700 yards rushing right now and is a junior and has offers from everybody. He’s a great, great player.

Cory Crawford and Brandon Smith are our two defensive ends, Gabriel Wright is our defensive tackle. They’re doing a real good job of controlling the line of scrimmage and allowing our young linebackers and secondary guys to make some plays.


Q: What are you expecting from Flowery Branch?

A: I’m expecting a high-powered offense to come down to Columbus. Coach [Lee] Shaw’s done a great job with his bunch, and they’re gelling at the right time, kind of similar to what they did last year. Everything starts with their quarterback [Connor Shaw]. He does a good job getting the ball out, and he keeps the play going with his legs, and he still continues to look downfield. That’s going to be a huge key for us, is to try to control the quarterback and the passing game. We’ve also got to try and stop [Imani] Cross at running back. They’re pretty well balanced. Defensively, they play a lot of man-to-man. They’re going to challenge us in the passing game, and we’re probably going to throw the ball a lot more than we normally do.


Q: Do you feel like you can have success running the ball?

A: We’re going to still run the football, but there is going to be some things there for us in the passing game that we make sure we take advantage of.


Q: How have the playoffs gone for your team so far?

A: As a coach, you always feel like you can play better. We’ve got to make sure we take care of the ball and be solid in the kicking game this week. Whenever we get a chance to make stops on defense, we’ve got to make sure we have a great third down percentage and get Flowery Branch’s offense off the field.


Q: How has the season gone overall?

A: Actually, it’s going pretty bad. We’ve had so many injuries this year. We’ve had a lot of guys step up and fill in and change sides of the ball. It’s kind of been an up-and-down season in that regard. But our coaches and players aren’t going to make any excuses, we’re just going to make any excuses, we’re just going to line up and do our best to win the game.