Faith Christian's Robert Jackson (10) rushes for yardage during an opening-round playoff game Oct. 30 at Colonial Hills Christian in Lithia Springs, Ga. (JOHN SULLIVAN/DAILY NEWS)
Skipstone Academy freshman Hayden Kujala (10) turns on the afterburners after catching a pass from Stephen Eure Sept. 17 at home against Philadelphia Christian. Kujala scored a touchdown on the play. (JOHN SULLIVAN/DAILY NEWS)
The other area playoff teams in 2010 were the Griffin Bears, which finished 10-2, and the Griffin Christian Crusaders (6-5 in GISA) while Spalding High (3-7) and Skipstone Academy (3-6) were the two non-playoff teams.
The biggest stories of the 2010 local football season were both 8-man football teams: The Skipstone Academy Warriors and the FCA Lions (5-6).
Under new head coach Nick Elliott, 2nd-year program Skipstone got its first-ever win, a 35-34 come-from-behind victory over Lafayette Christian of the ICSGA. The Warriors were 0-8 last year.
Skipstone, which played independently this season, was boosted by impact transfers like junior linebacker B.J. Sheppard and senior running back Robert Pearson, who helped motivate a young Warriors squad.
Despite the brilliance of senior running back Robert Jackson, FCA had an inconsistent regular season due to injuries and other factors, finishing the regular season at 3-5. The Lions regrouped in the ICSGA playoffs, rolling to road victories over Colonial Hills and CrossPointe Christian to advance to the league title game against Trinity Christian. In a title game battle of Lions, it was Trinity Christian’s Lions which triumphed in the end.
Griffin Christian got off to a strong start in 2010, racing to a 3-1 record which included a 41-21 rout of GISA Region 2-AAA foe John Milledge Academy. Even though GCHS was swept by Macon schools Mount de Sales, Stratford and Tattnall Square in succession, the Crusaders won their next three games to qualify for the playoffs, where they lost to No. 1 state-ranked Deerfield-Windsor in the first round.
Spalding High’s season turned on Sept. 17. The Jaguars had beaten Region 4-AAA foe Drew High the week before for a 1-0 record in the region (1-2 overall) and they were poised to defeat region foe Stockbridge. But the Jags lost a 14-7 third-quarter lead, giving Stockbridge the 20-14 win. The Jags won only 2 of their final 6 games of the year after that Stockbridge loss.
Griffin High won 10 games for the third straight year, advancing to the state second round where it lost 34-28 to Statesboro. In the process, Bears coach Steve DeVoursney set a school record for most consecutive playoff berths with 10.
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