Crawford County is winning, must make region decision next

The numbers were, as all involved before, during and after can attest, rather staggering.

There were, of course, the 43 straight losses. The streak began on Oct. 16, 2009, with a 28-7 loss against visiting Lamar County.

And it continued, through the 2010 season. And then the 2011 season. And 2012, the first year for head coach Greg Street.

His first game was a close call, the Eagles losing 20-13 to Pacelli. Any optimism was short-lived with two straight shutouts, then a 55-0 shellacking by Macon County, and four straight shutouts -- including another close call, a 7-0 win by Monticello -- followed.

There were no close calls in 2013, although a 14-point loss to Twiggs County almost qualifies.

In all that time, Street and his staff were also trying to get a foundation going. Eventually, the streak would end -- and it did in the 2014 season-opener -- but avoiding the start of another one was just as important.

So here is Crawford County, days away from its final game of the season.

"People are getting ready for the playoffs, and we're playing our last game," Street said. "It's kind of weird."

Since that glorious -- and convincing -- slump-breaking 41-7 win over Mount Vernon Presbyterian to start the 2014 season, the Eagles have done more than evade rough spots. They've won.

Crawford County is 7-2 this season, on top of going 6-4 in 2014.

"A lot of people think we're playing teams that are really, really subpar," Street said. "Trust me. Every time we took the field this year, they always had more kids than we did."

The Eagles are on the road for the season finale, at 5-2 North Cobb Christian, who Crawford County beat 51-31 last year.

"You look at their Hudl page, and 80 percent of their highlights are against us," said Street, who played at Peach County and was on the Northside staff before taking the Crawford County job. "They'll be pretty confident this week."

Crawford County is providing its share of highlights.

The Eagles' lone losing streak the past two seasons is two, and that was early last year. This season, they have two shutouts and have held two other opponents to six points.

And the defeats have been by a total of 13 points. So folks in and around Roberta are putting off checking out the calendar for the start of basketball a little bit.

"The whole school atmosphere, the whole education community, they like football again," Street said. "People enjoy coming to games, and they don't expect to lose anymore."

There is, of course, the caveat: Crawford County is playing a non-region schedule for the second straight year, so where the Eagles would fit in if they competed in Region 4-AA is the question.

The region is extremely lopsided this year, with Putnam County, Lamar County and Macon County a combined 16-5 while Bleckley County, Monticello and Northeast are 1-20.

Crawford County's schedule consists of four Class AA teams and six Class A teams. Chattahoochee County and Monticello made the playoffs last year, but four of this year's opponents are winless.

On the other hand, the Eagles have beaten those four by an average of 39-7.

Street said the difference has been the seven seniors who have been with the program from the end of Tony Byram's term as head coach through the start of Street and his staff, and to now.

"Any kid who stayed with us in 2012 to 2015, facing those 20 losses, all those kids deserve a pat on the back, man," Street said. "To come to practice in light of 0-13, 0-14, still come to the weight room and put the work in and believe in what we're trying to do, you can't put a number on that.

"Those kids believe in what we're doing. They bought in and they stayed the course, and now it's paying off a little bit."

Those seniors -- Tyrick Reeves, Quay Wiggins, Jaylin Hicks, Adrian Lockhart, Reid Tolbert, George Wilson and Jeremy Dunlap -- have progressed in all phases to become the nucleus.

"They're ready to play," Street said. "They're hungry."

Reeves has accounted for 1,014 yards and 13 touchdowns rushing and passing, with Tolbert leading the way with 537 yards and six touchdowns on the ground.

Hicks and Wiggins are the top receiving threats with a combined 46 catches for 936 yards and nine touchdowns, while senior transfer Chavaris Hart also has had an impact in the receiving game.

The season will end after the 10th game, and then Street will confer with principal Mike Campbell and athletics director Clyde Zachery. They'll look at the progress of the middle school program -- Street expects about 16 players to move up -- and the expected returning underclassmen, and where the school is likely to fall in the upcoming round of reclassification.

And they'll decide whether to dive back into region play or not.

"There's a lot more to it than Xs and Os," Street said. "You've got to have viable athletes on the field that are ready to play the game. That starts in seventh grade."

Street said the middle school went through similar struggles as the high school team, with low numbers and little success. The numbers are a little better, but the middle school -- aided by a change in leagues and playing fewer feeder teams for Class AAAAA and AAAA programs -- went 3-3 this season and made the playoffs, Street said.

"Oh boy," he said. "Those kids were jacked up."

Jeff Davis took a break from region play in 2010-11 after a 12-38 run, and went 6-4 and 7-3. The Yellow Jackets then went 3-17, but improved to 4-6 last year and are 4-3.

GMC has also gone the non-region route, following a 3-27 stretch in region to 19-21 in four seasons of non-region play. The Bulldogs are 12-25 since.

The decision is down the line, but for now, the Eagles are on their best two-year run (13-6) since going 18-9 in 1997-98. Last season was their first winning season since 6-4 in 2000.

"People think we have a chance to win, and they're right," Street said. "For so long, the cup was never half full, it was always half empty.

"Years past, we'd be down at halftime, be down two touchdowns, and they would go in, 'We suck, we're terrible.' That's not the case anymore."

This story was originally published October 21, 2015 at 10:24 PM with the headline "Crawford County is winning, must make region decision next ."