Carver, the Columbus school ‘On the Hill,’ is on top of Georgia Class AA football
They call themselves the Columbus school On the Hill. Now, these Carver Tigers have completed their climb to the top of the mountain in Georgia High School Association Class AA football.
Carver (14-1) captured the 2024 state championship in the dominating style the Tigers displayed while winning their previous 11 games, a 52-14 victory over the Burke County Bears (13-2) Tuesday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
It’s the second GHSA football title in Carver’s 70-year history, following the initial one 17 years ago. The only loss for this group of Tigers came in their third game, 15-6, at Class AAAA Harris County.
Carver came into this game with an average score of 39-7 this season. Burke had been nearly as commanding, with an average score of 42-20. Its only loss this season also came in the third game, 43-14, at Class AAAA Benedictine. And the Bears had one state title (2011) as well.
So these teams had similar backgrounds, with their only previous meeting a 28-21 Carver win in the first round of the 2009 state playoffs. But by halftime Tuesday, it was clear these Tigers play on a superior level.
During GPB-TV’s postgame interview, Carver head coach Pierre Coffey was asked what this victory means to him.
“You can look right there at those fans,” he said as he pointed to the Carver supporters. “All those people from 3100 Eight St., that’s what football is. We’re a family. We have a rich heritage and lean into football, and we take great pride in producing young men and young women.”
Overcoming adversity
In 2022, their first season with Coffey leading the program, the Tigers went 9-3 and reached the Class AAA quarterfinals while mourning the deaths of wide receiver Braylon Jakes’ parents and sister. Byron, Katrina and Kamryn Jakes were killed in a car crash that October as they drove home from Carver’s game at Thomasville.
In 2023, the Tigers went 10-4 and reached the Class AAA semifinals while overcoming the dissension and distraction from fights that erupted among assistant coaches and players that October after their game at Dougherty County.
In 2024, the Tigers improved again to make their season last one game longer.
“People don’t understand how difficult it is to be playing in Week 15,” Coffey said. “I’ve just got to thank God. God is amazing. These young men have worked so hard. . . . This is the fruits of our labor.”
First quarter
Jakes, now a senior, fittingly was the player who sparked Carver’s romp on the first play of the game. He returned the opening kickoff 63 yards to the Burke 18-yard line.
Burke’s face-mask penalty helped the Tigers reach first-and-goal at the 4. On second down, senior fullback Jameil Williams scored on a 1-yard run. Freshman kicker Kendrick Pearce-Spencer’s extra point made it 7-0.
Carver’s defense forced the Burke wing-T offense into a three-and-out, but the Bears recovered a fumbled punt return on the Tiger 48.
Junior defensive back Antavius Watts broke up a potential touchdown pass in the end zone. On fourth-and-5, however, the Bears tied the game on senior running back Kel’von Scott’s 22-yard touchdown run.
Carver junior quarterback Matthew Mungin III connected with junior wide receiver Kei’maurii Miles on a deep pass to the Burke 21. On fourth-and-1, junior running back Jakobe Caslin reached the Burke 7.
Mungin found Jakes on a screen pass for a touchdown that was nullified by a penalty, but the Tigers still notched some points out out of the possession when Pearce-Spencer kicked a 27-yard field goal for a 10-7 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Second quarter
Carver senior safety/linebacker Zay Billingsley’s 17-yard interception return for a touchdown and Pearce-Spencer’s extra point made it 17-7 in the opening minute of the second quarter.
After the Carver defense again stymied the Bears, junior running back Kelston Tarver darted through a huge hole created up the middle by Carver’s offensive line for a 16-yard touchdown. Pearson-Spencer’s extra point made it 24-7.
Mungin hit Miles with a 51-yard pass to the Burke 1 in the final minute of the half. Two plays later, they connected again for a touchdown with 15 seconds left, capping an 11-play, 93-yard drive. Pearson-Spencer’s extra point made it 31-7.
Third quarter
A Carver fumble set up Burke’s 28-yard touchdown pass to bring the Bears within 31-14. But the Tigers immediately answered.
After a Caslin run converted a fourth-and-1 from the Burke 40, Mungin threw a 31-yard touchdown pass to Jakes, completing an 11-play, 75-yard drive. Pearson-Spencer’s extra point made it 38-14 with 3:50 left in the third quarter.
Mungin wasn’t done. He completed a 20-yard touchdown pass to Miles with 1:11 left in the third quarter. Pearson-Spencer’s extra point made it 45-14.
Fourth quarter
Miles also wasn’t done. He delivered his third touchdown catch of the game, a 54-yarder from Mungin with 8:36 left in the game. Pearson-Spencer’s extra point made it 52-14.
Mungin completed 19 of 20 passes for 327 yards and four touchdowns.
During his GPB-TV postgame interview, Mungin was asked what it’s like to have so many scoring options around him.
“Oh, my God, it’s unbelievable,” he said. “A lot of us have been playing with each other since we were little, so the connection always has been there. But like, well, they gotta see us again next year. We’re only juniors.”
Mungin added, “We’ve got an unbelievable group of guys on the team, and I think we very much deserve this win.”
This story was originally published December 17, 2024 at 7:17 PM.
