‘The future’s very bright.’ Outmanned Providence Day goes down fighting in state semis
Providence Day has a young high school football team, and it showed in Friday’s 52-42 loss to Rabun Gap (Georgia) in the N.C. Independent Schools state semifinals.
Rabun Gap was bigger, stronger and more experienced.
“They’re huge,” Providence day coach Chad Grier said. “We knew going in that man to a man, we were going to be outsized more so than any game we’ve played.”
Rabun Gap had a couple of one-play possessions with runs of more than 70 yards coming after the offensive line opened huge gaps.
Rabun Gap had runs where Providence Day had Yunus Altincinar or Coleman Bryson gang-tackled and apparently stopped, but then Altincinar and Bryson would pop out of the pile and keep going.
At one point in the first half, Rabun Gap led 31-7, and it led 45-27 at halftime.
“They didn’t quit,” Chargers’ coach Chad Grier said. “When the other team puts 45 on the scoreboard in the first half, that might intimidate some teams. But our kids kept going.”
Providence Day has 12 seniors and 16 freshman. There are more sophomores (11) than juniors (nine). The Chargers, to me, look equipped to become the type of year-in, year-out power that Charlotte Christian has developed into under Knights coach Jason Estep.
And Christian will play Rabun Gap at home next week, seeking a fourth consecutive state championship.
On Friday, Providence Day was down 31-7 in the first half, but kept fighting. Twice, the Chargers had real chances to score down 10 points. Earlier this season they split two games with Charlotte Christian.
What they need, in my opinion, is to get older and bigger, and that’ll start probably in a few weeks under Grier, who won four state championships at Davidson Day.
He said when he got hired he wanted to build a national power on Sardis Road. The thinking here is that he’s well on his way.
“We set out to create a new culture here,” Grier said. “Now we gotta figure out how to finish and get over the top. We’ll get better. We had some really key seniors, and I hate they don’t get another week. I hate that personally I don’t get another chance to coach them. We’re also very young. (The) future’s very bright.”
Friday’s Observations
▪ Charlotte County Day couldn’t play in its semifinal at Charlotte Christian Friday. A COVID-19 case on the team and contact tracing among some other players meant the Bucs couldn’t play.
That was a tough blow for Country Day, which had been competitive in games with Charlotte Christian and Providence Day this season. Bucs quarterback Russell Tabor is one of the best private school players in North Carolina. It’s tough to have your season or your career end in any year, but this one was extra hard.
▪ Providence Day junior quarterback Grantt Logan is ranked as the state’s top drop-back passer in the Class of 2022. Logan showed Friday that he can be a punishing runner. At 6-foot-2, 205 pounds, he basically ran the Chargers down the field for a score, stepping in briefly for starter Jake Helfrich. He also showed off a very strong arm.
▪ I’m sure Charlotte Christian coaches were watching Friday’s game. The Knights will have to stop Rabun Gap’s powerful run game to win. Rabun Gap ran for nearly 400 yards and passed for 32 against Providence Day.
Stop the run and Christian wins the chip. It’s that simple.
