After losing to Rabun Gap, can Providence Day rebound for a third consecutive state title?

The Providence Day Chargers took last week’s loss to Rabun Gap personally.

The Eagles came to Charlotte and upset the top-ranked team in the Carolinas Top 25 poll, The Observer’s Sweet 16 and the NC Independent Schools rankings by a score of 42-27.

The Chargers’ coaches and players, who end regular-season play Friday, said losing a shot at an unbeaten season is a disappointment, but their ultimate goal is still in play — winning a third straight state championship.

“My kids were hurt,” coach Chad Grier said. “They haven’t lost many (games). I think we fully went out there expecting to win. Give credit to (Rabun Gap), they were really good. But, I think our kids were just really hurt because it is a game they felt like they could have won and we want to play a championship game at home.”

Despite the loss, the Chargers maintain an 8-1 record but winning a state championship will likely mean a trip to Georgia to play Rabun Gap, instead of hosting the final at home.

“Our kids are very hungry,” Grier said. “I think that there were times where we didn’t execute in all three phases of the game against (Rabun Gap). We hope to see them again. But again, the kids are very motivated and we will get back to playing ball and see where it takes us.”

Grier is taking all the responsibility for the loss.

“It is my job to handle all the negative in the program,” Grier said. “We made a lot of mistakes. But, I think we did a lot of good things too. That is one thing I tried to remind the kids is that they did a lot of good things against a very good team. The funny thing was the first time (Rabun Gap) had trailed all year was when we scored first, and the first time we had trailed all year was when they took the lead back.”

A year ago, Providence Day was upset by Charlotte Christian in the regular season, but went onto win a state title. Now, the Chargers hope history repeats itself.

“Our kids know what it takes to be successful,” Grier said. “We are going to stick to our process and what we know how to do. But, I want the kids to go have fun and be teenagers this weekend. Their job is simply to have a short memory and let it go. When we win, I want them to enjoy it — but in the rare occasion that we lose, man we have to let that go.”

Providence Day will host rival Charlotte Latin on Friday, and if it wins, it’ll win the conference championship, which would be its fourth in a row. That would be a school record.

That said, the Chargers’ ultimate goal is winning a third straight state championship, Grier said. A title will likely require a win against Rabun Gap in the Georgia mountains.

“If we get the chance to play them again, it doesn’t matter where that game is played, our kids will be ready,” Grier said. “We are probably going to have to play the school down the street (Charlotte Christian) again, which is no easy task. We can’t look ahead to the rematch with Rabun Gap. We have to be focused on going 1-0 each week.”