The Grady football team is off probation as a result of sanctions from an address fraud investigation in 2013 and is ready for an impactful season.
“Even though I know the team played very hard last year, it’s tough when you know you aren’t really playing for anything, as opposed to this year, now that you know your hard work [will pay off ],” coach Earthwind Moreland said.
Prompted by an anonymous letter, an APS investigation two seasons ago determined 14 players were fraudulently enrolled, resulting in an 0-11 record after the team ended the season 8-3. The Georgia High School Association fined the school $1,000, removed the coaches and the athletic director and prohibited the team from attending playoffs in the 2014 season.
“First and foremost, we do want to get back to the playoffs,’’ Moreland said.
Grady (1-0, 0-0 in Region 6AAAA) opened its season with a 40-13 win over Washington on Aug. 22, setting the stage for today’s game against rival Carver.
Quarterback Caylin Newton was the offensive MVP of the game with three rushing touchdowns and three passing touchdowns. The first region game of the season will be the week after Carver against Redan on Sept. 12 at 7:30 p.m., but first the Knights must play one of their biggest rivalry games.
“We’re going to take it game by game, and I think that if we do what we are supposed to do, then we will have a great shot at making the playoffs,” Moreland said.
Moreland said the team must concentrate on what it does well and everything will take care of itself.
“Basically, what we said is that we just have to focus on ourselves,’’ said Moreland. “If we focus on ourselves, and we are doing what we have to do, then we can let everything else take care of itself.”
The Knights will take on Carver (1-1, 0-0 in Region 6AAAAA) at 8 p.m. in their home opener. Grady has lost four of its last five contests against Carver. Before the losing streak, the Knights had beaten the Panthers 10 years in a row. Carver beat Washington a week ago 48-6.
“If you think in terms of Falcons versus the Saints, it’s one of those rival games that regardless of the records, it’s going to be a hard-fought game,” Moreland said. “It’s going to be very competitive. These guys have played against one another basically all of their lives.”
Carver won last year 16-12. The Knights last beat the Panthers, 28-27 in 2009 when the team finished 10-2 before losing in the second round of the state playoffs to Flowery Branch, 35-12. Flowery Branch was led by quarterback Connor Shaw, a current backup with the NFL’s Cleveland Browns.
Grady quarterback Newton,brother of NFL star Cam Newton of the Carolina Panthers, had a message for Carver after Grady’s defeat of Washington.
“It’s a very big game, I just feel like Carver talks too much,” Newton said. “They’re going to put their foot in their mouth when we bring the pain to them.”
