SAKS — Childersburg capped a remarkable turnaround Thursday night, defeating Saks 35-7 at Jack Stewart Field to close the season with a winning record.
After going 0-10 in head coach Matt Zedaker’s first season in charge of the program, the Tigers improved to 6-4 this year, narrowly missing the playoffs.
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“A great way to go out right here with six wins from zero wins last year,” Zedaker said. “We’re on an uphill ascend.”
The bounce-back season would not have been possible without contributions from seniors like JaMarion Davis. In his final game in a Childersburg uniform, the 5-foot-11, 165-pound quarterback accounted for four of the Tigers’ five touchdowns.
Davis scored on runs of 15 and 13 yards and threw touchdown passes of 37 yards to J’Kolby Thomas and 56 yards to Tristan Powell.
Davis finished the game with 87 rushing yards on 14 carries. He added 111 passing yards on three completions.
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“Had a great year, had a great season, had a great career for us,” Zedaker said. “I’ve got a sneaky feeling we’re probably going to see him playing on Saturday somewhere.”
Beyond his accomplishments on the football field, Zedaker praised Davis for his character and the impact he has made on those around him.
“One of the highest character kids we have on campus, in our community,” Zedaker said. “Straight-A student, unbelievable athlete, unbelievable believer in Christ, and just a fantastic kid. He’s a kid that’s a perfectionist. He’s the hardest critic on himself, but he’s the first one that lifts everybody up on this team.”
Childersburg’s first touchdown came on the third play from scrimmage when junior running back Dallas Brown broke through the middle of the Saks defense for a 75-yard score.
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Brown led the Tigers with 153 rushing yards on just seven carries, all in the first half.
“Dallas has got some special moves,” Zedaker said. “He’ll be our feature back next year.”
Childersburg senior running back Kevin Chatman took over for Brown in the second half, carrying the ball seven times for 80 yards.
Saks will hope to replicate Childersburg’s success in its second season under head coach Michael Easley in 2027. Despite finishing the season 0-10, Easley praised the Wildcats’ fight.
“What we saw is an incredibly young team, but they came out, and they just kept playing hard every game, which is exactly what we asked them to do,” he said.
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Saks’ lone touchdown Thursday night came on a 6-yard completion from Makhal Smith to Armoni Cooper.
Smith finished 9-for-19 passing for 89 yards. Daaron Williams was the Wildcats’ leading receiver with two catches for 44 yards. Damarian Adams added three catches for 19 yards.
Amarien Moore led Saks’ ground game with 46 yards on 11 carries. He also caught a 7-yard pass from Smith and intercepted a pass on defense.
Smith finished with 25 rushing yards on nine carries. Dakauri Clark caught one pass for 6 yards and recorded a sack on defense.
Thursday marked the final game in a Saks uniform for Jacory Jackson, Ty Hall and Aiden Chasse.
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“I’ve got three good kids that are seniors,” Easley said. “Two guys, Ty Hall and Jacory Jackson, start for us on both sides of the ball. Aiden’s a kicker for us, and they are three great kids who are going to be really successful in life.”
