Class 2A Blog: Carver-Columbus and Hapeville Charter face off in the 2A championship

Jarvis Jones went from Columbus, to the University of Georgia, to the NFL and then in 2023, he joined Georgia High School Football Hall of Fame for his playing years at Carver. In 2007 as a player, Jones helped lead the program to its first-ever state championship. Now, as his alma mater's first-year head coach, Jones is looking to lead defending champion Carver-Columbus to a 15-0 season as they face off with Hapeville Charter in the 2A championship game.

Carver enters the game 14-0, with only one contest decided by fewer than 10 points. Hapeville enters at 10-4 but is on a nine-game winning streak dating back to a game-five loss to top-seeded Carver-Atlanta, 14-7. The Hornets are in the championship game for the first time since winning the 2017 2A championship. Carver has dominated the playoffs, defeating its opponents by a combined 183-24. Hapeville, on the other hand, has battled through the postseason. Last week against Sumter County, the Hornets won a 24-18 overtime battle. Notably, Sumter County was also the only team to play Carver within one score, losing just 8-7.

Carver-Columbus enters the game on a quest for the team’s first undefeated season since 2007 and only its second ever. The Tigers have dominated the last two playoff runs, going 9-0 and outscoring their opponents by a combined 419-72. This year saw a lot of change for the program despite the roster remaining mostly the same. Coach Pierre Coffey left the team and was replaced by coach Jones. The team has somehow gotten even better, scoring over 47 points per game and holding opponents to only 5.36 ppg. The defense has been the most impressive part of the team, shutting out eight of its 14 opponents. However, the offense has been very strong as well, scoring fewer than 30 points only once, an 8-7 battle with Sumter County that gave the Tigers the Region 5-2A championship.

Hapeville Charter enters the game after a tough road to the championship.

The Hornets started 1-4; however, those losses came against Cartersville, Lee County, Westlake, and Carver-Atlanta. Since then, they have won nine straight, a run that has included three one-score games, two of which came in the playoffs. In the second round of the playoffs, Hapeville beat five-seed Appling County 35-27 in a heavily contested game. Then, in the last round, they won an overtime thriller against Sumter County, 24-18. This is Coach Winston Gordon’s 15th season as head coach, he is the program’s only head coach ever, and he is making his second championship appearance with the team. They are led by 4-star offensive lineman and Alabama-commit Chris Booker, who has helped set the tone for the team by imposing his will on opposing defenses and helping lead the Hornets to the state finals.

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