HOSCHTON — For nine straight years Mill Creek coach Shannon Jarvis would politely wait in line to shake the hand of North Gwinnett’s Bob Sphire and offer the obligatory “good game” congratulations after watching his Hawks fall to the Bulldogs.
It’s something every coach has endured, and the Hawks were the new kids on the block, created out of northern Gwinnett schools Dacula, Collins Hill, and North Gwinnett in 2004. Early on it was accepted they just weren’t supposed to beat their rivals.
But nine straight times? Even when it was thought they were poised to take the next step during playoff seasons? Like in 2012, when they had knocked off Peachtree Ridge and took No. 1 Norcross down to the wire in a 49-41 loss and had the Bulldogs coming to Mill Creek Community Stadium.
Nope. The Bulldogs headed back to Suwanee with a 47-28 victory.
In 2013 it looked like Jarvis and the Hawks were finally set to take the plaudits, leading by 18 points midway through the fourth quarter. But a miraculous 21-point outburst by the Bulldogs in the final six minutes denied them once again in a 50-47 North Gwinnett win.
After a while you start to wonder if it’s just meant to be that way.
“We wondered a couple of times,” Jarvis said. “They and Norcross were the standards for us and it was important to us that to be considered a top program we had to beat one of them. But it just never went our way (in those first few years).”
That is until last year. The Hawks finally cleared the Norcross hurdle in 2014. They followed with a second consecutive victory over the Blue Devils in 2015. They ended their long nightmare against the Bulldogs later in the season via a 28-0 win in Suwanee.
Finally, Jarvis received the congratulations.
“Well, to be honest, he was congratulating us so much all I could say was thank you,” Jarvis said. “There is a lot of respect on both sides. He was telling us that he was happy for us because he knows what it takes to start a program from scratch. It was great to hear him say the kind things he had to say about our program.
“But that also was a huge hurdle for us. We had so many things happen in games with them that I don’t think we ever relaxed. There was a little sigh of relief when we got our second touchdown but we never truly felt comfortable until it ended.”
Now, the Hawks are the hunted. They are ranked No. 1 in Class AAAAAAA and will play host to the Bulldogs Friday night in a crucial Region 6-AAAAAAA contest, looking to begin a streak of their own in the series.
“It’s a little bit of role reversal for us and hopefully our guys will know how to deal with being the favored team against them,” Jarvis said. “Our whole community has been excited about this game. It’s a huge game for both teams.”
Both teams are coming off lopsided wins in region openers. Mill Creek whitewashed Collins Hill 43-7 while North Gwinnett took down previously unbeaten Mountain View 38-14 to set up this week's showdown.
“Last week was a big quality win for us. But we’re still a young team as far as understanding the grind it takes to be a top program,” Sphire said. “The danger about last week’s win was that it may have come a little quicker than we anticipated, and I just hope our guys don’t think they’re better than they really are.”
Sphire said Mill Creek deserves to be where it is and may now be the program that others try to emulate.
“Coach Jarvis has built a program that everyone should try to be like,” Sphire said. “Talent-wise they are one of the top two teams in the state.”
Which, for the Bulldogs, could cause some serious match-up issues. The two teams are separated by just one point on offense, with North Gwinnett scoring 171 points (34.2 points per game) and the Hawks scoring 170 (34 ppg).
The difference is on the defensive side, where the Hawks are second in Class AAAAAAA in points allowed (51, 10.2 ppg). The Buldogs defense has been porous, yielding 28.4 ppg, so the key may be whether North Gwinnett can slow down the Hawks enough to give its offense a chance.
“Offensively (Mill Creek) has it all. They also have a great special teams unit. Their defense is probably the best we will play all year no matter how far we go. Just a complete team,” Sphire said. “They are hitting on all cylinders in all areas right now. Just an impressive team.
“That being said, if we want to beat this team, we can’t let them jump on us early because I doubt that we can score that much against that defense. Points for us will be hard to come by so we can’t make mistakes, and making those positive in-game adjustments will be huge.”
However, despite the high-ranking, Jarvis said the same rules apply for their chances.
“We know every time we come into this game we have to be in playoff-caliber mode,” Jarvis said. “Rankings have never meant much. The key is that you can’t make mistakes in this game and win. You give away the momentum when you do that so that’s a huge factor in this game every year.”
Sphire said the time to take on their rivals is whenever they are on the schedule. But he’s not sure if a matchup this early is a good thing for his young squad.
“I’m not sure we’ve grown up enough to beat these guys right now,” Sphire said. “I love our team, and I feel like we have the potential to get back to a status where we can be considered among the top teams. But I think that may be another year away. It’s just that Mill Creek is playing at such a high level right now with tremendous players at every position. It’s going to be a tall order for us. We could play our best 48 minutes of the season and still lose by 14 points. It’s just a testament to how good Mill Creek is right now.”
“It’s always nice to hear that other programs respect you. But don’t let Coach Sphire fool you,” Jarvis countered. “That’s a good football team that can beat anyone, anytime. For us to win this we have to be able to control the tempo of the game. They are so explosive that we can’t give them that many opportunities.”
Despite losses already dished out to Collins Hill and Mountain View last week, and Peachtree Ridge still to play, Jarvis said things are far from decided.
“It’s possible with the way things may shape up that this game could eventually stand up to decide the (region) title again,” Jarvis said. “We tell our guys that every Friday is a championship night, especially in this region. There’s still a lot of football to play after this week, but whoever comes away with this win will have the upper hand.”
Sphire said win or lose, he’s having fun again.
“Well, we’re cautiously optimistic this week,” he said. “I feel like this team has made a lot of progress so far. I think they were frustrated with how last year went and they have come into this year ready to work hard and improve.
“I’m really enjoying coaching this team, probably as much as any team I’ve ever had. They make me want to come to work everyday.”
NORTH GWINNETT at MILL CREEK
-- WHEN: 7:30 p.m.
-- WHERE: Mill Creek Community Stadium, Hoschton
-- RADIO: WDUN AM 550
-- NORTH GWINNETT (3-2, 1-0 Region 6-AAAAAAA): Defeated Mountain View 38-14 last week
-- MILL CREEK (5-0, 4-0 Region 6-AAAAAAA): Ranked No. 1 in Class AAAAAAA; defeated Collins Hill 43-7 last week
-- NOTABLE: North Gwinnett leads series 9-1. Mill Creek got its first-ever win over the Bulldogs in 2015, 28-0 in Suwanee.
