Defy all odds: Deerfield-Windsor football ready to win state championship

ALBANY, GA – For the second time in three years, Deerfield Windsor’s football team will compete in the three age CIA state championship, this time taking on last year’s state champions, Valwood.

“We’ve just got to take care of the little things,” Deerfield-Windsor head football coach Jake McCrae said. “Make sure that we don’t take our emotions too far in either direction; stay focused on the task ahead of us and we’ll be all right.”

Won’t be the first time these teams are meeting in 2024 either. Back in October, the Knights would crush the Valiants 27-6 to improve to 7-2 on the season.

But even though they beat Valwood once, McCrae says his team can’t expect the same outcome from that game going into the championship.

“The team isn’t the same team we played and we’re not the same team they played,” McCrae said. “Both teams have grown. Everybody’s in better shape. People are making less mistakes. Scheme wise, it’s not too different for either of us.”

But the Knights haven’t just grown since that game, they’ve grown since the beginning of the season.

After a 1-9 year in 2023, Deerfield was able to turn it around and finish this regular season 7-3, including wins against the defending state champs in Valwood, and against the number one school in Class 3A, Westfield.

Now they’ll have to defy all odds one last time and do something they haven’t done since 2012. Win the championship.

If we’re lucky enough to to win it all, it’ll just be because of the very simple thing that these kids played for each other,” McCrae said.