MaxPreps honors Patriots in football Tour of Champions

MaxPreps sports and the Army National Guard honored the Sandy Creek High School football team for the eighth annual Tour of Champions football presentation.

The ceremony, held Feb. 8 in the Sandy Creek gymnasium, featured a trophy presentation to head coach Chip Walker and his team.

MaxPreps utilizes a computer program called the Freeman Rankings to determine a team rank for the Tour of Champions.

The ranking system takes into consideration wins, strength of schedule, margin of victory, and quality of wins.The Patriots finished last season a perfect 15-0 and are ranked No. 88 overall in the nation and third in the state of Georgia.

“Coach Walker and the Sandy Creek Patriots have proven on the field that they are among the nations truly elite high school football teams,” said MaxPreps President and Founder Andy Beal.
Over the past five seasons the Patriots have posted a 67-3 overall record including three state championships in 2009, 2010, and 2012.  

Going into his 14th season at Sandy Creek, Coach Walker expects to hoist another state title at the end of the season.
“Our program has grown leaps and bounds over the past 14 years, our kids do such a great job working and our kids and the coaching staff is the main reason behind our success,” said Walker.

One athlete that knows all too well about the hard work that goes into the preparation for a season is cornerback Shaquille Wiggins. Wiggins, who recently decided to sign to the University of Georgia, accumulated 16 tackles and three interceptions last year.

“Coach stays on top of us in anything we do and getting that trophy for him just makes it all worth it,” said Wiggins to MaxPreps.

Sandy Creek was one of only 50 teams recognized for the eighth annual Tour of Champions ceremony and their 88 overall ranking was out of 17,000 high schools across the country.

This article was written by Horace Holloman III