Christian Heritage Lions been feeling playoff fever for weeks

Arkansas-SEMO Live Blog

The Christian Heritage has been in the playoff-mode for several weeks even though the playoffs start on Friday.

The Lions needed to win their last two games in order to qualify for the Georgia Class A-Private playoffs. They did so with a 26-7 win over Walker, then a 42-14 win in a re-match with Fellowship Christian last Friday.

"These last two games, we treated them like playoff games," coach Preston Poag said. "We had to win both to get into the playoffs or we'd be home instead of practicing.

The Lions (5-5, 4-3) were awarded with a road trip to undefeated Calvary Day in Savannah.

"I think my team is peaking at the right time," Poag said. "I tell them, 'Let's get in the playoffs and see what happens.'"

The Lions will leave Dalton today and spend the night in Savannah. Poag said the drive, about five hours, is too long for the players to sit on a bus -- even the school's custom charter bus -- before playing a playoff game.

"There's a lot of planning that goes into leaving on Thursday," he said. "We got some help from Calvary Day, and our Quarterback Club has handled a lot of the logistics.

"The bus ain't the newest on the block but it came from Philadelphia and I know it's got TVs inside."

The Lions made a two-day trip of their season-opener against Landmark Christian in Columbus, Ga., during an early season tournament. So driving down early is nothing new.

By rubber-stamping the logistical plans presented to Poag, that allows him more time to work on the game plan, practice during the week, and train his players for their most important game of the year.

He's been working with quarterback Tyson Cooper about fine-tuning the offense with footwork drills and linebackers Evan Townsend and Matt Cook about how they need to attack the Cavaliers' offense.

"This season has been a process for me too," Poag said. "Nobody give us a chance in Savannah, but let's go make some noise and see what happens."

The Cavaliers were dealt a severe blow over the weekend when doctors determined that sophomore quarterback Sal Calderon broke a bone in his right leg and suffered ligament damage, according to the Savannah Morning News.

His season is over. Elijah Harris finished the game at quarterback.

"I went to the doctor this morning, and they said I had a small crack in the fibula," Calderon told the newspaper. "The crack wasn't that bad, but the ligaments were. I'm out for three months. The best thing I can do now is be a leader and try to be another coach on the field."

Calderon had completed 80 of 111 passes for 1,019 yards and 13 touchdowns while rushing for 539 yards and seven touchdowns this season.

Poag figures, but doesn't know for sure, Calvary Day coach Mark Stroud will move one of his running backs -- either Robert Heyward or Brent Sanders -- to quarterback on Friday night.

"I think they'll be simple on offense," Poag said. "They'll try to get to the edges on us and we'll have to be able to tackle them in space.

"We've got to hang in there for four quarters."

If not, it could be a long trip back -- even on a charter bus.

Contact David Uchiyama at duchiyama@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6484. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/UchiyamaCTFP

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