FORT VALLEY, GA —Jonesboro, the two-time defending AAAA state champs in Georgia, have made the march to Macon by doing the dirty work all the way to the trophy presentation for the last two years. 

This year’s group of Cardinals have searched for an identity, comparitive to what they have been for the last couple of years. The one common thread for every Jonesboro championship team is intense defense.

Against Grady on Saturday night at Fort Valley State University, the Cardinals tapped into what they’ve been taught from the first day of practice - defense. Lots and lots of hard defense. That defense won out 77-49 against a very good Grady team. 

“We win, in my opinion, because we do the little things. We play defense,” Jonesboro head coach Daniel Maehlman said. “We held a team that really gets up and down to 49 points. Last night we held a team to 37. That’s hard to do in high school with the pace of the game these days. Defense is what we work on.” 

And it worked well on Saturday. 

As per Jonesboro tradition, the Cardinals have a nice rotation of tough, experienced guards. Tariq Jenkins and Eric Lovett were great in the victory. Jenkins scored at the rim at will while Lovett mixed up the three ball with drives to the lane. 

Jenkins finished with 20 points on the night and never missed a shot from the floor. 

“He’s really good. People don’t realize this is his first year getting major minutes. He’s been waiting his time,” Maehlman said. “He’s a great kid and waited for his moment to get out there. We’ve played against some really good people. He’s still inconsistent from time to time but the kid is really good. He’s hard to stay in front of. He can get by anybody and finishes well.” 

Walker had a game-high 22 points. He did what he always does. He scored all over the floor. The super junior had 14 first half points and scored at all three levels on the hardwood. He has been an absolute terror on the offensive end this year. 

“It’s very reliving to see where we’ve come from to where we are now. We knew we had a long way to go. We just believed in what coach is telling is,” Jenkins said. 

Jonesboro limited second-chance opportunities and converted on the other end in transition. The Cardinals took a 40-23 lead in the locker room at the half. 

Avi Toomer, a Bucknell signee, finished his brilliant high school career with 17 points in the loss. He’ll go down as one of the best players in Grady’s history.  

Jonesboro will play Liberty County on Thursday, March 3 at 8:45 p.m. for the AAAA state championship.