Saturday, February 4, 2012

It was eight years ago when the New England Patriots got a Super Bowl win against Carolina, and in that Panthers defensive backfield was Josey's Deon Grant.

This time around, Grant's on the Giants' defense, and his high school coaches say he's driven to deny New England a Super Bowl sweep of his teams because of one experience.

When Grant was a sophomore in high school, his Eagles were manhandled by eventual state champ Thomas County Central in the playoffs.

Deon and his teammates vowed that wouldn't happen again, and the next year, they went 15-0 and won state.

Coach Rufus Hankerson said, "They had just beat us, and they had put a good whooping on us down there in South Georgia, and we went down there as sophomores and they played tough, but from that point we had a vision to meet them again in the championship. I think that's what's driving Deon right now, knowing that the Patriots did him by a field goal. I think it's gonna go the other way this time around."

If the Giants win, Deon will have championships at every level of football.