Class AAA
Blessed Trinity 12, Calhoun 7
Blessed Trinity led Calhoun 12-7 with only 10 seconds left, as the defense stopped Calhoun on a fourth down play at the 4-yard line to seal the victory.
The Yellow Jackets final drive started back in their own territory with six minutes left to play. On first down, quarterback Kaelan Riley mishandled a snap that put them back 23-yards. Three plays later they converted a 4th and 7 to keep the drive going. They continued to push the ball up the field with a combination of clutch passes and runs by Riley.
After a first down run by Riley put them at first and goal from the Titans’ 4-yard line, Calhoun had four chances to win the game. They ran a beautiful short-corner route with wide receiver Landon Rice on first down that was undone when Rice dropped what would have been the game-winning touchdown pass. The next two plays were stopped by the Titans defense when Riley tried to scramble and find the open receiver. Then on fourth down, Blessed Trinity once again stopped Riley short of the goal line.
“I had a peace about it,” Blessed Trinity head coach Tim McFarlin said about the last play of the game. “I really did. It was a little divine intervention. I felt like God sustained us throughout the whole season. We’ve had ten kids have surgery. We’ve lost kids all year long. I think that final drive is a reflection of how our year has gone. Our backs were against the wall, and I just really have confidence in these kids because they’ve done this all year. What the defense did there [on the last play], they have been doing that all year.
The first half displayed a pair of stout defenses and a battle for field possession to help the struggling offenses. The opening quarter saw little action from either team’s offense. Calhoun strung together a couple of solid runs and short passes but never got things going. The Blessed Trinity defense had a lot to do with that coming up with some big third down stops. On of the other side of the ball, the Titans could not do anything against the big defensive line from Calhoun.
The second quarter started out looking like the teams would go into the half scoreless. That all changed when Calhoun’s Riley connected with Ryan Randall on a 76-yard touchdown pass. Before the score, neither team had put together an offensive play that went for more than 13 yards.
With less than three minutes left in the quarter the Yellow Jackets got the ball back in an attempt for another scoring drive before the half. Starting with the ball on their own 10-yard line, Riley made a mistake running backwards and eventually was sacked in the end zone for a safety by Titans’ defensive lineman Logan Craighead.
Calhoun took a 7-2 lead into the half. They also led in total yards 130-90, although 76 of those yards came on one play.
The Titans opened the third quarter with a quick three and out on offense, but the Calhoun offense also went stale. Blessed Trinity continued to back up the Yellow Jackets deep in their territory throughout the whole quarter allowing them to have great field position on offense. Midway through the third, the Titans received a 42-yard field goal from Brooks Hosea to draw within two points at 7-5.
After forcing another Calhoun punt, the Titans raced down the field with powerful runs by Garrett Dupuis and Milton Shelton, along with some intermediate throws from quarterback Conor Davis. Then on 3rd and 17, Dupuis broke free on a 28-yard touchdown run to put Blessed Trinity up 12-7.
“They told me they wanted to run the ball,” McFarlin said about his offensive line. “At halftime, the offensive line said they [the Calhoun defense] were getting tired. They were obviously a lot bigger, but our kids were sold on the fact that we were going to run the ball and be patient. It worked, and it works when your defense does what our defense does.”
In the fourth quarter, the Titans just tried to hold on. After not doing much on offense, they once again looked to their defense to step up and carry the team.
Calhoun came into the semifinal matchup as the reigning Class AAA state champions riding a 28-game winning streak. Their opponents were fresh off of their best season in program history in 2014 with a 13-1 record and a semifinal appearance. With the win, the Titans moved to 13-0-1 and clinched their first trip to the state championship game in school history.
“You just have to be careful that you don’t get so caught up in it that you don’t take it in,” McFarlin said. “What it means is we have been able to take the program and do some things that are pretty neat.
Riley was the leader of the Calhoun offense completing 19 of 22 passes for 221 yards, while also putting together some great runs to move the chains. Randall finished with five catches for 110 yards to lead all receivers in the contest.
Blessed Trinity will face Westminster in the championship game next weekend at the Georgia Dome after Westminster took care of Cedar Grove 24-8 Friday to clinch a spot in the title game.
Class AAAAA
Glynn Academy 24, Ware County 16
How the game was won: The Terrors held on and knocked off Ware County for the second time this season in a nail-biter. Instead of punting out of the end zone with under a minute to play, up 10, Glynn Academy elected to take a sack in the end zone and make it a one score game with 42 seconds remaining. The Gators advanced the ball down the field and had the ball deep in Glynn Academy territory with 4.6 seconds remaining on fourth down. The Gators completed their final pass but were dragged down just shy of the touchdown at the one-yard line to end the game.
Top Performers: Deejay Dallas hit Randon Jernigan on a 45-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter. …Garrison Hurd scored from a yard out. …Kendall Cross found the end zone, Banks Entwistle drilled a field goal with 6:56 to play and Xavier McClinton intercepted a pass with 1:42 remaining all contributing to the victory. …Ware County scored on a Jaquez Bolds 4-yard run and a Jemar Lincoln 29-yard pass to Gary Williams.
Class AAAA
Cartersville 38, Bainbridge 7
How the game was won: The Purple Hurricanes advance to the state championship to set up a meeting with Buford, who ended their season a year ago in the semifinals, 27-3. Cartersville outgained Bainbridge 305-to-121 and allowed just 48 yards of offense in the second half.
Top Performers: Trevor Lawrence went 13-of-24 for 207 yards and three touchdowns. …Miller Forristall caught five passes for 90 yards and two touchdowns. …Tiamon Pennymon rushed nine times for 51 yards and one touchdown. …Kobie Whitfield picked off two passes and returned a punt 70 yards for a touchdown. …Bainbridge was led by Dameon Pierce’s 94 yards rushing. He also added a 95-yard kick return touchdown.
Class AA
Fitzgerald 40, Jefferson County 20
How the game was won: James Graham threw a 40-yard touchdown pass to J.D. King to give Fitzgerald a 27-0 lead with 1:23 left in the first half. T.J. Bell got Jefferson County on the board with a 5-yard touchdown run with 9:56 left in the third quarter but Graham answered with a 51-yard touchdown run to push it back to 34-7. Bell found Dakota Turner for a 15-yard Jefferson County touchdown pass but Graham closed the game with a 4-yard touchdown run to push the lead to 40-13.
Top performers: James Graham finished with three rushing touchdowns and threw a 43-yard touchdown pass to Montrell Harris that gave Fitzgerald a 20-0 lead and a 40-yard touchdown pass to J.D. King that pushed the lead to 27-0.
Class A-Private
Aquinas 35, Stratford Academy 28
How the game was won: After defeating Stratford twice in the regular season, 35-28 and 48-28, the Fighting Irish jumped out to a 28-14 lead with 6:37 to play in the fourth quarter. The Eagles began their furious comeback using an O’Showen Williams 2-yard touchdown run to bring the score to 28-20 with 2:53 left. On the ensuing kickoff the Eagles recovered an onside kick and subsequently scored on a Kasey Sanders 23-yard run with 2:38 to play. Aquinas answered and edged back ahead with Liam Welch’s second touchdown pass to George Welch with a minute to play. The Eagles drove the field thanks to a Sim Patrick 41-yard pass to Williams and had a first-and-goal with just over 30 seconds to play. On fourth-and-goal, Patrick tried to hit John M. O’Quinn but the pass fell incomplete giving the ball back to Aquinas with 12 seconds left and Stratford with no timeouts to stop the clock.
Top Performers: Liam Welch threw touchdown passes of 18 and 27 yards to George Welch. …Joseph Douglas scored on a 23-yard run. …D’Angelo Durham broke touchdowns of 26 and 29 yards. …For Stratford, Kasey Sanders scored three rushing touchdowns on gains of 33, six and 23 yards. …O’Showen Williams plunged in the end zone from two yards away.
Eagle’s Landing Christian 35, Prince Avenue Christian 14
How the game was won: Eagle’s Landing Christian outscored Prince Avenue 21-0 in the second quarter to take control and cruise to its second straight finals appearance. Andrew Hayes ran in a 61-yard touchdown to give Prince Avenue its only lead of the game and ELCA tied it up with a 14-yard touchdown pass from Donald Hammond to Cam Merritt to open the second quarter. Khaleb Hood returned a punt 61 yards for a Chargers touchdown to make it 14-7 and Hammond closed out the half with a 27-yard touchdown run. Prince Avenue Christian opened the second half with a 38-yard Noah Campbell touchdown run to cut it to 21-14 but less than a minute later Hammond opened it back up with a 51-yard touchdown run. Hammond iced the game on the first snap of the final frame with a 4-yard touchdown run.
Top Performers: ELCA quarterback Donald Hammond ran in three touchdowns and threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to Cam Merritt. … Khaleb Hood returned a punt 61 yards for a ELCA touchdown. … Prince Avenue Christian got its scoring from a pair of touchdown runs by Andrew Hayes (61 yards) and Noah Campbell (38 yards).
Class A-Public
Irwin County 19, Emanuel County Institute 15
How the game was won: Irwin County took its 19-15 lead with 8:04 left as D.J. Pollard hauled in a 35-yard touchdown pass from Zach Tolar. Emanuel County Institute drove down the field with a 46 yard pass from Rhett Gay to David Durden on a 3rd and 15 and eventually set up a 1st and goal with five minutes left. Irwin County stuffed the Bulldogs and took over on downs with 3:25 left, but the game was far from over. Irwin County fumbled the next play, and ECI recovered and was back in action with a 1st and goal from the 10-yard line just five seconds later. William Lewis sacked Gay on 1st down and Ricky Lee was held to just 1-yard on 2nd down. Dazhun Steele hauled in a reception on 3rd down to take ECI to the 7-yard line but on 4th down, the pass to Durden fell incomplete in the end zone and Irwin County was able to kneel out for victory. Irwin County took its first lead with a 67-yard touchdown run by Pollard in the second quarter but failed the PAT and led just 6-0. Lee answered with a 56-yard touchdown run and the Bulldogs took a 7-6 lead but Tolar answered with a 2-yard touchdown run to put the Indians up 12-7. Lee scored his second touchdown and a successful 2-point conversion gave ECI a 15-12 lead before Pollard hauled in the game-winner from Tolar.
Top Performers: D.J. Pollard had 16 carries for 182 yards and a touchdown and added two catches for 51 yards and a score to lead Irwin County. … ECI’s Ricky Lee took 12 carries for 124 yards and two touchdowns.
Clinch County 26, Commerce 19
How the game was won: Zebulon Johnson broke loose for a 30-yard touchdown run with 2:30 remaining to give the Panthers the lead before Machari Bighams sealed the deal with an interception with 1:51 to play to send Clinch County to the Georgia Dome.
Top Performers: Trezman Marshall scored on a 48-yard touchdown run. …Shannon Young punched in touchdowns of one and two yards on the ground. …Cole Chancey scored on runs of two and eight yards for Commerce. …Caleb Brooks scored from two yards out in the second quarter.
Loading ...
