By Tyler Andrews/Score Atlanta
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.
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