Benedictine stormed into the second round of the playoffs having scored 58 points in Round 1. In fact, the Cadets have one of the most prolific offenses in all of Class AAA, having scored more than 40 points six times this season.
Then they came to Ellenwood.
Defending state champion Cedar Grove’s vaunted defense -- led by seniors Isaiah Ratcliff, Alvin Williams, Travis Rivers, Tee Denson, N’korian Newsom, and Brandon Hall -- had an answer each time Benedictine appeared ready to mount a challenge, and the Saints (10-2) went on to a 49-13 win at Buck Godfrey Stadium.
The Cadets (8-4) play a physical, uptempo style, mostly out of a double-wing set, and can throw the ball as well with strong-armed sophomore QB Holden Geriner. But Saints head coach Miguel Patrick said his team was prepared.
“We play a lot of up-tempo teams, and so we weren’t concerned about that,” Patrick said. “And we knew they threw a lot of hitches and short passes, so wanted to get up on their receivers, and if they wanted to do anything [deep] we would make them have to make those plays.”
Already leading 14-0 early in the second quarter, the Saints went up by three touchdowns when junior QB Austin Smith hit junior WR Sam Pittman in the slot with a hitch, and Pittman did the rest, weaving his way through Cadet defenders for an 18-yard touchdown.
But Benedictine finally got its offense going on its next drive. Junior Kejuan Mack’s kickoff return to the Cadet 35-yard line gave them good starting field position. From there, Benedictine mixed buck sweeps and counter runs by Mack and sophomore Kameron Edge with short quick passes from Geriner to senior WR Gavin Stewart. The result was a 16-play, 65 yard drive, capped by a 2-yard touchdown run by Justin Thomas to trim the lead to 21-7.
A couple of special teams errors by Cedar Grove gave Benedictine an opportunity to cut into the lead a little more, but the Saints defense held firm each time. First, a bad snap on a field goal attempt gave the Cadets possession at their 24-yard line. But Benedictine went three-and-out.
Cedar Grove muffed the ensuing punt and Benedictine recovered at its 44-yard line. Three plays into the drive, Geriner’s pass over the middle sailed high and was intercepted by junior Antonio Taylor.
The Saints took over and drove to the Cadet 14-yard line but missed a 33-yard field goal with :23 seconds remaining in the half. Benedictine chose to be aggressive, and picked up two first downs. But with just :05 seconds left, Latrelvin Blackamore stepped in front of Geriner’s pass to Stewart and raced down the far sideline for a 53-yard interception return for a touchdown to give Cedar Grove a 28-7 lead at the half.
Blackamore’s second interception of the game late in the third quarter essentially ended the contest. Benedictine converted a field goal on its first drive of the third quarter and started its second drive in good field position at its 42-yard line. The Cadets moved to the Cedar Grove 38-yard line and on second-and-three, Blackamore sat in the flat and waited on Geriner’s short hitch. He returned the interception 50 yards to the Cadets’ 13-yard line.
Two plays into their ensuing drive, the Saints cashed in when sophomore RB Rashod Dubinion darted around the right side out of the wildcat for an 8-yard touchdown run, to give Cedar Grove a 35-10 lead.
The win by the Saints sets up a rematch of last season’s state title game against Peach County. With both teams reigning as region champions, Cedar Grove’s side of the bracket won a coin toss held on Thursday morning, which means the Trojans will come to Ellenwood next week.
Even with that match up looming, Patrick said his team had not thought about Peach County all week.
“We always take things one week at a time,” Patrick said. “We know that if we didn’t do our job this week, there would be no next week. Now we can start to prepare [for Peach County].”
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