Class AAAA Blog: Keys to the big game

Two-time defending state champion Blessed Trinity is sending a resounding message to those that doubted whether the Titans would be back on the championship stage after graduating a loaded group of seniors this past spring. The Titans avenged their lone loss this season last Friday night, by cruising past Woodward Academy 46-21 and that 25-point win as the closest game that the team has seen during this current postseason run. Senior running back Elijah Green missed Blessed Trinity’s first matchup with Woodward Academy, but his presence was felt in last Friday’s matchup as he racked up 195 yards and three touchdowns in tandem with freshman Justice Haynes, who added 158 yards off 20 carries and a 53-yard score in the winning effort. The same defensive fortitude that fueled the last two championship runs has also shined this postseason and the unit has allowed just 9.5 ppg through the first four rounds.

Oconee County has been eliminated in the first round each of the past three seasons, but this year’s Warriors team has strung together an impressive postseason run that has them in the championship for the first time since 1999. The Warriors’ latest playoff victory was a 35-28 triumph over Sandy Creek, the classification’s highest-scoring offense. Senior quarterback and LSU-commit Max Johnson was huge for the Warriors, with two touchdown passes and two rushing scores. This performance came after Johnson’s 18-of-24 outing and two-touchdown passes led Oconee County to a 17-7 win over Marist in the quarterfinals. In Oconee County’s 39-7 win over Perry in the second-round, Johnson went 19-of-23 passing for 253 yards and five touchdowns through the air. This postseason, Johnson has accounted for 10 passing touchdowns and three rushing scores. The Warriors’ passing attack also features 6-foot-2 senior Ben Noland and 6-foot-6 sophomore Jake Johnson.

Blessed Trinity has a knack for limiting opponents with talented quarterbacks and Saturday will put the Titans to the test as red-hot Oconee County quarterback Max Johnson takes the field. The Titans have already tallied 41 total sacks this season heading into the matchup so how much pressure they can put on Johnson in the pocket will be a major storyline when the game kicks off. The Oconee County defense enters the matchup allowing just 12.7 ppg, but the Blessed Trinity running attack is going to be a big test for the Warriors. Leading the Titans’ backfield is 3-star senior and UNC-commit Elijah Green, a physical playmaker and the son of former NFL safety Victor Green. The younger Green carried the ball 23 times in the semifinals as he racked up 195 yards and three touchdowns.