Sports
ELCA 35, Aquinas 14
Last season, Eagle’s Landing Christian came to the Georgia Dome and was humbled from start to finish by Mt. Paran Christian in the Class A private school final, 49-7.
Saturday morning things didn’t start off too well either for the Chargers as Aquinas junior Verenzo Holmes returned the opening kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown. But ELCA settled in, forgot about last season and instead remembered the creed of their head coach, Jonathan Gess. “Win the next play.”
The Chargers (11-3) rode that edict and their power running game to a 35-14 victory over Aquinas (12-2), giving ELCA its second state title in three seasons (2012) and third overall. The school won a Georgia Independent Schools Association (GISA) title in 1996.
Behind the bullish blocking of seniors Chandler Reeves, Kyler Albrecht and Austin Byrd, and juniors Jake Dallas and Max McBrayer, the Chargers ran for 313 yards on 57 attempts. Leading the way was senior quarterback DJ Hammond III, with 109 yards and two touchdowns, both in the fourth quarter that put the game away for ELCA.
“We thought oh no, not Mt. Paran again,” Hammond said of the team mindset after the Irish’s opening return. “But then we just went back to what coach Gess has always taught us, win the next play.”
Trailing 14-13 heading into the fourth quarter, on fourth-and-one at the Aquinas 18 yard line, Hammond got behind Albrecht and Byrd and muscled forward for first down yardage. But he broke out of the scrum and then ran over an Irish defender for the touchdown. On the two-point conversion try, Hammond rolled right, then darted back to his left and scooted into the end zone to give the Chargers the lead for good, 21-14.
ELCA’s defense gave the ball right back to its offense, and the Chargers proceeded to march 69 yards in eight plays – all but one a running play. On third-and-eight, following a false start penalty, Hammond pulled the ball out of the gut junior running back Trevor Gear (105 yards on 28 carries and a touchdown), and sprinted around the right end for a 32-yard score with a little over seven minutes left in regulation.
Aquinas’ final two drives of the game were ended by interceptions by sophomore safety/receiver Khaleb Hood. The first came with four minutes left when he grabbed a pass that sailed high over the middle from Irish senior quarterback Liam Welch. The second came with about a minute left when he picked off a desperation pass from Welch at the goal line on fourth-and-24, and raced 100 yards for the final points of the night.
Overall, ELCA’s defense limited Welch and Aquinas’ high-powered offense to 265 yards total. Welch was 15-of-29 for 164 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.
“Our mindset all week was just to win the next play,” said senior linebacker Chase Burdette, who led the Chargers with nine tackles. “At this level, teams are going to make some plays. You just have to forget about it, move on, and win the next one. That’s what we did.”
Gess said that mindset, senior leadership, and his own re-dedication to power football, made the biggest difference this season.
“I went back and looked at the tape of the championship game from last year, and I saw that I ran my favorite play, which is power, one time,” Gess said. “I decided then that we are going to be who we are, a power team. If you’re going to lose, go down being who and what you are, not something else.”
Aquinas 7 0 7 0 14
ELCA 7 6 0 22 35
A – Verenzo Holmes 99 KO ret (Crimmins Hankinson kick)
E – Trevor Gear 2 run (Alex Usry kick)
E – Usry 26 fg
E – Usry 48 fg
A – Justin Gibbs 6 pass from Liam Welch (Hankinson kick)
E – DJ Hammond III 18 run (Hammonds run)
E – Hammond III 32 run (Usry kick)
E – Khaleb Hood 100 interception return (Usry kick)
E – Trevor Gear 2 run (Alex Usry kick)
E – Usry 26 fg
E – Usry 48 fg
A – Justin Gibbs 6 pass from Liam Welch (Hankinson kick)
E – DJ Hammond III 18 run (Hammonds run)
E – Hammond III 32 run (Usry kick)
E – Khaleb Hood 100 interception return (Usry kick)
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