The dark numbers on the dark home jerseys worn by Eagle’s Landing Christian Academy’s players can be hard to make out.
But the Chargers made something crystal clear in Friday’s quarterfinal game against Darlington: ELCA’s quest for a fourth consecutive state title is right on schedule.
ELCA (11-1), the No. 3 seed in the Class A private school playoffs, dominated the Tigers (9-3), the No. 6 seed, from the beginning en route to a 42-0 win on a cold, raw, misty night at Commitment Field in McDonough. The Chargers mixed the run and pass early, bolting to a 29-0 first quarter lead, while the defense stifled just about everything Darlington tried.
“We wanted to come out tonight and show that we could do more than just run the ball,” said ELCA head coach Jonathan Gess. “Our defense showed a lot of resiliency and resolve. They take great pride in keeping teams from scoring.”
The Charger offense got things rolling on its first possession, as junior RB Keaton Mitchell darted 67 yards for a touchdown, the first of four he would score in the game, three in the first quarter. The point-after attempt was an early indicator of how things would go the rest of the game, as a bad snap appeared to scuttle the play. But holder Andy Meyer corralled the ball and ran it in for an 8-0 lead.
Mitchell scored again on runs of 5 and 29 yards, and senior QB Brayden Rush found junior WR Justin Robinson on a 9-yard scoring pass to give ELCA a 29-0 lead after the first quarter.
Darlington put together its best offensive possession of the game early in the second period when the Tigers, assisted by a couple of penalties, drove inside the Chargers’ 10-yard line. But ELCA’s defense, led by senior linebackers Johnathan Youngblood and Michael Meneely, and junior defensive linemen Jeremy Butler and Marquis Black, muscled up and denied the Tigers on fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line.
On the ensuing drive, ELCA gained 58 yards on the first two plays from scrimmage – a 33-yard run by Rush, and a 25-yard pass from Rush to junior WR Devon Dorsey. Six plays later, Rush whipped a quick pass out to Dorsey in the flat and he did the rest, using his blockers to skip into the end zone to complete the 99-yard drive and push the lead to 36-0 at halftime.
After forcing Darlington to go three-and-out on the first possession of the third quarter, Mitchell ended the scoring for the night with a 2-yard run. Mitchell, who has offers from several Power 5 schools, barreled in behind an offensive line (seniors Tre Riddick and Cody Carder, juniors Ethan Bruno and Sherick Rhodes, and sophomore Bryson Estes) that has paved the way for him to rush for over 2,000 yards and score 45 touchdowns in 12 games this season.
“We made some mistakes, but they really are that good,” Tiger head coach Tommy Atha said. “They just have some highly skilled players at every position. There’s just no margin for error against them.”
Still, Atha said he was proud of his team’s fight and enthusiasm until the bitter end. Indeed, linebacker Kobe Nadu scooped up a fumble on the game’s final play and outran several pursuing Chargers for an apparent 70-yard touchdown. But the play had been blown dead.
“They were still pulling for each other, still encouraging each other on the sideline all night,” Atha. “We said at halftime that if we’re going to go out, let’s go out on our own terms, fighting to the end. That says a lot about their character and I’m so proud of them.”
ELCA will now travel to Savannah to face No. 2 seed Savannah Christian (11-1), which took out No. 7 seed Fellowship Christian, 35-14. While the Raiders, currently riding a 11-game winning streak, will definitely have the Chargers’ attention, Gess said recent history will provide a lesson about overconfidence for his squad as well.
“Back in 2011 we rolled through the first three rounds of the playoffs and we got beat by our fourth round opponent (rival Landmark Christian, 14-7),” Gess said. “We can’t take anybody for granted.”
About the Author
