The St. Pius defense adjusted, and the offense responded.
The Lions struggled against a potent West Laurens offense in the first half but shut them out in the second, pulling away late for a 33-14 win Friday night.
Sixth-ranked St. Pius (10-2) advances to its fifth straight quarterfinal in Class AAAA. They’ll face the Sandy Creek-Bainbridge winner next week.
After allowing 163 rushing yards in the first two quarters – including 108 to running back Greg Covin – the Raiders (8-4) could manage just 25 total yards and one first down in the final two quarters, turning the ball over once and never mounting any sort of drive.
It was a significant change, and St. Pius coach Paul Standard said it was all about his players being where they needed to be.
“We had a couple of players who were playing hard, but they didn’t fit into their proper gap,” Standard said. “And they’re a good team. So when we don’t fit the right gap, and we have two guys in the same gap, they’re gonna expose us on those long runs.
“At halftime, coach (Jerry) Stewart went over it with them and showed them, so we did a much better job. On the perimeter plays, we just kept running to the sideline, working outside the blocks.”
With the Lions’ defensive adjustments, the game may have gotten away from the Raiders, but they had their shot early in the half, starting out with the ball while trailing by just a touchdown to begin the third quarter.
Following a two three-and-outs, it was still a one-score game when St. Pius faced a third-and-9 play from the West Laurens 48-yard line. Neither offense had made much headway since halftime. Quarterback Reed Egan scrambled to his right and threw a pass harmlessly out of bounds, but a facemask penalty kept the drive alive. Nine plays later, the Lions got into the end zone and got the insurance score they needed.
The first half was much different, though.
Led by the hard running of Covin, the Raiders scored on every first-half possession that didn’t end in an interception, closing the Lions lead to 21-14 at the half.
Covin ran for 108 of his game-high 118 yards in that half, the biggest runs going for 50 and 29 yards, and added a 4-yard touchdown run.
The biggest first-half score for West Laurens came with 8 seconds left in the half, when quarterback Jalen Mack couldn’t find anyone open, so he scampered left and into the end zone to close the deficit to one score.
Ryan Walsh led St. Pius with 105 rushing yards and three touchdowns on six carries, including a 75-yard scoring run in the first half. Lawson Cooper had 60 yards, and Grant Holloman added 59 for the Lions.
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