St. Pius’ season turned around on a Saturday morning after the Golden Lions had dropped to 0-2 for the first time in coach Paul Standard’s 14-year tenure.
Standard, in the moments after suffering a 41-21 loss to Woodward Academy in Week 2, told his team that they wouldn’t panic and weren’t going to change their approach. But there was one major change, and it took place behind closed doors in a Saturday morning meeting between coach and quarterback.
What happened next is one of the biggest reasons why the Golden Lions will get a second crack at Woodward Academy on Friday in the Class AAAA state semifinals.
Standard sat down with senior quarterback Joey Connors on the Saturday morning after the blowout loss to Woodward Academy. Not only did he ask Connors to move from quarterback to tailback, but he also wanted him to start at free safety.
Connors’ answer was simple: “Yes, sir. Whatever the teams needs. I’ll be ready to go.”
Since moving to tailback, Connors has rushed for close to 800 yards and made several big plays that Standard says wouldn’t have been possible with him at quarterback.
“I needed to find a way to get him the ball, and I told him that,” Standard recalled. “With him at quarterback, it limited some of the ways to get him the ball and allowed teams to take him away. Plus, he’s been very good for us at safety.”
With Connors at tailback, junior Reed Egan took over the controls of the Golden Lions’ option attack. St. Pius is 11-0, averaging 38.9 points per game with that offensive lineup.
St. Pius will host Woodward Academy on Friday. The War Eagles feature a much more balanced attack that St. Pius. Star running back Elijah Holyfield rushed for 160 yards and two touchdowns, and quarterback Jes Sutherland completed 10 of 16 passes for 129 yards and two touchdowns in the first meeting against St. Pius.
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Buford at Cartersville
Buford hasn’t been tested since a 27-20 win over Class AAAAAA semifinalist McEachern in Week 4. Will Cartersville be able to keep tonight’s Class AAAA semifinal matchup close into the fourth quarter? The Purple Hurricanes are led by freshman quarterback Trevor Lawrence and a stingy defense. Lawrence passed for 305 yards and led a game-winning scoring drive in the fourth quarter of last week’s dramatic 35-31 win over Sandy Creek. Buford had a much easier time in a 30-6 win over Marist and has outscored opponents 125-20 in the playoffs. The Wolves have won 38 consecutive games and are in the state semifinals for the eighth straight season. They won the last two Class AAA state championships, before, along with Cartersville, moving up to Class AAAA this season. The two perennial state powers have met three times, with Buford winning all three games.
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