Blessed Trinity Captures Third Straight State Football Title

Editor's note: Written by Mike Blum.

ROSWELL, GA — The Blessed Trinity Titans captured their third straight state Class AAAA champion Saturday at Georgia State’s stadium, defeating Oconee County 17-14.

Saturday’s game was the most closely contested of the Titans’ three championship contests, following a 16-7 win at Marist in 2017 and a 23-9 victory last year over Cartersville at Mercedes Benz Stadium.

The Georgia High School Association moved the eight state championship games to Georgia State this year due to the extremely high cost of returning to Atlanta’s downtown domed stadium. The fans of the eight teams that played Saturday got a huge break with the weather, as the constant rain and chilly temperatures from Friday turned sunny and a little warmer Saturday.

Blessed Trinity’s victory was part of a successful weekend for Atlanta area schools, as teams from Fulton, Cobb, DeKalb and Gwinnett all defeated opponents from outside the metro area, while two of the eight games involved a pair of metro teams.

The Titans (14-1) claimed a third straight state title in similar manner to their previous two – with stingy defense and sufficient offense to get the job done. Blessed Trinity yielded just one touchdown in its first two state title contests, and limited a high-powered Oconee offense to just 169 total yards, shutting down the Warriors’ ground game while keeping LSU commit quarterback Max Johnson in check, limiting him to under 100 yards passing.

The Blessed Trinity offense faced its first serious test of the post-season after scoring 152 points in its four playoff games.

BT put up some solid numbers for a championship game, but for the first three quarters the Titans’ offense consisted of three long runs by senior tailback Elijah Green and not a whole lot else.

Green broke loose for 49 yards down the right sideline to the Oconee 18 on the game’s first non-penalized play to set up a 34-yard field goal by Aaron Werkheiser, and scored on consecutive carries of 30 and 66 yards in the final 1:11 of the first half put the Titans ahead 17-7.

The Warriors scored in the final minute of third quarter to close within 17-14, and got the ball back at the BT 47 after a third straight strong defensive series.

The Titans’ defense responded with its fifth three-and-out of the night, beginning with a sack on first down by two-way lineman Ty Furnish. Senior Quinton Reese, who had an outstanding game from his cornerback position, defended a third down pass to force a punt, and the Titans started from their 10-yard line with just under nine minutes left on the clock.

Oconee (13-2) never touched the ball again. BT responded with a 15-play drive that covered 89 yards to reach the Warriors’ 1-yard line with Oconee out of timeouts and a minute to play. BT coach Tim McFarlin, a good friend of Oconee coach Travis Noland, elected not to pad the final score, calling for two kneel downs to end the game.

The final BT drive included some strong running by the Titans’ terrific tailback tandem of Green and freshman Justice Haynes, along with two timely play calls by McFarlin that he had saved for the exact moment he needed them.

Green and Haynes began the game-clinching drive with five consecutive runs for 28 yards, the last four by the freshman. But after a penalty and a 3-yard loss, the Titans faced third-and 14 from the 30. Typically, McFarlin calls for a draw play in that situation, but did not want to give the ball back to the Warriors and their dangerous passing attack.

Instead, he went to a play that had produced touchdowns of 58 and 77 yards the two previous weeks, but with a twist. It was the same play, a run fake by quarterback Duncan Reavis followed by a bootleg rollout and a throw downfield to the tight end.

But instead of having James Bryant on the receiving end, as he was on the long TD tosses from Reavis against West Laurens and Woodward Academy, the pass went to Grayson Gilder, a starter on the defensive line.

Gilder had not caught a pass the entire season, but managed to get open between defenders and snagged a 38-yard strike from Reavis for a first down at the Oconee 32.

McFarlin had one more ace up his sleeve, and drew it several plays later with the Titans facing fourth-and-2 from the Oconee 24. For one of more than 40 times Saturday, Reavis handed the ball to one of his interchangeable tailbacks on an outside run to the left. But instead of a sweep, the ball wound up in the hands of wide receiver Carson Harof on a reverse, and he had clear sailing before being knocked out of bounds after a 10-yard gain and a vital first down.

Again, the Titans faced fourth-and-2, this time from the Oconee 6. McFarlin decided not to kick a short field goal, keeping the offense on the field. Instead of going with the unexpected, McFarlin called for a power run by Green behind the right side of the excellent BT line, and the senior standout bulled through tacklers before going down a yard short of the end zone.

It was Green’s 21st carry of the night and he finished with 199 yards. Haynes added 55 tough yards on 19 attempts, giving the pair 254 of the Titans’ 265 rushing yards. Harof’s 10-yard reverse and a 1-yard sneak by Reavis on third-and-inches in the second quarter were the team’s only other running plays apart from a keeper by Reavis that was negated by a penalty.

Reavis was 7 of 11 passing for 80 yards, including three completions – two to Harof and one to Bryant – that keyed a modest second quarter drive that set in motion the decisive final 90 seconds of the first half.

Harof’s 45-yard punt was kept out of the end zone by senior Matthew Franke, who made a great effort to keep the ball out of the end zone, downing it at the 2.

The BT defense pressured Johnson into an intentional grounding penalty that backed the Warriors up inside their 5, and Harof’s 10-yard punt return set up the Titans at the Oconee 32. On the second play, Green took a toss left and sped into the end zone untouched behind some superb blocking for a 30-yard TD to put BT ahead 10-7.

Gilder pressured Johnson on the first play after the kickoff, but what appeared to be a fumble was ruled an incomplete pass. It was the second extremely favorable officiating call that went in Oconee’s favor in the period. A highly suspect pass interference call against the Titans on third down extended an Oconee dive, with Johnson connecting with his younger brother Jake for 34 yards and a touchdown on the next play. The two teamed up for a 3-yard scoring pass to cap a 13-play, 52-yard drive to pull the Warriors within 17-14 in the final minute of the third quarter.

Max Johnson was just 7 of 21 for 97 yards, with the Titans’ secondary of Reese, Harof, Bryant, David Coltrane and Jackson Hamilton doing an outstanding job in coverage. Linebacker Ryan Dupont keyed the effort against the Warriors’ running game, with linemen Gilder, Furnish and Michael Mitchler also contributing big plays.

The Titans made it 17-7 at the half when Green burst through another big hole created by the left side of the BT line, and shook off the only tackler able to lay a hand on him, racing 66 yards to score with just 10 seconds remaining in the quarter.

Like last year, the Titans will lose about half of their front line players, but this year’s senior class did not have nearly the reputation of the five 2018 seniors who were contributing parts of the team since their freshman seasons.

Bryant, Reese and ineman Jackson Filipowicz played vital roles on both sides of the ball, and Gilder, Nick Pereboom and Regan Smith started on the defensive line, which will be the area hardest hit by graduation. The defense also loses linebacker Ryan Attaway. Green, who rushed for 1650 yards and 21 touchdowns in 11 games, is the biggest offensive loss, but Haynes (1760 yards, 18 TDs) will step into the starting lineup next season and will have at least two more than adequate backups.

The Titans will move up in class next season and compete in a region that will include state powers Cartersville and Calhoun, but they will not lack for experience or talent. In addition to Haynes, BT returns Reavis, Harof and three starting offensive linemen – Furnish, Landen Byars and Johnny Ryan. Austin Burns was the only other senior starter in the offensive line.

Dupont, Hamilton, Harof, Mitchler and Coltrane provide a strong returning defensive nucleus, with freshman Mavrick Torrico showing considerable promise at linebacker after moving into a starting role due to injury. Furnish will also help up front on defense.

BT will also have to replace Werkheiser, but the team has never had a problem producing quality kickers.

McFarlin was especially happy his senior got to go out with a state championship.

“They’ve been overshadowed so many years; they had to wait for this one. We won a lot of close games this season and that paid off tonight.”