Blessed Trinity Reaches Semifinals With Win Over West Laurens

Editor's note: Written by Mike Blum.

ROSWELL, GA — In Blessed Trinity’s first two state playoff games, the Titans found themselves in tight games before pulling away in the second half to win by scores of 40-14 and 35-3.

State-ranked West Laurens was supposed to give the Titans their first serious playoff test Friday night. But despite some early offensive sparks from the Raiders, they were unable to mount a semblance of a challenge to the back-to-back Class AAAA state champions.

Blessed Trinity built a 24-0 halftime lead and went on to a 31-0 victory on the Titans’ home field in the quarterfinals, extending the team’s playoff win streak to 13 games over three seasons.

The Titans moved on to the semifinals this coming Friday against Woodward Academy, which handed BT its only loss of the season by a score of 13-10 in early September. The game will be played at Woodward in south Fulton, with the War Eagles getting a home game thanks to a fortuitous coin toss.

Woodward Academy traveled a little tougher path to the semifinals than did the Titans, needing a late comeback to win 31-28 at Cartersville in a battle of the No. 1 and 2 ranked teams in AAAA, both of whom came into Friday’s game undefeated.

Blessed Trinity (12-1, ranked third in the state, advanced to the semifinals with a dominant performance over West Laurens, which had also suffered just one loss prior to Friday night.

Offensively, the Titans got big games from their standout tailback duo of senior Elijah Green and freshman Justice Haynes, who combined for 231 yards on 22 carries. Green rushed for two touchdowns and Haynes for one, with the freshman returning the second half kickoff 80 yards to the West Laurens 11 to set up a TD run by Green.

The Titans did most of their damage with a handful of big plays, including one in the passing game that caught the Raiders completely unprepared.

The Blessed Trinity defense did its part, keeping a second straight playoff opponent out of the end zone.The Raiders enjoyed great success through the air on their first two possessions, but were completely stymied by the BT defense the rest of the way.

The Raiders had minus-17 yards rushing in the first half, with the Titans getting sacks from Michael Mitchler, Regan Smith and Ryan Dupont.

Thanks to a 24-yard run on the first play of the second half, West Laurens managed to finish the game with 5 yards rushing, with that play representing the only first down by the Raiders over the final three periods.

West Laurens quarterback A.J. Mathis was 8-for-13 for 146 yards in the opening quarter, with standout receiver Ben Carr catching four passes for 95 yards in the period. But the Raiders managed just two completions in their final 14 attempts, both to Carr, who finished with six catches for 112 yards.

Mathis was hit hard on a sack by Dupont on the final play of the first half and did not return after going 0-for-6 passing in the second quarter with two sacks.

After looking a little shaky against the Raiders’ passing game in the opening period, the Titans shut down West Laurens’ aerial attack the rest of the way thanks to some outstanding work from the BT secondary.

James Bryant ended a West Laurens threat with an interception in the end zone late in the first quarter after the Raiders went 81 yards to the BT 2. Two running plays lost four yards before Bryant’s interception on third down.

Carson Harof picked off a pass in the second half and had several other passes defended along with Quinton Reese. The Titans also got a strong effort from freshman linebacker Mavrick Torrico, who has stepped in for injured starter Ryan Attaway and is drawing comparisons with four-year starter J.D. Bertrand, now a freshman at Notre Dame.

BT started its first offensive series one yard outside the team’s end zone after an excellent West Laurens punt. Green picked up 10 yards on a draw play on third-and-9, and sped down the right sideline for 76 yards on the next play to the Raiders’ 12 before being dragged down. The drive stalled, with Aaron Werkheiser kicking a 26-yard field goal.

It took the Titans only four plays to go 80 yards on their next series. Haynes broke loose for 33 yards to the Raiders’ 36 before taking a toss down the left sideline for a touchdown on the next play.

The Titans used the threat of their powerhouse ground game to score through the air midway through the second quarter. Bryant, who doubles as a tight end, got ridiculously open behind a West Laurens secondary on third-and-3 for a 58-yard TD pass from Duncan Reavis.

Blessed Trinity put together its only sustained drive late in the second period, twice converting on fourth-and-short before Green scored on a 21-yard run. Green finished with 135 yards on 11 carries and Haynes also carried 11 times for 96 yards. Reavis was 6 of 9 passing for 86 yards.

The Titans are now 102-19-1 in nine seasons under head coach Tim McFarlin, who has guided BT to the semifinals each of the past six seasons with two state titles and a runner-up finish.