Blessed Trinity Wins Second Consecutive Football Championship

By Mike Blum

ROSWELL, GA — After Cartersville couldn’t put a dent in the Blessed Trinity defense last year with star quarterback Trevor Lawrence at the helm, what were the chances the Purple Hurricanes were going to do any better when they played the Titans for the state Class AAAA championship Wednesday?

Blessed Trinity head coach Tim McFarlin gave the Canes a break when he decided not to play defensive standout J.D. Bertrand, who suffered a sprained medial collateral ligament in his knee during the team's previous playoff game. Bertrand wanted to play, but McFarlin wasn’t about to jeopardize the student-athlete's future at Notre Dame.

Bertrand watched from the sidelines as his teammates held Cartersville without a touchdown in a 23-9 victory Dec. 12 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. It was the second straight state title for the Titans, who again used an exceptional defensive effort in the championship contest.

After having to go on the road in their final four playoff games last year, the Titans played three games at home this season, just one away and the title game on a neutral field. They completed a perfect 15-0 season with the victory over Cartersville, breaking open a close game with 16 unanswered points in a stretch of less than 5-and-a-half minutes in the final period.

Leading 7-6 heading to the fourth quarter, the Titans scored on a safety after the Cartersville punter couldn’t handle a high-center snap from the 10-yard line. That was followed in quick succession by a BT touchdown, a forced fumble by the Titans and another Blessed Trinity touchdown. That made it 23-6, with the Titans stopping the Purple Hurricanes at or inside the BT 20 for a third time to force a third Cartersville field goal. BT then ran out all but the final three seconds to clinch the win.

"We have a great defensive coordinator and good players," McFarlin said of John Thompson, the Titans’ lead defensive coach. "It’s no secret."

Even without Bertrand, who anchors BT’s defense from his linebacker position, the Titans held
Cartersville without a touchdown and forced three turnovers. BT got outstanding efforts from a sizable number of defensive players, among them senior lineman J.R. Bivens, who had been sidelined in recent weeks with an injury.

The Titans got interceptions from quarterback/safety Jakes Smith and Alex Poma. Two-way standout Ryan Davis forced the fumble that set up the final BT touchdown with Carson Harof recovering. Bivens, Joseph Chambers and Quinton Reese all turned in big plays on defense, with Harof and Davis contributing some key pass breakups.

Steele Chambers also played an important defensive role for the Titans, but did his most vital work on offense, even though his stats were relatively run-of-the-mill by his standards. Working against one of the state’s top defenses, Chambers battled for 97 yards on 23 carries, converting
several crucial first downs on tough third-and-fourth down runs. On this night, however, the Titans’ main man was Davis, who starred on both sides of the ball. In addition to his quality play in the defensive secondary, he had seven of his team’s 10 receptions for 135 of BT’s 156 passing yards, and had another catch nullified by a penalty.

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Davis set up the first Blessed Trinity touchdown Wednesday with a 43-yard catch in the opening period, making a nice grab in coverage on an excellent throw by Smith. That led to a 9-yard scoring toss from Smith to sophomore fullback Ryan Dupont, who slipped out of the backfield to give the Titans a 7-3 lead early in the second quarter they would never relinquish.

With the Titans facing second-and-22 after the safety put them ahead 9-6, Davis made a 15-yard
reception to give BT a chance to convert the third down, which he did by getting behind the Cartersville secondary to catch a 54-yard scoring pass from Smith. The defensive back covering him fell to the turf while trying to impede Davis from behind, with the BT receiver making the catch all alone before crossing the goal line.

Two plays later he stripped the ball from a Cartersville receiver to set up the final BT score, while also adding his seventh catch to help the Titans put the game away. With a college coach standing within earshot, McFarlin answered a question about the job Davis has done during his career with the Titans.

"Any college coach that doesn’t offer Ryan Davis is stupid," he said.

Davis is one of five seniors who have been major contributors since their freshman seasons, and
helped lead BT to three state championship games in their four seasons. Davis, Bertrand, Ohio State-bound Steele Chambers and Bivens all played key roles as freshman on the 2015 teams that lost in overtime to Westminster in the title game, with Smith taking over at quarterback for injured starter Conor Davis (Ryan’s older brother) and leading the Titans to a playoff win over a quality opponent.

Smith was 10 of 18 for 156 yards and two touchdowns against Cartersville, and scored the final BT touchdown on a sneak while contributing two runs for first downs in the final quarter. Although the BT defense allowed 321 yards, 175 on the tough running of Marcus Gary, the Titans stopped the Purple Hurricanes every time they threatened and forced Cartersville to punt seven times along with the three turnovers. Cartersville completed just 12 of 27 passes for a modest 139 yards.

“They were a different team from last year,” McFarlin said of the Purple Hurricanes.

Cartersville, which was 14-0 coming into the title game, lost only twice the last four seasons, both times to BT. While the Titans will sorely miss the five seniors who played four seasons at the varsity level, they will lose only a handful of other front line seniors, among them Poma and Jake Lyons on defense, offensive lineman Jack Jacobs and kicker Ethan Chauvin.

Blessed Trinity will return at least 15 underclassmen who served as either starters or front line backups, including four of the five starters in the offensive line, led by two-way player Jack Filipowicz. Chambers, Davis and Smith will be especially difficult to replace on offense, but the Titans are likely covered at tailback with Elijah Green and Jackson Hamilton, who both missed most of the 2018 season with injuries.

Reese and tight end James Bryant will look to take on more of the pass catching duties after starting on offense as juniors, with freshman Banks Atkins the only returning quarterback with any varsity experience. Even with the loss of seven starters, the Titans should again field a solid defense in 2019, but it will be something of a rebuild without the five four-year standouts.

After Wednesday’s game, McFarlin said he is inclined to return for the 2019 season, and expects to make that decision shortly.

"It’s always fun to rebuild," he added.

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