Next State Championship
The semifinal game was a matchup between two of the top coaches in Georgia as Marist's Alan Chadwick, who has 457 career wins and three state titles in his 41 years at the helm, went up against BC's Danny Britt, who now has 196 career wins as his Cadet squad advanced for a chance to win its fifth state title in his 15 years leading the program.
"I have to give a lot of credit to Coach Chadwick and Marist, they are a tough and resilient team, and they showed it tonight," Britt said. "But I thought we came out and did what we had to do — we played with physicality from start to finish. It was tough for our defense facing an offense that we never see, but they never backed down, and we got the big stops when we needed them."
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"I have to give a lot of credit to Coach Chadwick and Marist, they are a tough and resilient team, and they showed it tonight," Britt said. "But I thought we came out and did what we had to do — we played with physicality from start to finish. It was tough for our defense facing an offense that we never see, but they never backed down, and we got the big stops when we needed them."
Benedictine scored first in a play that resembled a lightning strike when junior Eron Mallard took the ball around left end, eluded a would-be tackler, and left Marist defenders in his wake on an 80-yard touchdown run on the game's first play from scrimmage.
Marist took advantage of a short field after a Cadet fumble on BC's second possession, and senior quarterback James Lasco scored on a 14-yard run to tie it up at 7-7 with 8:39 left in the first quarter.
BC responded with an 8-play, 80-yard touchdown drive highlighted by a 41-yard pass from Stephen Cannon to Mallard to move the chains on a 3rd and 20. Stanley Smart Jr. closed it out with a 21-yard scoring run off right tackle as BC went up 14-7.
Cannon, who signed with Texas Tech on Wednesday, had another huge game. In the second quarter, he scrambled for a 37-yard gain on a 3rd and 9, and then scored on a 26-yard run where he bounced off two-would be tacklers just two plays later. He ran for a career-high 103 yards on 13 carries and was 8 of 10 passing for 123 yards, with a 13-yard scoring pass to Bennett Conaway.
BC responded with an 8-play, 80-yard touchdown drive highlighted by a 41-yard pass from Stephen Cannon to Mallard to move the chains on a 3rd and 20. Stanley Smart Jr. closed it out with a 21-yard scoring run off right tackle as BC went up 14-7.
Cannon, who signed with Texas Tech on Wednesday, had another huge game. In the second quarter, he scrambled for a 37-yard gain on a 3rd and 9, and then scored on a 26-yard run where he bounced off two-would be tacklers just two plays later. He ran for a career-high 103 yards on 13 carries and was 8 of 10 passing for 123 yards, with a 13-yard scoring pass to Bennett Conaway.
Cannon was the third string quarterback his freshman season when the Cadets won their second state championship in a row with a 14-13 win over Cedartown at Center Parc Stadium in Atlanta. Now he's going to get the chance to end his high school career on the highest of notes.
"This feels a little crazy. It still hasn't hit me yet; it probably will when I wake up in the morning," Cannon said. "But we did what we set out to do. The message all week was to outdo them physically. They played really hard, but so did we, and I think our athleticism made the difference. Eron Mallard set the tone on that first play, and he has been making so many big plays for us this year. This is really exciting, and it's everything I've dreamed about since I came to BC. Now, we need to finish it, we need to go out there and win it."
Mallard had three receptions for 68 yards to go along with his one run of the night — the 80-yard touchdown sprint.
Marist cut the BC lead to 21-10 right before the half on a 51-yard field by Tyler Baradel on a kick that would have been good from 60 yards. Baradel converted again from 35 yards to cut the Cadet lead to 28-20 with 4:03 left.
The War Eagles showed how effective their style could be to start the second half, going on a 15-play, 80-yard drive that ate up 7:33 off the clock. Parks Kaiser scored from 3 yards out to make it 21-17.
But the Cadet defense held Marist to 178 yards rushing and 239 yards of total offense. Lasco led Marist with 91 yards and the score on 24 carries.
Cadet defensive tackle Kam Cody, who signed with Clemson, was a key factor as usual. He played through an arm injury and fired up his teammates with his fiery style of play. Cody saw playing time in five games as a Cadet freshman on the state title team, before suffering a heart incident that nearly cost him his life at practice.
Cadet defensive tackle Kam Cody, who signed with Clemson, was a key factor as usual. He played through an arm injury and fired up his teammates with his fiery style of play. Cody saw playing time in five games as a Cadet freshman on the state title team, before suffering a heart incident that nearly cost him his life at practice.
Cody, who was recently named the Region 1-4A Defensive Player of the Year, came back to become a star his sophomore season and has been working hard ever since toward his goal of helping lead the Cadets to another state title.
"I wasn't able to play in the state championship game as a freshman, but I was blessed to be there with the team when we won it," Cody said. "It was hard not to play in that game, but now I'm getting another chance. We did what we needed to do to win tonight, and I'll be ready to give it my all in the championship game."
