that's a championship team right there [Music] welcome to the georgia dome in atlanta this afternoon it's the georgia high school association double a state championship game as the number one ranked benedictine cadets take on the number two ranked fitzgerald purple hurricane fitzgerald the champions of region one at 13-1 on the season they've won nine straight since their one and only loss at tiff county they've won their four playoff games by an average score of 42-16 benedictine 14-0 on the season the champions of region 2. they have won 34 of their last 35 games in fact their only loss in the last three seasons to fitzgerald in last year's quarterfinals they've won their playoff games by an average score of get this 52-8 and good afternoon i'm matt stewart joined by tucker coach brian lamarr and brian thanks a lot for being with us just 14 hours ago he was down there on the georgia dome field congratulations on the fine season even though you guys came up just a little bit short in the 6a final against valdosta yeah it came up a little bit short you know it was a great ride you know 15 game season a lot of coaches don't have that opportunity we were definitely blessed with it um hopefully we have opportunity to get back next year it's a long road you never know well like they say you've been there done that so what's likely going through the minds of fitzgerald head coach jason strickland and benedictine coach danny britt right now well right now they probably just you know trying to get ready to play you have very little control of what actually happens on the field and so you just along for the ride hopefully you prepared your guys hopefully hopefully they're ready to go and uh you'll make some calls throughout the game but the kids got to play and uh you know hopefully it goes in your favor let's talk about benedictine here they're going for their second state title they won it all in 2014 when they beat greater atlanta christian their offense is led by john wesley kennedy iii what can we expect from him and the benedictine offense today john wesley kennedy is outstanding player he's very explosive he gets the ball on the perimeter a lot of jet sweeps a lot of outside runs he'll mix it up and go inside a little bit got 35 total touchdowns he is mr big play meantime it was on this day in 1948 that fitzgerald won their one and only state title they've been back four times including last year when they were beat by pesa county county pace academy rather they're still looking for their second state title can jd king their outstanding running back who's committed to oklahoma state lead them back to the promised land j.d king is one of the best players not only in the state of georgia but in the country he runs the ball inside outside really strong physical runner he can do it all he can catch the ball as athletic a player as i've seen it's fitzgerald and benedictine meeting for the third time ever each team has won once against each other third member of our team is mickey noto down on the sideline nikki hey there matt i know we're in for an exciting one that's coming up right now let me just go ahead and tell you these two teams these coaches knew when they looked at their schedule in the preseason benedictine knew they were going to have to beat fitzgerald if they wanted a state title fitzgerald knew that they were inevitably going to have to be benedictine if they wanted a state title now coach britta been addicted he told me look we know that they are a well oiled machine over there at fitzgerald we don't anticipate to shut them down we can't do that but what we can do is slow them down and i think we'll have a shot matt and there is danny britt in his sixth season as the cadets head coach 65-14 and what an incredible job he has done they've been playing football at benedictine for a long time this is the 107th season at the savannah school playing football and he basically took them from a doormat the last 20 25 years and turned them not only into a state championship contender but a state championship winner yeah he's done an outstanding job you know anytime you're able to make long runs do the playoffs and do it year after year that's a testament to you as a coach on the other side jason strickland the head coach in his fifth season with 54 victories 81 overall as a head coach jason strickland has also done an outstanding job you know he took the took the reins at fitzgerald and kept that kept that machine rolling opening kickoff is brought to you by heads up georgia don't text and drive distracted drivers take lives and we are underway at the georgia dome the opening kick will not be returned as damien devine fields it in the end zone and so fitzgerald will start on offense at their 20-yard line [Applause] and they've got a fine quarterback too we talked about that in the pregame show brian james graham is kind of their ace in the hole number two ten offers including virginia tech oklahoma state and miami if you concentrate on jd king damien devine and ethan gordon too much he'll pop a long one on you there's no doubt about it he's a dual threat guy in high school football those guys are so valuable guys that can throw the ball that can run the ball and also be a great decision maker and look at that 23 touchdowns just four interceptions coach strickland says he last year is a sophomore just an athlete he's turned into a quarterback this year opening handoff goes to ethan gordon and gordon up to the 26-yard line as we take a look at fitzgerald on offense kyle burkhart the left guard his dad is the defensive coordinator neal and in the backfield we talked about j.d king espn three-star senior running back who was committed to oklahoma state over 13 other offers second down and four from the 26. first carry for jd key and king big run up across the 40-yard line up to the 42 picked up 16 on the play there's a very good run we have the old school buck sweep pulling guys around one guy blocks one guy pins in the nearest defender great run good vision by jd king they got that offense rolling and a beautiful block by number 51 the right guard jason poe the 6-1 243 senior who opened the hole out there on the perimeter yeah fitzgerald doing a good job right now not a big offensive line coach 265 at the left tackle spot carl smith he's the biggest guy keeper by graham and graham across the 50 open field tackle by the free safety phillip moore or it might have gone four more yeah you mentioned the side you mentioned the size of the fish gear alignment you don't have to be real big when you're running a lot of counters pulling guards you need guys that's going to be athletic and quick be able to block on the perimeter and that's what they do on their offense is a version of the wing t in the gun so it's a more updated version but you're gonna see guys pulling and trying to get the ball on the perimeter first and ten from the 48. graham going to go to the air for the first time instead he's going to tuck and run first down for graham and moore and he goes down hard at the 35-yard line colliding with jonah griffin the cornerback and his own player yeah but this is what we're talking about graham instead of forcing the bad play he tucks it gets what he can which is a first down those decisions are just valuable to your team instead of you know throwing the pick or making a bad decision he tucks it and gets the first down so well so far the purple hurricane off and his offense is gashing the cadets yeah they got to find a way to slow him down j.d king his second carry come back he might go there goes jd key 36 36-yard touchdown run and fitzgerald has the early lead yeah there it was again got those linemen pulling around uh a great cut by jd king again it's just old school football bug suite everybody blocking down kicking out and then there he makes the cut follows that near guard right up the middle of the field fastest way to the end zone is a straight line that didn't take long less than two minutes the p-a-t by colby bell and the purple hurricane have a seven-nothing lead oh he missed it i thought he put it through six nothing pardon me yeah he actually missed it p-18s are not automatic now you got to go through the whole process just missed it right a little bit um hopefully that won't come back to haunt them later on in the game so a six-nothing lead for fitzgerald a five-play 80-yard drive coach what did they do so well because it was so quick well it was just you know old school football block down and kick out jd king up the middle uh james graham on up the middle you know guys getting on the perimeter also you know just running a football doing what they do and then the 36 yard touchdown run right there by j.d king to put him on top sky kick is going to be caught out of bounds at the 35-yard line so they elect to kick away from collins and kennedy deep and they do the sky kit and mourinho the fullback backup fullback on the kick team makes the catch of the 35 so good field position here for benedictine yeah i think they just you know you think about those two guys they got back back deep you don't want to give up a touchdown you know that great field position starting off though the ball at 35 it's like starting with at least one first down so benedictine led by their quarterback six foot 190 junior nick iannone he's throwing 23 touchdown passes and three interceptions and i know quarterbacks hate this because it has a negative connotation and it shouldn't be they will get into some spread formations you know with 1600 yards and still throwing it a good bit for a run first team danny britt calls his quarterback a robot a machine just locked in and focused in practice we'll see how locked in is today tyler collins gets the handoff on the sweep and collins picks up four yards up to the 39 as we take a look at benedictine on offense gage blaxton their left tackle the most highly recruited player on the team he's got 11 offers including western kentucky navy and georgia southern and the combination of collins and kennedy we've talked about a lot already they are lethal and big time runners and that's kennedy right there he breaks across the 50. and kennedy finally drugged out of bounds dragged out of bounds pardon me inside the 15-yard line at the 14 a touchdown saving tackle by the corner clay harper well majority of kennedy's runs are going to be jet sweep tight plays they'll motion him give him the ball and try to get him on the perimeter that time he just got hidden you know kind of in the in the woods there and burst out for a huge game 47-yard pickup we told you this might be a big 12 type game right up the middle that's the fullback tarik smalls and smalls gets about six on the play more like five on the play down to the nine yeah doing a good job of mixing it up did a couple of outside runs and now using the fullback up the middle kennedy again kennedy this time tripped over his own man gage blackstone was down on the ground and he stumbled over him and it's gonna be third down right now benedictine is doing a good job of moving the ball not trying to go for the big play and try to get it all back at once just sticking with their playing doing real well right now moving the football third down and five [Music] they stopped play because the yard marker was still showing second it is third down though third down and five from the nine handoff tyler collins down inside the one-yard line [Applause] again outstanding play just mixing it up been running a lot of perimeter plays this play looks like a perimeter play but it's actually an inside run off tackle does a good job of getting behind his bad pads and getting the positive gain first and goal from the one first and goal to go inside the one-yard line touchdown derek smalls takes it in from one yard out and it is six to six well coach how about that less than two minutes for fitzgerald to go 80 yards less than two minutes for benedictine to go 65 yards and we're tied up well we talked about it before the game this could get into a track meet both teams have outstanding offenses both teams have a really good game plan really good players it's going to be fun to watch the hold they're going to try to get to the two and how about that we've had two blown pats exactly things you think the things you take for granted you know we talked about it on the last possession hopefully it wouldn't come back you know to hurt fitzgerald but then uh benedictine did the exact same thing so we are tied at six both teams run up and down the field on each other could be like this all afternoon the ghsa football championship is made possible in part by regions it's time to expect more georgia's electrical membership cooperative the official energy provider of the ghsa the technical college system of georgia learn more earn more cigna go you heads up georgia and the governor's office of highway safety dot com and viewers like you thank you [Music] so we are tied at six fast start to this game fitzgerald two minutes to go 80 yards benedict in two minutes to go 65 yards and then both teams blow the extra point fitzgerald missed theirs what happened here just they didn't get it down on the block yeah i think it was an error about a holder uh it kind of slipped out of his hands you got to have great hands you know people don't understand how important it is to be a holder we use quarterbacks a lot because they're so used to handling that football you got to have great hands got to get the ball placed on the team got to make sure that you know all those little things are done right yeah their holder is phillip moore and he's a running back and defensive back on this benedictine team so we're tied at six interesting start to this ball game and neither team really throwing the ball that much they're just gonna run the ball right yeah there's no reason to throw it right now you're getting everything and get on the ground at some point you're gonna see some play action and guys mixing it up a little bit just to keep teams honest but right now uh you know most most coaches start off with an opening script and they have plays they think will be good when they start the game i think both teams right now are still in their opening scripts um things going just as they planned on both sides of the ball and the kick is going to be taken at the 26 yard line so they do the same thing they do the sky kick too so this game has been very similar that was justin reliford the sophomore making the uh fair catch there and so fitzgerald starts at the 26 yard line it's looked like they're playing follow the leader here yeah yeah coaches have uh tremendous respect for both special teams units you can see that you know with the sky kicks you know very dangerous uh return guys for both teams uh you can see it in the offenses being able to move up and down the field with those same guys and so try to keep it out of their hands so the purple hurricane back on offense from the 27-yard line jd king gets the handoff and king nothing doing right there chris harris the linebacker making the stop behind the line of scrimmage adam king the defensive end is one of the most dynamic players a guy that kind of epitomizes benedictine football chris harris who just made that tackle offers from navy app state mercer in central michigan and in the secondary jakeen harris the strong safety just a sophomore but a really good one along with philip moore second down and 11. handoff ethan gordon on the carry up to the 29-yard line [Applause] that was a good job that time by benedictine um closing the hold had a little space right there they ran to the football well and made a tackle again trying to get on the perimeter with the jet sweep good job by the safety filling in getting his head across making a good tackle and what you saw in that play is their star running back j.d king who you mentioned is one of the best in the state he was blocking on that play yeah to be in this type of offense you got to be able to do both you just can't run the football you got to also be able to block for your buddy third down and eight that's divine in motion graham heavy rush they got him he gets away from it and throws incomplete looking for king out there heavy rush came from the defensive tackle bayley clark who got a piece of his jersey and was holding on for dear life and it's fourth down that's the first time we've seen them uh in a big third down situation uh benedictine won this one uh good job of pressuring uh making the aaron throw so here's our first punt of the game and james graham who's the quarterback will just drop back and be the kicker too [Music] collins and kennedy deep for benedictine just near the 50-yard line graham off the side of his foot poor kick let's see where they spot it 41-yard line just a 12-yard kick for james graham yeah i think you get back into trying to kick away from those dangerous return guys you know i think they were trying to you know kick it out of bounds probably didn't want to go out of bounds you know that that short so again special teams battle it's the threat of the big play by the return guys but brian if this game follows script right here we'll see a three and out for benedictine too yeah they can stay on script right here but you just never know they've done they've mimicked each other so far in the game script first and ten from the 41. i know going deep and it is caught at the 10-yard line ball pops out at the one and they're gonna rule him down there great catch by the tight end nick whitfield well i talked about it the last possession they're gonna run the football run the football run the football and here comes the play action fake the jet sweep went up top to the receiver to the single receiver side uh great execution great effort tried to get it into the end zone just short he got a good spot they spot it at the one yard line first and goal smalls gets into the end zone for the touchdown so benedictine breaks script and scores on two plays and takes a 12-6 lead [Applause] small is his second touchdown in the first seven minutes of this game yeah great job you know two plays in the score that's the way you draw it up let's see if they can convert on the p-a-t karish is the kicker and more the holder they get it down perfectly this time but it was blown dead right to the snap encroachment on the defense half of this goal well now they're gonna they're gonna try to go for two here yeah they got the half the distance here and you you know you did miss that first p-a-t so you usually don't want to chase points too early but the benefit of getting half the distance it makes it a a pretty easy decision doesn't it it does especially when you're moving the ball like they've been moving the ball you know on the ground you know you can run up the middle with the full back you can get on the perimeter with your two half backs they've done a good job of moving it it's a no-brainer right here so ball just inside the two-yard line as the cadets go for two [Music] handoff got it john wesley kennedy gets the two and it's 14 to six yeah right now benedictine is doing a good job of just being physical up front just knocking guys off the ball and getting in that's the touchdown run by smalls and here's the two-point run by kennedy yeah it's a good job just knocking guys off blocking everything down getting behind your pads and running your feet and getting into the end zone benedictine going for their second state championship they won it all in 2014 when they defeated greater atlanta christian in this building 45-21 last four seasons under danny britt man they have been as good as anybody and better than most 52-4 they've won back-to-back region titles the last couple of seasons 10th overall you take a look at some of the famous names back in the 70s and 80s jim walsh their head coach josh millard who played for the georgia bulldogs and later the atlanta falcons came out of benedictine yeah and josh was a really good player i think he played defensive end he got after i remember him he's a really good player two plays 41 yards the big play was the pass to nick whitfield down to the one yard line it was a big play in the passing game you know only one pass for both teams but i told you they're going to run the football and look for big plays on play action fielded at the 29-yard line by tyler lewis and he returns the ball five yards up to the 34. are you a big fan of the sky kick so you give up the field position you take away the threat of the the big touchdown run but you also give the ball up at the 34. yeah it's it's a chess match you know both guys are going to try to do whatever they can to to allow the least amount of explosive plays and football we talk about all the time limit the explosive plays so the purple hurricane back on offense they scored on five plays they're opening possession but they went three and out on their next and not much doing right there for king well that benedict team defense is really playing hard now but they've got energy they got emotion uh the momentum is really on their side fitzgerald's got to dig down right here and figure out a way to get get their sales back going second down and nine so what has been addicted and done from first series to second and now the third that's been so effective defensively well to stop this type of offense you gotta squeeze and be physical up front you got a wrong blockers and you got to get guys hustling to the football handoff harris montrell has slipped out of one tackle and was able to get up to the 36 yard line picking up about two on the play eric hicks the nose had a shot at him back there yeah had it had a great opportunity for a tiger for a loss just missed it but that's the effort we talked about you have to rally to the football and right now benedictine is hustling to the football third down and eight so after gashington five plays 80 yards benedictine has been tight on defense on these last two series graham going to the air pocket breaks down he goes down quarterback sack great pressure from the benedict 10 defense we talked about it last series you get him into a third and long the offense really isn't made for third and long they want to run the football but here it is they have play action not much of a fake because you know they're going to have to throw the football and there is the pressure when you get them in a third down situation the defense is able to pin their ears back and now having a small alignment is a disadvantage in those passing situations the smaller linemen are a disadvantage and talking about smaller lineman adam king their 6-1 195 defensive end with the quarterback sack right there line drive kick from graham as they try to kick away from kennedy then it scoots by and got a great bounce didn't look artistic not going to be on any punting films but it was effective as it goes down to the 19 and turns out to be a 47-yard kick yeah and that's what they were trying to do on the first punt um you know james missed it a little bit there you know this time he comes back able to nail it they don't want those returners getting that ball in their hands and able to set up a good return so you know good job executing that time they're going to put benedict in a situation they got to drive the whole field that's what you want to do as a coach you want to make the offense have to drive the length of the field without the big play so if this is going to be a high scoring game this is a really big play right here because you know benedictine on their first two drives had you know fitzgerald has not come close to stopping them you don't want to fall behind two scores here you definitely don't want to do that fitzgerald has got to bow up right here and try to figure out a way to get a stop first and 10 from the 19. tyler collins and collins gets tripped up by josh reliford the free safety and as we go through the fitzgerald defense here remember that coach strickland told us they want to be strong up the middle kind of like a baseball team so the nose guard anthony ramsey is very important on that defensive line the mike linebacker right up the middle dontarius millsap very important and then the safety reliford who just made the tackle a few moments ago catch made downfield and a flag out catch made by travis blackshear let's check the penalty 15-yard pickup let's see if it stands that's interference under defense 15-yard penalty from the previous spot play results in the first half a referee today willie crosby he is sitting in for steve burrell who was scheduled to work this game today and our thoughts are with burel and our prayers for a speedy recovery suffered a stroke earlier this week he's an icu in gainesville and mr burrell certainly we hope for a speedy recovery and for strength for your family as you go through this difficult time hope you're enjoying the football game today smalls thrown for a loss he that's a great job right there on defense they tried to run the old belly play uh defensive lineman got was able to get free and make a tackle for a loss that's what you have to do with this team get a minute in long yardage situations right now benedict on the offense 15-yard penalty so a chop block on the benedictine offense we'll see if we can see it but explain this is one of the rules that always confounds people that explain to them what the chop block is about well the chop block is when you're when you can't hit the linemen below their legs from the back side and that's what you're getting into hitting the lower part of the legs from the backside you can make a cut block which is a a frontal block but you can't hit the lower part of the legs from the back so following the penalty now it is going to be first and 27 back at the 21. so benedictine has been their own worst enemy here we were talking about fitzgerald having to come up with a stop well the cadets are stopping themselves right now yeah but some of that has to do with the speed and athleticism of the fitzgerald front they're really hard to block and so now you start doing chop blocks to try to slow them down ion rolls and throws it is complete the kennedy and kennedy still on his feet up to the 34-yard line kennedy got 13 of it back right there that's a huge play i'm getting some of that yardage back now you about to have some manageable down and distances [Music] the second time they're able to get on the perimeter play before when they had the pass interference a similar type play a little play action getting the quarterback rolling out get him on the perimeter and able to find those those wide receivers running away from defensive backs second down and 14 from the 34 here comes the jet sweep collins gonna try to reverse his field not going to be able to do it nice job by the linebacker i think that was millsap 93 the mike linebacker made the stop and it's going to be third down yeah millsap is an outstanding football player at about 6-1 maybe 220 pound junior he flies to the ball he's as physical a football player as there is out there on the football field he's going to be making plays the jet sweep again you're going to see tons of jet sweep from benedictine trying to get on the perimeter you just got to get what you can get so it's going to be third down ayano has time downfield and it is caught wide open at the 35 and there goes blackshear nobody nearing 64 yards and benedictine goes up 20 to 6. yeah benedictine is rolling right now fitzgerald looks like they had a busted coverage again what you're seeing is sprint out pass and that time they brought a receiver back across the formation so you're used to seeing him rolling to his right that time he rolled to his right but had a receiver coming back across the formation wide open for a touchdown had great concentration because a secondary guy recognized it tried to come in late great catch [Music] carris on for the p-a-t and it is good [Applause] 21-6 your tcsg touchdown replay coach let's walk us through the blown coverage here again you got sprint out going to the right they snuck a receiver back underneath and that's where the problem came and so somebody i don't know whether they're in man or zone but somebody lost lost eye control on that receiver you can see him sneaking back through on the post waving for the ball there it is you had a wheel route coming and what happened was the corner went with the wheel route you actually had a linebacker also on the wheel route and he left the post wide open looked like man coverage uh eyes in the wrong place we talk about it all the time you got to have your eyes right especially when you're running against wing t-type teams guys that's running crossing routes and play-action passes guys gotta have their eyes right you gotta look at your man well i hate to bring up a painful memory but you guys were down 14 points in the first quarter last night too now from the offensive perspective when you fall behind by two touchdowns is there a tendency to want to try to get it all back at once and is there it is is it hard to stay within your game plan yeah you definitely try to you know you definitely your your instinct is to try to get it all back at once but you can't so what you do you try to settle your team down you get everybody in tight you tell them hey it's going to take one drive at a time let's make it manageable well case in point montrell harris over there trying to field that kick i don't know what he was doing over there uh you don't need to be touching that football as it's getting ready to go out of bounds exactly the ball is going out of bounds but they've been pooch punting pooch kicking and guys are trying to make a play now you have an opportunity and you're kind of pressing continue to do what you're doing you're going to be in great field position you'll have the ball at 35 because it's going out of bounds don't try to rush and make a big play because now you're in bad field position now in harris's defense i will say they were closing fast and he doesn't he's not quite sure that ball is going to go out of bounds looks like it is probably the smart thing for him to do rather than try to field is just bat it out of bounds yeah well fitzgerald has got to calm down and stick to their game plan the end off goes to jd king and king not going anywhere yeah you're getting the same type of action again the bug sweep type action getting two guards pulling around jd king trying to find that crease but benedictine defense is doing a good job of rallying to the football right now they're playing with passion they're playing with emotion and they're playing with speed noah johnson and fred nunn in on that tackle for the cadets and it's going to be second down and eight handoff goes to gordon gordon trying to get around the edge nothing out there and the flag is out as well play got blown up by matthew lowenthal the linebacker and a flag out as well so what they were getting earlier they're no longer getting it looks like it's going to be holding against fitzgerald what you're seeing right now is a benedict team defense coming up and being physical on the perimeter they're making those blocks very hard you know earlier in the early in the game you were seeing guys just kind of get on forever now he's going in there sticking their face in there and making hard points on on the edge and i got to confess coach i was watching these teams in pregame i didn't see a whole lot of team speed out of the core group of the benedictine players but they're playing a lot faster than that on defense well a lot of that is great coaching coaches have their players with their eyes in the right direction they're reading keys quickly they're diagnosed and plays and they're getting to the football you're right they're getting after it final 90 seconds of this quarter graham gonna keep it and run it and graham up to the 17-yard line back to the original line of scrimmage and they're going to be facing a third down and 10. danny britt head coach of benedict and what a tremendous job he has done the school is a military school it's very similar on in the collegiate level as the citadel in charleston yeah citadel's doing a good job also had a great year this year and uh you know it's the same thing it's discipline it's fundamentals the same thing you're doing with the military and becoming a military power is the same thing you're doing with your football team so it just translates setting up the screen it gets it wow what a tackle by lowenthal before keane could get started lowenthal grabbed his ankle and didn't let go it's fourth down yeah fitzgerald's got to find a way to get into more manageable distance you know great job recognizing the screen uh you get them in third and long you're looking for you know for for deep passes or or screens or draws and so right now they're looking for screens of draws they're sitting on it um they got to get into a more manageable distance where they can you know run the ball have the threat to run the ball or pass the ball and be able to convert some of these dirt downs if not it's going to be a long day they get the snap off before the end of the quarter again a sidewinding kick from graham and it just hits and goes sideways he's going to be down at the 45 yard line on the final play of the first quarter and the scary thing for fitzgerald when we come back and start the second quarter coach is that benedictine once again has great field position they got to find a way to stop the bleeding yeah right now this is it's porn it is porn you gotta find a way to stop the bleeding 21-6 benedictine as we head to the second [Music] what is by moonlight an empty field is by the magic of electricity sacred ground as the official energy provider of the ghsa georgia's electric membership cooperatives proudly support our student athletes we're there illuminating the glory moments fans just have to see capturing the hustle elevating champions sharing the win georgia's emc's so much more river street suites serving georgia since 1973 river street suites offers gift baskets tins and towers filled with handmade southern candies including world famous pralines chocolate bear claws glazed pecans and fudge riverstreetsweets.com it should be one way of a football game tonight [Applause] this program on gpb is made possible in part by supporters of the georgia high school association including the following support for gpb comes from georgia farm bureau mutual insurance from front porches to back roads down the street or around the block georgia farm bureau is there with the protection families need whether it's home auto or life insurance or something more georgia farm bureau is dedicated to providing the right coverage to all the friends families and neighbors who make this state home more at gfbinsurance.com georgia farm bureau always the home team jason strickland on the left he's the head coach of fitzgerald danny britt on the right he's the head coach of benedictine coach brian lamar of tucker up here with us today and you know we started this game i asked you what's going through their minds as they get ready for the game okay what's going through their minds as benedictine has a 21-6 lead well coach britt is just trying to keep his troops focused telling them don't get too excited you just got to keep playing football you know and and with fitzgerald it's all about trying to get a stop on defense and trying to get the momentum back and so both guys got to coach the kids up and and see how it plays it's not over yet kennedy on the run gets only one yard on that play and it's gonna be second down and nine benedict has had great field position the 35 the 41 the 19 and the 45 now yeah fitzgerald wants to win this game they've got to fight down right here on defense and get a stop it's not about offense right now it's about defense and getting stops once you start to get stops your offense will have opportunities to get scores second down and nine from the 44. i known going up top and looking for rickfield and a flag does come out late yeah that looks like a tough call look like he actually batted the ball we'll have to look back on the replay and see uh again begin play action benedictine has done a good job of running the ball establishing the run on second and long they they go to the play action on the defense 15-yard pillar you can't coach that any better you know there's no face guard in high school anymore he wasn't face guarding he ran he actually tried to make a play on the ball actually had a chance for interception i don't know where the pass interference was on that play that was the corner willie ross on the defense first and ten now for benedictine at the 29 yard line play action rolling i known downfield strike thrown complete to kennedy right at the 12-yard line and they are just ripping the fitzgerald defense to shreds right now well they established the run and once you establish the run and and fitzgerald is trying to you know put all of their eggs in that basket and stopping that run you're vulnerable to the play-action pass they win a too tight inset a heavy run formation and they and they hit him with the play action right there 27-yard pickup right up the middle they go and that smalls again he's been their short yardage guy with two touchdown runs already today and he gets it down inside the 10 at the seven yard line meantime you made a great point about the pass they you know they're focusing on the run ayano is now four for four for 143. well guys are going to be open when you're running the football as effectively as they are and kennedy and there it is right into the end zone just weaving through the defense and found the open lane and gets a nice pick-me-up from gage blaxton and it is 27-6 early in the second quarter what you're seeing right now is textbook wing t play calling saying textbook play calling you know running the ball inside running about outside you're seeing the full back runs you're seeing the perimeter sweeps and then you're seeing the play action passes benedictine offense right now is a machine carris with the p-a-t and it is 28-6 just one minute into the second quarter here's your tcsg touchdown reboot again they just ran with the fullback and then they come back with the tall sweep makes a great cut he had to make one man miss that's a great job blocking by the offensive lineman getting on guys he had beat one guy you know we tell our backs all the time you have to beat one guy it's going to be a safety or a corner you have to make that guy miss but all the defensive linemen all of the linebackers were blocked on that last play benedictine has scored on every one of their four possessions i mean you're talking about coaching and preparation when you come into a state championship game and you're able to score on consecutive positions that's great planning that's a great job of getting your kids focused and ready to roll apparently john wesley kennedy was expecting some sunshine here today he's got his sunscreen on everybody else is wearing eye black he's got the sunscreen on got his white war paint on today hey whatever it takes to get you going you know a lot of times i tell my coaches yeah let the guys get ready to play whatever gets them focusing ready to roll hey let those guys be themselves another sky kick going to be fielded at the 26 yard line another five yard return so benedictine has been effective in that as well everything they have done they have done well today and they have a 22 point lead as fitzgerald they're stunned and their teams going back on offense but fitzgerald just got to focus there's plenty of time left in this game you got to get a score by just taking your time sticking to what you do you can still run the football get that going then you'll have opportunities opportunities with play-action pass and then you have to get some stops on defense if you expect to win this game but the game is far from over you got to keep fighting yeah i think that's the good news if there's any good news for fitzgerald is that there's still 34 minutes to play in this game yeah there's still time left yeah i've been in a situation in 2007 we're in the semifinals playing north side one robbins we were up 28-7 and uh ended up losing that game because those guys kept fighting they didn't give up made a couple of big plays now and all at once they had an opportunity to win the game but fitzgerald's got to get things together that was a low snap to graham he ends up taking a loss as lowenthal makes the tackle third tackle of the game for lowenthal and it's going to be second down now and 13. well guys got to focus i mean that's the thing this is not what you dreamed of if you figured you would come out and jump out on guys you've been scoring points like crazy during the playoffs and all of a sudden things are are not as you dreamed or not as you playing you gotta focus you know coach got to get the guys together and tell them hey it's going to happen one play at a time there is not a 28 point play there's nothing that you can do that's going this you race the score and get you back on top you know you got to just keep chipping away at it nothing there for jd king on the run after he went for 36 yards to cap their opening possession and score the touchdown they have shut him and the rest of this purple hurricane defense down yeah once again they got him in a third and long situation graham heavy rush now he's got some time going to go deep and it is going to be broken up out there nice defensive play by jakeem harris the strong safety remember when we were going through the starting lineups i said he's just a sophomore and a safety they like him that was a fine play yeah and right there again now here's what you're getting into james graham has done a good job of making great decisions this time we had a guy double cover he actually had an opportunity to run there but again we're still pressing we press and we're pressing trying to get those points back on one play and probably had an opportunity to run for a first down right there so now it's fourth down in 12 and fitzgerald in a punting situation again yeah having to bring the punting unit out again guys got to continue to do what they've been coached to do you got to do a good job protecting on this punt got to do a good job covering this kick and then hopefully your defense can get a stop kennedy and collins back deep again and standing only at the 50-yard line graham has not had a good day punting the ball this is a better one a line drive kick but returnable for college collins across the 50 and steps out of bounds at the 46 yard line he was upset he thought he missed his block maybe could have cut back inside 33-yard kick 17-yard return and once again benedictine starting on offense on the fitzgerald side of the 50 as we check in with nikki noto here he told me that six years ago when he came to this program they adopted a mission statement and it's they want to be physical discipline and intelligent as you can see right there on that defensive series i mean they have just stunned fitzgerald thus far he said we've adopted that mission not only in football but of course off the field as well matt thank you nikki appreciate it 9 22 to play here in the first half benedictine back at the 43-yard line they have been on the fifth general side of the 50 the entire day tyler collins man they had it and now he gets free first down and more kylie collins tight ropes the sideline for the touchdown we talked about at the beginning of the game you had to bottle those guys up colin is one of the guys we talked about he is a very explosive football player they had a tackle for a loss they had the negative yardage play that they needed you know for fitzgerald to get back in the game they had to get stops here's a negative yardage opportunity got him wrapped up gotta finish the play and then it comes down to effort and pursuit and guys hustling to the football you know a great individual effort by collins you know fitzgerald's got to figure out a way you know they got to dig down right now and figure out what they want to do you know they're in a state championship game with an opportunity to win it's just you know as crazy as it sounds there's still time left in this game you know a 43-yard touchdown run by ty lee collins he actually ran about 63 yards and got into the end zone benedict leading big here in the second quarter [Music] every tv doctor knows when preparing for surgery use an over-pronounced washing technique for dramatic effect [Music] they also know you need to get your annual checkup [Music] now prepare for your checkup with one touch using the my cigna app where you can find a doctor in your plan's network to save money manage your health and more need to be thorough cigna together all the way [Music] [Music] [Music] 35-6 the cadets leading the purple hurricane here just barely three minutes into the second quarter and coach lamar yeah you have not been in these situations very often in your career as a player as a coach but what would the message be down on that fitzgerald sideline right now one play at a time i mean you got to tell you guys we got to go out and play one play at a time every player's got to do their job do what you've been coached to do and continue to play and good things that happen so you know it starts off with trying to get a great return right here getting back to your fundamentals what you coach your guys to do on offense and see if you can get something rolling positive gains on early downs and distances will get you in good situations just got to get manageable third downs if you're in third and long and you're a predominantly run team you're going to be in trouble so they've got to get it to where it's third and short third in medium so they can have more manageable downs and then see if they can get something positive going they have to get some first downs because right now it's just three three and out yeah and they're just getting the ball and going and scoring you're not giving yourself a chance the defense has been on the field way too long you know you're not giving the defense a chance absolute stunner here in the double a championship game ball fielded at the 31 yard line and again tyler lewis with the short return up to the 36. and so the purple hurricane had pretty good field position here but as you pointed out they are they have been ever since that opening drive in which they went five plays 80 yards they have been in second and third and long perpetually since that opening drive yeah and that's what's causing the problems once you get them into a situation where you know they're going to pass again the smaller lineman um you know you don't practice as much on those big pass protections because you're a predominantly run team and so is to your disadvantage to be in third and long you got to make it third and manageable so first and ten for the purple hurricane from the 36 yard line runner by graham right up the middle nice gainer for graham up to the 45 line as he picks up nine on the play yeah really good call right here quarterback dark plays a design inside quarterback run got the jet motion and got guards pulling around inside fold blocking for the linebackers and then graham used his speed and his talent to get vertical and now we have a second and short yeah got something here you can work with yeah once you get this manageable down in distance now you have the opportunity to run the football and get a first down or even play action pass if they load up to stop the run let's see if they run behind lucita smith there tight end no they send him out for a pass they throw it to him and over his head at the 35-yard line that's what we talked about second and short is a great opportunity for the play action you know very disciplined uh benedictine defense right there but second is short you try to go for the pass if it's not there you still come back and you got third and short so that's you know that's a good job of benedictine you know being coached up on down and now you have a holding call against fitzgerald and that's going to back them up 10 yards so that great second and one that you had now that's gone and that's the negative the negative is if you try to if you go for it the negative is if you go for the play action you can throw an interception okay or you can get a holding call and that's what they got so now instead of it being you know third and short or having gotten the first down now you win second and long it could possibly be a third and long situation right don't get the yardage back yeah the right tackle number 56 david echevarria was called for the holding that backs him up to the 29-yard line graham on the zone read keeps it by they have benedict gone from bad to worse noah johnson hopped on the pigskin at the 43-yard line yeah things have gone from bad to worse finally got something going with the inside room with the quarterback you know the zone read you know have outside replays you have inside replays they're running what we call an inside replay where the quarterback is running up the middle of the field had a great game ashley's going to have a third and manageable and fun with the football jonah griffin the corner got his helmet on the football noah johnson fell on top of it and sent out the ball to the 43 and the cadets back on offense yeah the defense for fitzgerald has been on the field way too long again he still didn't get the the first down that you were looking for and that holding penalty really killed him and now the cadets looking for more ianon gonna take a sack back at the 49-yard line they finally got a big defensive play over on that side kieran smith with the sack yeah better big team is going for the going for the big play right here you know brought the jet motion had a play action going for the knockout punch good job fitzgerald they got a negative yardage play and now they have a chance to get benedictine into a negative down and distance situation second down and 18 from the 49 that was a 10 yard loss running a tunnel screen and off the hands of kennedy yeah actually a really good call the play was set up well well well developed you got second and long trying to get chunks of yardage you know got the defensive line thinking pass thinking they're going to come vertical really was a well-designed play well-designed play you know got vertical push from the defensive line a great lane just couldn't catch the ball you could see the blocker set up they had everybody pinned in probably would have been a huge play for benedictine now they got third in forever okay uh you know fitzgerald's got to do a good job right here stealing the deal and be able to get their offense back on the field that was the first incompletion for ayamone and it wasn't his fault toss goes to tyler collins flag out as well they're going to have a holding call on the perimeter so do you decline this penalty or you try to back him up a little bit more and try to flip the field here because it is going to be fourth down if you decline well i actually would back them up a little bit more and get yourself you know those extra yards i'll back him up you know make him have to punt it because right now you still can probably be you know right into the shallow of your own end zone right i would back them up and make them have to do it all over again i'm surprised they declined the penalty i agree with you coach because if you back him up now the 45 maybe you get another negative play and maybe you get the ball after that at your 30 or 35 now you're going to end up having the ball sometimes somewhere inside the 15. correct correct and so i i would have took the penalty and back him up a little bit further and put him in dirt and forever and uh you know hopefully you'll get a better situation adam king blasted out of there perry backing up fields it at the five yard line he should not have done that because it probably would have gone into the end zone a 42-yard kick and exactly what coach you and i were talking about now they're down inside their own five-yard line yep and that and and that's the negative about you know not accepting that penalty and pushing them back just a little bit you need breathing room because now you're in a situation where they can get the ball right back and if you don't protect the ball they'll really have great field positions so you know got to have a great series right here by your offense you did get the stop that you wanted on defense that's the positive you did get this stop your defense now have some confidence that they can get stops offense just needs to get rolling get you back into the game try to get a couple of scores before the half and now you're in great shape give yourself some positive momentum going into the locker room so the coach can get up there and tell them guys you still got a shot to win this game yeah you can't try to get it all back at one time it's just small goals don't think about what do we have to do to get 35 points uh on the board what do we have to do to get the game close by half so we can make a play graham got a man out there and didn't connect what happened i thought they had it timed out perfectly that was chima who was open and there's a flag down as well what you saw there was a talented arm and that was a bomb a 60-yard pass i think he was in his own end zone and it landed right at the opposite 40-yard line that was an outstanding throw and that was a bomb holding on the defense wow 10 year old penalty for the previous spot baby just in the first half well that's a nice break there for fitzgerald it gets them out of the shadow of their own end zone and gives them a first down two of the 14. i think the holding call was on philip moore the free safety right there number five yeah got his hands on look like jd king was pushing vertical in the slot like he got his hands on him impeded his progress and and thus the penalty let's see if the purple hurricane can take advantage here as king gets the handoff they're running to the near side and shove him out of bounds that was jakeem harris with the tackle as we check in again with nikki noto hey guys on that last defensive series on the the fitzgerald offense over on the bench they're being talked to about hey we got to stay focused right here and most importantly we have to move our feet if we want to make a play and we've got to take each play one play at a time for us to get this thing done there's still time left in this ball game it's that's a great point thank you very much nikki you gotta chop away at it no one piece at a time you're not gonna get it all back on one play graham throws and that is a nice catch by damian devine close to a first down maybe about a half yard shy at the 23 and a half maybe the 24. he has good plays it looked like a run pass option when he had the opportunity to run the ball or pass the ball you know and they saw the favorable match up in the slot a good read by mr graham and a great catch gonna bring up third down and short i think they will measure here just following up on something nikki said there i thought it was interesting when he's talking to the offensive line about the feet they have a saying there jason strickland has a saying with his team about be where your feet are whether if your feet are in the math class be in your math class if your feet are in practice you know be in practice if your feet are on the field on a friday night be in the game so i i think it kind of ties back into that what they've tried to teach their kids in building this program yeah i mean jason's done a great job and he's an outstanding coach an outstanding motivator an outstanding mentor to young men and so you know he's trying to teach them hey don't look at the entire big picture let's look at small things be where your feet are and right now their feet are down and they gotta chip wood chopped wood to get back into this thing and i think you know if they if they can get a couple of scores at least one score before the half and not allow ben and dick 10 to get a score i think they'll have an opportunity down the stretch they can just keep fighting third and less than a yard as you saw the measurement there they're very close so in a situation like this where you're third and less than a yard but you're deep in your own end what you're gonna do well you're gonna try to run the football right here and get that yard i think they'll have an opportunity they run it to the perimeter however and it does work as devine picks up the first down out across the uh 31 yard line yeah really good call right there you know got everybody stacked inside let's get the ball on the perimeter you know uh benedictine was thinking quarterback inside run that's what they had been very successful with the previous two possessions they loaded everybody up looked like they were even going to bring back on the blitz they went outside with the speed play great call mixing it up right there there's a first down for fitzgerald now they can get a little momentum going in before they have hopefully get a score yeah i i was thinking the same thing as benedictine i'm thinking quarterback run up the middle that's what they've been doing they've had some success with it so you're right that was a nice call on the sweep now they won grant to the outside to cut back into the middle and graham has some running room ran into his own man jason poe or might have gone more yeah good job again good cut you know running toward the perimeter make a vertical cut and get as many yards as you can you can see him pressing the edge make the vertical cut get behind the blockers a nice scene was made there by his offensive line and that's what you do in this type of offense you run towards the sideline get the blockers out in front and then make a vertical cut and get what you can get second down and one now they'll throw on the second and short instead graham gonna wisely look for the gap and run through the sideline with a kind of step on the sideline he steps out of bounds inside the 40 and you see james graham starting to take over the game a little bit yeah fitzgerald's playing fitzgerald's playing their game you see him he doesn't he's not pressing right now because you had a manageable distance because it was second and short you don't have to force the ball you know you can run it pick up the first down keep the chains moving keep the clock moving when you get them in third and long is where the issues come when it's a manageable distance no one's pressing everybody from fitzgerald is relaxed and they make plays first and ten from the 39 harris gets the hand on trying to get outside not going to be able to do it as philip moore the free safety read it well and drops him for a loss with the exception of the last play benedictine had done a great job of being physical on the perimeter you saw it right there again they came back with the jet suite trying to get on the perimeter here you go you can see number five coming up sticking his face in there you know rejecting the blocker and then adding on so you know right now when you know that they're getting on the perimeter you know benedictine is winning those battles the only battle they really lost on the perimeter is when they thought it was going to be an inside run with the quarterback and the short yard situation second down and 14 as harris comes and sets near the line on the left side king now sets next to quarterback and he'll take the handoff and jd king going reverse got out of one tackle and another and keem up to the 38 but a flag down it might be a might be a face mask be interesting to see what they call are you on face that have gone fitzgerald's way as the purple hurricane trying to turn the tide back in their favor yeah again another good job actually of getting on the perimeter and it really wasn't a face mask they actually grabbed the chin strap in the collar um but a good job of benedictine again being physical on the perimeter it was nothing there didn't do a good job of wrapping up and finishing the play you know the same thing we saw earlier on colin's big run you got to finish the play just wrapping up the guy and getting your hands on him isn't good enough we got really good backs really explosive players graham unloads it and it's caught for the touchdown devine got twisted up like a pretzel but was able to recover for a great touchdown catch on a howard shot from james graham's got quite an arm james graham has got a cannon for an arm i mean he just i mean that was like a big time throw to be able to put that ball in the scene and give your guy a chance to make that play i mean you talk about a bomb right here gets his feet set throws it just flicks the wrist boom right in the hands you can't throw a better pass in that situation then overthrown then underthrown perfect right in between two defenders and the p-a-t is missed by fitzgerald yeah fitzgerald's having some problems right there i'm just going through the routine of being able to snap hold and kick the ball they got to get that rectified they're going to try to close this gap because for them to be able to catch back up they're going to have to make those extra points they don't have to start going for two actually they want to you know be able to do it in a certain amount of scores watch this here by graham and he has really impressed me on the 60 yard bombing through that was an incompletion and that just a drill shot into the back of the end zone oh yeah i mean this guy's got a tremendous arm you know it's just tremendous talent does a great job with his feet and doing a great job with his arm and this was john benky yeah and the snare missed the extra point so they had bell missed their first extra point and binky missed their second so they've had trouble regardless of who they've run out there the snapping a hole was actually good it's just the kickers not keeping their eyes down and following through on their kicks benedictine actually had the issue with uh snapping the hole uh these guys are just missing kicks and now lynn spivey a pardon me eric avila will kick off for them and he will kick away first time they've done that today kennedy takes it at the five and kennedy brings it up to the 36. so it turns out either way whether they kick away or they sky kick they're still giving the ball up around the 35 or 36 each time and that's why you're sky kicking you know if you sky kick it at least you know it can't be returned there's no threat of the big play where the minimum they're getting is 35 and it could be even more if you do kick it to those guys well how about the impressive 96 yard drive here by fitzgerald to get back on the board pretty incredible that they marched you know we talked about them getting pinned in their own end well it didn't bother them they took advantage of a couple of penalties go their way and drove the field yeah really good drive they got back to playing fitzgerald football mixing it up with the run and the pass and now they got to figure out a way to get a stop they can get a three and out right here get the ball back they'll have time to get another score on the board and now you're going to have time with two scores in a row you're down by two scores and now you got a ball game that was ty lee collins on the run and lumbee on the tackle and i agree with you if fitzgerald can get a stop here get the ball back they have three timeouts remaining they have plenty of time to get another score on the board and make this thing interesting going to the locker room oh yeah you get a stop in the score you got a whole different ball game smalls no running room lundy in on his second consecutive tackle along with millsap really good defense guys playing with technique playing with passion playing with physicality and getting to the football now fitzgerald's got the momentum on their side they're playing hard now you got to get off the field on third down you get a stop right here you put your offensive position to make to make this game tight and now you start putting pressure on benedict team third down and five ayanone rolling to his left got a block out there now gonna try to run to the sticks and dive for it let's see where they spot him i don't think he got there i think he was out of bounds he was reaching with the football to try to get to the stick i think he's going to be about a yard short yeah it looks like he's going to be a little bit short it went with the play-action pass the old school wacko play a roll out the quarterback the quarterback actually makes a great decision by running the ball here yeah just short they're going to go for it here coach you agree with this very dangerous very dangerous or maybe they're just going to try to pull them off side we're going to try to pull them off especially when you got a weapon like adam king who can blast the problems we saw in his first attack there's no sense to do this yeah well as bad as you want to keep that ball away from this uh you know purple hurricane offense you also got to realize that you know it's plenty of time you know your defense had been playing well with the exception of the last series you know uh pin him deep and make him have to drive the length of the field so 2 30 to play and a timeout burned here by the cadets as they are going to pump this thing away in all likelihood i would sincerely doubt they'll come out here and run a play and try to pin fitzgerald deep and get to the locker room with this uh big lead as you take a look at the cadets their last five playoff appearances and yeah their only loss in their last 35 games to fitzgerald in the quarterfinals last year and that includes a run that was the state championship in 2014 against gac yeah they are they're on a heck of a run you know we look at you know what coach has done with his group um and that's just a testament to the type of coach he is you know it's not happenstance when you're winning and you're successful year in and year out it takes a lot of hard work you know you might not be a champion every single year with the fact that you're in there you're in that conversation that means a lot about your program it means a lot about your administration and that definitely means a lot about your players you know i thought it was interesting we asked danny britt now how did you do this you mean you took this program that really didn't have much of a playoff history over the last 25 30 years and you turned it into a contender and winner and he said look the thing he had to do is convince the folks there that you know it's not a one-shot thing we're building a program that's going to you know reload every year as the ball goes over the head and rolls dead at the 16-yard line but that was the big thing and also teaching the kids that football wasn't something that you pick up in july and you start playing it's a year-round thing it's a year-round thing and for you to be able to get things done year-round you have to have the administrative support you know people don't know what goes on behind closed doors and knowing that you know you have to have access to your players you have to have access to your building you got to have parents that's going to chip in and make sure that the kids have what they need but you also have administration that's going to support you in everything you do you know i know at turkey high school i've got great support for my administration and that's where it starts and i know they have to have the same thing at being a dick team because you're seeing success year in and year out well i know coach lamar danny britt not at the same time frame but played at one of your big rivals you played at chattanooga he played at georgia southern he was a walk one earned his spot on the roster and became a starter there playing for uh their 1990 uh played on the 1990 state the national championship team 1993 southern conference team for of course his shadow he is still there he's got his big bronze statue at the end of paulson stadium well when you think about georgia southern football you think about a couple of things you think about guys being really tough really physical and really disciplined and knowing how to win games especially during that time frame so 3512 is a timeout is called here with 221 to play in the first half and the cadets with a big lead and the purple hurricane going back on offense here and they have two timeouts remaining now what did they do so well coach in their last possession going 96 yards that they'll be trying to duplicate here in this one the big thing that they did was they got positive yards on first down how many times on that last drive was the second and two second and one where they had chances to be able to get a first down or be able to or have the option to be able to throw the football and they made good decisions when they were in those situations on first down they were getting six seven yards of pop and that gave them manageable down the distance everybody was comfortable and then they found big plays in the passing game well let's see what they can do here first and ten from the 16 what they do here this next two minutes and 20 seconds might really influence what happens in the second half and how that thing plays out graham going deep on the sideline incomplete was looking for jd king who was streaking down the sideline they had double coverage out there yeah good coverage again by benedictine they tried to uh the old wheel route willing to um half back out of the backfield sending them up the sideline defensive back did a good job of pinning them to the sideline and eliminating their throw as griffin back there one of the corners and bobby baker i've been pretty impressed with their secondary yeah they've done a good job but it gave them the one big play but besides that they've done a good job not only in the passing game but being physical in the run game and not having a soft edge graham he's got really good vision to find that seam that opens up and he picks the first down picks up the first down that 13-yard run well a lot of that is by design you designed for him to make that cut inside of that full deck that fullback is going out there and kicking you got a guard coming around and he's finding that crease he's attacking the edge but he's actually going to make that cut that's by designing they're running that that way clock running under two minutes to play now here in the second quarter right across the middle man they had a guy ethan gordon was open they just couldn't connect on it yeah but again because you're getting positive yardage you can throw the ball on first to 10. and we got a flag down back where the quarterback was there was no late hit on the play so it might be a holding yeah james graham he's got a cannon forearm paulie could have took a little bit off made it a little bit easier graham the junior has 10 offers from virginia tech oklahoma state and miami north carolina was in at practice this week looking at him as a quarterback miami probably a little bit more interested in him as a running back oklahoma state maybe at some other skill positions so he's he's a kid that's got a lot of options at the next level he's got a lot of talent and he can run you see you're watching him run the football you see him throw the football and you also seem to make some good decisions so he's also a smart kid gonna keep it right here and he gets dragged down by one arm tackle made at the line of scrimmage by the cadets whatever that last penalty was huge because now here we go now we're back to the long long yardage situations where it's extremely hard to find some success had the ball moving you know we're putting pressure on benedictine and now you got a long yard situation to see how they handle the situation logan von waldner who's the starting right guard in there playing the defensive line right now made that tackle now it's gonna be second down and long they missed the play right there and keem get something out of it looks like it was going to be one of those double handoffs yeah it was what we call a counter crisscross you know handed to one back backhanded to the to the other back and you got you know guys pulling with the second back um had so much penetration that they couldn't make the second hand off that's one thing about this type of offense is a wing t type offense where you got angle blocking going on you cannot allow penetration penetration in the backfield just totally destroys your your your rhythm totally totally destroys the timing and gets you off the rhythm third down and 21. clock running here kind of surprised that fitzgerald just draining the clock i guess deep in their own end they don't want to make a mistake and give the ball back to the cadets absolutely not you know you got forever which they haven't been successful in those downing distances where you got 20 yards to go second time instead of forcing it and giving them great good position you know you go to halftime and then you try to rally the troops and get a game plan uh for success to come out in the second half so there is uh one timeout left for the hurricanes as you take a look at fitzgerald and they have been so close over the last 20 years they have been so close that's a look at their last eight playoff appearances losing to pace academy in the finals last year the semifinals to gac the year before that loss to benedictine in 2013. in fact that loss of benedictine coach strickland says was really kind of the catalyst for the run that they are on now the purple hurricane have won 38 of their last 43 games 38-5 with the last three seasons since that loss to benedictine in the 2013 second round yeah great run again to have success the way that these two teams have had success it starts at the top with administration the hiring guys getting these coaches in here it has a great community and then you have these kids these players you know are also a huge part of that they have to buy in they have to work and they have to go out and execute these game plans so it's a lot of things that go into these teams having this type of success third down in 20 they'll play it conservatively here and graham will be tackled at the 24 yard line we'll see if benedictine burns a timeout here trying to get the ball back and they do yeah and that's why you wanted that clock you know the time that it takes for you to run that plate it should be very little time left but what it does do is it allows the cadets to send everybody after the pun and maybe get a a big play in the in the punt game yeah well it's two things you're looking for one to pressure to punt or possibly return it and get into field goal range you know if you can have enough time left to get at least one pass and then run your field goal unit out you'll have a chance so you know you know i would try to go and try to block it and maybe get a scoop and score situation you know get a fair catch on the other end you know maybe you can have an opportunity to take a shot into the end zone maybe or even get it to where you can get a field goal out of this situation inside the final half minute of this first half benedictine with the big lead on fitzgerald we had a big win in the single a public game earlier today as well as macon county won the state championship beating mcintosh county academy cartersville and thompson up next in the 4a state championship game and tonight the nightcap final game of the 8 the 7a state title game between grayson and roswell yeah all great matchups all really good teams coached by really fine gentlemen it should be a great night for high school football cadets trying to set up the return and wesley with time to do it from the 39 and wesley to the 48 they have nine seconds on the clock it stops with eight 38-yard kick 12-yard return so you probably got to get what 20 yards 25 yards to be comfortable with your field goal attempt and you don't have a whole lot of time to do it but you got a chance you know you got a chance to really try to get a vehicle range or from this distance you can throw the ball into the end zone you know quarterback can throw it up you can go for a hail mary type situation uh you got options you got options or you can just try to get a quick strike get as much yard as you can and run the field goal unit out you know either way you got an opportunity because of of clock management and at the same time they don't have a lot of time because of clark management by fitzgerald i'm out gonna look thick rushed you know rushed their last possession you know there would be more time left on the clock and so they did a good job of running it down you know and then running the ball and uh you know benedictine using their timeout and putting themselves in position here so i think good job by both coaches of managing and putting pressure on the other to make good decisions so now it will be very tough for benedictine to convert this into points because of how fitzgerald managed to clock but because of the way that benedictine also managed their clock they have an opportunity willie crosby said that the timeout was the cadets but i believe it was fitzgerald no more time out showing on the scoreboard for the purple hurricane it would make sense that they would be calling the time out here just to make sure they're on the same page defensively and here you know this is where you put a bunch of guys on that back line and say hey do not let them get behind you exactly you want to keep the ball in front of you um you know play the ball in the air uh try to knock it down you don't really need an interception just try to get to the locker room without giving up points and make sure you knock it down and not up they throw the ball that's the lateral there and uh not going to go anywhere and that will be the final play of the half but what a half it was for the cadets the benedictine going for their second state championship their second in three years and they are 24 minutes away from doing it an explosive first half in which they launched 35 points on the purple hurricane and take a 23 point lead into the locker room great job executing you know you know they started off real well both groups uh running right up and down the field and then once everything settled uh benedictine kept that momentum going and so you know it should be a good second half if fitzgerald can come out and get something going it can get interesting 35-12 the cadets leading the purple hurricane here in the double-a state championship game and let's go down to nikki notice standing by with danny britt coach 35 points only two punts in the first half very impressive have you guys been able to effectively move the ball yeah i think our pace has been really good and uh you know we got some players making plays like they have all year inon's done a good job of putting the ball uh where it needs to be uh in the passing game and um so i think i think that's helped us certainly move the ball and certainly put the points on coach defensively up until that 34 bomb for a touchdown that we saw james grand throw you've really been able to slow not only james graham but jd king down as well how has the defense really helped you this game yeah at first they came out and moved it right down the field on us and i think that was just not being used to the the their speed and once we kind of caught up to that we've done pretty good but it we know it's going to be really hard to do that in the second half all right coach good luck second half thank you all right it is now time for our tailgate party show with the charming mark carmen jackie i don't have an adjective for you but everyone says we look alike so over to my twin there you go i like that one better thank you so far you know pretty exciting first half a lot of points even though it's 35 to 12 you know i think this game is far from over fitzgerald out there they're hungry and they're gonna it's gonna be a dog fight in the second half for sure up on the gbp halftime show we'll hear from the fitzgerald marching band and we'll talk to leaders from both schools and find out what's going on in those communities and we'll check in online to see what fans are talking about in this great game and more all of that and more coming up on the gpb halftime show don't go anywhere [Applause] [Music] this program on gpb is made possible in part by supporters of the georgia high school association including the following support for gpb comes from georgia farm bureau mutual insurance from front porches to back roads down the street or around the block georgia farm bureau is there with the protection families need whether it's home auto or life insurance or something more georgia farm bureau is dedicated to providing the right coverage to all the friends families and neighbors who make this state home more at gfbinsurance.com georgia farm bureau always the home team all right this is adam take two mark i guess [Music] i go like this [Music] the best part about playing football in texas has to be the reaction from the community i want to encourage others to play volleyball or choir because you get to experience new things and do stuff that you've never done before my reason why is passion my reason why is pride it should be one way of a football game tonight [Applause] whether you plan to attend a two-year college four-year university or go straight into the world of work the georgia career technical and agricultural education programs teach students essential career skills through real-world experiences and on-the-job training [Music] cotton contributes 2.5 billion dollars to the state's economy annually it takes more than 60 cotton gins and manufacturers to bring cotton into our everyday lives kids always like to stay in the pool a little too long and when they do get out covered in goosebumps you feel the urge to wrap them up the cozy embrace of cotton does the job cotton the natural choice for georgia [Music] welcome back to the georgia dome welcome back to the ghasa football championships and welcome back to the gpb halftime show we're at the break of the double a game between benedictine and fitzgerald benedictine leading this one 35 to 12 at the break and we've got a lot of excitement in story here for the second half of this game but also for the second half of the day there's a lot of action and atmosphere happening here inside the georgia dome but also online in the world of social media make sure you're part of the conversation and join us at gpb sports on facebook twitter and also snapchat let's get to a few tweets that we've had earlier today this one coming in from patrick saying when it rains it pours hashtag benedictine and fitzgerald here in a great matchup this is emmy she joined us a little bit earlier she is ready man talk about a canes fan look at this outfit she's got her overalls on got canes down the leg there she's ready to go i absolutely love it then we have hannah chiming in supporting our canes from home good luck today guys antonio here this one is pretty awesome there's only one thing on my mind right now during finals week and it's not public finance good luck keynes beat benedictine that's awesome this one coming in from trevor lawrence's hair that's he has his own twitter account his hair has his own twitter account i should say watching fitzgerald on gpb but getting ready for the real purple hurricanes to hit the georgia dome at 4 30 that game coming up next and we will actually talk more about not only the x's and o's but yeah we'll talk about his hair for a little bit so a lot of excitement is in the first half already but now it's time for more excitement with are you smarter holiday edition mark harmon is standing by we have father frank the headmaster of benedictine high school and it's good to have you here thank you for having me talk a little bit about what the feeling's been like at school you guys won this thing a couple of years ago but now you're back in the dome they're energized all over again uh coach britt has just been doing a fantastic job keeping the team spirits very high the school's behind him and the alumni is just a magnificent support group what what's going on at your school in savannah well right now we're in a process of building a new wing and we'll be opening up the first half of that with the beginning of the winter term and also we're in the process of uh doing other uh renovations within the school itself so we're very very pleased with the way things are going right now enrollment's strong we are very happy and again we've got a lot of support from our alums all right the pride of vayne it's time now to play our question are you smarter and here is the question he's a busy guy which actor portrayed six different characters in the animated movie the polar express was it a eddie murphy b tim allen or c tom hanks [Music] i guess it was tom hanks you are absolutely correct can't fool you as a national treasure tom hanks the movie used performance capture animation to have him play the conductor and five other characters including santa and no word yet if you got six salaries for the one roll we're not sure thank you much thank you very much i appreciate it good luck in the second half thank you kindly all right jackie all right we've got that and more coming up we will hear from the fitzgerald purple hurricane marching band we'll also have another round of are you smarter and then john nelson drops by to educate us in his john's georgia segment it's all coming up next on the gpb weekend halftime show we'll see it a few [Music] introducing the 2017 mercedes-benz stadium now with retractable hardtop 58-foot halo video board and 16-story window to the city [Music] this tremendous stadium opportunity is now available to everyone book your mercedes-benz preview center appointment now at mercedesbenzstadium.com today companies in the aerospace advanced manufacturing and film industries need skilled workers and the earning potential is high go build georgia can show you where the jobs are and what skills you need to get them and the technical college system of georgia has fast affordable training for these great paying careers build your blueprint for success at gobildga.com and look to the technical college system of georgia to put your plan into action when you're in control of your finances i just feel like you're in control of your future when we were getting ready to open the business we shopped around a couple different banks but when we went to regions they treated us the best the customer service is i mean amazing our region's banker stacy has great advice for the business and our personal finances they walk in they treat you right it makes you just want to keep going back we're ready to take our next step at 60 miles per hour you go the length of a football field in five seconds but would you do it blindfolded when you text and drive that's what happens heads up georgia texting and driving is against the law [Music] huh [Music] ah [Music] we are into the big top welcome back to the 2016 ghsa football championships halftime show live on gpb we're at halftime the class double a public school championship game benedictine leading this one over fitzgerald 35 to 12 and kind of a high scoring wild one so far right the guys were right upstairs there would be a lot of points on the board but i don't think many people expected fitzgerald to only have 12 at this point but started off with a great game by macon county and a great game on board for the rest of the day but now we're going to transition and we're going to play our favorite holiday game are you smart are we now welcome to the program the fitzgerald high school principal don clements and you are in the hot seat what's going on at uh fitzgerald these days well high school we've had a great week we had a lot of school spirit going on our kids are excited to be here just to make it here is a great a great accomplishment and we hope to come back here in the second half yeah kind of a little bit of a distraction though maybe with finals and all that that's been happening or coming up well we have them coming up this thursday and friday a lot going on all right well let's play the game are you smarter the grinch who stole christmas tells the story of a local hermit who gets sick of the christmas spirit and schemes of a way to steal the entire celebration from an entire village what legendary horror movie actor provided the voice of the grinch and the classic animated version was it a vincent price b boris karloff or c lon chaney hey vincent price she said davidson price it is actually b it was mr karloff although he didn't sing the famous euro mean one mr grinch song that was thorough ravenscroft so thank you very much for joining us so it's fun to play now we're going to listen into the fitzgerald high school marching band brought to you by regions bank [Music] [Music] one [Music] great job by the fitzgerald high school marching band brought to you by regions bank time now to check out this georgia's emc scoreboard we've got one in the bank and a half one in the bank one and a half i guess you could say first off it was kahari lane with four touchdown passes giving him a record for the state of georgia 56 for the season as the makit county bulldogs beat mcintosh county academy buccaneers 35-0 in the opener right now in the double-a game undefeated top-ranked benedictines taking on number two fitzgerald and leading that one 35-12 and then around 4 30 it's four reaction you've got cartersville and thompson cartersville of course last year's champion thompson trying to knock on the door and take their gold ring home today then at 8pm the 7a showdown big game here between the undefeated roswell hornets last year's runner-up and then the top ranked 13-1 grayson rams we've got a lot of football we are only halfway through the day but we've got a lot left folks we now welcome in the author of five books two on high school football in the great state of georgia a segment we call johns georgia brought to you by georgia cmc and john this year a lot of teams a lot of players a lot of coaches had to deal with a lot of real life adversities from hurricanes on the coast to wildfires up north and you saw with the single a match-up as we spend time in the habersham emc for this one mca a lot of the teams on the coast had to deal with two hurricanes another school in double-a that their season ended with a loss to fitzgerald had to deal with forest fires and they're still doing it today when you visit a raven county football practice there's a lot of this going on and as they chase their first ever 12 win season the only other chances for that being last year in 1998 you noticed something else going on there's more than one shaw on staff lee has been joined by son jabo in another meeting of your son is now home from college jaybo being with me being my offense coordinator quarterback coach sidelined together it reminds me back when he played for me and we went to this offense when he was a junior so he knows it inside and out and he's brought so much to the table on offense for us it's just a lot of fun you know i was at western this past year uh actually 2014 and then just want to be back with dad coaching high school while there's nothing better than high school football i really truly believe that and had an opportunity to come back be with him and you know coach the quarterback that we've got and be a part of this community again it's just been a blessing the cats have had to battle mother nature too and still are really the forest fires in the north georgia mountains have made the last few weeks just weird but it's been a uniting force for everyone around it's been different you know we've had to practice in our indoor facility some you know do as much as we can in there do some just some of the you know passing kicking stuff outside but it's been difficult trying to put a full normal practice together going in and out um you know it's there's some days that are really clear like today and other days that are really really smoky out and it's just kind of bothersome to some of the guys that you know have asthma and such we try not to let it distract us too much it definitely would play a role in like how we practice definitely because when it was smoky out here we'd have to go in the indoor and then just not knowing what we were going to do going into going into practice because some days it would be smoky leading up to practice then it'll clear up for practice so we got to be outside so it's just been i mean weird like you said but like i said we try not to let it affect us too much forest fire is mainly mostly contained up in the northeast georgia mountains and you saw with raven county there it's now family affair and tiger with the shaw's jay bo and lee at the reigns mark for that offense i tell you it tells says something about the resiliency of these coaches and players i mean wildfires hurricanes some teams playing four games in 17 days some regions being decided by coin flips but it all worked out they all wound up eventually the winners down here in the georgia dome you get to see what these towns and what these teams and what these schools are made of across the board when you're seeing mother nature taking charge as she has this year it's been a great effort by a lot of folks around the state to get everything done not just on the field but off the field as well so everyone can get back to that new normal you know if we turn the page back about four or five years you and i covered the tornadoes that hit ringgold and how they rebuilt the program up there and robert aikens did a tremendous job and you also got to see once again how much of a uniting force that was and so we've been able to share these stories this this season here on georgia public broadcasting about what it means and what football can do for a lot of these communities and you know it really brings the teams together i think it brings the teams together brings the towns together and it introduces everyone to one another to kind of re-emphasize the fact that the more we're different the more we're the same all right you're getting ready to cover another hurricane the purple hurricane is the next game up at carter's yes and it's trevor lawrence so we're gonna go with the flow right get it go with the flow see i had to take his pun away from him before he could do it yeah that's going to be a great game too and then following that you got another great quarterback and chase bryce who's going to clemson and just to top off all the quarterback coverage that we've had this season and this morning obviously we know about kahari lane and company so um yeah some great stuff here on deck top 15s in the united states you can't miss it two big games and a half to go i know well let's get to it it's time to head back up to the booth with matt stewart and brian lamar for the second half of our double a matchup between benedictine and fitzgerald but first time now for our tcsg career play of the game and we'll see you for the trophy presentations george is now number three in the country for film and tv production i'm getting hands-on experience and training with film professionals on real sets through the georgia film academy and by enrolling in film production classes through the technical college system of georgia my tuition is free working with professionals has helped me start my career in the entertainment industry the technical college system of georgia creating a better future for you and for georgia hi folks rich miller from milton martin honda and gainesville we want to wish all the teams in the state playoffs the very best of luck and if you think milton martin honda is a proud sponsor of georgia high school athletics [Music] [Music] feels good [Music] [Music] it should be one way of a football game tonight [Applause] this program on gpb is made possible in part by supporters of the georgia high school association including the following support for gpb comes from georgia farm bureau mutual insurance from front porches to back roads down the street or around the block georgia farm bureau is there with the protection families need whether it's home auto or life insurance or something more georgia farm bureau is dedicated to providing the right coverage to all the friends families and neighbors who make this state home more at gfbinsurance.com georgia farm bureau always the home team all right this is adam take two mark i guess [Music] i go like this [Music] the best part about playing football in texas has to be the reaction from the community i want to encourage others to play volleyball or choir because you get to experience new things and do stuff that you've never done before my reason why is passion my reason why is pride [Music] back at the georgia dome just about set for the start of the second half in this double a state championship game the benedictine cadets of savannah leading fitzgerald 35 to 12. i'm matt stewart joined by coach brian lamar of tucker high school and brian let's take a look back at these first half highlights things started very well for fitzgerald they went five plays 80 yards on their opening possession got a 36-yard touchdown run here from jdk yeah they did a great job in the first half of just keeping it you know honest mixing it up doing what they do running the football inside running the football outside they started working a little bit with the play-action pass later on in the game they really established themselves with the run but then benedictine got going a couple of short touchdown runs by terrence smalls and ayannon got the ball to black sheer downfield 64-yard pass play on the busted coverage then kennedy seven-yard touchdown run they were up 28-6 at that point and then the what looked like a back breaker right here on the thai league collins 43-yard touchdown run yeah it's one of those things but they just stuck to their to their game planning their guns too they started off running the ball really well and open it up with a little play action had a big play on what should have been a negative yardage play just a great individual effort they really played hard in the first half it really did a great job of just keeping to what they do running the football mixing in some play action they were able to continue to keep drives rolling all right let's send it down to nikki noto coach i know it's been a difficult battle to combat benedictine's speed their physicality but we saw flashes of promise as of late in that first half what's your plan for the second well i mean the biggest thing right now we're just getting whipped in every phase of the football game offense defense special teams we just got to get back to trusting each other we got a great group of kids we've worked hard all year long and right now i feel like during the first half we didn't trust each other we didn't trust calls we didn't trust reeds and uh we're going to get back in the football game somehow that's got to happen uh come in we had i thought we had a positive half time let's get back out and see if we get back in this thing all right coach and what about jd king they've really been slowing him down this game yeah they've got a great plan against him trying to use some other guys to to get get their keys off of him uh but he's a guy we got to get going and you know he had a great game against him last year obviously they came in with him him on their mind certainly all right coach good luck second half thank you matt back up to you thank you nikki as we take a look at the first half stats and i mean the yardage total really not that disparate considering it's a 23 point margin but the the most overrated stat in all the football the time of possession you know fitzgerald doubled him up but it's benedictine that's got the points yeah we've been thinking hit some big plays they had shorter field you know so the yard is going to be a little bit different at the end of the day they were able to find the pay dirt get into the end zone so you know they got the lead right now so i'm interested to see how both teams respond to the second half you know you get momentum going you get a feel for the game but then you got to go into the locker room and some groups do a poor job of coming out and executing the second half some groups do a really good job of coming out so we'll see how both groups do well benedictine will be on offense to start the third quarter so the fitzgerald defense that had their struggle at times giving up 35 points in that first half will have a big test for themselves to start the second half and they'd get the opportunity if you want to look at it that way to set the momentum for the second half and get the ball back to their offense quickly yeah well they're in great position they got a lead they got a chance to get a plan together at halftime to get a score you know it works both ways one group is trying to figure out what they're going to do can they go down and get a score to start the second half and the other group is saying hey we can come out here and get a stop then we can get the ball in great field position and then have a short field and be able to score so we'll see whose plan works out best danny brent's team is 24 minutes away from the state championship fitzgerald they've lost their last four trips to the state finals it was on this day again in 1948 they won their one and only state title when they beat decatur 20 to 19 at macon's porter stadium they've been back four times since and come up empty all four times losing in 1964 to carrollton 1969 to coosa 19 or rather 2000 to swingsboro and then last season to pace academy in this building well one of those dings state championships are not easy to come by they're hard to win and that's where they're special your second half kickoff brought to you by heads up georgia don't text and drive distracted driving takes lives and the kickoff by avila gonna be taken at the three-yard line by kennedy and kennedy right up the middle as the kicker to beat me does and finally brought down from behind kicker slowed him down just enough for willie ross to catch him from behind and that's why they've been doing the sky kicks that's why they've been given a short field position because when you kick it deep you run the risk of this happening a great job of hitting it inside with the wedge following blockers makes the kicker miss you know the kicker did a good job of making them have to make a decision had he just you know went and attacked him then he probably would have scored a touchdown but he made but he stood there made him have to choose a side and gave the d gave the rest of the defenders time to retrace and come down now they got great field position 57-yard return and the cadets have it at the fitzgerald 40-yard line wildcat snap goes right to kennedy and he barely gets back to the line of scrimmage good job right there by fitzgerald they got to keep fighting just can't give in to all the negative things that's going on around you you just got to stay focused and positive things can happen you can get a turnover or negative yardage play and all at once the momentum is back on your side they got to keep fighting kennedy with 85 yards of offense in the first half four for 55 rushing the ball and a touchdown on a seven yard run two catches for 30 yards handoff goes to smalls derek smalls follows his block out on the edge by the tight end nick whitfield and picks up the first down great job right there with a little misdirection whitfield who had a 40 yard touchdown catch early in this ball game with a first down run of 11 yards yeah they come with a jet motion to their right and then they come back with a counter to their left good job of mixing it up and getting positive yards pardon me that was smalls on the carry it was whitfield who threw the block and that's kennedy on the run and kennedy down to the 23 yard line as he picks up five yeah benedictine uh benedictine uh is doing a good job just you know getting back to their balance running the ball inside running the ball outside uh they can't fish gerald can't go to sleep because the play action pass is coming here in a second i have known 506 for 140 in a touchdown in the first half handoff smalls first down or close to it at the 18-yard line looks like the spot will give it to him what you're seeing is really good balance inside runs outside runs you're seeing jet sweep motion and then counters and now you're seeing straight handoffs they're doing a great job you know great job of play calling and keeping it keeping it mixed up and keeping fitzgerald on their toes first and ten they did pick up the first so first and ten from the 18 yard line just been really impressed with the efficiency of this cadets offense today toss goes to kennedy and he's driven out of bounds at the 12-yard line by lundy yeah again we talk about balance to play before had a full back run picked up the first down you know now they're starting to think about full back runs and now they toss the ball and get onto the perimeter and get a great game six yard pickup second down and four for benedictine trying to march in again right up the middle on the handoff yup now they're back with the full back running game again inside outside inside outside a simple inside belly plate it's kind of a iso and wing t uh terminology we call that xb play and that's another first down yup another first down is mixing up handing it to the full back getting it on the perimeter with the halfbacks just keeping him mixed up first and goal to go from the eight now they get blackshear on the other side play clock at five handoff goes to collins flag out colin's gonna get into the end zone but it might be coming back the flag out of the eight-yard line eight-yard touchdown run for collins if it stands yeah it looks like it might be a holding caller if so that would be a huge break for fitzgerald that's the second time they've called that penalty yep well it was something that that was a point of emphasis this year with georgia high school in terms of officiating the chop blocking rules was something that they they went back and revisited and and put it into the uh and put it into the rules watch the left-hand side yep there's the block below the knee that's it that's it again a very dangerous play trying to protect players um getting a lot of knee injuries nowadays acls uh got to protect guys can't allow that type of block um you know and so good call fitzgerald gets a break right there benedictine has got nine first downs in the first half they got three on his drive they're moving the ball first and goal to go from way out around the 20 and it's still caught and on his feet collins inside the four yard line you can see the frustration on the faces of the fitzgerald defense collins somehow came out away with the ball right there yeah it looked like it was going to be deflected and possibly intercepted and out of all the people that were in there he came up with it 19-yard pickup and they go back to smalls again and he looks like he might be hurt on the play yeah fitzgerald did a good job right there they gave up a big play but they hadn't remembered it was first and goal so without them getting into the end zone you still got manageable down the distance they came back got a big play right there on third down so now you got 30 on second down so now it's third and short they still have a chance they got to keep fighting handoff kennedy and he dies for the end zone he's going to be down inside the one fitzgerald ended up with the football but apparently the ball was out after he was down yeah good job of fitting in there fighting for yards fighting for yards reaching that really probably was a fumble i think the ball was loose he was fighting for yards the lucky came loose before the knee was down yeah he was losing control of it that actually could have been a fumble but without the benefit of the replay benedictine retains possession it's fourth and goal from inside the one and the cadets will use the timeout here it's gonna be interesting to see how they play this i think they're gonna go ahead and go for it try to seal the deal yeah i would think that they'd be going forward right here if you don't get it then they got to drive the length of the field so they wanted a timeout i think he was he's unhappy here that he had to burn the time out i think yeah that bar is a coach up now when you don't have personnel right and you're wasting time because rather the other coaches aren't all on the same page or you got kids not paying attention and not being on the same page it's very frustrating because those timeouts can become valuable we still got a good football game here you know you're in a situation where if you miss this here and they go down and score all at once the momentum's on their side and the closer the score gets the tighter the kids get the tighter the coaches get and then you're more susceptible to pressing and making something bad happen so it's a very important play right here fourth and goal to go from inside the one yard line this will be the tenth play of the drive for the cadets to try to punch it in and get their 41st point of the day would be an interesting call do they go inside do they go outside inside with smalls and did he get in still no indication from the officials and fitzgerald believes they have held them at the goal line yeah it looks like he's gonna be short did not get in well how about that fitzgerald comes up with a huge play at the goal line to keep the cadets out of the end zone great push great job of guys not getting knocked off the ball it's all about pad level you see the the level of the guys in purple is lower than the guys in the white and that's how you get to stop that's a never quit attitude and mentality now let's see if fitzgerald can convert that into points and remember coach strickland talked about being strong up the middle and it was his nose 76 anthony ramsey who got great penetration and then the linebacker 93 dontarius milsat came in there and finished off the play but it started with the big fella right there they say he's built like a refrigerator at 511 340. graham out of the end zone complete the king king breaks the tackle off to inside the 20-yard line a touchdown saving tackle for the moment by jakeem harris football is a gain of momentum and you had a situation they give the big stop and they come back with the play action pass great call great execution great effort and all at once fitzgerald is knocking on the door wow can you say momentum swing great call backed up in your own end zone everybody's thinking run they go with the screen faking the screen and hit jd king up the scene he had to make the catch he had to make the run and now they're knocking on the door 80-yard pass play first and 10 for the hurricane at the 18-yard line ball carried down to the 14-yard line jd king who just bust off that 80-yard run there after the catch has it now at the 14 second down now fitzgerald's into manageable down and distances they've got the momentum on their side they still got to protect the football king in motion they'll take the handoff to him granola and graham down to the six yard line has the first down well i think they found something with the inside quarterback reed they started running it at the end of the second in the end of the second quarter started to have some success and now they're coming back to it having great balance running outside fake the jet suit jet suite and bringing the quarterback back underneath on the counter they're doing a good job of just mixing it up it's not necessarily running the pass but it's inside the outside his running backs and his quarterbacks they're mixing it up first and goal to go graham touchdown and there it is it's what we call the power read it's the old school power play but instead of kicking a guy with a full back allowing the quarterback to read it he made a great read and it was a touchdown your tcsg touchdown replay again he's going to read the end man on the line of scrimmage the end man took the running back the quarterback pulled it and again the quickest way to the end zone is a straight line fake the outside play ran it right up to good good blocking good read good execution and now fitzgerald has a chance gonna go for two right here they've missed two p-a-t kicks so now going for again it came back to the exact same play it's what we would call 31-39 read it's a power replay we may have just seen something happen here at the georgia dome benedictine was poised to go in for the closing blow and then graham hit king with an 80-yard pass to get him down inside the 20 and then graham took it in from six yards out and then a two-point conversion to make it a 15-point game [Applause] when you're in control of your finances i just feel like you're in control of your future when we were getting ready to open the business we shopped around a couple different banks but when we went to regions they treated us the best the customer service is i mean amazing our region's banker stacy has great advice for the business and our personal finances they walk in they treat you right it makes you just want to keep going back we're ready to take our next step [Music] every year across the united states teen drivers get into car accidents because they're texting and driving by taking their eyes off of the road they're putting everyone in danger [Music] life is a precious thing that could change in a matter of seconds [Music] safe driving saves lives welcome back to the georgia dome we've got a great game going on right now between benedictine and fitzgerald right now benedictine is winning 35 to 20 but fitzgerald just finally scored a touchdown we haven't seen one in a while and it all started with that 80 yard pass play to jd king coach told me at the half he really wanted to get him involved in the second half coach also spoke about jd king saying he is a once in a generation player he also went on to say that once he leaves they're really going to have to figure out a new way how to reinvent the program because much of what they do has been around his physicality and speed and talent matt absolutely nikki he's going to have a lasting impact on this program he's been a star down there in fitzgerald for years he's committed to play for oklahoma state chose the cowboys over 13 other offers and and coach after their semifinal victory last week he's such a great kid they had 35 elementary school kids standing there wanting to get their picture with them each one individually and he accommodated every single one of them yeah he's kind of a hometown hero kind of a legendary figure he's one of the best players again not only the state of georgia in the country he's a once-in-a-lifetime kid he comes along those guys don't come along often guys that's strong and fast he's a man amongst boys he's an outstanding player and he's also a good person well let's see what they try to do here with the kick they haven't had a whole lot of success field position wise they're going to pop it up they've got to avila there we go angle over here to this side the near side is taken at the 26 yard line and up to the 42 and again they just have not been able to do anything with those kicks as blackshear brings it up to the 42-yard line and so great field position again for benedictine and that's really kind of been one of the big stories in this game is the cadets have simply had great field position manageable field position at the very worst the entire day yeah it's one of those deals you got to pick your poison do you want to kick it deep and possibly give a touchdown or do you want to kick it short and just give up you know what what happens is when you get the ball in these situations is more so you got already one for first down on your on your drive they were on the plus 40 their last possession and now they're on the 42 on this one and wesley lost the ball and mourinho the fullback was able to get back on top of it talked about it earlier in the game that's why you keep playing the game you continue to play hard had opportunity for a negative yardage play don't wrap up but guys are still hustling and getting to the ball and there was an opportunity for a turnover and that's the way the game goes you keep playing hard you keep doing what you've been coached to do and all of a sudden opportunities will present themselves i unknown gonna throw it's complete to kennedy kennedy falls down and they get kennedy out of bounds around the original line of scrimmage now they're going to have a third and a third in medium an opportunity to get off the field and get the ball back it's a huge down uh for benedictine they got a chance to convert here and steal some of that momentum a stop right here for fitzgerald will be huge and give them an opportunity to score again before the end of the quarter third down and eight up top they go incomplete they got a flag might be a hold then ty leagues collins was the target pass interference on the defense 15 yard pill in front of the spot hey results in the first half that's a tough call right there yeah that's a huge call yeah that was a hole they called it pass interference it was a hold that was willie ross who got a grab of his jersey yep fistful of jersey gives the cadets a first down at the purple hurricane 41-yard line that was a huge conversion benedictine needed that that breath of fresh air right there kennedy on the sweep cutting back lundy twists his ankle and drops him at the 41. good job by fitzgerald there now they're starting to play those seams are starting to become smaller and smaller you know early in the game was a lot of jet sweep getting on the perimeter and then inside runs mixing it up now they're starting to hustle to the ball and take away those perimeter runs get ready for some inside runs and some play action fifth tackle of the day for markelin lundy the junior linebacker kennedy again oh great tackle how about that play right there down on the ground callan ray still made the play yeah they're they're playing with their hearts and souls right now you're finding the purple hurricanes hustling to the ball getting penetration again both teams are wing t oriented teams they want to block down and kick out the worst thing that can happen is penetration and what you're seeing is penetration by the purple hurricanes and them having opportunities for negative yardage plays here it is third and long and there's the big fella the man in the middle i talked about him early in the game at 6-1 220 pounds he is a load in the middle and now they're starting to add on their blitz they're a 3-3 team they have three linemen three linebackers that allows them to be able to use different rush packages here you have a game between the mike linebacker and nose and also a game going on outside with the end and the outside linebacker and it developed into a blitz right up the middle wow we could be headed for a fantastic fourth quarter as the fitzgerald defense feeding off their offense and feeding off each other have come to life here wow dangerous catch at the 15-yard line by antonio perry excuse me perry antonio perry and a 38-yard kick by king and that's where fitzgerald goes back on offense but the the folks here from fifth jail have come to life nikki i don't know if you guys can hear me over these screaming fans and their bells and all the other mechanisms they've got in the stands cheering on their purple hurricane you know the first half when fitzgerald wasn't playing too well their fans were letting them know about it by gosh and there are so many players that have been bolting down the sideline back and forth waving their towels waving their hands you guys the fitzgerald's side is wide awake and they are ready for the next few minutes of this ball game and graham running hard up to the 25-yard line got close to 10 on that play graham now 15 carries close to 120 yards rushing today yeah they're doing a great job of running the quarterback that's always the great equalizer you know uh it's an extra guy in the box that a lot of people don't use if you're not using the quarterback then you're you're minus one guy so they're using the quarterback using a lot of misdirection and he's doing a good job he's got to protect the football in these situations second down graham gonna throw it and off the hands of bayley incomplete it's a big third down right here for fitzgerald pardon me that was kim daniels incomplete and now it's third and one big third down third and one you're in a good situation very manageable the tough part about it when you're trying to make that comeback there's very little margin for error graham dives forward he's gonna be short of the first down yeah again they ran a replay he kept it rolled the running back pretty good but tried to keep and he tried to get vertical looks like he's going to be short i thought he might have actually tripped over the running back tripped over his own man right here there was definitely a hole there if he got behind that guard he probably would have had enough for the first down even though steel was pretty well defended wow they're going for it here what do you think about this well i think it comes down to possessions you got to find a way to win possessions it's just not enough possessions in the game uh coach feels like he has to steal this possession one fourth and one in their own end they pick up the first down letting graham take it again a great call perimeter run had the full back to that side also so they had you know maybe three or four extra blockers to that side and he was able to find increase what a gutsy call right here they got a hit on him in the backfield but couldn't drop him bobby baker the corner hit him couldn't slow him down enough though in its first and ten at the 29-yard line jason strickland's team back in the game graham 17 carries for 119 today gonna keep it again let's bring their bread and butter today up to the 36. yep benedictine's got to find a way to win first down you know they can get the momentum back by just simply winning first down and getting a stop right now they're losing first down they're giving up six or seven yards on first down every single every single time and so it's becoming manageable second downs which turns to manageable third downs in which you know to in the last you know a few plays became a manageable four from one so got to figure out how to win first down second down and three from the 36. stack for a nation trips to the right graham will run it flag out quickly probably a hole right off the bat up to the 41-yard line that's gonna be a first down if it stands [ __ ] load of waste on your offense 15 yard pillar from the spotter and foul the first half third time we've seen that penalty first time it's been called on fitzgerald yeah very tough call because that really you know just sucks the win right out of them right there and uh now they got matted back into a long yardage situation yeah they were working with the second and three and now it's going to be a second and what about 15 16 more than that 18. again another another chop block another uh block on the lower part of the leg you know very dangerous and um you know you got to call it you got to protect the players approaching the final minute of the third quarter grand heavy rush he's in out to the trouble steps out at the 34. at least that gives them a manageable third down situation yeah that's that's a play that only james graham can make right there had him bottled up was able to reverse out and get a positive yard game we talk about his arm we talk about his feet we talk about his intelligence and his competitive nature and that's what gives him the first the ability to get a manageable down in distance now you got it at third and five third and four that's very manageable now it's all about execution third down and five he's got offers from virginia tech oklahoma state and miami among his ten offers and offsides benedictine and then made the hard count was able to draw him off sides and it will be a first down so you see graham they were facing second and 18 coach he runs for 13 to make it third and five and then his hard count gets the first down what a job by the kid yeah i mean he's he's a special player and again they're riding him right now jd king one of the best backs in the country but when he's coming down to it right now the hot hand is james ground you got to let him roll picked up eight right there he's he's getting close to a 150 yard rushing day as we close in the end of the third quarter again is one of those situations where when the quarterback is able to run the ball you're able to use the running back as an extra blocker and get more people at the point of attack 20 for 148 for graham now to the air he goes complete to divine his third catch of the day it's across midfield and a first down at the benedictine 40-yard line yeah james graham has got the hot hand right now pinpoint accuracy great decision-making he's using his feet he's using his arm he's using his brain he's making the plays right now first and ten from the 40. that was a 12-yard pickup divine after making the catch gets the run he picks up six down to the 34. that might have been the final play of the third quarter yeah now you're starting to see the balance from fitzgerald they're running outside running inside quarterback runs half back runs full back runs play action pass they're keeping benedictine on their on their heels but they still got to convert them get points a good drive won't do this late in the game the score being where it is you got to be able to convert some points that is the end of the third quarter game has turned momentum now and fits gerald's favor as we head to the fourth but benedictine still has a two touchdown lead [Music] i have no idea what i'm doing i'm just a tv doctor i never went to college i don't do blood but now thanks to cigna i can do more than just look the part is that a foot we are the tv doctors of america and we're partnering with cigna to help save lives by getting you to a real doctor for an annual checkup so go no and take control of your health doctor poses cigna together all the way [Music] i was always fortunate enough to have the aptitude to do well but a lot of times i liked the attitude to actually try to do it my eighth grade teacher miss wingate told me kevin i'm not measuring you against your peers i'm measuring you against your ability teachers have the ability to tell us timeless truths and really alter the trajectory of where we can go whether you plan to attend a two-year college four-year university or go straight into the world of work the georgia career technical and agricultural education programs teach students essential career skills through real-world experiences and on-the-job training at the heart of our community are the businesses that don't skip a beat george's electric membership cooperatives stand behind local commerce whether keeping farms running or shining a light on new ventures we bring business large and small to our communities creating jobs driving development supporting dreams georgia's emc's so much more than electricity it should be one way on a football game tonight [Applause] welcome back to the georgia dome our score right now benedictine still winning 35 but all the momentum goes to fitzgerald and their score right now will they have 20 points you know when i talked to coach britt he said that the one thing that concerned him coming into this game he felt like his team really hadn't been tested and as you look at the scores of uh the outcomes of the games they've already played this year they've won big and as you can see i mean fitzgerald they're hanging in there and there's still another quarter left a ball to play matt thank you nikki yeah you're right i mean they have won their four playoff games by an average score of 52 to eight and remember back when it was 35 to 12 and they had a chance to look like apply the knockout punch and he had to burn a timeout and he was so upset and this is why and you pointed it out because the game could turn very quickly it looked like benedictine was in total control about to put the game away but the coach was upset because he had to burn a timeout knowing how quickly this game could change you pointed it out and the game did change when fitzgerald got that fourth and goal stop yep it's because they were able to go ahead and you know get their guys rested get a good game playing in for what they want what they wanted to do on that fourth down situation was able to get a stop and so now now you had him in a situation where they were able to convert and um and now they're marching down the field gonna have a holding call right here yeah graham out of bounds at the 27 yard line it would be good for a first down if it stands but likely not yeah it looked like they had a holding call so again it's gonna be a you know a third on the offense 15-yard penalty from the spotter to file still second half well we have seen four of those calls in this game that is more than i've seen in all the games i've televised this year yeah i mean and that's really rare on the passing play you will have some chop block sometimes on passing play but if they fire out and cut guys that's not really illegal it's the it's the low block on the back of knee on the side of the knee um so i'm interested to see the replay and didn't see it i i saw harris the linebacker go down maybe it was there on the block applied to him yeah it looked more like a tackle than a chop block either way it was an infraction backs him up to the 47-yard line and so now it's gonna be second down and 23. graham flush to his left gonna heave it down field and over the head of lucita smith the tight end that's the first time they've tried to get the ball to him yeah and he actually had you know some space uh just kind of overshot him let's see this was wide open down the middle of the field did a good job of evading tacklers shot a rocket down the middle of the field just over the hands of lucidus would have been a first down for sure maybe a score how strong does your arm have to be when you've got to make a 45-50 yard throw you still throw it too hard over his head yeah and across your body he's running to his left and through the ball back to his right again still through a rocket third down pressure rolling to his right this time throwing on the run again oh my goodness what a catch by ethan gordon and a first down at the 25 yard line or make that the 30 no did get the first down i thought he got to the 25 got to the 35. yeah james graham again using his feet to get out of harm's way and then shooting a laser pass great hand-eye coordination great job securing the catch with your hands and then bracing yourself for the fall fourth down they're going for it fourth and five from the 35 and a timeout burned here by fitzgerald what a catch by ethan gordon he landed on his helmet well again it was a rocket pass a little bit high jumped up caught it great hands never bobbled it great concentration they got to convert the only thing about being down did you just don't have a large margin for error once you're down by you know a few points now you got to be able to make sure that everything's sharp again a good drive that doesn't help you you've got to have points and to show you just how spread the field was and how far they had to go on that spectacular play they still didn't pick up the first down no they still have five yards to go on this fourth down play here so coach fitzgerald burns a timeout this is a critical point right here what do you got to call right here to get the first down well what you got to do is just you know kind of kind of look at what you've been successful with they've been successful with quarterback replays they've been successful with some play action pass the thing about it is you know you want to put it you know i personally put him in a situation where he can run or throw because he's so good with his feet so fourth down from the 35 what a day james graham has had look what he's done on this drive alone 65 yards accountable to him on this drive alone and they've got it at the 35. they got to convert ball was dropped and graham going to take a loss king got him from behind at the 39 and the ball is going to go over on downs is what i just talked about you just don't have any margin for error so you're in a pressure situation and the ball just slips out of the center's hand looks like he just tried to snap it back it slipped out his hand there's just no margin for error in the game this tight um as time is winding down you got to get two scores and so you know there you go it's a slight mishap and uh benedictine gets the ball uh on turnover on downs so the cadets go back on offense at their 39-yard line been a while since they've been on offense it's imperative that they at least get a couple of first downs right here borrow some clock handoff goes to kennedy and kennedy not gonna be able to clear the edge as he gets tackled out of bounds that was willie ross out there making his fifth tackle of the day only a two yard pickup but how critical was that it was a big 12 play drive took 448 off the clock but they didn't get any points yeah and i talked about it you know the thing is you can drive that ball drive that ball drive that ball if you don't come up with points then that's a win for benedictine that you have got to get points out of your drives because you're just going to run out of time at some point unless they lost it again they were on top of it unless they lost it at the bottom of the pile it's their ball the gray equalizes the turnover so fitzgerald was able to come up with the ball and they are and there it is i think it was the big fella anthony ramsey you have the big just a missing it's a misread on the handoff but we just thought about it being addicted had to be able to get first downs they had to be able to run some time off the clock and they weren't able to do that because they turned it over now fitzgerald's got great field position hopefully they don't get any penalties the penalties has been what what has killed them they got a chop block you know got holding calls things of that nature has kind of stalled some drives they're still hot they still have the option for quarterback runs and they still have the option for play action pass and let's not forget about jd king ramsey the big 340 nose tackle fell on top of the ball nearly flattened it after he was able to get on top of it after it squirted out underneath me and now back on offense the purple hurricane and the run there by ethan gordon let's check in with nikki earlier you mentioned this could be a track meet and melvin gordon is actually part of the 4x100 relay for fitzgerald also with jd king and the anchor of that 4 by 100 relay james graham so there's a lot of fast feet out there on the football field right now on both sides of the football field nikki it's second down now keeper by graham and graham gets bear hugged and dropped at the 37-yard line by lowenthal yeah you're right three of the 4x100 relay team for fitzgerald on the field for the purple hurricane well benedictines got four of their players from their four by 100 that won the state last year yeah a lot of speed on the field you know you got guys flying around and getting after if you're in the state championship in the state of georgia you've got some speed third down and seven from the 38th gonna keep it follows blockers and graham down to the 30-yard line i think he picked up the first down that was actually a great job by the fitzgerald offense great call and they were playing they're in four down territory so it was third and medium and they actually ran the football instead of throwing it because they knew if they didn't get the first down they could go for it again they were going to make it a manageable fourth down they were able to pick up the first down good job 58 kyle burkhart the left guard through the big block to get him the first down first and ten from the 29 grand to the air and broken up got there to jd king but the corner jonah griffin flashed in front just at the right moment just in the nick of time and he took a shot down the sideline again still the wheel route running the half back up the seam and just got his hands in there yeah i don't think he actually touched the ball he just got there he actually made contact with king's hands yeah he beat his hands that's what we talk about in the secondary to make plays on deep balls if i can't make that play i'm going to beat the receiver's hands and able to you know cause passes to be incomplete you got to attack the hands don't want to attack the body i'm going to attack the hands because the hands make the catch 311 yards of offense for graham today 155 on the ground 156 through the air this is more on the ground and let's see who got on top of that thing football's become hard to hold on to here in this fourth quarter very slippery down there very slippery it was actually a great run i thought he was going to score once he made that second cut looked like he had some green grass ahead of him and lost the ball still no sign from the officials [Music] they're still fighting for that football under that pile and it looks like fitzgerald has held on to it at the now the other important thing here is going to be what's the spot it's close to a first down they've given him the first down yeah you see the poke out by bobby baker the corner baker got his hands in there and knocked the ball loose but somewhere in there the purple hurricane got back on top of the ball and it might have been king or it might have been graham who recovered but now it's first and ten with the ball at the 19. it was a good job stripping that ball right there handoff goes to king hard yards right there in the middle of the field tackled after a two-yard game kennedy was in on that tackle that time for the cadets yeah they got to just continue to do what they do fitzgerald still has time it's a two score game you don't have a ton of time but you have enough time to run your offense they got to get a score here because if you know and make it to where they get another stop and they have a chance to get another score still gonna have to be a two punch conversion mate somewhere in there for him to be able to tie this game up two two-point conversions would give him a win and now we're under eight minutes to play king gaping hole king inside the five and down to the four jaquin harris jumped on top of his fifth tackle of the day for him but now it's gonna be first and goal to go following the 13-yard run again good play colin went back to the buck sweep jd king been doing a good job of running graham you know he was you know fumbled the ball in the last carry uh want to mix it up a little bit give somebody else some touches he's no better option than jd king 7 25 to go first and goal to go for the purple hurricane at the four gram no running room got smothered immediately eric hicks the nose tackle i think hit him first and then he had help king in there as well yeah we're now there in the goal line situation there in the five yard line and going in it's good to be this close the hard part is now everything is so compact it's not as easy to find those running lanes it's also not as easy to find those passing lanes got to be really sharp on all your decisions in this area second down and goal snap goes to graham graham gonna run it in for the touchdown there it is the quarterback run it's always tough to stop the quarterback run but now you can use the half back a full back as an extra blocker so you get an extra guy at the point of contact where normally if i'm running the ball with the running back and handing it off i don't have that extra guy here you can see the quarterback getting behind the running back and the guards they're pulling people and getting as many bodies as they can at the point of attack and getting into the end zone but here is a big deal getting the two-point conversion if you don't get a two-point conversion here it's still a two-score game 35-26 and the purple hurricane trying to make it a point game with the two-point conversion graham not gonna get there nice play by noah johnson the defensive end got penetration keeps him out of the end zone so now it's still a nine point game that means that the purple hurricane are still two scores back yeah that's a huge stop for benedictine after everything that happened them getting penetration right here and becoming able to get that stop that is huge the touchdown the touchdown was tough but stopping that two-point conversion might have just sealed the deal nine play 40-yard drive fits gerald inches closer but a big play on the two-point conversion makes it a nine point game with six and a half to play [Music] nothing prepares you better for a great career than the technical college system of georgia tcsg colleges produce graduates with the knowledge and training today's top employers are looking for with campuses across georgia state of the art facilities and outstanding instructors with real-world experience it's the kind of affordable college education that will fast-track you into a rewarding career we're building a better future for you contact the tcsg college in your area today or go to tcsg.edu and it's on all right we're going to be doing the blindfolded run across the street challenge all right there you're pretty secure bro it's going to be great it's going to be really good i'm really not bro it's only going to take like two or three seconds put the blindfold back on okay there's no cars right now ready three two one go [Music] jay james graham a huge day has battled fitzgerald back the purple hurricane has scored 20 consecutive points to cut the cadets lead the 35-26 but coach that was a huge play by noah johnson of the cadets on that two-point conversion because that dramatically changes what's going to have to happen here in the final six and a half minutes there's no doubt about it that might have won the game for benedictine being able to get penetration to be able to make the stop on the quarterback there that was huge uh now they gotta go for a two point nine ninety got to go for on side kick i just don't have enough time you know and they've been giving up huge fuel position anyway so it's not a big deal uh going for the on side kick here trying to get a possession and then still gonna have to try another on-side kick right because it's gonna be some time off the clock with them having to drive and try to get a score so uh that was a huge tackle without that tackle they could kick them deep they have a lot of options because with six men six and a half minutes left and you got plenty of time to get a stop and get good field position now they got to try to find a way to steal the extra position in six and a half minutes 328 yards for the smiling james graham today 172 rushing 156 passing he has brought his team all the way back or nearly all the way back they're still nine down but because of the stop as coach just said they got to go for the onside kick right here and they're set up for it and they've got uh colby bell to try the onside kick a bounder that's covered at the 49-yard line popped right up into the hands of jonah griffin and so the cadets take over there yep there's still plenty of time left i mean if you get a stop right here you get a score you're still gonna have to do it on sidekick so um you know good job of fielding the ball wanted to get you know he started off with a hop you wanted to dribble a little bit and then get the big hop but he started off with the big hop they were able to go up and make that catch so now how often do you guys work on one side kick and practice uh we work on it you know really once a week on wednesdays we go out we do a few of them live just to make sure we're going over our situations we work on it every single week handoff goes to collins and collins trying to cut back got caught from behind by marlin jackson the defensive end now let me ask you one other question you practice it in practice how often does it work well we haven't had to use it you know uh we've been fortunate to where we haven't been behind to the points we had to come back and try to you know i'm talking how often is it effective in practice oh well we give it in practice you know we'll give him practice you know we get a good kick we got it we we've been fortunate to have a good kicker so he's really good at making it you know getting that big hop on that second one and we go in there and dive in and get after so it's still a gamble you never know second down and eight ball just across the 50. kennedy in motion instead the handoff right up the middle that smalls back in the ball game you remember he went out in the third quarter with an injury but he's back in there now and that's carried down to the 45 picked up about four on the play again that jet motioning in the counter trying to work the inside outside game very very big third down right here five minutes and 30 seconds left to steal plenty of time for fitzgerald the first down here would pretty much burn another minute and a half to two minutes off the clock so they got to get a stop on this position third and four big first down run for kennedy stepped out of bounds but coach that is a huge first down as you just pointed out that's going to burn another chunk of time off this clock no doubt about it that was a great job of blocking great job of running you know blocking down and kicking out baby old school wing t 15 yard pickup for john wesley kennedy [Applause] and now they have it first and ten at the 30-yard line kennedy on the runs willie ross the corner making the stop picked up about four or five on the play at what point do you start thinking about burning timeouts well you want to see how you know you want to see if you can get at least another stop you don't have to start worrying about timeouts if you can't get a stop it's not gonna really matter uh you can stop the clock right here but they get another first down now you're out of timeouts and you're really in bad shape so they gotta try to get a stop at least one stop because you still gotta get the ball and go back and score even if you get a stop right now go down and score you have to get the ball back again and score um to have a chance so [Music] cadets burning as much time as they can here play clock down less than four four when they snap it and collins gonna be tackled at the 23-yard line again marlon jackson in on that tackle it's gonna be third down and short as we are under four and a half to play yeah dirty short is really manageable right here you know they're losing first down on the last two possessions and so they haven't had to be in the third and long situation which really would play in fitzgerald's favor now is third and third and short know they're going to run the ball here um the only thing about their offense is if you load up and try to send everybody inside they are they're probably going to get blocked down so everybody's got to just play a sign in football and play as hard as they can third and three might be on kennedys of it that was the christmas gift that they have been looking for they got it's a great job causing turnover guys running to the ball and being physical you know benedictine's got to do a good job of securing the ball this late in the game but a great job of stripping great job of going in there and tackling the great job of finding the football there were more purple jerseys around that football than white jerseys and that's why they came up with the recovery but it's still a long road to go time is their worst enemy with three minutes and 51 seconds left in the game there is zero margin for error you've got to score you've got to score quick and then you've got to find a way to get that ball back that was your man milsap who ripped and stripped milsap is a heck of a football player i mean he's long he's dick he's athletic and montrell harris up to the 27-yard line they got to get into their two-minute offense they got to get into a hurry-up situation they got to get points and they got to get points quick because they got to get the ball back one score won't do that's where it comes down to the two-point conversion being unsuccessful had they converted their two-point conversion they'll be looking at scoring and winning the game right here second and four graham gonna run it he's been doing that all day great oh my goodness he almost triggered a long run there got tripped up at the 41-yard line he did but what was great about high school football is the clock stops on the first down a good job of getting inside again they got the full back as the extra blocker and now he's got an opportunity to get to the second level the clock stops on the first down they got to continue to play with payson continue to play with attention to detail big tackle by jonah griffin after the 14 yard pickup graham slips a little bit trying to cut back when they picked up a couple of yards on the play right there noah johnson in on that tackle remember he's the guy that had the big stop on the two-point conversion luke smith also went on that tackle and it's gonna be second down yeah again time is of the essence though they have to be able to get stuff done quickly the other thing that's about to play a part in this whole equation is fatigue you know graham is not just doing a lot with his body right now having to run and then here we go with execution round to the snap full start on the offense how's that penalty just look at that well you know coach strickland told us and nikki was telling you about the story about when jd king is gone they're gonna have to reinvent themselves on offense i don't think they have to go too far they got james graham a pretty good weapon yeah i think he's just giving a lot of praise to jd king and what he's what he's been to this program you know what coach is doing here is is is playing fundamental football the style of football that they play can translate with any with any group of kids you're going to block down you're going to kick out you're going to put the ball in the hands of your athletes and as long as you got a sick as long as you got a quarterback like graham out there you got a chance because he's going to make plays he's going to make great decisions and then the other guys other supporting casts are also really good players we have seen some big plays out of jd king but you've also seen big plays at a number of guys on this fish gear offense ball was nearly intercepted by number four phillip number five phillip moore and now it's going to be third down and 12. graham 28 carries for 190 yards rushing today and over 300 yard total offense day gonna keep it again does he have any gas left in the tank not enough to clear the edge right there nice open field tackle by the corner bobby baker and it's gonna be fourth down well they did a good job you know jamie graham was looking for something up the middle again the same play they've been running uh to be successful within the second half running the jet motion and the quarterback looking for something up the middle that time they took away the motion and he tried to bounce it outside and make something on his own and was unable to do it so a time out with one minute and 58 seconds to play purple hurricane facing fourth down when we get back [Music] the ghs football championship is made possible in part by regions it's time to expect more georgia's electrical membership cooperative the official energy provider of the ghsa the technical college system of georgia learn more earn more cigna go you heads up georgia and the governor's office of highway safety dot com and viewers like you thank you at 60 miles per hour you go the length of a football field in five seconds but would you do it blindfolded when you text and drive that's what happens heads up georgia texting and driving is against the law [Music] every tv doctor knows when preparing for surgery use an overpronounced washing technique for dramatic effect [Music] they also know you need to get your annual checkup [Music] now prepare for your checkup with one touch using the my cigna app where you can find a doctor in your plan's network to save money manage your health and more need to be thorough cigna together all the way from now on i wish to be called victoria victoria [Music] it should be one way of a football game tonight [Applause] down to our final 158 here at the georgia dome of the double a state championship game benedictine with the 35-26 lead on fitzgerald purple hurricane of rally scoring 20 unanswered points they started it with their defense and the big fella in the middle ramsey blowing up the play and milsat with the goal line stand and that turned into a huge play on offense right after in the 80 yard crossbow yeah we talked about big time players making big time plays and big time games and that's what you're seeing you're seeing neil sack you help on the stop neil sapp get a set we're seeing fumbles being recovered we're seeing jd king on a big pass reception and then you're seeing james graham running two touchdowns in these guys are starting to step up and make plays hopefully it's not too little too late you know if you're a purple hurricanes fan and hopefully you know if you're a benedictine fan you're trying to just hold on for dear life it doesn't matter how pretty it is all you want to do is hoist that trophy up at the end of the game and so both teams you know are trying to impose their will it's been uh you know 18 yard drive but it took a minute and 53 seconds off the clock so they haven't gone very far benedictine is winning this part of the battle not from getting the ball back but they making them burn clock and making them have to snap the ball over and over again huge fourth down coming up well this is it right here fourth and fourteen purple hurricane have to convert to keep their season alive graham across and that should do it big game for jonah griffin capped by the pick at the end 25-yard return and now the cadets just have to burn the clock yeah they gotta just protect the football as a coach right now you're getting your guys in there nice and tight and you'll tell them hey let's protect the football let's make sure we protect the snap let's make sure that we whatever we're doing we're running the ball taking the knee whatever we're doing we're protecting the ball we just don't want to give fitzgerald the ball back where they can go ahead and get quick scores and the purple hurricanes only have one purple hurricane apartment they have only one timeout remaining so there's nothing really they can do about it after they use one timeout the cadets will be able to kill the rest of the clock yeah he's got you know if i'm fish jerome i'm just trying to make them snap it as many times as they can hopefully they can bobble the snap and we can hop on it there's really not much you can do jonah griffin with a big play and the handoff goes to tyler collins around the edge and he gets down to the 15-yard line he went out of bounds so that stops the clock yeah but it's a huge game getting inching closer to the end zone good job on the counter right there good job of making the cut positive yards game it is a first down so that again gives them more time to be able to run stuff off the clock in fitzgerald after getting so close once again looks like they'll come up empty in the state championship game for the fifth time yeah it's a tough road man to get here and and everybody's behind you and haven't been here last year and then come up short you know i know all about it you know we came up a little short you know last night was here in 2013 and came up short been on both sides of it you know you know had it uh the opportunity to win be a part of a staff that wanted in 2008 um but definitely it's a tough road to get here and then come up short and for the guys that are seniors like jd king like ethan horton gordon right there he's a sophomore and there'll be more football for him to play but for the seniors a difficult pill to swallow yeah and that's how you feel bad for your seniors you'll have a small group of those guys that are going to play college football before the large majority of your seniors is over with they'll never play you know organize football again and um you know to have the opportunity to play in the state championship to play in the venue like the georgia dome is a blessing in itself and so you know you're going to look back at it and look at the good times and think about the ride all of the rounds it took to get here you know it's a huge uh it's a huge challenge when you look back and you look at the memories of your first round win your second round win your third round win your fourth round win and all the excitement building up to the state championship and then being able to play in the georgia dome is something that you will always remember for the rest of your life well the face mass penalty called on fitzgerald at the end of the play so first in goal to go for the cadets at the seven handoff goes to collins and collins takes it in for the finishing touch yeah they came back with the same play that ran on the previous down uh the counter play uh good job by colin's you know setting up his blocks getting in there nice and tight and finding the end zone that pretty much seals the deal benedictine will be your state champ this year for double eight 41-26 on the seven yard touchdown run by ty late collins his second touchdown run of the day just a great job of of being able to overcome that adversity right there they had an opportunity um to really let fitzgerald get back in the game and make a push at it they were able to rally the troops and get the stops they needed to get and then also right here seal the deal with their first touchdown of the second half here's your tcsg touchdown replay we started with the interception by griffin because that was the play that set him up for the touchdown yeah you got to realize this second half benedictine has not scored they scored all their points in the first half they were one yard away from scoring but that was their first uh score or the second half uh they had pretty much been shut out uh by fitzgerald who was making a monumentous comeback and right there we had the interception and then in two plays they were able to score a great job by capitalizing on the turnover a 100-yard rushing day for tyler collins here today the junior goes 12 carries 100 yards and a couple of touchdowns in what appears to be a second state championship for benedictine yes an outstanding accomplishment there's very few people in the world that get one championship but to be able to get two is a blessing so 138 left in this one stick around we have the 4a state championship game coming up probably about 40 minutes from now if you set your clock they'll have 30 minutes they'll have the trophy presentation and then 30 minute clock will start right after that but what a great game that should be between cartersville and thompson sky kid could be fielded at the 29 yard line and so the purple hurricane get to go on offense one more time here from the 36. yeah they'll give it one more goal you got a minute and 34 seconds left uh they'll try to go down and get a score so two more state championship games to go the aforementioned cartersville and thompson coming up next and then tonight an eight o'clock scheduled kickoff probably won't hit that because already running a little long here today but an eight o'clock scheduled kickoff for the 7a state championship game between roswell and grayson we'll see what they try to do if gerald probably try to go down and get a score right here and uh two-point conversion onside kick in the two-point conversion you could have a game graham throws and intercepted again this time by kennedy kennedy gonna take it all the way back 43-yard pick six for john wesley kennedy [Applause] great play good job on the deflection good job on a return gotta tip your hat to fish gerald guys play hard tried to fight back and get into it but the the the big lead was too much for them to overcome great job tipping it great job interception and great job returning 48 to 26. this game's gotten away here in the last couple of minutes with a couple of big defensive plays as fitzgerald is trying to get the ball downfield in a desperate situation won't be indicative of how close this game was at one point in the fourth quarter 49-26 for the cadets great job again that line in the ball very opportunistic uh good job just finding the end zone after making an interception really silly yeah lowenthal the linebacker popped the ball up into the air deflecting it at the line of scrimmage and then kennedy was there for the christmas present and he unwrapped it in the end zone so back to a 20 three-point lead which was the lead they had at halftime and 49-26 with 122 to play and now danny brick can finally relax a little bit take the headset off and start hugging some of his assistant coaches yeah it's a great feeling when it's all done and you know at the end of the day that all your hard work has paid off and you're going to be a champion that's something that no one can ever take away from you it's a lifelong deal man so danny britt's gonna have his second title there with the cadets in one minute and 22 seconds and now they bring emil falk a freshman out to kick off here gonna give him a chance to get some state championship airtime and here's the return by harris and harris could be dropped at the 26 yard line and that's where the purple hurricane will go on offense and maybe this will be the last time for the season yeah they're gonna go out you know and uh you know hopefully just try to run the ball here and end on a good note maybe put some seniors in they haven't played great job by both teams very competitive great job by both coaches i think benedict benedict team benedictine you know took advantage of some opportunities early in the game and then were able to capitalize on some mistakes late in the game to be able to see the deal i think that's the difference gonna give the ball to jd king and i think that's appropriate let the senior who's been your star these last three years finish this game out yeah he's been a heck of a player he's gonna go on to a great career at oklahoma state i'm sure they'll be excited for him to get on campus and in the bright thing and then have a bright future out there i'm sure he'll bring some things to the table for that program 13 carries 97 yards for jd king today [Music] handoff to gordon this time ethan gordon gonna be tackled at the 41-yard line clock continues to run we're now under a minute to play [Music] well the suspense went away it looked like for a while there that fitzgerald is going to make a final run but as it turned out it was that two-point tackle by noah johnson that really changed what happened in the final six and a half minutes he got that tackle on graham on that two-point play after they've scored the touchdown to make it 35-26 and because of that two-point tackle they had the on-side kick had to gamble a little bit and that changed it had he not made that tackle had they gotten in the final six and a half minutes might have been a lot different there's no doubt about it when it happened we said it right here on the air that you know the two-point conversion ended up being the difference in the game you go out they get that two-point conversion now it's a seven-point game and your kicker have been struggling so you're probably gonna go for two anyway and and you kick them deep and when they fumble because they fumbled on that possession had they fumbled with the ball inside the the 20-yard line they might have been able to get a score there congratulations to benedictine the 2016 georgia high school association double a state champs with a 49-26 victory over fitzgerald second state championship for the cadets in their 107 year history and both of them have come in the last three years let's go down to nikki noto coach the momentum swift swung in your favor we saw the pick that set up the touchdown play and then we saw a pick six by a guy whose name we've heard all night john wesley kennedy how proud are you of your team and most significantly your 25 seniors that helped you win the state title extremely proud these guys have uh just stuck with the process that we asked them to do uh believed in it continued to do it over and over and over again uh and when adversity hit they just kept fighting kept doing what they're supposed to do very proud of them and so glad i think they're in four years their record is 54-3 unbelievable congrats coach go celebrate with your team thank you very much all right matt that was a fun one to watch back up to you indeed it was final score not indicative of how close this game was with six minutes to play but a 49-26 victory for benedictine as they win the double a state title and they really you know you talk about games and games are one to the fourth quarter they really won this game in the in the first half when they separated themselves from fitzgerald yeah they did a great job of capitalizing on mistakes and doing a great job of protecting the football and getting that lead i mean the first few possessions of the game they were on fire they had to come back in the second half and buckle down and were able to pull away late with a great job of getting on top of some opportunities early and finishing the drill yeah they didn't have quite the star power of uh fitzgerald in this ball game but ty lee collins and john wesley kennedy as we had talked about in the pregame show ultimately were the big factors offensively for the cadets and defensively too yeah those guys were outstanding players we knew it coming into the game they had to contain those guys uh they did a good job in the second half of trying to keep them under wraps by the end of the day the damage that they did in the first half was too much to overcome and then poured icing on the cake with colin scoring late and i think another one of the stories within the story here today is looking ahead to next year james graham is going to be a big time quarterback in the state of georgia his senior year it's no doubt about it when you talk about the top quarterbacks in the state he's going to have to be in that conversation a dual threat guy he can run it he can throw it and he's got the heart of a champion so we'll look for big things from him next year yeah he had a huge day over 350 yards of offense nearly a 200-yard rushing day today for james graham in a losing effort as the purple hurricane accepting the runner-up trophy yeah great job you know great job all day by him he competed at the highest level he ran the ball he threw the ball he was he was elusive at times getting away from pressure in the pocket he just kept competing and they did a great job man they fought back into this game they had an opportunity again it comes back to the two-point conversion if they make the two-point conversion it might be a different outcome close for fitzgerald the fifth time they've been in the state championship and come up empty looking for their second state championship meantime benedictine gets theirs and what a job danny britt has done we saw him talking with nikki noto he took a program that really was a or five win a year program and in a short period of time has turned them into a state championship winning program yeah it's very tough to do people don't understand how hard it is to climb up to that mountain and then hoist that trophy up it's something that happens once in a lifetime they've done it twice in the last four years you got to tip your hat to coach again building it from the ground up you talking about not a traditional power not a place where guys were used to winning you talking out a place where guys were just happy with making the playoffs and now he's got them to where they expect to win a state championship every single year 53 wins in the last four years and two of those 53 have come right here in the georgia dome winning state championships now let's send it down to mark harmon at the championship podium thank you man it's time now to present the championship trophy for the class double a state champs to the cadets of benedictine and for that i turned the microphone over to gary phillips the executive director of the ghsa coach britt congratulations on another great season you and your team played well extremely exciting game congratulations thank you very much and here's our friends from georgia farm bureau hello coach on behalf of the georgia farm bureau family we would like to congratulate you your coaching staff and your players for a wonderful fight and a wonderful championship bringing it back home to savannah georgia your emotions right now as you hold the championship trophy for the second time in the last three years just so i'm so proud of these young men and these coaches and i hope everybody understands how much has gone into it how hard we work these guys how much these coaches sacrifice and these 25 seniors have meant everything to me incredible group so proud of them so proud for them john wesley come over here you heard your coach kind of choke up talking about the seniors talk about this senior client uh it just started when we were all freshmen we learned from the senior crew that was above us we just we just learned all the leadership and we followed them followed their path and tried to work hard every day your team was unbeaten all season long number one ranked all season long what's it mean to wrap this thing up here in the dome i mean it feels great i mean last year it was a heartbreaking loss to fitzgerald so that was our mindset all year we wanted to be perfect and that was a great way to finish it off coach look over there i see a lot of white a lot of maroon we talked to father frank at halftime he was pretty pumped up talk about one more time the fans in savannah coming down here to the dome and leaving with the championship trophy i just uh thank you and i hope all of you understand how special these young men are and how much work's been put into it thank you for your support but please understand and love them for what they've done thank you all right congratulations the cadets have benedictine the 2016 double a state champs and now let's send it over to jackie britton and the gpb tailgate party congratulations guys