Blessed Trinity Claims "Nail-Biting" Victory Against Calhoun

Editor’s note: the following was submitted by Mike Blum

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The Blessed Trinity Titans stopped defending state Class AAA champion Calhoun on three consecutive plays from the BT 4-yard line in the game’s final minute to score a nail-biting 12-7 victory Friday night in the semifinals of the 2015 Class AAA playoffs on the Titans’ home field.

Calhoun, one of the state’s elite teams for the past 15 years, was thwarted by the Titans’ defense for 3 ½ quarters before mounting their only sustained drive of the game, surviving a second-and-33 situation to move inside the BT 10 with the clock winding down.

Kaelyn Davis, the Yellow Jackets’ quarterback, produced his fifth first down of the drive to make it first-and-goal from the BT 8 and gained four yards on first down. After his only incomplete pass of the second half, Riley was stuffed for no gain on the next two plays, with the BT defense pressuring Davis into attempting a fourth down run before engulfing him at the line of scrimmage.

“Both defenses were spectacular, but ours was a little bit better,” Blessed Trinity coach Tim McFarlin said. “I can’t say enough about what the kids and the coaches did. Our red zone defense was unbelievable and the last drive was a metaphor for our season. We had our backs to the wall and things were not looking good, but somehow we found a way to get it done. That’s the character of this team.”

With the exception of one play, the Blessed Trinity defense outscored Calhoun 2-0 and limited the Yellow Jackets to 176 yards, about half that total coming on the final drive and just 35 yards rushing on the night. Calhoun averaged 48 points a game in winning its first 13 contests, taking its second and third playoff games in overtime.

Other than a 76-yard touchdown pass midway through the second quarter, the Yellow Jackets began just one play from inside the BT 40 until their desperate final drive. Facing second-and-33 from their 31, the Yellow Jackets gained 38 yards on the next three plays, with Davis completing an 11-yard pass on fourth-and-seven.

Calhoun also converted a first-and-20 after a penalty, but the Titans valiantly stood their ground once the Yellow Jackets penetrated the BT 5.

The Blessed Trinity offense was equally ineffective against a strong Calhoun defense, finishing with just 177 total yards. Senior quarterback Conor Davis returned to action after being injured early in the Titans’ 38-12 win two weeks previously against Jefferson, but struggled with the injury to his throwing shoulder, completing seven of 14 passes for 80 yards.

The Yellow Jackets also kept the Titans’ productive ground game under control, limiting the Titans to just 97 yards rushing. After rushing for 238 yards and four touchdowns and taking a screen pass 28 yards for a score the previous week in a 35-7 win over Dawson County, BT tailback Milton Shelton was held to 29 yards on 12 carries, and spent much of the game on the sidelines with a leg injury.

Backup tailback Garrett Dupuis produced the biggest offensive play for the Titans, breaking loose for a 28-yard touchdown run with two minutes left in the third quarter to put BT ahead for the first time at 12-7.

The Titans trailed 7-2 at the half, with their only points coming late in the second period when Kyle Molter and freshman JD Bertrand chased Riley into the end zone from the Calhoun 15 and sacked him for a safety.

Blessed Trinity got the ball back to start the second half, and began their first series from the Calhoun 49 after a nice return by Dupuis of a pooch kick. Davis connected with Matthew Higgins for nine yards on third-and-eight and Shelton ran for eight yards before exiting for the second time with an injury to set up a 42-yard field goal by Brooks Hosea.

After a three-and-out by the BT defense, the Titans drive 55 yards in six plays, with Davis connecting with Bertrand for 22 yards on third-and-8. Dupuis scored his team’s only touchdown on third-and-seven.

The two teams came into the game ranked first and second in the state, with Blessed Trinity (13-0-1) second behind the unbeaten Yellow Jackets.

The Titans, who were eliminated in the quarterfinals and semifinals the last two seasons by Washington County, will face Region 6-AAA rival Westminster in the state championship game Friday at 4:30 p.m. at the Georgia Dome.

The Wildcats earned their spot in the title game with a 24-8 victory over Cedar Grove, which shared the region title with the Titans after the 6-AAA championship was stopped when inclement weather and poor field conditions prevented the game from going to overtime after the Titans rallied for a 13-13 tie.

Westminster (10-4) won all four of its playoff games on the road, with the Wildcats’ last defeat coming at home against the Titans in mid-October by a 24-10 score. BT has won the last five games in its rivalry series with Westminster.

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