Blessed Trinity To Play For Class AAAA Football Title

By Mike Blum

ROSWELL, GA -- The Blessed Trinity Titans will play for a state championship for the second time in three years after scoring another impressive victory on the road, defeating Mary Persons 28-7 Friday night in Forsyth in the Class AAAA semifinals.

The victory puts the Titans in the state championship game Saturday, Dec. 9 at 4:30 p.m. at Mercedes-Benz Stadium against Marist, which defeated Blessed Trinity 25-24 in the regular season to win the Region 7-AAAA title.

The Titans (12-2) jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the opening period against Mary Persons and put the game away with a dominant fourth quarter performance after the Bulldogs had closed within 14-7 at halftime.
Blessed Trinity got another outstanding performance from its defense, which has allowed just four
touchdowns in the Titans’ four playoff victories.

The Titans limited Mary Persons (11-3) to under 170 yards of offense, with the Bulldogs’ lone touchdown coming after the only Blessed Trinity turnover, an interception that gave the ball to Mary Persons inside the BT 30. The Titans’ offense rolled up almost 400 yards of offense, most of that total coming on the ground. Tailbacks Elijah Green and Steele Chambers combined for around 240 yards rushing and scored all four touchdowns, with Chambers scoring three touchdowns, one on a pass from Jake Smith.

Blessed Trinity drove 65 yards for touchdowns on each of its first two series, with Chambers scoring on an 8-yard run. After one of a number of strong defensive series, the Titans got the ball back and again drove 65 yards, with Chambers taking a screen pass from Smith for 25 yards and the touchdown. The Titans had a chance to expand their lead after Jake Rudolph recovered a Mary Persons fumble in the Bulldogs’ territory but were unable to cash in on the opportunity.

Blessed Trinity had another chance to expand its lead in the second period, but Ethan Chauvin missed a long field goal after punting the Bulldogs inside their 10. Mary Persons scored in the final minute of the half on a 25-yard pass after intercepting a Smith pass to close within 14-7 at the half.

Neither team scored in the third quarter, with the Titans missing a second field goal. The Titans drove for a score early in the fourth quarter on a 15-yard run by Green, and put the game away on a 28-yard scoring run by Chambers. Green, who amassed 90 of his 150 rushing yards in the final period, had a 30-yard run on the drive.

Chambers added 88 yards in 15 carries, as the Titans finished with 260 yards rushing as a team. Smith was 8 of 11 passing for 133 yards, with Ryan Davis catching four passes for 63 yards. Tight end J.D. Bertrand, who missed most of the season with an injury, had two receptions for 28 yards, Bertrand helped lead the BT defense from his linebacker position, and was credited with six tackles, including one of the team’s five sacks, and six assists. Defensive linemen Raleigh Barden and J.R. Bivens also had big games, with Barden recording three sacks and a fourth tackle for loss, and Bivens recording five tackles and three assists.

After scoring an easy 35-0 win in the first round over an outmatched Oconee County team, the Titans have defeated the defending state champion, runner-up and a semifinalist the last three weeks, with all three victories coming on their opponents’ home field.

BT defeated top-ranked Cartersville 21-17 in the second round, ending the Purple Hurricanes’ 41-game winning streak and denying them a shot at a third straight state title. Cartersville, led by one of the country’s top high school quarterbacks, managed just one touchdown against the BT defense.

The Titans followed with a 43-13 win at Thomson, the fifth-ranked team in AAAA coming into the playoffs, leading 40-7 in the fourth quarter. Thomson lost to Cartersville in last year’s state championship game. With its win Friday over Mary Persons, the Titans avenged a 28-27 loss to the Bulldogs in last year’s quarterfinals, with that game also played in Forsyth.

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