Fellowship Takes On Prince Avenue Christian in Football Semifinals

By Mike Blum

Fellowship Christian School will play in the semifinals of the state high school football playoffs for the first time in the school’s history when the Paladins travel to the Athens area Friday to play Prince Avenue Christian School.

Both teams are 12-0, with Prince Avenue the second-seeded team in the Class A private school division and Fellowship No. 3. In last week’s quarterfinals, Prince Avenue defeated Lamdmark Christian 27-10 and Fellowship scored a decisive 45-13 victory over Mt. Paran Christian.

The Dec. 2 game gets underway at 7:30 p.m.

Fellowship’s home field win over Mt. Paran was a rematch of an early-season 14-7 victory by FCS that was Mt. Paran’s only loss until last week.

The Paladins’ offense was again led by quarterback Jack Hardin and receiver Ryan Reid. Hardin completed 8 of 12 passes for 227 yards and five touchdowns, three of them to Reid, who had six receptions for 145 yards. Reid has caught 47 passes this season for 1,095 yards and 15 touchdowns.

Merrick Haigler had receptions of 28 and 52 yards, both for touchdowns in the first half, as the Paladins took a 17-7 halftime lead. Fellowship’s defense stopped the Eagles several times in FCS territory, twice recovering Mt. Pisgah fumbles near the 10.

Haigler’s second TD reception followed a turnover forced by the Paladins’ defense and made it 14-7 in the second period. A 33-yard field goal by Garrett Depew late in the quarter made it 17-7 at the half. The Paladins broke the game open with touchdown passes of 25, 14 and 21 yards from Hardin to Reid in the second half, while the Fellowship defense limited the Eagles to one long scoring play and accounted for the game’s final touchdown on a 35-yard interception return by Cameron Gill.

Hardin also led the Paladins in rushing, gaining 126 yards on 17 carries while Andrew Minkert added 61 yards on 11 attempts. The 227 yards passing was Hardin’s highest total of the season, as he repeatedly hit Reid and Haigler behind the Mt. Paran defense for big plays. The Paladins finished with 500 yards total offense, 268 on the ground.

The Paladins will face a strong Prince Avenue Christian defense that has allowed only nine points a game and recorded five shutouts. The Wolverines’ two playoff wins have come by scores of 55-13 over Mt. Pisgah and 27-10 over Landmark Christian, rallying from a 10-7 halftime deficit last week.

While the Paladins are in the playoffs for the first time since going 11-2 and reaching the quarterfinals in 2007, the Wolverines will be making their seventh straight playoff appearance. Prince Avenue has gone 67-10 over the past six seasons, and has reached the semifinals four times in that span, losing in the championship game in 2012. The Wolverines were also unbeaten coming into the semifinals last year before losing to state champion Eagle’s Landing Christian, the top-ranked team among Class A private school teams this season.

ELCA hosts Tattnall Square in Friday’s other semifinal, with the winners meeting in the championship game at the Georgia Dome the following Friday at 10 a.m.

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