There’s something special when teams with championship pedigrees meet in the playoffs. That’s that case this week in Class 4A when Benedictine makes the drive from Savannah to play Blessed Trinity in Roswell. Both teams are accustomed to bringing home hardware.
No. 9 Benedictine (7-4) won state titles in 2014, 2016, 2022 and 2023 and reached the semifinals in 2013, 2020 and 2023. That’s all since coach Danny Britt took over the program in 2011.
No. 4 Blessed Trinity (11-1) won three consecutive championships from 2017-2019, reached the final in 2015, and advanced to the semifinal round in 2014 and 2021.
“I think it’s kind of an even matchup, a hammer-and-tong kind of thing,” said veteran Blessed Trinity coach Ed Dudley, who is in his second season at the school. “We’re looking forward to it. There are no easy opponents this time, so we’re glad to be playing a great program like Benedictine and hopefully we can do our part.”
Of the four semifinal games in Class 4A, this one appears to have the most old-school qualities. Both teams have excellent defenses and strong kicking games.
“I think the strengths of both teams are on their defensive front,” Dudley said. “And both teams have a real good kicking game and each team has some offensive weapons. I think it’s an even matchup and it should be a real good football game.”
Benedictine has overcome a wave of injuries, including QB Stephen Cannon, and keeps getting off the mat. The Cadets lost their first two games, falling to nationally ranked Rabun Gap (a private boarding school) and Class 6A No. 2 Buford (on a two-point conversion at the end of the game). BC finished third in Region 1, losing to Perry and Ware County but beating Warner Robins.
Blessed Trinity’s only loss came against Class 5A No. 1 Milton, ranked has high as No. 3 in the nation. The Titans have also played a difficult schedule and have wins over Class 2A powers Prince Avenue Christian and Hebron Christan, then rallied to beat Cambridge in the Region 6 championship game.
“We knew that going into the season we were going to have to find some tough games to sharpen us up for the playoffs,” Dudley said. “We felt like this group – and hopefully next year’s group – would be god, strong playoff teams and have a chance.”
Benedictine has not missed a step since sophomore Omari Burse stepped in at quarterback. He has thrown for 845 yards and seven touchdowns in seven games. Stanley Smart Jr. (657 yards rushing) ran for a touchdown last week and Buba Frazier had a 4-yard touchdown run and caught a 67-yard touchdown pass from Burse that put the Cadets ahead to stay.
The defense is led by Herbert “Third” Scroggins, who has committed to Miami. Scroggins had two sacks in the second-round win over Ola and has 21 for the season. And Connor Ferguson, who booted a pair of field goals last week, is an outstanding kicker with good range.
The Blessed Trinity attack is triggered by three-year starter Blake Goodman, who has thrown for 1,251 yards and 12 touchdowns. All-region running back Ahmontae Pitts has rushed for 916 yards and 13 touchdowns and freshman M.J. Craft has gone for 316 yards. Quinn Davis has a team-high 33 receptions.
The defense is anchored by D.J. Jacobs, a 6-4, 215-pound sophomore who was the Region 6 Defensive Player of the Year after leading the team with 93 tackles, 25 tackles for loss and eight sacks. He is joined by all-region picks Adrian Forbes and Lucas Smalls (eight sacks) and linebackers Dylan Torrico and Luke Parton to make up the region’s top defense.
Kicker Noah Goddard has come back strong from a knee injury he suffered in May.
The other quarterfinal matches are also excellent.
No. 2 Cartersville (12-0) at No. 3 North Oconee (12-0): This is the only quarterfinal game featuring two undefeated teams. Both teams light up the scoreboard behind quarterbacks Nate Russell of Cartersville and Harrison Faulkner of North Oconee.
No. 5 Eastside (11-1) at No. 10 Creekside (9-2): Eastside is trying to get to the semifinals for the first time since 2009 and Creekside is looking to return to the final for the second straight year. Eastside’s only loss came in the last minute to No. 3 North Oconee and Creekside lost two games to start to the season against out-of-state powers.
Cambridge (10-2) at No. 1 Marist (12-0): Cambridge is the lone unranked team and is back on the road. The Bears will challenge Marist with its passing game but must find a way to deal with option attack that Marist runs so well.
