After Aquinas’ season-opening loss to Athens Academy, the Fighting Irish hoped for a second chance at them, which would only mean a meeting in the 3A-A Private playoffs. They got their wish Friday and won 31-20 in Athens, advancing to the quarterfinals for the first time since 2015.
The unranked, No. 14 seed Fighting Irish’s two-score win avenged their Aug. 16 loss to Athens Academy, 45-22, also in Athens. The Spartans came into Friday’s game 11-0, ranked No. 4, seeded No. 3 and 16-point favorites.
“That first game they whooped us,” Fighting Irish coach James Leonard said. “When we lost that night, we all agreed we hoped we’d get another shot at them. We felt we didn’t play our best, and at the time we were still trying to figure out our identity.”
It was a back-and-forth game throughout, with the score tied at 14 at halftime. The Fighting Irish took a 24-20 lead early in the fourth quarter, then sealed the game with a clock-chewing touchdown drive that brought he score to its final margin with 1:06 left. They scored on fourth-and-goal from the 5 after converting on fourth-and-2 from the Spartans 28 earlier in the drive, with the Spartans out of timeouts.
To win, the Fighting Irish leaned unusually heavy on the run game with a season-high 48 carries resulting in 285 yards and four touchdowns. quarterback Jim Franklin was 5 of 7 passing but rushed 19 times for 138 yards and two touchdowns. Christian Kates had 13 carries for 81 yards and a touchdown, followed by Eli Hutchinson (16-66-1).
“We’ve had more success running the past couple of weeks,” Leonard said. “In Game 1 we were still trying to figure the run game out. Athens Academy is very well-coached, and they did a great job against us on defense the first time. They run their man defense batter than anyone we’ve played all year, and with the pressure they bring, we knew running a pass pro offense would be tough, so we knuckled down, added another man to the box and lined up with two tight ends.”
Defensively, Jaden Worht had nine tackles, four for loss, a sack and four quarterback hurries. Jack Rhodes, who had a quiet night at receiver due to the run-heavy scheme, had two interceptions, three tackles, two tackles for loss and a pass deflection.
The Fighting Irish last reached the quarterfinals in 2015. After six consecutive seasons of significant injuries impacting their playoff run, which dates to 2011 and includes a Class A championship in Leonard’s first season at Aquinas, they’re healthy for this year’s stretch.
Kates and starting cornerback Kierston Brinson returned Friday to play against the Spartans after missing a month.
“This is a big deal,” Leonard said. “There’ve been other years where we felt we had good-enough teams (to reach at least the quarterfinals), but we just kept getting bit by the injury bug. Last year we lost our best player in the first quarter of the first game, then our best linebacker got hurt in the second game and missed almost all season. It’s a hard thing to get over, mentally.
“Even though we had (Kates and Brinson) missing this season, knowing they’d be ready for the playoffs help keep the fire burning.”
Up next is a trip to No. 6 seed Hebron Christian (9-2), ranked No. 3, in another game where they could be a double-digit underdog. Though the teams have never met, there’s plenty of familiarity amongst the programs.
“They’re one of the most athletic teams I’ve seen on film,” Leonard said. “We played Gess in the championship game in 2015 and in the first round in 2020 (when Gess coached at ELCA). We’ve spent a lot of time on them tonight as a staff, and I can tell you they are a very physical team with a lot of athletes.”
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