From 2-7 to State Champions: Sherwood Christian beats Unity Christian for title

ALBANY — Freshman quarterback Tripp Roberts threw a short pass to senior wide receiver Hudson Carter with just 12 seconds remaining in the game to give the Sherwood Christian Academy Eagles a 43-40 win over Unit Christian in the GAPPS Class AA state championship game Friday night.

The win gives both teams an 11-1 record for the season, but the Eagles went from 2-7 last season to the state championship this season.

“This is a sweet ending to a sweet season,” said Sherwood Christian head coach Kenny Roberts. “This is the culmination of a lot of hard work and determination that began on May 9th and I am so excited for our players. They put in the work and were faithful in showing up for those early mornings three days a week to lift. They are now getting the reward they wanted for doing that work and have reached that goal of a state championship.”

The game was like an intense ping-pong match as it went back and forth throughout. Sherwood led most of the night until Unity quarterback Evan Whiteside scampered 20 yards into the end zone with 2:14 remaining in the game and then added the two-point conversion to give the Lions a 40-36 lead. Whiteside had that opportunity thanks to a pass interference call on a 4th and nine play two plays earlier that had Sherwood fans rejoicing before they realized the flag for interference had been thrown.

Down 40-36 after that touchdown, Sherwood senior William Price picked up the ball on the following kickoff and raced through the tacklers for 40 yards, down to the Unity 38-yard line. Strong runs by Easton Enfinger straight up the middle moved the Eagles down the field and a face mask penalty with 19 seconds remaining put the Eagles at the five-yard line. On the touchdown play, Roberts rolled out to the left and tossed to Carter at the two before struggling with a tackler to get just over the line into the end zone for the score.

Unity’s defense stopped the Eagles on the first drive of the night, but Sherwood got a huge break when Unity fumbled on the punt return and set up the Eagles in excellent field position. Enfinger scored on a 45-yard run moments later to give Sherwood their first lead.

At the end of the first quarter, the Eagles got another fumble recovery and took over at the Unity 24. The quarter ended with SCA leading 8-6 but on the first play of the second quarter, Roberts faked a handoff to Enfinger going right and handed the ball to Price who raced around the left side for a 13-yard touchdown. Price then caught a pass from Roberts for the two-point conversion to put the Eagles ahead 16-6.

Unity’s Whiteside closed the gap to 16-12 with a 25-yard run up the middle, then Unity’s defense held on a fourth down play on SCA’s next possession. On Unity’s first play of that possession threw a long pass down the field and Sherwood’s William Price made a one-handed interception as he battled with the receiver for the ball.

The Eagles stretched their lead to 24-12 on that next possession when Roberts threw a seven-yard pass to Carter.

The Lions responded quickly with Whiteside’s 64-yard run, which was called back because of a holding penalty. That didn’t deter the Lions, however. Whiteside connected with Cooper Giddens on a pass that moved Unity to the 20-yard line and then Whitside threw another pass to Giddens for the touchdown moments later to put the score at 24-18 at the half.

Giddens scored again for the Lions at the begging of the third quarter on a 32-yard pass play to tie the game at 24-24 before the Eagles responded with an Easton Enfinger 29-yard touchdown run and SCA led 30-24 heading into the fourth quarter.

The Lions moved down the field with a screen pass to Giddens that he took all the way down to the 10-yard line. A face mask penalty against the Eagles moved Unity even closer and the Lions took the lead moments later when Whiteside threw to Price Dyer for a short touchdown play and the two-point conversion.

Enfinger put the Eagles up again on a 32-yard run with 4:24 remaining in the game, but the Lions got another 20-yard touchdown run and the two-point conversion from Whiteside to lead 40-36 with 2:14 left to play.

“We have only four seniors but those four will leave huge holes when they graduate. William Price scored a touchdown on a play we’ve never done this year and then that kickoff return to set us up for that last touchdown was just huge,” said Roberts. “Hudson Carter with two touchdowns on offense and 12 tackles on defense. And Graham Anderson and Maddox Powers disrupted their offense all night and made them change their plans. All four of our seniors did an outstanding job.”

Easton Enfinger finished the night with 210 yards on 28 carries with three touchdowns. Tripp Roberts had 81 yards passing and two touchdowns, completing six of 15 passes. Hudson Carter caught five of those passes for 74 yards and two touchdowns. On defense, Carter had 12 tackles and Colton Broome wrapped up seven tackles.

Special PhotoJoeWhitfield[email protected]