State Champs Again: Sherwood goes back-to-back

MACON — In a game decided by inches and defined by resolve, Sherwood Christian Academy finished perfect again Thursday night, outlasting Westminster of Augusta 20–14 at Cavalier Field to claim its second straight GIAA 8-man state championship.

The Eagles didn’t just win another title. They won the tiny moments that decide legacies — a measurement by the nose of a football, a fourth-down stand that stopped a season from slipping away, and a senior class that refused, flat-out refused, to let its story end any other way.

This group of seniors — 45 wins in 47 games, three state titles, and one runner-up finish — walked off into history with a second consecutive unbeaten season and the program’s 23rd straight victory.

“I am so happy for this group of seniors,” quarterback Tripp Roberts said, sweat still streaking through the eye black on his cheeks. “Westminster has a really good team, but we were able to win by playing hard-nosed football.”

A halting start, a halftime spark, and a second half written by seniors

Sherwood trailed 7–6 at the break, the warm Macon night feeling nothing like the cold championship evening a year ago in Statesboro. But the mood shifted the moment senior Aaron Mackey gathered teammates near the locker room.

“We are not going to lose this game,” he barked.
Not a prediction. Not a wish. A declaration.

The Eagles played the second half as if the seniors had collectively decided that fate was theirs to dictate.

The defense opened with a stop, then the offense delivered its biggest punch of the season. On second down, Roberts dropped back and hit Qwinton Murray — double-covered all night — with a 68-yard bolt of a touchdown. Murray caught it in stride, slipped a defender, and raced past a crowd that roared as if watching a track anchor bring home gold.

Roberts’ two-point conversion made it 14–7.

Moments later, after another defensive stand led by Dallas Williams and David Albano, Sherwood marched again. Runs by Roberts and Chuck Lagrange pounded Westminster into retreat, and after a targeting penalty pushed the Eagles across midfield, Lagrange burst through for a 28-yard touchdown that felt like a title-clincher.

Sherwood led 20–7, but nothing about this championship would come easy.

Three gut-check plays, one unbreakable defense

Westminster answered with a 52-yard touchdown pass from Julian Lively to Porter Grinalds, slicing the margin to 20–14 and setting up a fourth quarter full of dread and defiance.

Then came three plays that threatened everything Sherwood had built:

1. A premature snap on fourth-and-four before Roberts was ready — resulting in a desperation heave, an interception, and Westminster taking over.
2. A chaotic interception/no-interception ruling when Chris Reid momentarily bobbled a pick, dropped it, and Westminster recovered. Sherwood head coach Doug Eason pleaded, “He didn’t have control! That’s incomplete!” The call stood.
3. A face mask penalty that pushed Westminster to the Sherwood 23 and gave the Wildcats their deepest hope.

The stadium tightened. So did Sherwood.

On fourth-and-three at the six, the Eagles slammed down the window: Lively’s pass skipped incomplete, and the defense — the same defense that has carried two unbeaten seasons — steadied the night.

Running out the last chapter

The final eight minutes were a master class in composure. Sherwood bled the clock with runs by Roberts and Lagrange, always staying in bounds. Lagrange ripped off a crucial gain to the Westminster 27. The Wildcats used their timeouts. A holding penalty threatened everything again.

On third-and-20, Roberts found Albano for seven yards. On fourth-and-13, he found him again.

The chains came out. One side held its breath. One side prayed.

The nose of the football — barely, hardly, blessedly — nudged across the stripe.

First down. Season over. Legacy complete.

“Bittersweet, but unforgettable”

“I don’t know when I’ve felt as good as this,” senior lineman Micah Hall said, laughing as family came to hug him.

Senior center Colton Mathis stood nearby, soaking it all in.

“Winning this is really special,” he said. “But it’s bittersweet. This part of my life is finished, and now I have to move on to the next part.”

But the part he’s leaving behind won’t be forgotten.

Final stats, final statement

Roberts finished with 149 yards passing (10 of 14) and a touchdown, plus 107 rushing yards and another score. Lagrange carried 29 times for 153 yards and a touchdown. Murray caught two passes for 74 yards — including the championship’s defining play — while Albano added three receptions for 36 yards.

Defensively, junior Dylan Clark had five solo tackles and three assists, freshman Lawson Brooks posted six solo stops, and Williams added four solos and two assists.

Westminster fought to the final whistle, as they always do. But Sherwood’s seniors weren’t allowing a different ending.

Not on this field. Not on this night.

Not in their final chapter.

Because as Mackey said — and as this team proved one more time —

“We don’t lose at Sherwood.”