The NCISAA 8-man football state championship between John Paul II Catholic High School and host Parrott on Friday evening promised to be one for the ages, and it certainly lived up to the hype.
The two teams were by far the best two teams in the state this season, as evidenced by the fact that they rolled through the first two rounds of the playoffs outscoring their four opponents by a combined 113 points. In their regular-season matchup three weeks earlier, the Patriots pulled off an improbable win by scoring on a 75-yard pass play on the final snap to snatch a 66-60 decision, dealing JPII its first loss after it had opened 9-0.
So, the stage was set. But unfortunately for JPII, it again was Parrott escaping with a victory as it held off a furious rally by the Saints to walk away with a 32-29 decision and its second championship in three years. JPII finished 11-2 overall this season, and the Patriots finished 11-1.
“I’m very disappointed, especially for our kids,” JPII coach Sean Murphy said. “We never quit, and the game came down to just a few plays.”
Indeed it did. After being held mostly in check in the first half, the JPII offense came to life late, scoring a couple of touchdowns in the fourth quarter to pull to within three at 32-29. After a failed Saints onside kick, Parrott took over at its own 49 with 3:41 to play. The JPII defense held, getting a huge stop by Keiveon Moore on a fourth-and-1 to take possession near midfield with 1:51 to go. After a short gain on first, a trio of passes fell incomplete, including one on fourth down that initially appeared to be complete to Quinn McCaffrey for a first down with 56 seconds remaining. It was ruled incomplete, however, effectively ending the ballgame.
JPII had a sluggish offense in the first half, totaling less than 80 yards rushing, yet still trailed only 18-7 after the Patriots closed the second quarter with a 3-yard touchdown pass from running back Ashton Brinson to Jaylen Soloman as time expired.
The Saints’ first drive of the second half ended on downs, but the defense held and forced a punt. Taking over on its own 47 with 6:18 left in the third, JPII quickly marched downfield and scored on a 19-yard run by Rion Roseborough. Moore’s two-point conversion brought the Saints to within 18-15 with 5:14 left in the third.
That’s when things got really interesting. And controversial. Parrott took possession at its own 39 and took more than seven minutes off the clock. On fourth-and-goal from the 1, the ball carrier appeared to be stopped short of the goal when looking at it straight down the goal line on the visitor’s side. In fact, the referee on that side never did raise his arms to signal a touchdown, nor did the referee toward the center of the field. But the official on the other side ran in with his arms raised, sparking several minutes of discussion. Eventually, it was ruled a touchdown, and after Jesse Morquecho’s point-after kick the score was 25-15.
Just when it appeared things couldn’t get worse for JPII, they did. The Saints fumbled on first-and-10 from their own 15, and Parrott’s Cade Mixon recovered. On the very next play quarterback Caleb Sanderson connected with Paxton Riley for a touchdown, and Morquecho’s PAT made it 32-15 — a three-score game — with 9:30 remaining.
JPII then did what JPII does, though, and got right back to work. Its next drive ended with a bruising 26-yard touchdown run by Roseborough, and even though the conversion failed the Saints had life, down 32-21 with 7:27 to go.
The defense came up with a big stop, and JPII again was in business. On second-and-19 from the Saints 26, quarterback Brody Mitchell dropped back to pass. He was flushed out of the pocket but managed to find daylight around the right side. He eluded numerous tacklers on a stunning 74-yard touchdown run, and after Roseborough’s 2-point conversion run it was 32-29, setting up the final attempt at the comeback.
Roseborough, by far JPII’s most potent weapon on offense all season (and the last two seasons as well), finished with 24 carries for 148 yards and two touchdowns, but most of that damage was done in the last quarter and a half. In the first half he had 12 rushes but gained only 38 yards.
“Parrott did a great job with their defensive game plan and should be commended for their effort,” Murphy said. “We struggled to run the football at times and just couldn’t make the big plays when we needed to.”
JPII had three possessions in the first half, and all three ended on fourth-down plays. Two were turnovers on downs, but the third was a 27-yard touchdown run by Mitchell with 3:12 left in the half. Will Wright’s PAT made it 12-7 at the time.
Parrott had taken a 12-0 advantage on a pair of touchdown runs (30, 12 yards) by Brinson, who was the Patriots’ biggest offensive threat. Brinson, however, left the game late in the third quarter with an injury.
JOHN PAUL II 0 7 8 14 — 29
PARROTT ACADEMY 12 6 0 14 — 32
PA—Ashton Brinson 30 run (run failed)
PA—Brinson 12 run (kick failed)
JP—Brody Mitchell 27 run (Will Wright kick)
PA—Jaylen Soloman 3 pass from Brinson (run failed)
JP—Rion Roseborough 19 run (Keiveon Moore run)
PA—Soloman 1 run (Jesse Morquecho kick)
PA—Paxton Riley 15 pass from Caleb Sanderson (Morquecho kick)
JP—Roseborough 26 run (run failed)
JP—Mitchell 74 run (Roseborough run)
