Patriots earn hard-fought crown

ST. MATTHEWS, S.C. --- If you told Wardlaw Academy coach Hubert Morris that his offense would be held scoreless in the second half of Friday's SCISA 8-Man title game against high-powered Andrew Jackson Academy, he wouldn't have liked his team's chances.

But, as it turned out, the Patriots' 36 first-half points were enough.

Wardlaw held off the Confederates for a 36-30 win at Cavalier Stadium to capture the school's fourth state title in football.

"We made a lot of mistakes tonight, but we had enough to win," Morris said. "Our defense didn't play as well as they have this season, but the offense stepped up for us."

The game was in doubt even into the final few minutes, as Andrew Jackson held Wardlaw on the 1-yard line on fourth down with just under 3 minutes remaining. But Stephen Balentine secured his third interception of the night with 1:15 left to seal the victory, and the Patriots ran out the clock.

Wardlaw finished the season 12-0. Andrew Jackson ends with a 9-3 mark.

"We came out here and did what we had to do," said Wardlaw senior lineman Jorgedebro Pacifico. "We played with some heart tonight. We were in a dogfight out there with those guys, but we had the heart. This is what we looked for all the way back in the summer."

Balentine rushed for 151 yards on 29 carries. He completed eight of 15 passes for 105 yards. Kevin Ginn rushed 15 times for 127 yards and three scores. Ginn also caught eight passes for 94 yards and two more touchdowns.

Defensively, Wardlaw held tough after halftime, only allowing six points. But the Patriots had numerous opportunities to close out the Confederates, and they weren't able to. Leading 30-16, Wardlaw recovered a kickoff that was mishandled by Andrew Jackson's front line. However, the Patriots promptly went four downs without gaining a yard, turning the ball back over to the Confederates.

That was the opening the visitors needed to get back in the game.

And the Confederates wasted little time driving 75 yards in six plays to close the margin to 30-24 with less than 2 minutes to go before the half. Still, the Wardlaw offense went back to work, driving 39 yards in five plays to threaten again.

After two dropped passes in the end zone, Balentine found a wide open Ginn streaking to the goal line on the final play of the half, giving the Patriots a comfortable 36-24 halftime lead.

That last desperate play before intermission proved the game-winner.

"It feels so good right now," Ginn said. "Words just can't explain it."