APA defeats John Paul II, wins second title in three years
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Arendell Parrott may have lost two catalysts on the field, but weren’t losing their lead in the season’s most important game.
The Patriots held on to defeat John Paul II 32-29 to win their second state title in three years and fourth under head coach Matt Beaman. Arendell Parrott (11-1) won 66-60 against John Paul II (10-2) in the regular-season finale Oct. 28 and had control in this contests before losing standouts Ashton Brinson and Thomas Grady in a three-play span.
It didn’t matter as the Patriots picked up a fourth gridiron championship in eight years and fifth overall in school history.
“Coming into this year, nobody gave us a chance,” Beaman said. “I think this team overachieved more than any team I’ve ever coached. I’m so proud of these guys, they just left it all on the field.”
APA went down the field easily on its first possession, going 50 yards in four plays, capped off by a long Brinson run. After forcing a turnover on downs inside Saints territory, the Patriots extended the margin to 12 after another Brinson touchdown score.
The teams traded possessions and John Paul II responded with a 12-play, 63-yard drive ending with Brody Mitchell’s 27-yard touchdown run on a bootleg facing fourth-and-8. The Saints cut the deficit to five, but the Patriots fought back with a 10-play, 69-yard drive highlighted by a 35-yard connection from Caleb Sanderson to Jaylen Solomon. Solomon would score on a 3-yard pass as Brinson faked a run and threw him a jump pass as time expired, putting APA up 18-7 going into the break.
“I’ve never thrown a pass before — quarterback was the only position I hadn’t played in my entire football career,” Brinson said. “For Jaylen to catch it was amazing and it felt great.”
After the teams traded possessions to start the third quarter, John Paul II’s Rion Roseborough got going. After being bottled up for 45 yards on 16 carries, the Saints’ star running back had 45 yards on two plays of the drive to cut the deficit to three. APA countered with a 13-play, 61-yard march which covered more than seven minutes, but it was a costly drive.
First, Brinson was lost for the remainder of the game to injury after an 8-yard carry to end the third placed the ball at the Saints 9. Two plays later, Grady was injured, leaving the Patriots without an integral piece on the offensive line.
Still, on fourth-and-goal, Daniels scored to give the Patriots a 25-15 advantage with 9:51 left.
“I just needed to step up,” Daniels said. “Ashton and Thomas are two big components of this team and we just had to keep our composure to get the win. Nick Fell and Cole Smith just did a great job, and I just ran behind them without Thomas.”
On the next play, Cade Mixon recovered a John Paul II fumble at the Saints 15, followed by Sanderson throwing a pass to Paxton Riley, who was under heavy duress from the defensive back to make the match in the end zone and seemingly put the game out of reach at 32-15 with 9:30 to play.
John Paul II scored on their ensuing drive, forced an APA three-and-out, then Mitchell scored again to cut the deficit to three with 3:41 to play. APA went for it on fourth-and-2 at the opposing 43 but fell short, giving it back to John Paul II with 1:51 to play.
The Saints couldn’t register a first down, giving the ball back to the Patriots with 48 seconds left and spurring a wild celebration in the stands and on the sideline.
Brinson said he wasn’t worried about the team failing to win the game despite the injuries.
“I had no doubt,” Brinson said. “These boys have had my back since Day 1 and we did this as a family. No one person won this game — we won it together.”
years
If you would like to donate to ENC Moments, please send your contribution through PayPal (paypal.me/theflourishpost), Cash App ($FlourishSeason) or Venmo (@JuniousSmithIII). If you would like to be a sponsor, please send an email to encmoments@gmail.com for additional information.
Arendell Parrott may have lost two catalysts on the field, but weren’t losing their lead in the season’s most important game.
The Patriots held on to defeat John Paul II 32-29 to win their second state title in three years and fourth under head coach Matt Beaman. Arendell Parrott (11-1) won 66-60 against John Paul II (10-2) in the regular-season finale Oct. 28 and had control in this contests before losing standouts Ashton Brinson and Thomas Grady in a three-play span.
It didn’t matter as the Patriots picked up a fourth gridiron championship in eight years and fifth overall in school history.
“Coming into this year, nobody gave us a chance,” Beaman said. “I think this team overachieved more than any team I’ve ever coached. I’m so proud of these guys, they just left it all on the field.”
APA went down the field easily on its first possession, going 50 yards in four plays, capped off by a long Brinson run. After forcing a turnover on downs inside Saints territory, the Patriots extended the margin to 12 after another Brinson touchdown score.
The teams traded possessions and John Paul II responded with a 12-play, 63-yard drive ending with Brody Mitchell’s 27-yard touchdown run on a bootleg facing fourth-and-8. The Saints cut the deficit to five, but the Patriots fought back with a 10-play, 69-yard drive highlighted by a 35-yard connection from Caleb Sanderson to Jaylen Solomon. Solomon would score on a 3-yard pass as Brinson faked a run and threw him a jump pass as time expired, putting APA up 18-7 going into the break.
“I’ve never thrown a pass before — quarterback was the only position I hadn’t played in my entire football career,” Brinson said. “For Jaylen to catch it was amazing and it felt great.”
After the teams traded possessions to start the third quarter, John Paul II’s Rion Roseborough got going. After being bottled up for 45 yards on 16 carries, the Saints’ star running back had 45 yards on two plays of the drive to cut the deficit to three. APA countered with a 13-play, 61-yard march which covered more than seven minutes, but it was a costly drive.
First, Brinson was lost for the remainder of the game to injury after an 8-yard carry to end the third placed the ball at the Saints 9. Two plays later, Grady was injured, leaving the Patriots without an integral piece on the offensive line.
Still, on fourth-and-goal, Daniels scored to give the Patriots a 25-15 advantage with 9:51 left.
“I just needed to step up,” Daniels said. “Ashton and Thomas are two big components of this team and we just had to keep our composure to get the win. Nick Fell and Cole Smith just did a great job, and I just ran behind them without Thomas.”
On the next play, Cade Mixon recovered a John Paul II fumble at the Saints 15, followed by Sanderson throwing a pass to Paxton Riley, who was under heavy duress from the defensive back to make the match in the end zone and seemingly put the game out of reach at 32-15 with 9:30 to play.
John Paul II scored on their ensuing drive, forced an APA three-and-out, then Mitchell scored again to cut the deficit to three with 3:41 to play. APA went for it on fourth-and-2 at the opposing 43 but fell short, giving it back to John Paul II with 1:51 to play.
The Saints couldn’t register a first down, giving the ball back to the Patriots with 48 seconds left and spurring a wild celebration in the stands and on the sideline.
Brinson said he wasn’t worried about the team failing to win the game despite the injuries.
“I had no doubt,” Brinson said. “These boys have had my back since Day 1 and we did this as a family. No one person won this game — we won it together.”