FLAG QUARTERFINALS: Catholic, Brew Tech advance for showdown in semis

Tallassee quarterback Cheyann Easterling gets pressure from Catholic’s Ireyda Perez-Mendez in the Knights’ win over the Tigers on Tuesday. (Tim Gayle)

COMBINED REPORTS

In a defensive battle where interceptions were almost as common as receptions, Frances Rogers came up with the one that mattered the most. 

The Catholic junior pulled in her second interception of the night -- and the sixth by her team -- to turn back a last-minute drive by Tallassee and give the Knights a 13-7 win in the quarterfinals of the 1A-5A flag football playoffs at Catholic on Tuesday night. 

“Just playing middle, I was going back all night, coming up all night, just reading where they’re going,” Rogers said. “You see it and you’ve got to go full speed to get that ball. Once you get it, go.”

Rogers was the leading receiver for the Knights with 39 yards on three receptions, including a 17-yard catch for the game’s first points. But it was her play on defense, where she had three tackles, two interceptions and a pass breakup, that saved the Knights from an upset loss.

“I would say tonight our defense stood up and got us where we needed to be,” Catholic coach Whitney Toole said. “We preached it all week. We’ve depended on our defense the last couple of years. Our offense has gotten better this year because we’re more experienced but we preached all week that at the end of the game, it’s going to come down to defense.”

Catholic (20-4) will remain home to play Brewbaker Tech, a 37-19 winner over Marbury, in the semifinals of the playoffs next week, most likely on Tuesday. The winner will play for the state championship at Protective Stadium on Dec. 3.

Tallassee ends the season at 12-1.

The Knights had the upper hand early before trying to hold off the hard-charging Tigers in the fourth quarter. But the game featured an unusually high number of turnovers (nine) and penalties (a combined 10 flags for 86 yards), creating an uneven level of play from both teams at times. Both teams had missed opportunities, but the Knights might have been stung the most after starting four drives in Tallassee territory following turnovers, including two that were just outside the red zone and another that ended at the Tallassee 4-yard line.

Still, the Knights picked up zero points following turnovers, scoring a late second quarter touchdown for a 13-0 lead, but failing to put away the pesky Tigers.

“Very frustrating,” Toole said, “and that’s something we’ve struggled with lately, the red zone. We preach to them every day next play mentality, let’s move on. I’m trying to do the same thing. If we don’t get it, we move on. Depend on our defense and they came through.”

Avery Sadler’s 1-yard touchdown run with 36 seconds remaining in the first half gave the Knights a commanding 13-0 lead based on the defensive play of both squads. Yet Kam Tate’s 13-yard touchdown reception with 2:31 left in the game gave the Tigers one last opportunity in the final minute.

Two incomplete passes and a pass interference penalty later, Rogers was there to seal the victory.

“Our defense, I think we’re the best out here,” Rogers said. “They’re all my fellow junior classmates, they’re my buddies. We’re doing it together. You mess up, we don’t care, we’ve got you, next play.”

Cheyann Easterling completed 16 of 36 passes for 205 yards and a touchdown, but was intercepted six times.

“She’s a great athlete,” Toole said. “We prepped since last week on trying to defend her plays, knowing she’s a dual threat. She can run, she can run the option, she can throw. She’s a hard athlete to defend against. We thought we had a plan and it worked for the most part, but an athlete like that is still going to pick up stuff. She’s going to make things happen no matter how well you defend it.”

Easterling also had 28 yards on seven carries, but it was her arm that caught the attention of the Catholic defenders.

“She’s definitely got a good arm, I’ll give her that,” Rogers said. “We haven’t seen anyone like that. She definitely challenged our defense.”

Tate had 69 yards on five receptions and London O’Neal had 53 yards on four catches.

Catholic quarterback Hayden Fitts completed 9 of 21 passes for 77 yards and a touchdown, but was intercepted three times. In the second half, with the Knights trying to protect a 13-point lead, Fitts and her teammates turned to the running game and the junior finished with 79 yards on 17 carries.

Defensively, Abbi Carwile led Tallassee with eight tackles and a sack, while Tate had a pair of interceptions and a sack.

For the Knights, Sadler had six stops, a pass breakup and an interception, Addi Little had six tackles, Fitts had five flag pulls and an interception, McNeely had three stops, two pass breakups and an interception and Haley Ishman had two pass breakups and an interception.  

“Not very many teams get the chance to practice through Thanksgiving week,” Toole said. “We’re thankful for the opportunity but we also know there’s work to do. We’re going to enjoy the win tonight and go back to work in the morning.”

The Knights can make their third consecutive trip to the Super 7 Championships with one more win.

“It’s amazing,” Rogers said. “We’ve been here the past two years. We know this feeling. We’re not going to let it get to our head. We’ll be excited about the win tonight and get back to work tomorrow.”

Brew Tech 37, Marbury 19

The Rams overcame a two-touchdown deficit in the first half, then pitched a shutout in the second half to advance to the Class 1A-5A semifinals with the win over the Bulldogs at Cramton Bowl on Tuesday.

Quarterback Tessa Wilburn overcame early struggles to pass for three touchdowns in the second half to lift Brew Tech to the win. She had two touchdown passes in the first half, but sandwiched in between were two costly interceptions that allowed Marbury to take a 19-6 lead with less than a minute remaining in the first half.

But Marbury also had a costly turnover right before the end of the first half. Quarterback Emma Hays was picked off by Reese Woody with just 20 seconds left. The pick came on the first play following a Brew Tech touchdown that trimmed the Marbury lead to seven with just 23 seconds left.

Hays passed for three touchdowns in the first half, including a 5-yard strike to Savannah Bowden that gave Marbury a 19-6 lead with 2:17 left in the first half. Her other touchdown passes were to Calee Alexander and Courtney Munson.

Brew Tech (14-3) took an early lead on Wilburn’s 4-yard pass to Jaila Griffin with just under 10 minutes left in the first quarter. Her 22-yard strike to Apollonia Wesley cut the Marbury lead to six with 23 seconds left in the half.

After the Marbury turnover, the Rams used a halfback pass with Kaymarria Bandy finding Heleyna Pennic in the end zone to pull them to within a point at halftime.

Wilburn hooked up with Wesley twice in the fourth quarter, on passes of 21 and 30 yards, for the final points.

Brew Tech will travel to Catholic next week with a trip to the Super 7 on the line. Marbury finishes the season with a 10-5 record.