CLASS 4A-REGION 2: Catholic extends shutout streak to four with romp over MA
Catholic running back Josh Griffin runs through the Montgomery Academy defense in the Knights’ win over MA on Friday. (Tim Gayle)
By TIM GAYLE
Catholic tied a school record with its fourth consecutive shutout in Friday’s 48-0 win over Montgomery Academy, but the Knights didn’t take the field thinking about a shutout.
“It’s really not a goal,” said junior defensive lineman KJ Washington, who had a game-high 10 tackles in the win. “We already have a standard set. The standard is the standard. We stay on them, play our assignment and play the game. I feel like we played very well as a defense. We came out, knowing who the target was and coached like we were coached to play.”
While the game against a rebuilding Montgomery Academy squad wasn’t expected to be a stern test, it could have been interesting with senior quarterback Caleb McCreary sitting out the game as he recovers from a nagging injury.
Instead, Catholic scored on seven of its first eight possessions, using speed and an experienced front line to open holes for a trio of 100-yard rushers while a stifling defense snuffed out any thoughts of a potential Montgomery Academy rally.
“It made us push and go harder,” Washington said. “Caleb’s not in and we don’t know what the sophomore quarterback is capable of doing. But he came out and had a great game.”
J.J. Williams rarely threw the ball and never needed to, handing off to Josh Griffin and Zaylon Jackson as the Knights amassed 581 rushing yards. Griffin did the bulk of the work as the Tallassee transfer set a school record with 317 yards and three touchdowns on 11 carries, scoring on runs of 82, 5 and 73 yards. Williams rushed for 100 yards on five carries, including touchdown runs of 59 and 23 yards, and Jackson had 121 yards on four carries, including touchdown runs of 21 and 92 yards.
“At halftime, they said I had to have another drive to get to 200,” Griffin said. “Then after I broke that long one in the second half, he said I broke the record. (The offensive line) did great. Without them, I can’t run the ball like that.”
Auburn freshman Jeremiah Cobb, who owned the school record with a 304-yard performance, was on hand to watch Griffin run wild.
“It’s only fitting that the night he comes to a game, Josh breaks the record,” Catholic coach Kirk Johnson said.
With McCreary watching from the sidelines, his backup helped the Knights break the 40-point plateau for the sixth consecutive game and lift their scoring average to 43.9 points per game this season.
“With a sophomore starting his first game against a big-time city rival, you’ve got to ease him into it,” Johnson said. “We knew it was going to be a heavy load of Josh. We knew Josh was going to touch the ball a lot. I think the most carries he’s had is 10 carries, but we wanted to lean heavily on him and he did exactly what we needed him to do -- take the pressure off of J.J. early and allow J.J. to kind of be J.J.
“The kid’s electric. If it wasn’t for Caleb McCreary, he’d already be starting. We’ve got one of the better players in the state and he’s sitting behind that guy and patiently waiting for his turn. I was very, very proud of him.”
He could be just as proud of a defense that never let Montgomery Academy get untracked. The Eagles’ first possession moved the ball 62 yards in 10 plays with the help of three Parker Cook completions to DJ Vinson for 50 yards before turning the ball over on downs. The Eagles would manage just 32 more yards the remainder of the night as leading rusher Chance Wilson was held to 6 yards on 12 carries.
“I think we’re playing really well,” Johnson said, “but they’re not even playing to their potential yet. They’re playing fast, they’re playing physical, they’re playing hard. Big shout out to my coaching staff. People make those statements, ‘it’s the best coaching staff,’ but I just think we’ve got a lot of great men that care about our boys.”
Catholic ranks first in the state in scoring defense, allowing just 18 points (2.57 points per game) this season, a slight advantage over Lowndes Academy’s 21 points (3.0 per game).
Catholic (7-0) improved to 4-0 in 4A Region 2 play with three region games remaining, including next week’s game at Bullock County, followed by home games with Dale County and Andalusia.
Montgomery Academy (2-5) drops to 2-2 in region play with three region games remaining, including next week’s game at Booker T. Washington, followed by home games with Slocomb and Geneva.