Benedictine's effort to repeat as state football champion built on 'monsters' on defense

Benedictine defensive lineman Cole Semien answered questions with a big smile that belied the menace in his words.

"We're just a bunch of monsters," Semien said, grinning. "We're going to go out and get it."

The senior had good reason to be cheerful in the afterglow of the Cadets' 45-6 dismantling of Spalding on Friday night at Memorial Stadium. The defending GHSA Class 4A state champions have advanced to the quarterfinals next Friday at Stockbridge, which beat Walnut Grove 38-6 in the second round.

It's Benedictine's ninth trip to the state quarterfinals in 10 years. A foundation of that sustained excellence has been a rock-solid defense, and this year's team, ranked No. 4 in Class 4A by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, is no different.

"We have one of the best defensive coaching staffs in Savannah," said senior free safety Za'Quan Bryan, who also plays on offense and special teams. "For the past three, four seasons, maybe, we've been a shutdown defense. We always have each other's back. That's one thing about the defense. We always flow to the ball — an 11-man defense flowing to the ball. ... If it's not 11 men, then you know that week at practice we'll be running."

Bryan ran a lot on Friday night, and not for practice drills to reinforce a mindset. He ran back two punts for touchdowns, and later intercepted a pass and returned it for a pick-six. It was another star turn for the commit to the University of Minnesota, who also is starting running back.

He is one of the team's standouts, but Bryan emphasized it is a team depending on contributions from everyone, not just a few.

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"We have superstars on both sides of the ball, but we're really, really humble," Bryan said. "We're not going to talk or say we're the best team or anything like that. We're going to show we can play and do our best at whatever we can do."

Benedictine (10-2) opened the 2022 season with a 45-0 shutout of Jenkins and later shut out Westminster in Game 3. Opponents have scored more than 10 points only in the Cadets' losses to two powerhouse programs, at Miami Columbus 41-15 in Game 2 and at Ware County 14-10 in Game 4.

Through two rounds of the playoffs, when it's win or go home, BC has eliminated Whitewater 34-10 and now Spalding (7-5 record), which other than its lone scoring drive (a touchdown and blocked extra point) early in the second half, was totally dominated by Benedictine's "bunch of monsters."

"I knew we were on since the first snap," Semien said of the defense's effort on Friday. "We were just clicking. All the checks were made. Everyone was just into it and connected."

Bryce Baker, a junior linebacker and fullback who scored an offensive touchdown on a 3-yard run, said the defense was tasked with containing Curt Clark, Spalding's dual-threat quarterback. Clark was ineffective passing and little room to run as the Cadets' guarded the corners and boxed him in.

Clark finished 8-of-16 passing for 55 yards and one interception, and rushed 10 times for 5 net yards including four sacks. The other Spalding rushers combined for 17 attempts for 58 yards.

"At practice, we kept working and working and working," Baker said. "We came out, we're going to shut these boys out. We did what we were supposed to do."

While the common refrain is defense wins championships in football, a lot of attention usually goes to the heroes scoring for the offense. Benedictine won the state title last season with a offense led by quarterback Holden Geriner (now at Auburn) and running back Justin Thomas (now playing baseball at Georgia) and a veteran offensive line.

The 2022 Cadets have junior QB Luke Kromenhoek, a four-star recruit verbally committed to Florida State, as a first-time starter. Bryan, while battling injuries this season, has filled the role of the multitalented and similarly dangerous Thomas.

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Benedictine coach Danny Britt said it isn't as simple as reloading the offense. It needed time to become a consistent, cohesive unit. The Cadets' defense also lost key players to graduation, but it had enough veterans to hit the ground running.

"The defense has played really well all year," Britt said after Friday's game. "We knew we were basically replacing the entire offense and yes, you've got a major DI guy at quarterback who's incredible and some other guys who are really good. But the fact is we had to rebuild that offense, so you knew it would come along but come along slowly. The defense has really been our bellcow all year."

Britt agreed with Bryan's assessment of the defensive coaches, and said Houston has done a great job building the defense and calling plays.

Britt named several defensive players who have been consistent contributors this season, including nose guard Jeremiah Thomas and linebackers Jonathan Hardy and Wilkes Albert. On Friday, Third Scroggins and Bryce Baker along with Semien put a lot of pressure on the quarterback.

"It's across the board, and that's typical when you have a really good defense, it's not one or two guys, it's a whole group of guys," Britt said.

Savannah Christian 23, Peach County 7

Savannah Christian went on the road and knocked off Peach County in a Class 3A second-round matchup.

SCPS, which entered the playoffs unranked by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, improved to 11-1 on the season. Peach County, ranked No. 5 by the AJC, finished its season with an 8-4 mark.

The game was tied at 7-7 at the half. The Raiders scored their first touchdown of the game when senior quarterback Paulus Zittrauer hooked up with sophomore Logan Brooking on a 40-yard scoring strike.

Junior Jamari McIvory started the second half in style for the Raiders as the junior— winner of the Class A Private 400-meter title in the state track and field meet last spring — took the kickoff and sprinted 92 yards to the end zone for a score.

Sophomore running back Zo Smalls added a short touchdown run in the third quarter for SCPS.

Sophomore Elijah Griffin and linebackers Brooking and Bucey led a strong performance by the Raiders' front seven, which helped hold a Peach County squad averaging 32 points per game to a single touchdown.

But the biggest defensive play came from sophomore Kenry Wall, whose interception with three minutes left iced the game.

"We've talked to the kids about the rankings and we told them if we go up to Peach County and win, maybe they will rank us," SCPS coach Baker Woodward said in a phone interview. "But that really doesn't matter to us. We know what kind of team we have.

"Our guys wanted to play another week and they fought the entire game and showed a lot of resiliency tonight. It was a smash-mouth game and we ran the ball effectively all night — and when we needed a big pass, Paulus (Zittrauer) made them. He had the touchdown pass to Brooking and converted a third-and-15 with a 40-yard pass to Bucey. Our defense played great. I think it was the best game we've had all year."

Savannah Christian, the No. 2 seed out of Region 3-3A, will get to host the next round as Sandy Creek, another No. 2 seed. beat Stephens County. The GHSA held a coin flip, and like-seeded matchups in the quarterfinals will be hosted by the bottom team in the bracket — meaning the Raiders will be at Pooler Stadium next week.

— Dennis Knight, Savannah Morning News staff writer

Thomasville 13, Liberty County 6

Liberty County went on the road and gave Thomasville, ranked No. 6 among Class 3A teams in the state by the AJC, a spirited battle in a close loss.

The Panthers, the No. 3 seed out of Region 3-3A, were coming off a 19-14 road win over Monroe County in the first round.

Senior James Summersett, who has been a star all season for the Panthers, scored Liberty County's touchdown on a 39-yard pick-six with less than two minutes left in the first half.

The Liberty County defense played well, limiting Thomasville, which averages 26 points per game, to one touchdown and a pair of field goals.

The Panthers finished the season with a 7-5 record. Thomasville (9-3) will host Carver-Atlanta in a quarterfinal matchup Friday.

— Dennis Knight, Savannah Morning News staff writer

Nathan Dominitz is the Sports Content Editor of the Savannah Morning News and savannahnow.com. Email him at ndominitz@savannahnow.com. Twitter: @NathanDominitz

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Benedictine, Savannah Christian win in Georgia state football playoffs