Patrician ends Edgewood’s championship hopes

Story by Griffin Pritchard | Publisher

Photos by Dee Ann Campbell and Elizabeth Perry

CENTRAL ALABAMA SCOREBOARD OFFICE – After winning the state championship in volleyball, their aspirations of a football follow-up ended on the road in a 42-14 loss to Patrician. The Saints advance to the Class AA State Championship Thursday against Clarke Prep.

“I don’t think there was ever a point where the game turned,” said Chad Michael, Edgewood football coach. “We knew we were going to have to take some chances to give ourselves a chance. We gambled early on some things, and it allowed them a couple of big plays. Hats off to Patrician. They are a great team and very well coached and they deserve the ranking they have.”

Patrician ended the regular season as the No. 1 team in the Alabama Independent School Association rankings as voted by the state’s sports writers. They also received 15 first-place votes to affirm their position, won their region and tamed the Wildcats with 28 first-half points.

Michael: “I thought our guys played really hard and were very prepared. We knew how good they were and we knew it was going to be a great challenge. Our boys did everything they could and that’s all we could ever ask of them.”

The Wildcats were able to hang with the top-ranked Saints for most of the first quarter, but their march was too much. Patrician struck on an 83-yard catch and run from quarterback Tate Boykin to Jay Lindsey with around 6:00 left in the period. They scored a second time on a 52-yard run by Carson Coody at 2:27.

Leading 14-0 in the second, Boykin added to the tally connecting with Lindsey for a 9-yard touchdown pass at 8:39 and then dialing up his own number for a 4-yard score with 0:17 left before the intermission.

Edgewood didn’t go quietly into that good night though. Wildcats quarterback Austin Champion hit Gabe LeMaster for a 32-yard scoring strike as the halftime horn sounded.

Edgewood’s efforts to shift the momentum didn’t move the pendulum as Patrician needed just :23 seconds to answer. Boykin – who finished the night with 179 yards on 4-of-6 passing – connected Matthew Mize for the 55-yard touchdown.

Coody – in the fourth quarter – punched it in from 5-yards increasing the Saints lead to 42-7.

The Wildcats wouldn’t go away though. Chance McDaniel scored the final points of the Edgewood football season on a 17-yard scoring run with 6:44 left on the clock.

Michael: “There is nothing you can say as a coach after the last game that is going to make anyone feel better. I told them we started the season 2-4 and could have packed it in and quit right there. But they kept working and kept believing in each other and finished 4-2 with losses to the 2 top-ranked teams in the AISA. I’m proud that they were able to accomplish so much this season because I’m not sure anyone thought we’d be in the semifinals except the ones in that locker room.”

The Wildcats – who had been somewhat prolific despite their record – was 494-110 in terms of offense and the combination of Champion and LeMaster was held to a combined 104 yards of total offense. The converse for the Saints; Boykin threw for just shy of 200 yards and Coody rushed for 192 yards.

“(After the game) I told them that this is about more than football,” said Michael. “It’s about family, loving each other and having faith in God. I really think this season was a lot more than just playing on the field. This season was deeper than that and I hope they learned things they will carry with them for life and teach their kids when they have families.”

Edgewood finished the season 6-6 and picked up wins over Abbeville Christian, Fort Dale, Macon-East, Hooper and Lakeside in the regular season; in the first round of the postseason the Wildcats avenged an earlier loss to Banks.

Patrician remains unbeaten and behind the play of Boykin, Lindsey and Coody is outscoring their opponents 594-164.