Class A State Championship Preview

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Class A state title, take two.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Christ Church and Johnsonville played a great game a year ago, with the Cavaliers coming out on top behind a huge night through the air. This year, it looks like it could be headed in the same direction. The Cavaliers and Flashes will meet again, but this time some of the names are a bit different. Here's a look at Friday's afternoon title matchup.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Johnsonville Flashes (11-2) vs. Christ Church Cavaliers (12-2)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Friday, 2 p.m., Oliver C. Dawson Bulldog Stadium</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>About the Flashes</strong>: Johnsonville made their way back to the state championship behind a dynamic offense. The Flashes are led by dual-threat QB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='997242' first='Malik' last='Shippy']</strong>, who's thrown for 1,649 yards and 22 touchdowns. When he pulls it down to run, Shippy is a true threat, with nearly 300 rushing yards, six scores, and an average of nearly seven yards per carry. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='996857' first='Travis' last='Wilson']</strong> is his chief downfield threat with 731 yards and 13 touchdowns on 36 catches, but four guys have at least 140 receiving yards, as <strong>Quandrell Woodberry</strong>, <strong>CJ Woodbury</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='997329' first='Neal' last='Martin']</strong>, and <strong>Jordan Burgess</strong> all legitimate receiving threats. Martin leads the way on the ground for Johnsonville, with 1,318 yards, an average of nearly 10 yards per carry, and 16 TDs, while Zaghe Davis has rushed for 665 yards and four scores.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Johnsonville's fast, physical defense seems to live behind the opponents' line of scrimmage. Seven Flashes have more than 10 tackles for loss, six have more than 15, and three have 20-plus, with <strong>Taysawn Brown</strong> (29), Wilson (23) and <strong>Payne Alford</strong> (21) leading the way. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1012649' first='Landyn' last='Cribb']</strong> leads the team with 114 tackles, Brown has 103, and Martin has been a force as the year has progressed. He's had a couple of monster playoff games, and he now stands at 99 tackles, 17 tackles for loss, three sacks, a forced fumble, two fumble recoveries, two pass break-ups, and a defensive touchdown. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>About the Cavaliers</strong>: Christ Church lost a pair of early games. One was to Riverside (who's 4A) and one was to Gray Collegiate (who's still playing), and the Cavaliers haven't been seriously challenged since. They've ripped through their schedule thanks in part to a stellar year from QB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1013068' first='Tucker' last='Hendrix']</strong>, who just seems to keep getting better. He's got 2,539 yards and 37 TDs through the air, including a masterful 356 and four in the Upper State win over St. Joseph's. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1012637' first='Jackson' last='Repp']</strong> is a PROBLEM at WR, with 57 catches, 1,391 receiving yards, and 25 touchdowns. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='267466' first='Dashun' last='Reeder']</strong>, last year's standout at RB, seems to have had a quiet year, but any year would be quiet using last year as a comparison. This season, he's rushed for 1,619 yards and 24 touchdowns.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Defensively, <strong>Cooper Hronchek</strong> has had a monster year, including 11 tackles for loss an seven sacks. <strong>Patrick McMaster</strong> has 13 and seven, <strong>Will Marguet</strong> has 10 and 8, and the Cavaliers as a whole make a bunch of plays behind the line, with 70 tackles for loss and 40.5 sacks on the year. <strong>Matthew Covington</strong> leads a ball-hawking secondary with four interceptions, while [player_tooltip player_id='1012695' first='Acie' last='Hatfield'] has two picks and nine deflections.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Key Matchup: Johnsonville's offensive line vs. Christ Church's defensive front</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Flashes have got to find some room to run the ball, and they've got to protect. Plain and simple. Last week, against St. Joseph's double-wing look, the Cavaliers STILL found a way to turn up the pressure. McMaster, Marguet, and Hronchek all have a nose for the football, all do a good job fighting off blocks and making plays, and the Cavaliers' defense seems to feed off of big plays, with one leading to another. If they're able to stop the run and harass Shippy, it could make for a long afternoon.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/15087234/653cff5a5b3cca0de8611cb2' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-65666e7633737"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>X-Factor: [player_tooltip player_id='816751' first='Jude' last='Hall'] WR, Christ Church</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hall is the Cavaliers' second-leading receiver, and he couldn't be more different from Repp. Both are fast, but while Repp is more of a downfield guy who can both put defenders on skates or run by them, Hall is a big body who can absolutely be both a gamebreaker and a safety outlet. He's 6-foot-4, 190 pounds, and presents a matchup problem against just about anybody. It'll be interesting to see if the Flashes, who absolutely have to contain Repp, can keep Hall in check as well.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/17742972/65640dce4797c708ac9628e4' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-65666e763376c"} /-->