SCISA Class 2A State Championship: Bethesda 18, Williamsburg 17

Chris Dearing November 18, 2023 @ 02:44 PM

NORTH CHARLESTON | Four years ago, Tristian Randall was the starting center as a freshman for Bethesda Academy. The following year, he threw over 20 interceptions as the starting quarterback on a 1-8 Blazers team.   Talk about saving your best for last. Randall engineered a four-play, 71-yard drive in the final two minutes to deliver the Blazers an 18-17 victory over Williamsburg Academy in the Class 2A SCISA state championship Saturday afternoon. His final pass was the game-winning 22-yard toss to Thomas Peters with 52 seconds remaining to deliver the first state championship in program history.   It was a tense final minute as Williamsburg missed two potential game-winning field goals in the final two seconds. On the first miss, the Blazers were called for a personal foul, allowing for another chance from 27 yards out that was wide right.   “We have a saying to flush the toilet,” Bethesda coach Antwain Turner said. "That means regardless of what you do great or what you don't do so great, you have to be able to play the next play. That was the 0drive of their lives. They turned it loose and got it done.”   Things looked bleak at the beginning of the fourth quarter for the unbeaten Blazers. Bethesda trailed 17-6 and over the course of six straight drives, they totaled 47 offensive yards. But a fumble that was caused by Randall and recovered by Raleigh Wesley gave them life with 6:49 remaining. Three plays later, Wesley took a bubble screen and raced down the sideline to pull the Blazers within 17-12 with 5:50 remaining.   They got the ball back with 2:38 remaining when Randall began working his magic. After a sack, he found Caleb Dillon behind the defense for a 51-yard play. Two plays later, he found Peters in the left corner of the end zone, and he outjumped the defender to come out with history.   “We knew what kind of team we had, and we just had to execute in that situation,” Randall said. "It wasn't over at that point but we felt good about where we were.”   Bethesda (13-0) opened the game on a 13-play, 80-yard march that consumed 7:23 of the first quarter clock. Randall was at his best during that opening drive, twice converting four downs and he capped it with a 2-yard TD pass to Peters on a fourth-and-goal play. Randall also played middle linebacker and was instrumental in the Bethesda defensive effort.   Williamsburg Academy (12-1) was looking to defend the state championship they won last season. QB Conrad Balder accounted for the first two scores and he did enough to put the Stallions in place to attempt the game-winning FG.   Balder, who played quarterback and safety for most of the game, gave Williamsburg a 14-6 halftime lead on the strength of his two first half scores. He found JD Sholar for a 31-yard touchdown and later added a 1-yard run after a blocked punt by Wyatt Floyd and returned by Marlin Morris gave them the ball inside the Bethesda 10-yard line.   Balder threw passes of 25, 13 and nine yards on the final drive to get them in field goal range.   Wes Smith kicked a 39-yard field goal in the third quarter to give Williamsburg the 17-6 lead.   OTHER NOTABLES   Bethesda had a huge size advantage on both lines of scrimmage. Arlando Chaney, Jadyn Grant and Michael Henley averaged 345 pounds and even on the hotter than normal November day, they played both ways for most of the day. Chaney had an interception at the line of scrimmage to halt a Williamsburg drive at the Blazers 26-yard line. [player_tooltip player_id='322302' first='Teague' last='Ward'] played both ways for Williamsburg Academy. He was one of their leading rushers and also played well from his linebacker spot. Layton Morris started at right tackle on offense and keyed the defense with Ward from the other linebacker spot.

NORTH CHARLESTON | Four years ago, Tristian Randall was the starting center as a freshman for Bethesda Academy. The following year, he threw over 20 interceptions as the starting quarterback on a 1-8 Blazers team.