Defense powers BHP into Class 3A Upper State final

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>WOODRUFF |</strong> One of the coolest parts of having an electric playoff atmosphere in a packed stadium are the “oohs” elicited by fans on a big defensive hit. In the first half of a Class 3A third round playoff game between Woodruff and Belton-Honea Path Friday night at Varner Stadium, both defenses created moments like that.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the second half, the “oohs” got louder as the hits got harder and they were all generated by the Bears. BHP held the high-powered Wolverines' offense to 140 total yards for the game and didn't allow a third-down conversion all night as it rolled to a 34-3 win. The Bears (13-0) will play at Powdersville next Friday in the Upper State championship.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“It's all led by our defensive front - <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1592470' first='Kylan' last='Dixon']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1603850' first='Kamarion' last='Glenn']</strong> (pictured), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1823143' first='Kanaza' last='Bryant']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1823140' first='Ty' last='Rainey']</strong>,” BHP coach Russell Blackston said. “Those guys took off and were the difference in the game.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Dixon and Glenn are each 5-foot-10 and each weigh 300 pounds. Even though they look like twins, they're cousins. On Friday night, they were twin anchors of a brick wall that allowed Woodruff not much of anything between the tackles all night.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A week after star running back <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1036753' first='Aiden' last='Gibson']</strong> rushed for 311 of the Wolverines' 583 yards of total offense in a round two win over Christ Church, Gibson was held to 10 carries for 16 yards Friday night with a long of 17.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“We just came in here with high expectations and a goal to shut (Gibson) him down,” said Rainey, who punctuated the night with a sack on Woodruff's final play. “It was just about doing our job and discipline. We kept our eyes in the right spot and gave the effort we needed.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A scoreless first quarter was highlighted by a great tackle-for-loss by Woodruff's <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1821045' first='Travon' last='Lee']</strong> on a fourth down that ended BHP's 11-play opening drive. It was the first time all season that the Bears were shut out in the opening quarter, as they entered averaging 21 first-quarter points per game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Wolverines had an 11-play drive of its own that stretched into the second quarter. It appeared that <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1823657' first='Connor' last='Davis']</strong> found <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1395078' first='Kam' last='Taylor']</strong> for a 10-yard touchdown in the back of the end zone, but Taylor was ruled out of bounds. Woodruff ended up settling for a 25-yard field goal by <strong>Diego Tranquilino</strong> and BHP trailed for just the second time all season and for the first time after the first quarter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It appeared that 3-0 lead was going to hold up when Gibson made an unexpectedly terrific play on defense. On a third-down play, Gibson scrambled to get out there to replace a teammate whose helmet had come off on the previous play. Gibson blitzed and leaped to bat down the pass. On the next play, BHP went for it on fourth-and-six at the Wolverines' 36 as <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1730056' first='Noah' last='Thomas']</strong> took a shot to the end zone. The pass was incomplete, but drew a flag for interference to keep the drive alive. With only 22 seconds left, BHP had no timeouts left and the ball at the one-yard line. The Bears gambled by handing off, but <strong>MJ Earl</strong> made it pay off as he found the end zone to give his team a 7-3 lead at the break.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>On Woodruff's second play of the second half, BHP senior defensive back <strong>Dee Chester</strong> ripped the ball away from a receiver for an interception. On third down three plays later, the Bears had a beautifully designed play. Thomas rolled to his right, threw a screen pass back to his left and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1818720' first='Jaden' last='Glenn']</strong> raced to the end zone for a 47-yard touchdown.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“They had a cat blitz down here and expected the safety to cover (Glenn) and they couldn't do it,” Blackston said. “What a big play. That really cracked the game open.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Now with a 10-point lead, BHP's defense just pinned their ears back and really got after it. After Gibson's longest run of 17 yards on Woodruff's next play, the Wolverines next 11 plays netted minus-17 yards.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Those plays were sandwiched around a BHP scoring drive that was capped by a four-yard touchdown run by Earl to push the lead to 20-3 with 9:13 left. The key play on that possession was a third-and-eight conversion. Thomas threw a perfect pass into double coverage, but only <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='779428' first='Tajeh' last='Watson-Martin']</strong> could go up and make the catch along the sideline for a 44-yard gain.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A big tackle-for-loss of five yards by <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1372151' first='Jakyri' last='Anderson']</strong> helped end Woodruff's ensuing possession. Earl found the end zone for the third time on BHP's next possession to put the game away as the Wolverines were clearly worn down.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“We told the offense ‘once y'all start locking in, we're going to really lock in,' ” [player_tooltip player_id='1603850' first='Kamarion' last='Glenn'] said. “We just played together and played physical. … A win like this can give us the kind of confidence needed to win state.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>After scoring three touchdowns on defense in last week's win, the Bears got another one Friday. After Woodruff finally hit a big pass play when Davis connected with <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1592034' first='Kori' last='Moates']</strong> on a 40-yard gain, Anderson had a 70-yard interception return for a touchdown on the next play.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Earl finished with 122 yards on 26 carries, while Thomas ran for 63 on 15 attempts. Thomas completed 10-of-15 passes for 144 yards, with Watson-Martin hauling in eight of those for 86 yards.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“I told the guys at the half that the defense was playing their tails off. I mean, they were doing everything,” Thomas said. “We needed to be able to get in the zone and execute for them in the second half. … Our motto is to ‘run hard and run fast.' We're not going to shy away from contact ever and we have a lot of different guys who can tote the rock.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Moates had 63 yards receiving on three receptions to lead the Wolverines (11-2).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->