The Hebron Christian Lions are first-time champions after dominating the Prince Avenue Christian Wolverines 56-28 on Wednesday in the Class 3A-A private championship at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
The No. 3 ranked, sixth-seeded Lions (12-2) erupted for 330 rushing yards on 49 carries, and all eight touchdowns were on the ground. It was a stark contrast from when these teams met Nov. 1 in Dacula, when the Wolverines won 34-31 to claim the Region 8-2A championship. In that game, the Lions threw for 320 yards.
“The last game, we couldn’t run against them,” Lions third-year coach Jonathan Gess said. “So man, we just went to work. We’ve been working for five, six weeks (since losing to Prince Avenue) for this game right here. Our offensive line has been amazing. We wanted to beat them up physically and that’s what we did.”
The score was tied 7-7 with 6:56 left in the first, with Lions running back Devon Caldwell scoring on a 40-yard run and Wolverines quarterback Ben Musser responding with an 80-yard touchdown run, with both scores coming on the drive’s first play. The Lions then went on a 28-0 run. Caldwell had scoring runs of 1 and 30 yards, Jarvis Mathrin had a 50-yard touchdown run and quarterback Tom Stallworth scored from seven yards out.
From there the Lions would take a 35-14 lead into halftime, and it never dipped below three touchdowns the rest of the way.
Caldwell, a junior, rushed for a team-high 185 yards and three touchdowns on 18 carries, with all scores and 107 yards coming by halftime.
“We made sure that we had the run game, and everything we needed to do, down pat, perfectly,” Caldwell said. “We worked so hard, and now (with the win) my mind is just all over the place.”
Stallworth, a senior, had 85 yards and four rushing touchdowns on 20 carries, and was 9-for-15 for 172 yards in the passing game. Mathurin, a junior, had a touchdown and 50 yards on three carries.
The Lions’ defense held a Wolverines team averaging 43 points to its second-lowest point total of the season. The Wolverines had scored no less than 43 points in a game during the playoffs.
“When we played these guys in the region championship, we didn’t get the outcome we wanted, but we just went back to work” said senior defensive back Gerrit Kemp, who had the game’s only interception, which came with less than a minute left in the first half and ended the Wolverines’ threat just short of the red zone. “We watched a lot of film and we came out on top, because we put the work in. Me and my team, we just trusted God.”
The Lions, who debuted in 2007, had never been past the quarterfinals before this season, but Gess won six championships for ELCA between 2012-2019. He is now one of just five GHSA coaches to win seven championships.
“For me personally, I just try to work hard,” Gess said. “I tell people there are two things I teach: Hard work, and Jesus Christ. I don’t have any grand aspirations to win so many state titles. That’s just what happened. What’s most important, is we bring state championships to the school, and we help boys become their absolute best.”
The No. 2 ranked, fifth-seeded Wolverines (10-4) reached the championship for the fifth year in a row, and they were trying to become the 15th GHSA school to win three straight titles. They won the previous two 1A Private titles. It also would have been their fourth championship in five years, all under ninth-year coach Greg Vandagriff, who would have been the 16th coach to win four state titles.
However, not much went as planned for the Wolverines, most notably their leading rusher, Andrew Beard, was severely limited due to a previously undisclosed ankle injury suffered in the first half of last week’s semifinals. Beard, only a sophomore, finished with nine yards on five carries, all in the first half.
Musser, also a sophomore, led the Wolverines with 190 yards and three touchdowns on 13 carries, and he was 15 of 23 passing for 159 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
“When your best player can’t play, it’s going to be hard to come out and win,” Vandagriff said. “And that’s what happened when Andrew couldn’t go. We were just trying to do the best we could with what we had left.”
