Photo By Michael Alexander

There’s a line in the 2000 movie “Remember the Titans” when the assistant coach Bill Yoast says, “You make sure they remember, forever, the night they played the Titans!” Well, the same can be said for St. Pius X High School, Atlanta. Even though they lost to Northside Warner Robins High School in their first ever semifinal game at the Georgia Dome 20-17, Northside Warner Robins will never forget the night they played the Golden Lions. St. Pius was down early by a score of 13-0 in the first quarter. After a field goal with 1:50 left in the second quarter, St. Pius cut the deficit to 10 just before halftime. With 5:58 left in the third quarter, St. Pius scored its first touchdown on a 40-yard run by sophomore running back Jonathan Tinsley. With just under three minutes remaining in the third quarter, St. Pius was driving deep into Northside Warner Robins’ territory, but they committed a costly fumble that eventually led to a fourth-quarter touchdown to put Northside Warner Robins up 20-10 with 8:27 left in the game. The St. Pius defense kept their opponents scoreless the remainder of the game and they added a touchdown of their own with 1:17 left to play, making it 20-17.

St. Pius X sophomore linebacker and running back Jonathan Tinsley shows his disappointment as the final seconds tick off the game clock. Tinsley scored one of the team’s two touchdowns in their 20-17 semifinal loss to Northside Warner Robins at the Georgia Dome Dec. 8. Photo By Michael Alexander

For the third week in a row they almost pulled off another come-from-behind victory, but instead their season ended one game short of the championship, with a final record of 11-3.

Marist School, Atlanta, is returning to the Class AAAA state football finals for the first time since 2003, when they won it all. Marist defeated East Paulding High School, Dallas, 27-7. Marist quarterback Gary Marshall scored the team’s first touchdown on a three-yard run, and the War Eagles never looked back. They led 13-0 at the half. They added two more touchdowns in the third quarter to go up 27-0 before East Paulding scored their only touchdown in the fourth quarter. With Marshall’s 110 yards and Preston Lyons’ 228 yards, the duo accounted for 87 percent of the team’s total rushing yards. In each of the three playoff games leading up to the championship, the Marist defense held their opponents to seven points or less. They also outscored their opposition for the three games by a combined score of 65-20. Marist will play for the championship as they travel south to take on Northside Warner Robins Friday, Dec. 15, at 7:30 p.m.