The only thing missing was a big woodshed.
Playing in the first game of the TSSAA’s BlueCross Bowl Thursday afternoon at Finley Stadium, the Lipscomb Academy Mustangs made it look easy.
The Mustangs punted on their first offensive possession, but they were all but perfect the rest of the way as they scored touchdowns on their next six possessions to completely dominate the Christ Presbyterian Lions, winning the Division II, Class AA state football title with the 42-0 romp.
It’s been an emotional week for Lipscomb coach Trent Dilfer and his team as he was announced as the newest football coach at the University of Alabama-Birmingham.
But all turned out well for all involved as the Mustangs played near-perfect football on a cool, yet sun-splashed afternoon.
“We just wanted to control what we could control, but yesterday was one of my finest moments as a coach. We had a spirited practice and everyone was crying at the end, but what a great group of young men I’ve been associated with,” Dilfer said just outside the Lipscomb dressing room as his team won its 13th straight game of the season and second straight state title with a shutout over CPA.
“My biggest concern today was about us playing our best football, but I felt like we had a great plan and we put our best players in the position to perform well.
“It’s been a great run these last four years, but tomorrow starts another chapter as I need a new challenge and another mountain to climb. I was always taught to leave things better than you found them and I feel like I did just that at Lipscomb,” Dilfer added.
CPA coach Ingle Martin certainly didn’t make any excuses for the lopsided defeat his team suffered. The Lions were 5-5 in the regular season before winning three games in the playoffs to earn Thursday’s championship opportunity.
They just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
“Being here for this game today has been a huge blessing, but our margin for error wasn’t very big,” Martin began.
“We made some critical mistakes and they capitalized on them all, but we had some awesome seniors on this team who helped us accomplish all we could have ever expected,” Martin added.
The Mustangs punted on their first possession, but scored touchdowns on their next six times with the ball to win going away.
Drew Patterson scored on a run from the 3 with 4:36 left in the opening quarter and Hunter High booted the extra point for a 7-0 lead.
Patterson added another TD run of three yards late in the second quarter as the Mustangs had a commanding 28-0 lead at intermission.
Lipscomb totally dominated the entire game, but especially in the first half when they piled up 303 total yards on 43 plays while limiting CPA to just 60 yards on 21 plays.
The second half wasn’t much different as Lipscomb finished with 436 total yards, including 168 on the ground and another 268 through the air.
Maureice Sherrill, a speedy 5-11 senior, did the most damage as he had 60 yards rushing on seven carries and added 141 more on 11 pass receptions. He scored four of Lipscomb’s six touchdowns and was a natural pick for the game’s MVP award.
Patterson was Lipscomb’s leading rusher with 84 yards on 20 carries with his two TDs.
Mustang quarterback Hank Brown was on target from start to finish as he completed 23 of 28 passes for 268 yards and three TDs.
CPA had a miserable day on offense with 80 total yards, including 42 on the ground and 38 through the air.
Asher Keck was the leading rusher with 22 yards on seven carries while Trey Brown was CPA’s leading receiver with three catches for 34 yards.
Lipscomb completes a perfect season at 13-0 and is currently on a 21-game winning streak.
Dilfer concludes his coaching career with the Mustangs at 43-10 and two state championships, both with shutouts.
SUMMARY
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CHRIST PRESBYTERIAN
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0
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0
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0
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0
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0
|
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LIPSCOMB ACADEMY
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7
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21
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14
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0
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42
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LIP Drew Patterson 3 rush (Hunter High kick) (4:36, 1st)
LIP Maureice Sherrill 14 pass from Hank Brown (High kick) (11:53, 2nd)
LIP Sherrill 19 run (High kick) (5:27, 2nd)
LIP Patterson 3 run (High kick) (1:15, 2nd)
LIP Sherrill 2 pass from Brown (High kick) (7:23, 3rd)
LIP Sherrill 41 pass from Brown (Sterling Nabours kick) (1:57, 3rd)
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STATS
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CPA
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LIP
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|
First Downs
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5
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23
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Rushing Yards
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42
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168
|
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Passing Yards
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38
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268
|
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Total yards
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80
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436
|
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Passing (Comp-Att-Int)
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5-22-1
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23-28-0
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Penalties-Yards
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2-20
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7-70
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Punts-Average
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6-38.7
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1-41.0
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Fumbles-Lost
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0-0
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0-0
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Individual Stats
Rushing: Asher Keck 7-22; Crews Law 3-12; Thomas Vaccaro 1-7; R McCluskey 1-5; Braden Streeter 1-(-4) (CPA); Maureice Sherrill 7-60; Drew Patterson 20-84; Micah Burton 5-20; Hank Brown 1-4(LIP).
Passing: Braden Streeter 4-15-0 for 36 yards; ; Thomas vaccaro 1-7-1 for 2 yards (CPA); Hank Brown 23-28-0 for 268 yards, 3 TDs (LIP).
Receiving: Trey Brown 3-34; London Humphreys 1-2; Asher Keck 1-2 (CPA); Maureice Sherrill 11-141, 3 TDs; Dylan Wrobleski 4-56; Dillon Lorick 3-39 ;Nathan Spillman 2-18; Micah Burton 2-10; Bennett Whitfield 1-4(LIP).
Records: CPA 8-6; Lipscomb Academy 13-0
Most valuable Player: Maureice Sherrill, Lipscomb Academy
(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)